Chapter 10: The Black Blade, Reaper

Girls are always troublesome, and Amber and the others kept shopping until the sun was about to set, barely satisfying themselves.

The main shoppers were obviously Galara and Collei, anyway, Ember didn't see Amber change out of her clothes.

The red rabbit ears headband bounced up and down, indicating the owner's happy mood. Time spent with friends is always short-lived, and Amber looked somewhat regretfully at the setting sun in the sky.

There were still many fun places she hadn't introduced to Galara and Collei, but unfortunately, time didn't allow it.

"Let's call it a day here! I'll find you guys to play another time!" Amber parted ways with Ember and the other three at a street corner.

Then she rushed towards a house in a hurry.

To Ember's great surprise, there was a fluffy rabbit doll at the entrance of Amber's house, bouncing into her arms.

**[Such a magical creature.]** Ember only glanced at it for a moment before pulling Galara and Collei away.

After a day of relaxation, Collei seemed to have loosened up a lot. At this moment, she was wearing a light green dress and playing around with Galara.

**[It seems I have a talent for comforting people.]** Ember listened to the laughter not far away and couldn't help feeling a little smug.

Whether protecting or destroying, he excelled at both.

"Come here, I have something to tell you." Ember waved to the two girls in the distance.

"What? What? Are we going to play again tonight?" Galara ran over in her usual carefree manner.

"Galara, why are you always so playful?" Collei regained her feeling of being the older sister.

"I have something to do tomorrow, take care of yourselves, I should be back by the afternoon." Ember casually said.

Then he noticed the atmosphere visibly deflating.

Seeing the misty-eyed looks from the two, Ember hurriedly shouted. "Hey hey hey, why are you looking at me so sadly? It's not like I'm abandoning you."

"Really?" Galara seemed somewhat skeptical.

"Really!" Ember said decisively.

"Ember brother, be careful." Collei bit her lip. She had experienced and seen more.

Ember was somewhat surprised to see Collei 's reaction. Then he smiled and ruffled Collei's emerald green hair, saying, "Thinking too deeply sometimes can make you lose courage. Klee, try to take it easy. It's okay to make mistakes, I've got your back now."

Collei's body stiffened for a moment. After a while, she looked up, her flushed cheeks showing a bright smile. "Then I'll rely on Ember brother from now on!"

But this atmosphere was soon interrupted by Galara. Galara took Ember's other hand, placed it on her head, and said, "What about me? What about me? Does Ember brother have anything to say to me?"

Ember looked at Galara, who was rubbing against his hand, feeling a bit helpless. He patted her head and said "You don't need to change, the term 'energetic fool' suits you."

"Ah! I'm not a fool!" Galara protested, not liking being called foolish.

"But I really like it." Ember added.

This time it was Galara's turn to blush. Actually, being called a fool wasn't too bad, especially with Ember brother protecting her.

"Hey hey hey! Wait for me!" While Galara was giggling foolishly, Ember and Collei had already walked far away. She hurriedly called out and caught up with them.

The laughter in Mondstadt at sunset grew a little louder.

...

Leaving Mondstadt, Ember shouted to Galara and Collei on the city wall:

"Alright, let's head back!"

The scene of parting was ordinary, and Ember's shout didn't attract too much attention, at most some people glanced at him a few more times due to his peculiar attire.

Ember didn't look back at Mondstadt behind him, his pace gradually quickening. Before long, the city of Mondstadt disappeared from sight.

Taking out the map, Ember remembered Kaeya's words from yesterday.

**[If possible, go easy. Killing two diplomats has already angered Snezhnaya. If too many people die this time, they might send a new envoy, which would be troublesome.]**

**[What a troublesome request.]** Ember shook his head, but he could understand. Being weak, one must compromise at the right time. He didn't dislike such actions.

Along the way, Ember hid his figure, not even bothering to look at the scenery ahead.

