“Mei!”
The frantic cry escaped Diluc’s chest before he could even process it. His crimson pupils constricted sharply as a cold shiver seized his entire being, paralyzing him for a split second before he lunged toward the girl slumped on the ground.
As he gathered her limp body into his arms, he could feel a warm, thick liquid soaking through his leather gloves. Mei lay motionless, her breathing shallow and ragged, while fresh blood continued to seep out, staining a large patch of her shoulder.
Before he could even catch his breath, the dark forest sky was torn asunder by a hail of Pyro-infused projectiles erupting from behind a massive tree. They streaked through the air like miniature meteors, carrying a wave of heat that scorched everything in their path, shrieking as they homed in on Diluc’s position.
With a warrior’s honed reflexes, Diluc scooped Mei up and darted through the ancient trees, weaving with practiced agility. He tilted his head just in time to avoid a bullet that hissed past his cheek. The searing heat grazed his skin, leaving a scorched trail on his black coat before thudding into the earth.
“Tch!” The Fatui Pyroslinger furrowed his brow, clicking his tongue in irritation. He ceased fire immediately, clutching his rifle as he relocated swiftly to another large trunk to reset his line of sight.
Holding Mei firmly in his steady embrace, Diluc moved continuously to evade the aim of the remaining attackers. He gritted his teeth, his cold gaze sweeping across the terrain. Burdened by the wounded girl, a counterattack was impossible. Suddenly, a cave hidden behind dense thickets to the west caught his eye. Diluc narrowed his eyes; a daring plan sparked in his mind.
The Vision at his hip erupted in a brilliant crimson glow. With one arm, he held Mei securely against him; with the other, he summoned a violent surge of flames, hurlilng them directly at the massive ice shards left behind by a Cryo Cicin Mage.
Sizzle!!!
The immense heat of the flames collided with the freezing ice, triggering a violent Melt reaction. In an instant, a thick, blinding veil of white steam billowed upward, swallowing the battlefield whole.
“Fire! He’s over there!”
A Fatui soldier bellowed, but the only response was the screeching roar of a phantom fire phoenix soaring toward the distant edge of the forest. The Fatui pursued the radiant silhouette in a frenzy, completely unaware that amidst the dense fog, the red-haired man had already vanished into the shadows of a nearby cave with the girl in his arms.
---
Drip... drip... drip...
The rhythmic sound of water droplets echoed through the damp, murky stillness of the cave. The pungent scent of aged moss wafted from the cold stone walls.
Diluc gently leaned Mei against the rock face. The characteristic coldness had vanished from his face, replaced by a state of extreme tension. He knelt beside her, his crimson eyes fixed intensely on her injury.
Her shoulder was drenched in blood, which had darkened into an ominous hue in the gloom. Without a second’s hesitation, he gripped and tore the fabric around her shoulder, exposing the wound that continued to bleed incessantly. A single glance, quick, sharp, and precise.
The shoulder. Not the chest. It didn't pierce the heart. That’s enough.
Diluc immediately tore a strip of cloth from his black coat, bundled it, and pressed it firmly against the wound. He did not hold back his strength.
The searing, sharp pain dragged Mei out of the fog of unconsciousness. She gasped, a choked groan escaping her throat. Her eyelids trembled open, her vision blurred and spinning as if the world had tilted off its axis. She could only feel a heavy pressure crushing her shoulder before the dizziness overwhelmed her again.
“It hurts...” Mei whispered, her voice barely audible, stripped of all strength.
Her face was drenched in cold sweat, her eyelids heavy as lead. She wanted nothing more than to surrender to the darkness and escape this bone-deep agony.
Diluc faltered for a heartbeat upon hearing that frail plea. His gaze flickered with a rare moment of hesitation, but his reason quickly reclaimed control. He did not loosen his grip for a single moment. Maintaining the pressure to staunch the bleeding, his other hand swiftly tore another long strip from his coat, binding it tightly around her shoulder and upper chest to secure the dressing.
The fabric was bound tightly enough to staunch the flow of blood, yet careful not to turn her arm blue. Mei’s breathing remained shallow and hurried, but steady.
Diluc shed his outer coat entirely, draping it gently over her to preserve her warmth. He leaned down, whispering low into her ear:
“Do not fall into a deep sleep. Stay conscious.” His voice was low, resonant with a grounding certainty.
Minutes ticked by. Though the profuse bleeding had slowed, the tension in the air refused to dissipate. A sudden chill raced down Diluc’s spine. The primal instinct of a veteran warrior screamed a warning: The enemy has found them.
Diluc gazed at Mei for a few more seconds as if to confirm her status one last time, then turned resolutely, vanishing into the night outside the cave. Only the Vision at his hip emitted a faint red glow before it was instantly extinguished, blending him perfectly into the profound darkness.
