Abyssal Distortion! The Despairing Final Judgment Heavenly Demon

Shing.

With the Knight of Boreas's extreme acceleration added to it, the kinetic energy of the sword strike reached a terrifying level.

A piercing, pale sword light tore across the sky. Under this flawless coordinated attack, the last of Dvalin's elemental defenses shattered.

"Four." Dress shoes landed steadily on the ground.

The enormous dragon let out a despairing wail and crashed heavily onto the ruined platform. Dark red, poisonous blood gushed from his wound, staining a wide expanse of stone slabs.

"Beautifully done!" Varka hoisted his greatsword onto his shoulder. He was panting heavily, his eyes blazing with the fervor of battle.

Then, the situation suddenly changed.

Just as everyone thought it was over, the clotted mass of Abyssal poison blood on Dvalin's back suddenly began to pulse with an eerie sound.

Thump.

Thump.

It sounded like some evil heart beating.

Dozens of spikes formed from highly concentrated Abyssal poison blood suddenly shot out of the clot.

Rather than attacking Wei Zhenzu, who was closest, they flew at an extremely tricky angle toward Kaeya, who was exhausted in the distance.

The poison spikes were unbelievably fast, tearing through the air with a shriek. Kaeya did not even have the strength to raise his sword, and could only watch as death closed in.

"beep*beep*"

Beneath the mask, Wei Zhenzu showed no sign of panic. He twisted at the waist, and the hand-and-a-half sword in his palm instantly broke apart. Liquid metal stretched out in midair and solidified, forming a heavy spear covered in barbs in an instant.

[Stake of the Hanged Man].

"Intoxicated by silent applause, pierce through, wordless and mournful."

He hurled the spear with all his might, and it flew with a terrifying sonic boom.

The heavy spear pierced every poison-blood spike with precision in midair, sending black venom splattering in all directions. Without losing its force, the spear buried itself firmly in a distant stone pillar.

"Five."

Wei Zhenzu lowered his right arm and coldly announced his progress to the fifth layer.

The defense was broken, and the target was exposed.

"Varka. Send me up." His voice held a trace of a hoarse roar.

Varka did not hesitate. The Knight of Boreas's intuition told him this was their only chance to end the nightmare.

"Wind, go with you!"

He smashed both heavy greatswords into the ground. Violent cyan Anemo compressed wildly deep underground, finally becoming a thick current of air that pierced heaven and earth, surging straight toward Dvalin's back.

Wei Zhenzu did not hesitate. He stepped into the wind field, his dark suit billowing in the gale as his body soared upward against gravity.

The wind roared in his ears as he landed steadily on Dvalin's broad back.

At close range, the Abyssal poison blood's corrosive power reached a terrifying level.

Black-and-purple mist instantly enveloped his legs. The fabric of his expensive dress pants burned through, exposing the skin beneath, scorched a vivid red.

A sharp, stabbing pain pierced his nerves like steel needles, and his flesh gave off a sickening smell of burning.

But he did not stop. The order did not permit him to feel pain. Dragging his injured legs, he stepped through the viscous poison blood.

He walked toward the pulsing clot.

The [Golden Bough] was right before him.

It radiated a pure golden light, utterly at odds with the Abyssal poison blood around it. It was like the only lifeline in this chaotic world, yet also like the culprit behind every disaster.

The searing poison blood scorched his fingertips. He ignored his flesh's cries of agony, and the gloomy smile in his eyes fully blossomed, becoming pure resolve.

His five fingers snapped shut, gripping the scalding branch tightly.

Sacred golden light and black Abyssal energy clashed wildly in his palm. Blood ran down his wrist and dripped onto the Golden Bough.

"Come out..."

Wei Zhenzu let out a low roar of anger. He planted his right foot against a dragon scale and suddenly wrenched with his waist and abdomen.

Crack.

With a tearing sound.

He forcibly tore free the [Golden Bough], which had been buried deep in Dvalin's flesh and radiated endless light.

The blinding golden light erupted at that moment, instantly swallowing the entire tower.

The Golden Bough was out.

Dazzling golden light washed over the ruined platform, and the howling wind fell silent.

Wei Zhenzu panted heavily. Blood dripped from his torn left wrist, spreading across the stone slabs.

He lowered his head and looked at the branch radiating pure energy in his palm. His taut nerves finally relaxed a little.

"It's over..." Behind him, Varka leaned on his greatsword and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Yet the alarm bell of unease in his heart did not stop ringing.

Thump.

A muffled, strange sound abruptly broke the dead silence. It sounded more like some enormous organ being forcibly torn apart.

Wei Zhenzu snapped his head up, his pupils contracting.

Removing the Golden Bough had not brought the return to clarity they had expected.

On the contrary, freed from the suppression of that high-density energy, the pool of purplish-black Abyssal poison blood on Dvalin's back... or rather, some "emotion" that had been lurking deep within the poison blood all along, broke free of its shackles.

A sickening smell of rust and cloying rot began to spread through the air.

Faintly, as if radio frequencies had crossed, countless overlapping, piercing whispers burst directly into everyone's minds:

"Look... they've drained the last of your marrow..."

"Where is Barbatos? Where are the people of Mondstadt?"

"You protected the sky, yet the sky sent down poisonous rain... Why don't you pass judgment on this hypocritical blue sky?"

The poison blood began to boil violently. It no longer flowed like liquid, but multiplied and vaporized like a living thing.

Thick, pungent purple-yellow haze instantly swallowed the tower, and the temperature in the surrounding space plunged to freezing.

This power was no longer limited to corrosion on a physical level. With brute force, it was forcibly reconstructing the concept and form of the wind dragon.

Bones cracked in rapid succession like popping beans. Before everyone's eyes, Dvalin's body underwent a [Distortion] that completely defied the laws of nature.

"Everyone, get back. Don't look directly into its eyes." Wei Zhenzu barked coldly, the weapon in his hand already humming from overload.

"...Every breath you take... every struggle... adds another weight... to the scales..."

The transformation happened at an inconceivable speed. In a few short seconds, the Dragon of the East Wind who had soared through the blue sky was utterly erased. A gigantic, deformed monster slowly rose from the boiling mire of blood and flesh, blotting out the sky above the ruins.

"...The wind... is no longer free... Now... it only carries... the rotting... verdict..."

The Heavenly Demon slowly lowered his pale, eyeless mask. The chains of the scales scraped heavily, like death's pronouncement:

"...My pain... your sins... court is now in session."

[Risk level: WAW]

[Abnormality number: O-02-198]

[Final Judgment Heavenly Demon::Dvalin]