**[By the way, that big tree looks a bit special, I'll check it out later.]** Although he couldn't afford to pay attention to the scenery in front of him, it didn't mean he couldn't see what was behind him.

The vision of the undead was 360 degrees!

Under Ember's sprint, it only took him two hours to run from Mondstadt to Eagle's Gate Beach.

Squatting in a bush, Ember watched the bustling Eagle's Gate Beach from afar.

Although he had become invisible, Ember still huddled in the bushes.

Because atmosphere was everything, such as assassinations required careful concealment; invisibility alone wasn't enough—this was Ember's understanding of assassination.

Under Ember's spying, the "culprit" of the Blackfire Incident was soon escorted to Eagle's Gate Beach.

The "culprit" was wearing a thick black coat, and even in this situation, her fiery red hair wasn't a bit messy.

At this moment, her hands were shackled, surrounded by a large number of Fatui soldiers.

The direction they were headed was the large ship anchored by the sea. It seemed that Snezhnaya attached great importance to this Blackfire Incident, going to such lengths to transport the "culprit" back for trial.

Diluc looked around at the distribution of people. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. This number of people wasn't enough for him to fight.

Ignoring Kaeya's mentioned reinforcements, Diluc decided to go solo.

He effortlessly broke free from the shackles that had long been tampered with, and before the Fatui soldiers could react, he began his attack.

Majestic black flames surged out from his body, knocking down the Fatui's soldiers around him.

"The culprit is trying to escape!"

"Get him! Subdue him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

As a military organization that traversed the continent of Teyvat, the Fatui quickly reacted and swiftly launched a counterattack against Diluc.

Dancing fireflies, whistling bullets, sharp flying knives—all flew towards Diluc, but they couldn't stop his footsteps.

One Fatui soldier after another fell under his hands, but they all only fainted; he still understood Mondstadt's predicament.

Diluc rubbed his sore arms, preparing to continue the fight. Just then, a black shadow flashed by.

Diluc raised his arm, blocking the attacker's blow. The strong force sent Diluc flying far away.

"It seems I'm still not used to fighting." Doctor looked at Diluc, who was getting up, with some emotion.

"Oh, Eyepatch? Yours is the worst. Join us, and you have the qualifications to become an executor." The doctor stared at Diluc with interest, actually issuing an invitation directly.

Diluc felt a chill down his spine under the doctor's gaze, as if he was being regarded as a laboratory rat.

He spat, contemptuously saying, **"Heh, I don't even look down on the likes of the Fatui."**

"It seems there's nothing to talk about? You're indeed a barbarian who doesn't understand the situation." The doctor's face darkened.

Two figures shuttled back and forth on Eagle's Gate Beach, the sound of fists and feet colliding echoing throughout the beach.

Ember watched as Diluc, already bruised, realized he couldn't continue and was about to change his tactics. But before that, he needed to change into armor.

"Huff..." Diluc gasped heavily, his body already bearing some wounds.

Those were the works of the Fatui soldiers in the distance. In his fight with the doctor, he either faced the doctor's fists or the soldiers' bullets.

Clearly, he chose the latter.

"It seems I have to increase the power of the Delusion." Diluc's mouth felt bitter. To lighten the burden, he had always used the most basic functions of the Delusion.

But now was not the time to be stingy. If he didn't exert himself now, he might not survive today.

But a sudden change occurred. Diluc saw a tall female figure behind the doctor, appearing out of nowhere.

The woman was covered in silver armor, slender and tall. She wore a veil over the armor, making her more agile.

She reached out, grabbed the doctor, and lifted him onto her knee. With immense strength and a special grabbing technique, the doctor couldn't break free from the woman's grip.

At this moment, the doctor was like a lamb to the slaughter.

Then Diluc saw the woman's free hand produce a curved, forked dagger.

*Sss...* Blood splattered as Ember inserted the black blade into the doctor's waist, and then his eyes widened in shock.

This person, he didn't have a waist!

(End of this chapter)