At Severin's feet, elemental power spread outward in all directions—like a silent radar sweeping the land.
Very quickly, he detected something amiss.
"Hilichurls are attacking a merchant caravan nearby—"
Before he could finish, Amber bolted forward.
"There's a Dawn Winery caravan passing through Wolvendom this morning!
Master Diluc specifically told me last night to protect them—I'm such an idiot, how could I forget!"
With Amber gone, Severin vanished in a flicker of space and reappeared at the heart of Wolvendom.
There, a wolf boy was undergoing his trial—facing several black wolves head-on.
Sensing an intruder, Razor twitched his nose.
"Your scent…" he said slowly.
"…Smells good."
Razor was not a man of many words.
But good meant at least one thing—Severin was not regarded as an enemy.
Severin nodded and stated his purpose plainly.
"Razor, I am the Prince of Snezhnaya. I have come to meet the great spirit who watches over Wolvendom—the Lupical's guardian, the demon god Andrius."
Razor looked utterly confused.
Aside from the wolves, he knew nothing of Andrius.
But the word Lupical—family—reached him clearly.
"If you do not know Andrius," Severin continued,
"then attack me, wolf boy. Let me see whether your fangs and claws are worthy of Wolvendom's former glory."
A trace of killing intent leaked from him—deliberate.
Razor instantly hefted the great blade on his shoulder, his expression tense and wary.
Sensing true danger, he unleashed his strongest power at once—an elemental skill known as Lightning Fang.
A phantom thunder wolf burst forth behind him, baring its fangs as crackling Electro surged.
Razor attacked without hesitation.
Severin's words had been a direct provocation.
Yet no matter how fiercely Razor struck, he could not touch Severin even once.
Every blow was effortlessly evaded.
"Brute force alone. No technique," Severin said coldly.
"No understanding of an enemy's mind. No grasp of human intent."
"With such thinking, your future will end here."
"This strength… cannot protect your Lupical."
A cruel truth was laid bare.
The coming war against the Heavenly Principles would plunge all of Teyvat into chaos.
With his current strength, Razor could protect neither the wolves of Wolvendom nor the friends he cherished.
An invisible force blasted Razor away.
He crashed into the ground, dust billowing everywhere.
He staggered to his feet, wiped the blood from his mouth—and charged again.
Again and again he fell.
Again and again he rose.
Like a wounded wolf—dragging a broken body forward, determined to tear out the enemy's throat.
"That's enough."
Severin prepared to move on.
Suddenly—
A string of bouncing bombs came flying from the treetops.
They never reached him.
An unseen divine barrier stopped them cold, detonating at a distance—flames roaring, heat surging.
"I'm the Knights of Favonius' Spark Knight!"
A small red figure hopped down from the branches, proudly announcing herself.
"…Lupical…"
Razor murmured weakly.
Klee was one of his very few human friends—and the closest one.
"You bad guy! You hurt Razor! I'm gonna get revenge for Razor!"
Puffing out her cheeks, Klee hurled more bouncing bombs at Severin.
Severin did not doubt it—
Had this been anyone else, they would have been blown apart or gravely wounded.
So young, yet so vicious.
Even the orphans of the House of the Hearth were less reckless.
"A spoiled child," Severin said coldly.
From a distance, Klee seemed innocent and adorable.
Up close, her willfulness and lack of restraint were unmistakable.
She attacked without even knowing who her opponent was—clearly relying on her status, convinced no one would dare strike back.
Worse still, her use of bouncing bombs was utterly undisciplined.
All spectacle, no control—flashy fireworks, but mostly ineffective.
Mondstadt had spoiled her too much.
No one had ever pointed out these flaws to her face.
She had obtained a Vision at an impossibly young age.
With her mother's reputation and the city's indulgence, everyone doted on her, yielded to her, forgave everything.
And indulgence had bred arrogance.
If she ever faced someone truly ruthless, a single moment of carelessness would cost her life.
This was not exaggeration.
Klee was a flower grown in a greenhouse—never tempered by wind or rain.
"I'm from Snezhnaya," Severin said calmly.
"You call yourself a Spark Knight? Killing a titled Knight of Favonius would earn me quite a bit of merit when I return."
With a single thought, Klee was slammed to the ground.
Her backpack was torn away.
She reached out, managing only to grab Dodoco as it was ripped free.
Then her red hat vanished.
And finally—
When she watched her Vision being taken from her own hands, real fear finally set in.
True terror.
Tears streamed down her face as despair swallowed her whole.
Just as Severin expected—
A child who had never encountered true malice broke instantly.
She forgot how to resist. She could only cry.
"So this is the Spark Knight?" Severin mocked mercilessly.
"Powerless. Unable to save your friend—and about to lose your own life. Doesn't that feeling hurt?"
Since Mondstadt's adults refused to teach her, he would play the villain.
Without tasting the cruelty of the world, she would never grow up.
Only now did Klee realize how terrifyingly powerful the man before her was.
Sobbing, she asked,
"W–Who are you? Are you a Fatui Harbinger?"
"You should've asked that," Severin replied coolly,
"before you attacked."
Clutching Dodoco, Klee suddenly remembered something and forced herself to stop crying.
"If you're a Fatui Harbinger, you must know my family! My mom is Alice!
My brother is Albedo!
If you kill me, they won't let you get away with it!"
Even now, relying on others?
Still—at least she had started thinking.
"No need to scare me, little girl," Severin said flatly.
"Your mother's whereabouts are unknown—even you don't know where she is.
As for your brother, he's far away in Dragonspine. He won't make it in time."
Klee's last shred of hope shattered.
The names she relied on had been exposed as empty threats.
"First," Severin said calmly,
"I'll deal with your friend. Then I'll send you on your way."
With a thought, Razor collapsed under overwhelming pressure—losing consciousness instantly.
At the same moment, Severin pulled a bouncing bomb from Klee's bag—
And hurled it straight toward Razor's body.
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