(POWER STONES)
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Sword of Life's Severance!
The Dendro Archon could bring vitality to living things, but he could also use his power to extinguish all life.
This skill was one of the Dendro Archon's few purely destructive abilities, devoid of any mercy or life-giving properties, designed to end all existence.
With Elliot's current strength, a single strike from this sword could make even a Level 40 Earth Dragon drink bitterness!
The divine sword, now stained with blood, pierced through countless spaces, descending upon the Earth Dragon.
From the collapsed rocks, Earth Dragon Araba struggled to rise, his aura significantly weaker than before.
Before he could even fully reorient himself, he suddenly sensed an immense danger. Looking up, he saw the divine sword, radiating endless killing intent, falling from the sky.
In his terror, his very liver and gallbladder felt like they were splitting.
Alarm bells screamed in the Earth Dragon's mind. He had no doubt that if this sword struck him, any form of immortality would be useless.
Kumoko, for example, also had an [Immortality] skill. But that kind of "immortality" wasn't true invincibility; it only prevented death for a short period.
It was completely different from genuine, absolute immortality.
Otherwise, if she were truly immortal, Kumoko wouldn't have had such a hard time fighting him.
Earth Dragon Araba's combat experience was truly terrifying. In that single instant, he judged how to avoid death.
Using Space Magic, he swiftly teleported out of the crater. Just 0.1 seconds later, the spot where he had been standing was instantly pierced through by the sword.
Earth Dragon Araba reappeared hundreds of meters away in a safe zone.
Only then did he get a clear look at the sword's true form: a verdant, ethereal blade, as thin and light as a green leaf, seemingly capable of being blown away by a gentle breeze.
Yet, this impossibly thin, almost paper-like divine sword filled him with immense dread. His back had also been grazed by the sword's energy, leaving a faint bloody line.
What seemed like a long battle had actually transpired in mere moments.
Seeing Araba dodge his ultimate attack, Elliot felt a twinge of regret. It seemed his Divine Spark Awakening was still too recent; his control over divine power wasn't yet perfect. Otherwise, Araba wouldn't have dodged so easily.
But this also proved one thing: Gods were not invincible. Otherwise, back when he fought the Administrator, he wouldn't have been able to injure him with mortal skills.
Of course, the power gap between him and Earth Dragon Araba was still enormous. Don't be fooled by his current Level 25 in this world (Teyvat); the two couldn't be compared directly. A single drop of a god's blood was incomparable to ten thousand drops of a mortal's.
Suddenly, Elliot transformed into his true Earth Dragon form. But this form was different now. He had a pair of wings, meaning he possessed the ability to fly.
That Earth Drake girl, Mirei, who ended up in human society, had evolved into a Light Dragon, gaining an unparalleled advantage.
Elliot's evolution... he wasn't sure what he had become, but it was definitely a species not on this world's standard dragon evolution tree a superior dragon form, perhaps.
His base speed, once a pitiful 9, now exceeded ten thousand. Of course, with his awakened Gnosis, base stats like speed didn't mean as much anymore.
Thump, thump, thump...
In the blink of an eye, Elliot appeared before Earth Dragon Araba. Before the shocked Araba could react, Elliot grabbed his head with one claw and slammed it into the ground.
Then, he began to relentlessly pummel Araba with his other dragon fist. Dragon-types had extremely high magic resistance; the best way to fight them was with physical attacks with fists.
Under this furious barrage, Araba's base HP regeneration couldn't keep up with the damage. His health quickly plummeted.
Just as Elliot was about to deliver the final blow to crush Araba's skull, he suddenly saw the Earth Dragon deactivate all his active skills, including the [Heavenly Scale] that had caused Kumoko so much trouble. This meant Earth Dragon Araba had given up.
Lost was lost. He had nothing more to say. If he had possessed the power to defeat Elliot, he would have just as mercilessly crushed Elliot's skull.
Deactivating all skills, facing death with dignity, preserving the supreme pride of the dragon race that was their way!
"Do you... have any last words?" Elliot asked softly. Seeing Araba like this, as a fellow dragon, Elliot felt a pang of sympathy.
