Scaramouche had once sworn a vicious oath to the sun.
In this lifetime, if anyone dared to call him Kunikuzushi, he would kill them without hesitation.
In the past, Scaramouche would have risen up in fury and slapped Lumine across the face without a second thought.
But…
After weighing the gap in combat power between them, and considering the utterly despicable style of this so-called "little aunt" of his…
Then recalling how she had repeatedly humiliated and threatened him before, and even blown up Azar's staff with a huge fireball…
Scaramouche came to a realization.
He was, in fact, a filial and well-behaved child.
And one's little aunt, after all, was someone one had to indulge.
As for that poisonous oath sworn to the sun…
This was not Teyvat.
Not even the same sun.
It did not count.
To be honest, Scaramouche was still immersed in the shock brought by this world.
At last, he understood what those strange and grotesque giant dragons, and those unpredictable and eerie magic staves, actually were.
They were not products of Teyvat at all.
In other words, while the Doctor and the others were still stirring up trouble in Teyvat, these people had already begun exploring other worlds.
What made Scaramouche even more dejected was this:
Although he was not as loyal to the Cryo Archon as someone like Tartaglia, and could be considered a lone wolf through and through
There was still no reason to exclude him from other worlds entirely, was there?
As for the Gnosis, Scaramouche no longer cared about it.
That thing was completely useless.
When fighting Lumine, she had not even needed to attack, he could not break through her shield at all.
What Scaramouche longed for now was a magic staff like Lumine's.
Its defining feature could be summed up in just two words:
Invincible.
"This is a long story," Lumine said, taking a sip of tea, her expression tinged with nostalgia.
"At the time, Acting Grand Master Jean and the others were outside fighting the Doctor. I led my people into the Sanctuary of Surasthana and went straight for the false god."
"The Eremite mercenaries dealt with Azar. I went up against the false god, Thunder Cannon's toy, bah! The Seven-Leafed Secret Illuminator!"
Scaramouche cast her a strange look.
So now she was willing to call his mech the Seven-Leafed Secret Illuminator again?
Lumine gestured animatedly as she spoke.
"Thunder Cannon and I battled for more than three hundred rounds. The scene was explosive, the momentum overwhelming."
"In the end, relying on my wit and strength, I successfully suppressed Thunder Cannon."
"After that, I had a sincere and heartfelt discussion with him. Thunder Cannon deeply recognized his mistakes."
"He willingly allowed himself to be bound and brought back to atone for his sins. This battle was truly the fiercest and most blood-boiling fight I've had since coming to Teyvat."
Dehya and Paimon, who had witnessed the entire fight, specifically, Lumine activating an invincible shield and mentally breaking Scaramouche, exchanged polite but awkward smiles.
Scaramouche stared at Lumine in disbelief.
He had never imagined that she could fabricate such outrageous lies so effortlessly.
Standing in front of so many people, she did not even blush while lying?
Three hundred rounds of battle?
Had he not simply been bullied by her magic staff?
A sincere, heartfelt exchange?
Did that ever happen?
Was it not Lumine holding her staff and threatening him with, "Don't make me beat you up, okay?"
How could this little aunt be so shameless?
Yet, surprisingly, some people truly believed her.
After all, Scaramouche had been created by Ei herself, originally as a puppet meant to become an Archon.
Combined with Nahida's Gnosis, possessing power on the level of the Seven Gods was not unreasonable.
Makoto looked gently at Lumine and said softly,
"You've worked hard, Lumine…"
"It wasn't hard at all. It was what I should do!"
Lumine replied with a cheerful smile, nodding enthusiastically.
Scaramouche struggled with all his might. He could not accept being smeared like this.
Even death would be better than such humiliation.
Unfortunately, his mouth was tightly gagged, and his body was bound like a rice dumpling. He looked like a caterpillar wriggling helplessly on the ground.
"What's wrong with him?"
Rosalyne asked in confusion, pointing at Scaramouche.
Lumine chuckled awkwardly.
"He's probably uncomfortable from being tied up. I'll untie him."
As she spoke, Lumine proactively stepped forward and, when no one was paying attention, lowered her voice.
"Behave yourself. If you dare expose me and damage my image…"
"I'll beat you with my staff."
In an instant, Scaramouche became obedient again, not moving at all.
He would endure this humiliation.
Those who achieve great things must possess resilience beyond ordinary people.
So what if Lumine pinned the blame on him?
Once he clung to his big aunt's leg and obtained a magic staff of his own,
This grudge would be repaid in full.
Freed from his restraints, Scaramouche lowered his head and stood quietly to the side, not saying a word.
The current situation no longer allowed him to utter any threats.
Beside him stood that inhuman little aunt.
Directly in front of him were Zhongli, Venti, Ei, Makoto, the Cryo Archon…
And on one side stood countless adepti.
He was in an unfamiliar world, isolated and without allies.
He might be mad, but he was not stupid.
If he said anything reckless now, Lumine might knock him out later.
"Thunder Cannon… Scaramouche's matter can wait,"
Ryen said, waving his hand gently.
"Nahida asked you to help search for the fragments of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's soul. Have you found anything?"
Hearing this, Lumine scratched her head and spread her hands.
"No… I didn't find anything. I was too focused on fighting at the time and didn't pay attention to that."
"Besides, I don't think I could easily find fragments of her soul anyway. Once the Sabzeruz Festival begins in a few days, Nahida can go back and look for them herself."
Zhongli nodded thoughtfully.
"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata is an incarnation of Irminsul. She manifests differently from ordinary gods. It would indeed be difficult for you to detect her."
