Volcano Manor Location and Walkthrough - Elden Ring Guide - IGN (2024)

Volcano Manor is a Legacy Dungeon you can encounter in the Mt. Gelmir area in Elden Ring. It contains many challenges and dangers, an extensive sidequest, as well as a demigod boss. This page will contain walkthrough and guide information on how to reach Volcano Manor, all the treasures and items that can be found inside, tips for navigating the dungeon, and how to defeat its fearsome bosses.

Sections in this Page

• How to Get to Volcano Manor
• How to Access the Volcano Manor Dungeon
• Volcano Manor Walkthrough
• Prison Town Church
• Guest Hall
• Godskin Noble Boss Fight
• Temple of Eiglay
• Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy Boss Fight

How to Get to Volcano Manor

Important Note: If you met the strange woman Rya while exploring Liurnia near the Bird's Eye Telescope, and got her necklace back for her, she'll be waiting for you at the top of the Grand Lift of Dectus at the Altus Plateau, and offer to warp you straight to the Volcano Manor to meet her mistress. This can make things a lot easier than undertaking the dangerous climb through Mt. Gelmir. See how to complete Rya's Questline here.

If you read our guide to completing the Academy of Raya Lucaria you may have seen our warning about the Abductor Virgins. Getting killed by one of these enemies causes them to bring you to the Volcano Manor basem*nt, and we will be using that event as a shortcut to get to the manor itself. Once you get abducted and arrive in the basem*nt of the manor, use our How to Escape the Aubductor's Inquisition Chamber to defeat the two Virgin Abductor Bosses beyond the site of grace to get out and rest at the Seethewater River Site of Grace.

From here, we have a long ride to the manor which will take a past a number of nasty foes. Go directly north from the Site of Grace, into the canyon path. As you ride keep an eye out for the Golden Seed on the left side of the path, and grab as much Volcanic Stone as you can as you ride through. Just look out for the lava geysers that are scattered all over the ground. Take the left path at the split and it should bring you directly to the Seethewater Terminus Site of Grace, which lies in the shadow of Fort Laiedd.

Ride up to the fort, but instead of going in ride south across the massive pool of lava. Stick close to the left wall because a Magma Drake will spawn as you try to pass through. Torrent will take damage from the lava as you ride so don't forget to drink a Flask if you get low.

Stay to the left on the other side of the lava and you will ride between some cliffs and into a graveyard where you can get some Golden Rune if you like. Keep following this path and you will pass by an enemy ambush that includes a powerful Rune Bear. As long as you keep sprinting none of them should be able to catch you, and you will be able to find the Craftsman's Shack Site of Grace just up ahead.

Our next bit of scenery is the Hermit Village. Leave the shack and continue up the path and through the ramparts, being sure to avoid the Abductor Virgin on the left. Ride through the village gates and straight between all the houses, only stopping to get items if you think its safe. On the opposite end of the tower you will see a boss waiting for you: Demi-Human Queen Maggie. Ride directly past her and her crew of mages and grab the Primeval Sorcerer Azur Site of Grace that is hiding just behind her. You can also speak to the sorcerer to get the Comet Azur spell.

From here you are going to ride along the natural stone bridge next to the Site of Grace and leap down to the cliff on the other side. Here you will find the Gelmir Hero's Grave dungeon, feel free to pop inside and activate the Site of Grace here if you like.

Exit the Hero's Grave and continue your ride north. You will quickly come across another massive natural bridge, as well as some ramparts with a siege machine looking over them. Climb into the siege machine if you want to loot the Pulley Bow inside, but otherwise ride over to the natural bridge and cross over to the other side.

On the other side you will find a dilapidated camp at the foot of a cliffside, with a tall ladder strung up the side of it. As you approach the ladder a Grafted Scion will fall down to defend it. You may be able to bait it away from the ladder then run and climb it behind its back, but its much easier to just defeat it. Keep in mind that most of its attacks are multi-hit combos that end with a powerful slam, so make sure you aren't attempting to attack or guard counter until the combo is over. Any time the Scion rears up on its back legs it is about to unleash a powerful attack, so get back and keep your shield raised. Defeat it to claim its Scavenger's Curved Sword as your reward.

