Arkz stared at Barbara with wide eyes, completely shocked.
"No way, are we really going to fight!"
"Something's wrong, very wrong!"
"Barbara, you're not normal!"
Barbara glanced at Arkz, her expression icy: "Not normal? No! I feel great!"
"The me of the past was frail, insignificant, weak, and could only hide behind my sister when danger struck."
"I only chose to run away when faced with difficulties."
"The me of now is powerful and full of confidence!"
"My dear sister, come on, let me crush you right here."
"From now on, you'll be the one hiding behind me!"
Slap—!
Arkz smacked his forehead hard, crying out in pain, "I must not be awake; this has to be a dream!"
"I actually see Barbara possessed by a pufferfish!!!"
However, a queen-like Barbara, hehe~~~
Arkz's undisguised lewd smile made the girls around him, as well as Barbara floating in the sky, shudder, looking at him with disgust.
Among the crowd, only Acting Grand Master Jean was deeply struck, shocked by Barbara's change, unable to snap out of it for a moment.
Rosaria vigorously shook Acting Grand Master Jean, who was being supported by Noelle, hoping to wake her up this way, but Acting Grand Master Jean remained dispirited, showing no fighting spirit at all.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, wake up!!!"
Jean stared blankly at the frenzied, villainous-looking, dark-makeup Barbara, thinking dejectedly, "I am an incompetent sister for letting the sweet, cute, sensible, and kind Barbara turn bad."
"Barbara, please come back!"
Jean's shock was no less than that of a father seeing his well-behaved, sensible daughter suddenly transform into a non-mainstream, dyed-hair girl—a whirlwind of complex emotions.
Seeing that this gentle approach wouldn't wake Acting Grand Master Jean, Rosaria switched tactics.
Cryo Element condensed in her palm, and Rosaria quickly donned an ice glove.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, pardon my offense!"
Under the shocked gazes of everyone, Rosaria thrust her ice-covered hand into Acting Grand Master Jean's collar. This was like having a cold hand sneak into your clothes while you were nestled warmly in bed during winter—both stimulating and terrifyingly shocking.
"Ah!"
Acting Grand Master Jean cried out immediately and swiftly regained her senses.
Although Acting Grand Master Jean possessed great strength and did not fear the cold, that didn't mean she couldn't feel the chill. On the contrary, as a powerful Vision holder, even without actively using Elemental Power, her senses were far sharper than those of ordinary people.
It was like a person with acute hearing being assaulted by noise; an ordinary person might just feel tinnitus, but a person with overly sharp hearing could bleed from their orifices and die due to overstimulation.
Caught off guard by Rosaria's sudden ice-hand sneak attack, Acting Grand Master Jean's reaction was not surprising.
Acting Grand Master Jean subconsciously glared over in anger, clutching the area that had been attacked.
"Rosaria!!!"
Rosaria wasn't flustered at all and calmly pointed toward Barbara, who was stretching and preparing for a major battle with her sister.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, now is not the time to be despondent."
"Barbara is already sharpening her fists against her own sister."
Acting Grand Master Jean followed Rosaria's pointing finger and looked ahead. She saw Barbara hopping around, wildly swinging her fists toward the void. Her punching style bore a striking resemblance to the legendary 'Thug's Excited Fist,' stirring excitement in onlookers.
Acting Grand Master Jean looked at Barbara with complex emotions. She never imagined that one day she and her sister would be drawing swords against each other.
"I'm sorry, Rosaria. I misjudged you just now."
A mistake must be admitted, and a punishment must be accepted; Acting Grand Master Jean, who strictly followed her principles, immediately apologized to Rosaria.
"You are right; this is not the time to be down!"
"Although I don't know why Barbara has become like this, as her sister, I must be strong and find the reason why Barbara changed!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Arkz scurried over at this moment, saying, "Acting Grand Master Jean, you are absolutely right!"
Arkz pulled Fischl over and asked her to comfort Barbara.
Then, he pulled Rosaria and Acting Grand Master Jean aside. The three huddled together, heads close, and started a small meeting.
"Do you all feel that Barbara is a bit off?" Arkz asked with a grave expression.
Rosaria immediately rolled her eyes upon hearing this: "Isn't that stating the obvious! Anyone with eyes can see Barbara is acting strange!"
"If you keep talking nonsense, just get lost and don't disturb us."
Acting Grand Master Jean spoke thoughtfully: "I was just overly concerned before. Thinking about it now, Barbara's emotional shift is indeed somewhat abnormal."
"When we started talking, Barbara's mood was quite stable, but..."
"Although it sounds hard to believe, I just feel that Barbara's state isn't right, as if... her emotions are being influenced by some kind of power."
Noelle gasped and covered her mouth.
Acting Grand Master Jean looked at Noelle, her face filled with worry and concern, and asked, "Noelle, what happened? Did you think of something?"
Noelle nodded, recalling the scene where the Treasure Hoarders were killing each other earlier.
"Those Treasure Hoarders, under the instigation of the Water Abyss Mage's power, had their inner greed magnified, fighting each other madly over Mora and carrots."
"Could Barbara be affected by a similar method, causing her to become like this now!"
Arkz pondered. He remembered that the Abyss forces indeed possessed similar methods. Dvalin was corrupted by Abyssal Power and transformed into Stormterror, leading the Dragon of the East Wind to attack Mondstadt.
"Abyss Mage? Abyss Mage!" Jean murmured, her eyes growing brighter.
She excitedly grabbed Arkz's shoulder and shook him hard.
"Yes! That's right!"
"Barbara becoming like this is definitely not what she intends!!!"
"If we dispel the power on her, she can change back!!!"
Arkz was shaken back and forth by the agitated Acting Grand Master Jean until he nearly became a blur. He quickly broke free from Jean's grasp on his shoulders and ran aside to vomit.
"Ugh—!"
Rosaria looked at the flustered Acting Grand Master Jean, who was patting Arkz's back and apologizing profusely, with a dark expression, saying helplessly:
"Acting Grand Master Jean, please calm down a bit."
"Since Barbara is affected, could you and Noelle be affected too?"
Noelle tilted her head, pointing at herself in confusion.
"Me?"
"I feel perfectly fine right now, very normal."
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