Original God, But It's a Chat Group

"Are you kidding, bro? This was once used by the Anemo Archon. To the Knights of Favonius Church, it's a holy relic. Of course it receives the highest level of maintenance. How could it be the same as someone as obviously sloppy as you?"

"Uh... my friend, you're right!"

Venti felt a little awkward, but he chose to simply give up.

"But unfortunately, due to its age, the Lyre of the Sky has lost its vitality. It needs to be infused with new power before it can function again."

As he spoke, Venti looked at Li Yue.

Li Yue frowned.

"Then why are you standing here looking at me? Go infuse it with new energy!"

"But I can't..."

"Then find someone who can! If you know who can give it new power, go find them. Do I really need to tell you that?"

"Uh..."

Venti was momentarily stunned by this turn of events. He had originally wanted Li Yue to run errands and find someone, but Li Yue had struck first, making it hard for him to say what he had planned next.

"You're right!"

Helplessly, Venti hugged the Lyre of the Sky and went off to find someone.

He knew that a certain stupid Blondie had Dvalin's tears, and that the stupid Blondie could purify them and use them to restore the Lyre of the Sky's vitality. What a pity. He had originally planned to stand here drinking while making Li Yue run errands, with the bar tab charged to Li Yue as well. Instead, he now had to make the trip himself.

Venti left with the Lyre of the Sky, then returned shortly afterward. Three people followed behind him when he came back.

Grand Master Jean, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, along with the ultimate tool-person Blondie and emergency food Paimon.

Jean had been heading from the Knights' headquarters to Angel's Share when she ran into Lumine and Paimon, whom Venti had dragged toward the tavern. The three of them had come together.

For the benefit of the new team members, Venti told Dvalin's story once more. Then he had Lumine take out the Dvalin tear she had stored away, purify it before everyone's eyes, and set the pure tear into the Lyre of the Sky.

The delighted group made plans to deal with Dvalin together the next day. They agreed to meet at Mondstadt City's gate the following morning before going their separate ways. Li Yue and Nahida had taken Diluc's place in the original team, while Diluc, the Darknight Hero, was still on the roof of Favonius Cathedral, carefully watching every exit as questions kept arising in his mind.

Why hasn't he come out yet?

Dvalin, Don't Make Empty Threats So Easily

At Gazing Star Cliff, the members of the East Wind Dragon Strike Team had gathered.

Compared to the team from the previous night, there was one more member today. Diluc had ultimately joined them.

Master Lu had waited atop West Wind Cathedral for a full hour. When Li Yue failed to emerge, he chose to return to the tavern and see what was going on. On the way, he encountered Grand Master Jean returning to the Knights' headquarters. Jean had been wondering why she had not run into Diluc at the tavern, since Diluc had clearly been the one to invite her over. After an explanation, Diluc learned of Venti's plan. The following morning, he joined the strike team with Jean. Venti was incredibly welcoming toward Master Lu's arrival, and then everyone came to Gazing Star Cliff together.

Gazing Star Cliff was a seaside precipice east of Mondstadt City. It was practically the highest point outside the city, as well as the best place in Mondstadt to enjoy the sea view. Mondstadt's young men and women loved this place, and young couples often braved the risk to come here on dates.

"Wow, this place has such beautiful scenery."

God's Mouth was the first to voice her admiration after arriving at Gazing Star Cliff.

"It really is beautiful."

Li Yue nodded in agreement as well.

"A different kind of scenery really clears the mind."

Nahida, this little Sumeru kid, was seeing the ocean for the first time and could not help sighing in admiration as well.

"So? The place I picked is pretty good, right?"

Venti proudly planted both hands on his hips.

"It fits the theme of Destined Reunion, doesn't it?"

Destined Reunion was the theme Venti had chosen for his reunion with Dvalin.

"Then, it's time to begin preparations."

Grand Master Jean took a deep breath.

"Mm, I'll be counting on you."

"For some time now, all of Mondstadt City has borne far too much."

Diluc glanced at Jean.

"In the end, the one solving the problem is actually a bard. As for the Knights... let's just say they deserve some credit for their hard work."