Climb to the top of the ladder and you will immediately spot another ladder on the cliff wall to your left. Climb this one and you will arrive at a small merchant's camp. He sells Stonesword Key, Nomadic Warrior's Cookbook 20, and a variety of armor and ammunition. Buy anything you might need, then climb the ladder behind him to proceed.

We are nearly at the top of the mountain, but we find ourselves in a precarious spot with soldiers all around. From the top of the ladder you should be able to see a sword monument on the hill ahead of you. Climb onto Torrent and ride directly for that monument, running and jumping past any nearby soldiers. Look over the cliff behind the sword monument and you will see a wooden bridge and the Ninth Mt. Gelmir Campsite Site of Grace on the other side. Jump down to the bridge, cross over, and rest at this Site to reset the enemies.

Nearly there, I promise! But not before we encounter our most dangerous foe yet. Climb onto Torrent once more and use the nearby Spiritspring to leap to the top of the mountain where you will immediately encounter a boss: the Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast. We do not want ANYTHING to do with him, so immediately turn yourself west and look for the long natural stone bridge that juts off of his mountain top. Ride across and jump for your life to land on the mountain below.

But you aren't out of danger yet! As soon as you land you will be set upon by a few marionette soldiers. Keep riding down the hill and you will see another gold tree with a Golden Seed underneath. Grab it then immediately look to your left where you will see the Volcano Manor in the distance. Drink a Flask to get your health back and ride straight for it. Ignore the troll standing guard and run straight into the front door. Congratulations, you made it!

Note: the area map and the Road of Iniquity Site of Grace are located on an obscured path underneath the Volcano Manor. Once you've activated the Site of Grace inside the manor be sure to go get these as well.

How to Access the Volcano Manor Dungeon

Similar to the Academy of Raya Lucaria, getting to Volcano Manor does not automatically grant you access to the dungeon within. First you will need to do a little talking to the head of the house, Lady Tanith. She will ask if you want to join the Volcano Manor in its mission against the Erdtree. Say yes, and she will hand over the Drawing-Room Key, granting access to a few of the rooms within the manor.

From here, you have a two different options to proceed. You can enter the Drawing Room and grab the Letter from Volcano Manor off the table, beginning the assassination missions sidequest. There are three in total, and if you complete them all you will be able to jump straight to the boss of Volcano Manor, Lord Rykard. However, you will not have access to the final assassination target until after you complete Leyndell, Royal Capital.

For now you need to do the first two missions, being sure to speak to Lady Tanith and her servant girl between each quest. Eventually she will reveal the location of the secret entrance to the dungeon, but if you don't want to do all that right now, feel free to skip directly to the walkthrough below.

Not technically part of the dungeon, but if you enter the dining hall on the second floor of Volcano Manor you will be invaded by Inquisitor Ghiza. Killing him will get you his Ghiza's Wheel weapon, and there is a body with a Smithing Stone [6] nearby.

Volcano Manor Walkthrough

With the Drawing-Room Key in hand you can access the rooms in the hallway of the volcano manor. Open the first door on the right and you will find a small room with a dead body in the corner. This body is meant to serve as a hint to then location of the hidden entrance. Loot the body to receive a Perfume Bottle, then roll into the wall with the red painting on it to dispel the illusory wall.

The secret passageway behind is dark, so equip a Lantern or Torch to light the way as you walk through. There are a couple of weak snails guarding a Budding Horn x3 in the first large room. Ignore the nearby staircase for now and exit out the doorway. Run to the end of this hall, through the snail ambush, to find the Nomadic Warrior's Cookbook 21 at the end. Roll into the wall next to the item to reveal another illusory wall, then loot the body inside to get the Depraved Perfumer Carmaan Ashes.

