Tartaglia raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, gazing up at Yunqin in the sky, his eyes filled with a complex mixture of emotions: Not long ago, during their sparring session, she had been smiling as she said, "You should hold back your Electro element a bit more, or you'll hurt yourself."
But now, she was controlling monsters, trying to drive Liyue to total annihilation.
Lumine gripped the Festering Desire, its blade trembling slightly as it resonated with the Abyssal aura, and the power surging inexplicably within her body made her fingertips go numb.
Yet, waves of sharp pain pulsed from the wound on her lower abdomen, cold sweat trickled down her cheeks, and her arms began to shake from the continuous combat, making it hard to even hold the sword steady.
She gritted her teeth, staring fixedly at Yunqin, repeatedly telling herself: I can't give up, she must still be in there.
"Ah!"
Several piercing screams suddenly tore through the battlefield, like sharp knives stabbing into everyone's hearts.
A breach had appeared in the Millelith's defensive line at the harbor!
The Seaborn swarm, which had been held back, suddenly launched a fierce attack, as several massive crab-like Seaborn smashed through the fortifications with their giant claws.
Hard rock splinters flew everywhere, and before the soldiers could react, slimy tentacles wrapped around their ankles, dragging them into the ink-black sea without even a chance to struggle.
More Seaborn flooded into Liyue Harbor through the breach. The doors of the nearest houses were smashed open, wooden walls collapsed with a crash, and three civilians huddled under a table were dragged out by the Seaborn.
A woman clutched her young child, and another old man shielded them with his body. The child's cries and the woman's pleas mingled, piercing the ears with a dull ache.
Yunqin's gaze swept past Tartaglia and Lumine, landing on those shivering figures. A sharp voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
"Do you want to die? Why stand so close to her! What if she hurts you!" These were words a woman had once said to her child on the streets of Liyue Harbor, but now they had become a cruel irony.
The warmth she had once cherished had all become blades that rejected her. The people she had fought with all her might to protect were now struggling under the claws of the monsters she controlled.
Yunqin clicked her tongue. The crimson light deep within her scarlet eyes intensified, and the Moonlight Strings at her fingertips tightened slightly.
As if receiving a command, the Seaborn raised their claws and giant pincers high. The cold-glinting blades were about to fall, and the woman's desperate cries made the very air grow heavy.
At this critical moment, a breeze carrying the scent of fresh grass and dandelions swept past.
Without any earth-shaking sound, the bodies of those few Seaborn that had broken through the defensive line were suddenly shredded by invisible wind blades in the blink of an eye.
Black blood splashed onto the green slate and was then swept into a fine mist by the wind, dissipating into the air.
Immediately after, the sky erupted with a brilliant golden light. The warm radiance pierced through the dark purple clouds, descending like a gift from the gods into the ink-black sea.
The Millelith who had been dragged into the water by the Seaborn were now encased in thick Geo shields. They slowly floated to the surface and were escorted back to the shore.
The surfaces of the shields were still stained with the remains of Seaborn and black blood, yet they remained as sturdy as the walls of Liyue Harbor, impervious even to the toxic mist.
Two auras of majesty, both far surpassing those of the Abyss, suddenly descended upon the battlefield, gentle yet undeniable. Even the chilling aura radiating from Yunqin and Bright Moon behind her was forced back, and the toxic mist in the air began to dissipate.
Yunqin frowned as she looked up.
From within the golden light, a figure dressed in divine attire slowly descended.
Anemo elements swirled around him like soft clouds, and the lyre in his hand glowed with a gentle white light. It was Venti!
He landed beside Lumine and Tartaglia, his fingertips lightly plucking the strings.
The melodious tune flowed like a spring stream into everyone's heart, forming a stark contrast to the despairing elegy played by Yunqin's violin. The tensed nerves of the civilians on the shore relaxed slightly, and even the child's cries quieted.
"Venti!" Lumine called out in surprise.
She was about to step forward but was stopped by Venti raising a finger.
"Don't go revealing my identity out there, you two." Venti winked, his eyes full of mischief as he glanced thoughtfully at Tartaglia.
The latter nodded in understanding, quietly suppressing the aura of his Foul Legacy as the purple lightning gradually softened.
The three of them turned their gazes simultaneously toward Yunqin high in the sky. Venti sighed softly, the strings under his fingertips trembling slightly. "The Abyss is certainly skilled at sowing discord. I should have expected them to use this trick to provoke Liyue and Yunqin against each other once I knew they could disguise themselves as anyone."
He paused, his tone tinged with a hint of heartache. "What a pitiful child. The anger, sorrow, and despair within her are so dense they cannot be dissolved... In a thousand years, I have never seen such intense negative emotions, as if she has been abandoned by the entire world."
"Then how can we wake her up?" Lumine asked urgently, her voice trembling, her fingertips turning white from clenching them. "She's being manipulated by the Abyss, she didn't do this on purpose! If this keeps up, she'll truly become Liyue's criminal, and she'll break!"
Tartaglia said nothing, but he clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white from the force.
He remembered Yunqin smiling as she said, "Let's get stronger together and protect Liyue," and how she looked, aggrieved yet refusing to give up, when she had carved a mark into Rex Lapis's statue...
We must not let her be completely consumed by the Abyss, and we must not let her become the very person she hates most!
A smile tugged at the corners of Venti's lips, his eyes filled with encouragement. "Since words aren't working, then..."
"Then we'll fight her until she's willing to listen!" Lumine suddenly finished his sentence, her eyes lighting up like a lost traveler who had found their way.
Paimon had said so: "The best way to deal with stubborn guys is to reason with our fists, to let her know there is still someone waiting for her."
"Clever." Venti nodded with a smile.
A gentle breeze of Anemo brushed over Lumine and Tartaglia's wounds.
A pale green fluorescence lit up at the site of the injuries, like the new sprouts of spring. The pain gradually receded, and their exhaustion eased slightly.
"Do you know why the old man and I arrived so late? The last time the Abyss was in Mondstadt, they used a barrier to block out the outside world. This time we have to thank the old man for his help; we put in a lot of effort to break through their shield."
Changing the subject, he looked at Tartaglia teasingly, his voice full of playfulness, "We couldn't just stand by and watch them take away his 'dearest' person, could we?"
The face beneath Tartaglia's mask instantly flushed red. He hurriedly turned his head away and coughed twice, trying to hide his fluster.
Seeing this, Venti burst out laughing. His laughter was as crisp as wind chimes swaying in the breeze, dispelling the somber atmosphere of the battlefield.
"Don't worry, Mondstadt's reinforcements will be here soon."
Just as he spoke, the sound of rhythmic marching steps echoed from afar.
Immediately after, a blast of freezing ice elements surged from the distance, instantly freezing a vast area of Seaborn. The ice sculptures gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and even the air seemed to be frozen solid.
A blazing fire bird descended from the sky, its flames scorching hot as it plunged into the swarm of Seaborn, instantly consuming dozens of monsters and leaving a ground covered in ashes.
A gentle Anemo element enveloped the wounded Millelith like gentle hands, easing their pain.
The Knights of Favonius, led by Jean, Diluc, and Kaeya, had finally arrived!
Jean held her longsword, her posture tall and straight, her cape fluttering in the wind.
She precisely pierced the skull of a Seaborn trying to sneak attack Ningguang, her movements clean and decisive.