But Araba shook his head. He understood human language; he knew what Elliot meant. But he didn't need pity. Being defeated by a stronger opponent was, in a way, a supreme honor for him. Pity was the greatest insult!
After a moment of silence, Elliot nodded. "As you wish."
The final punch fell, intending to end Earth Dragon Araba. If he defeated Araba, absorbing his EXP would likely grant him a few levels.
Kumoko, at Level 24, had gained four levels from Araba's EXP in the original story, reaching Level 28. For him, it would probably only be two and a half levels at most. Kumoko's [Ruler of Pride] providing such a massive EXP boost was truly enviable.
At the same time, killing and consuming Araba would also grant Elliot the [Kin Eater] title, along with Heresy Magic and Taboo.
Heresy Magic was one of the few abilities genuinely useful to him. After all, he had managed to injure Administrator Kuro's soul with [Requiem of Souls], proving that even divine souls were vulnerable.
Possessing Heresy Magic would give him the foundation to eventually obtain [Heresy Nullification].
Would it be better to spare him and make him my mount? But dragons... they weren't easily persuaded. They feared no death, only pursued honor.
He had also considered, like in the original story, leaving Araba for Kumoko to defeat. But in this timeline, it wasn't necessary.
He himself was an Earth Dragon. Making Kumoko take revenge on an Earth Dragon similar to her companion might actually worsen her inner turmoil.
Besides, in the original story, Kumoko encountered Araba when she was weak and was terrified by him. In this life, she met him (Elliot) first.
So, Kumoko didn't have that same deep-seated fear of Earth Dragons. There was no need to save Araba for her.
And if Kumoko could defeat the Queen Taratect, that would be proof enough that she was no longer weak.
Elliot's fist finally crushed the Earth Dragon's skull.
With Araba's death, Elliot gained two and a half levels, reaching Level 27. He also obtained the [Kin Eater] title.
But he had no time to examine its effects now. He immediately rushed to Kumoko's side.
She was in terrible condition. If not for the powerful mana regeneration from [Magic Supremacy], she probably would have perished long ago.
"Earth Dragon... you saved me... again," Kumoko choked out, her voice filled with emotion. She had been so determined to become strong, yet in the end, Elliot had saved her once more.
"Mm. You owe me twice now. You'll have to pay me back when you get stronger," Elliot said with a smile. Whether she actually paid him back didn't matter; the main thing was that Kumoko was a girl with very strong pride.
She was different from Barbara in that regard. Barbara had a strong sense of responsibility, but having been respected in Mondstadt, her pride wasn't as fiercely guarded.
For Kumoko, dignity was everything. That's why she was so desperate to become strong after humans burned her web they had destroyed a weak creature's dignity.
She knew weak beings had no dignity, so she wanted to become as strong as the Earth Dragon.
But Elliot saving her repeatedly had bruised that pride a little. If Elliot acted magnanimous and said she didn't need to repay him, it would actually make Kumoko feel worse.
"Mm!" Kumoko clenched her little fist-legs. She swore in her heart: Someday, I will become as strong a monster as Elliot!
Elliot gently raised his hand. A fluorescent light glowed, and Kumoko's mangled half-body began to regenerate at a visible rate.
The Dendro Archon was the God of Wisdom, but healing was an innate ability of his. It was different from true resurrection; its effect was to remove most abnormal statuses and restore a portion of health.
While not as powerful as the [Ruler of Mercy]'s instant revival, its advantage was that it had no side effects and could be used indefinitely.
Seeing half her body restored, Kumoko tilted her head and poked Elliot with a spider leg. "Nee, nee~ Elliot~"
"What is it?"
"You turned into a human form before! Quick, teach me how to turn human too~" Kumoko's eyes sparkled with an eager light.
She wanted to become human too! If she became a beautiful girl again, maybe then Elliot would appreciate her more...
And she was sure she'd look great in human form!
Elliot didn't think much about it and replied casually, "When you reach Level 50 and choose the Queen Taratect evolution path, you'll be able to take human form."
However, the Queen Taratect's evolution path only led to a half-human, half-spider form human upper body, spider lower body which was still quite different from Shiraori's full human form.
"Really? That's great!" Kumoko was excited. So, she too could transform into a human like Elliot!
….
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