DISCLAIMER: All characters and settings are owned by miHoYo.
Lisa's destination was Angel's Share, the city's most popular tavern. The sounds of cheering grew louder as she made her way down the stone steps at the end of the alley by Timaeus' alchemy table, she saw that the tavern was quite crowded, its patrons for the night consisting mostly of adventurers that wanted to relax after a long day in the wilds. She then saw the bartender, Charles, outside chatting with Patton, the tavern's barker.
"Good evening, Charles, Patton." greeted Lisa as she approached the pair.
"Oh hey Miss Lisa!" said Patton, who suddenly turned pale as he remembered he had borrowed a book from the library but forgot if it was already due. "W-what b-brings you here?"
"Don't worry Patton, I'm not here on library business. If you were wondering, that book you borrowed won't be due for three more days. Hopefully you won't forget to return it on time." she replied, and chuckled lightly as the barker sighed in relief.
"How can I help you, Miss Lisa?" said Charles. The bartender looked slightly surprised to see the librarian at the tavern, as the latter wasn't exactly a known patron.
"Is Master Diluc around tonight, by any chance? I'm afraid I have something to discuss with him." replied Lisa, her tone made it clear that she hadn't come for small talk.
"Yes, he's actually here. I'll go let him know, you can wait here at the side of the tavern." Charles then gestured to the open space near them before heading to the tavern entrance.
Inside, Diluc was busy attending to the orders of the tavern's customers from behind the counter. It was a full house at Angel's Share, and the adventurers were known to be more than eager to request extra servings of Mondstadt's finest Dandelion Wine. The winery owner knew he was in for a long night, not that it bothered him, as it simply meant that business was booming.
When he saw Charles hurriedly making his way to him, he quickly figured that something had come up.
"Master Diluc, someone's looking for you." said Charles as approached Diluc. The owner simply raised an eyebrow, signaling Charles to continue. "It's Miss Lisa. She's outside, I told her to wait at the side of the tavern." he continued but kept his voice low to a near whisper.
"Is she alone?" asked Diluc, curious to know if Lisa had brought other knights with her.
While the Knights of Favonius are also known patrons of the Angel's Share; from the rank and file all the way to Grand Master Varka himself, they occasionally come by on official business as the tavern is also known for being a sort of information hub. Diluc, however, usually left those dealings to Charles, as he preferred to avoid directly getting involved with the knights for as much as he could.
"She's alone, but it looked like she came here in a hurry." replied Charles.
Diluc mulled over the matter for a moment as he assess the mage's motives. Having come alone to ask for him personally, Diluc figured that Lisa had an urgent matter to discuss.
"I'll take care of things here." he added, having understood that Diluc would want to attend to his new guest as soon as possible..
Diluc made his way out the back door on the other end of the counter and rounded the corner to the side of the tavern, where he saw the purple-clad mage leaning against wooden wall of the tavern as she waited for him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure this time, Lisa? You do realize we have a full house." he asked with mock sarcasm as he approached her, knowing the mage wouldn't mind some light-hearted banter.
"I wouldn't have even considered disturbing you if I had a choice, Master Diluc. That being said, I am in need of your assistance." said Lisa as she folded her arms. "Are you aware about the Abyss Order's presence beyond Dragonspine?"
"The Abyss Order?" Diluc's eyes widened at the mention of the organization. "No, this is the first I've heard of this. At Dragonspine, of all places? That's the furthest they've been from Mondstadt, what are they doing all the way there?" he asked, eager to learn more.
"The Reconnaissance Company recently spotted a group of Abyss Mages rounding up Hilichurls along the shores south of Dragonspine, which is already Liyue territory. Right now, they're still monitoring the situation, but they're very much ready to attack the enemy group if need be." began Lisa. "Kaeya has set off as reinforcement for the 4th Company so I doubt they'll find themselves in much trouble dealing with the enemy once he's there."
"You've watched the enemy for so long and you still wait? Typical Knights of Favonius." Diluc thought to himself, resisting the urge to throw an insult against the knights.
