"I didn't expect to return to this place in the end. The aura here really makes one feel uncomfortable."
Paimon searched nearby and found that the corpse of the great Treasure Hoarder was gone. It was probably taken away by others while they were investigating clues elsewhere.
"This statue, hanging upside down, has quite a style. This pose, I can let that guy Venti try it next time."
Although the statue continuously emitted an uncomfortable aura, its design was undeniably unique, making Durandal want to try it on Venti.
"Uh (⊙o⊙)... Can I understand that you also want to hang The busker up, Durandal?"
"Yes, but I need to find a suitable reason. However, he would nag me in my ear, which is annoying. Considering his usual actions, finding this reason shouldn't be difficult."
Venti usually loves to do all sorts of self-destructive things. Finding a few reasons to hang Venti up from these self-destructive actions would be incredibly easy.
"Uh, would this be… No, I support you doing this. It's best to be even more ruthless, let that busker know how powerful we are."
Paimon, who was initially a bit hesitant, thought of The busker's usual behavior and immediately changed her mind, telling Durandal to increase her efforts.
"Let's discuss these things slowly when we get back. How do you feel, Durandal? Can you absorb the aura on the statue?"
The main thing now was to see if the Abyssal aura could be eliminated. If they couldn't get rid of this aura, they would have no choice but to destroy the statue.
"I'll try."
Durandal took a few steps forward, came before the statue, extended her hand, and tried to absorb the aura.
"…"
Dainsleif stood behind, silently watching this scene. Because his expression was always so serious, Lumine and Paimon didn't notice anything unusual about him.
After absorbing a bit of the aura from the statue, Durandal stopped and nodded.
"I can handle the aura on it, but because the aura is too dense, it will take some time to clean it completely."
"It's good that it can be cleaned, it's good that it can be cleaned. Phew~ Barbara won't have to go crazy, that's really great."
Paimon's worries were instantly dispelled. Even if they really had to destroy the statue, there was no need to worry. They hadn't told Barbara about finding a lost statue of the seven. Even if it was destroyed, the lost statue in Barbara's memory would still remain lost.
"Then, while she's eliminating the aura from the statue of the seven, let's take care of other matters."
Dainsleif turned around, looked at the Abyssal Apostle who had appeared behind them at some point, and said in a daze, "Don't let your attention be completely drawn by the the reversed statue of filth. There are still a few troublesome fellows here to deal with."
"Hmph, what a keen reaction. Enemy of the Order, Dainsleif."
The Abyssal Apostle snorted, glanced at Durandal who was cleaning the statue, and without much hesitation, turned its gaze to Durandal.
That one was truly terrifying. It was better to deal with these few people; at least they could exchange a few blows, while that one was completely beyond their ability to contend with.
Confirming that Durandal would not join the battle, the Abyssal Apostle suddenly felt a bit more confident, revealing its sharp blade and charging towards Lumine and Dainsleif.
Although the the reversed statue of filth was very important to the Abyss Order, Durandal had set her sights on this statue, so recovery was no longer a great hope.
Since that was the case, it was better to focus on the others, at least to deal with Dainsleif, who had always been a nuisance to the Abyss Order.
The Abyssal Apostle's attacks were still as fierce, but the grown-up Lumine was not someone it could handle.
Previously, due to the inability to break its shield, Lumine couldn't quickly defeat the Abyssal Apostle. Now, with Dainsleif's help, everything became easier.
Durandal glanced back, confirmed that their side had the greatest advantage at the moment, and then focused on cleaning the Abyssal aura from the statue.
To avoid any accidents, Durandal secretly merged her clone into Lumine's shadow, so that the clone could immediately assist Lumine if she encountered danger.
After a round of fighting, the Abyssal Apostle clearly knew that it was no match for them. After successfully creating distance from Lumine, it attempted to escape from here using its teleportation ability.
The moment it opened the teleportation portal, Dainsleif, who had been watching it, made his move.
He transformed his power into an invisible rope, binding the Abyssal Apostle's neck, preventing it from entering the portal.
"Yay! Now it can't escape like before."
Seeing the Abyssal Apostle caught by Dainsleif, Paimon jumped up excitedly. Now it had no chance to escape.
Lumine also relaxed at the sight, put away her weapon, and prepared to discuss with Dainsleif how to deal with the Abyssal Apostle.
Just then, a figure rushed out of the portal at an extremely fast speed, appearing before Dainsleif, and attacked him without hesitation.
Dainsleif timely stopped his attack on the Abyssal Apostle, but was still sent flying by the aftershock of the attack, tumbling many times in the air before landing safely on the ground.