Return to the staircase in the first room and go down to reach another large room with a Bloodhound Knight inside. Sneak up on him and kill him to get the Fireproof Dried Liver he is guarding. With the knight dead you can exit out the corner room and follow this hallway to reach the Prison Town Church Site of Grace.

Prison Town Church

Exit the church via the door in the back and you will find yourself on a cliffside overlooking the mountain crater. To the left is a shortcut we can't access yet, so go right toward the village where you will encounter a man-serpent. These enemies seem to be a basic sword and shield type but you will quickly see they can stretch out their bodies to extend their range, and bite you to inflict poison. Still, they can be backstabbed and guard countered fairly easily.

Next we will explore the town, staring with the rooftops. Jump onto the roof the man-serpent was watching over and you will see another man-serpent stalking a roof ahead of you. Kill him, then jump to the hexagonal roof nearby. Below this you can see a roof with two weak enemies on it connected to another via a wooden bridge. Drop down, kill the enemies, then grab the Golden Rune [5] on the bridge.

Look above and you will see an enemy throwing poison bombs down on you. Ascend the nearby roofs and kill him, then the man-serpent who comes rushing down after him. Go up to the next roof and look to the left where you will see a Golden Rune [9], then kill all of the enemies on this roof. It will make things easier when we drop to the ground later.

From the spot where you found the Golden Rune [9], drop down to the roof below and look down and you will see an item on an awning below. Drop down to grab the Smithing Stone [5].

From here we will finally drop down to the street. Note the powerful Omenkiller staring at the fire. Crouch and drop down and you can get a backstab on him to start the fight, but be warned this may alert the dog patrolling the alleyway on the right as well. Pay attention to when the dog turns around before engaging.

As for the Omenkiller, he will swing his cleavers around wildly but has no shield to defend. He is very susceptible to backstabs. Just look out for this fire breath which leaves damaging flames on the ground, and his overhead slam (which he will execute three times in a row, roll away!). Defeat him to claim his Great Omenkiller Cleaver , then grab the Drawstring Fire Grease and Golden Rune [6] from the bodies near the fire.

Ascend the stairs behind the fire and look for the open prison door, head inside to find the Erdtree Seal. Next go back to the alleyway where we saw those dogs earlier. Kill both of them and exit through the archway on the other side to arrive on a ledge that overlooks the lava. Descend the wooden staircase that juts off the ledge and you will be able to see an item sitting on a crumbling wooden ledge below.

If you get a running start this jump is BARELY doable. Make sure you are at full health before you attempt it. If you make the jump a Stonesword Key is your reward and then you can jump to the hardened rock platform behind you. If you fail, you should land safely on those same rocks.

Either way, it's time to explore under the town! Round the corner and you will find yourself looking at a graveyard with lava running through it. There are Soldjars scattered around, some regular and some of the exploding variety. Jump to the small island in the middle of the lava to get a Smithing Stone [6]. Look for the large Soldjar nearby and kill him to get the Smoldering Shield he is guarding, then hop up onto the ledge above him to get a Golden Rune [9].

Once you're done looting the area look for the upward sloping path on the opposite side of the graveyard which will let you climb over some houses and back to the alleyway (just jump carefully or else you might end up in the lava below. You can teleport out of the lava and back to the Prison Church assuming you don't have any aggro).

This time take a left and exit the town through the front gate. Go up the stairs and you will see a Stonesword Key door, but ignore that for now we have to come back anyways. Go up the stairs on your right instead where you will encounter an Abductor. Draw it down onto the platform by the Stonesword Key door to give yourself some extra room and try to bait out its grab so you can hit its weak point. Remember to completely run away if it executes its spin attack!

With the Abductor dead you can ascend the stairs, grabbing the Fire Arrow x10 being guarded by the dog at the top. On the roof immediately to the right of the arrows is a Scarab that drops a Somber Smithing Stone [5]. Keep ascending the stairs, kill the dog trying to ambush you, then look to the right and see a building with a hexagonal roof. Climb this building and find a Smithing Stone [6] at the top. Jump back down to the ground and keep following the path backwards. You will see an alleyway with three dogs on your left, kill them to get a Furlcalling Finger Remedy.

