Lumine had a strange, unwavering faith in Kaito.
As long as Kaito was there, no matter what happened, she would be fine.
He'd said he had something prepared for her.
Even though this moment wasn't exactly a gift—and that made her a little disappointed—
The truth was, she had already received things more precious than she could properly value.
The Flower of Life artifact was pinned at the side of her hair.
The Adventurer's artifact set gave off a mysterious power, guarding her quietly.
And in her hands was the Favonius Sword—a standardized longsword famous throughout Mondstadt, coveted even by insiders of the Knights of Favonius.
These gifts Kaito had given her… were protecting her right now.
That was what she was thinking—
And sure enough.
Her words had barely fallen when a violent gale roared down from the high ground into the basin.
Every hilichurl surrounding them was blown away at once.
Kaito appeared in front of them.
"Wind Barrier," Lumine recognized it immediately.
She couldn't help asking, "The Abyss Mage…"
"Once its shield breaks, it can't blink anymore. It can't escape," Kaito said calmly. "Diluc can finish it."
The moment the Cryo shield had shattered, Kaito had turned back without hesitation.
"Kaito—help!"
Barbara sprinted toward him the instant she saw him.
She looked like a drowned kitten—only barely better than a soaked rag.
The water pillars that had been erupting behind her stopped at the same time.
The Hydro hilichurl samachurl hopped back and forth, clutching its staff.
Hydro energy surged under their feet.
If it finished this chant, all of them would be hit hard.
"Geo Wall!"
Kaito raised a stone wall that cut off the samachurl's casting, splitting the area into several separate fights.
"Barbara," he called.
"Roger!"
Even drenched, Barbara still managed a bright, sunny smile on her cute face.
The Hydro Vision at her waist flared with dazzling light.
"Barbara—Shining Miracle!"
A dreamlike watery domain unfolded.
Dense, healing Hydro fell over Noelle and Lumine.
In an instant, both of them felt their injuries nearly vanish.
"This…"
Lumine stared, shocked, as her stamina surged back as well.
Though… she also felt the damp status stick to her skin.
Everything felt a little sticky.
"Everyone, keep it up!" Barbara cheered. "All I can do now is support you!"
Her Hydro was completely drained.
"Noelle," Kaito asked, "want to trade blows with the axe mitachurl?"
The axe-wielding mitachurl had finally woken up. It was charging over from the camp with two lackeys at its sides.
"Leave it to me!"
Noelle tightened her grip on her claymore.
"You're not forcing it?" Kaito asked.
"Leave it to me…"
Noelle's voice was firm, but the slightest hesitation slipped in.
Sweat ran down her cheek.
That mitachurl was nearly twice her height.
"Use this."
Only then did Kaito pull out a claymore and hand it to her.
Before today, she would've refused no matter what.
This blade was built solidly, beautifully crafted—and its special feature was that the section near the guard wasn't sharpened.
They said you could use that unsharpened section like an extended grip, shifting your hold and adjusting your center of gravity mid-fight.
"This is… the famous Whiteblind!"
Noelle knew weapons. The moment she saw that unsharpened section, she recognized it.
"You're… letting me use it?" she asked, dazed.
"Of course," Kaito said naturally. "It's perfect for you."
Noelle's face flushed all at once, red from ear to ear.
Whiteblind had a story people loved to tell—one that bards praised in song. Noelle knew it too.
A craftsman, believing himself clumsy, honed the blade with care—adjusting its balance again and again—
Sleepless nights wasted amid flying sparks—
Reforging, hammering, reforging, hammering—
Carrying both hope and fear for a lover who had not returned from war—
Until at last, the blacksmith set aside selfish thoughts and poured his heart into the steel—
Forging this sincere gift for the one who marched out and never came back—
"I…"
Noelle lifted her burning-red face and stole one glance at Kaito…
Then accepted the claymore.
And without another word, she rushed straight at the axe mitachurl.
Right now, she felt like she was overflowing with strength.
Her heartbeat was fast, loud in her ears.
Even a mitachurl twice her height didn't seem like much anymore.
Clang!
In the blink of an eye, Noelle was sent flying back by a single axe strike.
Fantasy still couldn't beat reality.
The level gap was enormous.
"I—"
Realizing Kaito had seen it, Noelle felt unbearably embarrassed—and charged again.
"Why does Noelle look so… fired up?" Barbara asked, confused.
"I don't know," Kaito said, guessing, "maybe she's adjusting to fighting something heavier than usual."
Lumine lifted the Favonius Sword and went hunting the samachurl instead. "Barbara, I'm going to avenge you."
"Lumine, good luck!" Barbara cheered, moved.
In reality, Lumine just didn't want to fight wooden-shield hilichurls—those shields were a pain to break.
samachurls and archers were her favorite targets.
As for the remaining monsters—
Kaito had no choice but to handle them himself.
By the time dawn broke over Windwail Highland, the battle in the basin finally ended.
The axe mitachurl's massive body ultimately collapsed beneath the maid-knight's claymore—beautiful as a rose, and just as relentless.
Noelle drove her blade into the ground and panted hard.
Thick ley-line energy surged into her.
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