Chapter Text
“Are you here to spy on me?”
“Uhh…” Amber’s eyes widened as she realised she’d been caught staring. She hadn’t meant to stare. She hadn’t even been looking for Eula; she’d just been taking a walk around Cider Lake when she heard the sound of movement on the shore, and had gone to check it out. She’d known Eula was a dancer already, of course; she’d been Eula’s (only) friend for long enough to know that, but she’d never really seen her dance.
The sight of Eula spinning and twirling, practically glowing in the afternoon sun, surrounded by glittering specks of ice from her Vision, sunlight playing across her hair… It had left Amber frozen in place, gawping like an idiot. And you’re still gawping! Say something!
“No! I…” Think, think! “Was just worried you might be in trouble!” Amber said quickly, feeling her cheeks and the tips of her ears starting to heat up. Eula blinked at her, before a soft smile crawled across her lips.
“Not yet.” Putting one hand on her hip, Eula extended the other towards Amber in an inviting gesture. “It takes two to tango. Shall we?” she asked, tilting her head to one side, a distinctly mischievous twinkle in her eye.
“U-uh, huh?!” Amber blinked rapidly, the warmth she felt on her face only intensifying. “B-but… I don’t know how to… Tango,” she said haltingly, arms behind her back and squirming in place, looking down at the sand.
“That’s alright; I’ll show you.” Amber looked up again, eyes widening slightly as Eula approached her casually.
“Ah..?” Amber vocalised, letting Eula gently coax her arms out from behind her.
“I’ll lead, just follow my movements. Here, one hand on my shoulder,” Eula took one of Amber’s hands, lifting it and placing it on her shoulder, “and your other hand in mine.” Amber swallowed as Eula clasped their hands together, and barely managed to avoid squeaking when Eula put her hand on her waist.
“A-alright,” Amber said, nodding, careful not to headbutt Eula as she did so and trying not to think about how close Eula was right now. They’d been in proximity before, sure, but never like this, nothing as intimate as dancing…
Don’t overthink it Amber. She probably just wanted to dance with someone, and no one else would. Still, she let out a faint gasp as Eula began to lead her. Almost immediately, she accidentally stepped on Eula’s foot. “Ah, sorry!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get vengeance for that later,” Eula said softly. Whenever she promised revenge against anyone else, she always at least sounded serious. But over the years, her tone with Amber had softened, and frequently let ‘slights’ go unremarked.
Stop overthinking it! Just… Enjoy the dance. And pay attention. She may go easy on you compared to everyone else, but the lake is right there. She might throw you in if you keep treading on her toes. With that possibility in mind, Amber looked towards her feet, only to find herself staring right at Eula’s— Nope, looking back at her face!
If Eula noticed Amber’s mounting panic, she said nothing about it, instead continuing to slowly guide her around. “Not bad,” she said softly, eyes flicking to Amber’s briefly. “You’ll get better with training.”
“You… Want to teach me to dance?” Amber asked, swallowing, her stomach filled with butterflies whilst her heart hammered in her chest.
“... Would you like me to?” Eula asked, and for the first time Amber heard a faint note of uncertainty in Eula’s voice. The tiniest little crack in her otherwise unwavering confidence.
“... Sure, I’d like that,” Amber answered honestly, smiling warmly at her.
At the time, she told herself the blush on Eula’s face after her reply was just a trick of the lowering sun.
A few months later, she knew better.
Amber’s lungs burnt as she raced towards the city, her breaths short and desperate. She ran faster than she could ever remember, legs screaming in exertion. “Get back to the city! Monsters coming!” she yelled at the alarmed civilians she passed, leading a trail of them in her wake. There were few travellers in the waning evening, luckily, and even more fortunately most were already heading for the city even before Amber’s warning.
“Monsters! Sound the alarm!” she continued to shout as she charged through the city gate, the knights on guard leaping to obey. She continued her mad rush through Mondstadt as the alarm bells began to ring behind her, weaving through the crowds and even scaling walls to cut time from her sprint to the Headquarters. At last, she reached the door, barreling through and into the foyer.
“Amber? What’s going on?” Amber slid to a halt, windmilling her arms to avoid falling over before straightening up, hurriedly saluting a concerned-looking Jean.
“A-Acting Grand Master!” Amber gasped out, sucking down deep, ragged lungfuls of air. “The… The Abyss Order are marching on Mondstadt! There’s an army of them! I… I’ve never seen so many hilichurls before. T-there’s lawachurls too!” Suddenly, Eula was at her side, putting an arm around her shoulders to take her weight. Amber sagged gratefully into her side, her knees starting to wobble now she no longer needed to run.