Now that we have arrived back where we started its time to go back down the stairs and open up that Stonesword Key door, but beware! There is another Abductor immediately inside. Thankfully this one doesn't seem to aggro until you get close so you have time to prepare for the encounter. Once it is dead, climb the stairs and kill the enemies on the platform overhead to claim the Crimson Amber Medallion +1.

Exit this building and cross the nearby bridge, then kill the serpent guarding the door to this new building. The front door is locked, so go to the left and jump over the railing and onto the roof where you will find an Albinauric Bloodclot. Jump the next railing where you will find the open side door.

Inside are a number of defenseless enemies, one of which is guarding a Beast Blood in one of the corners. Once you've cleared the room you can approach the front door and unlock it to open the shortcut. Exit the front door and check the opposite side of the house where you will see a ladder that goes up to the roof. Around the corner is a serpent guarding a Smithing Stone [4]. Go back to the ladder and get on the roof. Go straight ahead and look down and you should see a ledge below.

Drop down and immediately crouch, then walk in the door. You should see an item on the table to the left, and an Omenkiller in the corner. Sneak up on him to get a backstab for an easy battle, then grab the items: the Albinauric Staff and Albinauric Mask. Exit the room through the door on the right side which leads you to a ladder. Climb up to find yourself on a balcony with a Golden Rune [10].

Go back down the ladder and jump off the balcony to get back inside the building. Descend the stairs here, looking out for the strange crawling creatures that rush toward you. If they grab you they will deal significant damage. There is a Golden Rune [9] under the bottom staircase, guarded by more enemies. Head through the door near the bottom of the stairs where a hanging enemy will alert the room to your presence. Get ready to be rushed by more crawling enemies.

When the room is clear you can explore the area, finding the serpent and Explosive Greatbolt x5 on the balcony, and the Guest Hall Site of Grace in the small room.

Guest Hall

Exit the Site of Grace room and look for the closed double doors nearby. Open them and you can either drop from the ledge or use the ladder to your left to reach the area below. This area is mostly filled with weak slugs and solider enemies so feel free to kill them at your leisure or just ignore them entirely.

Go right as soon as you land and check around the side of the Guest Hall building to find some slugs guarding a Fireproof Dried Liver. Turn around go forward up the sloping path between the mountainside and building ahead of you. Use this to get on top of the building where you can grab a Somber Smithing Stone [6].

From up here you can see an altar in the lava below with a Golden Rune [9] on it. Past the alter you will see a set of stairs on the right and a low hanging building on the left. Get on top of the building, then jump to the long wall adjacent to it. Run along the wall to reach a new roof with a Golden Rune [6] on it.

Go back to the stairs and go up them to reach the platform at the top where you will encounter a new man-serpent, this one wielding a whip. This enemy is more annoying than the sword variety due to their wild attacks and longer range. Stay in shield until the lizard concludes its random swinging, or try and get a sneaky backstab.

Directly below this platform is a Magma Drake mini-boss. You can reach the area by taking the cage elevator behind the serpent, or just dropping down. This drake is stronger than the ones you have encountered before, made extra annoying because of the limited space. If you are going to try and battle it be sure to draw it onto one of the larder platforms to give yourself space to move around.

The rewards for defeating this drake are incredibly lackluster (Dragon Heart, Smoldering Butterfly x6, Smithing Stone 7, small amount of souls) so only bother if you really need the Dragon Heart. With that done take the lift back up to the serpent platform, then take the next cage elevator up to another platform high above. To the left is a staircase guarded by a perfumer, but go left first and grab the Somber Smithing Stone [5] hanging off the cracked ledge.

