EN | An encounter she will never forget | ᴄʜɪʟᴜᴍɪ

19 - Farewell, comrade

𝗧𝗪 : 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱

Mixed point of view at the beginning of the chapter

Despite her injuries, Lumine was still going strong, adrenaline guiding her every move.

Faced with the overwhelming pressure from the water narwhal, anyone would have tried to dodge, taking as little damage as possible. But Lumine was not just anyone, especially when she was unleashed as she was at that moment, murderous urges stimulating her entire body.

As this narwhal fell upon her, Childe was convinced that she had given up, that she was letting herself die from her immobility, that he was going to end it once and for all.

What he didn't know was that Lumine was standing still to gather all her power in her two palms, ready to launch a single burst of compressed air to disperse this watery behemoth.

As she raised her arms towards the narwhal, Childe realized.

No, this is not possible. Don't tell me she's going to try to...

His reflection was cut off by a deafening noise announcing the release of all the air that Lumine had stored, followed by a rain inside the room.

Lumine: 1 - Narwhal: 0.

Childe was dazed. No one had ever escaped his narwhal, let alone managed to disperse it into tiny harmless droplets. He was now smiling broadly, feeling the pleasure that this fight was giving him pouring through his veins.

"Ojou-chan, that was something! I want to beat you up even more now!"

"You won't be laughing so hard once my sword wipes off your mocking smile," Lumine replied with a toothy grin. However, Childe sensed that something was hidden behind that smile. She seemed to really enjoy this duel to the death even though she knew it was irreversible.

It seems she enjoys being backed into a corner as much as I do... Might as well get down to business then.

Childe couldn't prevent his smile from growing wider as she was showing such remarkable self-confidence. She, who was reluctant to attack him in the beginning, restrained by the love she had for him, now seemed enthused despite her injuries.

"Well done, Ojou-chan, you are one of the few who pushed me so far. To spice things up, I'll use my delusion. So how will you survive it ~ ?" he laughed as if he just talked about a round of the Windtrace game.

His Delusion? The power that every Harbinger is endowed with by the Tsaritsa...?

Before Lumine could finish her thought, Childe took the mask hanging on the side of his head and put it on his face. This gesture activated his Delusion which took possession of his body, causing a major change in his appearance. His light gray clothes were now displaying a dark gray, his previously black boots were now a dark red, and his scarf had turned a blood red.

As he approached Lumine, his opponent fused his two water blades into a spear that turned purple as the Electro power of his Delusion was infused into it.

After this transformation, both resumed their joust too fast for the eyes of a neophyte such as Paimon to follow. The exchanges became longer and longer, exhausting and risky. The slightest move not calibrated to the centimeter could cost the life of one of the two opponents.

By the end of one exchange, Lumine was out of breath, clearly outmatched in strength and endurance by the young Harbinger. Childe attacked her with his spear, which she stopped with the help of her Anemo power used in the palm of her hand. However, fatigue was gaining ground and her power waned for a short time. The spear came dangerously close to the young woman's head, closing the distance second after second without her having the strength to push it back permanently.