Before leaving the Abyss space, Orion tested letting Lumine absorb the Abyss energy from his body to see how much she could take.
He didn't know until he tried, and once he did, he was shocked; Lumine was like a bottomless black hole, seemingly infinite, though it appeared she would feel a bit bloated if she absorbed too much.
"I can't do it anymore! I can't take any more!"
It wasn't that she couldn't hold it, but rather that her mind couldn't handle it; if she kept absorbing, she would break.
Orion looked at Lumine, who was collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat, and felt that if he made her a golden toilet, she alone could plug the entrance to the Abyss for ten thousand years.
"Are we leaving?" Skirk asked.
Orion checked the main quest; the part about defeating Stormterror was complete, but there was still a follow-up task that hadn't been finished.
That was, after exiting Stormterrors Lair, Mondstadt was attacked by Hilichurls and the Abyss Order, and Lumine was supposed to help Amber resolve this issue.
But now, look around, where are there any Hilichurls left? These are all just corpses of Hilichurls that died from the collateral damage.
Orion sighed; the quest to defend Mondstadt had failed simply because all the Hilichurls were dead. Fate truly plays tricks on people.
"Forget it, let's go out. We should let them know we're safe first."
If all else fails, I'll just catch some Hilichurls later and have them attack Mondstadt.
Thus, Skirk opened the entrance again, and the three of them slowly walked out of the Abyss space.
...
Barbara stared blankly at the lake surface like a stone statue waiting for her husband.
If it were the usual, Jean would have gone to comfort her beloved sister, but at this moment, she was the same as Barbara, simply holding Barbara's shoulder and staring blankly at the lake.
At this time, the steam on the lake had dissipated, and the water had returned to calm.
Amber, Eula, and the others were also filled with worry and couldn't lift their spirits. On the contrary, Lisa, who was holding Clara in her arms, was slightly better off because she felt a sense of tranquility from Clara, as if she wasn't worried at all that something might happen to Orion.
Lisa therefore set her heart at ease, simply holding Clara and quietly gazing at the lake.
On the city wall, Master Diluc had someone bring a pot of fruit wine for every patrolling knight and cleric. The alcohol content wasn't high, so it wouldn't get anyone drunk, but it could help soothe everyone's nerves.
Accepting the wine brought by the stewards or maids, the members of the Knights of Favonius expressed their thanks one after another. Rosaria, relying on the fact that she often went to Diluc's place to drink, took two bottles, but among everyone, only Kaiya had no wine to drink.
"Are you discriminating against me?" Kaiya asked Diluc with an expression of dissatisfaction.
Diluc didn't say a word; he just stared at Kaiya and took a large gulp of wine himself.
Kaiya: (*￣m￣)
Kaiya turned around and leaned against the city wall, looking at Mondstadt, which had survived the disaster.
"Orion... do you think he will lose control?"
"I don't think so." Diluc answered quite confidently: "And even if he did, Skirk and the Honorary Knight should be able to restore him."
Kaiya was somewhat surprised: "I didn't expect this. Master Diluc, the richest man in our Mondstadt, would actually trust a, oh no, a group of people he just met~"
As his voice trailed off, he didn't hear Diluc's reply. Kaiya turned his head to look and saw Diluc gazing in the direction of the lake with a look of surprise.
Kaiya suddenly snapped back to reality and turned to look.
On the lake, the cross-shaped gap appeared again. Following Skirk's signature spatial step, a thick layer of ice appeared on the lake surface.
More and more people saw this scene, calling their friends and companions, and everyone looked towards the lake.
Skirk walked out completely, and beside her, Lumine and Paimon also climbed out.
The commotion on the city wall was heard by some people in the city, and more and more people took out their binoculars again to look towards the lake.
Skirk and Lumine stepped aside, and finally, Orion walked out. White, slightly yellowish hair, pointed ears, orange-red eyes, and a scarlet, gold-trimmed, slightly ornate red outfit that befitted the son of a witch.
It was the Orion from Remembrance.
Orion also saw the familiar faces on the city wall, so he subconsciously waved, and it was this gesture that caused the entire city of Mondstadt to erupt in thunderous cheers.
"The Honorary Priest is back!"
"He still has his sanity! He still remembers us!"
"Honorary Knight! Honorary Priest!"
"Mondstadt is saved!!!"
