Elden Ring: The Deaths of Tirek

by Blackdrag-rose

Back to Margit

Following taking down some of the powerful creatures of Limgrave, and gaining more power in the process, Tirek felt that it was time for him to return to Margit and see if he was able to take him down at long last, though he also returned to the lone rundown house just outside the castle's boundaries. There he wound a young lady who seemed to be bemoaning her position in life, going on and on about the grafted, how her men were taken and transformed, or something to that effect, and how it would soon be her fate as well, even if she was a 'craven coward'. The only thing she had to offer him was a small urn containing the ashes of a jellyfish, a creature that would distract enemies and help him in combat, where he said nothing to her as he let his Spirit Bell absorb the new ashes. With that done, and the lady seemed to be solely focused on the pain of being carved up and being grafted to something or someone else to make something new, making her seem insane for even wanting such a thing, Tirek left her to her own devices as he and Blaidd warped over to Margit's bridge.

Once they reached his chosen destination Blaidd looked at the golden mist wall, which he knew to expect since Tirek had told him about the foe that was in this area, while Tirek made sure he had no Runes left to spend before they made their way through the mist, walking out onto Margit's ruined bridge.

"I knew you would return, foul Tarnished... ever in search of the Elden Ring." Margit said, where it looked like he had just stayed in the center of the stone bridge after beating Tirek to death the first time, meaning he must have been waiting for him to return, like some sort of foul gatekeeper, "Come, face Margit the Fell once more."

Margit, like the last time they fought, held his strange weapon out while he walked, as if he was daring his foes to come into his domain so he could punish them for their arrogance, and this time Tirek decided to be reckless, because without even a single Rune to his name he had nothing to lose. As such he rushed forward and effectively taunted Margit into attacking him by swinging his weapon straight down at the area he was currently in, but that was what he wanted as he rolled out of the way, letting it crash into the stonework, before turning and blasting Margit with his magic. It was a ploy on his part as Blaidd took advantage of the change in Margit's focus, as he shifted towards Tirek, as he planned, and quickly swung his greatsword down after leaping into the air, forcing the figure to turn his head and use his weapon as a shield to stop the blade from digging into his flesh. While he was clashing with Blaidd, and was distracted by that since he clearly didn't want to take any damage, Tirek gathered his power once more as his throat lightly rumbled, where he loosed a burst of dragon fire right into Margit's back, blindsiding him in the process as his companion moved out of the way.

Tirek was still surprised that he was the one channeling the power through himself, instead of manifesting the head of a dragon or something to cast the spell, but he wasn't about to complain since it meant his flames would be stronger than what it would be like if he bothered to cast it normally.

"You have grown stronger, Tarnished... but still, I will extinguish your flame in the end." Margit stated, showing that the flames had definitely done more than what Tirek was expecting, not that it seemed that way based on what he was seeing right now, making him wonder if the damage he had dealt earlier was still around.

In the following moments Margit started to use his golden blades and what appeared to be a golden hammer, one likely made to smear the more promising Tarnished into the ground, though in that instant Tirek realized something important, the items were made out of magic. His own innate power, before he came to this world, was the power to devour magic and add it to his own, causing him to grin as Margit hurled two blades at him and he raised his hands, utilizing his power for the first time since he came to this world. For a moment Blaidd thought he had lost his mind, while Margit assumed it was an act of surrender on his part, but when the blades stopped just above his palms they knew things were about to change, especially since Blaidd knew that Tirek was far stronger than he believed himself to be. In the next moment Margit watched as his attacks were drained of their magic, as they unraveled before his eyes and vanished, causing him to leap into the air and bring his massive hammer down on the area that Tirek was standing in, purely to crush the life out of him and stop him in his tracks.

For a few seconds he was sure he had won, crushing another Tarnished that dared to search for the Elden Ring, but that was when the hammer started to break apart before his eyes and he discovered that Tirek was just fine, as if his attack had done nothing at all.

As the last bits of the magic disappeared Tirek gathered his power into his right fist and delivered an uppercut to Margit's chin, knocking him backwards in the process, though it also informed Blaidd that his companion might not need his help anymore, not to stand on his own legs. With that in mind he stood off to the side as Tirek engaged his foe, wrapping his magic around his body as he lashed out with bolts of energy, likely pure magic when he considered what his companion was capable of and what he knew about magic as a whole. Margit staggered backwards as the power struck him, since it happened to be something he wasn't expecting at this point in time, though as he hurled more blades at Tirek he found that they dissolved before they even touched his foe, their energies being turned into power to be used against him. That only caused him to go on the offensive even more than before, utilizing many of his movements as he brought in the few golden weapons he had access to, though Tirek just avoided the attacks he couldn't absorb and siphoned the magical ones to increase his power.

One lucky attack knocked him on his back and Tirek grinned as he ignited his power once more, releasing a burst of his dragon flames right into Margit's face as he tried to smash him to pieces, where he made sure to use enough to burn him to ash, as Blaidd noticed that their foe had a bunch of burn marks on his body before breaking apart, meaning Tirek had taken care of his foe.

"Foul Tarnished... I shall... remember you!" Margit said, showing them that he still had a bit of life left in his husk as Tirek watched him break apart, even though he still got a bunch of Runes for overcoming this challenge, before he reached out for a moment as his arm turned to ash before their eyes, "I shall remember... your meager smouldering flame... beware... of... the Night! Cower in fear... the Hands of the Fell Omen... will give you... no quarter."

"Quit talking and just accept your demise." Tirek remarked, where he swung his staff and shattered the rest of Margit with ease, scattering his ashes to the wind as he found a new Grace resting nearby, something that caused him to huff as he activated it and sat down, allowing him to rest as he glanced beyond the bridge, "Margit might be dead, but I suspect that this castle is going to push me more than before... we're getting close to a Demi-God, whose bound to be far stronger and more powerful than Margit was."

"And, in time, you'll beat everything that stands before you." Blaidd stated, because while he was sticking around to help Tirek before the hero he was meant to be, or whatever he was working towards since it mattered little to him, he knew there would come a point where they would go their separate ways and he suspected that, when that time came, his odd companion would do just fine without him.

Tirek smiled for a moment, as it was nice to have someone reliable on his side, before focusing on using his Runes, since he had no idea what dangers the castle had to throw at them and wanted to make sure he was ready for whatever might be waiting for them on the other side of the structure's high walls.