"I... I was careless."
Jean Gunnhildr, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, encountered her biggest crisis yet.
As Acting Grand Master, while patrolling near Cape Oath, she noticed traces of an Abyss Mage. Remembering the recent abnormalities discovered in Mondstadt, she followed it.
Unexpectedly, she was ambushed by an Abyss Mage and hit with an unknown poison. Even her Anemo element couldn't heal it, only slow the spread of the toxins.
As Acting Grand Master, her strength was undeniable, but the Abyss Mages who attacked her this time controlled Ice and Hydro. Perhaps having suffered too many losses, they chose to act collectively this time, causing her a great disadvantage.
Cape Oath is quite a distance from Mondstadt, and she was out alone this time, without any members of the Knights of Favonius, which put her in a very passive position.
Poisoned and unable to break the Abyss Mages' shields, she could only look for an opportunity to escape, but... where could she escape to at Cape Oath?
"Hehe~ Knights of Favonius Acting Grand Master, why are you running so slowly? Aren't you worried about being captured and taken back by us?"
Before Jean could rest for long, a slightly mocking voice appeared not far from her. It was an Ice Abyss Mage.
"Perhaps she's out of strength. You know, this is Abyss poison; ordinary people would be corroded just by getting a little on them. Even with her Vision, she won't last much longer in her condition."
The Hydro Abyss Mage floated within its Hydro shield, watching Jean with a sideways glance, rubbing its head.
They hadn't expected this plan to go so smoothly. They had only casually thrown out some Bait, but unexpectedly, they caught a big fish. This was an unexpected surprise.
Don't let them fool you; Abyss Mages might seem powerful, capable of controlling Hilichurls to perform various operations, but they are actually quite miserable.
Every city has basically developed ways to deal with them. The shield on them looks impressive, but when faced with a counter element, it's easily broken.
Their operations in Mondstadt were often disrupted, for example, by a certain Kaeya who uses Ice, or a certain Diluc who uses Pyro. These two guys are even more terrifying than Abyss Mages; any Abyss Mage caught by them rarely comes to a good end.
Hehe~ This time, they finally found a weakness, right? The poison they used to ambush Jean this time was Abyss poison. Such poison is difficult to affect those with a Vision, but Jean's situation was slightly different.
She had too many responsibilities, and her body was overly fatigued due to being too busy. This allowed the toxins to invade her body, and under their influence, caused Jean even more harm.
The more intensely she fought, the faster the toxins would invade, eventually making her unable to even lift her sword, leaving her to be obediently taken back to the Abyss Order.
Hehe~ Just thinking about extracting information about Mondstadt from her, and even corrupting her mind to make her one of the Abyss, made the Abyss Mages incredibly excited.
"Don't... underestimate me."
Gasping for breath, Jean also realized her physical condition was quite bad, but she couldn't just give in.
As the Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt, she, who always held the legendary Lionfang Knight Vennessa as her Yearning, would not surrender so easily.
"Anemo, guide me!"
Powerful Anemo element energy gathered around Jean. She raised the Favonius Sword in her hand, her eyes sharply fixed on the Abyss Mages in front of her.
She could still hold on. Within Mondstadt's borders, she believed Lord Barbatos was watching over her. With the help of Anemo, she would not lose.
Jean erupted with formidable combat power. This sudden turn of events caught the Abyss Mages off guard, even breaking their shields, almost causing them to capsize in a ditch.
But Jean was already at her limit, and the Frozen effect achieved by the combined elements of the two Abyss Mages finally caused Jean to lose her strength and collapse to the ground.
"Truly worthy of the Knights of Favonius Acting Grand Master. Even poisoned by the Abyss, she persisted until now. However, all struggles are futile."
The Hydro Abyss Mage said excitedly, "After planning for so long, we finally have a harvest this time."
The Hydro Abyss Mage was very happy, but the Ice Abyss Mage was very strange. It didn't echo the sentiment; instead, it observed its surroundings, looking somewhat uneasy.
The Hydro Abyss Mage couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Are there Knights of Favonius nearby? So tense."
The Ice Abyss Mage reminded it, "No, haven't you noticed that this place seems to be the territory of that terrifying individual?"
At this, the Hydro Abyss Mage remembered that this hidden location at Cape Oath seemed to be the territory of that individual whom even the Abyss Order dared not provoke.
This is a secluded spot at Cape Oath, a very beautiful place. It is filled with lovely flowers, indicating that someone regularly tends to them.
Besides the flowers, various small animals gathered here to play and frolic, though they had all fled due to the recent battle.
The beautiful flowers around were also mostly destroyed by the battle. Remembering that person's love for flowers, the Abyss Mages shuddered.
