A swirling, verdant vortex ravaged the monster horde. Dvalin's colossal wings blotted out the sky, each beat generating windstorms that hurled swathes of monsters into the air.
Razor-sharp blades of Anemo energy rained down like a torrential downpour, precisely shredding the monsters' bodies. The Abyss-enhanced creatures roared in defiance, yet the wind blades sliced them apart like paper.
Even the thick-skinned Stonehide Lawachurl couldn't withstand Dvalin's relentless assault. Its Geo armor shattered, and the Abyss black mist seething within its body was instantly devoured by the swirling vortexes.
The Knights stood frozen in awe, their grips on their weapons gradually loosening.
Finally, one of them couldn't resist raising his spear and cheering:
"The East Wind Dragon has returned! Mondstadt is saved!"
"Lord Barbatos is still with us! He hasn't abandoned Mondstadt!"
The cheers rippled outward like waves. Even Jean's tightly drawn lips finally curved into a faint smile. She wiped sweat from her brow, the exhaustion in her eyes replaced by renewed vigor.
"By the blade, we swear!"
"God of Anemo, lead us to victory!"
Elemental energy surged continuously from their Visions, bathing Jean and the Favonius Knights in a faint green light.
Under this gentle radiance, the Knights' wounds began to heal, and their stamina was fully restored!
-
Venti stood atop Dvalin's broad back, concealing his Archon status. He merely plucked the strings of his bow, Elegy for the End, letting Anemo spread across the battlefield.
At a corner of the city, two Favonius Knights were cornered by Mitachurls. Suddenly, the Anemo coalesced into invisible hands, hurling the monsters into the air.
Beneath the city walls, an archer was about to be ambushed when the Anemo solidified into a barrier, blocking the attack.
Whenever a dark purple space rift threatened to expand, Venti drew his bow and loosed an Anemo-infused arrow. Upon impact, the swirling wind vortex tightened like a living thing, ensnaring the rift. The monsters attempting to emerge were crushed by the vortex before they could even scream.
"The space rifts are shrinking!" Jean exclaimed, pointing at the gradually closing rifts in the distance, her voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement.
Diluc's Wolf's Gravestone blazed with searing flames as he cleaved through three Mitachurls with a single strike. The fire surged along the blade, incinerating the surrounding monsters to cinders.
Kaeya flanked the monsters, condensing ice into razor-sharp icicles and precisely firing them at the Hilichurl Shaman's staff, freezing its spellcasting mid-motion.
The two coordinated flawlessly, gradually driving the remaining monsters toward Dvalin's Anemo vortex. The tide of battle had completely turned in Mondstadt's favor.
-
In Lu Nanqing's live stream on Earth:
"Holy crap! Dvalin's combat power is insane! He's on a completely different level compared to his weekly boss form!"
"You're fighting a crystal, what does that have to do with Dvalin?"
"LOL, Venti's still hiding his true strength!"
"Mihoyo always keeps a trick up their sleeve. I almost cried when Lydia was getting swarmed earlier, but thankfully Venti showed up!"
Lu Nanqing, controlling Lumine, carefully helped Lydia walk toward the city gate.
On the screen, Lydia's steps were unsteady, her snow-white dress stained with black-purple monster blood and crimson streaks of her own.
The wounds from the Rifthound attack earlier still ached, making her hand tremble slightly as she gripped Festering Desire.
Scattered monsters that tried to pounce were swiftly cut down by Favonius Knights, who then nodded respectfully to Lumine and Lydia, their eyes filled with admiration and gratitude.
"It's finally ending!" Paimon swooped down from the city wall, circling Lydia twice. "Lydia! The monsters are almost cleared out! Amber must be recovering in the Cathedral too. We can finally celebrate your belated birthday!"
Lydia, however, didn't share Paimon's exuberance.
Lydia lowered her gaze to the Festering Desire in her hand, its black and white glow gradually dimming, as if losing its vitality.
"But... we still haven't found the monster that harmed Amber," she murmured, her voice tinged with sorrow, her eyelashes trembling slightly. "Lucy, Tom... they haven't received justice yet."
Lumine stopped walking and gently patted Lydia's shoulder, her voice as soft as the evening breeze. "I know what you're worried about."
"But Mondstadt is safe now. We have plenty of time to seek revenge. Besides, Venti's back. He might find an antidote for Amber soon, or even heal her directly."
Lydia lifted her head, the confusion in her eyes gradually dissipating. She nodded slightly and was about to take a step when a piercing scream suddenly tore through the night sky—
"Aaaaaaah—!"
Immediately afterward, a new quest, "Ashen Armor and the Shadow of Snow," popped up.
The game screen instantly switched to an animated cutscene.
