(L) Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? [WN]

[Breimn]

Ariel shows her trump card. Do you remember which sins and virtues we saw and wich we did not?

[Rageth]

Just did a quick search:

Lust - Huugo (Dead now)
Gluttony - Ariel
Greed - Huugo (Dead now)
Sloth - Shiro (Ascended)
Wrath - Wrath
Envy - Sophia
Pride - Shiro (Ascended)

Chastity - Sue
Temperance - Dustin
Charity - Sensei
Diligence - Potimas
Patience - Mera
Kindness - Shun
Humility - (Unknown)

Which leaves Sloth, Pride, or Humility... Did Ariel get one of those, to complement her Gluttony?

[Xellos-_^]

Kumo made it so no one can get her old ruler stuff

[Okashira]

So, Pochi finally sounds desperate, and indeed Omega actually stops on it's tracks. Also, "as suspected", Ariel's own 'soul capacity', was slightly increased because another soul was mixed in...

[kari-no-sugata II]

So, a quick summary: Ariel's POV and Potimas is totally losing it because of what Shiro did And Ariel is totally trolling Potimas in response

Potimas is controlling the Type Ω and not doing a good job anymore... and notices too late that Ariel has healed all her wounds. He wonders what the heck is going on... and the surprise is that Ariel has taken Humility, which allows her to temporarily gain the power of a god at the expense of consuming her soul (eek!).

It would have been nice if this had been foreshadowed a bit more but it's quite cool. I guess this happened sometime in the last few years - Shiro last mentions Humility back when she took Sue to her side (about 4 years ago in world).

[Von Himmel]

Can Ariel Gluttony take other soul too? Ariel-chan might be able to bypass the limitation if that's the case? :'3c

[Okashira]

^ Not sure, since the problem is probably soul energy rather than 'having spare souls', she might be able to lessen the effects instead of negating it (Humility sounds like you'll drop death right after you are done with it).

In any event, since Ariel's current ace in the hole surely has long term self-weakening side-effect; that's yet another proof that 'some divine providence' is weakening her just enough so that Shun has a chance at killing her.....

[cabman11]

Anyone else seeing shiro begging D to save ariel?......for a price of course

[kari-no-sugata II]

It's possible... Currently I'd say it's unlikely but I'm sure Shiro will have some kind of change of heart at some point before the end...

[Xacual]

I''m still holding out hope that even if its only a fragment, Shiro is able to save Ariel's soul and reincarnate her as a spider.

[Breimn]

Maybe she can find a way to turn Ariel into something similar to one of her subordinate clones.

[kari-no-sugata II]

One thought I've had is that maybe Shiro could have a real child and reincarnate Ariel's soul into it.

PS About half-way through the translation. Hehe, Ariel sure is cracking me up this chapter. Hard to translate the nuances but she's hilarious...

[Arkeus]

Originally Posted by Amuris

@Arkeus

Shiro and Potima's methods work by the same premise. If regain is an issue for one, it is for the other. They are both relying on the god's power being drained and them being unable to recover it. Shiro actively takes it while Potimas passively by forcing them to fight while inhibited. The differences aren't relevant to the discussion.

What? Of course they are. Kumoko draining means that even if a god has infinite energy while being inhibited they'll still be drained as long as the drain rate is higher than the regen rate, and we have seen that the drain rate is extreme.

OTOH, Potimas' strategy relies on the god not being able to regen energy at all, as even a tiny bit of regen means it doesn't matter the kind of damage done.

Originally Posted by Amuris

Also, gonna rant here for a sec but, come on guys, don't worry about that. It's perfectly fine that gods in this story have clear limitations. It makes it a much better story. I mean, I thought we were past this. When Isekai started getting popular, people were all excited because they had protagonist that DID things, unlike hetare harem protags we were getting before. I thought we started realizing that that was usually the same thing as hetare, since we were expected to praise a mc based on what they had (cool powers, authority, a harem) and not who they are. That's why a lot of the other stories are so boring. They're just about how strong the mc is and not how funny or interesting they are or how cleverly they can use what little they have. Shiro having a limited amount of energy that she has to think about how to use effectively is a much more interesting story.

Huh, you do realise that given Kumoko's adversaries are "better gods", gods being even less limited means that Kumoko has to be even more thorough.

Also, I am amused because Shiro's chapter reflected a lot of what I mentioned about Potimas: I would have a lot of respect for him if during his monologue he was praying really hard about his 1 in 10 000 000 odds of his strategy working, instead of gloating, simply because "throwing everything you can at an enemy" works so much better if you are aware of your odds.

basically, Shiro is well aware her plan is a long shot, and that is delicious.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Translation is up for "297 – Elf Village Battle ⑨"

Scream like a pig, Potimas!

While it would have been nice to get a hint of this in advance, Ariel's new skill sure is awesome. Obviously it always existed and there was always the possibility for Ariel to acquire new skills, so there's that... but it still feels a bit shonen-esque. But I guess that suits Ariel

[Tcol]

The best way to break someone with big pride is to break their pride, Pot-kun's been so high up till now so let's press him down to the mud.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Originally Posted by Arkeus

Also, I am amused because Shiro's chapter reflected a lot of what I mentioned about Potimas: I would have a lot of respect for him if during his monologue he was praying really hard about his 1 in 10 000 000 odds of his strategy working, instead of gloating, simply because "throwing everything you can at an enemy" works so much better if you are aware of your odds.

basically, Shiro is well aware her plan is a long shot, and that is delicious.

There's been a bunch of subtle and not so subtle comparisons between Shiro and Potimas in the series, but this chapter does illustrate one of the big differences between them.

In the "Crest of the Stars" series, one of my favourite scenes is the talk on pride (touching off from a artwork of mountains), and how it is better to set yourself as a high peak (to rise up) rather than to dig trenches around you (to lower others). Shiro is more the former and Potimas is more the latter.

[NicApple]

Oh no....
Consume her soul.... it might end up in a fate worse than death.... (in a happy ending scenario, Ariel still lives)

If it turns out that Ariel's part of the soul was consumed leaving the body-in-charge one

We might get the completed version of 'Zannen Maou Shoujo Ariel'
The late Ariel might want to kill herself over many times if she could see this, Kuro will despair over how the proud and strong Ariel has degraded

[Tcol]

^ it should be mahou shoujo kumoko tho

[NicApple]

Feel like since Ariel and Shiro soul merged well but Ariel's awareness was more dominant
Taking that away will leave Shiro's soul but there is definitely some influence from Ariel's though it will now be more of a minor role (means more hopelessness than before)

[Gerard07]

Good chapter, by the way, does this mean that "Chastity" is the only skill Ruler without owner?