Outside Sumeru City.
Only minutes after Lumine departed with Dehya and the others, the Fatui in the area were almost completely wiped out by the Dragon Knights.
On Cyno's side, thanks to Tighnari's timely assistance, he managed to shake off his pursuers. Originally, he intended to rush straight toward Sumeru City, but while passing through this area, he encountered the Corps of Thirty, who had completely lost the will to fight.
Three hundred people had, quite bizarrely, brought a force of a thousand under control.
This left Cyno with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, subduing them without losing a single soldier, and preventing further casualties, was undoubtedly a good thing.
But on the other hand, although the Corps of Thirty could not compare to the desert-hardened Eremites, they were still Sumeru's genuine defensive force.
Now, those thousand soldiers had been crushed so thoroughly by the pressure radiating from the Dragon Knights that they had lost all resistance.
That would be a problem for the future.
Still, such concerns could wait until after Azar was dealt with. For now, there was no need to think too far ahead.
At first glance, three hundred people controlling a thousand seemed absurd.
In reality, however, it was easy enough to understand.
After all, two hundred Dragon Knights were circling overhead.
Their numbers might have been only two hundred, but hadn't the thousand-plus Fatui just been erased in minutes, without even managing to resist?
Against such a force, numbers meant nothing.
The Corps of Thirty knew rationally that the Dragon Knights would not attack them, that these dragons had come solely to exact vengeance on the Fatui.
But knowing something and acting on that knowledge were two very different things.
Even the unintentional pressure radiating from the dragons was enough to crush any remaining fighting spirit.
Resistance?
That simply did not exist.
The Dragon Knights also joined the aerial battle against Il Dottore, continuing their role as support, harassing him with dragonfire and modern weapons.
By now, the clash between Dottore and Venti had already begun to distort the surrounding climate.
Storms and dense black miasma blotted out the sunlight entirely.
Dottore truly lived up to his reputation as a combatant on the level of the Seven.
Even under such pressure, he managed to endure and hold his ground.
Yet in his heart, Dottore understood clearly: once Venti reclaimed his full authority, his strength now exceeded Dottore's.
The harassment from Diluc and the others was manageable on its own, but combined with Venti's assault, it became a serious problem.
And now, there were also the Dragon Knights launching opportunistic strikes.
Defeat was only a matter of time.
If Dottore could truly turn the tables here, he might as well challenge Zhongli directly.
After retreating from a heavy exchange, Dottore dodged more than a dozen streams of dragonfire, but still took three or four head-on.
Large sections of his body were visibly damaged.
Yet no blood flowed.
Instead, a substance like black magma churned within him, not spilling from the ruptures.
He looked battered, but his expression remained eerily calm.
"It seems this segment can't be preserved," Dottore said lightly.
"That's… somewhat troublesome."
He looked calmly at his opponents and continued, as if making idle conversation.
"You're only going to give me more headaches from here on."
Diluc's gaze was icy.
"What you owe me, what you owe Mondstadt, we'll take it back slowly."
"To someone like you, a quick death is the least fitting punishment. Destroying all your research, that is true retribution."
Dottore regarded Diluc in silence. After a moment, he replied softly,
"I don't believe I owe you anything.
To participate in my experiments was an honor for ordinary people."
"It was I who gave them the opportunity to transcend."
Jean spoke coldly,
"Human experimentation is intolerable by the laws of the world. Most conflicts arise from differences in stance, but you are different. You are pure evil."
"That is merely your perspective," Dottore said, shaking his head faintly.
"You lack sufficient wisdom. You cannot understand me.
Of course, I do not expect you to."
"My data collection is nearly complete…"
He murmured softly, a trace of fanatic light flickering in his eyes.
"Creatures not of Teyvat, dragons, bizarre staves, miraculous weapons and armor…"
"These are far more meaningful research subjects. If possible, I would have liked to keep some experimental materials."
"But… this is enough."
Dottore lowered his guard.
From the moment Venti and the others appeared, he knew escape was impossible.
If not for the sake of gathering experimental data, he would never have bothered fighting for so long.
"When we meet again, I hope you'll bring me even more surprises."
He cast one final, lingering glance at Diluc and the others, then slowly closed his eyes.
"Do it."
In the next instant, the dragon beneath Diluc unleashed its breath.
Extreme cold froze Dottore solid, only for Diluc's elemental burst to engulf him in roaring flames.
"If you're going to die, don't pretend you're some righteous martyr," Diluc said coldly, watching Dottore dissipate completely.
Although he knew this was only one of Dottore's many segments, there was still a sense of grim satisfaction.
No matter how hard he had tried before, Dottore had always been beyond his reach.
This, at least, was one small step toward vengeance.
With Dottore's fall, the battle finally came to an end.
Jean let out a long breath and looked toward Sumeru City in the distance.
The unrest there had already subsided.
It was as quiet as if nothing had ever happened.
"Lumine's side should be going smoothly, right?"
Eula shook her head.
"Trust Lumine. She's strong. Besides, isn't this guy still here? If anything goes wrong, we can support her at once."
Venti rolled his eyes.
"You could at least call me 'Venti,' you know!"
"And besides, we came only for revenge. We can't lay a hand on Sumeru itself, or the old man will make me undergo the 'Planet Befall' again."
Eula clicked her tongue, unimpressed.