Rover was furious. He had only been away for a short while, yet such a disturbance had occurred—and right at the doorstep of the Cathedral of Favonius.
Where was the Knights of Favonius? Why was no one intervening?
His companion had been beaten half to death. At this moment, Rover had already sentenced the woman before him to death.
But anger aside, Rover also treated his enemy with grave seriousness. After all, if she could reduce Venti to such a state, she likely possessed power on par with a god.
With this in mind, Rover decided to hold nothing back. His blade gradually morphed into a scythe as he stepped forward, Havoc energy surging around him.
The woman—La Signora—cast him a disdainful glance before conjuring countless frigid currents around her, lashing straight toward Rover. He leaped into the air as several ice spikes, accompanied by a fierce blizzard, shot toward him, dropping the temperature by several degrees.
Rover swung his scythe in a wide arc, slicing through the airborne ice spikes as effortlessly as cutting through tofu.
"How... impossible... This is the power of a god...!"
Only then did La Signora realize how severely she had underestimated her foe. But it was too late—Rover was already upon her.
His eyes, colder than her own Cryo, regarded her as if she were already dead. Without hesitation, he swung his scythe. La Signora's eyes widened as she gritted her teeth, summoning massive pillars of ice between them aimed straight at Rover's vitals.
Rover noticed, of course. His free hand gathered Havoc energy before clenching into a fist, then hurling the condensed mass outward. The resulting explosion shattered everything around him.
La Signora watched as the ice meant to impale Rover was obliterated in an instant. The spray of icy shards rushing toward her filled her with dread. She hastily encased herself in ice, sending another wave of freezing air at Rover.
Rover frowned, initially intending to dodge—but in the next moment, Abby emerged from within him, absorbing the deadly frost.
"Rover, now!"
Abby charged alongside him. The scythe's edge cleaved through what had seemed like unbreakable ice, revealing La Signora inside, staring at Rover in disbelief. The power of the other cursed eye within her had yet to fully manifest before being forcibly interrupted. Pale-faced, she staggered back.
"I am the Eighth of the Fatui Harbingers! Kill me, and do you think Mondstadt can withstand the wrath of Snezhnaya?!"
La Signora shouted in desperation, but Rover's movements didn't falter—he continued advancing step by step.
Threaten him? In Jinzhou, no one dared speak to him like that! Even Sentinel treated him with utmost respect. What did her rank matter? He'd cut her down first and ask questions later!
"No, no... I can't die...!"
The edge of the blade drew closer in her vision. She frantically unleashed wave after wave of Cryo, her once-elegant demeanor now gone, replaced by the frantic desperation of a cornered beast.
And she could tell—this man truly did not care about her status. He would kill her.
The blade left a long, bleeding gash on her arm.
La Signora let out a muffled grunt as the power of annihilation seeped into her body. She had no choice but to expend all her strength resisting it.
The next moment, a violent gale erupted. Rover felt his balance waver and swiftly drove his blade into the ground to steady himself. Seizing the opportunity, La Signora fled with two Cicin Mages in tow. The unconscious Pyro Agent on the ground also stirred, burrowing into the earth and vanishing.
Rover wanted to pursue, but someone grabbed his wrist.
"Let them go. This is a debt I owe Rosalyne."
Venti, who had been unconscious moments ago, had somehow gotten back up, the braid on his back glowing faintly. Rubbing his chest, he offered Rover an apologetic look.
Now Rover understood—this guy had been faking it the whole time. And here he'd thought La Signora actually had the power to overwhelm a god.
"What happened?"
Kaeya raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise, while Barbara hurried over behind him.
Kaeya exchanged glances with the two, and all silently agreed not to mention what had just transpired.
"I just... tripped. Rover helped me up. The Traveler fell harder—must've hit his head."
Venti rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Barbara twitched her lips, glancing at Kaeya.
"Both of you... really tripped while walking?"
"The world is full of wonders. Maybe it really happened?"
Kaeya shrugged, casually voicing his opinion before lifting the unconscious Aether and presenting him to Barbara.
"When the Traveler wakes up, tell him to meet us at the place we first met."
With that, Venti gave a knowing look, and Rover followed closely behind him.
...
"Master Diluc... this..."
The bartender looked at Diluc, whose expression remained cold and unreadable as he uttered a single sentence.
"Let him drink."
Hearing this, the bard cheerfully waved at the bartender, ordering another bottle of Dandelion Wine.
"As expected, Master Diluc is my best friend."
"Hmph. Don't lean on me, drunkard."
Diluc sidestepped just as Venti tried to slump against him, nearly sending the bard tumbling to the floor again. Fortunately, Venti caught himself in time.
"Tone-Deaf Bard, we're here!"
Paimon's voice rang out, causing Rover, who had been resting with his eyes closed, to startle. Since when had Paimon given Venti such a nickname?
"Ehe."
Venti winked at Aether and Paimon, prompting the latter to immediately put her hands on her hips.
"'Ehe' what?! Did you call us here just to mess with us, Tone-Deaf Bard? Aether rushed over the moment he woke up!"
Venti reined in his teasing slightly, waving at Diluc.
"I just wanted to ask Master Diluc—regarding certain people's... aggressive actions, I hope he'll show some mercy for my sake."
Diluc's expression darkened further. He picked up some ingredients and began mixing them.
"As expected, the Knights are useless. Kaeya already told me. That kid's at least clever enough to have recorded it with a Fontaine camera."
"Now Jean can use this evidence to apply pressure. Snezhnaya's diplomatic stance will likely be at a disadvantage."
Seeing that Diluc had taken the hint—and confirming he wouldn't secretly finish off the severely injured Rosalyne—Venti signaled for Rover and Aether to follow him.