Master Lu, who disliked the Knights, routinely expressed his dissatisfaction with them.

"Alright, alright, everyone stand back a little. The finest bard in all the world is about to pluck his strings."

Taking out the Lyre of the Sky, Venti walked to the highest point of Gazing Star Cliff under everyone's watchful eyes, then plucked its strings.

The Lyre of the Sky produced a beautiful sound. Empowered by the strength of Dvalin's tear within the lyre and Venti's Anemo Elemental Power, the music traveled into the sky and spread throughout Mondstadt on the wind.

Less than a minute after the Lyre of the Sky began to play, the gentle breeze atop Gazing Star Cliff turned violent. A roar echoed from the heavens, and everyone looked up—except Li Yue, who looked straight ahead of Gazing Star Cliff.

Roar!!

Accompanied by that furious roar, Dvalin surged up from beneath Gazing Star Cliff. It circled through the air before slowly landing directly before Venti. Its blue-glowing eyes stared coldly at Venti as it opened its mouth and released a low growl.

"It's you!"

"At this point... there's nothing left to discuss!"

"Is that so? Or have I seen it wrong?"

Venti stood with one hand on his hip, a smile on his face.

"Your eyes look as though they're remembering this melody."

"They really can communicate."

Grand Master Jean stared in surprise at Venti and Dvalin from behind. She had not expected the communication Venti had mentioned yesterday to actually be possible.

"Mm, Dvalin really is huge when viewed up close."

Nahida was also full of curiosity as she observed Dvalin at close range. More new unknowns—how nice.

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: He didn't seem that big before, but up close... although he looks different from the dragons in the ACG works from our world, he really is enormous! He's almost as big as a medium-sized passenger plane.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: In terms of size, he is acceptable. He looks roughly the same size as a Gillian, but both his agility and offensive power should be far stronger than a Gillian's.

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: Gillian? Those huge black things?

Kasumigaoka, who had watched Bleach, knew what Gillians were as well.

Meme Lord: He is an Anemo Archon's familiar, after all. He commands the power of wind, and his own strength is considerable. Gillians in Godfather's world are Hollows, and they are indeed troublesome for cannon-fodder Soul Reapers. But to higher-ranking Seated Officers, they are nothing. Though huge, they move slowly and have weak defenses. Other than Cero, they basically have no other means of attack. As long as you can deal with Cero, Gillians are just targets.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Indeed. As entry-level Menos Grande, Gillians are merely targets in battle. I am quite curious to see what kind of performance the East Wind Dragon before you will show, Li Yue-kun.

Meme Lord: There's no need to look forward to his performance. Dvalin has lost the strength of the Anemo Archon's familiar and has been corrupted, so less than a tenth of his power remains. There's basically nothing to expect. Godfather, rather than looking forward to Dvalin, you should look forward to my performance in a moment.

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: Oh? Li Yue-kun, are you going to deal with him right here?

While Grand Master Jean and the others marveled at the exchange between Venti and Dvalin, Li Yue had already opened a livestream to let the Chat Group members witness this famous scene.

After watching the livestreams these past few days, Aizen had also realized that Li Yue had come to see Dvalin purely for amusement. Thus, he was very curious about the performance Li Yue mentioned.

Meme Lord: Godfather, make sure to keep your eyes wide open in a moment!

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: I'm looking forward to it.

Ending his conversation with the group members, Li Yue looked forward. The atmosphere between Dvalin and Venti had eased by then. Just as Venti had said, the Lyre of the Sky had indeed restored Dvalin's rationality.

"If I remember correctly, in a moment there'll be..."

Li Yue looked toward Dvalin's back. Sure enough, just as Venti was about to touch Dvalin, a chunk of ice suddenly shot out from behind Dvalin, aimed at the Lyre of the Sky in Venti's hand.

Smack—

A hand suddenly reached out and caught the ice directly before it could strike Venti.

"Eek!"

Venti acted as though he had been frightened, abruptly leaping backward while making an exaggerated sound.

Li Yue's mouth twitched. Wasn't that "eek" a little too fake?

"Do not be deceived, pitiful dragon."

