Upon hearing the news, Deaconess Barbara hurried to the southern gate. The two unconscious knights were, fortunately, the only casualties in the current siege.
Thankfully, their injuries were not severe. The monsters who attacked them had deliberately avoided powerful blows to avoid raising alarm.
Under Barbara's gentle healing, both knights slowly regained consciousness.
"What happened? Did you see who attacked you?" Barbara asked softly.
Holding his aching head, one knight grimaced as he answered, "It was Abyss Mages!"
At the moment of the attack, he had caught a glimpse of their assailants—but before he could raise the alarm, everything had gone black.
"Abyss Mages?" Jiang Bai furrowed his brows.
He knew Abyss Mages could teleport. Without a doubt, these mages had already infiltrated Mondstadt. But what was their goal?
Were they merely here to wreak havoc, or was there something more sinister at play?
Barbara gasped upon hearing about the Abyss Mages' intrusion. Jiang Bai turned to her immediately.
"Do you know what they might be after?"
Searching the entire city aimlessly wasn't realistic; ideally, they could intercept the enemy directly by guessing their objective.
Still, Jiang Bai wasn't overly concerned. Both Diluc and Kaeya were inside the city. Surely, they'd anticipated something like this and were likely already lying in wait.
Barbara thought for a moment. "Most of Mondstadt's sacred artifacts are kept in the Cathedral. Right now, only a few nuns are guarding them, so they might target there. Otherwise, they might head to the Knights' headquarters. With the knights busy defending against the siege, the building's largely empty, and it houses many important documents."
"I'll go check out the Knights' headquarters first, then!" Jiang Bai wasted no further time and dashed off toward the building.
He moved swiftly, quickly vanishing from Barbara's sight.
Watching Jiang Bai's departing figure, Barbara sighed softly, "He truly is a kind and caring person."
She clasped her hands together and whispered a prayer, "May Lord Barbatos protect Mondstadt and keep its people safe."
---
Outside the Knights' headquarters, Kaeya casually leaned against the wall, flipping a mora coin between his fingers as he coolly observed two Abyss Mages standing before him.
"Just as I thought—you were after the library. I knew your little siege wasn't so simple."
The Abyss Mages didn't waste time on idle chatter. One unleashed fire, and the other ice, sending their attacks hurtling toward Kaeya.
Kaeya sidestepped gracefully, the icy gleam of his sword slicing toward the blazing Pyro Abyss Mage.
The mage quickly chanted an incantation, and flames burst from the ground, enveloping the area.
Ice surged beneath Kaeya's feet, only to be instantly vaporized by the intense heat. Kaeya strode steadily through the flames, his expression sharp and frosty as ice crystallized into armor around him.
"Is that all you have?"
Seeing its shield begin to crack under Kaeya's relentless assault, the Abyss Mage panicked slightly.
Luckily, it had a companion.
"Human, you are far too arrogant!"
Numerous sharp icicles rapidly formed overhead, threatening serious injury if they landed.
Just as Kaeya prepared to dodge, a golden shield appeared perfectly timed around him.
He glanced toward the source and smiled upon seeing Jiang Bai arriving swiftly.
"My dear friend, perfect timing!"
Jiang Bai's clothes flapped wildly with his speed as he leaped toward the Cryo Abyss Mage, the [Snow-Tombed Starsilver] glowing brightly with Geo energy.
Even as he attacked, Jiang Bai casually teased, "Last time I was your 'brother,' now I'm your 'dear friend'?"
Kaeya chuckled lightly, never faltering in his strikes. "It just means our bond is growing stronger!"
With a final, resonant crack, the elemental shields shattered, sending the Abyss Mages tumbling helplessly to the ground.
The brief battle ended decisively, without causing much commotion.
Jiang Bai grabbed the Cryo Abyss Mage by the ear, holding it up like a caught rabbit.
He'd purposely restrained himself to avoid killing it outright.
"You two came sneaking into the city alone? Isn't that underestimating us a bit too much?"
The Abyss Mage glared up defiantly, battered yet still fiercely defiant.
"Hmph! Foolish humans, Her Highness the Princess will never forgive you!"
"Her Highness the Princess?" Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Your Abyss Order actually has a princess? Do you have a king, too?"
Something in Jiang Bai's casual question enraged the mage. It shrieked indignantly, gnashing its teeth:
"How dare you speak so casually of the Princess's nobility!"
"Nobility? You're just monsters," Kaeya's voice suddenly turned icy, colder than Jiang Bai had ever heard before.
This was the first time Jiang Bai had seen Kaeya like this—eyes downcast, coldly indifferent.
The Abyss Mage began shouting a string of angry curses in a language Jiang Bai couldn't understand.
He rubbed his ears, somewhat annoyed.
Kaeya firmly pressed his foot onto the barely-alive Pyro Abyss Mage. The Cryo Mage tried to continue its rant, but a sword plunged into the ground mere centimeters from its head silenced it immediately.
Kaeya looked down coldly. "So this 'princess' of yours—is she your leader?"
"Hmph!" The Abyss Mage gave no answer, but its reaction was confirmation enough.
"Our plans to transform that foolish dragon into a weapon may have failed, but this isn't over!"
"You humans will pay eventually!"
Knowing they were utterly defeated, both Abyss Mages spat their final threats before their bodies burst into ashes, fading back into the Ley Lines.
"Huh? Did they just escape?" Jiang Bai was stunned—it was his first time witnessing this phenomenon.
Kaeya, however, seemed unfazed, apparently accustomed to such things.
He casually kicked at the ashes beneath his feet, resuming his usual lazy demeanor. "No, they committed suicide."
"Suicide? They can actually do that?"
"Of course," Kaeya shrugged lightly. "Why do you think we know so little about the Abyss Order? Even when captured, these monsters rarely yield useful information."
He stretched lazily, brushing dust off himself.
"Although we dealt with these two, we should still double-check the headquarters to make sure no others snuck in."
The building wasn't merely administrative—Mondstadt's famous library was inside.
And hidden within its depths was a restricted section known to very few.
Stepping inside, Kaeya relaxed instantly when he saw Lisa sitting elegantly in the library, sipping coffee and reading a book.
"If I'd known you were here, Lisa, I wouldn't have bothered guarding outside."
Lisa smiled leisurely. "Oh, dear. As the librarian, naturally, I must protect my precious books."