A soothing melody sounded, and before long, the Anemo Dragon from below the cliff flew up and hovered in the sky.
(Wow—the wind it brings is so strong. It looks a little scary up close...)
"It's you. At this point... there's nothing left to discuss..."
Venti: "Is that so? Or am I mistaken? Your eyes seem to be reminiscing about this song..."
(I have to admit, Venti is quite good at fooling people.)
"Host, were you a professional commentator in your past life?"
(Ah, I was just thinking that in my head. Compared to a commentator, I'm more suited to be a 'complaint-er'?)
"I didn't expect you to actually consider your identity, host..."
(Heh heh~)
Jean: "They... can actually communicate..."
An attack suddenly struck, hitting the Lyre of Winds and Venti precisely.
(Is Venti's strength truly so depleted that he can't even dodge such an attack, or is he acting? I can't figure it out... though I can't dodge it easily myself either~)
"Then why are you talking like you can easily dodge it? ←_←"
(La la la~) Lumine awkwardly stuck out her little tongue.
Abyss Mage: "Don't be fooled by him, poor dragon."
Seeing that figure leave the Anemo Dragon's side, Lumine immediately drew her bow and aimed, shooting an arrow straight towards the Ice Abyss Mage's... side.
"He abandoned me long ago... Hmm?! Hmph, trying to sneak attack me? Too bad your aim is terrible."
The Abyss Mage said disdainfully, looking at the wildly off-target arrow. However, just as it was about to continue its smug posture, it suddenly realized something was tied to the arrow...
Before it could react, the bomb tied to the arrow exploded in front of it!
[Boom]—! The intense explosion sent it flying onto the dragon's back, momentarily confused about who and where it was.
"Who?"
Responding to the commotion, the Knights of Favonius, led by Jean, rushed towards Lumine.
"Too bad it didn't explode behind it, otherwise it could have been blown towards Lumine so they could finish it off... Anyway, the best defense is to run! ~" With that, Lumine immediately jumped down, also detonating another bomb and throwing it into the air.
A subsequent explosion blocked Diluc's view as he peered down from the slope. By the time the smoke cleared, Lumine had long since escaped and teleported back to Windrise.
Diluc: "She used the smoke from the explosion as cover and jumped into the sea. I didn't see her."
Jean: "Those bombs earlier... could they be Klee's?! No, Klee wouldn't be capable of doing something like this..."
At this moment, the Ice Abyss Mage had recovered from the chaos, quickly cast a shield on itself, and floated back into the air.
"Damn humans, to scheme to this extent. I was almost killed by you... See, dragon? He's trying to deceive you again..."
Anemo Dragon: "Barbatos..."
Abyss Mage: "Hate him, be enraged! You are now an enemy of Mondstadt and cannot turn back!"
[Roar—!] "Are these people... here to hunt me with you?!"
"That's not true!"
"Hmph... this dragon should serve its true master... As for you, remain here and lament your powerlessness!"
"Stormterror..."
"Master Barbatos, please take care of yourself."
"Haha... You didn't just guess my identity now, did you, Jean? But thank you for continuing to call me by this name."
Diluc: "How is the Lyre of Winds? Can it still be played? Or can it be repaired with Dragon Tears?"
"Hmm... If it's this badly damaged, it might be impossible."
Lumine: "Stormterror's condition is very dangerous, and we don't know who that archer was either..."
"Indeed. If the source of the corruption cannot be defeated, Stormterror's suffering cannot be alleviated. As for that archer... although I don't know her information, it can be inferred that she is on our side, as her first target was that Abyss Mage."
Jean: "Then I will gather the Knights of Favonius to track that Abyss Mage..."
"That won't be necessary."
"Hmm?"
"Not long ago, in the ruins of the Temple of the Four Winds, I personally slew one of its kind. If you wish to track these monsters, you can utilize my intelligence network and methods... The Knights only need to help gather information about that sudden appearance."
Paimon: "Diluc... Although he dislikes the Knights of Favonius, he will protect Mondstadt in his own way."
Venti: "Paimon's tone suddenly became affectionate~"
Diluc: "Hmph... In short, I will wait for news regarding the Abyss... I will make them understand that no matter how lawless the Abyss Order is... some things are unacceptable in Mondstadt."
Jean: "Yes, I will also go back and gather the Knights of Favonius to search for that person who suddenly appeared..."
The scene shifts to our Lumine~
"Quick, quick, let's head to the Stormterror's Lair!"
"The host suddenly became so enthusiastic."
"Nonsense! Are we going to wait here for them to find us? Let's go, and make sure to open every treasure chest and light up every waypoint in Mondstadt along the way!"
The scene shifts back to Mondstadt~
As Jean and Lumine entered the city, they saw Klee about to leave.
"Ah—Acting Grand Master Jean~"
Upon seeing Jean, Klee happily ran towards her.
"Klee, where are you going?"
"Umm?! Klee... isn't going anywhere... I haven't prepared anything."
"Are you planning to go out and fish with bombs again?"
"Umm... Klee knows she was wrong..."
"Sigh... considering you haven't left yet, I'll let it slide this time."
"Wow—Thank you, Acting Grand Master Jean~"
"Huh? Sister Lumine, you're already in Mondstadt City?! Is everything done? Sister Lumine, why did you change your clothes? Were the bombs I gave you useful? (*^w^*)"
"Eh?"
Jean: "You two have met before?"
"No, I don't think we've met before, have we?"
"Huh? Sister Lumine, you don't remember me? Klee was eating fish with you just the other day."
"The other day? I don't think so... right..."
Jean, after listening to Klee's words, asked, "Klee, are you saying you were with the Honorary Knight a couple of days ago, but she was wearing different clothes?"
"Yes."
"She told you she was busy with something and would come to play after she was done?"
"Mhm! Exactly."
"And she borrowed some bombs from you?"
"Yes, yes."
"This... Honorary Knight, do you perhaps have a twin sister?"
"Eh? No, it's just me and my brother."
"Then what is going on..."
"Could someone have impersonated me and intentionally approached Klee? But I didn't know Klee before..."
"It's unclear for now... What was her motive? Did she borrow the bombs just to blow up Abyss Mages..."
"I don't know..."
"In any case, let's investigate first..."