Even while busy maintaining the barrier around the Harbor,
Morax still made sure to watch the ongoing fight "outside" of it,
The battle of his and Barbatos' people against the corrupted foes...
...
He was glad to see how well everyone were working together,
With their "divide and conquer" strategy going quite well...
...
...
And then, Osial started his assault on Barbatos, in order to strike him down...
*Even while corrupted, his old foe still realized that his friend was keeping everyone afloat...
...
...
Ever since Barbatos started getting attacked, he couldn't help but worry for his friend's wellbeing,
So much so, that he didn't even notice when the barrier he continued maintaining was hit hard a few times in succession...
*He was truly glad that Dvalin asked to be let out through the barrier, so he could finally join the fight,
Something which the dragon was unable to do before, worried that his area attacks could badly hurt the others...
...
...
And then, when he saw one of the attacks hit his old friend...
*He is not going to die and disappear from this, would he...?!
...
"You are such a menace.
An adorable menace.
It's good to have you back, Barbatos."
...
"I am glad to see you too, Morax!
You are the best rock wall I know!"
...
His friend should still be okay, right...?
He and everyone else will survive this crisis and then...
...
"Morax, since you don't have your Gnosis anymore, how long do you think you can maintain the shield...?
...Seeing as it's already been hit a few times, are you really going to be...?"
...
"There is no need to worry about me, my friend. Even if this continues for a while longer, I wouldn't fall so easily.
...But it's true that I wouldn't be able to keep the shield up forever, especially considering how much stronger the corruption made them. The Abyss Order truly planned it all this time...
...Truthfully, I am unsure how long I would be able to maintain a shield of this size. If the Harbor wasn't continuously attacked, it would have surely been easier, but as things stand..."
...
...
He truly was not sure for how much longer he could safely maintain this huge shield,
Even when his two old foes weren't actively attacking it, it was still hit a lot due to the ongoing battle itself...
*But although it started getting hard to maintain, he was still going to keep it up, firm as a rock,
Having people worry about his wellbeing would only distract them from taking care of the current crisis...
...
...
...
For some reason he kept seeing an illusion of Guizhong looking sadly towards him...
*No, rather than sad...Wasn't she looking tearful instead...? But why...?
...
...
It would have been really nice to see and speak to her again…
…
He truly missed her so much...
Everything happened so fast,
First he was panicking about the situation,
Flying all over the place in order to evade the attacks...
...
And then finally it hit him point blank...
...
Or at least it would have happened this way,
If a shield didn't appear around him just in time,
Blocking the water beam and possibly saving his life...
*If not for this barrier, he could have been badly hurt or worse...
...
Then he noticed it, the bright shine down on his body,
Coming from that familiar hourglass Artifact, where Rostam's soul was...
*The same Artifact which he was asked by his people to wear at all times...
...
The Artifact through which the knight was protecting him now,
And the one that was slowly cracking with each one of Osial's continuous attacks...
*The water beams that were so powerful, they kept pushing him back, not giving him a chance to get away...
...
...
Rostam, that overly dutiful Knight,
From the very start, he...
"...But it also looks like my Knightly work is not yet done. Even if I could move on, there is still something that I must do.
I have to stay here and make sure that what happened minutes ago won't happen again."
...
" I won't change my mind, Lord Barbatos, no matter how much you try to make me reconsider.
This is my decision. A duty I choose to do, as both a KNIGHT and a CITIZEN of Mondstadt. One who BELIEVES IN and FOLLOWS you no matter what."
...
That night, a little before Ludi Harpastum when Rostam first made that promise…
…
"NO! IT IS MY FAULT, LORD BARBATOS! THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO LIE TO ME IN ORDER TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT MYSELF!
I promised to protect you and then failed! I failed my knightly oath and let you get kidnapped! There is no excuse for my incompetence and inability to keep you safe!"
...
