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87.96% Genshin: The Serenity System / Chapter 95: Big bad frog [3]

Capítulo 95: Big bad frog [3]

For a short moment, the vast cavernous space grew eerily silent, with nothing but the buzzing hum of Azhdaha's body collecting elemental energy serving as a source of sound.

Lumine looked at the people that suddenly appeared out of thin air. She recognized each one of them— after all, they were all valued regulars of the cafe as Isaac would put it.

However, she knew that they were somewhat similar to her, who was pulled to Isaac's cafe via unknown methods.

As Isaac's assistant behind the counter, she often met and talked with them and gained some insights about the current state of the other nations. But when it came to other intricate or detailed questions, they would either not answer or give a vague one.

It was as though they were being kept from answering her honestly.

Although Lumine had found such a thing arduously annoying, she didn't press them on it. She thought that they just had their reasons.

For a while, she thought that that was just the way it is with the mysterious lord of the cafe and his customers...

But now, seeing them suddenly appear and seemingly trying to help her, she just had one thought in mind.

'What the heck...?!'

---

Isaac saw Lumine's baffled expression and could not help but be amused, suppressing the urge to laugh out loud and tease the bewildered blonde traveler. At moments like this, he needs to put his act on.

Gone was the presumptuous barista— it was now time to act.

Shifting his gaze at the behemoth that was very obviously charging up some kind of attack, he quickly glanced at Xiao and nodded.

"Just as planned."

"Yes."

The Conqueror of Demons caught his nod and returned the same gesture. Then, with a sway of his hand over his face, a terrifying demonic mask appeared over it that seems to strike fear into the hearts of all evil.

Holding his jade polearm in one hand, Xiao looked as if he was a demon that came straight from the depths of hell— ready to drag back any vile sinners to the eternal embrace.

'Should I get a mask better than a clown's?'

Seeing Xiao pull up the demonic drip, Isaac internally sighed in envy. Unlike the serious and condemning aura of Xiao's mask, his clown mask back at Fontaine was rather... comical.

Not wasting any more time, he grimaced and pulled out his revolver, prepared to use his Dendro vision.

The sharp contrast between the beastial demon and the posh gunslinger made quite an odd duo, to be honest.

But Isaac paid it no mind. Because at the next moment, the sealed king of the Vishaps yelled in an enraged tone.

"Morax... Even if you bring a whole colony of annoying insects... This does not change anything!"

With a furious growl, the stone dragon stomped to the ground and shook the Earth. Then, subsequently, elemental shards flew from its stone body, transforming into elemental attacks.

Isaac and Xiao, without uttering a word, swiftly moved. They had already planned their strategy and just needed to fight the dragon accordingly— if they do so, then their victory would be guaranteed.

Empowered by his demonic mask, Xiao disappeared in an azure flash and appeared above the stone dragon before plummeting down, delivering a fierce strike.

Before Azhdaha could shift its attention to him, however, another attack was already about to be sent by Isaac.

Holding on to his revolver, he shot six consecutive bullets to the beast. As expected, the normal bullets did nothing against the tough stone hide of the behemoth.

But that wasn't what Isaac was aiming for. Instead, what he was aiming for were the eyes. And it worked— Azhdaha was stunned.

Without wasting any time, Isaac activated his vision and commanded the nearby fauna. It took a couple of moments, but soon, wild thorny vines emerged from the ground and held Azhdaha in place. If one of the vibes broke, then more would just replace it, perpetually locking the behemoth on the spot.

"These...! Argh!"

Simultaneously hit by Xiao and Isaac, Azhdaha furiously shook its body, struggling to move due to the joint effort of the two ants. It then raised one of its massive legs, preparing to send out another powerful stomp, prompting Isaac to gather more vines.

Needless to say, maintaining and creating such constructs drain a lot of mental energy. After all, elemental manipulation is intricately linked to one's mentality.

Fortunately, Xiao was also attacking the behemoth alongside him, as such, its attention was divided.

Infuriated, Azhdaha screamed louder, prompting Isaac to wince. He never got to cover his ears, as such, it has stunned him for a second.

But that was all what the behemoth needed.

"Useless tricks!"

Gathering more elemental energy in its body, Azhdaha started producing more elemental crystal from its stone hide. However, instead of producing small projectiles, they instead concentrated on its mouth.

