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Chapter 25: Stormterror Attacks
Jean's words left Ace and Sabo in a long silence.
Freedom.
In the Goa Kingdom, that word was only fit for a drunk's ramblings or a noble's hypocrisy.
But here, it was spoken with such gravity by a ruler who held real power.
"Alright, Amber!" Jean knocked on the desk, breaking the three's train of thought. "Take them for a walk around the city! Let them see what true Mondstadt is!"
"Yes, Grand Master!"
Amber snapped to attention, then, with a pained expression, led the three little terrors plus one Emergency Food out of the headquarters.
"Wuuu... my Mora..."
She was still mourning her two months' salary.
"Amber, don't be sad." Sabo walked beside her, his face full of guilt. "We'll definitely pay you back that money."
"Yeah! I'll go catch a Sea King! Selling it will definitely get a lot of money!" Luffy promised, patting his chest.
"You shut up!" Ace's fists were hard again.
The group walked down the long staircase and back onto the lively streets of Mondstadt.
Sabo looked at the smiling faces all around him, the shock in his heart taking a long time to subside.
He took a deep breath, as if he had made a decision, and quickened his pace to walk in front of Amber.
"Amber."
"Hm?" The red-clothed girl turned, her voice listless.
"We... want to know more about 'Stormterror'."
Sabo's tone was incredibly serious.
This was their real mission for coming to this world.
"Stormterror?"
Amber's steps stopped abruptly.
The gray shadow of "bankruptcy" instantly vanished from her face, replaced by an extremely complex expression.
There was wariness, sadness, and... a trace of anger.
"Why are you asking about that?"
"Cut the crap." Ace shoved his hands in his pockets and walked up, his black eyes burning with a warlike flame.
"We're here to take care of that guy."
"Tell us. How strong is it? What are its weaknesses?"
His matter-of-fact tone completely set Amber off!
"Take care of?!"
Amber's voice suddenly shot up, drawing the curious gazes of the surrounding pedestrians.
She was flushed red with anger, her chest heaving as she pointed at Ace's nose.
"What do you think this is?! An adventure game?!"
"He's not some monster! And he's certainly not a trophy for you to show off your strength!"
"His name is Dvalin!"
"He was once a guardian of Mondstadt!"
Ace was stunned by her shouting, a trace of annoyance flashing across his defiant face.
Luffy also tilted his head, asking in confusion, "A guardian? But... he seems really angry."
Luffy's words were like a pinprick to Amber's anger. It instantly deflated.
The anger in her eyes faded, replaced by a deep sadness.
"Yeah..."
"He is angry..."
"He's in a lot of pain..."
Amber lowered her head, her voice full of bitterness.
"Dvalin... he was once Lord Barbatos's most intimate familiar, the 'Dragon of the East' of Mondstadt, one of the Four Winds who guarded this sky!"
Familiar?
A god?
More words they didn't understand.
But the word "guardian" made both Ace and Sabo frown.
"A guardian? Why would he attack the city he's supposed to protect?" Sabo asked the key question.
It didn't make sense.
Amber's lips moved. She looked at these three curious, yet serious-beyond-their-years children.
She sighed.
"Because... he was forgotten."
"A long time ago, Mondstadt faced a great disaster. A dark dragon named 'Durin' came to invade."
"It was Dvalin who stood up, fighting the evil dragon to the death at the peak of a snowy mountain. He finally bit through the dragon's throat and protected Mondstadt."
"But..." Amber's voice began to tremble.
"He himself... was poisoned and corrupted by swallowing the dragon's toxic blood."
"In excruciating pain, he fell into a deep slumber."
"When he awoke, hundreds of years had passed. The people of Mondstadt had long forgotten their hero. What greeted him wasn't welcome and gratitude, but fear and swords."
"He thought... Mondstadt had abandoned him."
The air grew quiet.
Paimon covered her little mouth, her eyes red.
The smile on Luffy's usually grinning face was also gone.
He scratched his head and asked in a very, very soft voice.
"So... he's just... in a lot of pain, and really sad?"
Sabo's heart was gripped tightly.
A hero who had protected everyone was ultimately forgotten and hurt by everyone.
How... unjust.
Even Ace, his face always a mask of "annoyed" and "I'm the best," showed a flicker of emotion.
The feeling of being abandoned by the world.
He understood it better than anyone.
"Tch."
Ace turned his head, not wanting anyone to see his expression.
"What... a stupid guy."
"So, what are the Knights of Favonius planning to do?" Sabo pressed. "Do you... want to hurt him, too?"
"Of course not!" Amber immediately retorted, her eyes firm again.
"Jean is trying to find a way. We want to purify his pain. We want... to save him!"
"We want the Dragon of the East of Mondstadt to return to this free sky!"
After she finished, she realized she had said too much to a few kids of unknown origin.
"Wait! Why am I telling you all this!"
Amber snapped back to her senses, planting her hands on her hips and forcing her "guardian" persona back on.
"Anyway! This matter is very dangerous! You are absolutely forbidden from interfering! Got it!"
However.
What she saw were three pairs of alarmingly bright eyes.
In Luffy's eyes, there was pure curiosity and sympathy.
In Sabo's eyes, there was the clarity of having understood everything, and respect for a hero.
And on Ace's lips, a wild, battle-hungry arc was forming.
"Ha."
"Now, this is getting interesting."
Just at that moment!
"Everyone! Make way! Make way!"
A clear, anxious cry from a girl, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps, came from the other end of the street!
The crowd automatically split to the sides, clearing a path.
A young girl in a blue and white deaconess dress, with dazzling golden twin-tails, was running toward them, her face full of anxiety!
Behind her, several other nuns in church attire followed.
"It's Lady Barbara!"
"Lady Barbara! What happened?"
The surrounding pedestrians exclaimed, their eyes full of respect and adoration for the young girl.
"It's the Deaconess of the Church! The idol of Mondstadt!" Paimon whispered to Luffy and the others.
"Idol? Can you eat it?" Luffy asked curiously.
Bonk!
Ace's fist once again landed accurately on Luffy's head.
The girl named Barbara ignored the commotion, ran to the center of the plaza, and yelled to the surrounding Knights and citizens with all her might!
"We just received word!"
"Stormterror... Dvalin... he attacked a merchant caravan in the direction of Springvale!"