"My goodness… what's going on with Su Han like this? He looks terrifying. Didn't the Knights say he was a normal human? Why is his body growing scales…"
Faced with Paimon's shock and fear, Lumine shook her head. "He only turned into this to protect us. We can't just stand here doing nothing. If we get the chance, we have to help him fight back."
She had a feeling this battle was not going to end easily.
At that moment, Diluc and the others finally arrived.
They stared at the shattered, sunken trial ground and the scattered Abyss corpses, all deeply shocked.
Very quickly, everyone's gaze was drawn to Su Han and Boreas.
However, the current Pope of the Church of Favonius looked very different from the man they remembered.
Su Han's body was covered in scales now.
He still wielded Tessaiga, but this level of battle was no longer something they could interfere with.
"This must be the Azure Dragon form…" Diluc said with a grave expression.
"What's an Azure Dragon form?" Kaeya asked, puzzled.
He had always naively thought His Holiness was just an ordinary human. Only now did he realize Su Han carried the blood of an Azure Dragon.
Noelle watched the Pope fighting with a tense look.
But when she lowered her head and saw the greatsword in her own hands, her expression firmed.
She couldn't just sit back and watch. If an opening appeared, she had to help.
"This is one of His Holiness's powers," Diluc explained. "He can enter an Azure Dragon state. In that form, his attack and defense both increase greatly, and he can even influence the weather. Haven't you noticed the clouds are gone?"
Everyone looked up at his reminder.
The sky, which had been dark and overcast, was now bright with scorching sunlight.
They had all been too focused on the battle to notice.
Ever since Su Han transformed, his power had quietly affected the sky above.
"Even if we can't change the outcome," Diluc said to the group, "we need to be ready. As far as I know, His Holiness can't maintain this form for very long. We must be prepared at all times."
"Yes!"
Everyone answered together.
…
A chilling frost claw and a red-hot blade clashed violently.
Boreas was forced back again.
Only then did it realize its own claw had been injured.
Blood poured from the torn flesh, pain spreading through the limb.
Once, as a deity, its pride would never have allowed such humiliation.
Silver light flared along the wolf's body.
It leapt back, raised its head, and howled.
Snow and ice surged over the battlefield again.
Starting from the wolf's feet, a thick layer of frost spread rapidly across the ground.
The temperature in all of Wolvendom dropped to around minus thirty degrees.
Cold mist coiled around the entire arena.
Boreas clearly no longer wanted to keep fighting at close range.
Seeing this, Su Han let out a cold laugh. "Trying to open the distance? Fine. I'll go along with it. I happen to want to test this move too… Heaven's Chains. Hold him down for a while."
Silvery holy chains shot from his hand, striking Boreas mid-chant and cutting it off.
Chains appeared from all directions, wrapping around the wolf and pinning it firmly to the ground.
Paimon, who had seen certain films before, screamed, "That's Heaven's Chains. It can even bind deities… Is Su Han about to use some earth-shattering move?"
"This is a battle between top-level powerhouses…"
"Heaven's Chains are strong, but they can't hold Boreas for long. He used to be a deity…"
"Right. And His Holiness's stamina is dropping as well. He can probably only hold that form for three more minutes…"
Their assessment of the situation was accurate.
With Su Han's current stamina, three minutes was about the limit.
But three minutes was enough.
"Gravity: Meteor."
Purple light soared into the sky, shooting off to an unknown point.
"Uh-oh… Su Han's lost it. He just fired that move into the air. Lumine… he won't try to slash all of us in a minute, right?" Paimon said, half panicked.
Lumine was speechless.
Even if he lost his temper, he wasn't going to lose his mind.
Diluc seemed to notice something. His face changed sharply and he shouted, "Not good. Fall back. Everyone get out of here!"
"What's with the overreaction…" Kaeya muttered. His Observation Haki was weaker; he still hadn't sensed anything. But Bennett and Noelle obediently retreated.
Before they came, they had been told that if anything abnormal happened, they were to follow orders immediately.
Seeing Diluc running, Lumine also turned and fled.
Paimon naturally followed, flitting through the air after them. As she flew, she asked, "Deputy Captain Diluc, what's going on?"