Seeing this, Isaac's eyes widened. 'It's not going to...'

Before he could finish that thought, the behemoth was already finished charging its breath. From its mouth, a stream of cold wind and ice shot out, freezing a good part of the battlefield.

'This darn frog...!' Swiftly dodging the devastating attack, Isaac silently cursed.

If he wasn't careful, he would have turned to a popsicle at that moment.

Springing back up to his feet, Isaac bit his lip and commanded more elemental energy to surge in his vision— thus commanding more Dendro elements.

Soon, more thick thorny vines sprouted near the behemoth's head and reached for its mouth. They reached up and soon encircled it, forcefully stopping its ice breath.

'This... Is much harder than I thought...' Slightly disoriented by the control of his vision, Isaac looked at his other companions.

Xiao, who has evaded the attack too, quickly made use of Isaac's vines and swooped in for another attack, relentlessly barraging the monstrous stone beast with his jade polearm. Coupled with his Anemo powers, each strike gave the beast a devastating blow.

However, the stone dragon persisted relentlessly, determined to crush the ants. Its powerful body tried hard to move, causing Isaac to drain more and more of his elemental energy. If this continues, then Isaac won't be able to keep this up for more than twenty seconds.

'Agh... When would they start...?' Slightly nauseated, Isaac thought of his other two companions.

But he did not need to think further.

While Isaac was maintaining the vines, he suddenly sensed something behind him. He did not even need to turn his head since he already knew what was happening.

Not far away from Xiao and Isaac, on the rear, Yae Miko and Klee were also preparing their attacks.

Yae Miko summoned several electro constructs around Azhdaha, encircling the behemoth in what was essentially an electron field.

Beside her, Klee was pouring an absurd amount of pyro element into a strange device— no, it was obviously a bomb. The fact that it can take in the elements as a charge should indicate how much damage it would cause.

"Are you ready, little one?"

Yae Miko, who was done setting up her constructs for a powerful attack, looked at the elf beside her with an amused smile.

The little pyromancer looked back at her while holding the new device in her hand. With an excited expression, she nodded.

"Yup! The Dodoko Type-Armageddon is ready! I'm sure that it would have a lot of... Armageddon Flames!"

The crafty fox found that name interesting and decided to ask about it later to the child. But for now, they had to concentrate on the battle.

Turning her gaze back to the trapped behemoth, she nodded.

"Then let us commence."

"Okay!"

With that said, both of them started their part of the plan.

Yae Miko stretched out her hand and sensed all of her constructs present in the field. Then, with them, electro energy started humming around the air as they concentrated above the stone dragon.

The concentrated destructive power of pure lightning would without a doubt leave a devastating blow on the stone dragon.

The crafty fox lingered for a bit, gathering more energy above, before finally letting down divine punishment on the behemoth.

At the same time, the child beside her threw a device the size of her own head towards the stone dragon. It's design was a cute bunny... But the fact that it has a sinister timer made it look comically sinister.

That device emanated an intense amount of pyro energy— enough to set the seas ablaze— yet it was still thrown.

Going back to Isaac, he sensed the electro energy prepared by Yae Miko and knew that the next part won't be pleasant.

'It's time...'

He lingered for a moment then decided to stop restraining Azhdaha. Instead, he concentrated all of his energy around himself and formed a cocoon made of thick vines around his person.

As for Xiao, he too sensed what was about to happen. Once more, he disappeared in an azure flash and appeared far away near Lumine.

"Pathetic!"

Freed from Isaac's restraints, Azhdaha easily broke free from the thick vines. It was just about to unleash another powerful attack, when suddenly, it noticed something roll beneath it.

The stone dragon's frenzied eyes looked at the item and saw a cute drawing of a bunny.

...and a time hitting zero.

- Beep, Beep, Beep!

As the bomb reached its countdown, it started to detonate. Similarly, the concentrated electro energy hovering above condensed and finally struck down, unleashing a powerful divine punishment from the envoy of the shogun.

- Boom!

The strong, destructive force of the bomb caused a catastrophic explosion. However, instead of spreading outwards, the flames instead stayed in the middle while the smoke formed a strange mushroom cloud.

Paired with the condensed and concentrated strike of a destructive lightning, needless to say, the party had dealt significant damage to the stone dragon.

Isaac, on the other hand, was not having a good time. This was because he was currently the one closest to the explosion, as such, he could feel the heat brushing past his face.

