"I heard you've got a killer move. Mind showing me?"
Elliot pointed his blade at Raiden Shogun, his tone full of arrogance.
Everyone watching was stunned. They all thought he must've lost his mind to dare provoke the god of Inazuma like this.
Even Kazuha's eyes widened. His mouth fell slightly open, and he stood there frozen.
He had thought Elliot was just joking. He never imagined this guy would actually dare provoke Raiden Shogun so blatantly.
Raiden Shogun's expression remained cold as ice, but a flicker of admiration flashed in her eyes.
There were very few who dared speak to her like that.
She raised her blade with icy detachment. Instantly, a thunderous pressure gathered at its edge.
Dark clouds covered the sky. The air itself seemed to freeze.
The immense pressure sent all the surrounding mortals fleeing in terror.
Only Elliot and Kazuha remained.
Kazuha stared at the terrifying blade. He could clearly sense the overwhelming power within it—enough to annihilate all life.
"No..."
Staring at Elliot's unwavering back, Kazuha felt helpless for the first time.
He had always believed his own sword was sharp enough. So he barely trained anymore.
It wasn't just him. Most of the powerful figures in Teyvat rarely trained with the sole purpose of strengthening themselves. They continued their usual work, treating combat as just part of daily life.
But Elliot was different. He treated training as his highest priority, always pushing himself. And because of that, his growth was astonishing.
Yet in front of the god of Inazuma, even a mortal's most dedicated training felt laughably small.
"Let's give up… Elliot…"
"A Vision is just a gift from the gods. If it's taken back, so be it."
"Wishes are easy to let go of..."
"Don't throw your life away for such a small dream!"
Kazuha's voice cracked as he shouted, his eyes red.
The moment he yelled, his Vision dimmed and lost its glow—it became nothing but an empty shell.
A deep despair surged through his chest.
Faced with overwhelming pressure, he couldn't summon the will to resist.
"You seriously think I'll lose?"
Elliot turned to face him.
Kazuha froze, stunned. He looked at Elliot with disbelief—completely unable to understand how a mortal like him could remain so calm and composed under such crushing pressure.
"Alright then... Let me show you."
"My ultimate strike."
Elliot slowly drew his blade, his body slightly bowed. A flash of lightning danced in his eyes as an even more terrifying aura descended like a tidal wave.
In the air above, the collision of two powers shook the sky with thunder. Even space itself trembled.
Boom!!!
A bolt of lightning slammed down onto Elliot.
Crackling thunder exploded around him.
Gripping the hilt of his blade, his clothes and hair whipped wildly in the storm.
"Elliot, you—"
Kazuha was speechless.
"Sorry. Lied to you again."
"I'm actually... pretty strong."
Elliot grinned confidently. Thunder flickered in his eyes.
At that moment, Raiden Shogun unleashed her devastating "Musou no Hitotachi."
As her blade came down slowly, Elliot exhaled a breath and tilted the corner of his mouth upward.
"Lightning Flash…"
Swish!
In an instant—
Elliot vanished.
Clink...
The clean sound of a blade returning to its sheath echoed.
By the time Elliot reappeared, he was already standing safely on the ground.
"Thunderclap Resounds."
BOOM!!!!!
The moment the words left his mouth, a thunderous roar shook all of Teyvat.
A blinding white light engulfed all of Inazuma. The dark night turned instantly into daylight.
Everyone instinctively shut their eyes.
The seas surged wildly. Towering waves crashed in, and even the void split open with a jagged scar.
This terrifying display lasted less than five seconds before it slowly began to fade.
When the light finally vanished, Kazuha snapped back to his senses.
He saw Elliot standing there, perfectly unharmed, a confident grin on his face. He looked effortlessly cool.
"Not bad. You managed to take that hit. But in the end… you're just a puppet."
Elliot spoke casually to Raiden Shogun, a glint of mischief flashing in his eyes.
Raiden Shogun's cold gaze flickered with unmistakable shock.
In the blink of an eye, darkness swallowed the scene.
To Kazuha, it looked like Elliot and Raiden Shogun had simply vanished.
...
"You finally let me in."
"The Plane of Euthymia."
Elliot's grin turned smug.
His plan had worked.
Taking Raiden Shogun's strongest strike was all for this moment—to catch the attention of that reclusive Electro Archon.
And calling her "just a puppet" had been aimed at Raiden Ei.
"Who are you?" For the first time in centuries, Raiden Ei spoke to someone outside herself.
"Just a mere mortal." Elliot shrugged.
"I…"
Before he could finish, excruciating pain surged through him.
The pressure hit like a mountain crashing down, shaking his very consciousness.
"Damn... damn it…"
So it really wasn't going to be that easy…
The karmic backlash hit him the moment he released his full power.
And the worst part—he wasn't prepared.
He had planned to spend two full days reciting a calming mantra before the battle, building his mental defenses.
But then Kazuha got caught as soon as the Vision Hunt Decree began, completely ruining the plan.
At the end of the day, this was all because he gave Kazuha that bottle of wine…
But now it was too late to regret.
Elliot felt like he was drifting in a boundless ocean, and karma was the ghostly hand dragging him down.
No matter how hard he fought, it was useless.
The karmic force this time was far stronger than anything he'd faced before.
Seeing Elliot like this, and sensing the familiar aura of evil around him, Raiden Ei hesitated.
She had pulled him into the Plane of Euthymia just to ask how he knew Raiden Shogun was a puppet.
But now, it looked like that conversation would have to wait.
"Kill..."
"Kill me..."
"Please... quickly..."
Elliot staggered forward, barely holding onto his last sliver of sanity, and begged Raiden Ei.
"Please… kill me…"
Though she didn't know this man, Raiden Ei couldn't bring herself to strike.
Looking into his pleading eyes, she suddenly remembered a friend from long ago—her beloved…
Mikoshi Chiyo.
Once devoured by a serpent-tailed beast, she had torn open the monster's chest and survived.
But in the depths of that abyss, she was tainted by a deep, sinful darkness.
In the end, she turned her blade on Raiden Ei.
Raiden Ei had cried as she severed Chiyo's arm and horn… then let her go.
And now, Elliot looked exactly the same as Mikoshi Chiyo had back then.
"Kill me..."
As Elliot begged again, Raiden Ei finally drew her blade—
And stabbed him in the abdomen.