"Barbatos! Why are you just watching?! Have you really betrayed me?!"
With Barbatos's efforts, Dvalin, who had been corrupted by the Abyss, finally agreed to trust her and come with Barbatos to see if the toxins in his body could be treated.
To be fair, Barbatos's sincerity was there. She was willing to share the poison in her body, which proved that she hadn't abandoned him, and every time she met him, she would play his favorite lyre.
After many times, Dvalin's rationality gradually recovered, and he agreed to try Barbatos's treatment method. After all, the toxins she had taken from him in the previous few times had been successfully alleviated, so there should be hope for the toxins in his body as well.
But he didn't expect Barbatos to bring him to Cape Oath, to the territory of that terrifying guy.
Indeed! This guy had already betrayed him. All those previous actions were just a ruse to gain his trust, and the real killing move was still with Durandal.
Dvalin roared, wanting to escape. The frantic wind began to blow, and the surrounding flowers and plants, unable to withstand it, were uprooted.
"Oh no."
Barbatos's eyes widened. Just as she was about to tell Durandal to show mercy, Durandal had already made her move.
"Show mercy, Durandal!"
"Nonsense!"
She had originally intended to use her great scythe to attack Dvalin, but Barbatos's words made her put away the great scythe. She simply jumped onto Dvalin's head with bare hands.
"I remember... this move should be used like this, right."
Among the adventurers who came to challenge her back then, there was a very powerful martial artist. She had a very simple move, which was to concentrate power in her fist and punch out.
Durandal didn't understand the principle behind it, but imitating it was no problem. Her pink fist glowed with a terrifying purple light, and under Barbatos's nervous gaze, her pink fist slammed heavily onto Dvalin's head.
Dvalin felt as if he had crashed into a cliff. The intense pain made him dizzy, and this blow prevented him from continuing to fly, causing him to fall heavily to the ground.
"Barbatos... you..."
Dvalin struggled to get up from the ground. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Durandal appear before him, holding a great scythe in her hand, her eyes glowing red.
"You... ruined my flowers, Dvalin. If you dare to make any more big movements, the next actions won't be as gentle as just now, understand?"
Was that punch gentle? Dvalin wasn't sure about the state of his head, but that hit definitely left a huge lump, right? It must have.
Dvalin roared a few times in protest. Seeing him so stubborn, Durandal raised her great scythe and, under Dvalin's terrified gaze, swung it down towards his… claws.
His claws were easily severed. Though they were harder than rock, they seemed as fragile as paper before Durandal's weapon.
"If you make any more big moves, next time it won't be your claws, but your paw, or even your head. Understand?"
Placing the scythe at Dvalin's neck, Durandal said coldly, "If you're unwilling, I can inject the Virus into your body, letting you experience pain even greater than now. Perhaps it might even have a counter-poison effect. Do you want to try it?"
No, no! I'm scared of you, boss, please don't do that.
As the Dragon of the East Wind, when had Dvalin ever suffered such humiliation, being pressed to the ground and beaten like a grandson?
But at this moment, he had to act like a grandson, because if he didn't, he might not even have his life.
At this moment, fear outweighed all other emotions. He could only obediently follow Durandal's commands, terrified that she might be displeased and deal with him.
Durandal snorted lightly. Dvalin just now was like a child afraid of injections; he would do anything to avoid them.
The difference between her and a doctor was that she didn't need to consider the patient's emotions. If Dvalin still wouldn't listen, then he shouldn't blame her for being impolite.
Durandal went to Dvalin's back to check his condition.
Dvalin, lying obediently on the ground, looked at Barbatos beside him, glaring fiercely, wishing he could devour her.
Dvalin: NMD, Barbatos.
"Ahaha~ Don't look at me like that, Dvalin. This has nothing to do with me. You misunderstood my meaning and messed up the flowers Durandal planted, see?"
Barbatos pointed at the messed-up flower field and said, "The Abyss Mage who caused trouble here a while ago was utterly obliterated by Durandal for doing that. If it weren't for my sake, you'd be Dvalin-chan by now."
"Also, Durandal recently developed a terrifying Virus. This Virus causes diarrhea, and many have already suffered from it."
"Hmph!"
Dvalin snorted disdainfully. Diarrhea? That's something only humans do. How could he, the Dragon of the East Wind, do such a thing?
"I know what you're thinking, but you have to know this is Durandal's Virus. Do you think her Virus would be ordinary? Even if it's just a Virus that causes diarrhea, do you think you can be immune to it?"
Barbatos, with an "I'm doing this for your own good" expression, continued, "Think carefully, if you really get infected and your stomach starts to feel unwell, what will you do? Will you hide somewhere in Stormterror's Lair to have diarrhea? Or will you have diarrhea while flying in the air? If it's the latter, imagine if someone found out, what would happen to your reputation as the Dragon of the East Wind?"
