A gentle wisp of wind brushed past Elios' ear, carrying a message inaudible to anyone else.
His brows lifted slightly.
This was the message he'd been expecting from Venti.
Which meant it was time to move.
Delaying now could risk the fish escaping the net he'd laid—an opportunity this rare wasn't something he planned to waste.
He stood up, drawing the attention of the three in the office, who looked at him in confusion after he suddenly paused mid-report.
"Sorry," Elios said smoothly. "Urgent matters just came up."
He glanced at Jean, tone turning brisk and decisive.
"I've already reported the most important information. What's left is handling the aftermath. Jean—please publish the truth behind Dvalin's rampage and clear the misunderstanding. That's a promise I made to him."
He added, more quietly, "He also sent his apologies to everyone who suffered because of him."
Elios turned toward the door.
"Now… if you'll excuse me."
Without waiting for a reply, he exited the office at a fast pace.
The three left behind exchanged awkward looks, not understanding the sudden urgency from the usually calm Elios.
Jean cleared her throat first, trying to restore order to her own thoughts.
"Sir Elios…" she murmured. "He must have sensed something. Maybe he went to clear out the Abyss Order forces that planned to control Dvalin…"
It was only a guess—but she didn't realize how close she was to the truth.
Kaeya and Lisa nodded in understanding.
"If it's him, it's not strange," Kaeya said, his expression briefly shadowed by an old memory. "If I remember correctly, he sensed Ursa the Drake's disturbance from as far as the city and reached the area within minutes. I'm still thankful he was here back then…"
His voice lowered.
"Otherwise Father and Diluc might have…"
Lisa's tone immediately shifted, light and teasing, as if intentionally cutting through the tension.
"Hmm~ He really is as charming as ever. If only he were younger… and unmarried…~"
"Lisa!" Jean scolded sharply. "Stop making those jokes!"
"Ara~" Lisa leaned in with a grin, eyes half-lidded. "Seems our Acting Grand Master is angry again because her man is being targeted."
Jean stiffened.
Lisa's smile widened—half playful, half pointed.
"You should hurry and make a move soon, you know? A charismatic man like that will charm more women as he travels. If you hesitate, he'll end up with too many women beside him… and forget you."
As Jean's closest friend, Lisa had noticed the feelings long ago. She wanted Jean to succeed—love life included. But Jean was too rigid, too dutiful, always putting work first and ignoring her own needs.
Even Barbara had complained—quietly and privately—about how little time Jean had left for her. With both sisters bearing heavy roles, the distance between them had grown. Acting Grand Master, and Deaconess of the Church… duty didn't leave much room for anything else.
"W-what are you saying, Lisa?!" Jean sputtered, flustered. "Sir Elios and I—we aren't like that!"
But her voice faltered as the truth caught up with her.
"Besides… he already has Lady Alice and Lady Nicole…" Her gaze lowered, the embarrassment fading into something quieter. "There's no room for someone like me to… butt in…"
Lisa's eyes softened—just slightly—though her tone stayed teasing.
"If you're worried about his wives, then why not ask their permission first? They might unexpectedly accept."
She giggled.
"Besides—if he has two wives, he can have three. Four. Or More." Lisa waved a hand lazily. "Strong men are always respected…and sought after. If Elios declared he was opening a harem, I'm sure half of Mondstadt's maidens would line up to join, hehe~!"
Jean looked like she was about to combust.
Kaeya, sensing that his continued presence here was both unnecessary and potentially dangerous to his sanity, quietly excused himself. He left with a single thought:
'Now that Stormterror incident is resolved.. Guess let's find Diluc and father to open a drinking party tonight.'
______________
Elios, unaware of the discussion he'd left behind, moved through the headquarters with a cold focus. One of his long-standing headaches was finally within reach.
He paused at an inconspicuous spot, confirming no one was watching.
Then he used one of the countless applications of his Sun authority.
Light bent and warped.
Wrapped around him like a veil.
His figure swayed… and gradually vanished from sight.