The time after his kidnapping, when Rostam kept blaming himself for what happened,
And to such an extent, that next time the Dutiful Knight "called" him, he was reluctant to answer it...
*Honestly, he still couldn't bring himself to remember the rest of Rostam's "nonstop apologies" at the time...
...
"Lord Barbatos, I know about your current situation with the Partial Amnesia and understand that what happened must be really hard on you, but forcing yourself into deep sleep like this...
...Why are you doing this...? Why choose such an option...?! Do you really think that anyone would want this, to see you...?!"
...
"But everyone knows it's not your fault and are already trying to find a solution! Forcing yourself to sleep like this...!
Don't you realize how worried everyone must be right now...?! And without even thinking it through, you decided to...!"
...
That time when he forced himself into a deep sleep,
Rostam was so worried and kept telling him as such...
*It was really no wonder that he got lectured by the knight later...
...
And then, the time before the last one that they have talked...
"...Lo...Venti, just promise to never do something like that again. Promise not to worry me like that again, okay...?
...It really feels like I have a son, even though Rossie and myself...
...I wonder what she is doing right now and how she even is. If she realizes where I currently am...I should definitely prepare a full explanation for her or she might misunderstand...
Don't worry, Lord Barbatos. I won't let her hurt you again, I promise."
...
...
All of those interactions that they had,
The Dutiful Knight's promises to him...
-...Rostam, so this is what you meant by those words...-Barbatos couldn't help but sadly say, starting to feel worse with each new crack the Artifact soon got. If it gets destroyed, Rostam's soul might just disappear...! -...Just to protect me, you have truly resolved yourself, your very being to...
-VENTI! -His saddened words were suddenly interrupted, as not even a second later he found himself getting pushed to the side and taken into someone's arms. -I apologize for being late to save you. Are you alright...?!
-...Jean...? When did you...? Yes, I am alright. -He couldn't help but say soon enough, realizing in whose arms he was at the moment, as he was also secretly glad that there was no reason for the barrier to be kept up anymore. Hopefully, Rostam should still be alright...-...Wait, Osial is not attacking anymore...? But wasn't he really adamant about killing me...?
He asked in confusion and some rising suspicion,
Hoping that the "sea monster" wasn't just hiding somewhere...
-It's alright. He wouldn't hurt you anymore. We made sure of that. -Jean soon answered him in reassurance, before she turned to look somewhere to the side, her expression rapidly darkening. -...This monster and his wife are going to pay for what they did.
She coldly added, a murderous glare now seen on her face,
As she kept protectively holding onto him, akin to a lioness onto her cub...
...
It didn't take long for the Archon to follow her gaze,
As he soon saw what was going on with the battle at the moment...
...
Dvalin was attacking Beisht at the moment, looking like he wanted to tear her head off,
With Enjou and Childe fighting by his side, seemingly as maniacal, if not even more,
With Barbara, Qiqi and Yaoyao staying a few feet away, ready to rush in at any moment...
*While Dvalin's rage, as well as his sudden appearance in the fight, surprised him somewhat,
Barbatos had to admit that everyone else were acting quite normal, based on their usual personality...
...
But the situation with Osial, on the other hand,
It really looked like someone just "flipped a switch",
With most people in the current "other group" attacking him in rage,
And even the Ballistas were being fired rapidly and forcefully towards Osial...
*It seems that due to what happened to him just recently, everyone went on the offensive...
...
...
And while he was safe now, in the protective arms of Jean,
Morax still had to maintain the barrier around the Harbor...
*And considering how much it was already attacked up until now...
...
...
...
-...A shame that I can't just suffocate them...-Barbatos couldn't help but mumble moments later, the remaining corruption clearly acting up again. Not that he cared at the moment…-...We might have already ended the fight, if I could...
"...A shame that I can't just suffocate them...
...We might have already ended the fight, if I could..."
Childe clearly heard the Archon's last words,
And he couldn't help but feel really amused by them...
