Chapter 93

No, I don't have trap fetish. Stop. It's just for comedy relief.

Thank you.

***

Twenty minutes after Yomite left the tavern...

It was finally quiet.

The bar was almost completely empty, leaving Diluc and Venti the only people inside.

As Diluc planned on closing down, he shunned Venti away, but not without asking whether he could walk back home without dying.

He was the God of Mondstadt. Even if his behavior was creepy and disgusting, he still had to make sure he was fine. The city needed him.

"Fol surw! U'mm alrogjt!" Venti replied incoherently and left the pub.

"Don't die." Diluc saw him off and returned inside.

Venti waved back at him and walked down a dark path.

He didn't remember the last time he was this drunk.

He was a monster when it came to downing bottles of wine, yet it seemed he had finally hit his limit.

His steps were tipsy, and he was about to fall over any time now.

He was simply too happy.

Everything was going so well.

The city was saved.

His friend Dvalin was rescued, and even managed to partially attain Godhood, soon to become a fully-fledged godlike entity.

New heroes that would protect the city in the upcoming years have appeared.

All of his worries were quelled.

All of this made him unable to stop drinking out of happiness.

As he staggered across the empty streets of Mondstadt, barely illuminated by the moonlight, he leaned against a nearby fence and vomited all over a group of flower pots in front of him.

(Oops...Wasn't this the place where the little girl Flora sold her flowers? How unfortunate...Archon Barbatos blesses you with his greatness, dear child...)

Just as he was about to leave, a group of people with masks and hoods blocked his way, the masks they wore were identical to the Fatui, who were roaming the streets of Mondstadt on a daily basis.

"Ehe?" Venti let out a sound full of confusion.

What did they want from him?

Were they his fans?

Did they want his autograph or something?

Gaining new followers was always a great feeling!

Soon, a tall woman with pale skin, platinum-blonde hair, and light grey eyes walked from behind her henchmen, power and authority embodied within her steps.

A black Fatui mask adorned her face, covering her right eye.

She was gorgeous, her figure was that of a goddess, her beauty and perfection shone through her eyes.

Her rich, blonde hair flowed down her curves, emphasising her body; she filled every inch of her clothing, without being too revealing.

The woman stepped closer, the sound of her heels resonating across the smooth floor to press a slow rhythm of enticement upon the men around her.

She stopped a few meters away from him and said, "You know why we're here today, right?" in a determined tone. "I'm glad you finally decided to show yourself...The waste of an Archon, in flesh. Right before my eyes."

Venti let out a heartfelt laughter at her remark.

She wasn't wrong.

"What's so funny? Archon of the Wind? Or should I say, the weakest out of all Archons. So weak, he even needed help from regular humans to beat his own pet dragon, truly pathetic. You should have let Fatui take care of the Dragon...yet you simply had to complicate things for us even further and save it..."

She snickered, feeling confident that she shamed him in front of her subordinates and successfully made him angry, yet the bard was only smirking.

"Say something, you pitiful creature."

She called out once more, losing her patience.

"Nho...is judst...You're suuuuuper ugly looking...So funny...Like, ugly ugly...Is thjt why you cover half of your facE eith a mask?"

Venti giggled without a care in the world, the alcohol in his veins still affecting his speech pattern.

Her face scrunched up with disgust as she marched towards him. The words of the drunkard had obviously triggered her.

"I don't have time to waste on your pathetic struggles."

In a single motion, she plunged her hand deeply into Venti's chest, wrapping her digits around his heart. She dug her nails deep, as hard as possible, to inflict as much pain to him as she could, as a payback for his unfiltered words.

She could feel his heart beating fast against her hand, it was pounding, struggling as much as it could, but she held tight, refusing to let go.

It glowed brightly in her slender palm, illuminating the darkness around them. She saw her underlings watching intently, their eyes never left the display.

"We have what we came here for."

She clutched his heart tight in her hand, using all of her strength to twist and tear it.

She heard the screams immediately, a high-pitched sound that emanated from the streets.

Venti fell to his knees, he placed his hands in the air as he screamed, and as he did, she pulled out something out of his chest, whose physical appearance was reminiscent of a glowing chess piece.

"I will be taking your Gnosis now, Bardie. You were barely as strong as a Vision user before, but now you're as weak as a little child. Without the power from Celestia, you are nothing. Even the wind you bragged so much about could blow you away! Of course, we Fatui are gentle and understanding negotiators, so I won't kill you. Be grateful."

"I thhink I saw you somewhere...before...welp, yoar still ugly..." He mumbled under his breath, while kneeling on the ground in pain.

The woman in heels clicked her tongue and walked towards him once more, grasping his chin in her hand.

"Does Mondstadt call this a God? A resident rodent...Look how impotent you have become! A pretty boy is all you are...why does your image not reflect your attitude?"

Sobering up a bit after what just transpired, Venti stuck out his tongue.

"...Yours does... you're ugly both inside and at the exterior!"

She frowned and kicked him in the face. Her foot landed squarely on his jaw, sending him sprawling.

He was bleeding from the mouth, fresh from the kick he had taken to the jaw.

Venti rolled on the ground a bit, and with that, lost consciousness.

She slowly walked forward and stepped on his chest with her heel, boring it deep in his ribcage, but soon, grit her teeth and lifted her foot.

She wanted to finish that annoying runt, but her orders were absolute.

She scoffed and left with her underlings, together with Venti's Gnosis, which was a Heart of God.

Archons used it to channel their powers with.

Venti was now, powerless. More than he had ever been before.

No one had heard or seen what happened that night, despite the screams of the fallen Bard.

No one knew where the Bard disappeared to.

He was once again, alone.