After Lumine placed the part in her hand into the device, a layer of radiant halo dissipated as if in a game.
Venti: "It seems our way of breaking the mechanism was correct. Now, in this tower... Hmm? It's all unlocked? I recall there should be three more..."
Diluc: "Is it a lapse in memory, or did someone come here in advance? The Abyss Order? Or perhaps that mysterious person from last time? Hmph... Whoever it is, at least for now, it's not a bad thing. It saved us a lot of time."
Venti: "Ahaha, you make a good point~ I think, after all this is over, I'll write it all into a song..."
Lumine: "I'm almost becoming an old partner with Venti."
"Hahaha~ Well then, Traveler, may the thousand-year winds of Mondstadt be with you. I will guide you in the elemental power of [Anemo] as I did last time."
"I knew it, that voice back then was really you."
Following Dvalin, who had been incited by the Abyss Heralds, Lumine and the others finally faced him head-on...
"The Abyss Order concentrated the curse on his wounds, which corrupted Dvalin's spirit... See the purple clotted blood on him? To save Dvalin, we must first clear it off." (Cough, cough, I really don't know how to describe the battle in the sky, so I'll skip it. After all, in the game, it was just Lumine, and the current situation is four people together~)
"This way we can fight Dvalin on equal footing. The best bard in the world comes to lend a hand~ But, I must warn you—Dvalin has sharp claws, and even after centuries without grooming, he's still very dangerous." [Venti]
The Anemo Dragon launched the first attack, diving towards the four of them.
"Everyone, scatter!"
Diluc: "Those claws are indeed sharp."
Paimon: "Uh... Master Diluc, they're called claws..."
Seeing its attack miss, the dragon immediately adjusted its stance and unleashed a barrage of Anemo projectiles at the group. However, the four present were no pushovers. Lumine drew her weapon and directly batted away the Anemo projectiles in front of her.
"Paimon, stay close to me!"
Diluc: "Hmph... As expected, this is not the same level as those Abyss Heralds from before."
Jean: "We need to knock the Stormterror down onto the platform and quickly clear the last piece of poison blood, otherwise, we'll just be in a stalemate like this."
Lumine: "But in this situation, no one except Venti can reach it."
After a period of stalemate, the dragon suddenly stopped. Before anyone could react, it let out a long roar towards the sky—
Paimon: "Whoa?! The ground of the platform cracked open!"
"Ahaha, this is Dvalin's ultimate move, the [Endless Finale]."
"Uh... this dragon has strange taste..."
Lumine: "A lot of Anemo energy is appearing from the cracks. If this continues, we won't be able to handle it."
Venti: "The energy attacks from these cracks will become stronger and stronger. Everyone, quickly use the wind currents to transfer to other platforms."
Paimon: "Whoa! It's shooting Anemo projectiles again."
Lumine: "Oh no, we have no footing in the air now, and we'll be suppressed by the Anemo projectiles outside the platform."
"Hmph... Don't panic."
Master Diluc gripped his greatsword and began to charge.
"Judgment..."
Suddenly, a large amount of flame erupted around Diluc and condensed onto his greatsword.
"Hoooh!"
A colossal fiery bird suddenly appeared and flew forward. The Anemo projectiles were engulfed the moment they came into contact with the fiery bird.
The fiery bird flew straight towards the Anemo Dragon and, with a headshot, knocked it down onto the platform.
"Well done!"
The group then used their wind gliders to descend onto the Stormterror's neck.
"By the sword, I swear!"
"Turn to dust!"
"Here ye go~"
The foul blood on the Stormterror's body instantly exploded after absorbing all the skills.
The cracks on the platform beneath them rapidly widened, and it instantly collapsed. Venti, exhausted, fainted temporarily. Lumine and the others, along with Dvalin, plummeted from the sky...
After some time... Venti slowly opened his eyes and, feeling the familiar sensation beneath him, said:
"We haven't flown together like this in a long time, Dvalin."
"Why... didn't you want me to [protect] you like before?"
"I don't want you to obey the Abyss, but that doesn't mean you have to obey me, Dvalin. Is [freedom] commanded by a god also a kind of [unfreedom]?"
"This is... the power favored by the Anemo God? But I am no longer the [Four Winds Guardian]."
"Even without that title, haven't you still protected us? From now on, fly with my blessings and be more at ease..."
The camera then shifts back to our Ying...
"Hah... pant... I feel like I've run my entire life's worth of roads today (＞д＜)"
"Host, keep it up, you're almost at the cliff edge!"
"Pant... I hope my body can handle the battles that might happen later..."
As she neared the cliff edge, Ying gradually closed the distance to the Hillichurl brutes. Seeing them charge forward, Ying jumped down, grabbing the cliff edge with one hand and climbing sideways.
The Hillichurl brutes quickly tried to brake. The first one managed to stop, but was then bumped by the one behind it, and one after another they continued to advance, finally stopping just short of the cliff edge.
"Not a single one fell?! These Hillichurl brutes have some resilience."
Ying, seeing the foremost one stabilize itself despite having half a foot hanging over the edge, couldn't help but exclaim.
"Hee hee~ The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
With that said, Ying leaped up and ran directly behind them, unleashing a Gale Blade.
"Go down!"
The foremost two Hillichurl brutes, after being squeezed by the ones behind them a few more times, could no longer hold on and fell off the cliff, turning to dust.
Just as Ying was about to charge another Gale Blade to capture them all, the Hillichurl brute at the very back unexpectedly turned forcefully, raising its shield to block Ying's attack.
"What the heck?! Are you cheating?!"
Ying quickly tried to jump down the cliff again, but after only a few steps, a giant shield suddenly appeared in front of her and slammed into her.
"I... Ah! ≥﹏≤"
This blow sent Ying flying, far away from the cliff edge, tumbling dozens of times on the ground before finally stopping.
"Whoa?! Cough... hiss—my leg is injured?!"
As soon as she spoke, the remaining four Hillichurl brutes spread out, blocking the route along the cliff edge and slowly approaching Ying.