The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

With everyone watching, where could Kiana possibly escape to?

But if he didn't run away, where is she now?

"We must find him as soon as possible—!"

Before the Water Apostle could finish speaking, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted from above:

"Who said you ran away? The battle has only just begun!"

Kiana's voice made the Abyss Mage and the Water Apostle look up instantly.

The scene they witnessed terrified them.

The white-haired girl was wielding the enormous and destructive King's Sword, slashing down with unstoppable force.

"what!"

With a slash of blazing fire, several abyss mages were instantly reduced to ashes.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining few hurriedly summoned elemental shields to protect themselves.

However, before they could summon their shields, Kiana suddenly slashed out with her sword.

In an instant, several abyss mages perished!

Such dazzling achievements forced the previously calm Water Apostle to brace himself, raise his hidden sword, and prepare for battle.

"Damn it! I didn't expect you to be no ordinary adventurer. Who are you?!"

"Just a nameless traveler, take this!"

Kiana unleashed a fiery slash, followed by several strikes with the King's Sword.

Instantly, this overwhelming offensive engulfed the Water Apostle...

"what!"

After a few sword strikes, the monster from the abyss could not withstand the blows, and the hidden blades in its hands were completely vaporized.

Unable to resist, he could only wave his hands wildly, trying to force Kiana back by manipulating the power of water elements.

However, this trick is effective against ordinary adventurers.

However, for a powerful Herrscher, staying still is tantamount to suicide!

"rise!"

In a split second, Kiana swung her sword and lifted the Water Apostle into the air, then began a series of sword dances.

In mid-air, it completely evaporated the elemental shield that was protecting its life.

After enduring such a fierce attack, the Water Apostle could only helplessly fall to the ground.

Kiana held back because she still had some questions for him.

"Hmph, now... tell me your order's plans!"

"Cough cough!"

After barely managing to survive, the Abyss Apostle naturally lacked the strength to continue fighting.

However, he did not obediently reveal the Order's plans as Kiana had requested.

Ultimately, it's better to be killed by some random white-haired girl than to be killed by her.

He was even more afraid of the punishment he would face upon returning to the cult...

"Heh, I'll tell you, but... not now!"

Realizing that he could not defeat the enemy on his own, the Water Apostle immediately raised his hand and opened a portal to the starry sky.

As the portal, adorned with star-studded effects, appeared, Kiana instantly realized...

He wanted to run away!

"Don't even think about escaping!"

"Give up, you can't stop me!"

After the Water Apostle finished speaking, he rushed towards the teleportation portal.

However...

"Oh? She can't stop you? Then what about me?"

Instantly, abundant lightning illuminated the entire cave.

Having completely eliminated the remaining forces of the Hilichurls and Abyss Mages, Shadow transformed into a flash of lightning.

In an instant, he cleaved the Abyss Apostle, who hadn't yet escaped into the portal, in two...

"Ahhhh!!!"

As the lightning subsided, the apostle was reduced to ashes in the divine punishment thunder...

The Battle Between Flame and Lightning and the Abyss (Genshin Impact): Chapter 10: Climbing the Mountain with General Thunder!

As the Abyss Apostles were brought to justice, Kiana suddenly heard a system notification.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully defeating the rare enemy: Abyss Apostle (Water). You have received an additional 300 Herrscher Points!]

"Three hundred points? I didn't expect the enemies in the Abyss to offer such generous rewards?"

Keep in mind that with enemies like ordinary Hilichurls or tricky Flower Slimes, getting 1-3 Herrscher Points is considered lucky.

I never imagined that simply killing an apostle would yield so many rewards...

"Speaking of which, Shadow's achievements were also attributed to me? The system is showing a rare moment of conscience."

After making this remark, Kiana slowly stepped forward and looked at the shadow with a rather wistful gaze.

"That's quite a skill, Shadow. If you hadn't intervened, I wouldn't know if this apostle would have slipped back after escaping."

"It was nothing, don't worry about it." Shadow sheathed his sword, then looked at the roots of the Divine Cherry Tree covered in strange patterns. "What... are these?"

"Huh? You didn't know?"

"I don't know," Ying answered truthfully.

Even the Seven Gods, who were well-versed in many things, did not know the purpose of these runes that shimmered with strange light, so Kiana naturally had no way of knowing their uses either.

However, since it was left by an uninvited guest from the abyss, it probably couldn't be any better.

“Let’s get rid of them and leave. It’s uncomfortable to stay here.”

"Okay. Phew, I really don't know why these guys are here."

Shadow and Kiana then began to work on removing the strange runes on the roots of the Divine Cherry Tree.

Although most of these runes were inscribed on the tree roots, fortunately, both of them had their own methods to erase them.

The Shadow used a more decisive but also more troublesome method of removal, while Kiana raised the King's Sword and gently touched it, relying on the burning of the flames to purify the tree roots.

With the purification of flames and blades, the strange runes inscribed on the roots of the Divine Cherry Tree were quickly dealt with one by one.

Just after these strange runes were completely erased, Kiana suddenly heard the system's reward notification sound.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully thwarting the Abyss Cult's plan and purifying the tree roots that were about to be corrupted. Reward: 500 Herrscher Points.]

[Event Notification: Due to an unforeseen event, the Abyss Order has become wary of you. They will not be sending forces to Inazuma to continue their plans in the short term. However, as time passes, they will eventually lower their guard and take a bold step.]

"This is an extra reward for the little incident during the mission? It feels pretty good."

Of course, it's not bad.

In any case, based on the information provided by the system, the Abyss Order is determined to take down the Divine Cherry Tree...

Kiana had no reason to hide such an important matter, so she naturally told Kage about it.

"What? They...it's unimaginable."

Upon hearing that someone was going to harm their precious tree, even the usually composed Ying couldn't sit still.

"So, where should we go next... to deal with them?"

"Huh? That's a question."

Kiana, who was leading Shadow out of the cave while discussing the details, gave an awkward but polite smile upon hearing this.

I'm not from this world, so who am I supposed to ask?

Alas, the Abyss Order resides in the Dark Sea, which, strictly speaking, is a region of another world.

Also, the subworlds of the Teyvat world.

As things stand, I still have no way to go anywhere.

"I can't help you either, Shadow... You'll have to figure this out yourselves."

"Is that so...? Yes. Thank you, Kiana."

"Hehe, you're welcome. So, what's next..."

Kiana initially wanted to continue the mission and then head to Liyue to participate in the Moon Festival.

But before she could even speak, Ying snapped out of her reverie.

"Let's go to Naruto Shrine."

"Huh? Why are we going there?"

"Because, wherever the sacred cherry tree is, there is also the shrine maiden who protects it. It has been a long time since we last met... I wonder how she is doing now."

"You mean, Yae no Miko?"

Hearing Shadow's sigh, Kiana gradually came back to her senses.

"I see, indeed... She should know more about the Divine Cherry Tree than we do. Anyway, let's ask her before we set off?"

"Ah."

The two exchanged a smile and then left the cave.

At this very moment, on the boat in the cave, Manyo and Hayato had been waiting for quite some time.

The two were of different heights; Man-yeo played a peculiar song on a leaf in the boat, while Hayato quietly stayed on the shallow beach beside him.