Outside, the heavy thud of Fatui combat boots grinding against dry leaves grew rapid. The stench of bloodlust was close. The Pyroslinger commander, who had been lurking in the shadows earlier, had not been fooled by the fire phoenix decoy. Standing atop a high ridge, he coldly observed the blood spatters on the ground and barked orders for his squad to scour the area.
As an Electrohammer Vanguard moved to inspect the base of an ancient tree, Diluc spotted him. In the gloom, Diluc’s eyes flashed sharp and predatory.
Without a sound, a dark silhouette lunged from the canopy above. A clean, decisive stroke of a blade sliced through the enemy’s throat.
Squeltch.
Blood erupted from the soldier’s neck, spraying against the nearby trunk. He could only manage a few meaningless gurgles, clutching his throat as he slumped to the cold earth, unable to raise any alarm.
Diluc glided past the corpse in an instant, quickly concealing himself behind another massive tree. His hand tightened around a small, concealed dagger a backup weapon hidden on his person, razor-sharp and lethal as his eyes continuously scanned the battlefield.
A purple glow flickered from the mechanical armor of the Fatui Skirmishers as they closed in on the cave entrance. Just as they prepared to enter, a whistling sound cut through the air from above.
Whoosh!
Swift as a red bolt of lightning, Diluc leapt from his hiding spot, appearing directly above them. He swung his hand with force, his Vision erupting in fury. The fire was no mere spark; it transformed into a cascading torrent of heat, screaming as it spiraled into a firestorm, plunging directly onto the soldiers' heads.
The Electrohammer Vanguard raised his weapon just in time, activating a dense Electro shield around his body. The remaining soldiers huddled behind him, desperate to escape the searing heat.
BOOM!!!
The collision of Pyro and Electro triggered a violent Overloaded reaction. A concussive explosion sent earth and stone flying. Countless purple sparks scattered chaotically, mingling with the red flames to create a cacophony of crackling snaps.
Despite the durability of the Electro shield, the flames from Diluc’s Vision were too fierce. The agonizing heat began to bleed through the defense, turning the vanguard’s hammer glowing red. He roared in pain, his hands on the shaft blistering as if his very flesh were being seared on a forge.
Suddenly, sensing a lethal chill at the back of his neck, Diluc was forced to sever the elemental flow, sidestepping in the blink of an eye. The hammer-wielding soldier was spared by the narrowest of margins.
Diluc touched down, his sharp gaze darting toward the interloper. It was a swarm of Cicin tiny, treacherous creatures summoned by an Electro Cicin Mage, baring their fangs as they fluttered around their mistress.
“Where is that little brat? Don't tell me the great 'Master' has discarded her just to make his own escape easier?”
The Electro Cicin Mage glided forward, her tone mocking and provocative, her eerie giggles echoing through the dead of night.
“Hmph! You’ll have your answer when you reach hell.”
Diluc replied with icy detachment, unswayed. His resentful gaze swept across every Fatui soldier present. In a flash, he lunged into the fray.
Clang! Schwing!
The sounds of clashing weapons rang out sharply, sparks flying in every direction. Despite wielding only a short dagger, Diluc displayed a superior level of combat mastery. He did not meet their blows head-on; instead, he moved like a phantom, weaving through the crushing swings of the thousand-pound hammers, his blade shrouded in flames to strike at the gaps in their armor.
High on the cliffside, the Pyroslinger Bracer observed with calm deliberation. His rifle remained leveled, though he had yet to pull the trigger. He watched Diluc’s every move, not missing a single detail.
“Given his temperament, that girl is certainly still nearby. He is trying to draw us away... which leaves only one possibility.”
His void-black eyes flickered toward the dark cave left behind. A cruel smile tugged at his lips. He slowly drew a small mechanical sphere an internal communication device from his pouch and gave a cold command:
“Initiate ‘Strategy H’. Concentrate all firepower. Pulverize the cave ahead.”
The chilling order echoed in the earpieces of every Fatui soldier. Instantly, the tide of battle shifted.
The Skirmishers surrounding Diluc abruptly altered their tactics. They no longer attacked to kill; instead, they lunged forward like walls of flesh, a relentless onslaught designed to force Diluc further away from the cave entrance.
“An alpha wolf is only truly easy to kill when he is preoccupied with protecting a lamb... That girl is the perfect ‘chain’ to hold him down. What will you do now, Diluc Ragnvindr?” The commander whispered with delight, his finger slowly tightening on the trigger.
Diluc frowned. He recognized the abnormal shift in the enemy formation. They were isolating him from the cave. A sinister premonition flashed through the mind of the seasoned warrior. He spun around, looking toward the glowing red muzzles being raised in unison, aimed directly at Mei’s hiding place.
“NO!!!”