Go back to the stairs and battle the perfumer. These guys have some powerful attacks and magic, but they leave themselves wide open after their slam attack or when casting a spell. Look out for the black flame explosion spell, then strafe around the land a critical back stab. At the top of the stairs ignore the chapel and go left where you can pull the giant level to bring the bridge up, creating a shortcut back to the Prison Church Site of Grace. You're gonna need it because next up is...

Godskin Noble Boss Fight

Given the relative easiness of the final boss of Volcano Manor, the Godskin Noble might as well be the true boss of this area. He is a powerful foe who uses a mix of quick melee attacks and black fire magic, and his surprising speed lets him cover long distances quickly. It can be hard to figure out when you can possible get an attack in, especially when he enters his even more erratic second phase.

It is kind of cheesy, but remember to make use of the many pillars in this room. They may be an inconvenience when you are moving around, but they can also be an asset in blocking his attacks and getting a moment to heal and restore your stamina. Always be aware of your surroundings and if you find yourself needing a moment to rest try and position a pillar between yourself and the Noble. Just don't stand too close, because his thrust attacks can still hit you through them!

First things first, you're going to want a 100% physical block shield, even better if it has the Barricade Shield ability. Keep your shield up and keep an eye out for a few different attacks:

• Circular swing into forward jab: This one is very obvious thanks to the exaggerated way he swings his sword in a circle for the first hit. Block the circle swing, then guard counter the jab, or roll toward him then sneak in 1-2 attacks.
• Hilt slam: this one is dangerous due to the high damage, but very punishable. He will raise the sword hilt above his head and lift his foot, before slamming the hilt into the ground. He almost always does two slams, so dodge roll into him at the moment of him impact to avoid the damage then get in an attack or counter.
• Lunge and jab: he usually does this one if you are in the mid range. He does an exaggerated stutter-step to moev forward, then does one quick jab. Block it and guard counter.
• Backhand punch: probably his simplest move, the Noble will slowly pull his arm back and twist his body, then swing at you with the back of his hand . Block this for an easy guard counter.

If he summons the ring of fire you want to roll out as quickly as possible. Do not risk getting trapped inside with him as the flames can stagger you, opening you up to more attacks. Also keep an eye out for his fireball attack. If you see him charging it up start moving forward. Dodge the fireball as it soars toward you and you might be able to get in one attack as he's waving the fire from his hand.

Around half health he will float into the air and charge himself up with a fiery explosion before entering phase two, so back off to avoid the damage. From here he will almost always open with one of his new attacks by inflating his body, which will push you away, then either roll around the room like a wheel or slowly float into the air before slamming down. The float can be easily avoided by just backing off or dodging at the moment of the impact, but the roll is a little more complicated. Your best bet is to try and weave between the pillars and hope he repeatedly bumps off of them and misses you, but you can also just follow his movements and dodge roll any time he gets close or block if you have enough stamina to hold up.

In this phase he switches up his combos a little but you can mostly keep an eye out for the same attacks. Another easily punishable attack at this point is his powerful forward thrust. He will telegraph this attack by raising his sword above his head, then pointing it forward and down. He will lunge forward powerfully, leaving himself wide open for a few seconds after.

HOWEVER, do not confuse this move with his rapid thrusts. Before the rapid thrusts he will hold is sword vertically in front of himself for a moment, then let loose a flurry of thrusts which will easily break your guard then kill you. This is probably his most dangerous attack since you only have a moment to recognize it and react, but you will want to roll away or to the side as quickly as possible.

As always BE PATIENT. Wait for the right openings and keep yourself healthy as much as possible. Wear the Noble down with these strategies and you will be rewarded with his Godskin Stitcher and Noble Presence, the Serpent's Amnion key item, as well as a new Site of Grace, the Temple of Eiglay.

Temple of Eiglay

Left of the Site of Grace and altar you will see an elevator you can ride up to the upper level of the temple. Run around the second floor and you will find a Golden Rune [9] in the back. Next walk out onto the outdoor balcony and look down over the edge and you will see a rocky platform covered in more lava slugs. Drop down, then look for the hidden path behind the nearby Stake of Marika which leads to a Golden Rune [12]. Cross the thin river of lava and you will find a body with Smoldering Butterfly x4.

