Chapter 40: The Final Battle with Dvalin

"Roar!" Another dragon's roar echoed, and the platform beneath everyone's feet shattered again. Venti had no choice but to carry everyone to another platform.

"Anemo Archon, guide me!" Jean unleashed her Elemental Burst. The exhausted group felt a gentle breeze wash over them, instantly revitalizing them.

"Roar!"

Dvalin flapped his wings, hovering in the air. His mouth began to gather Anemo energy, clearly preparing a devastating attack.

"Everyone, be careful! This is Dvalin's ultimate move, Finale of the Sky!" Venti warned, bracing himself.

"Finale of the Sky? This dragon has quite the taste in naming," Yun Fan remarked.

"Actually, I just came up with that name."

"..."

"Traveler, I'll need your help again. I'll use the wind to assist you. We'll create distractions while you sneak up on Dvalin and cut off the corrupted blood," Venti said apologetically to Lumine. After all, this task carried significant risk, and Yun Fan, whom he had hired, showed no intention of stepping in.

"Alright."

"No."

Two voices with opposing answers reached Venti's ears. The agreement came from Lumine, while the refusal came from Yun Fan.

"Huh?" Lumine looked at Yun Fan in confusion. Was he worried about her? The thought made her cheeks flush slightly.

"How can we let a girl handle this? Leave it to me," Yun Fan patted Lumine's head and, under her touched gaze, stepped to the front of the group.

Ignoring Venti's disdainful look, Yun Fan's Star of Eden fired an ice cannon into Dvalin's mouth without any charge-up.

"Ugh..." The Honkai-powered ice cannon froze the Anemo energy gathering in Dvalin's mouth into a solid block. The sudden cold shocked Dvalin, and he instinctively swallowed, causing the ice ball to get stuck in his throat.

Dvalin thrashed wildly, unable to dislodge the ice. He was struggling to breathe, and if this continued, he might become the first divine familiar to die from suffocation.

"Dvalin!" Venti panicked, quickly drawing his bow and firing an arrow at Dvalin's mouth. The Anemo-infused arrow split into three mid-air, all striking Dvalin's body.

"Ugh, Barbatos, you..." Dvalin, choking, struggled to speak.

"Uh, yeah, me," Venti, under everyone's gaze, scratched his head awkwardly and then—"Ehe!"

Thud!

Yun Fan punched Venti on the head. Under Venti's resentful gaze, Yun Fan's body began to glow with golden lightning.

"Electro energy? But isn't Electro energy supposed to be purple in Teyvat?" Paimon, the self-proclaimed expert on Teyvat, looked puzzled.

"Thunder—strike now!" Yun Fan merged with the lightning, activating his skill: Stonefire Flash. In the stunned gazes of Paimon and Lumine, Yun Fan transformed into lightning, leaving afterimages in the air.

In an instant, Dvalin's body was covered in cuts, and dragon blood rained down. Yun Fan then punched Dvalin in the face, the force dislodging the ice block and shattering several of his teeth.

"Hey, take it easy! Don't break Dvalin!" Seeing his familiar in such a state, Venti panicked. If this continued, Dvalin might die before the poison was cleansed.

"Oops, my bad. I forgot," Yun Fan said, not joking. He had indeed forgotten, as beating up Dvalin felt too satisfying. He only needed to destroy the corrupted blood on Dvalin's back to cleanse the poison.

Remembering this, Yun Fan adjusted his stance. If he accidentally killed Dvalin, the contract would fail, and he'd have to return the Gnosis.

"Blades—show no mercy!" Yun Fan gathered lightning energy on his blade, aimed at the corrupted blood on Dvalin's back, and slashed.

Skill: Purple Lightning Flash!

"Roar!!!"

In an instant, Dvalin's agonized roar echoed through Stormterror's Lair, accompanied by the sound of the corrupted blood shattering.

"Lumine, the rest is up to you," Yun Fan said, kicking Dvalin toward the remaining intact platform.

Thud!

The sound of flesh hitting stone echoed as the impact and the pain from the shattered corrupted blood caused Dvalin, once the ruler of the skies, to faint.

"Leave it to me!" Lumine jumped onto Dvalin's back, placing her hands on the wound. A faint, ethereal "purifying energy" gradually cleansed the corrupted blood from Dvalin's body.

Yun Fan watched closely. To him, it seemed less like purification and more like absorption. Lumine was absorbing the corrupted blood and Abyssal energy, almost instinctively, without realizing it.

"Hey, what's going on? Why is everything shaking?" Just as Lumine finished purifying the blood, the platform beneath them began to tremble, as if it were about to collapse.

"Without Dvalin's power sustaining it, this place is likely about to collapse," Yun Fan explained. Venti was too busy checking on Dvalin to respond to Paimon.

As soon as Yun Fan finished speaking, the platform crumbled, and everyone fell into the storm with screams.

At the last moment, Dvalin, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes and caught everyone on his back.

"Why didn't you ask me to protect you, like before?" Dvalin asked Venti.

"I..."

"I think it's because Venti finally realized something. After all, can freedom commanded by the Anemo Archon truly be called freedom? Hey, you sneak-attacked me—"

Before Yun Fan could finish, a gust of wind blew him away. The last thing he saw was Venti's furious, gritted-teeth expression.

I just stole your lines a few times. Was that really necessary?

Everyone was stunned. What was that about?

"Uh, Mr. Venti, is that really okay?" Jean asked, concerned.

"Don't worry, that height is nothing for him," Venti said, merging a greenish orb into Dvalin's body.

"This is... the power of the Anemo familiar. But I'm no longer one of the Four Winds."

"But you still protected us, didn't you? Dvalin, from now on, fly freely with my blessing!"