An angel amidst the Blizzard

Parsifal, despite being a young child, is quite aware of his surroundings.

Ever since he was little, he had been noticing the situation the people of Mondstadt are in. He can see and hear the pitiful screams of the common folk as their exquisite carriage passes by, ignoring their pleas for help as they get taken advantage of and be harassed by those what he is part of called "Aristocats".

His clan, the Landrich Clan, has quite the standing in Mondstadt. Although it can't be compared to the four big clans— namely the Lawrence Clan, the Gunnhildr Clan, the Ragnvindr Clan, and finally, the Imunlaukr Clan.

The Lawrence Clan, which is currently the strongest clan as of now, has succumbed to their desires and has thrown Mondstadt into a state of degeneracy and corruption. This, in the eyes of a young person such as Parsifal, was new to him. And for some unknown reason, he always felt a strange feeling inside of him that infuriates him greatly. But he is unable to do anything as a mere child.

As for the Gunnhildr Clan and the Ragnvindr Clan, they had sworn an oath to the Anemo Archon himself that they shall protect Mondstadt. And that oath is still being kept by them even after a thousand years.

As for the Imunlaukr Clan, they are a clan that has a great mystery regarding their ancestor's origins. Their ancestor, a strong warrior named Imunlaukr, fought fiercely in battles during the time in Old Mondstadt and only believed in one saying.

"Combat is merely the entertainment of the gods. As such, I would fight anyone and anything for the sake of fighting, and not for any other purpose." This was what the Imunlaukr Clan's ancestor once said. And his descendants followed this saying, resulting in the clan creating talented individuals regarding fighting.

Of those four prominent clans, the Landrich clan has extremely close ties with the Imunlaukr Clan, due to some ties in the past.

Throughout the long-lasting relationship between the Landrich Clan and the Imunlaukr Clan, the former had noticed something from the latter.

The Imunlaukr Clan seems to be obsessed with exploring Sal Vindagnyr. They had been collecting information and ways to uncover its secrets. But unfortunately, the brutal terrain and temperature of Sal Vindagnyr have only given a few results.

However, the Landrich Clan decided to ignore this matter. After all, throughout the two clan's history, this insignificant detail is not that much of a concern.

And now, Parsifal was sent by his father to experience what Sal Vindagnyr is. Along with protection, of course.

* * *

"C-Cold..." Parsifal said as he shuddered from the coldness

"Don't worry, young master. We will only venture until we reach the ruins here." One of the men sent by his father said as he pointed his finger at a map.

"After we reach there and search the area, we shall return to Mondstadt immediately." The man said again as he adjusted his glasses before closing the map.

It was not only Parsifal who was shivering from the sheer cold. All of them were. But fortunately, one of them is a Pyro Vision wielder that can create some fire to warm themselves. Though, for some reason, the fire's heat is extremely low and goes out every few minutes or so.

Meanwhile, looking from afar, Isaac and Moccus, along with the cryo whopperflower looked at Parsifal's team.

"Do thou not wish to meet them?" Moccus said.

Isaac hummed as he continued inspecting the team. He then noticed something and pointed at one of the adventurers at the front. "No, look at that."

Moccus looked where Isaac was pointing and saw two men wearing fur coats and a hood that is hiding their faces. Them, along with three other adventurers that have no hoods, were also walking the same phase as them.

"Suspicious, aren't they?" Isaac said as he folded his arms.

Moccus stopped looking and replied. "Indeed. Although I cannot confirm it, the five of them look quite... off."

He then looked at Isaac and asked, "Do thou wish to scare all of them away?"

Isaac stayed silent as he looked at the situation intently. Although he does want to get in touch with human civilization, he feels that if he were to show himself now, they would not trust him and even go away.

After all, if you meet a person deep in a snowy mountain wearing clothing not suited for the environment saying that he got lost, you would immediately get suspicious, no?

That's why Isaac wants to do a see-and-wait approach. He will just silently observe them.

Back to Parsifal, he was walking on the snow-covered path when he saw something from the corner of his eye.

