At the same time.
Sacred Flame Arena.
"Caelus, please."
Mualani climbed to the highest tier of the spectator stands, pleading with the young Pyro Archon before her.
However, no matter how many times she tried to persuade him, the answer she received remained the same.
"Mualani, I have already said this many times. The Night Warden War will not resume," Caelus replied, his tone tinged with helplessness.
In less than half an hour, this girl had begged him so many times that even he was beginning to feel overwhelmed.
If he were not still waiting for someone, he would have slipped away long ago.
"Kaiulani finally won the Pilgrimage of the Blazing Return. Wouldn't it be such a pity if she cannot participate in the upcoming Night Warden War?" Mualani insisted.
"It is not a pity at all," Caelus said calmly. "Sometimes, a little regret can also be meaningful. Not every victory must lead to another battlefield."
Mualani frowned. "Caelus, that is not funny."
"I am not joking," Caelus replied. "I am speaking seriously."
"But what you are saying does not make sense."
Seeing the two of them locked in debate, Kachina and Kinich, who stood nearby, exchanged glances.
"Brother Kinich, should we step aside?"
Kachina had followed Mualani up, only to discover that the conversation had drifted into matters she could not contribute to.
"We should give the Pyro Archon and Mualani some space," Kinich agreed.
He was about to lead Kachina away when his sharp senses caught something unusual.
Someone had entered the Sacred Flame Arena without permission.
The figure was tall, his face concealed beneath a black mask. Several elite Fatui soldiers followed behind him.
It was one of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers.
Il Capitano.
"Your Excellency, Pyro Archon, there is an intruder," Kinich warned immediately.
"I am aware," Caelus replied. He had already sensed Il Capitano's presence the moment he stepped into the arena. "He has finally arrived."
[Did he just say finally arrived?]
[Why does the Pyro Archon sound like he has been waiting for the Fatui?]
[He is not colluding with the Abyss. Is he colluding with the Fatui instead?]
[Maybe he is working with both the Abyss and the Fatui.]
[Why is everyone so biased against the Fatui? After what happened with The Knave, it is obvious not every Harbinger is purely evil.]
"The Fatui?" Mualani recognized them as well, blinking in confusion. "What are they doing here?"
"Perhaps they came here to get beaten," Caelus said lightly. "Mualani, stay here. Do not move. I will handle this."
In the next instant, Caelus vanished from the stands and reappeared before Il Capitano.
"Deity of Natlan," Il Capitano spoke in a steady voice, "it seems you are already aware of my purpose."
As a battle-hardened warrior, he could sense that the Pyro Archon did not harbor killing intent. However, the fighting spirit radiating from him was unmistakable.
In other words, the Pyro Archon knew he had come for the Gnosis.
"In that case, there is no need for further discussion."
Il Capitano raised his hand. A sword forged from Cryo energy condensed within his grasp. In an instant, an overwhelming aura erupted from his body.
[Is the Pyro Archon about to fight Il Capitano?]
[Is Il Capitano out of his mind? Challenging one of The Seven directly?]
[Fun fact: The top three Fatui Harbingers are said to possess power rivaling The Seven.]
[I heard from a leaker that Il Capitano is the strongest human in Teyvat. Maybe the Pyro Archon cannot defeat him.]
"What an incredible presence."
"It feels almost divine."
Sensing the pressure emanating from Il Capitano, Kachina stood at the top of the arena, her voice uneasy as she looked at the two figures confronting each other below.
"Will His Excellency be alright?" she asked anxiously.
"He should be fine," Kinich replied. "Il Capitano feels extremely powerful, but I cannot imagine the Pyro Archon losing."
"Of course not," Mualani declared firmly. "That is Caelus. There is no way he would lose."
"Caelus, you can do it!"
Hearing her encouragement, Caelus smiled faintly. He glanced at the Fatui soldiers behind Il Capitano and said teasingly, "It seems my supporters are more enthusiastic than yours."
Il Capitano did not respond. His figure disappeared in an instant, leaving behind only a dark afterimage. In the blink of an eye, the Cryo blade had already reached Caelus.
Caelus made no attempt to evade. Instead, he raised one palm and thrust it forward toward Il Capitano's abdomen.
Boom.
With a deafening roar, a concentrated burst of Pyro energy erupted from his palm like a cannon blast. Il Capitano was struck head on and sent flying backward through the air.
Fortunately, his combat experience was vast. While airborne, he twisted his body and drove his blade into the ground, carving a deep trench as he forced himself to a halt.
"As expected of Natlan's Pyro Archon. Your reputation is not undeserved."
The moment he finished speaking, Il Capitano vanished again, launching attacks from multiple directions.
Every strike was lethal. Every slash aimed directly at Caelus's life.
From their brief exchange, Il Capitano had already realized the immense gap between them.
If he did not fight with full killing intent, there would be no chance of victory.
Yet even as he pushed himself to this extreme, he still could not land a meaningful blow.
Facing the relentless assault, Caelus merely shifted his body slightly each time, effortlessly avoiding every strike.
It was not that he possessed some mystical state of combat awareness. In his perception, Il Capitano's movements were simply too slow, as if unfolding in slow motion.
"It is time to end this."
For the next incoming strike, Caelus no longer moved to evade.
Seeing this, Il Capitano poured even greater power into his attack, determined to break through the Archon's defense with his full strength.
Boom.
The blade struck Caelus directly. The collision unleashed violent shockwaves that sent dust and debris surging across the arena, engulfing the battlefield in smoke.
When the dust settled, Il Capitano froze mid-motion.
Caelus was standing in place, calmly holding up a single finger.
That one finger had stopped the blade.
At the same time, Caelus's other hand tightened into a fist. A vast surge of Pyro Element gathered around it before he drove the punch into Il Capitano's abdomen.
Boom.
Another thunderous explosion echoed across the arena.
Il Capitano was forced back several meters before he managed to steady himself. Even so, he could barely remain standing and soon dropped to one knee.
Though he had not been sent flying far, the force of the strike had inflicted severe internal damage.
"The energy within that punch was not excessive, yet the moment it landed, the force multiplied severalfold."
"The Pyro Archon's control over power far surpasses my own."
Il Capitano attempted to use his Cryo blade to rise once more, only to realize that his hand was empty.
Looking up, he saw that the blade had already been taken.
It was now resting in Caelus's hand.
...
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