'Hot... It's so hot...' Hidden inside his cocoon which was being burned and repaired, Isaac scowled.

The other members, however, were doing much better than him.

Yae Miko and Klee were being protected by Nahida's Dendro shield which was several times stronger than Isaac's, while Lumine and Xiao were being protected by Zhongli's nearly indestructible shield.

Truly, Isaac was the unluckiest one for deciding to stay nearby.

It took a moment for the dust to settle down, but even then, the remnants of the devastating explosion still lingered.

The pyromaniac elf's bombs were just that powerful.

Hesitating, Isaac slowly unwrapped himself and peeked out from his cocoon. Fortunately, the explosion was over.

However...

"What a tenacious frog."

Standing there where it had been earlier, Azhdaha's domineering body stood amidst the sea of smoke around it. The attacks did hit it, but those had only given the ancient behemoth a few shattered regions in its body.

Overall, it was still alive.

Seeing this, Isaac silently cursed. He knew that their attacks could not actually kill it, but still— it was a relatively powerful attack. How could that thing still stand?

Azhdaha, on the other hand, opened its mouth and let out a stream of smoke from its maw. Its crimson eyes are still filled with madness and fury. But now... They were even more profound.

Soon, a menacing voice emanated from it.

"Good... You have selected good champions, Morax. But in the end, they're nothing but insects— no less than you!"

Indeed, the ancient stone dragon was just too powerful for mere vision wielders to defeat. Isaac knows this, and so did the other two people in the cavern.

...or rather three.

He also knew that there were only two ways to defeat Azhdaha; either a God would defeat it, or... another fragment of it, which was still hiding, would come out and stop it.

But it seems like that fragment is taking its sweet time.

'Darn it...' Standing not too far away from the massive stone dragon, Isaac searched his head for any possible solutions.

Then, in a fraction of a second, a bold and daring thought emerged in his mind. 'Hold on...'

Opening his status window quickly, he made sure of something before checking his elemental energy reserves.

'...there's enough.'

Isaac was planning something— a gamble.

'This... This might work!'

This new method he discovered, from observing his vision and one of his skills, would surely help him defeat the behemoth.

However, at that moment, he saw something from the corner of his eyes.

Down in the ground, a water puddle was present that remained from the ice blast attack Azhdaha did earlier. From it, Isaac saw his reflection.

...but why did his reflection look...

Odd?

He should be wearing a face of excitement right now for finding a new method to fight the beast, so why was it that his reflection showed... pity?

Looking at his reflection weirdly, Isaac soon shook his head. He brushed off those thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.

Looking at the stone dragon, he smirked while preparing his Dendro vision.

'Alright, let's go try it.'


next chapter

Capítulo 96: Big bag frog [4]

Lumine looked on to the battlefield, still slightly dazed from the horrific thundering explosion that occurred not too long ago.

Protected by Zhongli's shield, she looked at the figure of Azhdaha and saw that it was still standing despite the heavy blows Isaac and the others had dealt with it.

'What a monster.'

Holding her Dull Blade, she was just about to lunge into battle when someone held her back, preventing her from running to the scene.

"Now's not the time."

Turning her head, she noticed that Xiao, the Adeptus she had met recently, was beside her wearing his mask.

She knew him— after all, he was one of the Adepti that she needed to persuade to defend Liyue. He was also the one who fought alongside her during the battle with Osial.

Xiao's mask, which evokes a sense of dread, had naturally left an impression on her. It made it easy for her to recognize the eccentric Adeptus.

She then asked.

"What's going on? What was that attack just now? And what are you all doing here?"

She was relieved that people were helping her fight the behemoth, yes, but it still boggled her mind why they were here. As for how they were here, she managed to deduce that it was Isaac's doing since it was no secret that he can invite people across different nations to his cafe no matter the distance.

Xiao, still wearing his mask, turned to her and responded.

"Isaac..." He paused and lingered for a bit before sighing. "...Hanged Man... wanted to give each of us a special day as he put it. As such, he arranged this... field trip."

The Yaksha was still reluctant to use the codenames insisted by the other members of the club, it seems. Lumine somehow managed to notice this, of all things.

Tilting her head slightly, words preceded her for a moment.

"So... Hanged Man and the others... just wanted to go out and fight an ancient dragon? That's... one grandiose field trip of yours."