“The Abyss Order…” Jean’s wide eyes turned sharp and determined. “So that’s why there’s been a down-turn in hilichurl attacks, the Order must have been massing them.” More knights began gathering in the room, drawn by the bells outside. “Captain Eula.” Even as she supported Amber, Eula stood straighter to hear Jean’s orders.
“Your orders, Acting Grand Master?” Eula asked, her tone crisp and firm. Pressed against her side, Amber could feel the coiling tension in Eula’s muscles, the air around her steadily turning frigid.
“I need you to lead the defence of the main gate with your company. Take Noelle with you, and any knights or adventurers you find on the way,” Jean ordered.
“Yes ma’am!” Noelle called from somewhere in the crowd.
“As you command,” Eula said, bracing herself to leave but waiting to hear the rest of Jean’s orders first.
“Lisa—” Jean began to turn to Lisa.
“I’ll go to the main gate as well,” Lisa assured her, smiling confidently. “Cryo and electro is a suitable combination for Eula’s talents,” she said. Jean gave her a grateful nod before continuing.
“Captain Kaeya!” Kaeya saluted, his typically carefree attitude absent. “Take Second Company and guard the east gate. Take Klee and Albedo with you as well, and tell Diluc I want him at that gate. I know he’s not a knight anymore, but he’s got experience commanding a battle, and I’ll need him to take over when I call you away.”
“‘When’?” Kaeya echoed, tilting his head curiously.
“Find Fischl, and tell her to come here. I’ll need her eyes in the sky. Go, now!” Jean said to another knight, who saluted and hurried off. “Captain Nymph?”
“Present, Acting Grand Master!” came the reply from the Knights’ commander of what amounted to Favonius’ magic company.
“I need Eighth Company to muster at the Headquarters. Once we know where they’re sending their mages, you’ll be deployed to counter them. I need Fifth and Third here as our reserve force. Amber?” Jean looked back at Amber, giving her a quick once-over.
“As soon as you get your breath back, I need you to gather every archer you can find and get them on the walls. Knight, civilian, or adventurer, it doesn’t matter. Any and all who are able and willing, they’ll be under your command,” she said.
“M-me? Command?” Amber asked, eyes widening. Eula gave her a quick squeeze for reassurance.
“You’re the best archer in the Knights, and I need my captains on the ground,” Jean explained. “I believe in you, Amber.” Amber stared into Jean’s eyes, seeing only determination and honesty shining there.
“I… I won’t let you down,” Amber said, forcing more confidence than she felt into her voice. Jean nodded.
“I’ll stay here to coordinate the defence, and lead the sally force. Captain Nymph! With Captain Kaeya’s help, do you think your forces can make an ice bridge across Cider Lake that will allow a company to cross?” Jean asked.
“Absolutely, Acting Grand Master,” Nymph confirmed.
“Ahh, so that’s why I’d need to leave the gate to Diluc…” Kaeya mused, nodding.
“Good. Once the enemy has committed themselves to the assault, I’ll lead Third Company across the lake to flank them. Captain Kaeya, I’ll need you to be ready to help with the bridge. You have your orders, dismissed!”
“Stay safe,” Amber said quietly to Eula, looking up at her.
“I’ll be careful,” Eula promised, giving her a kiss on the forehead before dashing off.
The Mondstadt that Eula emerged from the Headquarters into was a far cry from the one she was familiar with. Instead of bustling streets and lively crowds, it was almost totally deserted, save for knights and adventurers rushing to the city’s defence. Barricades were hastily being thrown together, carts overturned to block streets, aiming to funnel the enemy into favourable ground in the event the gates were breached.
Not that it will happen on my watch, Eula thought, running for the main gate and shouting orders as she went. Glancing back, she was gratified to see Noelle keeping pace, Lisa a short distance behind them both. She’d never seen the ‘maid knight’ of Favonius in action, but had heard stories of her legendary strength. I’d have preferred to see it first in a training scenario, but the real thing will have to do.
“Captain Eula!” Mika saluted her as she arrived at Mondstadt’s main gate. There was an air of nervousness around him, but there was a determination in his eyes Eula hadn’t seen before he’d departed with Varka’s expedition.
Train and better the knights in my company, will you? I’ll have vengeance for that, Grand Master, Eula silently snarked.
“We’re still setting up defences here, what are your orders?” Mika asked. Eula glanced around the area, quickly taking in the preparations that had already been made, and calling to mind various contingency plans the Knights had created.