On the far right side, he saw what looked like a boar that looked at him before running away.

'Huh?' Due to his noble birth, Parsifal has been learning from a private tutor about various fields. And so, he knows that a boar appearing in Sal Vindagnyr is impossible.

After all, the climate here is extremely harsh. No life could continue living here. 'How is that possible?'

He for curious and slightly parted with his team to look at where he saw the boar was.

"Y-Young Master! Don't just go wandering off everywhere!" One of the men with glasses said.

The man with glasses then ran towards Parsifal, turning the exploration formation disorganized.

And at this moment, one of the hooded men in front saw the commotion and found an opportunity for himself.

"Now!" He screamed.

With that scream, he took off his hood along with his partner, revealing their true faces. And hanging from their waists, red and light-blue gems were hanging on a gold-plated case. It was a Pyro and Cryo vision.

The five of them in the front then took their swords out and initiated a fighting stance.

The one wielding the Pyro Vision then went to one of the men sent by the Landrich Clan to kill him but was stopped by a knight.

"Stop! This is a violation of the Adventurers Guild's rules!" Said the knight as he prepared to fight

The pyro vision holder then smiled and did not reply. He backed away and used his vision.

Red crimson-like flames started appearing on his sword, encasing it in its fiery embrace.

Without wasting any more time, the Pyro Vision holder dashed toward the knight to kill him.

The knight tried to resist, but he was just a normal human. He has no vision and only has the strength and connections to get into the Knights of Favonius.

In short, he was visionless.

Needless to say, the Pyro Vision holder managed to slice his sword into two pieces before cutting him down.

"One down." The Pyro Vision holder said with a crazed smile

He then looked at his partner who was freezing the other knights with his Cryo Vision. "You done there?"

"Yup~" The Cryo vision holder said before walking over to his partner.

All of this happened in less than ten minutes. This alone should tell how experienced these two are regarding this attempt.

The Pyro Vision holder then looked at Parsifal and the man with glasses and said: "Now you have two choices."

"One is to silently follow us." He said as his accomplices stood behind him. "Or, freeze to death here."

"You know, it took us a lot of time to wait for your clan to commission this exploration. Our clients were even complaining about the mission they gave us saying that it's taking so long." The Pyro Vision holder explained.

"Tch..." The man with the glasses clicked his tongue. He then turned to look at Parsifal and whispered to him. "Alright, listen to me, Young Master. We have to peacefully come with them out of this mountain. But once we're near Mondstadt, we'll—"

However, before he could finish his sentence, a sword imbued with crimson fire shot through his chest.

"Too late~" The Pyro vision holder, smiling sadistically.

Blood started dripping from his chest and mouth as the sword slowly got taken out.

Parsifal, who saw this, contracted his eyes as fear engulfed him. He then dropped to the ground as he clenched the snow beneath him as he gritted his teeth. His facial expression was now complicated as he silently thought of a few things.

He was powerless to resist them and no one is here to help him. 'I'm weak... If only... If only I have the power to protect myself and everyone around me...!'

"Time's up, little buddy~" The pyro vision holder said as he reached out his hand for Parsifal.

His smile was still on his face as he looked at the frightened child in front of him. However, just then, he saw the child's expression change as he looked behind him

The Pyro Vision holder got curious as to where the child was looking so he looked behind him.

And the moment he looked behind, ice started covering his whole body. "W-What the?!"

He used his pyro vision to try to melt the ice but it was to no avail. The ice didn't seem to melt under normal fire.

'Shit...!' And before he knew it, ice covered his whole body. He, along with his accomplices turned into magnificent ice sculptures that seem to have been made by a master sculptor.

Parsifal, who is about to faint due to hyperthermia and the trauma he experienced today, managed to take a glimpse at the person that froze the criminals.

He saw a man with white curly hair and crystal-blue eyes looking at him as the sun's sunlight made his silhouette clear.

'An... Angel...?' Parsifal thought before losing consciousness and dropping to the snow-covered ground.