He shook his head, his expression remaining unknown beneath his mask.

"Let's not mind that for now. How are you doing, Traveler?"

Lumine heaved a brittle sigh.

"I'm doing fine. To be honest, I didn't even know if I would win if I fought that dragon on my own..."

She then added. "Well, it's great that I had someone shielding me."

Xiao looked at her and observed the shield surrounding her. Then, his gaze shifted and looked at the man not far from them.

Zhongli, who had been watching the events unfold since earlier, strangely remained calm and neutral the entire time. His deep amber eyes danced around the battlefield and watched the fight with a serious expression.

Noticing the Yaksha's stare, he then turned and looked back at him.

For a moment, silence descended upon the two. The demonic warrior and the refined gentleman... just looked at each other in silence.

Lumine noticed the strange stare between the two of them and immediately pieced together what was happening.

'Right... The Geo Archon, Morax, should have presumedly died. However, a barrier that contained the power of the Lord of Geo is here of all places...'

Lumine knew that the Adepti of Liyue never truly accepted the death of their lord. Some clung to the idea that the Lord of Geo had just decided to go incognito, while some respected his wishes to disappear.

As for Xiao...

Seeing that unmistakable power and aura could not bring more joy to his person.

"I..."

Xiao was just about to say something when Zhongli suddenly stopped him with a shake of his head.

"Now is not the time. Let us discuss this later."

"...yes..."

Truly, the Conqueror of Demons had never once betrayed his loyalty to his lord. For as long as Liyue stands, the solitary demon would continue to purify the lands of defilement and honor his contract to his lord.

However, Zhongli was not finished. He looked back to the battlefield, his deep amber eyes piercing through the smoke, and spoke.

"It seems like your friend— the Hanged Man as you call him— is about to do something."

Following Zhongli's words, both Lumine and Xiao looked back to the ongoing battle.

Then, they saw a figure running up to the behemoth.

Lumine squinted her eyes, trying to comprehend what Isaac was doing.

"He can't... be thinking of facing it head on, right? I don't think that would be wise..."

Well, wise would be the last thing Isaac would describe himself— so he can't blame her.

From their point of view, he seemed to be truly wanting to fight the ancient dragon head on.

---

The fierce and majestic stone body of the colossal dragon shifted, and its crimson eyes narrowed down to the group of people scattered all around it.

After the destructive attack that they had just unleashed upon it, suffice to say, it was enraged.

The madness writhing inside its eyes burned with malice. As an ancient dragon that had witnessed a vast expanse of history, Azhdaha's wisdom persisted even in his maddened state.

It knew that it would only continue to be limited by the seal that still lingered on its being. As such, to dominate and end the fight once and for all, the stone dragon prepared to unleash another devastating attack.

It shifted its body, causing massive tremors and causing yet another rain of debris to the unfortunate people below it. But Azhdaha did not care.

"Let us see, Morax... See who shall prevail to the very end!"

With those words full of indescribable agony and loathing, the demented stone dragon once more dug underground. But this time, it did not attempt to move around the battlefield.

Azhdaha wanted to control it.

After digging underground, Azhdaha buried itself and left only its massive stone tail that resembled a tree on top. Then, that tree started shuddering.

- Hum...

Suddenly, a throbbing low hum started buzzing around the cavernous space, as if the air itself was vibrating. Along with it were the sudden influx of elemental energy that was gathering and concentrating where Azhdaha had dug itself.

They entered the tail and condensed inside, forming elemental crystals on the surface of the stone hide. The colors shifted before landing on one element— Electro.

The first phase of Azhdaha's attacks was already done. This time, he was now more serious.

It was now the second phase.

---

Nahida watched the stone dragon once more prepare another attack. Her opulent green eyes shifted to the other two beside her.

"You two, stay inside my shield. It should be enough to keep us safe for now."

Yae Miko hummed.

"So what's the next step? Did we not anticipate this kind of attack too?"

Nahida nodded.

"Yes— it's just as Isaac had predicted. Azhdaha would now be unleashing powerful attacks while hiding its body underground... Leaving it stationary and vulnerable."

Klee took out another bomb from her backpack. This time, it was not as big as the one she had detonated earlier.

"Do I need to throw another one, Nahida?"

The white-haired elf shook her head.

