WTF?! Seriously?!
Venti's face twisted like someone who'd just been brutally betrayed.
He had been happily sitting back, enjoying the drama like a spectator with popcorn—and now, out of nowhere, the Traveler siblings' chaos had dragged him in too!
And judging from the faint smirk curling Nagami's lips, this scheming brat and Lumine had probably been targeting him from the very beginning.
Unbelievable. Only the most deranged troll could come up with something like this!
He thought about running, but it was already too late.
Venti could only watch helplessly as that crystalline, "pure" spring water splashed over him.
Gods didn't exactly have genders.
They could shape themselves however they liked.
Even Zhongli, over the long ages, had occasionally taken the form of a tall, elegant beauty with flowing black hair.
So, to most gods, being cursed into a "pretty girl" body wouldn't really matter.
But Barbatos was different.
After the Archon War, he had chosen to carry the appearance of his fallen friend, a young boy, as a way to honor him.
For more than two thousand years—except while asleep—Venti had lived exclusively in that form.
Forcing him to suddenly become a girl now?
That was basically the same as turning an ordinary guy into a magical girl against his will.
"Relax, Venti," Nagami said, patting his shoulder like a friend. "The spring water that hit you isn't the enhanced version. Just like Lumine said—ordinary hot water will turn you back."
A dim flicker of hope returned to his teal-blue eyes.
Nagami conjured a little heated water and splashed it onto him, and in an instant, Miss Venti shimmered back into the familiar bard.
Relief flooded through him, and his lips began to curl into a smile—
—only for it to freeze halfway.
Like a rusty machine grinding to life, his head turned stiffly to see Nagami flick a splash of cold water back onto him.
"Ehehe~"
The exact same voice, the same cheeky hand-to-head gesture, tongue out, playful wink—Nagami was mocking him with his own signature "eh-heh"!
Miss Venti clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
Barbatos, the great Anemo Archon, had "eh-hehed" countless people over the centuries.
Even Zhongli had been a victim once—though that prank had left him stewing for years.
Still, it was a legacy Venti wore proudly.
And now? Now he was the one being mocked—by Nagami of all people?!
Paimon was too terrified to speak.
She curled up into herself, trembling like a hamster in a thunderstorm, desperately looking for somewhere safe to hide.
She glanced at Lumine, gleefully tormenting her "sister," then at Nagami, who was cackling like a devil beside Miss Venti.
After a long, panicked hesitation, she floated over to hide behind the dumbfounded Abyss Heralds.
'She was just emergency food—please don't drag her into this!!'
The Heralds stared at her like she was some bizarre creature that had wandered into the wrong camp.
But when they looked back at their "Prince"—or rather, their "Princess"—and saw Lumine grinning like a demon, they wisely kept their mouths shut.
"Come on, sis! Smile for me!" Lumine's voice was bubbling with glee. "I'm telling you, right now you're prettier than 95% of all the girls we've met on our journey!"
Forget the Abyss, forget Celestia—none of that mattered. What could possibly be more important than teasing her gender-bent brother?
Her bitterness at being abandoned, forced to wander alone, while her brother secretly ruled as leader of the Abyss Order—all of that melted away.
Because now, she had a big sister to tease. And that made everything worth it.
Aetheria, however, still clung to her pride. For all her years, she could never match Lumine when it came to shamelessness.
"...Heh."
With a golden blade shimmering like starlight in her hands, Aetheria cleaved through Lumine's dull-edged sword, then redirected the strike toward her sister.
It was time to clean house.
Already transformed into a Rift Fiend, Lumine slipped away with inhuman speed, her voice brimming with taunts and playful mockery.
Aetheria ground her teeth, fists trembling with rage as her chest heaved violently. Every breath was fire.
Meanwhile, Miss Venti wasn't going to let things slide either.
He was Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, after all. He had his pride!
Sure, being turned into "Miss Venti" wasn't the end of the world. He could turn back. But Nagami—Nagami was alternating hot and cold splashes just to toy with him.
No one could endure that!
A refined yet sinister smile spread across Miss Venti's face as an elegant bow materialized in her hands.
Without hesitation, she loosed arrows of wind, each one aimed mercilessly at the smirking Nagami dancing around with flashy dodges.
At the same time, Aetheria's golden blade whistled through the air. Lumine vanished in a way that even stunned her sibling—an unfamiliar power at work.
A sharp wind-forged arrow streaked past the next instant, nearly grazing Nagami.
Aetheria's gaze hardened as she looked at the two standing back-to-back: Lumine and Nagami.
Across the battlefield, Miss Venti's eyes met hers.
Their last meeting had been five hundred years ago, when circumstances and clashing roles forced them into bitter opposition.
Now, two long-haired girls—one golden, one emerald—locked eyes. Both nodded silently.
"Seize my sister!"
The Abyss Princess's voice cut through the air.
The hidden Heralds hesitated, but only for two seconds before obeying. Boosted by the stray winds, their movements grew even faster.
[Can you handle this?]
Lumine's voice with mischief, rang in Nagami's mind.
[Of course.]
[Perfect chance to practice my Rift Fiend powers and domain control.]
[Honestly, domains are way too complicated. I still don't even know how to use them properly…]
His laughter echoed inside their shared bond, intertwining with hers.
And together, they reveled in the chaos.