The Anemo Hypostasis seemed to struggle slightly while controlling so many tornadoes.
The tornadoes moved slowly.
Inside the chaotic wind field, Diluc didn't feel immediate danger—
but his stamina was draining quickly.
Jiang Chen had been right.
Even when you understood the enemy's attack patterns perfectly, avoiding every attack still required defeating the core before your stamina ran out.
Gradually, the tornadoes faded.
High above the ruins, dozens of wind-element orbs condensed in the air.
The Hypostasis' core fell once more toward the ground.
Diluc rushed forward again with his claymore.
But Jiang Chen did not follow.
Instead, he spread his wind glider and jumped into the chaotic airflow sweeping through the ruins.
One by one—
He collected the floating wind orbs.
If they remained there, the Hypostasis would absorb them again and unleash a massive Anemo AoE attack.
An attack that could not be dodged.
Only endured.
This was the monster's well-known combo:
Cyclone Summon → Wind Gathering Burst
Diluc noticed Jiang Chen's actions but didn't ask questions.
If Jiang Chen was doing it, there had to be a reason.
After releasing such a massive attack, the Hypostasis clearly took longer to regenerate its protective cubes.
Once the cubes reformed—
The monster blinked and appeared beside Jiang Chen.
The cubes stacked vertically.
Then slammed down like a giant crushing hand.
Jiang Chen rolled across the ground and barely avoided the strike.
Immediately afterward—
The cubes separated again and began spinning rapidly.
They flew toward both men like rotating blades.
Diluc and Jiang Chen dodged repeatedly.
When escape wasn't possible, they raised their claymores to block the impact.
Moments later, the core dropped to the ground again.
When the Hypostasis recovered—
It ascended into the sky.
Several streams of compressed wind energy crashed down from above.
Without elemental sight, the attack would have been impossible to dodge.
The Hypostasis cycled through every one of its attack patterns.
Yet none of them could defeat the two fighters.
Eventually it transformed once more into its spinning wind cone and began another attack cycle.
At the edge of the ruins, Lumine observed carefully.
"It looks like… those are all its attack patterns."
"Should we join the fight?"
Paimon asked.
Lumine shook her head.
"No."
"If Diluc makes a mistake, Jiang Chen can still save him."
"If we join… he might not be able to save everyone."
One Hour Later
An hour passed.
Diluc's stamina was clearly fading.
Even though the windstorm was cold, sweat poured down his body.
His breathing grew heavy.
Normally, one hour of combat wasn't long for him.
But here—
Every step required more strength because of the wind resistance across the ruins.
"Jiang Chen!"
"Is it about time?"
Diluc shouted.
He knew Jiang Chen possessed a powerful Geo finishing attack.
He had used it once before against the boss:
Electro Hypostasis
"Wait for the next Cyclone phase."
Jiang Chen replied.
His stamina wasn't better than Diluc's.
But Jiang Chen had dual-element control, including Anemo.
In this environment, wind actually helped him rather than hindered him.
"Cyclone phase… you mean the tornado attack?"
Diluc muttered.
Jiang Chen needed time to charge his attack.
After performing the tornado move, the Hypostasis would enter a long exhaustion window.
"Exactly."
Just as Jiang Chen finished speaking—
Both men retreated.
The Hypostasis rose high into the sky again.
Its cubes spread out.
A storm descended once more.
Diluc dodged through the tornadoes, his coat snapping violently in the wind.
"Lucky for us this thing isn't very smart."
"It tries to control too many tornadoes at once."
"And it never reduces their number."
Then he smirked.
"And apparently it's eager to die."
Diluc waited for the moment when the Hypostasis exhausted itself and the core would fall again.
Meanwhile—
His thoughts wandered elsewhere.
Those two artifacts…
I should find a way to "borrow" them permanently.
Worst case scenario, I'll give Jiang Chen a couple bottles of my finest wine.
The artifacts had proven extremely useful.
They boosted durability significantly.
And the critical rate clearly increased as well.
Occasionally, bursts of unexpected power surged through his strikes.
Finally—
The tornadoes began to fade.
At that same moment—
A massive surge of Geo energy erupted across the battlefield.
Jiang Chen raised his sword.
The legendary claymore Wolf's Gravestone pointed directly toward the Hypostasis core.
Golden sand-like Geo energy swirled around him.
It flowed into the blade's elemental conduit.
The dark-red sword glowed with bright Geo veins.
The claymore trembled.
As if resonating with the entire earth beneath them.
The ground of the small plain shook violently.
Pebbles rolled.
Birds scattered into the sky.
Squirrels fled the trees.
The ancient wind currents surrounding the ruins began to collapse.
For the first time—
The battlefield belonged to Jiang Chen.
Bathed in golden Geo light, Jiang Chen lifted his sword high.
Deep rumbling sounds echoed underground.
Something massive stirred beneath the earth.
The ground bulged and cracked.
Like a dragon awakening from below.
Jiang Chen roared.
"Geo Dragon Vein!"
ROAR!
A colossal dragon made of Geo energy burst from the ground.
It soared across the sky above the ruins.
Then followed the arc of Jiang Chen's descending blade—
Charging directly toward the exposed core of the Anemo Hypostasis.