"This element shield is really annoying!"
In Mondstadt City, at the Wolvendom trial grounds, Lumine was facing attacks from an Abyssal Apostle alone.
Today, after accepting Ningguang's commission, she immediately rushed to the ruin guarded by the Abyss, where she encountered an Abyssal Apostle.
After repelling him there, she followed the clues of the the reversed statue of filth to Mondstadt, found another Abyssal Apostle attempting to capture the Northwind Wolf King, and engaged in battle with him here.
With Lumine's current strength, the Abyssal Apostle was no match for her. The difficult part about the Abyssal Apostle was the element shield that enveloped him.
Her currently mastered Anemo and Geo elements were not good at breaking this Hydro Element shield. If she had Cryo, it would be great; she could freeze him and turn him into a statue.
"Don't struggle anymore. No matter how many times, your efforts are futile. No one can stop the Abyss's advance; everything will come to an end."
Seeing that Lumine couldn't break the shield on him, the Abyssal Apostle started trash-talking, trying to provoke Lumine and affect her combat.
However, this level of trash talk had no effect at all. If he could speak simply and clearly, it might have some impact, but he always spoke like a riddler, making Lumine have no desire to understand what he was saying.
Since he wouldn't speak properly, she wouldn't listen. Just beat him down, and then everything would be fine.
The Abyssal Apostle sneered, brandishing his sharp blade, preparing to attack again. But a sudden, strong sense of danger made him stop, his gaze turning to the sky.
A red shadow streaked across the night sky at an extremely fast speed, smashing heavily onto the Abyssal Apostle. The force was so great that it even broke through the ground of the trial grounds, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Lumine, Paimon, and Razor raised their hands to block the incoming dust. When the strong winds subsided, they lowered their hands and finally saw what this flying unknown object was.
It was a giant claw, as big as a person, like the claw of a legendary demon.
The claw was currently firmly gripping the Abyssal Apostle, and no matter how he struggled, or even used the power of the Abyss, he couldn't break free.
"I didn't expect you to run from Liyue to Mondstadt in less than a day. Your speed is truly extraordinary."
"Uh, th-this… This is Durandal's voice."
Lumine looked up and saw Durandal slowly descending from the sky towards her position, defying gravity and landing steadily on the ground.
Durandal was different from usual. Although she was still wearing that cute black Lolita dress, armor appeared in several places on the dress, and a sharp claw floated behind her.
Durandal, who used claws instead of a great scythe as a weapon, felt more aggressive, especially her eyes, which for some reason had changed from their original dark purple to a dazzling scarlet, appearing exceptionally enchanting.
"Du-Durandal?"
"What, have you forgotten what I look like after only a few hours apart?"
Seeing Lumine look like she didn't recognize her, Durandal frowned, and the claw behind her also extended towards Lumine, scaring Lumine into shaking her head quickly.
"No, no! It's just… it's just that I didn't expect you to appear with a new look this time; it's a bit of a surprise."
"I made a slight change and stimulated my power a bit. I didn't expect such a transformation. But this feeling isn't bad."
Although she was more familiar with fighting using a great scythe, the great claw didn't feel inconvenient anywhere, and this method of attack was quite novel.
Thinking of this, Durandal extended her right hand towards the Abyssal Apostle, and the great claw tightly gripping the Abyssal Apostle flew to Durandal's front.
Looking at the struggling Abyssal Apostle in pain, Durandal said, "I haven't seen you all for a while. I thought you had settled down. Now it seems you were just secretly acting where I couldn't see you."
"You… enemy of the organization! black plague, Durandal!"
The Abyssal Apostle glared furiously at Durandal. She was the most troublesome enemy of the Abyss Order; everyone in the Abyss wanted to kill her, but no one had been able to.
Otherwise, when she caused such havoc in the Abyss, she would have either remained there or been corrupted by the Abyss to become one of its own.
"Hmm, it's me. You seem very angry, don't you? I thought members of your Abyss Order would cower and run away like dogs when they saw me, but I didn't expect you to bare your fangs at me. What? Has too much time passed, and you've forgotten how much damage I inflicted on you all during my last visit to the Abyss?"
Durandal sneered at the Abyssal Apostle. It had been a long time since she had encountered any forces from the Abyss; usually, even an Abyss Mage would avoid her.
It must be said that the Abyssal Apostle was slightly more resolute. Even when Durandal had it clutched in her hand, it showed no sign of backing down, remaining just as defiant.
"Hmph! You won't be triumphant for long, black plague. You will eventually fall at the feet of the Abyss and submit to it."
"I eagerly await how you intend to make me submit to you."
