Bet you didn't expect this—I'm also a healer!
Lucian arrived just in time.
As the saying goes, better late than never. He showed up right as Navia was about to exhaust herself.
Thanks to the restorative power of Hydro, Navia regained a fair amount of stamina.
However, the machines around her were still numerous, so much so that Lucian's figure couldn't even be seen through the crowd.
"I knew you'd come," Navia said with a confident smile, her battle axe disappearing from her hands.
"Rose Salute!"
Boom! The sound of an explosion rang out.
In the next moment, flowers bloomed across the battlefield as countless Geo-infused artillery shells detonated around Navia, clearing a vacuum zone in the encirclement.
The Hydro dragon coiled around Navia immediately turned and charged in one direction, crushing every machine in its path.
Lucian rushed over along the cleared path, and the Hydro dragon obediently circled around him.
By now, Lucian's mastery over Hydro had grown even more effortless. The Hydro dragon had evolved from a simple attack method into a full-fledged summon.
The only downside was its lack of intelligence—it couldn't yet match the level of Furina's summons, which could even help with household chores.
Lucian's Hydro dragon still required his direct control.
"You okay?" Lucian asked.
"Might be a little not okay," Navia replied, her voice and expression heavy with exhaustion.
Before Lucian could ask where she was hurt, Navia collapsed toward him.
He quickly caught her and checked her breathing, relieved to find she had only fainted.
"Scared me for a second. I almost thought the hero's grand entrance was gonna turn into a bad ending."
Lucian let out a sigh of relief, then turned his gaze to the side, where flashes of Electro lit up the battlefield.
Wherever the lightning passed, the machines were reduced to scrap.
Clorinde moved with calm indifference, strolling through the mechanical horde as if taking a leisurely walk.
Seemingly judging Clorinde as the greater threat, the machines abandoned their assault on Navia and turned their focus to her.
Clorinde held her rapier vertically in front of her, her steps still unhurried.
A machine's blade, crackling with Electro, slashed toward her, sending arcs of lightning in her direction.
With just a slight shift of her body, Clorinde effortlessly dodged the attack.
In the next instant, she appeared behind the machine, severing its head and core with a single strike.
"Damn, that's cool!" Lucian clapped in admiration.
Having such a strong ally around made it impossible for him to feel any tension.
After gently laying Navia on the ground, Lucian stood up, his fists itching for a fight.
He pulled a sword from his Vision's subspace. Though Lucian primarily followed the mage path,
as a college student, he still felt the need to carry a blade—just in case there was a chance to show off.
Gripping the longsword, Lucian dashed toward the nearest machine.
Striking a pose, he swung the blade horizontally, aiming straight for its head!
This strike held no finesse—just pure, raw power!
Clang! The metallic impact echoed, but Lucian's slash barely left a scratch.
He had been diligently training his elemental control, and the stats he exchanged through the system were for stamina, not strength.
As a result, he lacked the raw power to breach the machine's defenses.
Luckily, Navia was unconscious, and Clorinde was busy dealing with the remaining machines—no one saw his blunder.
"Ahem, that one didn't count."
Lucian casually conjured a Hydro shield to block the machine's incoming fire bullets, then retreated to reset his stance.
Ignoring the rapid rat-tat-tat of bullets against his shield, he bent his front knee slightly, leaned forward, and sheathed his sword, gripping the hilt.
"Breath of Water, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
The Hydro dragon coiled around his blade as Lucian swung, the dragon's maw biting off the machine's head before the sword cleanly sliced through the rest.
"I'm terrifyingly strong right now."
Lucian sheathed his sword with a flourish, acting as though his technique was invincible.
However, the machine, despite losing its head, continued attacking.
Lucian lazily formed a finger-gun and fired a Hydro bullet, piercing its core.
Now that he'd had his fun, there was no need to keep playing around.
"This thing's way more reliable."
Glancing toward Clorinde, he saw her battle was nearly over.
The ground around her was littered with broken machine parts.
Looking back at Navia's side, the scene was much the same—if not even more cluttered with debris.
After all, Navia had fought until complete exhaustion, while Clorinde still had energy to spare—she just ran out of machines to kill.
Lucian roughly estimated that if he had been the one surrounded, his performance would've been worse than Navia's.
Though his elemental control and stamina were superior, Navia completely outclassed him in raw strength and combat skill.
Facing the same kind of encirclement, Lucian doubted he could counterattack as effectively as she had.
"Still need more training."
He sighed. After effortlessly dominating underwater battles, he'd started to think he was already incredibly strong.
"You alright?" Clorinde walked over and asked.
Though her tone remained cool, there was a hint of concern in it.
"I'm fine. Navia's just unconscious."
Lucian naturally assumed she was asking about Navia.
Clorinde gave him a once-over, and seeing no obvious injuries, nodded and said nothing more.
She walked to Navia's side and scooped her up in one motion.
"Should I take her back first? Or wait for you here?"
"Take her back first—but to my place. Once she wakes up, you can escort her to the Spina di Rosula."
Lucian handed her his keys with instructions.
He then had the Hydro dragon split off a miniature version—a tiny Hydro serpent that coiled around Navia's wrist like a bracelet, its tail clamped in its mouth.
This little serpent would slowly replenish Navia's depleted elemental energy, helping her wake up faster.
The reason Lucian asked Clorinde to take Navia to his home first was to avoid worrying Melus and Silver if they saw her unconscious at the Spina di Rosula headquarters.
Now that the danger had passed, there was no need to make them fret unnecessarily.
Once Navia woke up, she'd handle today's events and explain everything to Melus and Silver herself.
Clorinde nodded, then asked, "And you?"
"I'm going to fulfill my promise to her," Lucian said matter-of-factly.
Since he'd agreed to help Navia find evidence today, how could he go back on his word?
As a Liyue native, Lucian believed in the spirit of contracts—Those who break their promises shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock.
Well, as a half-Liyuean, he wasn't that devout in his belief in Contracts.
He just knew how important this matter was to Navia.
After narrowing down the search area over the past few days, the remaining scope wasn't large.
Even without a boat, Lucian was confident his stamina would suffice.
Right now, he only needed to locate Vacher's factory—exploration could wait.
Once they pinpointed the location, Navia would formally accuse Marcel (Vacher) in the Opera Epiclese.
With Marcel confined to the courtroom, then they could search for evidence.
By then, Marcel would have nowhere to run!
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Lucian: About [Contracts]
"I don't worship the God of Contracts. I just believe people should keep their word.