In the scene, three Favonius Knights had just slain the last Hilichurl.
Before they could catch their breath, two dark purple space rifts suddenly materialized before them, as if from thin air. Within the swirling black mist churning within the rifts, crimson pinpoints of light flickered ominously.
Thinking it was a common monster, the Knights charged forward with their lances raised. The lead knight even raised his shield, preparing to block the monster's first attack.
But in the next instant, an icy sword force shot out from the rift with blinding speed, leaving only an afterimage.
The knight didn't even see the attack coming before the sword force bisected him at the waist, splattering blood across the snow and instantly dyeing it crimson. His severed torso slumped to the ground, his lance clattering to the ice, sending a chill through the hearts of the watching knights.
Two figures slowly emerged from the rift.
On the left stood the Poison Dragon Knight, slender and frail. His exposed left chest revealed a heart pulsing with dark red light, its blood vessel-like patterns clearly visible on its surface, mirroring the Cryo Archon's Vision beneath the ice armor on his right chest.
The ice-blue Vision radiated a chilling light, with delicate ice crystals clinging to the gaps in his armor.
The Ice Sword in his hand was wreathed in black mist. With each step, a thin layer of ice formed beneath his feet, revealing dark, abyssal patterns beneath the frozen surface.
The knight on the right was much larger, his entire body encased in heavy black Abyss Armor studded with spikes. Only half a heart was visible on his right chest.
The light pulsing on the smaller knight's heart was dimmer, and the Abyss black mist swirling around it made the air feel thick and viscous, as if even the wind itself had been dyed black.
"What is that... a new kind of monster?" Jean's expression darkened instantly, her relaxed grip tightening once more on her sword hilt.
Diluc and Kaeya also halted their movements, exchanging a grave look. The aura emanating from these two monsters was far more terrifying than that of any enemy they had faced before.
The slender Poison Dragon Knight launched the first attack.
Its speed was astonishing. The Cryo sword sliced through the air, leaving a pale blue afterimage. Even the knights on the walls couldn't track its movements before it materialized behind one of their comrades.
The Cryo sword pierced the knight's chest effortlessly. Black Abyss energy surged along the blade and into the knight's body, causing him to swell visibly.
A thin layer of ice rapidly crystallized on his skin, followed by an explosive crack. Ice shards and blood splattered across the ground, still seething with dark energy, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
The cheers from the city wall died instantly, replaced by deathly silence.
"Unforgivable!" Noelle's furious roar shattered the silence.
Dazzling Geo energy erupted around her, coating her Claymore. The blade instantly expanded to ten meters long, its Geo patterns glowing vividly across its surface.
Noelle braced her feet against the ground, leaping high into the air. With the weight of a thousand mountains behind it, the Claymore crashed down toward the frail Poison Dragon Knight's head.
The strike channeled her entire strength, the air itself buzzing with the force of her swing.
But just as the Claymore was about to fall, the towering Poison Dragon Knight suddenly vanished from his spot. In the next instant, he teleported in front of the frail knight, shielding him with his own body.
Clang—!
A deafening clang reverberated as the Claymore slammed into the towering knight's Abyss Armor. Sparks flew, leaving only a shallow scratch.
Noelle's pupils constricted in shock. Before she could react, the towering knight whirled around, his black-aura-infused fist slamming into her Geo Shield.
Fine cracks spiderwebbed across the Geo Shield as the colossal impact sent Noelle flying. She crashed to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. The armor over her chest was warped from the force.
The towering Poison Dragon Knight loomed over the fallen Noelle, the black aura around him surging violently, as if he were attempting to control some immense power.
A silent wind swirled briefly, then vanished.
The Poison Dragon Knight's body trembled slightly, his dark red heart pounding faster and faster.
-
High above, Lu Qiuyun's spirit body floated amidst the clouds.
Behind her, within the Dragonspine mountains, the blizzard suddenly intensified. Furious winds whipped snowflakes into towering snow columns, and within one such column, a pair of crimson eyes slowly ignited.
These eyes were several times larger than even Dvalin's, radiating a suffocating, murderous intent.
Then, a body two or three times Dvalin's colossal size slowly unfurled, its ice-covered bones wreathed in dense Abyss black mist.
With each flap of its wings, the clouds were torn apart. The Demon Dragon's roar pierced through the heavens, crashing toward Mondstadt like thunder, shaking the very earth.
"Venti, Dvalin..." Lu Qiuyun murmured softly, the Abyss energy coiling around her fingertips glowing with a dark purple light. "Do you really think you've won? This game has only just reached its climax."
She watched the Poison Dragon Knight attempt to unleash "certain" powers, a cold sneer curling her lips.
"Go forth! Reclaim the power that is rightfully yours!"