The circle of containment around Malice was closing in, its location becoming increasingly clear.
By the end, it was almost entirely pinned down to the Guili Plains area.
Morax charged forward, with Venti immediately following, bringing Diluc, the twin siblings Aether and Lumine, and Paimon along.
-
Guili Plains.
Malice had crashed into countless invisible walls, ultimately being forced to this location.
Its desperation to escape was evident—no creature willingly embraces death, not even Malice from the Abyss.
Now, Malice seethed with fury. It had only caused a few minor disruptions in Mondstadt and Liyue, all in service of the great Abyss!
If they couldn't understand that, fine. But to chase it all the way here? Unforgivable.
High above, Morax stood with his arms crossed, his amber eyes surveying the Guili Plains below.
A colossal pressure descended from above.
By sheer coincidence, a group of Treasure Hoarders had chosen this exact spot to rest and eat.
Suddenly, Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon they believed to be deceased, materialized before them, towering above and glaring down in wrath. Though the oppressive force wasn't directed at them, even the residual shockwaves were enough to make the Treasure Hoarders soil their pants in terror.
One by one, the Treasure Hoarders knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
Heaven knows they only wanted to dig up some treasure nearby to earn a little Mora. They hadn't done anything truly wicked!
With a wave of his hand, Morax banished the Treasure Hoarders beyond the protective barrier.
Barbatos arrived with the rest of the group.
"Still hiding?" Barbatos asked.
Following Aether's guidance, Barbatos halved the barrier's radius again.
Morax crossed his arms, having already evacuated all mortals from within the Anemo shield. He could easily annihilate the creature here and now, but...
The monster still held the Kaiyang's Soul, which tied his hands.
As the shielded area shrank to a circle just one kilometer in diameter, Malice could no longer contain itself and materialized before Morax, Barbatos, and the others.
The moment it materialized, Malice was instantly restrained, unable to move a muscle.
Morax slowly descended from the sky, landing directly before Malice.
Their faces were less than half a meter apart. Though Malice towered over Morax, Morax hovered in the air, his overwhelming presence crushing the monster.
Even Jiang Mumu, standing behind Malice, felt inexplicably intimidated by Morax's wrath at such close range.
-
Player World.
Seeing the despicable creature they hated so much being confronted by Morax himself, the players erupted in excitement.
[Old Man, obliterate it!]
[We finally caught this bastard! Don't hold back, Old Man! Make it taste every torture Liyue has to offer!]
[Waaah, in the end, we still have to rely on the Geo Archon to avenge Qingge!]
[Zhongli, I'll never call you a slacker again! I'll never complain about your low attack power again...]
[Pure satisfaction! I want that dog to beg for death and not find it!]
-
Morax found neither Qingge's soul within Malice nor any object that might contain it.
Restrained by Morax's grip, Malice was completely immobilized, unable even to speak.
Left with no other option, he immediately resorted to a Forbidden Technique.
Boom!
Malice's body, still pinned by Morax, suddenly exploded. But instead of disintegrating into flesh and blood, he transformed into a swirling black-purple mist.
The mist multiplied rapidly, expanding and swelling until it towered hundreds of meters high!
As the mist dissipated, a colossal, two-hundred-meter-tall version of Malice emerged. It's body was now covered in jagged spikes and scales, making him look utterly monstrous and terrifying.
"Since you're so eager," Malice rasped, it's voice still hoarse and grating, "I'll show you the Abyss in its true, horrifying form!"
Though its voice remained unpleasant, its amplified volume now boomed like thunder, radiating immense power.
-
Jade Chamber.
Ningguang had just settled down for a rest after an intense period of work when the thunderous voice jolted her to her feet again.
"What now?!"
Liyue had been at peace for centuries. Why were disasters suddenly erupting one after another?!
Without a second thought, Ningguang steered the Jade Chamber toward the source of the disturbance.
-
After transforming, Malice sensed countless eyes fixed on her. If gazes could kill, she would have been reduced to ashes by now.
Previously, such gazes would have made Malice acutely uncomfortable, like thorns pricking her back, sending chills down her spine.
But now, she didn't care.
Growing colossal for a fight fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming Ultraman—even as the villain, and despite the monstrous appearance. That didn't dampen the dreamer's satisfaction.
Barbatos: "Everyone, get out of here! This creature is fighting with its life on the line. It can't maintain this form for long. Leave it to me and the Old Man..."
Barbatos rubbed his hands together, eager for action. He'd initially assumed the Old Man would finish the job himself, given his immense fury, and hadn't bothered trying to steal the kill.
But now he had his chance. The day Rola disappeared felt like yesterday, and the bottle of wine he'd buried at Windrise still lay hidden beneath the earth.
Before Diluc and the others could react, Barbatos whisked them outside the barrier, leaving them to watch helplessly as he soared toward the colossal creature.
Lumine turned to look for Paimon, only to find the Adepti had gathered behind them.
Paimon looked dejected, but her gaze remained fixed on A Ping. Is she also an Adeptus?
A Ping smiled at Paimon, but her voice shifted to Madame Ping's: "Don't you remember me, child?"
Paimon gasped in surprise. "Madame Ping!"
A Ping nodded, her voice returning to its youthful tone. "The Adepti can alter their appearances at will. What you saw on Yujing Terrace was merely an intentional disguise."
Player World
Previously, the footage of Qingce Village had been scarce, so players had never seen Madame Ping in her youthful form.
Now that she suddenly appeared, the comment section erupted with question marks.
[Madame Ping?!]
[My Madame Ping is actually this beautiful?!]
[So that's why a new Adeptus suddenly appeared! It's Madame Ping!]
[Madame Ping's shockwaves—my absolute favorite!]
[I want to become Madame Ping's disciple!]
-
Xiao tested the barrier's hardness and, finding it impenetrable, retreated, unable to understand why the Geo Archon and Anemo Archon wouldn't let them help.
A Ping sighed. "The Geo Archon is in such a rage... I wonder what that fellow has done?"
Though she had created the Mystic Barrier, she hadn't left anything inside it and wouldn't sense if it shattered.
Seeing that the Adepti seemed unaware of Qingge's fate, Lumine opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated and fell silent.
Cloud Retainer noticed Lumine's hesitation and immediately asked, "Traveler, do you know something?"
At her words, all the Adepti turned their gazes to Lumine.
After a moment of hesitation, Lumine spoke: "The Kaiyang, Mu Qingge, defended The Chasm to the last, fighting bravely until her death. That fellow is the one responsible."
"What?!"
Cloud Retainer's voice rose sharply, her gaze fixed on Lumine in disbelief. "Are you telling the truth? Little Qingge... really..."
When Lumine nodded, Cloud Retainer fell silent.
The other Adepti remained silent as well. Xiao lowered his head, his grip tightening on the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear in his hand.