Abyss.
The Abyss Herald informed Aether of everything that had happened to him.
Aether, taking the Abyss Herald with him, returned to the ruins. Seeing the Statue of the Seven, its Abyssal power completely drained, and the shattered orb, Aether's expression was grim.
"The plan targeting Wolvendom is canceled. Dispatch personnel and spare no effort to find the individual you mentioned."
The Abyss Herald placed his right hand over his chest:
"As you command, Your Highness!"
---
Returning to the Traveler, from the player's perspective.
Lumine, Paimon, and Dain followed the traces of the Abyss, learning that they were searching for the eye of the world's first Ruin Guard.
Finally, they discussed the defiled inverted Statue of the Seven within the ruins again, which Lumine remained bothered by.
Paimon suggested inquiring at the Favonius Cathedral in Mondstadt. Dain's expression was peculiar, but he ultimately said nothing.
During their journey to Mondstadt, Paimon, who was usually rather oblivious, also noticed something was amiss.
"Um, have you guys noticed that there seem to be a lot more monsters in Mondstadt, and they seem to be more aggressive?"
"Could something else we don't know about have happened in Mondstadt?!"
Lumine and Dain said nothing, merely quickening their pace.
Dain's expression was profound, for he detected faint wisps of Abyssal energy on these monsters.
These creatures had become what they were now entirely due to the Abyss.
Aether— what are you planning now?
Dain could roughly guess some of the Abyss's intentions from both their plan targeting Stormterror and the as-yet-unstarted plan targeting the Archon Osial.
But— this time, creating such chaos and even drawing in many innocent ordinary people, he found it very difficult to understand.
Although he and Aether had now gone their separate ways, Dain believed he still understood Aether quite well.
Faced with the current facts, he had to investigate thoroughly!
They cleared monsters as they advanced, until they arrived outside Mondstadt.
Even Lumine showed signs of fatigue.
The entrance to Mondstadt was a bridge, which was now covered in scorch marks. Many arrows had yet to be cleared, and there were traces of fire damage in numerous places.
Monsters disappear directly after being defeated, so although no monster remains were visible on the bridge, it was imaginable that a fierce battle had erupted here earlier.
As an Honorary Knight of Mondstadt, Lumine's reputation in Mondstadt was quite high.
The gate guard, Knight Swan, seeing it was Lumine, opened the gate without a word.
"Sir Swan, what exactly is going on? Why have so many monsters suddenly appeared?" Paimon was very confused.
Swan said helplessly:
"We don't know either. These monsters only appeared this morning and are very aggressive. Acting Grand Master Jean and the others are already investigating, and I believe results will be available soon."
"You must have encountered many monsters on your way here, but with the Honorary Knight's strength, these monsters shouldn't have been able to harm you."
Although Swan was speaking to Lumine, to Paimon, it was no different from speaking directly to her.
She crossed her arms:
"Of course, we are very strong! We've defeated countless monsters on this journey, there were so many, densely packed, too many to count!"
Lumine was used to Paimon's occasional silliness; she was more concerned about other matters now and needed to enter the city quickly.
"Then we'll go into the city first."
Swan performed a solemn knight's salute:
"Please proceed, the three of you. May the Anemo Archon protect you!"
---
Arriving at the Anemo Archon statue plaza in front of the Favonius Cathedral, Dain said to Lumine:
"You two may go. We shall part ways here."
Paimon: "Dain isn't coming with us?"
"My identity is special. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I will not accompany you two. The matter of finding the Ruin Guard can be continued later. For now, there seem to be even more troublesome things, and I also have urgent questions that I need to find answers to."
Lumine looked at Dain and nodded gently.
Dain departed, and Paimon and Lumine immediately headed to the Favonius Cathedral.
The two found Barbara there, busy treating the injured.
Although they were only low-level monsters, a certain number of them could cause significant trouble, and injuries were inevitable.
Lumine and Paimon asked Barbara about the first Ruin Guard. Evidently, Barbara was unaware of it.
Next, the two inquired about the Statues of the Seven. Considering Barbara's protection, they did not specifically explain what they had seen in the ruins.
After learning that a Statue of the Seven had indeed been lost in the past, Lumine and Paimon bid farewell to the Favonius Cathedral.
Barbara was very busy right now; they should occupy less of her time.
Outside the cathedral, Paimon asked Lumine:
"Lumine, where are we going next?"
Lumine replied without hesitation: "The Knights of Favonius headquarters."
---
When Jean learned that the source of the trouble was in Dragonspine, she consulted with Lisa, Kaeya, and Diluc, who had just returned, among others.
The result of the discussion was to dispatch a small team to Dragonspine to find the source of the trouble, and then, resolve it.
It was a direct and most effective plan.
Constantly defending within the city was not a permanent solution; it was not their style of action.
The finalized team roster included Diluc, Kaeya, Eula, Rosaria, and Lisa.
Originally, it was these five, but the moment the decision was finalized, the Traveler arrived, so the Traveler Lumine and the somewhat useless Paimon were added to the list.
Ruola entered almost right after Lumine. Seeing this, she immediately expressed her desire to go:
"Brother! Me! Me! I want to go too."
Paimon: "Oh, it's Ruola, why are you behind us?"
Ruola gave a mischievous smile:
"Hehe, didn't notice, did you? I was going to scare you."
"Ugh, how annoying, good thing you jumped out."
Diluc's face darkened, and he put on his older brother's authoritative air: "Ruola, don't be silly. This is not a game."
Ruola's spirits immediately fell, but she still looked at Kaeya with some reluctance, secretly winking at him.
Kaeya silently turned his head away, pretending not to see.
"Alright—"
Ruola glanced at her older brother and Brother Kaeya again, knowing that she definitely wouldn't be able to go this time, and could only leave first.
After coming out, Ruola found a secluded spot, cleared her throat, and called out:
"Venti, Lord Venti! Help me, Lord Venti!!"
Dragonspine had Durin, and a Durin modified by the Abyss at that. Its strength would only be greater than before, and it would be useless even if her brother and the others went.
Although she knew Venti should go, what if he didn't?
Almost as soon as Ruola finished calling, a green figure appeared on the wall behind her.
"Little Ruola, what do you need me for?"
"Venti, it's like this—"
Ruola completely told Venti about Mona observing the source of the trouble and the Mondstadt team preparing to depart, finally emphasizing that she also wanted to go!
Venti pondered for a moment after listening, then said:
"Alright, I'll watch over them. Little Ruola doesn't need to worry."
With that, Venti transformed into a gust of wind and left.
Ruola stood stunned for a long while — "Hey, what about me? I want to go too!"
Unfortunately, this time there was no response in the air.
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