Aaru Village.
Candace sensed something was amiss the moment the three Abyss figures appeared. The trembling earth, swirling sandstorms, and God-level aura...
Was Sumeru's tranquility finally about to be shattered?
"Uncle Anpu, has everyone returned?"
"Except for those still out, everyone has taken shelter in their homes... What exactly is happening out there?"
Even the seasoned Village Chief had never witnessed such a scene before—a scene that felt like the end of days, filling them with dread.
Candace shared their unease. A terrible thought gnawed at her: could this be connected to the Traveler's plan...?
The village was far from Sumeru City, and they had barely felt the tremors from Rukkhadevata's awakening earlier.
-
Caravan Ribat.
All the residents had taken shelter. The Abyss's three Archon-level combat powers were targeting this place, and even the massive Wall of Samiel couldn't hold back the swirling yellow sand.
The Sumeru residents huddled in their rooms, trembling with fear. The soldiers of the Corps of Thirty stationed here lacked even the courage to raise their weapons in the face of such overwhelming pressure.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata bypassed the Wall of Samiel entirely, advancing deep into the desert on her own initiative.
The battlefield shouldn't be here. Only in the desert could she minimize casualties among the people of Sumeru.
-
Player World.
Rukkhadevata resolutely charged onto the battlefield, a wave of ominous premonitions washing over the players.
They had witnessed the Abyss's three demonic entities emerge earlier. The colossal black serpent, nearly the size of Osial, had already been awe-inspiring enough—not to mention the two figures resembling Malice perched atop its head.
[Here it comes, here it comes! Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's battle scene!]
[I'm so hyped for a grand spectacle of Archon-level combat power, but please, Mihoyo, don't kill off Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!]
[I've realized that no matter how much we flame Mihoyo, they're just doing their own thing, completely ignoring us...]
[Didn't Scaramouche's Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, already set out? Everything should be fine, right?]
[The Abyss again? Seriously? Aren't Venti and Zhongli supposed to hate the Abyss with a burning passion? If the Traveler goes to summon them, they'd surely come, right?]
[We're completely powerless in this situation. All we can do is watch helplessly and worry.]
-
After advancing some distance, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata encountered a massive serpent head-on.
The Abyss forces also halted upon seeing her.
"The long-deceased Dendro Archon of Sumeru... how intriguing," the figure in the black cloak remarked, shoving aside the armored man blocking his path.
"State your purpose," Greater Lord Rukkhadevata demanded, her voice no longer gentle, now sharp with an unwavering will.
"Spare us the pleasantries. Attack!"
The armored monster immediately leaped forward, charging straight at the Dendro Archon.
Caught off guard by the sudden assault, Rukkhadevata reacted instantly.
Green vines erupted from the desert sand, coiling around the armored monster and restraining it tightly.
Though newly awakened and far from her peak strength, Rukkhadevata, as a former member of the Seven Archons and one of the original gods, possessed the Dendro Gnosis, making it relatively easy for her to temporarily hold these foes at bay.
The thick vines tightened relentlessly around the armored monster. But in that instant, a purplish-black Abyss Energy surged outward from the creature, engulfing the vines entirely.
Boom!
An explosion shattered the vines. The armored monster remained unscathed, continuing its relentless assault on Rukkhadevata.
As the Armored Monster attacked Rukkhadevata, the black-robed figure and the serpent beneath it's feet made a beeline for the Sumeru Rainforest.
Seeing this, Rukkhadevata raised her slender hand, drawing power from her Gnosis. With a forceful press, a verdant shield enveloped her and the three monsters present.
"Hah, naive."
The black-robed figure sneered, sweeping it's crescent-shaped scimitar forward with it's right hand. The space before him ripped open in a massive tear, creating a corresponding gap in the shield Rukkhadevata had erected.
The colossal black serpent slithered through the rift, emerging on the other side.
"What?"
Rukkhadevata hadn't anticipated this bizarre ability. Already struggling against the Armored Monster, she had no energy left to deal with the serpent and the hooded figure.
Yet, before coming here, Rukkhadevata had foreseen many possibilities, and this scenario was precisely one of them.
After advancing for some time, the black-robed figure realized they still hadn't reached the rainforest.
"Hmm?"
It raised it's scimitar, vast Abyssal Power coalescing along its blade.
With a violent downward slash, the entire space shattered.
After the space shattered, the black-robed figure found itself and the Black Serpent still in the same spot. It glared angrily at the Dendro Archon, who was protected by a force field shield.
Inside the shield, the battle between the Dendro Archon and the Armored Monster had reached a fever pitch. The Armored Monster seemed to have the upper hand; the Dendro Archon dared not directly block any of its attacks.
Seeing this, the black-robed figure abandoned the conflict. Just as it was about to head toward the Sumeru Rainforest, a colossal figure descended from the sky.
"Beneath the Seven Leaves, may our Lord reign eternal!"
Scaramouche, piloting the Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, blocked the path between the Black Serpent and the black-robed figure, assuming a combat stance.
The black-robed figure dismounted the Black Serpent, drawing it's longsword with it's left hand and pointing it at the Shouki no Kami.
The Black Serpent's colossal body lunged at the Shouki no Kami. Though the mechanical god was enormous, it was dwarfed by the serpent, its entire mass barely the size of the serpent's head.
"Come on, come on! Let's give these people a real show!" Scaramouche roared maniacally, skillfully maneuvering the Shouki no Kami to evade the serpent's snapping jaws. Instead of retreating, he advanced, all four arms channeling Elemental Energy as they unleashed a barrage of attacks against the serpent's colossal body.
The black-robed figure had no intention of joining the fray. It sliced open a spatial rift and was about to step through when an unexpected attack struck it's arm, throwing it off balance. The spatial rift snapped shut instantly.
"Who's there?"
"Where do you think you're going?"
Venti materialized high above the black-robed figure, his emerald eyes fixed intently on the figure below.
His hatred had never truly faded; it had merely been suppressed for lack of a target. Now that these damned creatures had reappeared, Venti's fury ignited once more.
"Barbatos..."
"Correct! Too bad there's no prize."
In an instant, Venti donned his Divine Regalia, raised his hand, and unleashed an arrow charged with immense power toward the black-robed figure.
Unfazed, the figure raised it's curved blade and teleported behind Barbatos, slashing at him with lethal precision.
Barbatos retreated swiftly for a hundred miles, his two small green braids glowing with azure light as he drew back his bowstring once more.
The winds converged upon him, disrupting the black-robed figure's stability. Just as Barbatos released his arrow, the figure teleported away again.
"Damn it..."
Venti's expression darkened. This opponent was far stronger than the previous one.
The black-robed figure clasped the twin blades in it's hands before it's chest. Immense Abyss Power surged forth as it's form rapidly fragmented.