"A fine blade."
Caelus casually weighed the Cryo sword in his hand, then pointed its tip toward the Fatui Harbinger before him. "I will return it to you."
In the next moment, his right hand flicked sharply. Blazing flames erupted from his palm and instantly condensed into a radiant longbow formed of pure Pyro Element.
He then placed the Cryo sword against the bowstring as if it were an arrow. Fire and ice collided violently, releasing curls of white vapor into the air. Using the sword as a projectile, he drew the string taut and fired it toward Il Capitano.
At the instant the bowstring was released, an unusual violet mist suddenly spread around Il Capitano. It rapidly enveloped him and the surrounding Fatui soldiers before swallowing them entirely, causing all of them to disappear from the Sacred Flame Arena.
Seeing this, Caelus casually incinerated the Cryo sword midair and allowed the blazing longbow in his hand to dissipate.
[Wait, is the power gap this ridiculous?]
[Wasn't it said that the top three Fatui Harbingers rival the gods? He did not even get a real counterattack in.]
[That leaker lied again. They said the Pyro Archon did not win against Il Capitano. We were fooled.]
[Technically she did not win. Il Capitano retreated before losing completely.]
[More importantly, why did they suddenly start fighting?]
[Isn't it obvious? Il Capitano came for the Gnosis.]
[After La Signora took Venti's Gnosis so easily, did the Harbingers think stealing a Gnosis directly from an Archon was simple?]
[Venti: Ehe, mission accomplished.]
[But Il Dottore also took the Gnosis from the Dendro Archon. Nahida did not confront him directly at the time.]
[Nahida is still young. Her strength has not fully matured. If Il Dottore tried that with the Pyro Archon, he would get punched across Natlan.]
[Fun fact: The Pyro Archon is far younger than Nahida.]
[Pyro Archon: My age is not even a fraction of Nahida's.]
[I kind of wish the Harbinger in Natlan was Il Dottore. Watching the Pyro Archon beat him up would be satisfying.]
[By the way, did anyone notice that the Pyro Archon uses a bow?]
[Of course. He literally formed a blazing longbow.]
[At least he did not start hitting people with the bow itself, or he would really become some legendary Flame Dragon Warrior.]
"Caelus, are you hurt?"
As soon as the battle ended, Mualani ran over. Her bright eyes lowered slightly, filled with concern. Kinich and Kachina hurried over behind her.
"Do I look injured?" Caelus spread his hands with an easy smile.
"That's good." Mualani gently patted her chest and let out a relieved breath. "I originally thought that… um, what was his name again?"
"Il Capitano," Kinich reminded her quietly.
"Right, Il Capitano." Mualani nodded before continuing, "I originally assumed he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. I did not expect him to be this powerful."
"At first I was completely confident in you. But after seeing how strong Il Capitano was, I started worrying you might get hurt."
In the original storyline, Il Capitano was capable of engaging in a fierce battle with Mavuika after she became the Pyro Archon. Although Mavuika ultimately emerged victorious, it was a narrow win, and her condition afterward was far from ideal.
For Mualani and the others, what they had just witnessed was a confrontation at the level of The Seven, a clash that far exceeded human limits.
It was only natural for Mualani to feel uneasy.
"It is difficult to believe a human could reach such a level," Kinich said thoughtfully. "Did Il Capitano also receive divine authority from the Tsaritsa?"
Kinich had received a portion of power from Caelus himself and was already far beyond an ordinary Vision bearer.
Upon witnessing Il Capitano's strength, he instinctively assumed that such power must also originate from a god.
"That strength belongs to him alone. It has nothing to do with the Tsaritsa," Caelus replied.
He knew Il Capitano was originally from Khaenri'ah, and that his heart possessed an unusual property.
Moreover, for various reasons, Il Capitano's power had not even reached its peak state.
"Your Excellency, Pyro Archon, now that the Fatui Harbinger has retreated, will he return in the future?" Kachina asked softly, worry evident in her voice.
Hearing that, Mualani suddenly realized something and quickly asked, "Caelus, why did you allow Il Capitano to escape? With your strength, stopping him should not have been difficult."
From her perspective, although the method of escape was strange and swift, it should not have been impossible for Caelus to prevent it.
"There is no deep grudge between Il Capitano and me. There was no need to pursue him to the end."
Caelus opened his mouth, intending to leave the explanation at that.
Before he could finish, Kinich spoke first.
"When Il Capitano disappeared, it seemed he used a technique belonging to the Masters of the Smoke."
"I believe Your Excellency noticed that someone within Natlan is secretly cooperating with the Fatui and deliberately allowed Il Capitano to leave in order to trace the source."
Kinich stated his conclusion calmly.
Although he had been standing some distance away, his sharp perception allowed him to notice the peculiar phenomenon just before Il Capitano vanished.
"There is a traitor among us?" Mualani's eyes widened in shock. "Caelus, did you intentionally let Il Capitano go so you could uncover the traitor?"
"That was precisely my intention," Caelus immediately adjusted his words.
If he did not, he might end up looking like the one colluding with the Fatui.
"Do you have any clues?" Mualani asked anxiously.
"That will require a proper investigation."
Caelus already knew who had assisted Il Capitano's escape.
It was Ororon.
From a young age, Ororon possessed an unusual sensitivity to souls and could perceive the gradual deterioration of Natlan's ley lines.
Doubting that the current path of the Pyro Archon would truly save Natlan, he believed Il Capitano might represent another possibility. That was why he intervened at the final moment.
Although Caelus was fully aware of Ororon's involvement, he had no intention of exposing it now.
It would be better to leave the matter for the Traveler to investigate thoroughly.
"Your Excellency, what happened here?"
The clash earlier had been loud enough that even those outside the Sacred Flame Arena heard it.
Mavuika, who had been speaking with the Traveler, hurried to the arena after hearing the explosion.
"It was nothing serious," Caelus replied lightly. "Just a brief exchange with a Fatui Harbinger."
["Just."]
[Fatui Harbingers used to symbolize overwhelming combat power. In Natlan, they suddenly look like the underdogs.]
[It is mainly because the Archons of other nations never truly fought the Harbingers. Venti pretended to be weak, Zhongli made a contract, Nahida and Furina lacked combat strength. None of them had a real battle.]
[Only the Pyro Archon actually fought a Harbinger head on. That is why it feels different.]
[La Signora: Does my battle with the Raiden Shogun not count?]
[Was that not the Shogun puppet fighting La Signora rather than Ei herself?]
[Besides, La Signora was defeated instantly. Can that even be considered a battle?]
[Stop. That barely qualifies as a fight.]
...
This fanfiction is completed on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.