Ch 9 : Departures and Preparations

"Lord Barbatos is right. Ei has a gentle heart, but still, don't mess with her," a voice echoed through the castle.

"Miko." Ei glanced at Yae Miko, a bit irritated but relieved to see her old self again.

"Miko, not now," Ei added firmly, indicating it was not the time for jokes.

"Of course, hehe. Don't forget my reward," Miko said with a teasing tone, before walking into one of the rooms.

"Back to the topic," Ei said, turning her attention to Morax and Barbatos.

"Oh yes, Beelzebub, we've finished everything. We came to inform you that Morax and I are returning to our respective nations since our tasks are done," Barbatos explained.

Morax had a lot to do, and he needed to prepare Mondstadt for what was coming.

"I hope we can meet again to discuss some things about that," Ei responded, acknowledging the need for further discussion.

"Yes," Morax and Barbatos nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you owe me some nice wine," Barbatos added with a grin, not wanting to miss out on a favor.

Morax and Beelzebub now owed him wine, which felt like a small victory.

"Of course," Ei agreed, noticing that Barbatos looked exhausted, his divine power almost depleted.

"Ah, Barbatos, it's time to go. If we stay longer, I fear these mortals will collapse," Morax reminded them, observing Beelzebub's people sweating profusely from absorbing too much elemental energy.

Where gods are present, the elemental energy increases, and every being benefits, but everyone has limits.

For gods, this energy is beneficial, but for mortals, it is dangerous as it exceeds their limits.

"Oh yeah, then until later, Beelzebub." Barbatos was the first to leave.

He disappeared instantly, as he could reach any location in Teyvat almost immediately.

"Barbatos, as always, disappears so quietly," Morax sighed.

This old friend always hides his pain, but I can't judge him, as we gods hide our pain from the world.

No one likes to show their weak side, Morax thought, looking at Beelzebub.

"I need to go too. Until later, Beelzebub."

Morax began to walk away.

"Until later, Senior," Ei said with a small smile.

That little smile stunned the mortals. A goddess's smile, no matter how small, is always beautiful.

However, this didn't last long, as Ei got serious again.

"Now, where were we?" Ei asked, looking at the three people.

In Celestia, on a sky island, two people were fighting in an arena.

A man and a woman.

Asmodeus and Michael faced each other in the training grounds, their movements calculated and precise.

Asmodeus, with her millennia of experience, moved with the grace of a predator, her cold demeanor masking her intentions.

Michael, young and agile, analyzed her every move, ready to adapt in an instant.

"Your technique is impressive, Asmodeus," Michael remarked, parrying her strikes with finesse.

"As is yours, Master," Asmodeus replied coolly, her eyes assessing his every move.

They circled each other, measuring their opponent's strength.

Asmodeus struck first, her blows precise and calculated, aiming for Michael's weaknesses.

But Michael, with his quick wit, dodged and countered, utilizing his superior physical strength to his advantage.

"You're fast," Michael noted, deflecting another blow with a swift movement.

"And you're strong," Asmodeus acknowledged, a hint of hidden admiration in her voice.

"However, you still lack experience, Master," Asmodeus said, swiftly moving behind Michael to end the fight.

As she got behind him to land the final hit, he vanished and reappeared behind her, gently tapping her neck.

"Haha, it seems I win this time," Michael said happily. This was not the first fight today; he had lost 32 times, but with each fight, he improved.

"Yes, Master," Asmodeus said, getting up. She was quite shocked by his improvement. Initially, it was easy, but with each fight, he improved significantly, making the battles tougher.

"Asmodeus, how long do you think it will take the Traveler to reach Inazuma?" Michael asked. The Traveler is crucial to the Archons and the people of each nation, and the Archon who needs the most help is Ei, as she requires the most character development since she is not mature enough.

With the Traveler's help, many things will become easier.

In Ayanokoji's words: "The best tool you can have."

"At the current pace, it will take at least half a year," Asmodeus responded. She had been observing the Traveler for the past few days.

She had observed the twins since their downfall in Teyvat, but only the woman woke up initially.

She traveled the whole world until the Khaenri'ah war. At that time, the man woke up too and was dragged by his twin to leave Teyvat. To leave Teyvat, one must go through the fake sky to the real sky, which was never an option since the fake sky is the last defense, hiding from these vile monsters.

Not to mention, the place where that woman woke up was Khaenri'ah. Who knows what they did to her. Khaenri'ah was always an ambitious nation. Not long after their creation, in human years nearly a thousand, they grew greedy, wanting to break the rules and overthrow the heavenly principles. They involved themselves with the Abyss and with the forbidden worlds connected to Teyvat, those nations that worshipped the death moons.

The most important thing Phanes wanted to hide from anyone was the secret death of his beloved moons.

In anger, when the war started, the first thing he did was destroy the nation and world that worshipped the moons, because Khaenri'ah and that nation were in a partnership.

They involved Phanes' past and paid with their lives.

"Sigh," Asmodeus stopped her thoughts from dwelling further as it would only bring pain.

"Are you okay?" Michael looked at Asmodeus, sensing her sadness.

"I am fine," Asmodeus said, shaking her head as the sadness in her body dissipated.

I hope so, Michael thought, glancing at Asmodeus.

"It seems it's time for us to go to Sumeru, Asmodeus," Michael said.

He felt a headache coming on just thinking about the many problems Sumeru has.

With a snap of his fingers, Michael changed his and Asmodeus's clothes back to their mystical attire.

"Hmm?" Asmodeus looked at her own clothes.

"Your clothes were too torn," Michael said with a smile.

Her clothes were indeed very damaged, so I just fixed them, he thought.

"Okay, we should go now," Michael said.

"Alright," Asmodeus responded, a little bit happy.

The space cracked open, and both of them walked in.

Then, the crack closed behind them.