Dvalin flapped its wings, stirring up a fierce gale that formed wind blades, shattering the sword light in just a few strikes.
"Truly powerful," Eula remarked seriously. She hadn't held back in that last attack.
Dvalin didn't stop there. It continued to beat its wings, summoning more wind blades, this time targeting Jean's barrier.
No one wanted Dvalin to keep draining Jean's stamina, so they all moved to intercept—with one person charging ahead of the rest.
A white figure leaped into the air. Lumine condensed Anemo energy beneath her feet, greatly enhancing her jumping power.
Her sword, infused with Anemo, sliced through the incoming wind blades in a few swift strokes.
Though Lumine's powers were sealed, her swordsmanship remained top-tier. Faced with the dense barrage of wind blades, she calmly cut through every single one.
"Watch out!" Paimon cried.
Just as Lumine finished clearing the wind blades before her, a massive dragon tail came swinging toward her. With no time to dodge, she could only barely raise her sword to block.
The impact didn't injure her, but the terrifying force still sent her flying. A fall from this height would have likely left her badly hurt.
Paimon had already flown behind Lumine, stretching out her tiny hands to catch her—but her strength was far too meager to stop such momentum.
A Geo pillar rose, supporting a petite figure. The small girl extended both hands toward the two flying toward her.
"Leave it to me."
Noelle caught both Lumine and Paimon with one hand each. The tremendous force might as well have been nothing to her—she didn't even lean back.
However, faint cracks appeared in the Geo pillar beneath her feet.
"Thank you," Lumine said.
"Whew~ That scared me! Are you okay, Lumine?" Paimon fretted.
Lumine nodded to show she was fine.
Meanwhile, after attacking Lumine, Dvalin couldn't dodge in time—a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking its back hard.
Dvalin was fast; ordinary attacks rarely hit. But Lisa had seized the opening after its large movements, finally landing a blow.
The strike left Dvalin in pain, forcing it to gain altitude and distance from the group.
At this height, the others could only watch helplessly—their attacks couldn't reach.
Even Amber's arrows, which had the longest range, were ineffective against Dvalin.
But Amber wasn't discouraged. She kept shooting down the wind blades Dvalin summoned while looking for chances to attack the dragon itself.
Venti was considering whether he should step in. The Knights of Favonius had done well—under normal circumstances, even Dvalin would struggle to defeat them.
However, the knights had no intention of harming Dvalin, focusing more on defense, which gave the dragon the chance to retreat.
Just as Dvalin's attention was fixed on the Knights of Favonius, a fiery phoenix swooped in from the side.
The attack came suddenly. By the time Dvalin noticed and tried to evade, Lisa's electrocution and Amber's arrows restricted its movement, leaving it unable to dodge in time.
The phoenix struck Dvalin's body, drawing a pained roar.
Yet the pain also seemed to clear its mind slightly. Shaking its head, Dvalin looked toward the Knights of Favonius—its eyes held no hatred, only a faint sense of relief.
Dvalin left. The darkened sky brightened once more as the sun reappeared. Thanks to the knights' protection, Mondstadt suffered no damage.
"You all performed wonderfully."
Venti chuckled, no longer pretending to sleep. "Bartender, a bottle of wine, please."
"How could you sleep through all that, bard?" the bartender said, still shaken.
"Dvalin is gone?" Amber lowered her bow.
"Yes, we succeeded," Lisa said with a smile, though she was clearly exhausted from the relentless attacks and defenses.
Jean was in even worse shape. She could no longer stand, kneeling on one knee and propping herself up with her sword, the Aquila Favonia, to avoid collapsing.
Though she hadn't attacked during the battle, her defensive barrier had covered nearly half of Mondstadt. Such an immense feat left her completely drained, even if the fight hadn't lasted long.
"Big sis... Acting Grand Master!" Barbara rushed over anxiously. She wasn't a fighter and could only watch earlier.
Gentle Hydro energy enveloped Jean, soothing her exhaustion and minor injuries.
Dvalin's attacks had been too relentless—even with everyone working together, they couldn't block everything.
Fortunately, they had intercepted the most destructive blows, so any injuries were minor.
Barbara took turns healing the others.
"Traveler, thank you for your help," Jean said once she recovered, expressing her gratitude to Lumine.
After all, Lumine was just a traveler—no one would've blamed her for not joining the fight. Helping was kindness; not helping would've been understandable.
Lumine shook her head. "Everyone was here—of course I'd help."
By "everyone," she meant Amber, Eula, and the others—people she now considered friends.
That included Jean and Lisa too, since she'd already met them because of the book after arriving in Mondstadt.
"Yeah, yeah! And they have delicious Sweet Madames here—we can't let that get destroyed!" Paimon added.
Jean laughed. "Is that so? Then thank you too, little Paimon."
"Both of you, as a token of our gratitude, I'd like to bestow upon you the title of Honorary Knight. Would you accept?" Jean gave a slight bow.
"Honorary Knight? That sounds amazing! Lumine, you should say yes!" Paimon urged.
"Well, if Paimon insists, I suppose I'll reluctantly accept," Lumine said, feigning reluctance despite being pleased.
Kaeya, while being treated, glanced toward a distant alley.
This stubborn guy… He helped out, so why won't he show himself?
Meanwhile, the "stubborn guy" had already returned to the Angel's Share, snatching the wine from Venti's hands.
"You still owe me from last time."
"Eh!? How could you!?" Venti reached out with a dramatic, pleading hand.
Diluc stared at Venti for two seconds before returning the wine.
Though Venti hadn't acted this time, it only reinforced Diluc's belief that he was the Anemo Archon.
"Repelling Dvalin is worth celebrating. This one's on me."
"Long live Master Diluc!" Venti cheered. Dvalin, you're such a good dragon—even now, you're helping me get free drinks.
But now that I've seen Mondstadt's situation, it's time to deal with those meddling Abyss Order fools… How dare they scheme against the Guardian of the East...
At another tavern in Mondstadt, the Cat's Tail, Diona saw that the battle was over and spoke up.
"I'm going out to help, Miss Margaret."
With that, she hurried off.
Margaret watched Diona leave without a word, instead pulling out a book—Teyvat's Strange Tales: Prologue: Act I.
"It really happened…?"
Margaret was stunned. This wasn't just an ordinary novel?
Now, not only characters like Lisa but even ordinary people were realizing the book's extraordinary nature.
[Emotional Value Obtained: 100]
[Source: Margaret]
[Content: The events in the book… were they the future?]
On Lucian's end, emotional value was skyrocketing—all thanks to the people of Mondstadt.
"Oh? Dvalin attacked Mondstadt?" Seeing this, Lucian guessed what had happened.
"Perfect timing. The second volume of the novel is about to be released."
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Lucian: About Jean
"Jean? She's truly incredible. That workload would've made me quit long ago. With her looks, she and her sister could've debuted as idols. Who knows—maybe we'd even get to see Jean in white stockings."