"Use Electro! What's that hammer in your hand for, decoration?"
"The Fatui are all soaked in water. Are those Abyss Mages idiots? Can't they see a simple Frozen reaction right in front of them?"
Lumine waved her fists as she watched the battle below, her mouth chattering nonstop like a commander directing troops from above.
"Lumine, you remind me of those spectators in Liyue Harbor who watch people play chess and can't stop giving advice."
"Really? Never mind that. This is a rare chance to see villains fighting villains. Mona, aren't you going to watch?"
Mona shook her head. She noticed that not only Lumine, but Paimon and Klee had also been caught up in the excitement, waving their little fists and cheering for the struggling Fatui.
"Go, go, bad Fatui uncles! Klee's bombs are all ready. She'll make sure you're satisfied!"
What kind of terrifying words were those? Was she the only sane one left? Mona adjusted her wizard hat and glanced at Shenhe. Seeing her unmoved, Mona breathed a sigh of relief. At least not everyone had been corrupted by Lumine. Shenhe was still reliable.
There was a pool of water in the clearing below Starglow Cavern, and most of the Abyss Mages were Cryo-aligned. At first, the Fatui had the upper hand thanks to their numbers. But the Abyss Mages were far more cunning than the Fatui's brutes.
After accidentally freezing a few Fatui soldiers, the Abyss Mages started deliberately luring them toward the pool. When the Fatui let their guard down, the Abyss Mages hit them with a perpetual Freeze tactic. One by one, the Fatui dropped like dumplings into a pot, frozen solid and sinking to the bottom.
Seeing so many of their comrades drown, the remaining Fatui began to waver. But the Abyss Mages weren't about to let them go. Their big brother, the Hydro Abyss Herald, had gone to deal with another fragment of the Nail. If they could just stall until he returned, the Fatui were as good as dead.
The poor Abyss Mages were still locked in combat, unaware that their big brother had already been reduced to ash—or rather, not even ash remained.
"Looks like they're about to stop. I haven't had my fill yet."
Lumine watched the two sides fall back into a standoff. This was way more exciting than fighting herself. Seeing them start talking again, she couldn't help but complain.
"Those Fatui are such cowards. They're already negotiating? Not only cowards, but also stupid. While the Abyss Mages aren't paying attention, they should just sneak attack them."
"Stick 'em with the pointy end. A few of them would be enough to take out all those Abyss Mages."
Mona wanted to argue, but after thinking it over, Lumine wasn't wrong. And the idea gave her an inspiration. Since she could use Hydro to move underground undetected, maybe she should start carrying a knife.
It wasn't a bad idea. As an astrologist, her hand-to-hand combat was weak. If she had a way to instantly eliminate enemies, a little underhandedness was acceptable.
"Alright, the time is right. The Fatui and Abyss Mages down there should be running low on elemental energy. They're all bark now."
"Klee, you can start dropping your bombs. Those Abyss Mages without elemental energy are no different from plush toys. A few bombs should wipe them all out."
Hearing the command to start bombing, Klee selectively ignored the rest of Lumine's words. Eagerly, she grabbed her prepared bombs and started tossing them down.
"Jumpy Dumpty!"
"Blazing Fire!"
"Everything can be blown up!"
The bombs raining from above startled both the Abyss Mages and the Fatui. Before they could figure out what was falling from the sky, those cute-looking Jumpy Dumpties began to flash.
Amid the explosions and rising black smoke, the Abyss Mages' screams and the Fatui's curses gradually faded. When the noise from below finally ceased, Lumine led the group down to the cavern floor.
Looking around, there wasn't a single patch of intact ground—only blast marks everywhere. The ice that had floated on the pool had been completely melted by the Pyro energy from Klee's bombs.
"Oh my god, are Klee's Jumpy Dumpties really that powerful?"
Paimon stared at the devastation in disbelief. This was terrifying. If Klee could do this at such a young age, then when she grew up, she could probably blow up the entire Starglow Cavern with ease.
Mona swallowed hard. This level of destruction was truly worthy of someone carrying the legacy of great knowledge. At Klee's age—or even now—it would take her considerable effort to cause this much damage.
"This must be one of the things causing the snowstorm on the mountain. I have to say, this Cryo energy is terrifying. If it weren't for this Warming Seelie, we'd all be frozen solid."
"Now we just need to thaw this fragment. I remember that red rocks appear near ice like this. They can melt it."
Lumine looked around and spotted a red rock in a corner. Klee tilted her head at the rock. She could sense strong Pyro energy inside it. Maybe she could use it to make an even more powerful Jumpy Dumpty.
Feeling the cold around her, Paimon suddenly thought she'd never tried frozen Whopperflower Nectar before. She pulled out a bottle and took a lick. The unique texture of the chilled nectar made her eyes light up.
"Hehe, frozen Whopperflower Nectar is delicious! So cold and smooth and sweet. Slurp~"
Seeing Paimon enjoying herself so much, Klee couldn't resist asking for a bottle too. She had never tried frozen Whopperflower Nectar before.
"Is it really that good, little Paimon? Klee wants to try some too."
"It's really good! Here, little Klee, have a bottle."
While talking, Paimon didn't notice the nectar on her tongue. A drop fell onto the fragment of the Nail. Without thinking, Paimon leaned in and licked it off.
"Lumine, hemp! (Help!) My tongue is thtuck! (My tongue is stuck!)"
Lumine watched Paimon lick the frozen shard and was dumbfounded. Didn't Paimon know that in freezing conditions, you shouldn't lick anything with your tongue? This emergency food managed to find trouble even when there was none.