Dung Eater

## The Loathsome Dung Eater

忌まわしき糞喰い (Imawashiki Kusogui)

The **Dung Eater** is a serial killer NPC in *Elden Ring*.

## Overview

### Background

The Dung Eater once saw guidance and a ring that would appear at the end of his journey. His vision is of a curse he calls the "pox upon life itself" or the "reviled blessing", with everyone sustaining it in despair and their souls not being able to return to the Erdtree. He decided to wear a disfigured armor, resembling the Omen, representing the vision of the landscape of his mind, and his appearance as he wished to see it. He donned his armor with a heavy sun-shaped medallion to represent both the guidance and the ring he once saw.

He assumed he would personally curse all life himself, so he started indiscriminately killing people and defiling their corpses to nourish the pox. In each defilement, the Dung Eater cultivates a Seedbed Curse on a corpse that prevents the dead soul to go to the Erdtree, leaving it forever cursed.

He was eventually captured and publicly hanged in front of an angry crowd, who strongly despise him for his vile crimes. However, killing the Dung Eater only resulted in his revival by grace as a Tarnished, so he was perpetually jailed in the Forsaken Depths below Leyndell, the Royal Capital.

### Game Events

When The Tarnished (Protagonist) travels to the Roundtable Hold, an apparition of the Dung Eater is discovered within, resting and with his bloodlust quenched by his abidance of the pact of non-aggression; but should he feel the presence of his Seedbed Curse within the player, he'll instruct to set his body free from the jail hidden away in the sewer below the capital, with the intention of fully cursing The Tarnished.

If The Dung Eater is released, he will attack and defile Blackguard Big Boggart, and will invade the player when they arrive at the scene. When defeated, Dung Eater will claim something unexpected happened, his blessing was warded off by the protagonist, despite the curse stirring within, a feat no one had succeeded in before.  At which point he has a revelation: he was not the one who could curse the world as in his vision, that's The Tarnished. And the Dung Eater is just a means to get there, and should be doing what his moniker implies — his flesh is the one that must receive the blessing. And so, he tasks his flesh to be defiled with the seedbed curse again and again until the ring he once saw coalesces and is able to defile Order itself,, an act that would cost his life but that he would be proud of.

The player can choose to follow the Dung Eater's will, defiling his body unto a Mending Rune is created, and using it to bring a new age of despair in the end. The Tarnished may also choose to put a stop to his trail of blood by simply killing him in his jail, or to reduce the Dung Eater to a mindless puppet through Seluvis' Potion. Still, perhaps this is a fate too cruel even for a monster like him...

## Character Information

### Basic Info

(inside his jail cell)
 Leyndell, Royal Capital
(summon vs Morgott)
 Leyndell, Royal Capital
(summon vs Mohg)
 Leyndell, Royal Capital
(invader)
Sword of Milos

