"Venti!"
Lumine excitedly turned toward the source of the arrow, and a cyan figure materialized in an instant.
"Venti, how did you get here so quickly?"
Barely a breath had passed since Lumine crushed the flower, yet Venti had already arrived. This is just absurd!
"No big deal. I just happened to be in Sumeru's Desert when I sensed your call and came."
Venti wasn't wearing his Divine Regalia, and the ends of his twin braids glowed with a cyan light.
"What's this big guy?"
"It's not from Teyvat," Lumine explained. "It devoured the Primordial Sea earlier and is now absorbing Abyss Energy. In short, it's our enemy!"
The mention of the Abyss instantly hardened Venti's gaze.
Meanwhile, Neuvillette temporarily set aside the All-Devouring Narwhal and turned to face Venti.
"The God of Anemo and Hope, Barbatos..."
Venti returned Neuvillette's gaze.
"Neuvillette, the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, right? Hmm... something's off. Your Authority... could it be that the Hydro Archon has already..."
Venti looked down and saw Furina seated on the Divine Throne, weeping. He seemed to understand something.
Neuvillette's expression was far from friendly. As the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, he considered the Seven Archons usurping gods. Yet, while unfriendly, his demeanor fell far short of outright hostility.
"Let's deal with this creature first," Venti declared.
He donned his Divine Regalia, and a violent surge of Anemo Energy scattered the rain flowing upward around him.
Neuvillette understood that the All-Devouring Narwhal was the immediate threat. He channeled Hydro Energy, unleashing a torrent of attacks against the monstrous whale.
Barbatos began playing his lyre, gentle Anemo currents enveloping the crowd below, whisking them safely into Fontaine.
He then stowed his lyre and drew his bow...
"Venti... wait!" Lumine reached out to stop him. The All-Devouring Narwhal wasn't the priority now—the most urgent concern was Fidelle, whose fate remained unknown!
But Venti seemed deaf to Lumine's words, instantly soaring into the high skies.
Lumine was about to give chase when she suddenly sensed something amiss and whirled around.
"Traveler."
"Long time no see, Traveler."
Rukkhadevata and Nahida stood a short distance behind her, enclosed in a large, glowing green dome that seemed utterly out of place in the surrounding darkness and torrential rain.
"Rukkhadevata and Nahida... Thank goodness! I've found Fontaine's Pure Soul, but something unexpected happened, and she's vanished again. I don't know what's happened to her. Could you help me find her?"
Rukkhadevata: "Don't worry, Traveler. That's precisely why we're here. I'll extract all your memories related to Fontaine's Pure Soul—nothing else, of course. If you're willing, I can..."
"No problem! Go ahead!" Lumine replied instantly, her memories holding no secrets she wished to keep hidden.
Rukkhadevata extended her hand toward Lumine. "Don't resist, Traveler."
Lumine closed her eyes. Rukkhadevata extracted all the memories related to Fontaine's Pure Soul from Lumine's mind and transmitted them to Nahida for analysis.
-
Fontaine.
Navia, Clorinde, and the others who had been blown here by Venti's wind looked utterly bewildered.
"The bard! The busker's here!" Paimon stomped her feet excitedly.
"The bard?" Navia turned to Paimon.
Paimon: "It's Mondstadt's anemo archon, Barbatos! He's here! If the bard's here, Zhongli and the others must be coming too!"
Anemo Archon... and Zhongli... the Geo Archon?
A flicker of unease crossed Clorinde's eyes. Ever since the Traveler had entered Fontaine's territory, she had harbored an ominous premonition. Now it seemed that her fears were about to come true.
Fontaine... is about to endure the same kind of catastrophic trials that Mondstadt and the other nations have faced...
Clorinde couldn't help but think, Thank goodness Neuvillette is here. Otherwise... Fontaine might truly face annihilation.
-
After withdrawing her hand, Rukkhadevata's face glistened with a fine sheen of sweat.
This operation was far from easy, especially with the Traveler as the subject. Had Lumine not volunteered, Rukkhadevata would have been unable to perform such a feat.
Nahida closed her eyes, analyzing for what seemed like an eternity before finally pinpointing a single individual.
"It's him!"
"Who is it? Nahida, what did your analysis reveal?" Lumine asked.
"He has a hole in his chest..."
Lumine didn't need to hear any more. The mere mention of a hole in his chest instantly locked her focus on the culprit—the figure who had appeared beneath the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale!
Damn it! I knew he was trouble, but I never imagined it would be him!
Her gaze instinctively darted downward, searching for the Intellitron. She hadn't expected to find anything, but to her surprise, there it was!
The Intellitron stood by the Court of Fontaine, its head tilted back to observe the battle above. It suddenly locked eyes with Lumine.
The Intellitron gave another polite bow, then resumed staring at the sky.
Lumine: "..."
Her fair face flushed crimson with anger. Her wings twitched slightly as she dove toward the Intellitron.
"You bastard! Give Fidelle back!"
Lumine hadn't even landed when a sword beam struck first.
Clang!
The blade never touched the Intellitron; its Force Field Shield blocked the attack, producing a metallic clang.
Only then did the Intellitron glance at Lumine before turning away again.
"Arrogant!"
Lumine charged forward, slashing wildly with her sword. But the Intellitron's Force Field Shield was absurdly strong, impervious to her relentless assault.
The incessant clanging began to disturb the Intellitron's entertainment. With a casual flick of its wrist, the metallic clashes transformed into nearly silent impacts against the shield.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!"
Furious, Lumine channeled all her rage into each strike, her sword growing sharper and more powerful with every blow, all focused on the same spot on the shield.
Crack!
A fissure appeared in the shield. Lumine's face lit up with triumph, only to see the Intellitron casually wave its hand. The shield not only healed instantly but seemed even thicker than before!
Controlling the Intellitron, Jiang Mumu was genuinely surprised. This vessel possessed peak God-Tier combat power. Previously, Lumine couldn't even graze it, yet now she'd actually managed to crack its shield?!
Is this power-up happening too fast?
Jiang Mumu had been intently observing the aerial battle, anxious to gauge whether the evolved All-Devouring Narwhal would prove too weak or too strong.
The All-Devouring Narwhal wasn't under Jiang Mumu's direct control, so if it accidentally became too powerful or too weak, she would need to make immediate adjustments.
But now, it seemed just right. The creature's thick hide and relatively low attack power meant that even sustained bombardment from Barbatos and Neuvillette hadn't left a single scratch. Neuvillette's earlier dragon claw strikes could have pierced the previous iteration of the Narwhal, but against its current evolved state, they could only leave faint white marks on its hide.
I've buffed so many bosses already. It seems I've managed to calibrate the enhancements quite well this time.
As Jiang Mumu mused this, she noticed something odd: Why isn't Lumine attacking?
And what's with this lightning aura?
She turned her head and saw Ei standing there, having arrived unnoticed.
Holy shit, it's the Electro Archon Beelzebul! ! !
"No-Thoughts, Severance!"