Lora heard Tartaglia's words. Her gaze settled on him as his power continued to surge, and her brows knit slightly.
What a revolting Abyssal aura.
Tartaglia had already activated his Foul Legacy. The overwhelming force slammed into the surrounding structures, making the Golden House quake violently.
He looked at Lora and said with a grin, "Miss Lora, I wonder if you can endure this one!"
Watching Tartaglia slowly suspended amid crackling lightning, Lora raised her hand. Her blue, teardrop-shaped pupils took on a cold gleam, and the tips of her hair shimmered with a sea-blue radiance.
Her voice was calm but icy as she spoke, "Do you know? Of all things, I hate the power of the Abyss the most."
The surging, pure essence of water confronted the tainted Abyss, and long-suppressed fury was finally ignited.
As her words fell, Lora clenched her raised hand toward the space ahead.
The deep-blue "Judgment of the Raging Sea" materialized in her grasp. Dense Hydro elemental power gathered around her, forming streams of water arrows that shot straight toward Tartaglia.
Tartaglia vaulted into the air to evade the attack—but in the next instant, Lora was already right in front of him.
She gripped the hilt of the "Judgment of the Raging Sea" with both hands and swung the greatsword down, striking directly against the Foul Legacy.
With just that single blow, cracks spread instantly across the armor.
Tartaglia was stunned.
He immediately tried to pull back, widening the distance between them—but the Hydro elemental power saturating the space surged into roaring currents. The water condensed into chains that locked around him, completely restraining his movements.
Then Lora shifted her grip, rotating the "Judgment of the Raging Sea." Above Tartaglia's head, an enormous, magnified version of the blade formed entirely from condensed Hydro elemental power. Carrying an unstoppable and terrifying momentum, it cleaved straight downward.
In that moment, Tartaglia's Foul Legacy shattered completely, offering no resistance at all.
The technique was simple—but devastatingly effective.
Stripped of his Foul Legacy, Tartaglia lay sprawled amid the fractured floor. Beside him lay the "Polar Star," its light noticeably dimmed.
"Worthy of a Liyue Adeptus indeed… what overwhelming strength," Tartaglia said with a wry sigh. The toll of the Foul Legacy alone had already pushed him to his limits, and combined with Lora's assault, he no longer had the strength to even stand.
Only now did he fully realize it. From the very start of the battle, Lora had treated him with effortless composure, as though merely indulging him. Perhaps she had only begun to take things seriously after seeing the Foul Legacy.
From beginning to end, he had been completely suppressed.
Lora looked down at Tartaglia, the blue glow at the ends of her hair still shining.
Dragging the "Judgment of the Raging Sea" along the ground, she walked toward him step by step. With each step, the surging Hydro elemental power around her grew thicker and more oppressive.
She stopped in front of him, raised the "Judgment of the Raging Sea," and thrust it down into the floor beside his head.
The glow at her hair tips faded, and she smiled.
"By the way," Lora said casually, "didn't 'La Signora' ever tell you what happened to her in Mondstadt?"
"Mondstadt?" Tartaglia paused, then replied, "When I left Snezhnaya, 'La Signora' hadn't returned from Mondstadt yet."
"So you never crossed paths. That explains it," Lora said, suddenly enlightened. She looked at him, dismissed the "Judgment of the Raging Sea," and asked, "Well then, Sir 'Childe'—did you enjoy this fight?"
Lumine and Paimon also ran out from their hiding place and hurried over to Lora's side, staring at Tartaglia lying on the ground.
"You're… not going to kill me?"
Tartaglia asked, clearly surprised.
Lora answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "You're my wallet. If I kill you, wouldn't I lose someone to reimburse my expenses?"
"Then it seems becoming your friend was well worth it," Tartaglia laughed. But his smile quickly faded as he continued, "Still, even if you defeated me, what's about to appear next won't be so easy to deal with."
"What's about to appear?" Paimon froze, looking back and forth between Tartaglia and Lora in confusion.
"A big octopus from the sea," Lora explained calmly.
At her words, Tartaglia was momentarily stunned, then his expression shifted to one of sudden realization.
"As expected of a Liyue Adeptus," he said with a sigh. "So you already know what's coming. The real question is whether you—and the Liyue behind you—can stop it."
"That's none of your concern," Lora replied evenly. "That octopus? I'll skewer it and roast it."
Tartaglia glanced at her in surprise. "You… are you really a Liyue Adeptus? According to all the intelligence gathered by the 'Fatui,' no ordinary Liyue Adeptus should be capable of challenging a god alone."
The moment he finished speaking, the entire Golden House began to shake violently.
Paimon panicked, looking around in alarm. "W-What's going on?! Why is it shaking all of a sudden?! Is the Golden House about to collapse?!"
"The sea's wrath has awakened—the 'Overlord of the Vortex,' Osial," Lora said, sensing the terrifying waves rising from the waters beyond Liyue Harbor. Without another word, she turned and headed straight for the exit.
Paimon hurriedly called out, "Then what about the 'Exuvia'?!"
Lora did not answer. She had already left the hall, rushing toward the open seas off Liyue.
Tartaglia let out a chuckle and walked over to Lumine's side, saying to Paimon, "It's fine. Just leave it here. After all, it isn't the real 'Exuvia.'"
"Not real?" Paimon stared at him blankly. "What do you mean by that?"
"When I discovered the Gnosis was missing, I already had my suspicions," Tartaglia explained. "Seeing Lora's attitude just now confirmed them. The 'Exuvia' left here is a fake. In other words, the Geo Archon never died—he's been watching everything unfold from the shadows."
"The Geo Archon… is still alive?"
Paimon exclaimed, utterly stunned.
Tartaglia sighed with admiration. "Truly befitting the guardian deity of the City of Commerce. Even when it comes to 'little tricks outside of contracts,' he's remarkably adept."
Leaving the trio behind in the Golden House, Lora swiftly made her way to the outer seas of Liyue.
From there, she could already see massive waterspouts rising from the ocean, linking sea and sky. Dark clouds churned overhead as thunder roared and torrential rain poured down.
Rhodeia found Lora there. Her brows were tightly furrowed as she stared anxiously at the raging sea ahead.
"My lady," she asked worriedly, "are you going to intervene?"