Chapter Five
Kaeya glanced over at the nearby hunter. "Anything yet, Allan?"
The Springvale hunter shook his head. "The trail is still cold, Captain Kaeya."
From Kaeya's shoulder, Diluc meowed impatiently. Automatically Kaeya stroked his companion's silky fur. "Settle down. We'll find him soon." He kept moving, staying alert as they proceeded through the woodlands.
"Let's spread out a bit more to cover our area more thoroughly," Allan suggested.
"That's a good idea. We'll take the right," Kaeya responded. He ducked under a low-hanging branch and felt Diluc sway slightly, his balance shifting along with Kaeya.
It was only a few minutes later that the brothers stiffened simultaneously. Kaeya's brilliant eye narrowed dangerously as he slowed to a stop. "You feel it too, hm?"
A low growl was building in Diluc's small frame, his pupils mere slits of deadly intensity. His claws flexed fiercely in Kaeya's jacket, yet never sinking deep enough to scratch the Cryo user. Kaeya drew his sword slowly, dropping into a wary stance.
The forest exploded. A fully armed Cryo Abyss Herald shot into the clearing, blades raised. Kaeya had only a second in which to raise his sword and spare a fleeting thought of bitter regret that his flaming brother wasn't able to fight with him… and then the huge Abyssal monster slammed into him.
The knight skidded back, only his sword and sheer determination keeping him unharmed before the Abyss Herald's vicious charge. His eye gleamed with the thrill of battle as he shoved the double blades off his sword and knocked the taller enemy back a step. "Huh, you're a cool customer, aren't you?" Experimentally he shot a spray of Cryo at his attacker. As expected, it merely glanced off the Cryo-infused armor and didn't faze the monster in the slightest.
Snarling, Diluc shot off Kaeya's shoulder, crashing into the Abyss Herald's helmet. An uncharacteristic yelp emitted from the startled enemy, and he jumped back, swiping wildly at the ball of fury clawing at his helmet.
And then, to Kaeya's everlasting delight, as Diluc attacked, his long, thick fur literally caught fire.
Smoking pawprints traced the Herald's armor everywhere the feline touched. The Abyss Herald jerked his head violently, dislodging Diluc. The blazing cat lost his grip and tumbled off the Herald, landing in the underbrush and flipping easily upright, snarling. The Abyss Herald growled, "What in Teyvat? Cats aren't supposed to attack people!"
"Oh, so sorry," Kaeya said smoothly, launching an attack of his own. "I'll inform my pet of that fact immediately. I'm sure that will stop him from setting you on fire." As if to underline his words, Diluc raced up the huge Abyss monster's shin-guards, swiping at any exposed skin with flaming claws. The Herald knocked him off again, then stormed towards him with murderous intent seeping off his armored form. Deftly, Kaeya slid in front of the lithe feline, blocking another blow and allowing his brother to regain his footing and spring into another attack.
With Diluc's fiery ferocity, they might've been able to take the Abyss Herald down eventually. But just as the Herald triggered his Cryo shield, another player joined the fray with squeaks of fiendish pleasure at their dire straits. The Dendro Abyss Mage twirled his little wand around, then aimed it at Kaeya. With a quick intake of alarm, Kaeya dove to the side. He narrowly dodged the green energy that emitted from the Abyss Mage's wand. Leaping up, he threw himself back into a teleport as the Abyss Herald's blades sliced down at him with blinding speed. He reappeared and scooped Diluc up off the ground just before the Dendro Abyss Mage hit him with another burst of energy. The tall Cavalry Captain sprinted, leaning sideways to avoid another strike from the Herald that ruffled his hair. "Might've bitten off more than we can chew here, Dawnbird," he panted.
Diluc growled in agreement, clawing his way up Kaeya's cape again and batting aside a third streak of Dendro just before it hit his brother. Kaeya slid to a halt next to a large tree, half-kneeling with one hand braced again the ground. His gaze darted back and forth, trying to keep both the enemies in his sights as they slowly separated and stalked towards the brothers. "Let's hope the Knights aren't as inefficient as you always claim." He yanked a curved horn from his pocket dimension and blew a high, echoing note on the instrument. That will summon everyone in the area to our position.
