Chapter 30: Ambush

While he had never made a name or reputation for himself as a particularly unbeatable warrior or legendary assassin Alec could - without any sense of ego or undue pride - say he was pretty darn good in a scrap. One didn't act as the vessel for Death itself and wander the world for millennia on end without picking up a few things along the way, never mind grow to appreciate the finer aspects of combat.

A duel such as this, where it was just himself on the line, against foes he didn't feel any particular need to hold back against? It was as close to therapeutic as things came and the man felt much of his earlier frustration and anger at the whole debacle with Ganyu vanish the more he kicked around the various Abyss trying to put an end to him.

As if to further cement that fact a Lector ran a deadly and perfectly controlled pace straight towards him, Pyro shield causing the air around it to waver as Alec almost lazily channeled a few flames around his shoulder, leaning into the Abyss as the conflicting energies canceled each other out and staggering the creature as its charge was completely stonewalled by his shoulder check.

Except the thing was a lot tougher than he'd given it credit for, only taking a step back and leaving him with barely half an arm's length between them. And grappling was out of the question since he had a few dozen other Abyss eager to stab him in the back.

"Alright, how the hell did those maniacs do this again? I really wish martial artists weren't so damn esoteric in their teachings."

Releasing a slow, controlled breath he positioned his fist directly level with the more lightly armored portion of the Lector's chest, made sure his wrist was locked and steady-

-before leaning forward with his entire body, rotating hips and chest as his fist impacted dead center with an additional jolt of Electro, sending the Abyss flopping across the ground in a tangle of limbs as it audibly gagged and wheezed, Alec smirking at the sight before throwing himself into a backflip, the flashy move avoiding the ankle sweep a Herald attempted and affording him the chance to ram his knife into the heart of a Mage that attempted to get the drop on him, a skip forward and snap of his leg - augmented by a sheen of Geo energy - breaking apart the Herald's helm and knocking it to the ground where it stayed down, either dazed or unconscious.

…A dozen down, quite more than a dozen to go, Alec's eyes briefly landing on Aether's as Lumine's brother prowled the edge of the conflict, no doubt waiting for the sole combatant to stop screwing around and make use of his godly power.

"I bet they don't have a damn clue that I'm pushing rope when it comes to my previous abilities. And on that subject…"

A flex of Dendro and Geo in quick succession had a Ruin Guard miss its next step as vines grew around one of its legs while the ground beneath its feet surged upwards, the machine toppling forward as its arms splayed outwards to keep it from falling flat on its face-

-which was a convenient opportunity for him to dance forward and ram his knife into its control unit, a burst of Electro and Anemo reaching deep within and scrambling its internal functions as the construct seized before collapsing with an artificial groan, Alec reflecting that he'd had his fill of fun and was now more than ready to call it quits for the day. And that was to say nothing of the fact that he couldn't make use of his knife and associated powers.

Any attempt to do so would leave him crippled and once more teetering on the edge of death, assuming he even could make it back to Liyue in order to receive proper care. And he had just promised Ganyu that they would talk later, how fucked up would it be if not more than a few hours after they'd finally tried to clear the air he ended up essentially committing suicide in some random field outside the city? These losers weren't worth upsetting the Adeptus over.

With that thought in mind he frowned in contemplation, trying to think of a way to win with his limited abilities and found himself coming up short. The problem was that the collection of bruised and bloodied Abyss had caused the remainder to be a bit more tactical in their approach instead of just rushing in, driven by a euphoric need to murder him for good.

And judging by the way an ugly and familiar darkness gathered around Aether's blade he'd elected to get in on the action as well, Alec letting his hand tighten around the handle of his knife in resigned acceptance of the fact that he was going to have to make use of the thing no matter how much he may not have wanted to. Lumine had given him one hell of a challenge even when she had been granted purely Anemo energy, her brother was doubtlessly going to be magnitudes more difficult to face.

Color began to leech from the bodies of the Abyss, all of them stiffening as they turned monochrome even as the world around them shone with unmatched vibrancy-

-and Alec paused, eyes widening as a very familiar sensation passed by, like an errant gust of wind caressing his cheek as a voice impossibly far away but seeming oh so close whispered for him to run, a playful and intangible nudge on his shoulder showing him the way…and the male had to hold back a grimace as one last friendly bit of advice the voice offered carried with it a corrupted tinge, as if two voices out of sync and pitch with each other had spoken.

"Still looking out for me, huh, Vita?"

