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ArabicGenshin Impacti: This Priest is Cringe, But She's Also Unbeatable — Chapter 46
Chapter 46: Whoo, Takeoff!
Celeste was nursing a massive headache.
She shot a venomous glare at her younger sister, who was currently bent over, laughing so hard she couldn’t even stand up straight. Celeste could practically feel her blood pressure climbing into the stratosphere.
If she had known this would happen, she never would have transformed in front of her.
It was too late now. This was an indelible stain on her personal history, a moment of pure cringe that would likely haunt her for decades.
“Haha… hic… Sis, I didn’t mean to… pfft…” Selene waved her small hands frantically, her words punctuated by helpless hiccups of laughter. “It’s just… the contrast is too much! My god, if you showed up to school looking like this, you’d scare everyone half to death!”
A vein throbbed violently at Celeste’s temple.
‘I just want to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it right now!’ she screamed internally.
She fought to suppress the inferno of rage building in her chest, forcing herself to focus on the situation at hand. She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing retort, but the words that came out were not her own.
“Ehe~ Even the wind would feel troubled being laughed at like this~”
‘Crap.’
The voice was airy, playful, and carried a melodic lilt that made her want to die on the spot. Her mouth was completely out of her control.
Selene let out two more choked laughs before finally managing to slam the brakes on her hysteria. She straightened up, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. Then, with the wide-eyed wonder of Columbus discovering a new continent, she began to circle Celeste, clicking her tongue in amazement.
“Sis, what Heroic Spirit did you pull this time? How come even your voice and the way you talk have changed?” she asked, her curiosity finally overriding her amusement. “I mean, there were some changes when you turned into the Maid Knight, but nothing this drastic.”
“This is a contract with a spirit of the wind~” Celeste—or rather, the Venti persona currently in the driver’s seat—took the opportunity to perform a light, elegant spin. Her green cape billowed around her, a perfect picture of carefree grace. “With his power, one can see higher and farther~ For example… by flying?”
“Flying?”
Selene’s eyes lit up like a pair of high-wattage bulbs.
“You can really fly? Like a bird?”
“Mhm~ Let the thousand winds guide us. Watch closely!”
Celeste had no desire to waste any more words on her sister (though her tone suggested otherwise). It was time to prove with action that while this transformation was mortifying, the power it granted was absolutely worth the social death.
With a mere thought, she mobilized the light yet immense Anemo energy coursing through her.
“Wind, hear me!”
Her voice was soft, almost like a line from a song. No wings sprouted from her back. Instead, a powerful updraft materialized from thin air, gently but firmly lifting her body from the ground.
Her feet left the soil, and she rose slowly, effortlessly, into the midnight air.
Below, Selene could only stare, her mouth hanging open in a perfect “O.”
“Holy… holy crap! You’re really flying!”
Celeste adjusted her posture mid-air. The sensation of controlling the wind was so natural it felt like a rediscovered instinct. She tested it, gliding forward a short distance with incredible speed and complete silence.
This feeling… it was incredible!
The sheer freedom of being untethered from the earth was enough to cool the burning embarrassment that had been scorching her soul.
She descended gracefully, landing beside Selene with a hint of the bard’s signature smugness painting her features.
“How was that? The feeling of riding the wind, isn’t it wonderful?” she chirped. “A wide field of vision, the freedom to go anywhere—this is a privilege that even the birds would envy~”
Selene nodded frantically, like a baby chick pecking at grain, her eyes shining with pure admiration.
“Sis, you’re too awesome! This is a total god-tier skill! With this, we can go wherever we want, and no one can ever catch us!”
“That’s not all~” Celeste extended a hand, and a whirlwind of cyan light gathered in her palm, churning into the miniature core of a storm. “The wind can carry one, but it can also lift a companion. Care to experience it together?”
Without waiting for an answer, she pressed the swirling vortex in her palm toward the ground.
“Let the wind rise~”
A massive, visible wind field of pure cyan energy erupted outwards with her at the epicenter, instantly enveloping both sisters. Selene felt a gentle yet irresistible force lift her from beneath her feet, and her body floated upwards, weightless.
“Waaah—!”
Selene cried out in surprise, but she reacted quickly, stabilizing her posture before she could start flailing around in embarrassment.
Supported by the swirling currents, the two of them ascended, climbing higher and higher until they finally broke through the dark, oppressive canopy of the forest.
For the first time, the complete night view of the Domain was laid bare before them.
The dark forest below transformed into an undulating ocean of ink. In the distance, the outlines of mountains were traced in blurry silhouettes against the starlight. Here and there, the campfires of other teams became flickering, ghostly lights, twinkling like lost stars in the vast sea of trees.
“It’s so beautiful…” Selene murmured, leaning against the edge of the wind field, utterly captivated by the magnificent scene beneath her feet.
“The scenery is lovely, but don’t forget we’re on a ‘pilgrimage’~” Celeste’s voice, carrying a gentle reminder, pulled her back to reality. “From now on, we are the eyes of this night sky. It’s our job to guide the ‘direction’ for those who are lost… hmm, or perhaps, just for ourselves.”
In the air, their field of vision was unmatched. Any movement on the ground below would be impossible to miss.
“Mm!” Selene nodded heavily, her expression shifting into combat-ready focus. Her sharp gaze began to methodically scan the jungle below.
Celeste controlled the wind field, flying them slowly toward the central area of the Domain. She was careful not to go too high, which would risk being spotted by someone with a long-range vision skill or a special reconnaissance item. A few dozen meters above the canopy was the perfect altitude.
Just as they were gliding over a rugged slope of scattered boulders, Celeste suddenly tilted her head, striking a pose as if listening to a faint melody.
She raised a finger to her lips, signaling Selene to be silent.
“Shh—”
“The wind tells me,” she whispered, her voice as ethereal as the breeze itself, “that there are a few enthusiastic ‘listeners’ down below.”
Selene followed her gaze. In the deep shadows of the rocky slope, everything was dead silent. She couldn’t see a thing.
“I don’t see anything.”
“That’s because they’re playing a movement called ‘Silence’,” Celeste said, her eyes narrowing as a playful, mischievous smile touched her lips.
To her wind-element perception, the faint disturbances in the airflow caused by their stealthy movements were like jarring, discordant notes in an otherwise perfect musical score. They stood out with perfect clarity.
“Not just one, but four top-tier performers,” she continued, her voice a low murmur. “And listening to the melody of their movements, it seems they’re preparing to set up a grand ‘welcome’ trap for someone.”
Selene’s heart clenched. “Then what do we do? Go around them?”
“Go around them?”
The curve of Celeste’s mouth widened into a grin as cunning as a cat plotting a prank.
“When such lovely ‘notes’ are delivered right to our ears, how could we possibly leave before the performance is over? This is a once-in-a-lifetime… opportunity for an impromptu collaboration.”
Her mind was already racing, calculating the possibilities. A team composed entirely of assassins would specialize in sneak attacks and burst damage. Their greatest fear was being discovered beforehand, losing the all-important element of surprise.
And right now, she not only possessed absolute air superiority and a god’s-eye view, but she also happened to have a trump card that was the perfect counter to stealth.
This wasn’t a trap. It was a god-sent surprise package, delivered right to her doorstep.
“Sis, you’re not thinking of…” Selene watched the malicious glee bloom on her sister’s face and felt an involuntary shudder run down her spine.
“Get ready,” Celeste’s youthful voice was laced with mockery and thrilling anticipation. “Let’s present these ‘listeners’with a unique composition of our own: a’display of Surprise’!”