*He thought that "Venti" didn't have it in him, but it looks like he did,
It looks like he just never really showed this side of himself before~
...
Now he understood how the Anemo Archon and her majesty, the Tsaritsa, were once friends~
-...Looks like our "God of Freedom" friend has a certain amount of darkness hidden inside of him, too~ -Enjou soon said in amusement and some awe, having heard Barbatos' words too, as he proceeded to continue attacking Beisht. -...Corruption can't increase the intensity of what is not already there, after all...~
He darkly added, upon grinning evilly,
With Childe soon mirroring his expression...
*Both of them heard from the Traveler about what happened during Weinlesefest,
And hearing the news, the two soon found a certain amount of respect for the Archon...
...
But seeing how nice the Traveler usually was, they could have been just exaggerating what happened, right...?
-...It really seems like the Traveler was right, our "Archon friend" really did all those things~ -Childe soon admitted in amusement, as well as some admiration, as he continued attacking Beisht, as well. -...My, I would have loved to see how he killed those snobbish people, it must have hurt quite a lot~
He darkly added, already imagining how it happened,
And from what he remembered from the Traveler's descriptions of the occasion...
...
Well, wasn't that actually a lot of fun...?
The resourceful way the Archon used his wind powers on them and...
-...Barbara should go to Venti. Qiqi can see that you are worried. -Qiqi was telling the other, as they were still floating a few feet away from the enraged dragon and the insane duo. -We are going to take care of the situation here, right Yaoyao...?
-Of course! Just the two of us should be enough to provide healing for a while. -Yaoyao answered almost right away, having noticed the Deaconess' troubled expression a while ago, yet unsure how to best bring it up. And she was also mostly focused on the overly reckless duo, who might just get mortally wounded if they are not closely watched...They were quite strong, though. -...Yes, the people we are watching over are a dragon and two strong, even if overly reckless, men, so it should be fine for now...
She added in reassurance, secretly also trying to reassure herself,
Hoping that her shameful uncertainty wasn't seen in her own expression...
*And thankfully, seeing the other's reassured expression, it didn't...
-Thank you, Qiqi, Yaoyao. -Barbara soon gratefully said, looking a little happier now. -I will be sure to check on Venti and get back to help you as soon as I can.
And with these words, she turned around and almost rushed towards where the Archon currently was,
Soon stopping before the overprotective Acting Grandmaster and crouching down to the same level as the person in her arms...
*It was clear that she was really worried about her Archon, as Barbara was worriedly looking him over for any sights of injury...
...
This did not go unseen by others, even people currently battling against Osial...
*Though most of the group was currently pretty much in an enraged frenzy,
Adamant about punishing the "sea monster" for what he did...
...
-...I can understand how the Mondstadtians must be feeling furious about what happened, as Lord Barbatos is their god...But Miss Ganyu, Aunt Shenhe, Miss Ningguang and the Adepti seem to be just as enraged. -Chongyun couldn't help but comment soon enough, as he watched the brutal way in which they attacked Osial. -...And while not outright furious, Miss Beidou, Mister Kazuha and the Crux crew seem to be a little angry too. I wonder why they are reacting like this.
-...I think I know why, Chongyun. It's because they are already familiar with him, as "Venti". -Xingqiu soon said, looking and sounding thoughtful, as he watched the ongoing massacre, too. -As for Miss Ganyu, Miss Shenhe, the Tianquan and the Adepti, it must be due to how much respect they have for the Seven.
-Basically, they are really mad that an Archon, who is also Zhongli's friend, was almost killed by some "overgrown sea monster"! -Hu Tao soon added, as she practically flew into the duo's currently small discussion. -Especially those three Adepti who seem to be really stuck up in the past and acting all high and mighty, even though they didn't do much, unlike Zhongli, Ganyu and Xiao...-...And even made things worse, like Qiqi's situation...-...They must be so mad that an Archon was "disrespected" so brazenly!