With that, Durandal squeezed her right hand, and the Abyssal Apostle in her giant claw was crushed, turning into an ominous black mist that dissipated into the air.
As the Abyssal Apostle died, the Abyssal aura emanating from Boreas gradually faded.
"How unseemly, Andrius. With only a wisp of your soul remaining, can you no longer even deal with an Abyssal Apostle?"
Durandal, having returned to her original form, approached Boreas. While absorbing the residual Abyssal aura from its body, she teased it.
Andrius's remnant soul had merged with the lord of Wolvendom, becoming the current Boreas, but she still habitually referred to it as Andrius.
Given its strength, it shouldn't have been outmaneuvered in a fight with an Abyssal Apostle. Had it become so weak after some time apart?
"Hmph, in a normal fight, it would naturally not be my opponent. But it set a trap, attempting to corrupt me with the power of the Abyss. Even I cannot fully resist the power of the Abyss."
Although unwilling, it was a fact that it had been defeated by the Abyssal Apostle. No matter how much Boreas denied it, it could not change this reality.
Boreas stood obediently in place, allowing Durandal to help expel the lingering Abyssal power from its body. It was still unclear if the Abyssal Apostle's trap had any other effects. If Abyssal aura remained within its body and gradually corroded it, as the King Wolf, it might become the perpetrator of Wolvendom's destruction.
"Thank you for intervening in time."
Razor, who had been out of the loop for a while, spoke up in gratitude. He had wanted to protect Boreas, but his strength was insufficient. He could only prevent the Abyssal Apostle from approaching Boreas while it resisted the corrosion; he could do nothing else.
Thinking of this, Razor felt a little melancholic. He had thought his claws were sharp enough, but the sudden appearance of the Abyssal Apostle had severely humbled him, making him realize how far he still had to go.
"Don't be discouraged, Razor. You tried very hard. If you hadn't been here to stop the Abyssal Apostle's actions, the King Wolf would have been in danger."
Paimon comforted him. This matter truly wasn't Razor's fault. Most people found it difficult enough to deal with an Abyss Mage, and this time, it was an Abyssal Apostle.
Besides its more terrifying attacks than an Abyss Mage, it also had a very troublesome shield.
Thanks to Durandal's appearance, the Abyssal Apostle was eliminated. If Lumine had fought alone, even if she managed to chip away at its shield, it could have leisurely escaped in the end.
"Yes, thank... you. I... still need... sharper claws... to succeed."
Razor politely thanked Paimon. When he looked at Durandal, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
This older sister, who had been with Klee earlier, was formidable, but she had protected Boreas. As a part of Wolvendom, he should express his gratitude, but... how should he do it?
"You should grow slowly through your own efforts. Although you are not human, you can't possibly be unable to guide him, can you, Andrius?"
"Hmph, I don't need you to remind me. I naturally know what I should do."
In truth, there wasn't much Andrius could guide Razor on. Although its strength was immense, Razor was human after all, and he had his own unique combat methods. Its teachings wouldn't help Razor much.
Ignoring Boreas and Razor, Durandal turned her gaze to Lumine and Paimon. As her eyes fell upon them, her pupils, which had returned to a dark purple, once again took on a crimson hue.
"What's going on with you two? We just returned to Liyue today, how did you end up back in Mondstadt so quickly? And even encountered the Abyss Order?"
"Um... after you left the Jade Chamber, Ningguang gave me another commission. She wanted me to investigate a ruin guarded by the Abyss..."
Durandal briefly recounted what she had seen in the ruin. When she heard that Lumine had investigated with someone named Dainsleif, her eyes sharpened.
"Dainsleif? I haven't heard you mention that name before. Who is he?"
"Uh... he's a very mysterious person who has always been tracking the Abyss. He knows a lot about the Abyss, and we learned a lot about the Abyss through his explanations."
"Simply put, he's a suspicious person, right?"
Anyone connected to the Abyss needed constant scrutiny. Durandal felt it was necessary to understand who this Dainsleif they spoke of truly was.
At Durandal's strong insistence, Lumine could only take Durandal to meet Dainsleif. Considering his wariness and secretive movements, Durandal transformed into mist and followed behind them.
Not long after leaving the training grounds, Lumine and Paimon encountered Dainsleif, who had come to meet them, in a secluded forest location.
Before he could even ask if they had found any clues, Durandal materialized and appeared before him.
Dainsleif hadn't expected Lumine to bring a stranger to meet him, and this stranger gave him a very dangerous feeling, more dangerous than any enemy he had encountered before.
"So it's you... who has been tracking the Abyss, right?"
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