“Barbatos, are you planning to kill me?”
Stormterror’s voice trembled with anger as it fixed its gaze on Venti, lowering its massive head toward the bard. Its maw opened wide, teeth glinting menacingly as though ready to devour him.
But Venti didn’t flinch.
The razor-sharp fangs hovered just before him… but they never closed.
“Why don’t you dodge?” Dvalin asked.
“Have you not already abandoned me? Why won’t you just finish me off now?”
Thanks to Lumine’s efforts, Dvalin had regained some clarity, even as Jia Changjiang’s immense form held the dragon pinned down.
“I’d never do such a thing!”
Before Venti could respond, Paimon darted forward, shouting with unexpected boldness. “The tone-deaf bard has been worried sick about you this whole time! He was the one who came up with the plan to save you!”
Hovering next to one of Dvalin’s eyes—smaller than the dragon’s pupil—Paimon continued indignantly. “We gathered your tears, we worked so hard to get the Holy Lyre, all to help you return to your true self!”
Counting on her fingers, Paimon listed their efforts: “You were corrupted by the poison from the dragon’s blood, cursed by the Abyss Order… Without the tone-deaf bard, you’d have burned yourself out by now!”
Finishing her tirade, Paimon darted back to hide atop Jia Changjiang’s head. “Anyway… the tone-deaf bard never planned to hurt you!”
“Thank you, little Paimon, for speaking on my behalf,” Venti said with a soft smile.
Dvalin blinked, momentarily stunned by Paimon’s fervor. “Save me?”
“Listen to me, Dragon of the East Wind,” Jia Changjiang interjected. “While you were lost in hatred and pain, Venti tirelessly sought to save you.”
“If we had come to kill you… as you’ve seen, it wouldn’t be beyond our ability. But we didn’t.”
Jia Changjiang’s words were calm, but they laid the truth bare. “This misunderstanding has endured for a century. It’s time to end it.”
“What about Mondstadt?”
Dvalin shifted his gaze from Venti to Diluc and Jean. “What about them?”
“…Lord Dvalin,” Jean stepped forward, placing a hand over her heart as she performed a knight’s salute. “I am Jean Gunnhildr, the current Lionfang Knight and Dandelion Knight.”
“As Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, I cannot deny or undo the mistakes we’ve made. Misjudging the Dragon of the East Wind as a threat to Mondstadt, fostering enmity where there should have been respect—these were grave errors on our part.”
Jean’s voice was heavy with regret. “While words may not suffice to atone for the past, we will strive to make amends for our failings.”
“We—”
Jean’s words were cut short by a massive hand that gently but firmly stopped her. Jia Changjiang resumed speaking on their behalf.
“Dvalin, as you’ve heard, this was all a misunderstanding.”
He gestured broadly to emphasize his point. “Mondstadt is the city of freedom. Its people are the freest in all of Teyvat.”
“Jean,” Jia Changjiang said, turning to her, “does Mondstadt have a creed about freedom?”
Jean nodded, momentarily startled, but recited the words she had long committed to heart:
“The spirit of the Land of Wind is freedom. Freedom, first, is the freedom to live: to survive and thrive without fear of losing tomorrow.”
“Freedom, second, is the freedom to roam: to traverse the verdant lands unimpeded, free from constraint.”
“Freedom, third, is the freedom to sing: to lift one’s voice in song and let the heart and melody drift upon the winds shaped by the Archon of Freedom.”
As Jean recited each tenet, Dvalin’s expression grew increasingly complex.
“Did you hear that?” Jia Changjiang asked. “Dragon of the East Wind, you too are entitled to that freedom. And today, we came to ensure you could reclaim it.”
As he spoke, Venti slowly reached out to touch Dvalin’s face.
“Dvalin… it’s been so long since we’ve had a conversation like this.”
When Venti’s hand rested against the dragon’s head, Dvalin closed his eyes, allowing himself to feel the touch without resistance.
Seeing this, Jia Changjiang released his hold, slowly withdrawing from his Cataclysm state.
Even without the Darkin Blade’s suppression, Dvalin remained still.
“Why… would you want to save me?”
Dvalin’s eyes opened again, the crimson replaced by a serene blue, clear as the sky.
“Do you wish for me… to keep protecting Mondstadt?”
“No…”
Venti shook his head, gently stroking Dvalin’s massive horn. “I came for your freedom, Dvalin.”
“Not to serve others, not even to serve me. Only to give you the power to choose your own path.”
Looking directly into Dvalin’s eyes, Venti spoke softly but firmly. “Even freedom granted by a god… might still be a kind of unfreedom, don’t you think?”
As he spoke, a teal glow began to radiate from Venti’s body. The light separated from him, flowing into Dvalin and mending the dragon’s wounds.
Meanwhile, Lumine leapt down from Dvalin’s back, tossing the Mermaid Tear that Jia Changjiang had entrusted to her into the dragon’s open maw.
The combined efforts of Lumine’s purification and the Tear worked swiftly. The poisonous blood that had corrupted Dvalin dissipated, his body healed by the glow. Even his shattered horn began to regrow.
“This power… is it the blessing of the Anemo Archon?” Dvalin asked hesitantly. “But I am no longer one of the Four Winds…”
“No,” Venti replied with a gentle smile. “This isn’t the power of the Anemo Archon. It’s a blessing… from a friend.”
“And besides,” he added with a mischievous glint, “the Four Winds will always remain part of Mondstadt’s history. In poems and songs, the East Wind, Dvalin, will forever be celebrated.”
Venti’s voice was soft, yet each word resonated deeply with Dvalin.
“Songs are the carriers of our hearts,” Venti continued. “Even when all else fades, when everything is gone, the songs that ride the wind will carry the beauty of this world to every corner of the sky, the land, and the seas.”
“So, Dvalin, from now on…”
“With my blessing and the everlasting songs of Mondstadt, fly freely once more.”
—
This is a fan translation of 武器大师在原神绝不死于徒手 by 徐人双 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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