A few seconds later, Andrius suddenly felt something was wrong. The Pyro energy in the surrounding air had become unusually active—so much so that it was affecting the Cryo he'd been blasting. He'd clearly triggered a Swirl reaction, so why was this starting to feel more like a Melt?
Something was definitely off. In all his years, he'd never heard of a volcano anywhere near this place. Could Barbatos be behind this? No, that didn't fit either—Barbatos didn't wield Pyro.
"Senior Andrius, have you ever seen fireworks before? The kind humans make?"
"Fireworks?" Andrius considered the question while continuing to channel Cryo, responding through his ventriloquism. "I believe I saw something like that from a little girl in red. That mischievous child set an entire forest ablaze."
Yae Miko didn't need to guess—that little girl was unquestionably Klee. Only she had the talent to turn 'fireworks' into forest fires.
"Those were just child's play. Today, let me show you what real fireworks look like."
Before Andrius could ask what she meant, a wave of Pyro energy suddenly engulfed all of Stormterror's Lair. The ice that had blanketed everything vanished in an instant, revealing the original landscape beneath. The poor Ruin Guards scattered around didn't survive the sudden Melt reaction—their mechanical bodies twitched violently before collapsing into sparking heaps.
Andrius raised his head, staring in shock at the bomb hanging in the sky, still radiating waves of Pyro. Such a small thing contains this much power? This little fox has quite the backer.
Then the world turned white.
The Jumpy Dumpty erupted with blinding light. If Eula had been there, she would have recognized it immediately—this was the same bomb that had turned her into a country girl that day. That unbearable brightness, like a second sun, was seared into her memory.
Outside the Lair, Jean and the others shielded their eyes from the glare. The light was painful enough, but it was nothing compared to the deafening roar that followed.
BOOM~
The shockwave tore through Stormterror's Lair, reducing ancient structures to rubble. Facing such raw power, Andrius instantly placed himself between the blast and Yae Miko, shielding the 'frail' fox behind him.
If anything happened to her here, whoever created that bomb would undoubtedly come looking for revenge. He had no intention of losing face in front of Razor.
Outside, Venti watched the devastation with the expression of someone who had long since given up. Couldn't any of you find somewhere else to wreak havoc? At this rate, we'll have to rename this place Stormterror's Basin.
Above the tower, a massive mushroom cloud bloomed against the sky. The dense Pyro energy reacted violently with Andrius's residual Cryo, creating a Melt chain reaction that multiplied the destruction exponentially. The three barriers that normally required solving intricate mechanisms to bypass had been blasted open by sheer force.
And this Jumpy Dumpty? Klee had used knowledge from Alice's notes to construct it. Its power output was on an entirely different level from the 'firework' she'd made just days ago.
When the smoke finally cleared, the tower that had once rivaled the Cathedral in height now stood barely half as tall. The surrounding structures had fared even worse. If Stormterror's Lair had been ruins before, now it was truly a wasteland.
Andrius gazed at the still-smoking tower and felt, for the first time in millennia, genuinely old. How many years has it been? The young ones nowadays can create weapons that look like pebbles but could assassinate gods. This is downright underhanded.
If such things had existed during the Archon War, how many of his wolf pups would have survived? The thought made him snort.
"If I'd known such things existed, I'd have made that pup Razor carry a few. At least he'd have some protection."
"My, my, Senior Andrius." Yae Miko's voice dripped with amusement. "Shouldn't we check on Dvalin? He's been suspiciously quiet. You don't suppose he's not actually in there?"
"Impossible. I'd never mistake Dvalin's aura."
Andrius gathered Anemo in his maw and blasted it toward the smoke. The fierce wind dispersed the haze, revealing Dvalin's miserable state within the tower.
"Dvalin's not moving at all!" Paimon's voice carried genuine worry despite their earlier encounter. "Do you think he's... you know... exploded?"
Outside, despite having been blown into a tree by Dvalin earlier, kind-hearted Paimon couldn't help but fret. As for Venti, denying his concern for his old friend was impossible.
But he still didn't know how Dvalin had offended Andrius. Rushing in recklessly might create unnecessary enmity. Besides, Andrius knew what he was doing—this was probably just a lesson.
For some reason, Jean murmured to herself, that explosion felt like Klee's handiwork.
She quickly dismissed the thought. Klee had been under Yae Guuji's care lately. Surely someone of her position wouldn't let Klee run completely wild.
"Look, Lumine!" Paimon pointed excitedly. "The ice below us melted! Should we go see what happened?"
Venti's ears perked up. Perfect. Why solve problems myself when I have such willing helpers?
"Lumine, now that the ice barrier's gone, shall we investigate together?"
Inside the tower, Dvalin lay sprawled across the rubble, wings twitching weakly. If he hadn't instinctively shielded himself with Anemo at the last second, he'd be a roasted dragon right now.
"WHO DID THAT?! SHOW YOURSELF!"
He roared furiously, beating his injured wings in impotent rage. The Anemo energy in the Lair responded to his fury, swirling wildly. Yae Miko narrowed her eyes—if her perception was correct, Dvalin actually seemed more lucid than before.
Outside, Venti noticed it too. Two of the tainted blood crystals on Dvalin's body had significantly shrunk. In his excitement, he accidentally let a trace of his divine aura slip.
Andrius's head whipped toward the entrance. Barbatos? He hadn't expected the lazy Archon to actually show up.
But he had no intention of backing down. Barbatos or not, Dvalin was getting this beating. Andrius had decreed it.
"Beating the Anemo Archon's familiar right under his nose." Yae Miko's smile was radiant. "Senior Andrius, you truly are an inspiration."