I narrowed my focus onto one of my fragments positioned near Elyonari far ahead in the mist. The moment my perception sharpened, a knot formed in my chest because the situation was worse than I had hoped.
The giant had become immune to elemental damage.
For anyone else that might have been a difficult obstacle but for Ely, it was a nightmare.
She was a Verdarite, and everything she did was rooted in elemental authority. Right now it was being rendered almost meaningless.
I watched her towering Skyraforma body move across the shattered plains of the Overwrite as she drew her bow again. The arrow ignited with blazing Nature Energy the moment she released it.
The giant simply raised his axe.
The arrow struck the blade with a thunderous crack and for a brief moment, the impact actually shattered the giant's arm at the elbow. It didn't take long before the arm regenerated. The giant rolled his shoulder casually as the arm reformed, as if Elyonari had merely flicked dust off him rather than shattered an entire limb.
Elyonari did not hesitate despite that. Her Skyraforma form lifted both arms toward the sky and the clouds above twisted violently under her command. She summoned a mass of earth from the heavens.
A meteor began to form. Flames wrapped around the colossal sphere as Elyonari ignited it, turning the descending rock into a blazing inferno as it plummeted toward the giant.
The explosion was so violent that the entire Overwrite trembled.
The red sky fractured with rippling shockwaves and the land beneath them cracked. Shattered stone spread in every direction. Even through my fragment's distant vantage point, I felt the violent tremor ripple through the battlefield.
The giant disappeared beneath the blast and for a moment I thought it might actually work. However, the giant stood up from the crater, completely fine.
He threw his head back and laughed.
"You fight well, Verdarite. But I am an immortal giant."
I watched Elyonari's shoulders rise and fall as she steadied her breathing. Even from here I could see the subtle weakening in her massive form.
It has been two hours since the Overwrite was cast and Skyraforma was beginning to fade. Her third phase Divine Transformation was powerful but it was not infinite. Once it collapsed, she would lose the massive advantage in size she had been relying on to keep the giant at bay.
Elyonari drew another arrow but this one was different.
The energy wrapped around it was dense enough that even my fragment felt the pressure radiating from the projectile. When she released it, the arrow flew through the air so fast the space around it distorted violently, leaving a spiraling tunnel of compressed air in its wake.
The giant stepped forward and swung his axe. The blade struck the arrow mid-flight.
The impact detonated with enough force to split the ground beneath them. For the first time the giant actually staggered as his arm shattered again from the recoil. But as usual, it regenerated. He flexed his newly reformed fingers and smirked at Elyonari.
"You are a worthy opponent. However, it's time to end this."
The change happened instantly. One moment he was towering above her and the next, he shrank. The transformation was so fast that Elyonari didn't even react.
But I saw it.
[Ely! Protect yourself immediately!]
She reacted to my warning without hesitation, slamming her palms into the ground as walls of earth surged upward around her gigantic body in seconds.
It wasn't fast enough. A black beam slammed into Elyonari's abdomen.
The defensive earth shattered instantly and the beam drilled straight through her Skyraforma body, tearing through the massive divine form as if it were nothing more than mist. When it faded, Skyraforma collapsed.
Elyonari's gigantic form dissolved as the Divine Transformation shattered under the damage, shrinking rapidly until she returned to her normal height.
There was a hole in her abdomen. It was large enough that I could see straight through her body.
The wound began healing immediately thanks to her Verdarite vitality but blood still spilled from her lips as she coughed violently while trying to stand.
The giant stepped forward. Well, he was no longer a giant. Now he stood at Elyonari's height and his appearance had changed completely.
Long dark hair flowed behind him. His muscular body was wrapped in black armor that radiated a suffocating presence of black energy. The hand axe resting in his grip pulsed with the same power I had seen earlier when Veneri fought his humanoid form.
Elyonari pushed herself upright, coughing blood as she grabbed her bow again. The fight resumed instantly.
She fired arrows, each one carrying elemental forces as wind boosted their speed and flames wrapped around their tips. The humanoid giant walked through them. The arrows struck his armor and shattered.
One of them hit his shoulder and detonated with enough force to tear open the ground behind him. He didn't even flinch. He closed the distance before Elyonari could reposition, swinging his axe downwards that forced her to leap backward just in time to avoid losing her head.
The second the blade struck the ground, a shockwave hit the Overwrite. Elyonari landed and fired again, this time channeling wind and earth simultaneously to create a barrage of razor-sharp stone shards on the ground. The spikes impaled him before they shattered uselessly against his body.
He grabbed her by the throat before she could retreat again. My entire consciousness flared with panic.
"Ely!"
He slammed her into the ground.
The impact shattered the earth beneath her body. Her bow slipped from her grasp as the axe came down again. She rolled barely in time. The blade carved a deep trench where her torso had been.
She kicked off the ground and spun back to her feet, summoning a whirlwind around herself to force distance between them. He simply walked through it.
His hand shot out and caught her arm and he threw her.
Elyonari's body slammed into the ground so hard the earth shattered beneath her. She tried to stand again but he kicked her in the ribs before she could finish rising.
The crack of breaking bones echoed through my fragment's perception. My hands clenched instinctively even though my true body was far away.
[I'm coming to help you—]
[No! Stay where you are, Phae.]
He grabbed her again and slammed her into the ground once more. The force sent a tremor through the battlefield. She groaned as she rolled away and summoned a burst of flames to force him back, but the fire harmlessly went over his armor. Elemental attacks did nothing on him.
She fired another arrow point-blank into his chest. It shattered.
He punched her across the face.
The impact sent her flying across the ground.
I felt rage building in my chest as I watched her struggle to rise again. She suffered from intense injuries while her healing fought desperately to keep her body functional.
[Ely, stop being stubborn. He's immune to everything you use!]
She wiped blood from her mouth and picked up her bow again.
[I know. But this fight is mine. Don't tell Darling about my state. I blocked the Sapphire Bond so he can't feel my emotions. Please.]