Chapter 67: Raiden Makoto: Long time no see, Barbatos!

"But if you want us to agree to your conditions, you must first tell us about the origin of the Stormterror." ===== CHAPTER 116 =====

Lumine made the request first.

If the other party couldn't answer, it meant they weren't worth trusting at all.

Since he wanted to gain their trust, he had to show sincerity in advance.

Venti was well aware of this, so he agreed easily, deciding to throw out a heavyweight piece of news.

"Actually, the Stormterror wasn't always like this. Its original name was Dvalin."

Paimon asked in confusion: "Dvalin? So it had a name after all."

Hearing the secret, even Fischl, who had been indifferent, leaned over.

Venti sighed, seemingly lost in memory, his tone becoming long and sorrowful.

"You should know about the Four Winds that protect Mondstadt."

Lumine nodded; she had heard Amber mention them.

The Four Winds were beings that had followed the Anemo Archon's orders to protect Mondstadt a long time ago.

The Dragon of the East, the Lion of the South, the Falcon of the West, and the Wolf of the North; their history could be traced back a thousand years.

Venti said in a deep voice: "The so-called Stormterror is the original Dragon of the East, Dvalin."

Hearing this, Lumine showed an 'as expected' expression. When she saw Acting Grand Master Jean earlier, she noticed that she didn't harbor deep hatred for the Stormterror, but rather had a complex expression, so she knew there must be an inside story.

But she hadn't expected the truth to be that it was the dragon that originally protected Mondstadt.

Paimon and Fischl were shocked, speechless at learning the secret.

Beyond the surprise, Lumine thought deeper, recalling the scene where she saw him talking to the giant dragon.

"Then, who are you?"

Facing the question, Venti gave a grin and didn't answer, instead asking: "As a condition of the exchange, can I ask you a question now?"

Confirming that the two girls had tacitly agreed, Venti immediately stared intently at Fischl.

"Where did you get your Holy Lyre der Himmel?"

"Holy Lyre der Himmel?"

"It's the thing that protected you in front of Dvalin just now."

Fischl realized: "Oh, you mean the replica bestowed upon this Princess by the sage?"

"A replica..."

Venti was speechless for a moment, then said in an urgent tone: "That's right, that sage. Where is he?"

As he asked, he stared tightly at Fischl. His heart, which had been calm for many years, faintly began to accelerate, hoping to get an answer immediately to go and verify it.

Fischl was just about to answer, but was stopped by Lumine.

"You should tell us some other information now."

"..."

Helpless, he had to tell the story of why Dvalin had become like this.

"To start from the beginning, we have to go back five hundred years..."

Subsequently, Venti recounted the past of Dvalin fighting to the death with the shadow dragon Durin to protect Mondstadt.

Although they won that battle, Dvalin was also eroded by the shadow dragon's poisonous blood, and since waking from its slumber, it had been in constant agony.

It had wanted to return to Mondstadt and live the same life as it had five hundred years ago.

Listening to the Anemo Archon's lyre music, playing with the people, and hearing the beautiful singing voices praised by the young girls.

But reality was completely different from what it had imagined; the people were terrified when they saw its terrifying figure and treated it with rejection.

The Anemo Archon, with whom it had once spread its wings and soared, was nowhere to be found. Seeing that the Mondstadt it had risked its life to protect was so afraid of it, Dvalin felt incomparable sadness, to the point where the deepening erosion made it furious.

It felt that Mondstadt had betrayed it and wanted to take revenge, but was stopped by its reason.

As the long story stopped, Paimon wrinkled her little face, feeling sympathy for Dvalin.

"How pitiful. Traveler, can we help it?"

Lumine was also touched inside and nodded gently.

Fischl had no idea there was such a hidden story. The girl naturally pitied the giant dragon's plight, but she didn't know what she could do.

Seeing this, Venti curled his lips cunningly, then said in a deep voice: "I need to find that sage; he possesses the power to purify Dvalin."

To prove his inner conjecture, Venti could only say sorry to his old friend Dvalin and let it endure a little longer.

Regardless of whether it was as he thought, he would bring the real Holy Lyre der Himmel to help with the treatment.

Fischl didn't think the youth was lying. Based on her understanding of Luo Li, he might really have a way.

For so many years, she had never seen him stumped; he was always calm and composed, mysterious to the point of being terrifying.

Hesitating for a moment, although she knew he didn't like being disturbed, considering the task her teacher had set, it seemed it wouldn't be a problem to bring them along.

Thinking this, Fischl finally decided to take Venti to her teacher's place.

A detached manor located next to the Cathedral of Favonius.

Raiden Makoto had just finished watering the plants and flowers in the garden and looked at the sky.

"He should be back soon; I need to prepare dinner first."

At this moment, she was like a gentle and virtuous wife, building a warm home for her husband who was about to return.

She had also seen the Stormterror's attack during the day and was thinking of telling Luo Li when he returned.

"Should I draw the bath water?"

While preparing the meal, Raiden Makoto thought seriously.

Ever since she experienced the way of hot springs in Inazuma, she had fallen in love with this method.

And what she liked most was snuggling in his arms and feeling the comfort of the hot water.

"But it might be a bit early now; I'll prepare it later."

Thinking of this, she seemed to sense something and looked toward the gate.

Almost at the same time, a knock on the door from outside sounded.

"Coming from the Immernachtreich, this Princess..."

Before that long-brewed chant could finish, the door opened.

Raiden Makoto wore a faint smile, her gaze sweeping over the abruptly stopped Fischl, Oz, the unidentified flying object, the strange blonde girl, and finally... the youth covered in green.

Venti was stunned. The moment he opened the door and saw Raiden Makoto, he even thought he was dreaming.

He had originally wanted to see the so-called sage to verify his conjecture.

Now that he saw Raiden Makoto, what was there to guess?!

Without even thinking, since she was here, that sage was one hundred percent that guy Luo Li.

These two guys weren't dead!

While joy welled up in his heart, Venti was also filled with heavy resentment. God knows how heartbroken he was when he learned that the two had been buried in the Abyss, and this sadness had lasted for hundreds of years.

Now they suddenly jumped in front of him and told him it was all fake; it was truly speechless.

However, Raiden Makoto didn't have this self-awareness. Facing a reunion after five hundred years of unknown life or death, she only said faintly.

"Long time no see, Barbatos." ===== CHAPTER 117 =====