The group rested for a while at Windrise, then immediately set out toward the northwest, heading for Stormterror's Lair.
On the way there, Paimon suddenly realized something and asked:
"Stormterror's Lair is called that because Dvalin treats it as his home and lives there, right?
If Venti is really in that area now, then as the master of that place, wouldn't Dvalin notice that something is wrong? Why would he still come to cause trouble in Mondstadt, even knocking down the Statue of the Anemo Archon?"
"Venti? Isn't that the bard who always sings at Angel's Share?"
Hearing Paimon say this, Eula asked with some confusion:
"Aren't we heading to Stormterror's Lair to find Lord Barbatos? What does this have to do with Venti?"
"Yeah, yeah! I've got the same question as Eula!" Klee chimed in from the side.
"Uh… looks like I forgot to tell you guys. Venti is actually the human disguise of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon…" Aether scratched his head, speaking a little awkwardly.
After learning that Venti was in fact Barbatos, the others all fell silent for a while, not knowing what to say…
"Never thought the Anemo Archon would take on such an image…"
Eula didn't really know how to comment either.
"If the devout sisters in the Church of Favonius ever found out that Barbatos was actually a drunkard, I wonder what they would think…"
After a long trek, the group arrived near Stormterror's Lair by afternoon.
Even from a distance, they could see Dvalin resting on top of the ruined structures.
"Do you think it's possible that Dvalin has already been corrupted and controlled by the Eerie force?" Eula asked with some concern as she gazed at Dvalin from afar.
"Probably not…" Aether said thoughtfully.
"If Dvalin had already been corrupted, then back in Mondstadt he definitely wouldn't have just smashed a statue of the Archon, it would've been much worse…
And besides, Dvalin is lying so quietly up there on the ruins, and we haven't sensed any eerie aura. So I think he hasn't been corrupted—he's probably just sulking because of that good-for-nothing Barbatos…"
"Although I think you've got a point, Aether, if it was just a little tantrum, isn't destroying such a massive Statue of the Anemo Archon going a bit too far?" Su Yuan spoke up.
"Either way, we'd better stay cautious. Let's not all go at once. Since I'm more familiar with Dvalin, I'll go ahead alone and see what's really going on…" Aether said.
He then slowly approached Dvalin by himself.
Dvalin, seemingly having heard the footsteps and noticing someone's presence, slowly opened his eyes…
"Traveler? Why is it you?" Dvalin asked.
"Dvalin, long time no see. How have you been lately?"
Aether greeted him while carefully observing his condition—and quickly noticed something wrong…
On Dvalin's hind leg, there seemed to be a venomous thorn lodged deep.
From it surged a dark purple and pitch-black energy, continuously releasing an ominous aura…
"Dvalin, your leg…"
"A few days ago, I discovered traces of the Abyss Order in Mondstadt. To protect the city, I fought them… but unfortunately, I was wounded," Dvalin said with a tone of helplessness.
"Afterward, I wanted to seek Barbatos' aid, but no matter how I searched, I couldn't find him…"
"Perhaps it was anger, or perhaps the influence of this Abyssal power… but I found myself, just like before, inexplicably driven to attack Mondstadt again…"
"Luckily, there were no casualties—only that giant statue of the Anemo Archon was destroyed…"
"Everyone, come here!" Aether turned back and waved to the group.
"Dvalin hasn't been corrupted or controlled by Eerie powers—he was just injured by the Abyssal power by accident!"
Then Aether looked back at Dvalin and said: "Actually, we're also searching for Barbatos' whereabouts right now…
But let's put that aside for the moment. What's most important is healing your wound first!"
"Do you remember when we first met? Back then, I had the ability to purify the power of the Abyss and helped free you from the tainted blood…"
"This time, it's just a repeat of what we did before. It'll work again, I'm sure of it!"
"Yeah, yeah! With all the fights against Eerie power lately, I almost forgot you still have the ability to purify Abyssal energy!" Paimon chimed in.
With everyone working together, they managed to pull the venomous thorn from Dvalin's hind leg.
Aether then successfully channeled his power and purified the Abyssal energy.
"Traveler, everyone… once again, you've helped me, saving me from grave danger. I truly don't know how I could ever repay you," Dvalin expressed his gratitude to the group.
"It's nothing, Dvalin. Compared to your merits in protecting Mondstadt, what we've done doesn't amount to much," Aether replied.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he glanced at Su Yuan, then back at Dvalin, and said:
"Dvalin, if you really want to repay us, you could share a little of your blood essence with Su Yuan!"
Su Yuan was touched—he hadn't expected Aether to remember something he'd only casually mentioned before.
Although Dvalin didn't quite understand why a human would need his blood essence, he still agreed.
He slashed open his wrist with a claw, letting streams of essence blood flow out…
Su Yuan clenched his teeth and drank it down in one gulp.
Although Neuvillette's essence blood had taken effect only after being injected directly into his body, since Su Yuan had been able to consume and absorb the insects prepared by "Furina," then drinking Dvalin's essence blood shouldn't be a problem either.
Sure enough, after drinking it, Su Yuan quickly felt a surge of Anemo energy coursing through his body.
The sight left Dvalin stunned:
"To think… aside from the Traveler, there's actually someone else who can wield elemental power without a Vision…"
"Everyone, I think I've found something!"
Just then, Klee ran over, holding up a green hat, a small black leather shoe, and some tattered blue-and-white cloth strips, showing them to the group.
"Look, don't these look like they belonged to Venti?"
"Klee, where did you find those?" Eula frowned deeply, a bad feeling welling up inside her.
"I found them over there, inside a big iron pot!" Klee replied.
But Dvalin's next words left everyone utterly shocked:
"That so-called big iron pot… is actually the bowl I use for eating."
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