Standing between the other two, Cloud Retainer watched the formation Lumine had drawn on the ground and the hand seals she kept changing.
She turned to look at the other two adepti.
"What do you two make of this?"
She couldn't tell what exactly Lumine had drawn.
Not just her, the other two couldn't understand it either.
After quietly discussing it for a moment, the three reached a reliable conclusion.
"Perhaps it's a spell from another nation."
Since it wasn't a Liyue art, it was only natural that they, as Liyue's adepti, wouldn't understand it.
So they stopped trying to figure out its meaning.
Instead, they fixed their eyes on the closed-eyed Lumine, waiting to see what kind of evil spirit she was about to summon.
But no matter what it was, killing Rex Lapis was impossible in their eyes.
On a distant tree branch, a cold-faced young man leaned against the trunk and silently watched the scene.
[Ding-dong!]
While wandering through the streets, Levi suddenly heard the sound of a new message.
His first thought was that someone had sent him another advertisement through the Jade Communicator.
But when he checked, there were no new messages on the Jade Communicator. Instead, a red notification dot floated in the air before his eyes.
Opening the chat group, he saw Lumine's @ mention.
[Lumine: Emergency! Come here now!]
'An emergency?'
What emergency could she possibly have that required him? Had she been caught and wanted him to rescue her?
While thinking, he replied in the group.
[Levi: No rush.]
[Lumine: I'm in a rush!]
[You might not be, but I am! Three pairs of eyes are staring right at me!]
Those three pairs of beast-like eyes looked ready to swallow her whole.
[Levi: I know you're in a rush, but don't rush.]
[The chat group hasn't even issued a mission. I really don't know what you're panicking about.]
[Lumine: !!!]
'Do I have to wait until the chat group posts a mission before I'm allowed to panic?!'
'By then it wouldn't just be panic anymore. At any moment it could turn into getting killed!'
'The best outcome was to stop the mission before the chat group even issued it!'
[Lumine: Give me a straight answer! Are you coming or not?! If you're not, then I'll come to you!]
[Levi: But I'm busy helping Miss Asta look for someone.]
[Asta: My matter can wait. It's not that urgent.]
[Lumine: Asta, I love you!]
[Asta: Mm. I love you too.]
[Elysia: What about me? What about me?]
[Asta: Mm... I love you too.]
[Levi: What about me?]
[Stelle: And me!]
Seeing those two clowns pop up, Asta smiled.
[Asta: Don't love you.]
[Levi: Withered...]
[Stelle: Wuwuwuwu... Looks like all I can do today is drink the northwest wind.]
She wasn't joking. She really was about to go drink the northwest wind.
[Lumine: Even Asta agreed, so hurry up and come over!]
[Lumine: The situation is really, really urgent!!]
[Levi: Okay.]
"I'd like to see what this is all about."
Curious, Levi sent Lumine a request to enter her world.
[Ding! Levi has requested to enter your world! Accept?]
"It worked!"
Seeing Lumine suddenly open her eyes and shout, Cloud Retainer and the others looked completely confused.
The three exchanged glances.
"Has this girl already been possessed?"
Otherwise, why had her behavior changed so drastically?
"That shouldn't be possible."
What evil spirit in this world could possibly hide from the eyes of adepti like them?
Even if such a thing existed, it would be extraordinarily rare. There was no way one would happen to be attached to a little girl.
Watching Lumine ride the wind and come to stand behind her, Cloud Retainer silently took back her own judgment.
She could manipulate the elements without a Vision.
Even in Teyvat, that was an exceptionally rare existence. If some evil spirit capable of escaping their notice had become attached to someone like her, it would make sense.
[Accept!]
As she flew toward Cloud Retainer, Lumine silently made her choice.
Then she hid behind Cloud Retainer, pointed at Levi, who appeared amid a flash of light, and shouted, "It's him! He's the evil spirit that murdered Rex Lapis!"
Then she put on a pitiful expression and wiped away tears.
"Everyone knows I'm Rex Lapis's fan. They're actually accusing a fan of murdering Rex Lapis. It doesn't make any sense... sob, sob..."
Although Lumine's acting was flawless now and tears streamed down her face, all the adepti's attention had been drawn to the suddenly appearing Levi. None of them paid her any attention.
After crying for a while and finding it boring, Lumine pouted. Once she was out of Cloud Retainer's sight, she made a face at Levi before hiding farther away.
Cloud Retainer's expression turned serious. When this man had appeared, she hadn't sensed anything at all.
Not even the slightest fluctuation of power.
Was this because of the formation itself, or because of the strangely dressed man before her?
Cloud Retainer stepped forward.
"This One heard the young lady say just now that you were the one who killed the Geo Lord?"
"I killed the Geo Lord?"
Levi froze.
Now he completely understood why Lumine had called him over and acted so urgently.
She wanted to dump the blame on him.
His gaze shifted away from the rock where Lumine was hiding.
The corners of Levi's mouth curled upward into a wicked smile.
He crushed the unfinished Adepti Joy Tea in his hand.
Chuckling, he swept his gaze across the three adepti before him before finally stopping on Cloud Retainer in the middle.
He nodded.
"That's right. I killed Morax."
"You!"
Cloud Retainer hadn't expected him to admit it so directly.
She had thought he would at least argue and say the young lady was framing him.
Instead, he admitted it... just like that?
'What is he planning?', Cloud Retainer didn't know.
Neither did the other two adepti beside her.
"But... so what?"
'So what?'
The dismissive tone filled Cloud Retainer with anger.
"The Geo Lord protected Liyue for a thousand years, shielding its people from evil spirits, monsters, natural disasters, and calamities."
"In the past, Liyue was a barren land, and its people wandered without homes. Without the Geo Lord and... how could Liyue have become the prosperous nation it is today!"
Now that the Geo Lord had passed away, the seals would weaken over time. The monsters in the sea could return at any moment.
When that happened, how could those mortals alone protect Liyue Harbor? How could they defend the vast land of Liyue?
Besides, without the Geo Lord, how could Liyue maintain its place in a Teyvat filled with gods?
"What you described is very simple."
Levi gave a wicked smile and spread his arms toward the empty space before him.
"I'll just become the Geo Lord myself."
"..."
Silence.
A long silence.
Cloud Retainer had never expected him to say something like that.
Let him become the Geo Lord?
Ridiculous!
"We adepti have followed the Geo Lord through a thousand years of war. We will not tolerate insignificant creatures like you causing trouble upon Liyue's land!"
Cloud Retainer stared coldly at the man before her.
She couldn't sense any elemental power from him.
He was probably nothing special.
Even if he truly had killed the Geo Lord, it was likely only because the Geo Lord had let his guard down.
Lumine quietly poked her head out and saw the immense elemental power surging from the three adepti.
She immediately pulled her head back.
Looking at the tender leaves beneath her feet, she whispered, "I'm done for. Levi isn't going to come after me afterward, is he?"
Who could have guessed that those three people calling themselves adepti would be this powerful?
'Are all non-humans this strong?'