If it were up to him, he'd simply launch a surprise attack on the Abyss Order, wiping out their forces before they have the chance to react, and maybe coerce the Abyss Mages into sharing some useful information along the way. Still, he knew that the area in question was already beyond Mondstadt's borders and anything they do would potentially be a diplomatic risk, something he knew the knights would not prefer to take as a first option.
"However, that isn't what I've come here for. It's about Jean." began Lisa as Diluc listened intently. "Have you heard about the members of the knights that have mysteriously gone missing?"
Diluc nodded. "I do, Huffman came by last night and asked if I knew anything. Unfortunately, I wasn't any help since I didn't know anything, but what does this have to do with Jean?" he asked.
"Unfortunately, with some of her most capable knights already out in Dragonspine, she decided to deal with the missing knights issue by going out to the Thousand Winds Temple herself." replied Lisa.
"Alone? That's quite uncharacteristic of her." replied Diluc. "Perhaps she has an idea of what could have been the cause?"
"To be honest, I don't think she does." said the librarian, who then took the chance to open up her anxieties. "We have absolutely no idea whatever it is that's out there. The second knight we sent out was supposed to report back on his findings, but as you may have heard, he too went missing. I simply fear that walking into there completely blind is not the wisest choice, even for someone as strong as the Acting Grand Master."
Diluc's expression turned into one of concern. Despite the inherent danger presented by not having a full grasp of the situation, Jean still felt the need to personally intervene. He completely understood Lisa's concerns, but did the librarian's instincts tell her that the threat was so great that she needed to get even Diluc involved? Thinking about it only worsened his own concern for Jean.
"How long ago did she leave?" Diluc asked as he mentally prepared himself to go after Jean.
"About half an hour ago." replied the librarian. "But the Thousand Winds Temple isn't a long trek, she may already have arrived by now."
"I can still cut through the woods and get there sooner." Diluc turned to leave but was stopped when Lisa put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait. Take this." she said as she held her hand out towards him.
"What's this?" his eyes focused on the small vial filled with a pale green liquid that was on her hand.
"A healing potion. It's not as potent as healing magic however, so think of it as emergency medicine."
Diluc nodded and put the vial in his coat pocket before he ran for the city gates. As he ran, he pulled out his whistle and called for his Umbertail Falcon. The bird of prey's screech echoed in the air a few moments later, as Diluc spotted it flying towards him. The falcon carried his claymore, its claws firmly holding on to the grip. Once he made it to the bridge, the falcon accelerated forward and released the sword from its grasp a short distance ahead. Diluc then caught the sword before it hit the ground.
"I hope you haven't gotten yourself into too much trouble, Jean..." he thought to himself as he rushed to her location.
More than anyone, Diluc had the utmost belief in Jean's capabilities. By the time he left the knights, she had already stood amongst their strongest warriors, and fighting together during the recent Stormterror incident only reaffirmed this belief. And yet, he knew she still lacked the experience of fighting the unknown, something that can easily become a disadvantage, regardless of her strength.
Diluc diverted from the trail to the Thousand Winds Temple and cut across the hills of Starfell Valley as he intended, taking a much shorter route towards the temple. Along the way, he passed by a couple of Hilichurl camps that were suspiciously abandoned, making him all the more cautious of what lay ahead. He kept going on his path until he heard the sounds of something running along the forest with him, briefly stopping him in his tracks.
When he went to investigate, Diluc found that the source of the sounds were the two missing knights, Harry and Guy, who were running in the direction of Mondstadt. He figured that Jean had succeeded in finding them, but then grew worried when he found no sign of the Acting Grand Master with them. Fearing that something might have happened to her, Diluc ran towards the two knights to question them, both startled to see the former Cavalry Captain suddenly appear before them.
"Where's Jean? Isn't she with you!?" asked Diluc urgently.
"Master Jean, she-she rescued us from the Hilichurls! But the Abyss Order suddenly appeared...and...and!" Harry struggled to get his words out as he tried to catch his breath.
"Take it easy, Harry." Guy, the more composed of the two, put a hand on Harry's shoulder to calm him down. "It all happened so suddenly. After she helped us escape, we were all on our way back when those Abyss Mages appeared and the Ruin Guards in the temple suddenly came to. We wanted to help fight them off but Master Jean ordered us to continue our escape and get word back to Mondstadt." he then told Diluc.