“I want fires with prepared stakes,” she said, pointing to a couple of locations near the gates. “We don’t have any pyro Vision holders on the front line here, and hilichurls are fond of wooden shields. Make sure they’re behind barricades to stop any electro Abyss mages getting any bright ideas.” She looked back at the bridge, thinking about the viability of holding it.
After a few moments of deliberation, she continued talking. “We shan’t bother trying to hold the main span of the bridge. Our scouts report they have lawachurls, and they might be able to ford the shallower parts of the lake. Plus their Abyss mages will likely be able to ice bridge across the water. If we try to hold the main span, we risk being cut off. That, or a lawachurl just tries bringing the bridge down with us on it, and I hardly intend to give the brutes the satisfaction. We’ll hold the end of the bridge, with the gate as our first fallback point.”
“Yes ma’am!” Her officers hurried off to fulfil her commands, and the distinctive snap of a camera shutter caught her ear. Glancing over, she saw a pink-haired woman wearing a red cap and a matching coat stood just inside the gate, peering through the viewfinder of a particularly dapper-looking camera. Scowling, Eula marched swiftly over to her.
“Civilians should evacuate the area for their own safety,” Eula said firmly, glancing back over her shoulder, expecting to see the Abyss Order cresting over the hills around Monstadt any moment.
“Oh, I won’t get in the way!” the woman said, her speech fast. “I’m a reporter; I know how to report without interfering with anything!” she assured Eula.
Right, she’s that one from Fontaine, Eula recalled, unable to place her name in that moment. “Be that as it may, I would strongly advise—”
“Incoming!” The cry of alarm overrode any other concern in Eula’s mind, turning and running over to the barricades at the end of the bridge. An ominous glow over the ridgeline was visible against the darkening skies, hilichurls starting to crest the hill opposite the bridge. Eula squinted, trying to pick out any particularly dangerous targets in this first wave, finding nothing other than the odd mitachurl.
They’ll pin us down with the chaff, and then use the stronger ones to try and break our lines, Eula thought grimly. “I want a spear wall across the bridge, now!” she barked. Her knights leapt to agree, a hedge of spears backed by shields blocking passage quickly taking shape as they formed ranks.
“We’re not in the front?” Noelle asked, looking at Eula in slight bewilderment.
“As much as I desire to extract vengeance from every single hilichurl that dares threaten Mondstadt… No, we’re not,” Eula huffed out, teeth gritted. “We can’t afford our Vision bearers being worn out or tied down before the real danger arrives. The other knights can handle the dregs until then.”
“We should still do what we can to help them out though, no?” Eula blinked at the new voice, turning to see Mona striding over to them confidently, despite the shaky edge to her tone.
“Ah, Mona!” Lisa greeted her, smiling warmly. “What brings you here?”
“Why, defending Mondstadt of course,” Mona replied imperiously, folding her arms. “I… My predictions told me my talents would be best served here,” she eventually answered, glancing at Eula. There was something apprehensive that flashed across her face as their eyes met, something that made the hairs on the back of Eula’s neck stand up.
Don’t think about it. “It would be discourteous of me to refuse help when it is offered,” Eula said, forcing the sense of foreboding out of her mind. “But if you want to help, you must do what I tell you, when I tell you to do it. If our line falls apart because you failed to obey, my vengeance will be the least of your worries,” Eula warned her.
“Yes yes, I can follow directions, believe it or not. Now, I believe I mentioned helping the troops. I can summon a hydro phantom that will lure enemy attacks away from the knights. With your permission, captain..?” Mona asked, only slightly sarcastically.
“Do it, but conserve your energy. The Abyss Order is behind this, so we’re expecting enemy mages. And wait until their front rank hits our line, use it to slow down the next wave,” Eula instructed, her tone becoming clipped and short the closer the enemy got. They were at the bridge now, the monsters’ natural aversion to water funnelling them all across the stone structure.
“Brace for impact!” Eula shouted as the hilichurls raced towards them as a horde. The incomprehensible bellowing of the monsters reached a fever pitch as the lines met. Those warcries quickly turned to the shrieks of the dead and dying, the disorganised mob faring poorly against the disciplined ranks of the Knights of Favonius.
