"Long time no see, Ashtal! I've brought her over."
Just as Ashtal was getting impatient, Venti finally brought Durandal over... after an hour of soothing Durandal, heaven knows what they did during that hour.
"Why did it take so long? What happened on the way?"
Ashtal looked at Venti in confusion. As Archons, they certainly wouldn't walk slowly step by step like humans when traveling.
Someone like Durandal must also have special travel techniques, so why were they still so slow in coming?
"I had to deal with some of her matters. Don't forget she's traveling with others. If I didn't sort out her affairs, I couldn't have brought her here."
Venti shrugged, ignoring Ashtal's displeased expression, and led Durandal by the hand to a spot not far from her.
"Let me introduce you, Durandal. This is..."
"I know her. I could never forget her aura, the Tsaritsa."
She had twice attempted to rescue a Fatui Harbinger from Durandal's hands. The first time, she successfully rescued The Lady. Later, when she tried to rescue Dottore, Durandal stopped her.
Not only that, Durandal even attacked her through a teleportation portal she created, causing her DMG.
The two irreconcilable individuals stood there, staring at each other. Venti, standing nearby, could clearly feel their auras continuously rising. The small animals that had come to welcome Durandal's return were scared away by this aura. レ(???; )ヘ=3=3=3.
Ashtal felt Durandal's hostility, and the surrounding temperature began to drop, but it didn't reach freezing point; it was a form of defense. If Durandal suddenly attacked her, she could immediately counterattack.
Behind Durandal, two great scythes also appeared, and her Gothic Lolita style dress also underwent some changes. This time, there was no armor protecting her body as before; instead, eye-like things appeared on her clothes.
These "eyes" were not mere decorations; if one looked closely, they would find that these "eyes" were moving, they were alive.
Anger caused Durandal's form to change again. Although her weapons were still those great scythes, was that truly the case?
"Wait, wait, didn't we agree to calm down? Why do you both look like you're about to fight again?"
Venti was a little flustered. She had spent so much effort, finally managing to calm Durandal down, so why did it still have to end in a fight?
"If I don't fight, I can't control myself. I know your concerns; you're afraid our battle will affect Mondstadt, right?"
Durandal motioned for Venti not to worry. Although she wanted to immediately teach this Tsaritsa a lesson, she hadn't reached the point of disregarding her surroundings. She was well aware of the impact a battle between them would have.
"Since you understand, then why do you..."
"So let's solve the problem in another way. Let's fight in an illusion. How does that sound, Tsaritsa?"
The illusion created by Durandal, simply put, was for their consciousnesses to fight. By fighting through consciousness, they wouldn't have to worry about their surroundings and could fight without any reservations.
To be honest, the Tsaritsa didn't want to fight Durandal. Although she was arrogant, she could see that Durandal was very strong, and she would most likely not be her opponent.
But if she didn't accept this invitation, the subsequent conversation would probably not be able to proceed, so she ultimately had to accept the battle invitation.
"Okay."
Hearing this reply, Durandal showed a strange smile, a smile very much like one a yandere girl would show.
It was the first time Venti had seen such a smile on Durandal's face. This dangerous yet somewhat enchanting smile made her involuntarily take a few steps back.
"I have been waiting for this day for a long time."
Durandal clapped her hands, and the three present only felt everything around them begin to distort, gradually turning into a special area.
"In this place, there's no need to worry that the effects of the battle will spread to the outside area. Whatever you want to say to me, wait until this battle is over."
This battle was purely to vent her dissatisfaction with this Tsaritsa. She understood that no matter what she said, she wouldn't be able to change any of the other party's intentions, nor had she stopped her Fatui subordinates' actions in various nations.
Since she couldn't make her change the Fatui's actions in various nations, then at least she had to vent a little, otherwise she really couldn't sit down and communicate with her properly.
"I understand."
The Tsaritsa observed her surroundings, nodded, and unleashed her divine power. Extreme cold spread, instantly transforming the surroundings into her exclusive battlefield.
The ice she created continuously corroded Durandal, attempting to affect her movements and even Freeze her solid.
But this ice had no effect on Durandal. Not only could it not affect her, but the ice surface also showed abnormalities, gradually turning purple as if infected by a Virus.