"Dammit, they couldn't have seen this coming..." Diluc cursed under his breath as he finally made sense of the situation.
The Abyss Order's target had been Jean from the very beginning. Using the Hilichurls, they took the knights captive to draw her out, knowing she couldn't resist her men going missing. The forces at Dragonspine then served as a diversion so that the knights would be forced to spread themselves thin, increasing the chances of Jean coming to the Thousand Winds Temple alone. The Abyss had fooled the knights into thinking they had retreated all their forces towards Dragonspine, and had Jean fall into their hands, unaware that she was walking into their trap.
"Master Diluc, please, you have to help her." pleaded Harry. "Those Abyss Mages, they looked like they were controlling the Ruin Guards in the temple!"
"I'll go help Jean, you two get back to Mondstadt!" Diluc then ran as fast as he could towards the Thousand Winds Temple.
Cutting through the woods, Diluc eventually arrived in the middle of the stone stairs leading to the temple. As he got closer, the sounds of explosions from the battle started becoming clearer, and the faint glow over the hill began to glow brighter. Preparing to jump into the fray as soon as he saw the chance, Diluc drew his sword from his back and gripped it tightly. He heard the sounds of a Ruin Guard preparing to attack, and assumed his stance as he ran to the scene.
However, he felt a wave of horror come over him as he saw Jean fly into the broken stone wall after being hit by the Ruin Guard's attack, her cry of pain echoed through the temple before she hit the ground hard a few moments later. He then turned to see the spinning Ruin Guard slowly come to a stop as the two Abyss Mages that floated above the machine danced inside their shields.
"No..."
Without a second thought, Diluc began channeling an enormous amount of Pyro energy on his sword. Flames began to engulf the entire length of the blade as more and more Pyro energy traveled through it. He watched the Abyss Mages teleported to her and prepared to deal the killing blow as Jean remained motionless on the ground. He then gripped his sword tighter and proceeded to attack.
"Burn!"
Diluc swung at the air in front of him with all of his strength, releasing the flames that had overflowed from his blade. The blaze eventually materialized in the form of a phoenix that darted straight towards the Abyss Mages. The blazing wings hit both the mages before they could deal their attack, and were then swept away from Jean. The radiating Pyro melted their shields and they turned into dust beneath the overwhelming flames.
As the Ruin Guard started to turn towards its new target, Diluc rushed at the automaton before it could react and cleaved its armor with several hard strikes as chunks of metal scattered around the area. The flames that lingered on his sword created a whirlwind that followed him as he laid waste to the machine. After the barrage of slashes from his claymore, Diluc watched as the Ruin Guard fell to the ground and subsequently explode.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he then frantically looked around, eventually spotting Jean by the broken stone wall, her body still motionless. As he ran towards her, he called out her name several times, hoping she would respond.
Once he got to her, it was immediately apparent that she was in bad shape. She was unconscious and her breathing was shallow, none of which were encouraging signs. Her pristine white uniform was now sullied with patches of dirt and streaks of blood that ran along the cuts on her legs. Diluc also spotted cuts running along her arms, while her cloak was torn in several places. Her face had only a few scratches but the faint trail of blood on the edge of the mouth showed how badly she was hurt.
His mind raced until he suddenly remembered the potion that Lisa had given him. Carefully cradling her by the shoulder, he opened the vial and gently pressed it against the corner of her mouth, tilting her head slightly to enable her to ingest the potion. Almost immediately, traces of Anemo energy radiated from her wounds as they gradually closed. Having realized that Jean was now out of any immediate danger, Diluc let out a deep sigh of relief.
However, Jean still didn't come to, and Diluc quickly remembered Lisa telling him the potion's healing abilities weren't as potent as Jean's Anemo abilities. He took her sword that laid on the ground beside her, as well as the sheath that she had strapped to her waist and slung it across his shoulder, the now sheathed sword resting at his back along with his own claymore. He then gently lifted her off the ground in a princess carry and made his way out of the temple, heading back to Mondstadt.
When they got to Windrise, Jean began to stir awake and her eyes fluttered open to see Diluc, who kept his eyes on the road ahead.
"Diluc?" she weakly spoke, and he glanced at her for a moment. "What...happened?"