Undeterred, they kept coming. Eula knew hilichurls to be reckless, or too simple of mind to properly assess danger before a fight began. But for them to keep pressing the attack like this, heedless of the horrendous losses her knights were inflicting on them…
Eula’s lip curled in distaste. The Abyss Order have total control over them. Those cowards won’t risk themselves, fully content to let their ‘lessers’ be butchered. No different to the Lawrences of old…
“This is awful…” Noelle muttered, eyes wide as she watched the next wave crash into the spear wall. Shortly behind them came the first mitachurls; three lumbering, axe-wielding brutes. Mona gestured sharply, a watery caricature of the astrologist appearing in front of the mitachurls and performing a taunting expression.
Thoroughly distracted, all three of them turned to attack the hydro construct, only to be riddled by a volley of arrows from Mondstadt’s walls. The rank of knights quickly advanced, finishing the injured mitachurls off with spears before falling back to their original position to meet the next wave. The wholesale slaughter of the waves of hilichurls continued, Eula and her fellow Vision holders keeping their position in the rear until the greater threats arrived.
The first sign of the Order proper was a pair of Abyss mages, one wielding pyro and the other cryo. The former’s shield was quickly stripped by Mona and Mika working in concert, allowing Noelle to surge forwards to finish it off. Meanwhile, Lisa’s lightning weakened the latter’s shield to the point Eula shattered it in a single blow, sending the unfortunate mage flying off the bridge to drown in Cider Lake’s waters.
Then, finally, the lawachurls arrived. A pair of Stonehide lawachurls, to be exact, began barging their way across the bridge, each step shaking the ground. Glowing crystals adorned their forms, indicating their infused state.
“Knights, back!” Eula ordered, the wall of spears pulling back from the bridge. “Let’s go,” she then said to Noelle, Mika, Mona, and Lisa before charging to meet the approaching lawachurls. She grabbed a burning stake from a fire as she passed, winding her arm back to throw. “Lisa!” she yelled right before she released it, hurling it straight at the two approaching titans.
“Got it!” Lisa replied, an arc of purple lightning lashing over Eula’s head, meeting the torch as it spun through the air. The resulting explosion rocked the two lawachurls, both recoiling back from the blast as flames lashed at them, cracks appearing across the crystals armouring them.
“Noelle, take the left!” Eula ordered, moving to charge the rightmost one before it could recover.
“Leave it to me!” came the shaky, but confident, reply. “Steady as stone!” The air in front of Eula flickered, a faintly yellow tint appearing as Noelle’s shield appeared around her. Planting her lead foot, she used her momentum to whip her entire body around, the Song of Broken Pines whistling through the air.
With a sharp crack, her greatsword met the lawachurl’s leg, further fracturing its Geo-infused armour and forcing it to one knee. Winding her sword back, she struck again, this time completely splintering the protective crystals. She then bent her leading leg, leaning forwards and bringing her hands down to her right hip, her sword parallel to her body.
Gritting her teeth, she let out a cry of exertion as she drove the point of her greatsword into the lawachurl’s hide, pumping cryo energy along the weapon and into her foe. The massive brute let out a bellow of pain, and Eula chanced a glance at the other lawachurl. Noelle had already broken its shield, along with one of its arms, judging by the way it hung limply at its side. A pair of cryo-infused bolts slammed into its chest, courtesy of Mika.
Eula opened her mouth to bellow a command, but before she could there was a deep rumble of thunder, followed by an ear-splitting roar as Lisa lashed both foes with lightning. Her electro energy reacted strongly with the cryo already afflicting both, clouds of mist spraying from both, scouring them with further pain. Lisa’s good at this, she thought appreciatively.
Capitalising on the elemental disruption wracking her opponent, Eula slashed low and then high, the first blow decisively crippling the lawachurl’s leg, the second opening up a wound across its chest. Howling in pained fury, the lawachurl swung a massive fist at her. Nimbly, Eula dodged to the side, and the blow hammered into the bridge, the shield around her flashing as shrapnel peppered it.
Eula danced around the follow up strikes, weaving skillfully between fists larger than her torso, laying into the lawachurl with retaliatory strikes of her own. A stray blow from the monster crashed into the shield conjured by Noelle, shattering it but leaving Eula unscathed. “Eula!” she heard Mona yell from behind her. “More cryo!”
Wordlessly, she complied. Frost coated her blade as she struck, sweeping her sword upwards to slash the monster’s arm. A dart of hydro fired over her head just after she struck, freezing the limb from shoulder to past the elbow. As the lawachurl struggled to move the arm, Eula continued her dancing steps, twirling under the immobilised limb.
Repeating the driving thrust from before, she struck the monster in the armpit, forcing the blade deep into its chest. The lawachurl’s roar quickly turned into a gurgle, blood filling its lungs. Eula grit her teeth, wrenching her blade free, and the monster pitched forwards, falling onto its chest with a dull thud.
