"Mr. Tartaglia, you personally killed one of your own colleagues in this battle. How do you feel right now?"
Hearing Charlotte's question, Tartaglia grinned, his tone honest and without hesitation.
"How do I feel? Refreshed, of course!"
Tartaglia was a man of his word.
What he promised, he would do.
Back when his Gnosis was stolen, he had vowed to deal with Scaramouche. That promise wouldn't change just because Scaramouche happened to be a fellow Harbinger.
What kind of 'comrade' betrays another?
In Tartaglia's eyes, Scaramouche had long since ceased being a colleague—he was a traitor.
And killing a traitor? That was nothing but delightful.
"Though it is a bit of a shame…" Tartaglia sighed, sounding regretful.
Charlotte tilted her head. "Shame? Why?"
"I shouldn't have killed him so quickly. I should've kept him alive." Tartaglia replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You know how infamous we Fatui are. We've got… plenty of methods that are much scarier. I should've put those to use on him first."
As his words grew darker, painting images of torture without hesitation, Charlotte's lips twitched.
Sure, everyone knew the Fatui weren't saints, but did he have to be so blunt about it?
She pressed him with a few more questions before wrapping up the interview.
Charlotte felt like she'd struck gold. Even though Lumine had been livestreaming the whole fight, her one-on-one with Tartaglia was exclusive material—a scoop she could polish into headlines.
Though… his words did sound suspiciously like an advertisement for that mysterious card shop.
But how could she cut that out? No—she'd have to polish it instead!
When the interview ended, Paimon sighed with relief.
"So I guess we're done here in Gavireh Lajavard, right?"
"Yes… and no," Lumine murmured, her gaze lingering on the ruined shell of the Machine God. "Technically, this thing is Tartaglia's trophy, isn't it?"
Tartaglia scratched his head, then nodded. "I guess you could put it that way. Why?"
"I was kind of thinking about… scrapping it," Lumine admitted with an embarrassed smile.
The Machine God's body was forged from rare alloys. It would fetch a fortune if salvaged. The thought of selling it for parts made her eyes gleam with opportunity.
"Ohhh!" Tartaglia's expression brightened in understanding. But then he shook his head with a smirk. "No can do. I'm keeping the scrap."
Lumine let out a disappointed sigh.
"Not that it'll fetch too much," Tartaglia added. "We'll haul it back to Snezhnaya, break it down, and reuse the materials. It'll be useful elsewhere."
Then, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned toward the distance.
"The Celestial Mirror has arrived."
Diluc, who had been standing silently with arms crossed, finally spoke. A faint flame flickered in his eyes.
"Heh…" Kaeya rubbed his wrist, a wry smile on his face. "I was wondering how we'd ever find Dottore. Now the perfect tool for flushing rats out of the gutter has arrived. Makes things much simpler."
"Exactly." Tartaglia nodded in agreement. Kaeya's words fit Dottore perfectly—slippery, secretive, and endlessly scheming. Hunting him down by normal means would be near impossible.
But the Celestial Mirror? It was made for this very job.
Kaeya shot Tartaglia a teasing look. "You already had your fight today. Don't go trying to steal this one from us."
Tartaglia laughed and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Relax. He's your enemy, after all. I'll leave him to you."
Pulling out his phone, he casually messaged his Fatui subordinates to come and dismantle the Machine God's remains.
Moments later, the space before them cracked like fractured glass.
The Celestial Mirror emerged from the void, its surface reflecting each of their faces.
[Target Confirmed]
[Temporary Authority Granted]
[Mr. Diluc, welcome to the Celestial Mirror]
Diluc took a deep breath, his composure barely containing the surge of emotion within him.
"Celestial Mirror, locate Fatui Harbinger Il Dottore."
[Receiving Command]
[Permission Granted]
The mirror sank back into the void.
Unfamiliar ripples of power—alien to Teyvat—spread outward as the Mirror turned its gaze upon Sumeru, scanning like a great, all-seeing radar.