Invisibility wasn't enough, though.
Elios suppressed his presence as low as possible and focused on his link to the ley lines, exerting precise control—stopping them from feeding his location back to Irminsul.
He wasn't just hiding from people.
He was hiding from Teyvat itself.
If the world couldn't "register" him…
Then who could?
With this method, even Venti's wind couldn't properly sense him, let alone track him.
Elios had developed this painstaking technique over years, ever since his first clash with Beelzebul—or more precisely, her puppet.
The moment she sensed another godlike existence entering her territory, she had labeled it a threat to her "Eternity" or whatnot and attacked without hesitation.
She hadn't been much of a threat to him—he'd taught her a lesson she wouldn't forget—but the battle still caused collateral damage. It disrupted his plans, and parts of Inazuma paid the price.
Worst of all, the Dottore segment he had been pursuing fled the moment it sensed Elios' presence. The puppet had indirectly protected one of the main perpetrators corrupting her nation… without even realizing it.
That incident had lowered Elios' opinion of the shut-in god and her messy rule even further.
Elios shook his head, forcing those thoughts away.
Focus.
He followed the trail Venti had left—subtle, faint, marked with divinity. It was a signature no mere Elemental Sight could detect, protected from being tracked by anything less than a true god.
And only two such existences were currently present in Mondstadt.
Elios moved at the fastest speed he could manage without exposing himself.
Even so, he reached the destination in less than five minutes.
The path led into the outskirts of Old Mondstadt—near the region that had become Dvalin's lair. The trail ended at a cave so well-hidden it would've been missed by anyone who didn't know exactly what to look for.
As soon as Elios crossed the threshold, his expression tightened.
A heavy, suffocating presence pressed against his senses.
Abyssal energy—thick enough to cling to the air.
'Jackpot.'
If the Abyss presence was this dense, then this wasn't a minor hideout.
This was important.
Which also meant…
'There's likely at least one Herald stationed here.'
That would be a massive blow to the Abyss Order if he could eliminate everyone inside.
Elios searched for Venti's presence briefly, but found nothing. He deduced Venti had fallen back.
Even if Venti could enter, the Abyss was like poison to a being of pure elemental origin—a wind spirit born from Light Realm power. Venti could endure it, yes, but it would still be uncomfortable.
So Venti waited outside.
Elios continued forward, silent, invisible, unregistered.
'I hope she's here.'
'It'll make everything smoother.'
'If not… I'll have to quietly wait for another opportunity.'
The Abyss Order still hadn't sensed him. Good.
He didn't plan to repeat the same mistake as last time—charging in with brute force, thinking he'd cornered them, only for them to open an Abyss channel and teleport away.
That had cost him.
Not because he lost the fight—but because they gained information. They learned about his existence, his methods. And since the Abyss Order had infiltrators across the nations, they had likely connected his "public" identity to the monster they feared.
After that, every attempt to track them had ended the same way: retreat, escape, vanish.
Still… it wasn't as if Elios had gained nothing.
He had thinned their forces.
And unlike most people, Elios didn't simply "kill" them.
He liberated them.
He cleansed the curse from corrupted souls, burned away the filth, and restored them to the human reincarnation cycle—preventing them from resurrecting as monstrosities.
But the Abyss Order didn't know that.
To them, Elios was a mortal enemy because of one terrifying fact:
Those killed by his hand didn't come back.
Hilichurls. Abyss Mages. Heralds.
Gone—permanently.
He had tried multiple times to reach their Princess directly, but her underlings always ensured she escaped before he arrived.
This time, he came prepared.
Not only had he refined the technique that erased his presence…
He had also mastered a method to block their teleportation.
That was the source of his confidence.
And if fate was kind, then today—finally—
That elusive Princess would be here.
Elios' eyes narrowed in the darkness, expression calm, posture relaxed… and utterly lethal.
'Now then…'
'Time to capture a willful princess… and educate her.'
He proceeded deeper into the cave, fearless, as the Abyss thickened around him like a breathing fog.