Durandal's plague contained millions of deadly toxins. Those Adventurers who had previously hunted her were only immune to her poison due to Hulder's protection.
(The Indestructible: There seemed to be a line from Hulder beneath that quest item. Looking at it now, it truly feels disgusting. Isn't all this evil caused by you?)
But the Fatui had no "Hulder's Protection." Naturally, they were defenseless against Durandal's plague. They unknowingly inhaled the toxic gas and lost their lives in agony.
Not only that, their bodies gradually dissolved under the corrosion of the potent poison. The Lady practically watched as the bodies of the Fatui vanguard troops slowly turned into liquid. This scene had a profound impact on her.
If it were just a normal death scene, it would be nothing. The Lady had witnessed too many deaths, including various ways of dying.
However, she had never seen anyone die from such a potent poison. Despite her confidence in her own physique, she dared not show the slightest laxity when facing a God's poison. She immediately covered her mouth and nose, enveloping her body in Cryo Element to prevent contact with the toxic gas.
The Lady's actions did have an effect, as avoiding contact with and inhalation of the toxic gas is the best way to prevent poisoning. But was her current defense effective? She had already inhaled the toxins mixed in the air; would trying to compensate now make a difference? At most, it just meant she inhaled a few fewer breaths, which was meaningless.
The Lady's situation was dire, but she couldn't dwell on it. She was panicked; she was truly panicked.
If it were someone from the Seven Nations, or even the Seven Gods, she wouldn't feel this way, because she knew that the Gods loved humanity. As long as she threatened their people, even if she were punished, her life wouldn't be in danger.
But Durandal was different. Although she resided in Mondstadt, she was not the Anemo God; she did not belong to Mondstadt. Therefore, threatening her with a nation was meaningless.
Not only was it meaningless, but it would also affect her perception of Snezhnaya. If she developed an aversion to Snezhnaya, then with her clearance, she could easily go to Snezhnaya and unleash an unprecedented and terrifying plague, at which point all the people of Snezhnaya would die.
It wasn't that The Lady valued the lives of the people of Snezhnaya, but rather that she was afraid of having brought a powerful enemy upon Snezhnaya.
"No, we absolutely have no intention of making an enemy of you. Please forgive our actions."
With that, The Lady knelt on one knee. It wasn't an act of submission to Durandal, but because the toxins in her body had already begun to corrode her. If not for the power granted to her by the Cryo Archon, she would probably already be like the Fatui on the ground, her body beginning to Melt.
Hmph! Durandal snorted coldly, raising the great scythe in her hand, ready to end The Lady's life. Venti cared about national-level issues, but she did not.
Since The Lady had personally offered her head, Durandal couldn't disappoint her good intentions. She would send her to the afterlife now.
Suddenly, Durandal felt the surrounding temperature drop sharply. The ambient temperature continued to fall, and countless ice spears materialized from the air, hurtling towards her.
Facing these ice spears, Durandal swung her great scythe. The massive ice spears shattered under Durandal's attack, and in just a few seconds, she neutralized the offensive.
In those few seconds, The Lady, who had already been corroded by the toxins, suddenly vanished. If there was no accident, she must have been rescued by someone. As for the one who saved her... "The Cryo Archon."
Only a God would have the ability to take her away in such a short time. The reason she could monitor the situation in Mondstadt from Snezhnaya was probably related to the power she left within The Lady.
She didn't allow The Lady to use that power to fight her, but rather took The Lady away. Was this out of fear of her own power? Or simply not wanting to make an enemy of her?
Durandal pondered for a moment, then quickly gave up thinking, turning her gaze to the Fatui who had already dissolved into a corrosive liquid.
Due to their bodies' corruption, they resembled decaying monsters wearing clothes, giving off a very B-movie vibe.
(The Indestructible: The Indestructible once watched a movie on Star TV when she was little. That movie must have been a B-movie. The setting of those decaying monsters left a deep shadow on The Indestructible, feeling much like "The Thing," very disgusting. Ugh~)
"These things all need to be dealt with, otherwise the poisonous gases they emit will pollute the surrounding environment, turning this area into a wasteland."
Durandal first inhaled the surrounding poisonous mist into her body. Through her clearance, she made the flowers and plants that had lost their vitality due to the poisonous mist grow again, and then she turned her gaze to the corpses.
As she was about to absorb these toxic substances, an unexpected person appeared here… or rather, two.
"Du… Durandal? Why are you here? Did you also discover the anomaly here and come to investigate the situation?"
The person who arrived was Lumine, who had just finished a commission and was preparing to return to the city. She had noticed the situation here from afar and, thinking something had happened, rushed over at the fastest possible speed.
