"I think we should first head to Windrise to search for traces of Barbatos."
In response to Aether's question, Albedo spoke up:
"They say that wherever there is wind, Barbatos is present. He can use the breeze to find people's locations and hear their voices."
"If we can find him, then with his help, perhaps we'll be able to locate Albetwo much faster."
"That may be true, but right now Mondstadt is plagued by Eerie force, and even the Anemo Archon's statue has collapsed. If Barbatos truly could perceive everything through the flowing wind, then why hasn't he appeared yet?"
Su Yuan furrowed his brow, speaking with some concern: "I'm starting to worry that Barbatos may also have fallen under the control of the Eerie…"
"But regardless, since you have this clue, Su Yuan, we have to check it out, don't we?"
"In that case, let's not waste any more time. Let's head to Windrise now!" Paimon declared.
After some discussion with the members of the Knights, it was decided that Acting Grand Master Jean shouldn't come along and should continue to rest properly, so as to avoid triggering Eerie state.
And so, in the end, Klee, Albedo, Aether, Paimon, Su Yuan, and Eula set off together toward the great tree at Windrise.
As soon as they neared Windrise, Klee noticed something unusual and spoke in confusion:
"I've often come to the waters near Windrise to blow up fish before!"
"Every time I came here, I could feel the silky breeze, see the Windwheel Asters twirling round and round, and hear the rustling leaves swaying in the wind. With the sound of my explosions mixed in, it was absolutely heavenly!"
"But now, don't you notice it too? Windrise seems to have no wind at all. The leaves on the great tree don't rustle anymore, and the Windwheel Asters have stopped spinning…"
Hearing Klee's words, everyone else also noticed something wrong.
Windrise really didn't have a single breath of wind anymore—it even felt a bit stifling and hot.
Windrise, the very place where the wind is said to rise—how could there possibly be no wind here?
"Speaking of places without wind, it reminds me of somewhere unpleasant…" Eula spoke up at that moment.
"Mare Jivari, a place every adventurer longs for yet few can ever conquer…"
"Now that Windrise has also lost all traces of wind, just like Mare Jivari, something must have happened here too. We should hurry and take a closer look!"
The group then moved forward together, searching for clues near the great tree and the Statue of The Seven at Windrise.
"Wait a second, something feels off… there's a strange smell!"
Eula suddenly sniffed the air, her senses sharp.
With swift and agile movements, she climbed up the great tree of Windrise in just a few moments.
From the top, she retrieved a box, which was giving off a strong, bloody stench…
Everyone's hearts sank with foreboding.
Albedo immediately covered Klee's eyes and said, "Klee, don't look."
Then, Eula opened the box—inside was a bloody, severed half of a lung!
"There's also a note in here!" Aether said, pulling out a slip of paper from the box.
On it was written:
[Well, well, I didn't expect you'd actually find the Darknight Hero's lung that I hid in the great tree of Windrise!]
[You really do have some skill, don't you?]
[Tell me, am I not excellent at hiding things—and merciful, too?]
[Such a large tree, with the air around it so fresh and clean…]
[Placing the Darknight Hero's lung here ensures it can breathe in plenty of fresh air, don't you think?]
"So it really was Aji…" Su Yuan muttered thoughtfully.
"The moment I smelled that stench of blood, I suspected it was him…"
"That Darknight Hero who was mutilated by Aji… could it really be Diluc?" Paimon asked worriedly.
"If it's not Diluc, then why has Diluc also gone missing?"
"And also—if someone had half of their lung ripped out, could they even still be alive?"
Hearing Paimon's words, everyone present fell into silence…
Yes, even if this Darknight Hero hidden away by Aji wasn't dead yet, having so many limbs and organs cut away would surely leave them gravely disabled…
"All right, now's not the time for us to dwell on that—we should keep searching for clues about Barbatos!" Su Yuan was the first to break the silence.
At the same time, he couldn't shake off a feeling deep inside.
Though he had never deliberately searched for the Darknight Hero's body parts hidden by Aji, it was as if fate itself was guiding him, step by step, to stumble upon them…
So far, he had already found two—the arm and the lung.
Out of the six parts Aji mentioned, that was already one-third completed…
The group pressed on, continuing their search for clues nearby, and before long, they made another discovery.
"Look over here." Albedo pointed to the tiles beneath the feet of the Statue of The Seven.
"These tiles seem to bear marks of wind erosion—and judging by the pattern, they were formed only recently."
Wiping away the dust and soil covering the tiles, they uncovered a short message carved into the stone:
[If you seek the traces of Barbatos, then go to the place in Mondstadt where the storms once raged the fiercest.]
Everyone's spirits lifted at once.
This was clearly a clue—very likely revealing Barbatos's whereabouts!
"If we're talking about the place in all Mondstadt where the storms once raged the fiercest, then there's only one answer…" Aether said thoughtfully.
"That's right. If you asked any Mondstadt citizen, their first thought would absolutely be that place…" Eula agreed.
"Indeed—Stormterror's Lair," Albedo added.
"So then, Barbatos might be at Stormterror's Lair right now?" Su Yuan nodded slightly in thought.
But if Barbatos truly was at Stormterror's Lair, then why had the mark in his right palm guided him here to Windrise first?
A possibility struck him—perhaps the message in his palm wasn't pointing him directly to Barbatos at all, but subtly guiding him to discover the Darknight Hero's body parts hidden by Aji.
Either way, they finally had a clear location and direction.
Whatever Venti's true condition was, they would only know once they reached Stormterror's Lair…
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