With a fond smile replacing his momentary unease Alec figured that if the God of Wisdom was going to lend him a helping hand then he'd be pretty stupid to turn such an offer down.

And of course Rukkhadevata was the one to voice what should have been the obvious alternative since he'd apparently been unable to put two and two together. He didn't need to fight, he only needed to escape.

"If only I'd stopped by Sumeru before marching off to Khaenri'ah…maybe some of that wisdom would have gone a long way in ensuring that things had turned out for the better for all parties involved."

Allowing himself to feel the pang of regret over his past decisions for a moment Alec subsequently let those emotions pass out of his mind, well aware of the fact that he had thousands of years of wishing for do overs and starting now of all times wasn't a great idea.

Instead he crouched low, allowing a feral smile to split his lips as he made it seem as if he was about to charge and unleash the full extent of his powers, the gathered Abyss tensing and huddling together in preparation for his charge…and were left waiting as he sheathed the knife, turned on his tail and ran like hell for Liyue, their battle having rather convincingly shattered the cordon they'd placed around him and affording a straight path back to the harbor.

There was a precious few seconds of shock from his foes as they tried to wrap their heads around the fact that he'd so suddenly gone from beating them senseless to running for the hills that they didn't move, doubtlessly expecting it to be some kind of trick-

-and a distant shout from Aether had most of the Abyss take off after him, some of their number trying to form portals or gates that could close the distance but those few seconds had cost them dearly, the terrain around this part of Liyue mostly flat aside from a few gentle hills and trees, meaning he could go as fast as he damn well pleased, a steady stream of Anemo energy allowing him to run without wind resistance while short burst of Pyro under each step offered a tangible boost, the improvised technique one he'd mastered a long time ago and meant he could outsrip a horse in a dead sprint.

One of the Abyss Mages leapt out of a portal in a desperate attempt to slow him down and received his Geo enhanced arm across the throat for its troubles, body and head loosely flopping about as he kept up his headlong charge, maintaining a healthy lead on the Abyss but figuring that as soon as they began to properly get the distance down their ability to reach across reality thanks to Aether's presence would become a little tricky.

"Alright, Vita…I took your advice. Where's the brilliant twist that proves this was a masterful stroke rather than a hasty delaying action?"

As if in response to those very thoughts the male's sharp eyes spotted a solitary figure on the horizon, a grimace appearing on his lips as he prayed that an innocent wasn't about to be caught up in this mess-

-except that figure promptly whirled a bladed staff around her head, streams of fire whirling outwards in a rapidly growing conflagration as Alec almost tripped and fell as he realized it was none other than the Hua Tao girl he'd encountered a few days prior, the young lady offering a wide grin and cheerful wave as he drew close…and sputtered as he carefully threw her over his shoulder, not in any hurry to treat her ribs the same way he'd treated that mage's neck.

"Keep creating more fire!"

He'd give the girl props for adapting quickly, her Vision shining with released energy as a deluge of flames spread in their wake, Alec concentrating as he gathered a ball of Anemo energy in his free hand, inwardly shaking his head at how slow and pitiful the vortex was to what he'd once been capable of doing.

"Oh well, no sense in complaining about performance issues when they were brought about by my own hand."

With that amusing thought firmly in mind the God dug his heels into the ground, pushing Hu Tao behind him as he slammed the swirling mass of energy into the dirt, the emerald winds greedily feeding the Pyro trail of fire behind them as the fire rapidly grew in size and intensity until it looked as if a river of flame had appeared in the middle of the Liyue fields, distant alarm bells ringing in the city proper as they prepared for anything from a natural disaster to a deliberate attack, Alec staring through the inferno into Aether's eyes, Lumine's brother sporting a thwarted snarl as the fire seemed to be swallowed up by corrupted dark that danced within eyes that were once doubtlessly as beautiful as his sister's.

The God of Death merely met his gaze, smirking before silently mouthing, "Next time."

The simple taunt caused the one time Traveler's lips to purse and body tense…until he realized it hadn't been meant entirely as a jest and rather a promise, gritting his teeth before motioning for the rest of the Abyss to leave through a midnight portal he created with a swing of his sword before they ended up fighting an entire city, the battle coming to a swift end within a minute until all that was left was the steadily growing crackle of flames, Alec releasing a tired breath.

What a night.

"Soooo…do I get a thank you~?"

"Once I put out this fire, sure."

Calling upon his Hydro powers - limited as they were - as well as a healthy amount of Geo and Dendro to snuff out the worst of the blaze Alec eventually turned to the beaming Hu Tao, curiously asking, "As much as I appreciate the save what brought you out here at the nick of time?"