## Questline Progression

1. Liurnia of the Lakes (Laskyar Ruins)
	* Head north-west from the Site of Grace to find Rya the Scout inside a gazebo and talk to her.
	* Move to north-west again from here to find Blackguard Big Boggart at the Boilprawn Shack and talk to him: select **Give me the necklace** and then **Deal** to be able to buy Rya's Necklace from him for 1000 Runes.
	* After purchasing the item, he'll start selling an infinite supply of Boiled Prawns. Purchase at least one to progress his questline: you'll receive the "Spread Out" gesture and, in turn, Boggart's summon sign will appear at the Ruin-Strewn Precipice Overlook to aid you against Magma Wyrm Makar.
2. Roundtable Hold
	* After touching any Site of Grace in Altus Plateau, the Dung Eater will appear in the western quarter of the Roundtable Hold, past Gideon's study. Talk to him with at least one Seedbed Curse in inventory to receive the Sewer-Gaol Key.
	* *(Optional)* Talking to Roderika, she'll now have a new dialogue option "**There's something you should know**" to warn you of the danger of the new arrival.
3. Leyndell, Royal Capital (Underground Roadside)
	* Drop down the open grate to the left exiting the room and follow the path past the Miranda Flowers to reach the Dung Eater's cell, which is guarded by a Large Fingercreeper hidden underground and some smaller ones hanging from the ceiling. Open the cell and talk to him, selecting **Leave your gaol!**.
4. Leyndell, Royal Capital (Forsaken Depth)
	* *(Optional)* The Dung Eater can now be summoned to aid you against Mohg, the Omen.
5. Leyndell, Royal Capital (Queen's Bed Chamber)
	* *(Optional)* Alongside Melina, the Dung Eater can now be summoned to aid you against Morgott, the Omen King.
6. Roundtable Hold
	* *(Optional)* The Dung Eater has disappeared from the Hold, leaving behind on his spot a message that reads: "**I'll defile you next. Come to the outer moat.**"
	* *(Optional)* Talking to Roderika, she'll now have a new dialogue option "**About the spirits' voices**" to express her relief for the Dung Eater's departure.
7. Leyndell, Royal Capital (Outer Wall Battleground)
	* Visit the moat to the south-east below the capital's ramparts to meet again with Boggart, who now sells an infinite supply of Boiled Crabs too. Talk to him and select **About the Dung Eater**.
	* Reload the area to find Boggart moribund and, after talking to him, collect Seedbed Curse, Blackguard's Bell Bearing, Iron Ball, and Blackguard's Iron Mask from his cadaver. Shortly after, the Dung Eater will invade you and, once defeated, will drop his Sword of Milos.
8. Roundtable Hold
	* The Dung Eater will have now returned to the Hold. Talking to him, he'll instruct you to defile his corpse with the Seedbed Curse.
	* *(Optional)* Talking to Roderika, she'll now have a new dialogue option "**About the spirits' voices**".
9. Leyndell, Royal Capital (Underground Roadside)
	* (Optional) If you don't intend to follow his questline, you can select **Administer Seluvis' Potion** to turn the Dung Eater into a puppet. After his screams have ceased, you're free to kill him to collect his loot without failing the Preceptor's questline.
	* After collecting all five Seedbed Curses, return to him and select **Use the Seedbed Curse**, then collect the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse from his body. Reloading the area, you'll be able to collect the Omen Set too.

## Notes

* The Dung Eater’s name and methods of killing might be inspired by an ancient Japanese myth; it was once believed that a person’s soul was contained within a special organ located in the anus. Demons would tear this organ out of their victims in order to steal their souls.

## Dialogue

* EN
* JP

## Gallery

Dung Eater receiving Grace as he is executed.
## References

1. ↑  Omen Armor: *The heavy, sun-shaped medallion represents both the guidance he once saw, and the ring to which it will one day lead.*
2. ↑  Dung Eater: *Have you ever felt the curse, with your whole being? The pox upon life itself, feared and despised by all. The reviled blessing.*
3. ↑  Omen Helm: *What does it matter, then, if the curse claims it all.*
4. ↑  Seedbed Curse
5. ↑  Dung Eater: *They'll be cursed. Along with their children, and their children's children, for all time to come…*
6. ↑  Omen Helm: *Worn by the Dung Eater, its form is a vision of the landscape of his mind, and of his appearance as he wished to see it.*
7. ↑  Omen Armor
8. ↑  Dung Eater: *You'll be nourishment for the pox.*
9. ↑ Seedbed Curse
10. ↑ As seen on the game's introduction picture
11. ↑  Dung Eater: *Twas a brief respite, I must say.*
12. ↑ Dung Eater: *"I asked you not to disturb me. Be thankful of the Hold's serenity. It is all that keeps your death and defilement at bay."*
13. ↑ Dung Eater: *Go, and unshackle my corporeal flesh. Trapped in the sewer gaol, below the capital."*
14. ↑  Dung Eater: *I can kill you, and defile your corpse. Then the pox will truly be your own.*
15. ↑  Dung Eater: *You warded off my blessing. Despite the curse stirring within you. No one has succeeded in that before.*
16. ↑  Dung Eater: *Then it hit me. That you are, in fact, me. And I...am the Dung Eater. It is my flesh that must receive the blessing.*
17. ↑  Dung Eater: *Give me your blessing. Defile my flesh with the seedbed curse. Again and again. Until it is done. Until a cursed ring coalesces, that may one day defile Order itself.*
18. ↑  Dung Eater: *The rotten fools. My fate was the grandest, most brilliant of them all!*