Sumeru – Port Ormos
Dottore stood alone, no Fatui agents nearby.
Though arrogant as a scholar, he was not careless. He knew staying in Sumeru meant danger, so he had disguised himself: his robes changed, his face aged and lined. To any observer, he was nothing more than a weary old farmer.
He placed a vial of violet liquid among a pile of cargo, set down a small device, then waited. Soon, a ship would sail for Liyue. Once it left Sumeru waters, everyone aboard would die at sea. Where the vessel would end up—that was for him to decide.
Even while scheming, he was watching Lumine's livestream on his phone.
Know your enemy to win a hundred battles. Dottore might be arrogant, but he wasn't foolish.
"The Celestial Mirror, is it…?" He narrowed his eyes.
As one of Fontaine's greatest treasures, its reputation had spread even to Snezhnaya. Every nation's leaders knew of its power—a tool that could watch an entire world. Nothing could hide from its gaze.
But Dottore only chuckled. "If it's really that powerful, then Fontaine should already rule the world. No—better to be cautious. The Mirror may be strong, but it's not infallible."
He had prepared well. His disguise was flawless, his aura masked. Even a blood test wouldn't reveal his true identity. If the Celestial Mirror truly was a myth, then today, that myth would be broken.
Back in the desert, the Celestial Mirror shimmered once more.
[Target Acquired]
The reflection showed Dottore moving swiftly across the sands.
"So fast?" Kaeya raised an eyebrow. "I don't doubt the Mirror, but Dottore always has contingencies."
"Mirror, confirm," Diluc ordered.
Two seconds later:
[Confirmed: Target is Fatui Harbinger Il Dottore. However, analysis suggests this is only one of his many segments.]
Diluc sneered. "Just as I thought."
But before the Mirror could unleash its full might, another scene unfolded.
In the desert, Dottore froze. Ahead of him stood Arlecchino, arms folded, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"Well, well… isn't this a coincidence?" she said smoothly. "Tell me, Dottore, do you remember the proposal you made to me not long ago?"
Dottore blinked, then smirked. "Ah, so you've finally agreed to send me those discarded children for my experiments?"
"I refuse, as I did then," Arlecchino replied calmly. "Your offer made me want to send you straight to the afterlife. But as fellow Harbingers, I couldn't. Until now."
Her voice hardened. "Today, I have the perfect excuse."
"What do you mean?" Dottore's face darkened.
"To send you to meet the partner you worked so 'happily' with."
She snapped her fingers.
The sky turned crimson as a blood moon blotted out the sun. Scarlet threads erupted from the sand, piercing through Dottore's body, pinning him in place. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the blood moon vanished, leaving only silence and stillness.
Arlecchino clasped her hands together. "You were despicable, but you were still a comrade once. May the sands bury you… and may you never lay your hands on innocent children again. You don't deserve another life."
With that, she turned and climbed over the dunes, where a tactical helicopter waited.
"Father…" Lyney began softly.
"It's done," Arlecchino said with a nod.
Lyney swallowed his words and simply asked, "Shall we head back now?"
"Of course."
For her, killing even one of Dottore's segments brought both satisfaction and strength, her new cards feeding her power. The trip had been worth it.
"Clean and ruthless," Paimon whispered. "So that's the Harbinger known as the Knave…"
Tartaglia only shrugged.
Diluc turned back to the Celestial Mirror. "Continue. Find the true Dottore."
[Executing Command]
On the ship in Port Ormos, the real Dottore chuckled coldly, feeling the Mirror's gaze fall upon him.
"So, Arlecchino killed one of my segments… all for a few discarded orphans? How foolish."
Still, when the Mirror locked onto his soul, his smirk wavered.
The Mirror can even see my soul?
The sensation of being seen sent a chill crawling down his spine.
No disguise, no mask, no false aura could hide him now.
And across the ocean, Diluc's eyes burned like fire.
The hunt had truly begun.
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T/N:
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