At the same time, the great hands behind Durandal began to change, with two more hands appearing. These hands held Durandal in their palms, while the other great scythes grasped an unusually massive great scythe.
Having the great scythes become the hands holding the great scythe, there's nothing unreasonable about that, is there?
All this time, Durandal had been suppressing her most potent and powerful abilities to avoid affecting her surroundings. In this consciousness space, she finally didn't need to suppress them anymore.
plague, millions of deadly Viruses appeared around Durandal in the form of a storm, engulfing her and concealing her figure.
Besides concealing herself, the plague storm was also continuously corroding the surrounding solid ice.
Durandal's plague wouldn't spare you because you were a Shitou or solid ice; even inorganic matter couldn't resist Durandal's plague.
Ashtal resisted the plague storm with her divine power. She watched the solid ice gradually turn into a puddle of liquid in the plague storm, her expression becoming increasingly serious.
[If it weren't for me, when Durandal dealt with Dottore, she was planning to run to your Snezhnaya and spread the plague. You owe me a huge favor, Ashtal.]
These were words Venti had said when she went to chat with her. At that time, she hadn't taken it to heart, thinking that no matter how powerful Durandal's poison was, it could be cured. Snezhnaya's technology was strong, and given enough time, an antidote could be developed.
But... this poison, which instantly dissolves upon contact, wouldn't give those people time to research an antidote. Once contaminated, the only outcome is death.
Fortunately, she was a god; otherwise, facing such a poison, she would have no way to resist.
No... that's not right. At first, Ashtal wasn't affected by the poison, but as the battle progressed, she found that the poison actually had an effect on her!
Was it because the toxins were increasing in her body and gradually taking effect? No, that's not it!
It wasn't due to an increase in toxins, but rather that these poisons had generated toxins capable of affecting her. Although these toxins were not strong, and their impact was almost negligible, to be able to create toxins that could affect a god in such a short amount of time was truly terrifying.
This person... is truly terrifying. If she were an evil god, all life on Teyvat would perish; she would become the most dreadful natural disaster.
To think she provoked such an existence, Ashtal frowned. Fortunately, Venti was there to comfort her, otherwise, before raising the banner of rebellion against the Heavenly Principles, she would have died at Durandal's hands.
Now, she could only hope that this battle would satisfy her. If she failed to satisfy the other party, then when she arrived in Snezhnaya, Snezhnaya would be doomed.
Thinking of this, Ashtal no longer held back. She unleashed her strongest power and proactively launched an offensive against Durandal.
After all, she was one of the Seven Archons. The storm enveloping Durandal was quickly dispersed by her, revealing her Main Body within.
But this was not a weakened state; instead, she had entered the second phase. It was unclear if there would be a third phase, but in any case, she was in big trouble.
Now, Durandal officially joined the battlefield. Seated on a giant claw, she manipulated another pair of giant claws, making them tightly grip a great scythe to attack Ashtal.
Ashtal quickly blocked the blow with her sword hilt. The unexpected force made her retreat continuously, but she couldn't relax, because the next wave of attacks had already arrived.
In addition to powerful physical DMG, the scythe was also coated with Durandal's poison. Once cut by the great scythe, the toxins would enter the body through the wound, causing unstoppable DMG.
What was even more chilling to think about was that this illusionary space was created by Durandal, which meant she had to maintain this world while fighting her.
How strong was she?! If she possessed such power, could she resist the Heavenly Principles?
"How amazing. How long has it been since I've seen a battle like this?"
As a spectator pulled in to watch, Venti sat in a safe spot, eating an Apple created through imagination, and holding a bottle of wine.
And honestly, this illusion was quite good. As long as one's mental strength was strong enough, one could materialize whatever one desired. The items in her hand were created this way.
"Is this Durandal's true strength? It's a bit scary."
Venti nervously touched her forehead, recalling her usual playful scuffles with Durandal, and the sight of Durandal pelting her with Slimes. She suddenly felt that Durandal was so gentle.
If she accidentally angered her, this would probably be the outcome.
It certainly wouldn't be as miserable as Ashtal's, but fighting Durandal was, by any measure, a rather terrible idea.
"In the future, it's better not to make her angry."
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