Accompanied by a shrill voice, a Cryo Abyss Mage floated out from behind Dvalin.

"He abandoned you long ago, and now he wants to deceive you again."

"Do you see the people beside him?"

The Abyss Mage pointed at Li Yue beside Venti.

"This is what I tested. He brought these people here to kill you. Because you have become Mondstadt's enemy, you have also become his enemy!"

"You have no way out now."

Although the attack had not landed, the interruption had ruined the Lyre of the Sky's soothing effect. Misled by the Abyss Mage, Dvalin entered a state of Wrath once more and opened his enormous mouth.

"Ba..."

A massive pressure suddenly descended from above. The crushing spiritual pressure made Dvalin choke out only one syllable before his head slammed downward as though struck by a heavy blow, forcing the rest of his words back down his throat. Its enormous body trembled violently downward as well.

"Who is it?!"

After shuddering briefly from the impact, Dvalin immediately spread its wings and regained its balance, throwing back its head as it roared furiously.

Facing the enraged Dvalin, Li Yue slowly stepped forward. With every step, he rose another fraction into the sky. After several steps, he had reached the same height as Dvalin, standing directly in midair and meeting its gaze.

Though Li Yue had not said a word, Dvalin knew that this human was the one who had attacked it just now. It roared in fury.

"Human! I will kill you!"

Yet Li Yue merely smiled calmly at Dvalin's furious roar.

"Dvalin, don't make empty threats so easily. It only reveals your weakness!"

Hair Gel Man in the Sky: ...

Fat Woman in Black Stockings: 6!

Aizen's Quotes Never Go Out of Style!

Above Gazing Star Cliff, Anemo elements gathered in an incomparably violent storm. The once mild breeze transformed into terrifying gale-force winds, powerful enough to snap trees and prevent people from standing upright. It was as though the violent winds of the God of Storms from Mondstadt's legends of the Archon War had reappeared in this age.

The violently gathered Anemo elements eventually formed a massive azure tornado that pierced the heavens. The shockwaves it created forced everyone atop Gazing Star Cliff to lie flat on the ground to avoid being swept away by the wind. Paimon even had to rely on Lumine holding her hand to keep from being blown away.

Yet this violent tornado could not touch the target it sought to attack.

The controller of the raging tornado was Dvalin, the East Wind Dragon. After being enraged by one of Li Yue's Aizen's quotes, it began attacking Li Yue madly.

"Running away? Do you see me running away?"

Li Yue pushed up the nonexistent glasses on his face.

"I'm merely giving you time to display yourself. Because after this, you will no longer have the chance to show off the power you take such pride in."

"Die!"

Enraged by Li Yue's Aizen's quotes, Dvalin continuously gathered the surrounding Anemo elements, turning them into one vortex shell after another before bombarding Li Yue in a frenzy.

The elements in the air instantly became utterly chaotic, and everyone atop Gazing Star Cliff suffered miserably under the disorder.

"What's wrong with Li Yue? Why is he suddenly trying to provoke Dvalin?"

The weakest among them, Paimon, could not help complaining. Diluc lay on the ground, bracing himself with his greatsword while looking up at Li Yue, who was constantly moving through the sky to evade vortex shells.

"Rather than that, I'm more concerned about the fact that he can fly through the sky. He clearly isn't using Anemo Elemental Power."

"I heard Kaeya mention that Li Yue seems to be one of Liyue's Adepti."

"An Adepti?"

Diluc looked at Li Yue with doubt. Meanwhile, after moving sideways to dodge another vortex attack, Li Yue still wore a smile and appeared completely calm.

"Bastard!"

After realizing his long-range attacks could achieve nothing, Dvalin directly beat its wings and lunged at Li Yue, preparing to bite him at close range.

"It seems you have no more tricks left. In that case..."

Watching Dvalin pounce, Li Yue gripped the hilt of the blade at his waist. Just as Dvalin was about to bite him, he suddenly vanished from where he stood.

When Li Yue appeared again, he was already behind Dvalin. Space was severed in an instant—not the space before Li Yue, but the space along Dvalin's back.

A massive wound appeared across Dvalin's long back, and blood instantly sprayed into the sky.