As time passed, even though the Knights of Favonius had not yet announced the disaster's end, a small number of people emerged from their homes, curiously gazing towards the direction of Wine Lake.
The roads were blocked by the Knights of Favonius, but climbing to higher points on rooftops was feasible, and many people tried their best to reach high ground, looking towards the lake with telescopes.
"Oh my heavens!" At the top of a windmill, some residents and several apprentices from the alchemy workshop stood together, continuously adjusting the telescope's magnification.
Albert, who claimed to be Barbara's number one fan, nervously asked, "How is it? How is it? Did you see her? Is Miss Barbara alright?"
Timaeus moved his eyes away from the eyepiece and glanced at Albert.
"You're still thinking about Miss Barbara? Haven't you seen how well she and the Honorary Priest match? Aren't you afraid of being beaten to death by Mr. Orion? I'm telling you, I personally saw Mr. Orion single-handedly lift a collapsed giant roof! He's even stronger than Noelle!"
Albert shrank his neck, "I'm not pursuing Miss Barbara; I'm just a fan."
"A fan who goes to the street every day to wait for her?" Marjorie rolled her eyes from the side. "I'm telling you, it's only because you haven't done anything out of line yet. Otherwise, let alone Mr. Orion, the Knights of Favonius and the Church would have dealt with you long ago!"
Albert sighed, his shoulders slumped. "I understand... I'll try to only buy merchandise to support Miss Barbara from now on."
Just then, Timaeus finally adjusted the telescope. He excitedly shouted, "I see it! I see it!"
"What did you see?!"
"I can't see anything, it's all steam."
The three sighed again.
At this moment, a soft voice came from beside Timaeus: "Let me take a look."
Timaeus looked over: "Oh, it's Sucrose. Here you go."
Sucrose, with her green hair, large round glasses, and a seemingly gentle, puppy-like demeanor, took the telescope, adjusted her glasses, and looked towards the lake.
On the city walls, Jean, Barbara, Skirk, Lumine, Lisa, Amber, Eula, Clara, Diluc, Kaiya, and Sister Rosaria, along with an unfamiliar green-clad Bard, could all be seen heading there.
Further away, amidst the steaming lake, a giant wolf was vaguely visible biting Stormterror's neck, with streams of black-purple substance being continuously sucked out from the bite.
And each time some black-purple substance was absorbed, the cyan-blue plasma flames on the giant wolf's body would dim a bit, now showing a tendency to turn purple.
Sucrose furrowed her brow and said worriedly, "Is Mr. Orion really okay? Absorbing that black power like this, won't he also be corrupted?"
Little Klee often came to the workshop to play, so these apprentices knew that Klee had an older brother. And according to Klee, that brother, Mr. Orion, claimed to be a junior to their teacher, Albedo.
Timaeus was also a bit worried. Although they hadn't met him, the fact that their teacher's junior had become like this and was still protecting Mondstadt made it difficult for their emotions to calm down.
"I hope Mr. Orion in his giant wolf form can repel Stormterror..."
"What?!" Albert was full of shock. "That wolf is Mr. Orion??"
"You didn't know? Didn't you see Mr. Orion transform?"
"I didn't see it, I was hiding downstairs!"
"Well, you see it now. That's Mr. Orion."
Hearing Timaeus's answer, Albert fell into a daze. He took two steps back, leaned against the wall, slowly slid down to sit on the wooden platform, his face despairing, his lips trembling.
"Mr. Orion, I hope he can be gentler with Miss Barbara in the future..."
Marjorie and Timaeus exchanged glances, then sighed heavily.
"This guy is hopeless."
...Jean and the others watched the giant wolf's shimmering figure in the lake with tense expressions. Under its continuous absorption, Stormterror's body had gradually returned to its original emerald green, and the ferocity in its eyes had completely faded.
The Dragon Crisis had, from this point, reached its end.
However, the people on the city wall dared not relax their vigilance in the slightest, because the giant wolf's current appearance was truly terrifying.
Its originally silvery-white scales gradually turned black, and several gruesome black spikes grew on its back. From its skull to its tailbone, it was a dull purple, while its torso and limbs were dark red.
It would not be an exaggeration to call it a demonic wolf.
Barbara clasped her hands: "Mr. Orion, please return safely!"
Eula and Amber, though silent, also wore tense expressions.
Lisa looked at Skirk, who had a calm expression beside her, and asked, "Ms. Skirk, you seem very calm. Do you have a way to resolve this state?"
Skirk shook her head: "It cannot be resolved. The only one who might be able to resolve it is Lumine; she is the only person I've seen who can ingest large amounts of Abyssal Power without any ill effects. I am better at adapting than absorbing, so I am of no help here."
Captain Jean's face was very grim: "So, that means we have to be prepared that we might have to fight a corrupted Mr. Orion again?"
Skirk was noncommittal, merely saying, "It's alright, I'll take action."
Lumine and Paimon, who were nearby, also showed grave expressions.
Especially Lumine.
She didn't want a big wolf; she wanted a sweet, soft, obedient Shota master.
Only Clara was trembling and out of sorts.
—Why do I feel like Brother Orion will be perfectly fine?
—Should I say it? But the atmosphere right now, with everyone united, it's so hard to break!
"Captain Jean!" Suddenly, a knight nearby shouted, "The giant wolf is moving!"
In the lake, the giant wolf picked up the completely recovered Dvalin and abruptly flung him. The massive dragon body was violently thrown through the air and smashed onto the land beside the lake, sending earth and rocks flying and flattening a swath of trees.
The giant wolf howled at the sky again. With the moon high above, the giant wolf emanated an ominous red glow, making the knights on the city walls hundreds of meters away feel weak in their knees.
Suddenly, the giant wolf's body began to pulsate, and a heartbeat-like sound echoed over Mondstadt.
With each heartbeat, ripples spread across the lake's surface.
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump... The unsettling heartbeat sound eroded everyone's nerves, as if something about to be born in heaven and earth was constantly stirring.
Finally, the red light intensified! The entire lake was stained crimson by the light. The giant wolf's body suddenly expanded, then rapidly shrank.
"Hahahahaha! That old geezer isn't here, so I, in my youth, am invincible!"
With the aid of vast Abyss energy, Orion successfully fused anemo element power with a tiny bit of God power he obtained from the Wolf King. This action inexplicably pushed him into his juvenile period.
Orion transformed back into human form amidst an ominous red glow, yet no one cheered for him.
In everyone's eyes, they only saw a terrifying human figure emitting black smoke, with red eyes that left two trailing streaks with every shake of his head, seemingly roaring something.
In short, it sounded evil, not like a good person.
Barbara covered her mouth, her face showing disbelief. She didn't want to see Orion corrupted by evil. Thankfully, Jean supported her, preventing her from collapsing.
Amber also turned her head and buried it in Eula's embrace; she, too, couldn't believe this scene.
Lisa looked at Clara, and Clara looked back at Lisa.
Lisa opened her arms: "Aren't you coming?"
Clara:???
Orion hadn't even stood firm on the lake when he noticed someone shooting towards him.
Orion focused his eyes and saw that it was Lumine and Skirk pouncing towards him. Like fledgling swallows flying into one's arms? Interesting.
He immediately opened his arms, ready to embrace the soft jade.
But as the two approached and the smoke dispersed, Orion finally saw clearly.
Wait, why are both of them coming at me with swords drawn and skills activated?!
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