Proudly drawing herself upwards the girl replied, "Well being a rather attuned young lady I hear all sorts of ghostly laments and howls, one of which proclaimed my patron deity was in danger~!"

"Patron deity?"

Beaming at Alec's bemused comment Hu Tao explained, "Well you're the God of Death, riiiiight? Seeing as how I both have and intend to continue leading or aiding those in crossing over to their next life it would be rather silly if I couldn't even identify the god who commands that particular aspect of existence, wouldn't it?"

"And here I thought you had just been close to the mark when we met in the Funeral Parlor, I didn't give you nearly enough credit."

Preening at his praise the Vision-wielder adopted a bit of false humility as she responded, "Oh, there were also rumor aplenty floating around Liyue of an ancient god's return courtesy of some seers and fortune tellers and whatnot. And here I thought that had just been related to Osial~!"

Wryly reflecting that it still felt weird millennia later that people could foretell snippets and outlines of his actions from simple astrological readings Alec snapped back to attention as the girl pointed to his feet, remarking, "It's bad form for such an important soul to go traipsing around the countryside with their shoelaces undone, however. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Huh, guess that battle did a number on-"

"Heh heh, got you~!"

Blinking as he realized far too late that his boots were perfectly functional and intact Hu Tao began to madly giggle, the male feeling his lips curve upwards before casually commenting, "I get the distinct impression you would have fit right in with the rest of the jokers I called followers. But what's this about you hearing ghosts or whatever in order to come rushing to my aid? Trust me, if that's something I can do at will then I'd love to learn how to do it."

Motioning for Hu Tao to follow him as he began marching back to the city walls the girl was all too happy to do so, practically skipping alongside him as a distant fire brigade ran their way, the brunette explaining, "Well it was more of a ghostly suggestion than it was outright visitation, as if a woman had spoken from a great distance away that you would be in the neighborhood and in need of a helping hand."

Twirling in place before ending in a bow as if presenting the latest model Hu Tao announced, "As a professional ghost and spirit hunter I simply couldn't resist the call~!"

Inwardly frowning at her words Alec didn't entirely manage to bury his apprehension about this whole ordeal. He knew Vita was so intrinsically tied to Irminsul that she could make use of it to perform truly ridiculous feats but being exposed to the Cursed Knowledge and subsequently negating it would have necessitated her death…he knew damn well gods could cling to life in all sorts of fashions - especially one who had premium access to the Encyclopedia Teyvat - but to make use of that all encompassing power and bypass her usual brand of dream sharing? He doubted that was easy or healthy.

"What the fuck happened to you, Vita? And why are you going this far, is there something you're not telling me? Or are you just being the smartest one in the room again?"

Briefly smiling in fond reminiscence of the one time the Dendro god and Guizhong had met and made Morax regret ever agreeing to act as a 'bodyguard' during their 'sightseeing' tour around the world - Guizhong had figured out how to tame the Dragon pretty damn quick, crafty woman - and the windfall of technological and cultural evolution that had followed he instead let the memories pass, returning to the here and now as Hu Tao inquired, "So what has the great and mighty God of Death both engaging and subsequently fleeing from a gang of Abyss? I assumed you were being nice and not simply smiting them from existence?"

"A bit too much credit thrown my way, they were honestly pushing me hard. And suffice to say they do not like me after I've stuck my nose into their business a time too many."

"Ooh, cryptic."

"Apologies, young lady, but you must serve for a minimum of two years and buy me at least three free lunches before you get to know the secrets of the universe."

"Saving your butt doesn't count?"

"That waives the initial admission fee to my exclusive club."

Snickering at his irreverent response Hu Tao cattily responded, "Well could I perhaps ask for a different form of thanks, then~?"

She playfully puckered her lips, Alec shaking his head before stating, "Already seeing someone, sorry. Although if you're in the market there's a certain blonde I can introduce to you…"

"Then again maybe combining Lumine's chaotic energy and this girl's prankster energy would be a combo too powerful. Food for thought."

"Oh, that won't be necessary. After all, if my patron deity desires not my heart then who else could exist to claim it?"

"Probably someone not a couple hundred times your age."

Rolling her eyes in obvious cheer they finally encountered the approaching fire brigade, giving the group an abbreviated and not entirely true recounting of events as well as how'd they largely snuffed it, arriving at Liyue's main gates shortly afterwards as Hu Tao turned to Alec, gracefully curtsying as she said, "Duty calls, Daman. It was a great pleasure to ensure you weren't hunted down like a poor, lost animal."

