Then Lora raised [Judgment of the Raging Sea] in her hand. At her movement, several enormous spheres of water formed behind her.
Those water spheres radiated Hydro power, gathering behind Lora and taking shape as an even larger water phantom.
To possess divine power, to wield authority, and to love the people of the world. Those were the divine qualities a god of Teyvat was meant to have. But at this moment, Scaramouche only possessed divine power. He had neither authority nor any love for the people of the world. At best, he was nothing more than a false god.
Shouki no Kami attacked first, but the water phantom swiftly raised its fist and smashed it toward him.
What had seemed like fragile water became incomparably solid once it condensed into a fist. Even Shouki no Kami's power could not destroy it. The blow landed squarely on his body and sent a tremendous quake through the ground.
Scaramouche let out an angry roar, and his thunder-laced counterattack struck the water phantom. Lightning spread rapidly across its body, but it had no effect at all. At the level of gods, so-called elemental reactions meant nothing.
Gods are masters of the elements, not beings controlled by them.
Neither thunder nor wind and snow had any effect. The elemental reactions that seemed like universal laws across Teyvat could not affect battles between gods. Gods were never bound by the elements. What they relied on was themselves.
A battle between gods was ultimately a contest of overwhelming divine power and mastery over authority.
And whether it was divine power or authority, Scaramouche, or rather, Shouki no Kami, fell completely behind Lora in every respect.
Although Shouki no Kami had recovered from a half-body form to a complete one, he still could not defeat the water phantom Lora had created.
Standing in midair, Lora watched Shouki no Kami battle the water phantom and said slowly, "So you cannot even defeat one of my creations, yet you still talk about recreating one corner of the Archon War?"
"Shut up!" Scaramouche roared.
"Every god who survived to the end of that tragedy was more sorrowful than all the rest."
Lora looked at Scaramouche, who was still struggling against the water phantom, and let out a sigh.
"This meaningless battle ends here."
As soon as Lora finished speaking, the water phantom vanished right after punching Shouki no Kami back. Then Lora lifted [Judgment of the Raging Sea] and flew straight toward him.
In her hands, the greatsword was wielded like a one-handed sword. Bathed in blue watery radiance, Lora pierced straight through Shouki no Kami's body.
Then she swung [Judgment of the Raging Sea] in a backward slash, completely bringing Shouki no Kami's life as a god to an end.
Shouki no Kami might well have become the shortest-lived god on the continent of Teyvat. His luck was simply terrible. He had run into Lora.
After putting away [Judgment of the Raging Sea], Lora turned around and returned to Shouki no Kami. She opened the upper hatch, looked at Scaramouche inside, and suddenly asked, "Are you clear-headed now?"
Scaramouche looked dazed and did not answer her.
Lora did not seem interested in pressing the question. She went to Shouki no Kami's core section, shattered the panel there, and looked at the core inside that was continuously releasing divine power before pulling it free.
The moment Scaramouche felt the power of a god leaving him, he immediately began to struggle. He twisted his body, trying to break free of the tubes behind him, but even if he managed to tear himself loose, the core was already in Lora's hand. All he could do was fall in despair.
But Lora felt no pity for his fall.
For the sake of creating a god, the people of Sumeru had endured things far worse than he had. If Lora and Nahida had not been here, no one knew how many people across Sumeru would have paid the price.
It was not that Lora believed Scaramouche's suffering was not suffering. But suffering had degrees. Compared to them, what did Scaramouche's suffering amount to?
After Scaramouche fell to the ground and lost consciousness, Lora turned her attention to the core in her hand.
Nahida also came in from the outer area. Her gaze fell on the core in Lora's hand, and she frowned.
"From the perspective of energy, this core is releasing pure divine power. It really does belong to a god."
"But this is not a Gnosis," Lora said quietly.
"Indeed, it isn't a Gnosis." Nahida nodded and offered a guess. "Perhaps this is something like the remains left behind after the death of a god, which is why it can bear divine power."
Hearing Nahida's guess, Lora gave a slight nod. "Perhaps. This was probably something Dottore gave Scaramouche. There will be a chance to ask him about it later. But right now, the priority is dealing with Irminsul."
Lora took out the Gnosis she had with her. When Nahida saw it, she said in surprise, "The Gnosis of the Anemo Archon and the Gnosis of the Electro Archon are both in your hands? That's unbelievable!"
"It's nothing that unbelievable. Maybe one day I'll ask you for the Gnosis of the Dendro Archon too," Lora said with a smile.
After hearing that, Nahida thought for a moment before saying, "That may take some time. I can't give Auntie the Gnosis of the Dendro Archon right away."
"That's alright. I still have time." Lora nodded slightly.
Then Lora and Nahida jointly activated the power contained within the Gnoses and opened a passage leading to Irminsul.
Scenery flashed past before their eyes, and the two of them entered the final place left behind by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. There, they saw a gigantic pink tree in the distance.
"That is Irminsul," Lora said to Nahida as she looked at the enormous pink tree far away.
Nahida nodded. "Yes, but that is not the true Irminsul. This place is only the final world left behind by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. But it is enough. From here, we can already affect Irminsul."
To reach the roots of Irminsul from where they stood, they had to pass through several eerie stretches of road. Many strange monsters that looked corrupted lurked there, but to the two of them, such creatures were hardly worth mentioning.
Lora crossed those seemingly impassable paths with ease and brought Nahida to the roots of Irminsul.
When emerald leaves drifted down from the sky, when the song of the world rang out through the air, when fresh green grass spread across the earth, the queen of all grasses and trees would descend, bringing enlightenment to humanity with her wisdom.
Before Lora and Nahida, light gathered and a figure appeared.
"It has been a long time, Egeria."
The person stepping out from the light spoke those words.