"Looking for her would be better left to Nahida herself."
Hearing this, Lumine nodded with an earnest expression.
"Exactly, exactly! Nahida reviving Greater Lord Rukkhadevata herself, that's what will truly make Nahida happy!"
"That's my birthday gift to Nahida!"
Ryen gave Lumine a strange look, silently thinking that she was becoming more and more shameless.
"Oh right, there's also this."
Lumine took a dim Gnosis out of her clothes.
"This thing was placed on that Thunder Cannon Gundam figure. Thunder Cannon used it to power the Gundam."
"But it seems to have lost a lot of its energy now and isn't very useful anymore. Nahida, do you want it?"
Scaramouche looked at the Gnosis and sighed inwardly.
"Give it to Ryen," Nahida said softly. "Everyone has given Ryen gifts. I've always been the one being taken care of, but I've never given him anything."
Hearing this, Ryen affectionately rubbed Nahida's head.
"You are the best gift the heavens have ever given me."
Lumine shuddered slightly, finding it a bit too sentimental, and casually tossed the Gnosis to Ryen.
Ryen took out his Gnosis necklace and hung the Dendro Gnosis onto it.
There were already five Gnoses strung together.
The Electro Gnosis that Scaramouche had long coveted was among them.
A trace of melancholy rose in his heart.
He struggled just to obtain one, while someone else was already stringing them together like beads.
However, after witnessing Lumine's three invincible magic staves, Scaramouche no longer cared much about Gnoses.
If that unreliable little aunt had not been exaggerating,
If she truly had blocked several of Ei's Musou no Hitotachi with her staff,
From that perspective, a magic staff was far stronger than a Gnosis.
Even with a Gnosis, he might not withstand a single Musou no Hitotachi.
But with a staff, he definitely could.
If he could trade a Gnosis for a staff, Scaramouche would not hesitate for even a moment.
He dreamed of using sheer strength to fight Ei head-on just once.
"Perfect. My rainbow-sunshine necklace only needs two more Gnoses now."
Ryen flicked his robe aside and put the necklace on.
In that instant, all kinds of light flared brightly, almost blinding.
Seven Delusions hung at Ryen's waist.
Seven unactivated Visions were pinned to his chest like badges.
And five Gnoses hung around his neck.
Scaramouche fell silent.
In his entire life, he had never seen anyone live so extravagantly.
"Well? Handsome, right?" Ryen asked.
Guizhong generously gave him a thumbs-up.
"Absolutely dazzling!"
Ryen smiled smugly, then asked softly,
"What about Azar?"
"Don't worry. He's not dead, but it's worse than death," Lumine said with a casual wave of her hand and a cheerful smile.
"Alhaitham and the others used the Akasha to expose all of Azar's crimes to the people of Sumeru, even the cannibalism."
"All of Azar's life's work has been completely destroyed, and now he's a hated pariah wherever he goes."
"We tied him up at the entrance of the Akademiya and left plenty of healing potions."
"By now, the people of Sumeru are probably still furiously beating him up."
"I had the Eremites make sure he won't die. From now on, beating up Azar will just be part of daily life in Sumeru."
Ryen nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. In that case, I don't need to design a refined torture system for him."
"By the way, that Doctor…"
Diluc spoke quietly,
"The Doctor is also dead, but only his strongest segment."
"I see… we'll take it slow," Ryen said, waving his hand indifferently.
His gaze then fell on Scaramouche.
"Now, it's time to talk about Thunder Cannon."
Hearing this, Scaramouche's heart tightened, and he straightened up.
After some thought, Ryen looked toward the Cryo Archon.
"Was Scaramouche aligned with the Doctor's faction within the Fatui?"
The Cryo Archon shook her head.
"As Lumine said, he's a lone wolf. He is loyal neither to me nor to the Fatui. His reason for joining may have been nothing more than his desire to become a god."
"Got it, so a double-crosser," Ryen replied casually, joking,
"Looks like Ei left Thunder Cannon with quite a bit of psychological trauma."
At that, Makoto snorted and shot Ei a cold glare.
Bitterness filled Ei's heart, and she lowered her head even further.
"Enough. Speak for yourself, Scaramouche, your cooperation with the Doctor."
Scaramouche remained silent.
Ryen was in no hurry and said leisurely,
"If you don't talk, I'll have Lumine chat with you privately later."
As soon as the words fell, Scaramouche snapped his head up.
"My relationship with the Doctor was purely cooperative… or at least, that's what I believed. Now it seems he may have been using me."
"What happened between him and Pierro, I don't know, and I don't care. He used me to complete the god-creation experiment; I used him to become a true god."
Scaramouche cast a cold glance at Ei and said in a deep voice,
"I was born… to become a god! I am not wrong!"
His bratty nature was on full display.
Ryen rolled his eyes.
"What's so great about becoming a god? You still die in the end."
"You're thinking too simply. If you really became an artificial Archon, even the Heavenly Principles wouldn't tolerate you, and you still talk about becoming a god?"
"Even if you succeeded, you'd just end up as a living battery. Go keep company with that top enforcer under whatever Buer, back in Guili Plains."
As he spoke, Ryen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it, that demon god probably can't handle exploitation from three factories anymore, right?"
"Zhongli, when you have time, come with me to the Dark Sea again."
Zhongli's hand froze mid-sip, and he sighed helplessly.
"We're capturing another demon god?"
"Of course," Ryen said, spreading his hands.
"Battery production capacity isn't enough. Didn't that guy say his boss was someone named Boethius? Let's bring him over to keep him company."