Lobotomy Extraction Technology? The Guide's Warning

Almost the instant he deactivated Identity Overlay, a crushing wave of fatigue swept over him like a tsunami.

His legs gave way, and he dropped to one knee on the flagstones, gasping for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Cold system notifications rang out in his mind, one after another:

[Warning: Enkephalin capacity is low. High-level Identity fusion consumed too much energy, causing a rejection response.]

[System notification: Resonance with the Golden Bough will unlock higher-level Identity Overlay duration and stability.]

[F-01-11-12 successfully contained. Lunacy ×75 obtained.]

[Abnormality containment rooms will unlock after the first resonance with the Golden Bough.]

"Liangzi!"

Seeing the monster disappear, Paimon immediately flew down from midair in alarm.

Her little hands clutched Wei Zhenzu's collar nervously, her large eyes full of worry.

"Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath and reached out to gently ruffle Paimon's soft white hair.

"I'm fine. Still alive." Wei Zhenzu managed a reassuring smile.

"With our universe's cutest guide, Miss Davidai, cheering me on, how could I possibly lose to a bright green beer barrel?"

"Even at a time like this, you're still bringing up that weird name!"

Wei Zhenzu stood up and dusted himself off.

Just as he was about to head back, he was surprised to see the flagstones he had smashed into a web of cracks with Painful Enlightenment rapidly return to their original state amid a faint glow.

Not only that, but despite all the commotion, no Knights of Favonius had come to investigate from the street just beyond the wall.

"It felt... as if the whole battle had been pulled into a little world sealed off from reality," Wei Zhenzu murmured thoughtfully.

The two pushed open the tavern's back door and returned to the Angel's Share, where the air was filled with the aroma of wine.

At the round table in the corner, Venti was still slumped over, playing with an empty wineglass.

Hearing them, he looked up with a smile.

"Ah, Traveler, you're back. So, how was your new drinking buddy? Was he to your taste?"

Wei Zhenzu walked over, pulled out a chair and sat down with a long sigh.

"I gave him a good beating and contained him, though I still can't see him right now."

"My, that was quick and decisive." Venti blinked, a sly smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Since you've contained it... Ehe, let me borrow your ability for a moment."

"Borrow what?" Wei Zhenzu stared at him.

Before he could react, Venti suddenly reached out a pale finger and lightly touched the spot between Wei Zhenzu's eyebrows.

In that instant, Wei Zhenzu felt something deep in his mind being gently plucked, like a string.

As the God of Wind, Venti possessed a terrifying ability to perceive souls and the subconscious.

Following the Enkephalin energy remaining within Wei Zhenzu, he effortlessly sent his consciousness into the Limbus Bus parked deep within his mind.

But just as the fingertips of Venti's consciousness were about to touch the bus's core, two blinding streaks of blood-red light flared in the depths of the sea of consciousness.

It was no elemental power of Teyvat, but pure savagery, the bloody stench of countless killings, and a terrifying murderous intent forcibly suppressed by a powerful will.

"Haa..."

A heavy sigh, full of exhaustion and extreme impatience, sounded before Venti's consciousness.

The phantom of a tall, gray-haired man in a dark coat appeared out of nowhere, barring the way to the bus and the deep well.

His scarlet-glowing eyes stared coldly at the foreign wisp of wind.

"Stop, wind from another world." Vergilius's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a suffocating pressure.

"None of this is for you to investigate. Take your hand out of our manager's head and off this bus."

Facing the undisguised warning, the God of Wind drew back half a step in surprise. His conscious form spread its hands lightly in the darkness, his tone still casual and playful.

"My, what a scary look. No need to be so tense, Mr... Guide with the red eyes?"

"I mean no harm. I was just a tiny bit curious about the scent of unusual fine wine coming from that deep well."

"In The City, curiosity is the cheapest death warrant." Vergilius's gaze did not waver in the slightest.

Though he faced a god from another world, his attitude was unyielding.

"But since Dante still needs to operate on your land for the time being, I'll tolerate this unauthorized intrusion."

The man narrowed his scarlet eyes slightly, his tone carrying an almost tangible sense of danger.

"But if there's a next time, if you try to peer into the bottom of the well... I'll personally cross the boundary and tear your divine throne apart along with this wind."

"What a strict and dutiful guardian. All right, all right, I promise not to touch anything I shouldn't. I'll just take a tiny bit of the concept floating on the surface as payment for providing your manager with information."

Venti blinked lightly and wisely withdrew his consciousness from the bus's core, remaining only among Wei Zhenzu's surface memories of his recent defeat of the Fairy Gentleman.

"I see. Singularity Technology that draws concepts from the deep well of the subconscious through Cogito and gives them form? What a beautiful melody," Venti murmured.

Under Venti's guidance, a current of pure energy was extracted from Wei Zhenzu's mind.

Wei Zhenzu knew nothing of what had happened deep within his consciousness.

Immediately afterward, a dazzling green light enveloped Venti.

When the light faded, Wei Zhenzu and Paimon's eyes widened in unison.

Venti, who had been wearing a green bard's cape, was now clad in green armor resembling a combination of a deep-sea diving suit and a hazmat suit.

The armor's surface was covered in a viscous, jelly-like substance similar to the Fairy Gentleman's, emitting a faint glow, and a pair of small wings had formed on its back.

[External god-level entity interference detected.]

[Successfully extracted the concept of Abnormality (F-01-11-12) through Cogito.]

[New Identity generated: Venti - Lobotomy Corporation E.G.O: Ripple]