"You'll see in a moment. This kind of terrifying move… it's my first time seeing it," Diluc replied, eyes full of a mix of excitement and awe.
His Holiness could actually do this?
In less than a minute, newly gathering clouds were torn apart by blazing firelight.
A massive meteor, its entire surface wreathed in flame, descended from beyond the sky toward the trial ground.
Paimon's eyes went round.
Diluc dropped to the ground in shock.
Noelle's sword slipped from her hands.
Lumine was completely stunned.
Kaeya could only stare.
Even with Diluc's warning, seeing it with their own eyes was another thing entirely.
"My goodness… is that Su Han's move? He actually dragged a meteor down from the sky…"
"So this is his power…"
"Your Holiness… just where is your limit…"
"So this is the Pope's true strength… No wonder Miss Sheffield said that if you earn his trust, you can gain power beyond this world…"
"Your Holiness… so this is what you can do…"
The enormous meteor fell from the sky.
People in Mondstadt saw it too.
Ganyu stared at it and knew this was Su Han's doing. She silently prayed, "I hope Su Han can defeat that half-deity…"
"A meteor is flying toward Wolvendom. What kind of power is that…"
"Will we be hit here too?"
"If that happens, then we…"
…
Seeing the fear on the citizens' faces, Lisa flew up and said, "Everyone, don't be afraid. That meteor was summoned by His Holiness."
Dainsleif, being escorted away, was stunned.
Something like that could be summoned?
Was there something wrong with the information he had before?
Hearing Lisa's explanation, everyone finally let out a breath of relief.
Eula, having just finished clearing the Abyss monsters, glanced at the direction where the meteor was falling, then turned and sprinted toward Wolvendom.
Amber saw her move and called out, "Eula, where are you going?"
"I'm going to help. You protect the city."
Since the fight had reached this point, the outcome would be decided soon.
She had to do her part.
Fortunately, the ice on Cider Lake had not melted yet.
Eula ran swiftly across the frozen surface.
With no blizzard this time, she quickly met up with Diluc and the others.
By then, the meteor had already descended and was about to smash into Boreas.
The rock was over a thousand meters across.
Being hit by that would not feel good at all.
Boreas tried to raise its head and spit frost to stop the attack.
But its body was bound by Heaven's Chains.
It could not fight back at all.
The enraged wolf king could only roar.
Su Han retreated far away and said coldly, "Enjoy this ball, mutt."
Boom.
The meteor slammed down.
The entire city of Mondstadt felt the impact.
In Wolvendom, frost and snow melted instantly under the intense heat.
The corpses on the ground were all burned away.
But Su Han could still feel Boreas's life force.
It had weakened, but it was still there.
"So it still isn't enough to finish it… The power of a deity really is troublesome, even half of one. Still, that hit should have injured it badly. That's enough."
He took a deep breath and prepared to completely subdue Boreas.
As he drew closer, the power of Heaven's Chains faded.
Cold frost surged again. The flames on the meteor went out, and the enormous rock crumbled apart.
Su Han's eyes narrowed. Tessaiga swung out and met Boreas's surprise attack head on.
The once-proud and majestic wolf king was now covered in blood, its body crisscrossed with wounds, its aura barely half of what it had been.
"Looks like that move caused you a lot of trouble."
"Evil humans must be slaughtered…" Boreas growled, charging again.
But its speed and strength had both dropped by several levels.
Su Han's own power and speed had declined as well, but at this stage of the fight, it was a contest of endurance.
He felt extremely calm inside. His Observation Haki worked at full capacity, clearly tracking every motion of the wolf king. He could even faintly glimpse a sliver of its next move.
Dodge.
Dodge again.
Gravity Blade slowed its movements. Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his strikes. Black lightning exploded with each hit.
Boreas was blasted away.
"Haah… haah…"
Lying on the ground, the wolf panted heavily. After fighting nonstop for so long, it was reaching its limit. The power inside it was beginning to fade.
Su Han did not give it a chance to recover.
He appeared in front of it in an instant.
Before Boreas could move, Gravity Blade fell.
"Sorry. I win this one."
Tessaiga shifted into its demon dragon form. The sword aura tore through fur and flesh, piercing straight through Boreas's body.