"A lot." replied Diluc, along with a light chuckle. "We're nearly back to Mondstadt, so just rest up." he told her.
Jean recalled the feeling of a comfortable warmth before she passed out, and although a blur, she also remembered seeing someone come to her rescue. She smiled as she began to realize that it was Diluc.
"You came for me. I'm glad."
Her voice was soft, but Diluc couldn't help but smile as her words reached him. He then felt her rest her head against his arm as she drifted back to sleep.
Once they were on the bridge by the city gates, Diluc was met by a group of knights who ran over to check on their Grand Master.
"Master Diluc! You're back!" said Huffman, the senior knight leading the group. "Master Jean...how is she?" he then asked.
"She's alright for now, but I'm afraid she still needs help." replied Diluc. He then saw Lisa walking up to them, with the deaconess Barbara in tow.
"Jean!" Barbara cried out as she ran towards Diluc. "Big Sister..." her voice trembled as she tried her hardest to fight back her tears.
"Thank the Archons you made it in time." said Lisa, who looked Jean over and ascertained her injuries, finding nothing but her dirty and damaged uniform. The librarian then realized that Diluc must have given the Acting Grand Master the potion she had given him.
"She could have been worse if it weren't for that potion, Lisa." said Diluc, confirming Lisa's assumption. "Thank you."
"Given that you had to use it, I would assume Jean went through quite a lot." said Lisa. She then put a hand on Barbara's shoulder, reassuring the young deaconess who was still trying to fight back her tears. "Barbara dear, can I count on you to take care of Jean from here?" she gently asked.
"Yes, of course. A-Anything for my big sister. There should be room for her at the cathedral." Barbara replied, her voice still full of worry for her sister.
Lisa then gestured to the knights to quickly get a stretcher for Jean, only for Diluc to interrupt them as they began to move.
"There's no need, I'll go and take her there." he told them.
Diluc began to walk into the city gates with Barbara, only this time Lisa interrupted them by calling his name. With Jean still in his arms, he simply resorted to looking over his shoulder towards the librarian.
"I'm sorry to ask more of you after everything, but can you meet with us at Jean's office later?" began Lisa. "Kaeya and the others are on their way back to the city and I plan to discuss the matter further with everyone. I'd appreciate it if you can be there with us."
"I'll be there." replied Diluc before he continued on his way, the young deaconess following behind.
Diluc and Barbara made their way towards the cathedral in silence, and along the way, Diluc couldn't help but notice the latter's distress. He assumed that Lisa had brought Harry and Guy over to Barbara to have their wounds treated, and found out about Jean staying behind to take on the Abyss Order by herself. Having known the Gunnhildr family since his youth, Diluc is one of few aware of the true nature behind Jean and Barbara's complicated relationship.
All this time, he felt guilty for not getting to her sooner. He had arrived just in time to save her, but a few moments too late as he came upon the sight of her getting hit by the Ruin Guard's attack; the way her pained scream echoed as she flew into the wall and fell to the ground made him feel horrible. He found himself haunted by a familiar feeling of inadequacy, something he hasn't felt in 4 years. Not since the day his father died in his arms.
"I'm sorry." he managed to weakly say to Barbara.
The young deaconess was caught off guard by Diluc's sudden apology, and all she could do was stare at him bewilderedly.
"I should have been faster." Diluc's guilt clear in his voice. "If I had only arrived sooner, then Jean wouldn't have been hurt like this."
"What are you apologizing for?" Barbara finally managed to say even as her confusion grew. "If anything, I should be thanking you, Master Diluc. If it weren't for you, then who knows what could have happened." the deaconess paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. A few moments later, she looked at Diluc with a warm, grateful smile.
"You brought my sister back. I don't think I can ask for more."
Diluc fell silent and merely feigned a smile in return. He looked down at Jean's sleeping visage, her calm and relaxed expression masking the hurt she had just been through.
Deep down, he struggled to suppress the doubt that was building up. If he was able to be Mondstadt's protector in the shadows for so long, how was it that he couldn't protect a single person better against the same enemy? Was he no longer a step ahead of his enemies like he thought he was?
"If I couldn't even protect those I care about, then what good am I as Mondstadt's protector?"