บท 44: Chapter 41
Venti hummed in thought as he looked at the portal system that remained in the tower before he abruptly looked up into the sky. "Dvalin is on his way back. At my call, we will activate it and we will be transported to our battleground."
While everyone else seemed to accept his words without issues I coughed to gather people's attention as I spoke dryly. "Why is it that I can imagine that we will be doing something stupid like fighting on some floating platforms in the middle of the storm above our heads..."
Venti awkwardly chuckled and rubbed his head as he twisted his feet on the ground. "Well, Decarabian the old Storm god used to love looking down upon his land from his floating perch and then Dvalin came to love the floating ring..."
Why is it that when I imagine those flying gods/dragons relaxing on the flying ring in the sky I can't help but imagine them as some kind of oversized parrot?
"Dvalin is in position, thankfully we won't need to fight him directly in the air as I know for a fact that he will defend his floating ring as his territory," Venti explained frowning as his hands were coated in Anemo green energy as he messed with the system of blue glyphs beneath us.
While Lisa discussed some magical jargon, I had no understanding of I leaned against some broken-down debris and spoke to Jean who was patiently waiting for Venti and Lisa to get us going. "I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to you really unlike Lumine who went with you on that trip to clear that domain. So do you think Mondstadts people will accept Dvalin after we purge him of his corruption?"
Jean sighed and wryly nodded. "Yes... It will take time but thankfully no one has been killed due to his tantrums so in time just as he was all but forgotten after the catastrophe his little tantrums will be forgotten in a few decades once the new generations are born."
Jean then smiled and patted my shoulder as she continued to speak. "Don't think that the Knights of Favonius will forget your own and Lumine's efforts. As well as the great task of cleansing one of our nation's protectors. Hmph if my sister heard I was here working with Lord Barbatos she would be so jealous... And then disappointed in our god for his mortal reputation." Jean muttered at the end obviously referencing Venti being a homeless alcoholic bard.
"Can you tell me more about your sister?" I asked as I smiled seeing Lumine adopting my tactic of shutting up Paimon with hard beef jerky.
Honestly, I didn't really know too much about her sister Barbara. I never got to play the earlier games events as I only joined when Yelan's event started so I missed the whole first beach event that went much deeper into the sister's family dynamics.
"Hmm, I suppose you haven't really been in Mondstadt for long so it's not unsurprising that you haven't heard of her. My sister is a well. She is a sister in the church of Barbatos and is otherwise rather widely known here in Mondstadt for her singing." Jean shook her head smiling fondly as she continued. "Heh, even we the knights are sometimes asked to remove people from the church's property as some of the citizens have picked up some weird Inazuma habit for calling her Barbara-Sama."
I couldn't help but inwardly cringe hearing her saying that especially when I recalled they called her that even in the English voice pack of Genshin.
Me and Jean continued to talk a bit more as I shared some of my own experiences having siblings though honestly after moving out when I became an adult, we definitely became somewhat estranged so I kinda understood her feelings of how she and Barbara had difficulties connecting, especially with their very different duties.
"Haha! We got it!" Venti cried out as Lisa sighed and stood up stretching.
"Yes. Now my back is all sore from bending over." Lisa complained and I saw her send a glance in my direction making me quickly look away to Lumine so she didn't get the idea that I was open to another half an hour piggyback ride.
"Everyone come on over, so we can get going!" Venti called out.
We all gathered together around the Anemo Archon as the large blue glyph beneath us began pulsating with power.
As the Glyph beneath us began pulsing more and more powerfully Lumine grabbed my hand as Paimon held onto our shoulders and finally with a flash our views were overtaken in blue light before it faded, and we were beset by powerful winds.
Before we could even assess the situation, we were welcomed by a powerful roar that made our bodies vibrate from the fury contained within. "Barbatos even here you will hunt me! Very well I shall respond to your arrows with teeth and claws!" Dvalin roared as he jumped off a large chunk of the broken and disconnected ring of platforms flying in the sky helped up by a powerful storm.
As we regathered ourselves, Dvalin who jumped off his perch started a powerful tornado using the powerful storms beneath us to amplify his powers and with a flourish, he broke through the tornado that sprouted up from the middle of the ring with a roar as he flew in front us for a moment.
But our staring contest was broken as Dvalin sent a powerful condensed Anemo meteor towards us from his mouth formally starting the battle.
I quickly summoned up a couple of Anemo Elementals but before they could do anything they were sucked into the vortex surrounding us and Dvalin broke out into maniacal laughter. "Haha mortal you believed a weak elemental like those could touch my and Barbatos's battle over these winds!"