Go up the path and cross the natural bridge that is guarded by four lava slugs. You will find a Furlcalling Finger Remedy on the other side, then down onto the rocks below where you can continue climbing up to the next level of the volcano. You find yourself looking at a lake of lava, with a set of large buildings to your right. Cross over the lava and you will encounter another Abductor. You can fight it, or just ignore it and jump through the open window behind it.

You will find yourself in a large dark room with a broken floor. Open the door to your right, then look toward the nearby ledge where you will notice a ladder peeking up over the edge. Climb down the ladder where you will find a Drawstring Fire Grease x4, and encounter some more of those crawler enemies as well as two mages. Clear the room then check the prison at the bottom to find Missionary's Cookbook 6

Go back up the ladder and through the door we opened earlier. Here you will encounter a new special man-serpent with a fiery sword that can leave damaging flames on the ground. The basic strategy here remains the same but do NOT stand in the fiery remnants or you could get chain stunned into a quick death. Go up the stairs behind the serpent and you will find yourself in another dark room full of crawlers.

Go through the door to the left of the entrance and you will find an elevator that goes back to the Temple of Eiglay, but you might notice something else as well: a hidden doorway in the elevator shaft, just below the top. Run through the door as the elevator goes past and you will find a secret room with one weak soldier enemy and a Stonesword Key.

Exit this room through the open window to get back outside, then walk along the lava and around the corner to find an Ash Scarab that drops a Somber Smithing Stone [5] when killed. Behind you is another thin rock path that goes underneath some overhanging snake statues. Walk along this path to find another hidden room that is full of basilisks, but beware the two serpent-men hiding in the lava waiting to ambush you. Draw them out and kill them first, then carefully take on the basilisks. You will probably want to draw them out rather than try and fight them all in that small room. Once you've killed them all you can grab the Somber Smithing Stone [6] they were guarding.

With all of those enemies out of the way make your way back to the window you came out of and you will see another doorway on the opposite side of the lava. This will lead you to a ledge with a ladder that brings you back up to the walkway above. Here are a bunch of zombies whose heads explode into poison when killed, so be careful around them. There is also another serpent-man with a whip, but this time it is a fire whip making things even more dangerous. He will swing the whip around spreading lava pools everywhere, so just wait for him to get bored of that any approach you before fighting. Once the enemies are all out of the way walk out onto the top of the aforementioned snake statues to find a Commoner's Headband.

Before we go through the door behind the whip serpent we need to make one last detour for an item. Go back to the bridge where you encountered that serpent with the flaming sword then peek over the edge. You will see another secret ledge with an item on it below. Drop down to grab the Crimson Tear Scarab.

Behind the fire whip serpent is an entrance back into the manor. Cross through the first room and open the door in the corner to reach what looks like the throne room. Here you will see a bunch more of those poison zombies, kill them immediately when you walk in and you can grab the Man-Serpent Ashes they were guarding. Next turn your attention to the two serpent-men up the stairs, and the serpent mage in front of the throne. Draw them out one by one and fight them at the bottom of the stairs, then you can ascend to the throne and kill the serpent mage. He has a lot of health, but is relatively nonthreatening as long as you get in his face and prevent him from casting any spells. Just beware his slow head slam attack. Killing him will get you the Gelmir Glintstone Staff.

Through the door behind the throne is a teleporter to the boss, but we don't want to go just yet. Instead take the stairs opposite the throne up to the back of the room where you will find a doorway leading to a Stonesword Key door. Use your keys to open the door and head inside to find yourself at the top of a dark room.

It seems like you need to jump across the hanging cages to reach the bottom of the room but that is bait! Instead look over the ledge to the right of the door and you will see a platform lit up below you. Drop down and enter the nearby door to get into a dark hallway occupied by some serpent-men. Go up the stairs and out the door back into the dark room, where you can walk along what remains of the floor to reach the Dagger Talisman. From here drop down to the cage below, then again onto another broken floor with a mage and a Rune Arc.

