At the sound of the voice, Elliot turned his head—and was surprised to see a young Zhongli.
More precisely, he should be called Morax.
"Dark God, Glasya Labolas—but you may call me Elliot,," he said.
"Elliot…?" Morax studied him warily.
He had never seen such a strange figure before—wearing a bizarre mask that seemed both smiling and weeping.
"Yes. And what is your name?" Elliot asked in return.
"The Geo God, Morax."
At this time, Morax had not yet earned the title of Geo Emperor—that would come only after he became one of the Seven Archons. For now, his title was no different from many other gods.
"I can sense your strength. How about it—care for a sparring match?"
Morax's eyes burned with fighting spirit. Clearly, he longed for a powerful opponent.
His temperament now was fiery, combative—nothing like the calm, composed Zhongli Elliot would one day know.
"You want to fight me?" Elliot narrowed his eyes.
"That's right. How about it? Will you try me?"
Even as he spoke, a long spear had already appeared in his hands, his gaze carrying a faint hint of provocation.
"Interesting…"
Elliot slowly reached to his waist. Though it was empty a moment ago, a sharp blade had appeared there as if out of nowhere.
He grasped the hilt and drew it free. Blinding arcs of lightning erupted as he did.
He had considered manifesting a Pyro blade, but thought better of it. A blade of fire would only burn and sting.
But a blade of Electro—its violent voltage could paralyze an opponent instantly, robbing them of movement in a single strike.
So he chose Electro as his weapon.
"Come then. I'll play along," Elliot said, his voice confident as he gripped the blade, the Mask of Good and Evil gleaming on his face.
The moment Elliot agreed, Morax clenched his fist—and the stones around him suddenly sprang to life, surging in to crush him from both sides.
But Elliot, knowing Morax's power, had been on guard from the start.
The instant the rocks moved, he burst into lightning and shot into the sky.
"Rock Spear!"
Morax hurled his long spear at the airborne Elliot with tremendous force.
"Going easy on me…?"
Elliot narrowed his eyes. He could feel it clearly—even without defending, the spear would not have killed him.
Morax hadn't aimed for his vitals.
But then, this was only a spar. It was natural not to strike to kill. Still, his style was different from what Elliot had expected.
His moves were clever—against other gods of this era, they might have been effective surprises. But to Elliot, a veteran of countless battles, they were all too easy to see through.
Only now did Elliot realize—he had overestimated Morax.
For him, this fight was a dimensional attack.
It was like Alexander the Great, who in his time was an unrivaled conqueror — yet before modern weapons, everything he prided himself on would be crushed in an instant.
That was what this felt like. In this age, Morax was indeed formidable—but in Elliot's eyes, still far too weak.
Clang!
Sparks erupted as Morax's long spear was struck down.
"Got you!"
Morax's eyes lit up as he swung his arm.
"Rock Shark!"
In an instant, two massive sharks of stone burst from the earth, jaws open to devour Elliot.
But Elliot, having just finished his strike, was momentarily stiff—unable to launch a second attack.
Morax's eyes shone with confidence.
"Rise."
Elliot lifted his hand slightly. The ground warped, and two sharp Geo spikes shot upward, piercing the rock sharks before they could reach him.
"What—he can use Geo too!?" Morax's face went pale with shock.
Never had he imagined Elliot wielded two elements at once!
The sudden revelation threw him off balance.
And in that instant of hesitation, Elliot struck.
"Thunder Flash…"
His eyes sharpened as violet lightning crackled from his lips.
Sensing the danger, Morax hastily raised a massive, solid wall of rock before him.
Clang…
The sound of a blade sheathing rang softly from behind him, followed by a whisper in his ear:
"Great-Roaring Thunder."
A chill ran through Morax. The wall before him split cleanly down the middle.
BOOM!!!!
The heavy rock wall collapsed completely.
Lowering his head, Morax admitted defeat. "I lost."
This time, Elliot had taken advantage of the situation to win.
After all, seeing one man wield two elements at once would unsettle anyone. But on the battlefield, even the briefest distraction could cost a life.