On the city wall, Jean and Barbara both had moist eyes. The two of them maintained their embrace, letting their tears flow down. Amber also happily threw herself onto Eula, her legs unable to stop hopping with excitement.
Even Master Diluc raised his glass in the direction of Orion as a gesture.
Orion:???
How come it feels like everyone's emotions don't match mine?If they were celebrating that Dvalin was defeated, shouldn't they have celebrated just now?
Orion kept his smile and asked in a low voice: "Why are they so happy? Are they welcoming a hero?"
Paimon flew to Orion's ear and whispered: "They thought you were corrupted, but now that they see you're fine, they're relieved."
"I see." That was true; he was indeed much scarier than Dvalin.
And just as the residents of Mondstadt confirmed that Orion hadn't turned into a new disaster, the quest to defend against the Hilichurl siege was completed, and the Primogems arrived.
Orion:...
So I was treated as a Hilichurl?
But from the perspective of the quest, it made sense. Essentially, this was just a wrap-up quest. After defeating Stormterror, it was just about dealing with the loose ends of the disaster in Mondstadt. Once Mondstadt lifted its alert status, the quest was naturally completed.
The three of them walked on the ice surface created by Skirk, and before long, they reached the shore of Mondstadt. At this time, Acting Grand Master Jean led everyone down from the city gate and was waiting for them there.
Just as Orion was planning to greet everyone, two figures, one red and one white, suddenly rushed into his arms.
It was Amber and Barbara, a true "swallow returning to the nest."
Orion was completely stunned. He hurriedly looked in the direction of Jean and Eula, only to find that they were also gazing at him with faces full of tenderness.
At this moment, Barbara in his arms suddenly spoke: "I'm sorry! It's all my fault, it's all my fault for not lifting the curse for you... You must be in a lot of pain, right?"
Orion:!
Should I be in a lot of pain?
Mimicry, activate!
Orion's complexion suddenly turned pale, and at the same time, everyone noticed that there were actually some black veins on his neck?!
Amber's expression turned grave: "Your body! Oh no, we were too far away on the city wall, we didn't see clearly!"
Jean and the others also panicked and hurriedly told Amber and Barbara to support Orion into the city.
"You take him for treatment first! We'll come over after we finish arranging the follow-up work!"
Jean naturally didn't forget the two great heroes, Lumine and Skirk, and asked Lisa to take them to rest, preferably preparing more delicious food to replenish the energy they had consumed.
Lumine and Skirk looked at Orion, who was being supported into the city by Barbara and Amber on his left and right, with expressionless faces.
We won't expose you now; just wait until you come back.
Entering the city, everyone faced a dilemma in front of the Mondstadt Cathedral.
Due to the battle between the Great Wolf and the dragon, most of the plaza had collapsed, making it very difficult to walk.
Orion suddenly pulled away from the two women, clutching his chest, stumbled to the collapsed ruins, and then crouched down.
Without waiting for the two women behind him or others to ask, Orion's body suddenly radiated a soft cyan light.
"Let me use my final strength to help Mondstadt one more time!"
A tiny bit of creation clearance, activate!
The entire city of Mondstadt was suddenly covered by a complex magic circle, and soft light flickered everywhere.
Outside the city, Venti, who was healing Dvalin with some of the clerics, suddenly turned back and looked: "What's going on? Why is there such a big commotion again?"
"Bar... Lord Venti, what is this?" Barbara's father, Bishop Simon, asked Venti.
Venti just waved his hand: "Don't worry about him, it's Orion's doing."
Simon nodded: "So it's the work of Lord Dependant. That's not strange then, that's not strange at all."
Venti:...
As for the identity of Dependant, I hope Orion won't settle the score with me later.
In the outer city, many people discovered the magic circle and ran to the cathedral to watch, including Sucrose and Timaeus.
Looking at the complex magic patterns and considering that Orion was her teacher's younger brother, or rather, cousin, Sucrose said with some surprise: "Could this be an alchemy circle?"
Orion:?!
Good reason!
Orion suddenly clasped his hands together and then slammed them heavily onto the ground.
"Nation-Wide Transmutation Circle!"
Upon hearing this, Sucrose felt her scalp tingle and couldn't stop shivering with excitement.
An alchemy circle covering the entire Mondstadt? Nation-Wide Transmutation? That's so cool!!!
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