Now you can drop down the rest of the cages and make your way to the bottom of the room. The bottom floor is absolutely riddled with those crawling enemies so be ready for an ambush upon landing. Carefully kill all of them then you are free to explore the room. On one end, you will find a door that leads to a lit up room where you can loot the Ash of War: Royal Knight's Resolve. Exit this room and follow the path all the way to the end and you will open up a shortcut back to the Volcano Manor lobby.

Return to the dark room and check the opposite side where you will find a Seedbed Curse, a key item you should show to Dungeater. Go through the nearby door and you will find yourself on a balcony overlooking the Prison Church area, guarded by another Abductor. There is also a Somber Smithing Stone [7] hanging over the edge. With that we have completed our exploration of the volcano manor.

Make your way back to the throne room and take the teleporter to the Audience Pathway Site of Grace.

Before taking on Rykard make sure you have completely exhausted all of the dialogue of all the NPCs in Volcano Manor, and completed all of the assassination side quest missions if you want.

Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy Boss Fight

Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, is one of the major bosses and the leader of Volcano Manor. He seems to have been human once, but has since fused his body to the God-Devouring Serpent in hopes of devouring all the other gods.

Rykard is more of a fun fight than a challenging fight, similar to the Storm King from Demon's Souls and Yhorm the Giant from Dark Souls III. Upon entering the boss chamber you will find a dead body holding the Serpent-Hunter weapon. This weapon unleashes massive power when used against Rykard, making this fight (mostly) a breeze.

This fight is mostly trivialized by the Serpent-Hunter, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't strategize. If you have a lot of Somber Smithing Stones you can use them to upgrade this weapon to make it more powerful. I recommend pairing the spear with a 100% physical block shield that has the Art of War: Barricade Ash on it. This will let you block and attack at the same time.

The first phase of this fight is against the God-Devouring Serpent. Because of the Serpent-Hunter's long range you don't need to get all that close to hit him, and you wouldn't want to anyways because of the magma. Find a spot where your light attack can hit the snake's head, then put up your shield and start swinging. The light attack takes very little stamina, so you should be able to attack a long time without stopping.

The only concerns in this phase are his grab, which he telegraphs by opening his mouth wide and roaring and his poison breath which he telegraphs by leaking poison smoke from his mouth. You shouldn't be very close to the snake anyways, so just back up a little more if you see either of these attacks coming. When the coast is clear move in again and keep attacking until phase one is over.

In phase two Rykard will reveal his true form and equip his disgusting sword. From here on Rykard will execute a mix of sweeping sword attacks (which are easily dodged with well-timed rolls, note the pause between his slam and sweep attack), explosive spells (which you can see coming, run or roll away between attacks), and snake head jabs, all while inching towards you.

Thankfully the strategy from phase one works just as well here, as long as you mix in a few more dodges when the spells come raining down. With good luck you can actually damage Rykard down and kill him before he can really cause any trouble, but the worst case scenario is when he summons the red magic cloud above himself which causes numerous homing spells to start chasing you down.

This combination of attacks becomes very hard to dodge, and you're almost better off just dying and hoping it doesn't happen next time. If you do manage to survive the barrage he will raise his sword skyward and slam it down with one last powerful attack before the cloud dispels.

But like I said, that is worst case scenario. Follow the strategy from phase one: shield up, light attack spam. You will block almost all of his outgoing damage (especially if you have a shield with Barricade), and only need to worry about taking a few seconds here or there to let your stamina refill.

Killing Rykard will get you the Remembrance of the Blasphemous and Rykard's Great Rune. Activate the Site of Grace, and grab the Eye Surcoat off the nearby body. From here you can return to Volcano Manor and speak with Lady Tanith, completing the manor's chain quest (return to the boss room after speaking with her to see a disturbing final scene).