Dvalin's body trembled. Oh right! How could he forget that this Virus was created by Durandal? Her Virus was something even a God couldn't resist.
If the scene Barbatos described really happened, then... then Dvalin, from then on, besides the mighty-sounding name "Dragon of the East Wind," would probably have one more, even more "domineering" name.
As soon as he thought his reputation was successfully salvaged, Dvalin's gaze towards Barbatos was no longer hostile, but full of gratitude, thanking her for her intercession, otherwise, a major disaster would have occurred.
"Shut up! Don't move your body."
Durandal fiercely slapped the blood clot on Dvalin's back. This blood clot was growing on Dvalin's back and was already linked to his nerves. This hit made Dvalin cry out in pain.
Seeing Dvalin still intending to move, Durandal prepared to strike again. Barbatos, who was watching, quickly flew over, held Durandal's hand, and repeatedly said, "It's not that bad, it's not that bad," finally managing to calm her down.
After a brief examination of Dvalin's body, Durandal roughly understood what was going on with him. The root of the problem lay in the toxins and the two blood clots on his back. As long as these two problems were dealt with, it would be easy.
"The solution is very simple. I will absorb the toxins in your body, and then remove the blood clots on your back. Your problem will basically be solved."
Dvalin sat on the ground in a very obedient posture, listening carefully to Durandal's explanation.
"You don't have to worry about the toxins; that's the least of my concerns. But the blood clots on your back are already linked to your nerves. Breaking them will cause intense pain, so you need to be prepared."
"That's not a problem, go ahead."
Are you kidding? He's the Dragon of the East Wind! In the past, he had faced countless terrifying enemies and even fought against Stormterror Durin, suffering countless amounts of DMG. Just removing two blood clots, that little pain is nothing, he wouldn't even make a sound.
"Are you really okay, Dvalin? How about I play the lyre for you? Maybe it'll help a little."
Barbatos took out her lyre. Dvalin loved listening to her play, and playing music during treatment should make him feel a little more comfortable.
All Barbatos could do now was play the lyre; besides that, he couldn't help at all.
Dvalin looked at Barbatos with disdain. This guy had always been like this since the beginning. Except for being a little diligent when first transforming the environment of Mondstadt, he was basically slacking off at other times.
She and Andrius had told Barbatos several times to do something proper, but he was just like that. His greatest joys every day were playing the lyre and drinking, leaving them utterly exasperated.
"Stay on the side and don't cause trouble."
Durandal casually pulled out an Electro Slime and threw it at Barbatos, then took out a Slime Condensates and threw it over, instantly causing a paralysis reaction, leaving Barbatos unable to move.
The troublesome fellow was temporarily dealt with, and it was almost time to get down to business.
Durandal closed her eyes, invoked her clearance, and sensed the toxins in Dvalin's body.
What she was doing was not purifying the toxic blood in Dvalin's body, but extracting the toxins from him, so he would inevitably feel pain during the extraction.
But this amount of pain was still within Dvalin's tolerance limit. Aside from a slight initial pain, after adapting, he didn't feel much anymore.
How many toxins were there in Dvalin's body? When Durandal extracted all the toxins, the mass was nearly ten stories high, and that wasn't even counting the width.
It was this level of toxins that had been corroding Dvalin's nerves. No wonder he couldn't bear it and went mad; any living creature would probably have the same result.
"This feeling of ease, it's been so long since I've had it."
This feeling... it was simply too comfortable. Since the battle with Durin, he hadn't felt this comfortable in a long time.
He just wanted to spread his wings and fly freely in the sky.
No sooner said than done, Dvalin spread his wings, ready to fly, but a great scythe flew past his face, smashing heavily into the cliff behind him.
Dvalin's movement paused. He looked at Durandal, whose hand was being held by Barbatos, with a cold sweat. Did this person really want to kill him just now?
"Where do you think you're going? The blood clots on your back haven't been dealt with yet. Why are you in such a hurry to go somewhere? That's the main point."
Oh, he almost forgot about those two things on his back. It was because the toxins were cleared so refreshingly that he forgot there were still two things left to resolve.
"How do you plan to deal with these two?"
"How to deal with them? It's simple."
Durandal extended her right hand, and the great scythe she had just thrown reappeared in her hand.
"Just destroy them. It'll be a little painful, but as the Dragon of the East Wind, you wouldn't be unable to endure even that much pain, would you?"
"... (sweating)"
"Oh, and one of the blood clots is a bit close to your head, so it will be a little more painful. But it's okay, the pain is only for an instant. I believe you can endure it."
"... (looking at Barbatos for help)"
"I'm coming. Don't move around, or if I cut somewhere else, don't blame me."
"Wait... wait a minute! Barbatos! Why are you just watching? Come save me!"