Lumine leapt gently from the ledge.
The hidden Wings of Wind unfolded with a sharp snap.
The wind lifted her like a pair of soft hands, guiding her along the route Amber had mapped out.
With the wings' help, she watched the scenery slowly drift backward beneath her feet.
It was strange, wonderful—
as if the entire world was moving while she alone floated still.
Farmas, perched on her arm, felt the wind shift into an increasingly chaotic pattern.
Something was coming.
"Dw—Dvalin, huh…?"
Farmas tensed up.
Or rather—prepared to hide.
A moment ago the sky was still half-blue.
The next moment, it darkened like spilled ink.
Winds gathered in an instant, swirling into a violent storm.
It tore through Mondstadt, shredding calm into tatters.
"What's happening!?"
"Paimon! Hold onto me!"
Paimon didn't need to be told—
she already had her eyes squeezed shut, hugging Lumine like her life depended on it.
"War's Blessing."
A fiery-red hexagonal shield burst from Farmas' tiny little arms, completely wrapping the three of them.
Not a single strand of wild wind made it inside.
"Eh!? Farmas, you can do THAT!?"
Paimon opened one eye, and then the other—astonished to see the little fire slime holding up a glowing barrier with all his might.
"It's only temporary. Lumine—retract the wings and prepare to descend."
Farmas gritted his teeth.
The East Wind Dragon's power had grown over the millennium—
not weakened.
Dvalin's body was still half-twisted by Durin's toxic blood.
That poison didn't only drive him mad—
it also empowered him.
"If this were a thousand years ago? Hah. Forget Dvalin—
even Durin's stupid dragon face would've been plucked bald by me."
Farmas grumbled internally.
"Barbatos, seriously—if you don't step in soon, I'm actually gonna die here."
Crack.
A line formed across the fire shield.
"Uh oh."
That was the collective thought of all three.
Lumine worked desperately to fold her wings, but the raging wind blurred her vision and pulled her off balance.
"I can't hold it—!"
The shield shattered with a sound like exploding embers.
Fire-element energy blasted outward, hurling the three high into the sky.
Lumine hugged Paimon tightly, struggling to stabilize herself with the wings and her own wind element.
But she didn't yet have control.
Her vision tilted—
she began to fall.
Suddenly—
a different wind caught her.
Soft.
Gentle.
Like a cushion of warm cotton.
"May the wind be with you."
A voice whispered at her ear.
Paimon and Farmas heard it too.
"You finally show up, Barbatos…"
Farmas exhaled in relief.
If Venti had seen the fire-element shield earlier, he'd easily recognize it was Farmas' handiwork.
Supported by the gentle wind, Lumine looked forward—
and the clouds parted, revealing Dvalin's towering silhouette.
"I have asked the thousand-year winds to aid you—
strike the corrupted place glowing violet on his back."
The voice came again.
Lumine didn't question it.
Right now, this was the only way to end the disaster.
"Palm Vortex—Blade!"
She thrust forward, and compressed wind shot straight toward the amethyst crystal embedded in Dvalin's back.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Dvalin roared, thrashing violently as the surrounding winds intensified.
He twisted, trying to shake off Lumine's attacks.
But with Barbatos stabilizing the storm, Lumine continued to fire again and again.
Dvalin sensed the wind god's involvement.
He whipped around, roaring at Lumine—
wind surged like a crashing tide, engulfing everything.
"War's Protection."
A deep crimson glow flared—
Farmas conjured another shield around them.
Eventually, the wind weakened.
The sky remained dim, but Dvalin's massive figure vanished.
The storm over Mondstadt still lingered—
but it was far weaker than before.
As soon as Lumine landed, a fiery shadow rushed toward her—
Amber.
"You're okay! Lumine, you actually fought the Stormterror!"
"Someone helped us."
Lumine glanced at Farmas on her wrist, then looked up toward the sky.
"Someone helped you? Oh! Then it must've been Lord Barbatos!"
Amber clasped her hands reverently.
"He hasn't appeared in Mondstadt for so long…"
Mondstadt lived by the wind—
and longed for it.
"To fight a dragon… Are you merely visitors…
or a new kind of storm?"
A deep blue figure stepped into view.
Dark skin.
Indigo hair streaked with silver.
Two tufts sticking up like unruly antennae.
A short sword at his waist.
Kaeya.
"You're just in time," he said, stepping forward. "Let's head to headquarters before—"
"W-wait, Kaeya! They haven't been introduced yet!" Amber yanked him back.
"This is Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius.
These are Lumine and Paimon—travelers from far away.
And this is Farmas… a fire slime."
"A fire… slime?"
Kaeya had been nodding politely—until he heard that.
His eye narrowed sharply.
"Farmas is a GOOD slime! He protected us with a fire shield!"
Paimon squeaked, flailing her tiny arms to defend him.
Kaeya studied Farmas for a long, tense moment.
Then—reluctantly—nodded.
"Very well. It can come with us to headquarters."
Farmas wanted to object.
He wanted to leave and head for the Cat's Tail tavern—where he had sensed that familiar gentle breeze.
Venti must've noticed his signal.
But after seeing Kaeya's "just give me a reason" expression—
Farmas knew he wouldn't be allowed to wander freely.
He was still, after all, a "monster."
"Barbatos… I swear I'm not ghosting you…"
Farmas almost burst out wailing at the sky.