The cat on his shoulder studied the two Abyssal monsters, his tail flicking in agitation. Finally he crouched in preparation for another attack, and Kaeya hastily stowed his horn again. "Ready for another shot at this?"
In answer, Diluc lunged for the Herald, trailing flames from his scarlet fur. Kaeya rose, shaking his head with a wry smile at his brother's unquenchable spirit. He went after the Mage while Diluc kept the Herald occupied. He grew steadily more irritated as his Cryo attacks chipped away at the shield in miniscule amounts, barely making a dent in the floating green bubble. It was complicated by the fact that he had to dodge every single attack in case Diluc's feline state wasn't a one-off. Added to that, the Abyss Herald kept launching surprise attacks at him anytime that Diluc wasn't holding his full attention. Soon, Kaeya was panting hard as he struggled to keep abreast of the two enemies and still protect his more vulnerable brother.
Shoving the Herald back just in time to block an attack from the Dendro Abyss Mage, he barely kept his footing as his heel caught on a protruding tree root. Fatigue was beginning to set in, but he forced himself to raise his sword again. He noticed Diluc drifting further away from him. Quickly he called, "Stay close, all right?"
Diluc shot him a glance that was so full of conflicting emotions it instantly set off Kaeya's alarm bells. The cat crouched, looking back at the Abyss Herald preparing for another attack.
That look sent a shiver of warning up Kaeya's spine. He nearly missed blocking another strike. "Hey! Diluc, don't do anything reckless, all right?"
His brother ignored him and shot forward, landing one final blow on the Abyss Herald's armor. Just as he did so, the flat of the Herald's blade caught his shoulder, sending him crashing into the bushes.
"DILUC!" Kaeya forgot to breathe for an instant.
Dazedly, Diluc staggered upright. He swayed dangerously, but his eyes flicked back to Kaeya for an instant. There was something like an apology and deep determination burning in the scarlet depths. Then he shook his head fiercely and stumbled away from the clearing. A trail of smoke gave away his path as his fiery fur brushed against the undergrowth. Chuckling darkly, the Abyss Herald looked back at his companion.
"You have this one, yes? I'm going to finish that one off." He didn't wait for the Dendro Abyss Mage to agree before plunging into the bushes in hot pursuit.
Desperately Kaeya redoubled his efforts. His enemy faltered slightly under his onslaught, then rallied. I can't let him slow me down! I have to get to Diluc!
The mage was watching him closely. "You're getting tired, knight. You won't be able to hold out much longer. Soon you'll rejoin your beloved pet, in death!" He cackled, raising his wand for another burst of Dendro.
Just then, a shout blazed through the fight. "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Anemo energy swirled through the clearing, knocking the mage away from Kaeya. Jean's eyes blazed with fury as she attacked. The mage yelped in surprise, but quickly shot at her. She ducked, and another shout rang out.
"Time to clean up!"
Kaeya recognized the battle cry just as a huge, glowing sword blew out of the undergrowth and crashed into the Abyss Mage's shield. His lips quirked up slightly in greeting. "Ah, Lady Knight Noelle, perfect timing." He struck at the green shield again.
It took a few moments, but their combined strength was enough to whittle off the last of the shield that Kaeya had been chipping away at so diligently. The mage crashed to the ground, wheezing. He tried to get up, only to find the very sharp edge of a gold and azure sword at his throat.
"You attacked my brother," Kaeya said. His voice was soft, almost friendly, and oh-so-deadly.
The mage rasped for breath. "That wasn't the plan! He wasn't supposed to turn into a cat, of all things!"
Frowning, Kaeya drew back slightly. He glanced at Jean. "I don't have the time to interrogate him. Diluc is still under attack. Can you get the rest of the information out of him and hold him until we get back?"
The Acting Grand Master smiled grimly. "It would be my pleasure. Noelle, I need your help here."
As Kaeya darted off, he glanced back one more time to see Noelle encasing the mage in a glowing Geo shield. Good. He won't be getting out of that anytime soon. Now to find Diluc.