"There's no need. We've already done our part... Err... Shredding the first phase, as Isaac would put it. Now, we just need to wait for Isaac, Xiao, and Lumine to finish it."

Isaac had given as much information as he could do the little radish to make sure she has a great idea of the battle. Sure enough, having a well-informed strategist was a great boon to any group.

Nahida then continued, a worried expression creeping up her face.

"As for us... we just need to wait and hope that they won't be too seriously injured."

The Inazuman envoy sighed.

"So we're reduced to a response team now? How... Dull."

"Hehe, yes. But let's just put our trust in them for now."

Looking back at the battle where three figures were rushing to Azhdaha, Nahida's eyes glistened.

'Please be safe...'

---

'I'm damn sure I won't be safe after this.'

Running towards Azhdaha, Isaac silently grimaced. In a moment of impulse, he decided to commence an attack that even he had never done before.

Looking at the buried dragon that had its tail protruding out, he silently cursed under his breath.

'I must have gone mad.'

Thinking logically, perhaps he had. After all, he had been using his most nefarious skill, [Evernight], to subdue and control large forces of Fontaine's underworld. He wasn't using the skill to its true potential and was only using its subsidiary effects, but still, he was still being tainted by its adverse effects— and these adverse effects show up in various ways.

However, he often finds himself having emotional fluctuations, subtly or sharply changing in an instant. He was positive that if he were to use the skill to its true potential again, he would once more pass out— or worse, turn demented.

Looking at his vision and his skill, he sighed.

"What a ludicrous plan..."

Indeed it was.

Isaac noticed something peculiar about the effects and side effects of [Evernight] that got him curious as of late. It took him a while to figure it out, but the reason he was experiencing adverse side effects was because the lingering effects of the skill was still present in his body.

In other words, some sort of corruption from the skill itself was tainting him, causing various adverse effects. The only thing stopping that corruption from fully growing is, unsurprisingly, the system.

And whatever that corruption was... It was wild and ravenous, like a dark unrelenting beast.

So Isaac had a thought:

What if he fused his skill with his vision?

It was an illogical thought. He shouldn't have even thought about it. But something about it just seems to... makes sense.

And he wanted to test that theory now.

Looking at Azhdaha, who was about to unleash what seemed like a wide area-of-effect attack, Isaac hesitated for a moment before concentrating on his vision.

'Darn it. Let's just do it.'

He was once more gambling.

Manipulating elemental energy, he commanded his Dendro vision. Wild vines sprouted from the ground and latched on to his arm, twisting and enveloping them, turning to makeshift gauntlets.

Then, he lingered for a bit, before activating his [Evernight] skill. Of course, he didn't activate all of its effects but merely one specific authority— Darkness.

It was the very same authority that allowed him to manipulate the darkness around him.

The skill descended on his person, causing him to view the darkness around him in a clearer sight.

...additionally, the darkness hidden in the depths of his deep amber eyes got darker.

Isaac didn't waste time and redirected the darkness to his arms, infusing them to the vines.

There was no reaction for a few moments, but then the vines started convulsing erratically. Tightly latched on to Isaac's arms, the wild vines started writhing as the darkness spread in them, corrupting and transforming them. They continued to convulse before starting to slither like worms.

The wild vines then started changing in appearance. Previously, they were brown in color, but as the darkness spread through them, they became much darker. Some even strangely started to rapidly sprout leaves on top of them. Dark green leaves sprout sporadically along the vines, trembling as they feed off the mysterious dark energy that runs through them

The vines continued to slither around his arm up to his shoulders, forming a shell of dark-brown vines and flora coiling his arms.

But the most significant change of all was on the tips of the arms.

Situated at the very end of his hands were long, slender claw-like extensions. Unlike the brown vines, they were as dark as the night sky— forming what seemed like sharp dark blades.

...they almost seemed like the sharp claws of a wolf— or rather, a demonic wolf.

Looking at his grotesque yet powerful arms, a wry smirk appeared on Isaac's face.

'...Ha, it worked?!'

He had expected that it would have ended up in failure— but to his surprise, his insane experiment actually worked!

As he ran up to Azhdaha, a dark grin appeared on his face. Empowered by this new profound power, coupled with the experience of the First Hunter that is suited for direct confrontations, he couldn't help but feel confident of his victory.

But he knew he could only maintain this for a short time. As such, he needs to act fast.

It was time to beat that darn big frog.


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