"Damn it... Is this it?"
Jean, lying on the ground, struggled to stay conscious, trying to find a way to escape, but no matter how she thought, there was no room for salvation.
"It's you again, people of the Abyss. This time, not only did you disturb the peace here, but you also ruined my flowers."
Before falling unconscious, Jean heard a cold voice. The voice was devoid of emotion, like the depths of winter, making one shiver involuntarily.
What happened next, Jean didn't know, because she could no longer hold on and fainted.
"Is this why you intruded? A human girl, though she has a Vision, isn't important enough for you to specifically target. Which means... she's very important to your plan, isn't she?"
"That's right, my Lady. We apologize for damaging your dwelling. The Abyss Order will compensate you for your losses. So, may we take her with us?"
The Hydro Abyss Mage said respectfully, "I believe you also don't wish for this place to be disturbed, do you? If you refuse, perhaps..."
"Are you threatening me?"
The girl interrupted the Hydro Abyss Mage. A terrifying atmosphere spread around. Although this was an area where life Bloomed, the two Abyss Mages felt a strong sense of death.
"How interesting. That human you call the 'Prince' wouldn't dare to speak such words to me. With what kind of mindset do you utter such things?"
With just a glance, the Abyss Mages instinctively cast a shield upon themselves.
But the moment this shield unfolded, it shattered into pieces. Their shield, which they usually prided themselves on, was easily torn apart like a piece of paper.
"I see. I understand. Is your Abyss Order declaring war on me? Just like when you tried to force me to become one of you, right? Good, go back and tell that 'Prince' that I accept. From today onwards, you are my enemies."
"No! We didn't mean that, please..."
The Ice Abyss Mage anxiously tried to explain, but the next moment, it was stunned by the girl's gaze, unable to utter a single word.
At the same time, the Hydro Abyss Mage beside it began to turn purple, its body surface started to Melt. Not only its fur, but even its internal organs began to Melt.
Under indescribable, intense pain, the Hydro Abyss Mage wailed, but soon it couldn't make a sound because its vocal organs had disappeared, making it unable to produce any noise.
The Ice Abyss Mage watched helplessly as its companion turned into a puddle of thick liquid, completely powerless to stop it.
"I still need one person to go back and convey this message. Before I change my mind, get out."
The Ice Abyss Mage immediately used its teleportation ability, escaping the area at the fastest possible speed, not daring to say another word.
After the Abyss Mage left, the girl approached the puddle of thick liquid and touched it with her hand. Soon, the liquid was absorbed by her, and the corroded ground quickly reverted to its original grassy state.
"So... what should I do with her?"
The girl looked at Jean, who was unconscious on the ground, and fell silent.
When Jean woke up, she saw someone very close to her, and her forehead felt cool, as if something was resting against it.
This person stood before her, wearing a beautiful black-purple dress, with long black hair and black stockings. Her age was probably slightly older than Klee, whom she cared for, as her height was only about a finger's width taller than Jean's.
The girl's forehead was pressed against Jean's. Jean could feel the toxins in her body constantly disappearing, seemingly absorbed by the girl.
"You..."
Jean wanted to thank the other party, but she was too exhausted and had no strength, unable to even finish her sentence.
Hearing Jean's voice, the girl stepped back a few paces. Her dark purple eyes watched Jean, her gaze very cold.
"You're poisoned, human. Abyss toxins; they will corrode your mind and eventually turn you into part of the Abyss."
Even if it was only a small part, these toxins would Swirl. If not expelled quickly, the toxins could easily affect the other party's mind.
But Abyss poison has no cure in this world; even Sumeru can only seal these toxins.
Despite such a critical situation, Jean didn't feel like anything was wrong with her. She felt very comfortable, and although she had no strength, she no longer felt the corrosion of the poison on her body as before.
"I know what you want to say. Such toxins are incurable for you, but for me, they are like air. It's quite interesting; I've analyzed them a bit."
The little girl extended her index finger, and a mass of dark purple energy condensed at her fingertip. This was the Abyss toxin she had absorbed.
Even the Abyss Mages couldn't control these toxins well, but in the little girl's hand, it was like a well-behaved baby, completely daring not to be presumptuous, obediently staying there.
Why did the Abyss poison have no effect on her? Even if this little girl in front of her seemed to have saved her, as the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, she needed to think more about things.
Could she also be part of the Abyss? No, that shouldn't be possible.
If she were truly from the Abyss, she shouldn't have absorbed the toxins from Jean's body, but rather intensified the corrosion, thereby controlling her.
And those two Abyss Mages were gone. Had she dealt with them?
"C-can... you tell me... your... identity?"
"...Durandal. The black plague Durandal."