Chemical Prisoner

watch as they fall apart

{ TW: death, medium gore/violence }

His feet hit the ground and he breaks into a run, clutching the bow tightly in his left hand. The wind pushes him along, radiating off of him in waves, just as contaminated as he is.

A flock of pigeons lies on the bridge in front of him and he fires three arrows at once, skewering birds in various places. A child's cry catches his attention and he turns to see a plain little boy with wheat in his hand.

"M-My pigeons!" the boy sobs, his hands shaking. "How.. how dare you, you evil..!"

Barbatos laughs and steps closer, his eyes brightening as he claws at the boy's chest. "Evil..?" The claws rip through his skin and he takes the boy by the head, using the wind to propel him far into the lake. "Sink like a stone, little boy."

There's barely a single trace of Venti left in his body. His bare feet tap lightly against the stone bridge as he continues, approaching the two Knights of Favonius guards outside the gate.

"Pleasure seeing you here," he says, his eyes widening in mock surprise.

"L-Lord Barbatos!" They fall to their knees almost in sync, letting him through. His face holds no expression and he draws another arrow, attaching it to the bow and preparing to kill the first person who enters his vision. A man he doesn't remember, wearing adventurer's clothes, stands in front of him and he holds up the bow. The arrow flies into the man's eye and he screams, his hands flying to his face and his knees buckling under him.

"Useless," Barbatos mumbles.

The screaming catches people's attention and they run from their houses, peek from windows to get a glimpse of the intruder. The intruder who looks so much like their god and like the dragon who threatened to attack them all.

They don't matter. He can deal with them later. Vision users must be the first to go so the others have no hope of protection.

Two are staring at him, standing just outside the Adventurer's Guild. Bennett, cursed with horrible luck, and Fischl, who claims to be a princess from another world. Elemental energy surges through him and he pours it into an arrow, creating a vortex of wind as he fires it towards them. It catches them off-guard and they scramble against the ground, no match for the howling wind. Fire leaks from Bennett and mixes with the current and Barbatos can hear them screaming, hear them begging for mercy.

He should've kept the boy alive just for making the killing easier.

The smell of burning flesh envelops him and it makes him hungrier, years of Dvalin's pain stirred together with his own for a truly horrendous cocktail. (Diona would've loved to put tainted blood in her drinks.) He leaves the two behind and heads straight for the Cat's Tail, blowing every cat he can see far away before they have a chance to make him sneeze. The door bangs open and he shoots Margaret first, through the heart.

Blood blooms on her clothes and he turns to the rest of the patrons, some too drunk to notice him. He tears them apart with his claws, bashing their heads into the table and blowing some through the roof to land hard on the stone outside. Diona is his last target. By the time he's ready for her she has an arrow pointed at him, ready to shoot before he can even aim.

"Disappointing," he sighs. "Do these people have no respect for their god?" He uses a wind current to throw the weapon out of her hand and then pins her down, stabbing the arrow through her chest and into the table.

If only he could control Pyro as well. Setting fire to the whole of Mondstadt just as Khaenri'ah had burned so many years ago, another nation up in smoke.

Someone calls to him from the corner of the room.

"I can help if you'd like."

She wears a crudely shaped crown and has a cruel smile, cracking a whip made of fire across the wall. Signora, the Crimson Witch of Flames.

"I would appreciate that, but leave the killing to me, ma'am." Barbatos cracks a grin at her and leaves the tavern, letting her destroy the buildings as she likes.

He makes his way along the alley to Angel's Share, only to be stopped by a young woman in a sparkly witch's hat. She doesn't seem familiar to him at all, but the water she throws at him instantly marks her as a target.

"Think you can get away?" he asks her, using another wind current to immobilize her in the air. Three arrows hit her, one grazing her arm, one in her leg, one in her stomach. It isn't enough. He tackles her to the ground and claws at her neck, struggling to kill her. Maybe it's enough to leave her here until she bleeds out- but no, someone from the Church could come and find her.

Barbatos decides to take his chances. He gets back to his feet and runs on, trying to get to the tavern before any of those drunks can run away.

Diluc notices him as soon as he enters the door. His red eyes widen and he mumbles something under his breath. His hand reaches behind him and Barbatos can see he's reaching for his blade, but-

A bow is faster than a heavy claymore. Barbatos fires an Anemo-charged arrow into the bartender's chest and then charges forward while he's distracted, claws gripping onto his shoulders.

"Too slow, sweetheart." His eyes glow pink and he digs into Diluc's neck, the claws drawing more blood. "Your daddy's waiting for you~" A strong push of Anemo energy inside the man is enough to tear something important, the currents whipping like ice. He pushes harder and Diluc crumples, his knees buckling and his head hitting the counter as he goes down.

"Freeze!" a voice yells from behind him. Barbatos turns just in time for the ice to hit him in the chest, red lines appearing where the sharp edges were.

"Oh dear," he sighs, drawing his bow again. "More problems." He doesn't know much about Kaeya, but he hasn't lost a fight yet. This shouldn't be too hard.

{ notes: he forgot about lynn. she ran away to liyue and joined the gourmet supremos but got kicked out. comment if u want a spin-off fic about Lynn }