“Aaaah…
Help!” Paimon shrieked, clutching desperately at Lumine’s hair.
“Paimon…” Lumine’s eyes were shut tight, though it seemed less because of the raging gale and more because of Paimon’s death grip.
The turbulent air currents rendered her Wind Glider completely ineffective.
*Where is that tone-deaf bard?!
Do something useful for once and keep your familiar on a leash!* Eve roared frantically inside her mind.
Just as they were about to crash into the ground, a gentle current of breeze surged upward into the sky, carrying them straight back into the lofty firmament.
Feeling the sudden stability high above, Paimon slowly opened her eyes.
She found Lumine carrying her as they soared through the azure sky.
“Eh?
Can a Wind Glider fly this high?” Paimon asked aloud, bewildered.
“I don’t know either.
I just suddenly felt my body turn weightless, and when I opened my eyes, we were already up here,” Lumine replied, equally puzzled.
“It was my thousand-year-old drifting winds that aided you, lifting you into the lofty skies.”
“May the Anemo Archon protect you.”
Suddenly, a stranger’s voice echoed out of nowhere.
*Barbatos, you actually showed up just in time!* Eve muttered mentally.
“Now, imagine gathering this stray strand of wind, weaving it into a force capable of piercing the cloud cover,” the unfamiliar voice continued.
Lumine immediately followed the voice’s instruction, and to her amazement, she discovered she could now fire arrows infused with Anemo energy.
Lumine instantly aimed the glowing elemental arrows at Dvalin and unleashed a frantic barrage of attacks.
“Who on earth are you?” Paimon asked cautiously from atop Lumine’s head.
“Me?
You’ll find out in due time.” After delivering those final words, the mysterious voice vanished completely.
Under Lumine’s valiant assault, Stormterror was finally driven back, soaring swiftly away from the City of Mondstadt.
“Lumine, you’re amazing!” Paimon praised, still gripping handfuls of Lumine’s hair.
“Yeah, Paimon…
though you’d probably be even more amazing if you didn’t yank my hair so hard next time,” Lumine deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
Her scalp felt like it had been half-ripped off; it hurt so much she feared she was going to go bald.
“Hehe, hehe, sorry about that, Lumine.” Paimon quickly let go, only then remembering that she could actually fly on her own.
“Alright, let’s head back first!
We shouldn’t keep Amber and the others worrying,” Lumine said.
“Oh right, Eve, how are you holding up?”
Lumine suddenly realized that Eve had been uncharacteristically silent for a long time.
Yet, moments passed, and still there was no response from Eve.
This instantly made Lumine panic.
“Eve, are you alright?!
Still, no reply came.
Lumine’s heart grew more and more frantic.
“Paimon, Eve wouldn’t have already…” As she spoke, the corners of Lumine’s eyes welled up with tears.
“No, impossible!
Even though Eve is arrogant, gluttonous, conceited, overbearing, and always loves to pick fights with me, there’s no way she’d kick the bucket that easily!”
“She probably just overextended herself protecting us and fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion!” Paimon blurted out immediately.
“Mm…” Lumine nodded tearfully.
Though she hadn’t known Eve for very long, Lumine already regarded her as an indispensable companion.
Right at that moment, Eve’s voice piped up out of nowhere.
“Well, well!
So that’s really what you think of me behind my back, Paimon!”
The two adorable little eyes on the bracelet snapped wide open.
“Ah!
Ah, well…” Paimon gasped in shock before quickly turning her head away, too guilty to meet Eve’s gaze.
“Thank goodness, Eve!
You’re safe!”
Lumine pulled her hand—along with the bracelet—tightly against her chest.
“Hey, hey, wait!
I can’t breathe!” Eve cried out.
A young maiden’s gentle embrace was indeed a bit suffocating.
“Ah, o-oh, I’m sorry!” Lumine quickly pulled her hand back.
“Eve, what actually happened to you just now?” Lumine asked with lingering worry.
“Uhm…
well, you guys actually guessed right,” Eve admitted.
“It was a brief blackout caused by overdrawing my power!”
“So that’s how it was!” Lumine nodded in understanding.
As they talked, Eve suddenly morphed back into her slime form.
Lumine was startled by the sudden shift and almost failed to catch her.
Fortunately, Eve landed safely in her arms in the end.
Though Lumine and Paimon had guessed correctly, they were only half right.
The true reason did involve exhaustion, but a larger part of it was Barbatos’s divine power.
When Barbatos granted his aid to Lumine moments ago, Eve had sensed a massive surge of Anemo divine energy.
This power should have been bestowed entirely upon Lumine, but Eve had covertly skimmed off a portion for herself.
After all, divine power was precisely what she lacked most right now.
Even though Barbatos’s power was Anemo-aligned and she couldn’t absorb it directly, she could refine and purify it to extract the untainted divine essence within. Find the original chapter at novelping . com.
This was an immense boon to her recovery.
The entire time she had remained silent earlier, she was busy refining that divine energy.
Not only did this replenish all the divine power she had burnt through while maintaining her shield, but it also restored a substantial amount on top of that.
*Hm, Barbatos, you’re a good guy after all.*
“Well, regardless, as long as you’re okay, Eve.” Lumine finally let out a long sigh of relief.
“Yeah, exactly!” Paimon chimed in, putting on an innocent, carefree act.
“Ahem.
Paimon, our little business isn’t settled yet!
Don’t even think about brushing this off!” Eve immediately snapped.
“Ah!
I was wrong, Eve!
I shouldn’t have badmouthed you behind your back!” Paimon instantly caved.
“Oh?
Is that all?” Eve pressed, intentionally intimidating her.
“Ah…
Th-Then how about I share half of my Sweet Madame with you?!
Will that work?!” Paimon looked like she was about to burst into tears.
“Alright, alright, I’ll let it slide.
It’s a deal, then.” Eve knew when to quit while she was ahead, a smug look of success plastered across her face.
Watching the two bickering little creatures, Lumine smiled as the wind dried her tears.
Soon enough, Lumine glided down using her Wind Glider and landed safely in the Anemo God Plaza.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Amber came sprinting over toward her.
“Are you alright?!” Amber threw her arms around Lumine in a tight hug.
Afterward, she checked Lumine over from head to toe anxiously.
“I’m fine, really, I’m fine,” Lumine waved her hands, reassuring her.
“Hey, hey, hey!
Can’t you spare a little concern for me too?” Paimon crossed her arms beside them, putting on a haughty pout.
“Alright, alright, how is little Paimon holding up?” Amber scratched her head with a laugh.
“I’m totally fine too!
Thanks to Eve and Lumine, of course.” Paimon grinned.
Right then, a round of crisp applause echoed from nearby.
*Clap, clap, clap.*
Everyone’s gazes were instantly drawn toward the sound.
A man wearing an eyepatch, with tanned skin, blue hair, and blue attire, was walking toward them while clapping his hands.
“To think you possess the power to fight a dragon…”
“Are you guests among us…
or perhaps a brand-new storm?”