Aoko wasn't quite sure how far the situation at the Lands Between had progressed, but there was no doubt that Messmer's army had already breached the royal capital.
Based on her understanding of the current power dynamics in the Lands Between, she didn't think those in the royal city could stop Messmer.
There were only three forces that could prevent Messmer from entering the Erdtree: Melina, the Tarnished, and the First Elden Lord, Godfrey.
However, since Messmer's loyalty to his mother Marika far exceeded that to Godfrey, Aoko believed that if necessary, Messmer wouldn't hesitate to beat up and string up Hoarah Loux. After all, Godfrey was now just a Tarnished who had lost the grace and had no Great Rune to aid him.
She had always found it difficult to gauge Hoarah Loux's strength—this man who had overpowered countless foes with sheer brute force—because as a sorceress, she had many ways to suppress opponents who relied solely on physical strength.
Unless one had reached the absurd level of proving the truth through strength, pure physical fighters were inherently disadvantaged against casters with myriad tricks up their sleeves. This was a matter of fundamental attributes.
Of course, Aoko didn't look down on pure physical damage dealers. In settings like Type-Moon, the only things capable of ignoring the suppression of magical mystery were either pure physical force or mysteries of a higher rank—and she had benefited from that.
She didn't care who claimed the throne of the Lands Between. Even if the outcome was the Tarnished, fated by destiny, slaying Messmer, Aoko wouldn't feel the slightest bit of grief.
However, if the Tarnished turned against Caria, then she would intervene—after all, she had a vested interest in it.
Judging from the Tarnished's current behavior, though, Caria didn't seem to be among his targets. Those he might eliminate included only the Haligtree, the Mohgwyn Dynasty, and the various figures in the capital who stood in the way of him becoming Elden Lord.
While Aoko was organizing the research materials and valuable items in the Heretical Rise, the rune stone she had left with the Tarnished seemed to have been crushed—a predetermined signal to notify her. She received a set of teleport coordinates within the Lands Between.
After sorting the things she needed to bring, Aoko activated teleportation and headed to where the Tarnished currently was.
—Scene Transition—
What greeted Aoko's eyes was an endless blizzard, a vast snowfield blanketed in white, and the Tarnished—his snot frozen—huddled in a corner beside a massive rock, using his spectral steed Torrent to block some of the piercing cold wind.
"You—you finally came!" the frozen and miserable Tarnished shivered off the snow on his body and quickly stood up from the corner. "Back—back on the earlier part of the mountain, it wasn't this—this cold. Now—I can't even see the road ahead!"
Aoko sighed. She hadn't expected such extreme weather to have this much effect on someone like the Tarnished, who was almost undead.
She had several spells to counter environmental conditions, allowing her to survive comfortably even in this blizzard.
But like the Tarnished, she couldn't see the terrain in the distance.
She formed a hand seal, then patted the Tarnished's body. A magical glow flashed across him, and in the next moment, all the snow clinging to him melted away.
"Resisting elemental damage can help you adapt to a certain level of cold climate," Aoko explained. "But there's a limit. If the temperature drops below the threshold that the spell can adjust for, you'll still feel the cold and be affected."
"Hah… I feel much better now, thank you," the Tarnished said, moving his previously frozen limbs. "I originally planned to contact you after finding that sorcerer's tower you mentioned, but I couldn't go any further—I couldn't die from the cold, but I also couldn't find the right path… this place is too vast."
"You're right," Aoko said, scanning the surroundings, trying to find some landmark—but to no avail. "Let's see if I can disperse the blizzard a bit."
Aoko knew very little about climate control spells. She had never studied such magic.
She was aware of some powerful spells that could manipulate weather on a large scale, but those were undoubtedly of legendary grade—beyond her current capability.
Her strongest magic system was projectile-based spells, but those were useless in this situation.
So instead, she tried a spell with a similar effect.
She first cast Dispel Fog, but the spell merely cleared a small area of the blizzard momentarily. Apart from a faint rune glow, she couldn't see anything before the storm swallowed everything again.
Still, Aoko didn't give up. She pondered for a moment, then pulled out an outdoor compass, confirmed their direction, and studied a map she had previously retrieved from the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria.
"I think I know where we are," Aoko said confidently, pointing at the map. "We're probably here—southern Consecrated Snowfield."
"Where's the Haligtree and that hidden demigod?" the Tarnished asked, deep in thought. "In the far north?"
"The Haligtree should be in the north," Aoko replied vaguely. "But if you want to find that hidden one, I suggest searching around this area."
She traced a general area on the map's northwest, which likely marked the portal to the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
"Can I borrow this map?" the Tarnished asked sincerely. "I promise I'll return it once I reclaim the Great Rune."
"Sure," Aoko said, rolling up the map and handing it to him. "I found it in Raya Lucaria's Grand Library anyway—just return it to them when you're done."
"Oh right, here—take this too," Aoko said after thinking for a moment, handing him a backup compass. "Otherwise, I doubt you'll be able to find your way."
"What's this?" the Tarnished asked, curious. "A magical tool?"
"This is called a compass," Aoko explained. "The red end of the needle always points north. You can use it to check your direction anytime."
The Tarnished found it quite fascinating. After fiddling with it for a bit, he understood how the magical tool worked.
He climbed onto Torrent, said goodbye to Aoko, and disappeared once more into the blizzard.
Aoko didn't bother playing babysitter any longer. The Tarnished had given her the teleport coordinates to the Consecrated Snowfield, and she had provided him useful intel. Neither owed the other—this was a healthy adult-level cooperative relationship.
There weren't many things in the Consecrated Snowfield worth her time, but that hidden sorcerer's tower piqued her interest.
Inside was a Magic Scadutree Talisman, deeply connected to the School of Origins—immensely valuable to both her and Sellen.