Lumine's eyes widened, looking in disbelief at the person who had rescued the Abyssal Apostle from Dainsleif's hands.
"Brother!"
"Lumine…"
Aether lowered his head, looking at Lumine who stood with Dainsleif, revealing a dangerous gaze.
"Brother! Brother, I finally found you!" Lumine said with a joyful expression.
This sentence made Paimon and Durandal couldn't help but glance at her a few times. Finally? During your journey, did you specifically look for him?
Besides asking others to put up a few missing person posters in Liyue and Mondstadt, did you make any effort to find him?
"Brother! Please come back with me quickly. Don't stand with the Abyss Order people, it's very dangerous."
Mona is truly amazing. She just said she and Aether would meet in the near future, and they reunited in the blink of an eye. Next time they meet, I'll prepare more delicious food for her.
Aether did not respond to Lumine's call. He looked at Dainsleif, who had walked to Lumine's side, with an unfriendly expression.
"Lumine, you shouldn't be with Dain."
"Dain? Why are you asking such a question? We've been separated for so long, and the first thing you say when we meet is something so irrelevant?!"
Lumine looked as if she was seeing a stranger. Her gentle brother, who had always cared for her and forgiven her no matter what she did, how did he suddenly become so cold?
Could it be that her position in his heart was not even as important as Dainsleif's? Had their feelings faded after being separated for so long? Had his love disappeared?
"Long time no see, Aether."
Facing Aether's hostile gaze, Dainsleif did not treat him with the same coldness as other members of the Abyss Order. Instead, he called him by his name, just like a friend.
"Eh? Dain… Dain knows the Traveler's brother? What exactly is going on? Why is the Traveler's brother standing with the Abyssal Apostle? What in the world is happening?"
The sudden development left Paimon a bit confused. She, who was usually a bit slow, was completely bewildered by this situation.
"Stay away from Dain, Lumine. He is my enemy, you should stay away from him."
"…Always talking about Dain, what exactly do you want to say, Brother! Don't say strange things, be normal."
Normal? Like when we were together before? Aether hesitated, then shook his head.
If only Lumine were here, his attitude could be softer, but with others present, to maintain his identity, he had to be a bit more imposing.
"I'm sorry, but these are things I must say to you, Lumine. For your own good, don't join Dain in stopping me. Don't stop the Abyss."
"You still don't know his true identity, do you? He is the 'Twilight Sword'—Dainsleif, of the last royal guard of Khaenri'ah. Five hundred years ago, he failed to prevent the destruction of Khaenri'ah."
"At that time, he was afflicted with the curse of immortality, wandering the wilderness. He could only watch the people he wanted to protect turn into monsters of the Abyss."
This sentence revealed a lot of information: Dainsleif was a survivor of Khaenri'ah from five hundred years ago, and the current Abyss Order were the people of Khaenri'ah from back then.
That could explain why the Abyss Order wanted the eyes of the 'First Field Tiller in the World,' because they were the ones who created it, and they understood the device's function.
These pieces of information shocked everyone present, but Lumine temporarily had no time to deal with them. Her attention was now completely on Aether.
"Those things, let's talk about them slowly when we get back. Now, come home with me, okay?"
At these words, Aether and Durandal's expressions visibly changed.
Aether's expression clearly softened, and a hint of a smile finally appeared on his face.
"Yes, where Lumine is, that is home. But I cannot go with you yet, at least not until the Abyss submerges the divine throne. And, I still have an unfinished war with the Heavenly Principles. After all these things are over, I will be with you, searching for a new home."
"…Simply put, you don't want to come with me, right?"
Lumine lowered her head, not letting Aether see her current expression, and spoke in a low voice.
Aether knew his words were hurtful, but to protect Lumine from further harm, he could only do this.
"If that's the case… then I'll force you to come with me!"
Lumine of Mondstadt raised her head, the Anemo element accelerating her speed, the Geo Element reducing her weight. This series of actions instantly boosted Lumine's speed to a terrifying level.
Aether didn't expect Lumine to suddenly attack. He quickly drew his weapon to block the blow, but he found that the force of Lumine's attack was unusually heavy, forcing him to respond seriously to defend against it.
Seeing Lumine launch an attack, the Abyssal Apostle, to help Aether, prepared to join the battle.
But before it could act, Durandal's clone emerged from Lumine's shadow and pounced towards the Abyssal Apostle.
And so, Aether and Lumine, this brother and sister, began to fight in this place. Lumine showed no mercy, looking as if she intended to take Aether down.
Dainsleif stood behind, watching. Whatever he did now would be inappropriate, so he would join Durandal as a bystand and watch the battle.
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