I don't think the Ymir killed the Elephant

I think that the Ymir, being passive to things passive to it, wouldn't kill. Yes, the Ymir did wound the elephant badly, but I don't think he finished it off. I think the Ymir slashed the elephant enough to make it unable to get up to cause any more damage, but not enough to kill it. When he stands over the elephant, he sees that it can cause no further harm and walked off. So I personally think it was maimed, not killed. Would it changed the story? Probably not. Would it have a more emotional impact? Probably. Think, the Ymir, like most giant monsters like King Kong, was brought against their own will and would have lived if it wasn't brought to civilization. Ymir didn't show any aggression to things that weren't aggressive towards it, and that's what kind of conveyed a sense of innocence about it. If it couldn't come to kill the elephant, I think the Ymir was the most innocent thing on the planet (well, Venus) and the emotional impact that it would convey would be quite strong.