Battle with the Darklurker

Have you ever played Donkey Kong Country?

In that game, you meet an NPC that can be visted in certain locations few and far between so that he may give you game hints! After a few helpful tidbits (and knocks on the head), the elderly fellow tells the player to run along now. Some of the knowledge he would impart you might already know, while other messages are far too cryptic to mean anything (at the moment).

Since I've returned to the kingdom of Drangleic in Dark Souls II, I've met a similar character that offers me helpful hints on my journey. Talking to another real player is great; especially when that player is one who 'platinumed' the game. My friend Manny's intimate knowledge of Dark Souls is way more helpful than the wiki. He peered straight into the essence of the soul!

The wiki states that Dark Souls II's statistical data determined the Fume Knight to be the game's toughest boss, which I can personally attest to! Manny, however, claims that the Darklurker is the hardest boss. I beg to differ. I told him my experience with that encounter and he demanded proof, so here it is!

I could have defeated it faster but I guess I took a long time freaking out after it underwent mitosis as I tried to gauge, dodge, and ultimately predict their attacks. Also fire does decent damage! Did anyone know that?!

Sorry about the lapse in time. I did not edit that. That must have been a glitch with the screen capture software but it could not have been more than a few seconds. How do I know? If you may have noticed, shortly before the time in question, I use a life gem. My HP refills but when it's around 85%, that's when it suddenly jumps to 100%. And let's be serious, how long is it going to stay that way during a double boss battle? Hence only a few seconds passed.

Either way, I defeated it in well under 5 minutes.