The storm core in the plaza pulsed with an angry, corrupted teal light, pushing Leo back with every heavy strike of the Ongekibou Rekka.
His arms ached, the vibrations of the wooden sticks traveling up his marrow, but he kept the beat.
Thump-thump-clap!
Each ripple of crimson energy clashing against the gale created a pocket of stabilized air.
Jean and Lisa moved within those pockets, their Anemo and Electro strikes weaving together to keep the smaller tornadoes at bay.
"Look! At the gates!" Amber shouted from the balcony, pointing toward the main entrance of the city.
Sprinting through the stone archway were two figures. A girl with golden hair and a white dress was running at a speed that shouldn't have been possible for someone without a Vision, her boots clicking sharply against the cobblestones.
Beside her, a small, floating creature with a starry cape was bobbing up and down in the wind like a frantic balloon.
"Waaaaah! Why is the wind so angry?!" Paimon shrieked, her voice barely audible over Dvalin's roar.
"And who is that guy... drumming on the floor?!"
Lumine skidded to a halt, her dull blade already drawn.
Her eyes were wide, still processing the scene she'd witnessed in the forest—the massive dragon and that mysterious boy in green who seemed to be talking to it.
She had followed the dragon here, expecting a city in ruins, but instead found a high-tech musical exorcism in progress.
"The wind... it's being redirected," Lumine whispered, her golden eyes locking onto Leo.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[KEY CHARACTER DETECTED: THE TRAVELER]
[CO-OP SYNCHRONIZATION: 5%]
[EMERGENCY OVERRIDE GRANTED: RHYTHM OF THE WORLD]
Leo felt a surge of warmth through the drumsticks. his HUD began to glow with a steady, rhythmic pulse.
"Hey! Goldie!" Leo roared at Lumine, dodging a falling roof tile.
"I don't know who you are, but you have the 'purity' this storm is missing! Touch the center of the plaza! Now!"
Lumine didn't hesitate.
She had just seen that boy in green fail to calm the beast; she wasn't about to let the city fall now.
She dashed forward, dodging a stray lightning bolt from Lisa's defense, and slammed her palm into the stone just as Leo delivered a final, double-handed strike with the Rekka.
BOOM.
The resonance between Leo's rhythmic fire and Lumine's raw elemental affinity created a massive, purifying shockwave.
The storm core didn't just dissipate—it shattered.
Above them, Dvalin let out a confused cry, the purple corruption on his back flickering, before he veered away and retreated into the clouds.
The wind died down instantly.
Silence fell over the plaza, broken only by the sound of Leo gasping for air and Paimon's frantic panting.
"Is... is it over?" Paimon asked, floating closer to Lumine.
She turned her gaze to Leo, squinting suspiciously at his modern sneakers and the wooden sticks that were slowly fading back into his digital inventory.
"Hey! You! Who are you? And why were you playing the drums during a dragon attack? Are you part of some weird street performance group?"
Amber came charging down the stairs, skidding to a halt between the two groups.
"Leo! You did it! And... wait, who are you two? Did you see the dragon too?"
"We saw more than that!" Paimon huffed, crossing her tiny arms.
"We saw a weird boy in green talking to that big monster in the woods! And then we ran all the way here just to see... this guy hitting the floor with sticks!"
Leo wiped the sweat from his brow, his HUD showing his balance was still intact.
[SYSTEM STATUS]
Leo's Remaining Points: 50
Current RP: 50
He looked at Lumine—the protagonist he had just accidentally upstaged—and then at the Knights of Favonius surrounding them.
"I'm Leo," he said, leaning on his knees.
"And I think we all have a lot to talk about. Starting with the kid in green."
From the gate, Kaeya stepped out, clapping slowly.
"Marvelous. Simply marvelous. A traveler who commands the wind without a Vision, and a 'Guy' who fights dragons with music. It seems Mondstadt's guest list just became twice as interesting."