My only response was a Ruin Grader appearing over his head from a Glyph I summoned high above him and with a mighty crash I could hear the metal meeting the poor noggin of the wind dragon as the Ruin Grader did the equivalent of superman punching the dragon straight into its head bring them both crashing down onto one of the broken flying platforms.
"Quick use the chains!" Diluc roared as he brought out a bunch of chains from his space bag and threw them over Dvalin to Jean who was on the other side of the dragon who grabbed the chains and with a cry stabbed her sword through the large links of the chains into the obviously magically reinforced stone beneath her as my Ruin Grader and Dvalin smashing into said platform didn't break it.
"Eula, Lisa freeze and incapacitate his wings!" Jean yelled sending Elua over who quickly smashed the flat side of her claymore against the joints of one of Dvalin's wings which made the dragon hiss in pain.
"Barbatos you vile god you would humil..." Obviously, Dvalin was going to say something about us humiliating him or something but my Ruin Grader following my directions had sit its multi-ton body on the dragon's back and used all its forward being weight to smash the dragons head into the stone platform and hold it there, leaving its neck free for us to destroy the corrupted pillar of abyssal energy.
"Lumine our turn," I said as we both used our Anemo energy to jump higher into the air and directly onto the dragon's neck.
"Dvalin we don't want to hurt you. Just lay there and let us clean this abyssal crap off you." I yelled as the dragon bucked and had to be punched in the back of the head by my Ruin Grader.
"I will not be executed like some common criminal! I did nothing wrong!" Dvalin screeched as he felt our energies pouring into his tainted wounds and I guess the abyssal energies inside him were going crazy as were purging them.
The rampaging Abyssal energies within the dragon were visibly burning themselves out as black smoke radiated off the dragon but it wasn't for naught as Dvalin went into a totally mindless rage and it wasn't until I grimaced and all but emptied my aura to summon another two Ruin Graders to hold down his limbs that made me slump slightly in exhaustion.
Then I felt a set of arms wrap around me as a set of voluptuous curves pressed agaisnt me before Eula's tea and pine scent reached me. "I got you, Jake. Just focus on keeping Dvalin pinned down."
I nodded tiredly and finally, Lumine's minute Traveler energies managed to dissolve the massive spike of crystallized abyssal energy.
"Dvalin we broke one of the yokes holding your mind do you feel better!" Venti asked as Devalin slumped at the loss of the abyssal spike on his neck.
His only answer was Dvalin's eyes flashing open and blasting an Anemo bomb straight into the Anemo Archon knocking Venti across the platform and sending the bard into an uncontrolled roll before he stopped, thankfully he didn't roll of the side of the platform as I would need to jump off the platform to go retrieve him in case he got injured as no one else could lift themself back into the air.
Diluc and Jean both rushed over to check on Venti who shakily got to his knees and shook his head and had to be carried back over.
Meanwhile, I had my Ruin Guards keep Dvalin's head pushed into the ground as Lumine shimmied across the dragon's body to its lower back closer to its tail, and began to cleanse the last abyssal spire.
"You alright Venti?" I asked as I just sat down with Eula next to me on top of Dvalin's neck.
"Just peachy... Dvalin my old friend when you are in the right state of mind, I will throw up an updraft next time you decide to land somewhere!" Venti swore and I couldn't help but snicker at the thought of the proud dragon being sent ass over the tea kettle as he was landing somewhere minding his own business.
Dvalin only snorted seemingly having come to terms with his 'demise' as Lumine was purifying him and I was just trying to keep my three Ruin Graders in existence as they were Aura hogs being three massive machines.
Honestly, the purification of Dvalin was now a bit anticlimactic but then seemingly hearing my thoughts just as Lumine's energy shattered the last crystal on Dvalin, the storms beneath the platforms abated and Venti's muttered curse reached us all. "Well, shit..."
Seemingly answering the Anemo archon's curse all the floating platforms violently shuddered before with a mighty cracking noise they all shattered leaving us who weren't already atop Dvalin to fall through the void.
"Release me from your machines mortal!" Dvalin cried out and I hurriedly dismissed my Ruin Graders into motes of light as the dragon gracefully dove through the cloud cover towards our fallen brethren and Venti.
Dvalin easily flew gently beneath Diluc, Jean, and Venti allowing them to land upon his back before he evened out his dive and we all gently flew through the air as the powerful dark cloudy storm behind us broke apart with the floating structure falling to the ground beneath us.
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