"You want to ask about the Anemo Archon?" Venti folded his arms, his gaze sweeping over Lumine, who was pressed close to Gabrielina. "Because of Dvalin?"
Paimon immediately floated over, ready to blurt out that a god had taken Lumine's brother, but Lumine cut her off.
"Yes. Someone told me about the dragon's past."
Paimon scratched her head in confusion, looking as though she wanted to say something, but ultimately kept quiet.
"Oh? What do people think of Stormterror these days?"
Gabrielina merely raised an eyebrow and watched him in silence. Though she said nothing, her eyes had already given Venti his answer.
...No, he knew perfectly well himself.
"Ah, forget it! Probably nothing good, right?" Venti sighed, looking forlorn.
"There's no time to sigh. Something-"
Before Gabrielina could finish, a piercing buzz tore through the air, rushing toward them with an aura of destruction.
"Looks like I've been away for so long that some things aren't too happy about my return~"
Venti pointed behind Gabrielina and Lumine. Fierce winds swept toward them as a mass of rock, shrouded in an ominous blue-green glow, rose into the air and hurtled down at them like a meteor.
It was an Eye of the Storm, a monster commonly found in the wilderness, formed from a violent concentration of elemental energy.
"Watch out!" Lumine pushed Paimon aside and instantly slid out of the way, her Dull Blade tracing a blue-green arc as she slashed straight at the core.
Two Wind Blades flew from her hands, shooting straight toward the Eye of the Storm.
Yet the attacks only barely passed through the monster's body before shattering against the outer layer of its core.
"Having a little trouble, are we~?" At some point, Venti had leisurely perched on a branch, plucking his strings. "Need a hand from Mondstadt's finest Bard?"
The boy whipped a blue-green bow out from behind his back. Its string sang, and arrows shot like meteors toward the center of the storm.
Gabrielina calmly dodged the Eye of the Storm. Watching the countless streaks of light fly toward it, her eyes flickered as she inwardly sighed. Even in Genshin, there's a Yuan god to watch.
But before that impressive barrage could reach the core, the raging winds swept it away.
"...Can we actually count on you?"
"Gabrielina!"
Lumine's voice mingled with the chaotic winds, nearly torn to shreds, but it still reached Gabrielina's ears.
The two girls' eyes met for an instant. Lumine had already leaped up, placing her toes precisely on the black substance forming in midair. With a sharp flick of Gabrielina's wrist, she shot straight toward the Eye of the Storm.
Lumine descended from the sky like a golden star, her blade aimed at the storm's most hideous "heart."
Yet the wind barrier seemed to notice her intentions. Sensing the approaching threat, it concentrated all its elemental energy at that single point and barely managed to withstand her attack.
The sword stopped completely just centimeters from the core, unable to advance another inch.
Of course, Gabrielina had never expected a one-hit kill. Lumine was only bait, and her own lethal weapon was already ready.
Watching Lumine begin to fall from midair, Venti snapped his fingers. A gentle breeze rose beneath her skirt, keeping her suspended in the air.
"Found your opening!" Gabrielina's golden eyes blazed. The instant the monster swelled to its limit, she vanished into thin air, reappearing right beside its core. Between her loosely cupped hands, an absurdly massive Black Great Hammer materialized.
Eigh! Ty!
BOOM-
The great hammer crashed down, trailing ripples of distorted space as it smashed the Eye of the Storm straight into the ground.
At the same time, Lumine deftly withdrew her blade and disengaged, unleashing one final Palm Vortex. Using its recoil to retreat some distance, she gracefully avoided the billowing dust, her clothes fluttering around her.
There was no joy at victory in her amber eyes, only fear of violence. ()
Venti watched the monster's remains dissolve at the bottom of the deep crater. His mouth twitched as he quietly hid the lyre in his arms behind his back. Are girls these days all this... awe-inspiring?
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you. You two really are impressive~" Venti leaped down from the treetop, clapping in praise.
"So," Lumine put away her sword and fixed Venti with an intent gaze, "why did you come here?"
As Venti withdrew his power, she slowly descended from the air.
His faint connection to Dvalin, that familiar voice, and his identical ability to control the wind-if she had only suspected before, Lumine was now almost certain of Venti's identity.
But why did he seem... completely lacking in dignity?
Lumine meant no insult to Venti. But those arrows he had fired hadn't even seemed to pierce the Eye of the Storm's defenses. In other words, Gabrielina looked more like a god instead. (As in, smashing it to pieces with one swing.)
Surely he wasn't putting on an act? Slacking off? Would a proper god do something like that...?
"Hmm... You said someone told you about the dragon's past?"
After Lumine repeated Lisa's explanation to Venti, he fell silent. Several seconds later, he slowly nodded, as though affirming her words.
"That's right. The Knights of Favonius' assessment is correct. Dvalin certainly isn't attacking Mondstadt because people have stopped making offerings to the [Four Winds]."
"His hatred stems from a curse, and that is precisely why I'm here."
"A curse?"
Lumine and Paimon were both a little puzzled by Venti's explanation.
"For centuries, poisonous blood has tormented him, denying him peaceful sleep." Venti gazed into the distance, his fingers unconsciously plucking his lyre's strings. "After he awoke this time, the Abyss Order exploited his weakness and further corrupted his mind."
"The [Abyss Order]? Is that some kind of organization?"
Gabrielina had been inwardly joking that, since Aether was the Order's boss, the Abyss Order probably counted as Lumine's family business. Hearing Paimon's question, she turned her head too.
"Are they a bunch of furry guys who look really freaky?"
Venti rubbed his chin, struggling to make sense of her abstract description. "Hmm... Not all of them... but more or less. The Order is an evil organization made up of nonhuman beings. They harbor a deep hatred for humanity."
"Huh? You've seen them, Gabrielina?" Lumine looked into Gabrielina's eyes and asked curiously.
"Yes. I dealt with a few of them with Kaeya in the temple earlier."
"Why didn't you tell me! Then... you weren't hurt, were you?"
Gabrielina patted the hammer she had dropped beside her feet, making two "bang, bang" sounds.
"...Oh."
Before you continue