She didn't expect to meet the person she had been missing for so long. Before she could be happy for long, she saw the rotting bodies in front of Durandal, and her expression immediately changed.
It wasn't that she hadn't seen corpses before, but she had never seen anything so terrifying. If she looked at this scene for a few more seconds, she would definitely have nightmares at night.
She quickly turned around and covered Paimon's eyes, who had arrived a step slower than her, to prevent him from seeing such a terrible sight.
"What's wrong? Why are you covering my eyes? Traveler. What exactly happened?"
"Don't look. This time you must listen to me. Please close your eyes for a few minutes, okay, Paimon?"
Lumine's tone was serious. Paimon, realizing Lumine wasn't joking, stopped struggling and obediently followed Lumine's command, preparing to wait a few minutes.
"She saw it."
How annoying. Because she was surrounded for the first time, she got too excited and used her clearance without paying attention to her surroundings, causing Lumine to discover the situation here.
Durandal's pride as an Apostle made her disdain to lie. She disdained to cover up what she had done.
She could already imagine Lumine's expression after knowing what she had done. She would probably be like those people from the Demon Realm who once feared her, and from then on, would no longer associate with her.
"Durandal, what exactly is this…?"
"I did it." Durandal interrupted Lumine and said, "The Lady brought these people to block my path, wanting me to pay for my actions. But she didn't expect my strength to be much greater than she anticipated, and in the end, she could only flee in dismay."
While explaining, Durandal cleaned up the toxic substances on the ground. As Durandal absorbed them, the highly toxic substances quickly disappeared, leaving only a few clothes and equipment as a symbol that those Fatui had once lived.
"You did it? Could it be… this is your clearance? 'Poison'?"
"Yes, this is my clearance. According to the language of Teyvat, I am the God of Poison. My body contains millions of deadly Viruses. If I wish, the air I exhale contains highly toxic components."
At this point, Durandal paused and added, "Normally, this won't happen. I can control my toxins, so you don't have to worry about being poisoned by inhaling my breath when you talked to me before."
Heh! Is the breath exhaled by a beautiful Damselette sweet? If anyone really has such a thought, they can try Durandal's breath, guaranteed to be sweet enough to Melt your body.
"No, I wasn't thinking of asking that."
"It's okay, I know what you want to say. This matter has nothing to do with you. You just need to go back to your life as usual and don't worry about these things."
No! Lumine immediately rejected this suggestion. She understood that if she really did that, her friendship with Durandal would end. They would become strangers, and even if they met in the future, there would be no interaction.
After Durandal finished dealing with the scene and collected the Fatui's clothes, she prepared to leave here and return to her Cape Oath to calm down.
As she was about to transform into mist, Lumine grabbed Durandal's hand, interrupting her spellcasting.
Durandal looked at Lumine in confusion. Shouldn't she be afraid of herself at this moment? How could she still dare to touch herself? Had she not realized the seriousness of the problem?
"We made a promise last time, didn't we? The next time we meet, I'll treat you to a meal to repay you for your help back then. Now that we've finally met, you wouldn't go back on your word, would you, Durandal?"
Lumine smiled at Durandal. Her gentle smile made Durandal somewhat lost in thought. This was completely different from the fearful gaze she had imagined. Such gentleness was something even Klee couldn't match.
"…Why? You clearly know how dangerous I am? Why do you still approach me?"
"Why? Because we are friends, aren't we?"
Lumine gently held Durandal's hand, her hands clasped together, and smiled, "You are my savior. I remember the fish soup you cooked for me back then very clearly. It was very warm, just like you."
So what if she knew Durandal harbored a deadly plague? Lumine only knew that Durandal had saved her, and she was a friend. That was enough.
Durandal's pupils contracted slightly, wanting to pull her hand back, but Lumine held on tightly, giving her no chance to withdraw.
A very slight body temperature passed through her wrist to Durandal. She had only felt this warmth from Klee before, and thought it was unique. She didn't expect anyone else to make her feel it.
Durandal didn't know what to say for a moment. Looking at the smiling Lumine, she asked, "Are you an idiot? At a time like this, most people would choose to stay far away. Why are you doing the opposite?"
"Maybe, maybe I am a big idiot. But… isn't this good? Don't you like it?"
"…Hmph! I don't like it at all."
Though she said she disliked it, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face. This was the first time she had smiled in front of Lumine. Lumine was very satisfied and held Durandal's hand even tighter.
"…Can you let go of me? Are you using too much strength?"
Durandal frowned. Why did she feel that Lumine's purpose in holding her hand was different from what she thought?
"No way~ To prevent you from leaving, this time I'm going to personally take you to Nordic Hunt to eat. You can't refuse me this time, understand?"
"…Seriously, I really can't do anything with you."