Diluc roared, hurling himself toward them regardless of the danger. He gripped his dagger so tightly his knuckles bled, desperate to sever their line of fire. But the Fatui soldiers blocked his path like mindless, pre-programmed machines. One by one, they threw themselves into suicidal blocks, using their armored bodies to pin him into a corner and severing any hope of rescue.
BANG!
A dry explosion rang out. Red-hot elemental projectiles tore through the fabric of the night.
The world in Diluc’s eyes seemed to constrict. Time slowed down with agonizing cruelty.
The screams of the Fatui, the clashing of metal, the crackling of fire everything abruptly went silent. In his ears, there was only the whistling shriek of death rushing toward the cave.
In that life-or-death moment, Diluc’s crimson pupils contracted to their limit.
A bone-chilling cold raced down his spine, a stark contrast to the heat of the Vision burning in his hand. The image of Mei lying motionless in the cave suddenly overlapped with the memory of that year, the day his father, Crepus, fell before his very eyes while he stood helpless.
“No... It can’t be...”
The thought flashed through his mind like a lightning bolt, carrying a rare surge of panic that the “Darknight Hero” never showed. That feeling of powerlessness, the very thing he loathed most, the feeling that had driven him to discard his title as a Knight was returning, drowning him like a dark tide.
Diluc wanted to scream, but his throat was constricted. He wanted to reach her, but the wall of Fatui flesh and steel held him fast like shackles.
His arm, clutching the dagger, trembled violently, not from fear, but from the sheer force of his grip, his veins bulging as if he intended to crush the steel in his hand. Blood rushed to his brain, yet his heart plummeted into an abyss.
He saw the trajectory of the shells. He calculated the point of impact. And cruelly, he calculated... that he wouldn't make it.
His confidence, the pride of the strong, all shattered against the brutal reality: he had been careless. And the price for this negligence was the life of the girl who had risked everything to save him.
“DON'T!”
The heart-wrenching cry finally tore from his chest, carrying a soul-deep despair. It wasn't just a shout; it was a belated plea to fate itself. His eyes widened, reflecting the destructive flames descending upon the cave, etching a pain into his soul that he might never forgive himself for as long as he lived.
Mei sat huddled in a dark corner of the cave, her eyes fixed on the countless incoming artillery shells. She tried to budge, her trembling hand reaching up slightly before dropping back down, utterly powerless. Tears streamed down her face as she closed her eyes, surrendering to the cold hand of fate. Memories of her loved ones flickered through her mind, one by one, playing slowly like a warm, nostalgic film.
“Dammit! I haven't even made it home yet...” Mei drifted into a desperate internal scream, her teeth clenched in agony.
The flaming projectiles hurtled forward, carrying a lethal destructive force that was now only inches away from the cave entrance. In that heartbeat, the very air seemed to warp under an invisible pressure. There were no footsteps, no warnings.
Swish!
A cold sound, sharper than a razor's edge, resonated from the void. Instantly, a streak of teal light tore through the night, moving so fast it left only a lingering phantom trail behind.
In the next second, the incoming shells were sliced into halves, then quarters, before disintegrating into thousands of dusty fragments. However, the gunpowder within did not remain silent. As the Pyro elemental cores were struck, they detonated in unison. Yet, instead of a chaotic blast, the gale from Xiao’s strike created a zone of immense pressure, forcing the crimson sparks to swirl violently along the trajectory of his polearm.
BOOM!
Shocking explosions thundered through the air, but rather than spreading freely, they were shredded into millions of tiny embers by invisible wind blades. A massive ring of fire erupted, brilliant as a Red Spider Lily blooming in the dead of night, but all its heat and shockwave were hurled backward by Xiao’s jade-colored winds.
On the ground, Diluc saw only a blinding halo of light turning the entire forest red, yet not a single spark touched the cave entrance.
Amidst the dazzling fireworks and the crimson metal shards raining down like a localized storm, a slender silhouette descended slowly from the sky. The light from the explosion behind the youth illuminated his fluttering sash and his cold, unruffled features.
The Adeptas turned toward the cave, observing the condition of the girl within, indifferent to the dying embers still dancing upon the tip of his jade spear, the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear.
The rain of fire continued to fall behind him, creating a scene both magnificent and cruel. It highlighted the transcendental aura and the profound loneliness of the Yaksha, before the flames finally flickered out in the cold winds of the Eirk Forest.
Under the silver moonlight filtering through the leaves, his eyes shone with the brilliance of amber, yet they were as cold as two blocks of pure jade polished over millennia. Bathed in that light, his gaze became even more piercing and majestic a solid, unbreakable fortress.
Xiao turned his head slightly, casting a glance toward the Fatui. It was a look so bone-chilling that everyone present shuddered, feeling an invisible weight crush their shoulders. It was a silent, ironclad declaration: No one else would be permitted to step foot near that cave again.