"And this herbivore is all the more grateful for it. Until next time, Hu Tao."

A flirty wink and cheerful wave accompanied the young woman skipping off into the night, Alec more than amused at her whirlwind appearance and departure before turning a corner, slipping onto a bench near a lantern as he gently closed his eyes, speaking into the night with, "We're likely a bit suspicious chatting so early in the morning like this."

"Thankfully we have nothing to hide, just two colleagues catching up on work related matters."

Strolling in from the darkness Dainsleif seated himself next to Alec, folding his hands in his lap before stating, "Your flight from the Abyss was quite the useful distraction, their hideout was all but abandoned when I went to scout it."

"Nice to know there was more to my flight than simple shortness of breath, find anything interesting?"

"Yes, although I would add 'worrying' to that descriptor."

"Uh oh."

Dainsleif nodded, frowning as he recounted, "They recovered one of the original Field Tiller's sensors and its control unit, as well as one of the debased Statues of the Seven, one dedicated to Barbatos, I believe."

Alec blinked, eventually remarking, "Well that's a volatile combination. The hell are they planning to do with-oh. Oh that's actually kind of clever…"

Dainsleif raised an eyebrow at Alec's darkly impressed murmur, asking, "You believe they have an overarching plot in mind besides collecting powerful artifacts?"

"Unfortunately. If it was just one or the either it could be anything but the two combined, in close proximity? They're planning on using the Tiller's control unit to direct the Elemental energy native to the corrupted statue since the eye and associated engineering isn't running off of Elemental energy."

"While I agree that's worrying and nothing to overlook the power that Statue contains is nothing overwhelming or unbeatable, it would be of limited use if they truly intend to use it as a weapon."

"Which is why they aren't going to do that, the statue is just the bridge, translating one set of absolute commands into another."

Dainsleif looked out over the harbor, brow furrowed as he no doubt drew upon past experience to try and understand what Alec was getting at…and froze as he stopped at the wreckage of the floating palace now resting atop Osial's body.

"How? Dominating the will and body of one that could match the Seven at their height-"

"You know better than me that the Abyss can offer all sorts of bargains and pacts that get both parties what they want, albeit in a twisted manner. You think Osial would turn down an offer to both ravage Liyue and be used as a weapon against the higher power that overlooked him in favor of the God that cast him down? Or what if Beisht pays a visit and actually helps the Abyss in return for their mutual aid?"

A grimace appeared on the Bough Keeper's features, no imagination needed. While he had no particular love for the Seven and their associated deities the common folk of Liyue would be the ones to suffer if the Abyss' plot came to fruition.

And a Field Tiller mounting Osial's body, enhanced by a corrupted statue and possibly aided by Beisht? That was the kind of threat Morax would have to march against, likely with all of the Adepti and every last soldier of Liyue at his back.

"And you believe this to be the case? That they will attempt to artificially create and control a God?"

"While it's one of the techniques that was thankfully both rare and difficult to pull off the Archon War saw its fair share of reanimated deities. They're never much fun to deal with, arguably worse than their baseline forms."

He would know, he'd had to fight a few of them during the course of his long life and even at the height of his strength he'd had to often side with other Gods or skilled Humans to put them down.

"Then it seems we have little choice but to stop them as soon as possible. Even if they were not to march on Liyue giving the Abyss the strength of a God to do with as they please is a state of affairs that cannot be condoned. No doubt the heavens would respond in their heavy handed manner as always."

"Agreed. Which is why I think we should let them go ahead with their plan, in a manner of speaking."

Dainsleif blinked, caught off guard by Daman's thoughtful words before slowly asking, "And we should do that, because?"

"Because the Abyss doubtlessly put a lot of work into this plan and I'd hate for it to go to waste when it could instead be put to good use."

"...I almost fear to ask what you have in mind."

"Give me until tomorrow afternoon and I guarantee you'll go from fearing it to hating it."

Softly sighing in resignation Dainsleif briefly paused, eventually asking, "You encountered Aether, yes? Was he-"

"Still in control. Consumed by hatred and a desire for retribution, sure, but the Abyss hasn't gotten ahold of him in a non reversible way the way it has everyone else."

"...I see."

Relaxing slightly at Alec's reassurance the Fallen God leaned back in his seat, releasing a jaw cracking yawn as he reflected that he might very well have figured out a way to get the Sustainer on their level.