As the monster began evaporating into a purple-black mist, she looked over at Noelle’s lawachurl as the maid-knight pitched the beast over the edge of the bridge. It crashed into the shallow water below, the corpse beginning to disappear as well. “They’re still coming…” Mika said cautiously, watching the next wave of hilichurls approach. Shields were in abundance, along with archers in the rear.
“Time to clean up!” Noelle said, giving a determined nod. She stepped forward to meet the oncoming horde before bracing herself. The crystalline shield around her flashed with renewed strength, golden light flaring from her sword. Then she charged ahead, laying into the massed hilichurls, her geo-enhanced strikes cleaving through entire ranks at a time.
How has the Acting Grand Master not admitted her into the Knights yet? Eula wondered in disbelief. She made a mental note to write a letter of recommendation once the battle was concluded. Make her take on some of the Knights’ responsibilities. That’ll be appropriate vengeance for stealing the spotlight, she snarked privately.
With Noelle occupying the immediate threat, Eula turned her focus to the wider battle. The faint din of combat behind her and to her left told her the side gate was holding. Turning over her right shoulder, she saw a bridge of ice begin creeping its way outward from the city and to the south. The sally force . And casting her gaze to the far end of the bridge, she could see more forces massing. Just how many hilichurls does the Abyss Order have to throw at us?!
Then, a pale light caught her attention, the ranks of hilichurls parting to allow a massive, hulking form through, all white fur and dark blue hide. Oh, Archons… It was another lawachurl, but it was far more than just that. A Frostarm lawachurl, coated in thick sheets of protective ice, larger still than either of the lawachurls they’d killed so far.
One of its horns was shorn off part way down, and its mask was a dark metal rather than the brighter steel usually worn by them. A network of scars criss-crossed over its arms and chest, painting a picture that stirred recognition in Eula’s memory.
Vile Rime. The monster had garnered a formidable reputation in both Mondstadt and Liyue; a lawachurl of legendary strength. It was responsible for so many deaths that the Knights, Millelith, and Adventurers’ Guild had long since stopped posting bounties for the creature’s destruction.
And now it’s here, Eula thought grimly as it stomped its way towards the bridge at an almost leisurely pace. And we’ve got about the worst possible elements to face it. Turning, she grabbed one of her knights by the shoulder. “You, go to the side gate and get Diluc and Klee. And every other pyro wielder you can find. Tell them Vile Rime is at the main gate!” He nodded and sprinted off, and she grabbed another. “Go to Headquarters and tell them the same, go!”
“What do we do?” Mona asked, swallowing nervously as Vile Rime lumbered ever closer. None of the hilichurls seemed inclined to follow it, instead content to watch. As were, apparently, the few Abyss Mages Eula could pick out in the dim light.
“We need to hold it long enough for pyro Vision wielders to arrive. Archons willing, maybe we’ll even be able to take it down ourselves.” Mona didn’t look convinced, but she nodded, hydro pooling around her hands.
“Our trick worked well against the first pair of lawachurls,” Lisa pointed out as she joined the pair. The air around her smelt of ozone, Eula’s skin prickling at the amount of electro coming off Lisa.
“That’ll be our opening then. There’s no finesse to brute-forcing it, but it’s not like we have any other options,” Eula said, watching the lawachurl.
“I don’t need to point out that our elements are just about the worst match possible for this thing, right?” Mona asked.
“No, but we don’t have any other choice.” She turned away from the monster to briefly meet each of their eyes. Noelle’s shone with determination. Lisa’s practically crackled with lightning, her usual lazy humour now vacant. Mika looked at her with both anxiety, and eagerness to do his duty. And Mona returned her gaze with resolved conviction. “Let the wind lead.”
With that, the five spread out in a skirmish line at the end of the bridge, the regular knights ordered to form a line behind them; without Visions, they’d be helpless against Vile Rime. Eula and Noelle were in the fore, Mika between them and a short distance back, whilst Mona and Lisa were in the rear on the right and left, respectively. All five held burning stakes from the flames, ready to hurl at Eula’s command
Ahead of them, Vile Rime let out a bellow, its lumbering pace quickly accelerating into a charge. Eula’s eyes narrowed, a wave of cold air billowing out ahead of it as it approached. She waited, and waited, until…
“Now!” At her command, a flurry of burning stakes and logs were thrown, the stronger throwers in the regular knights adding to the barrage. Then, Eula tasted copper, her hair almost standing on end as Lisa released her stored electro energy. A purple lantern-like construct appeared over her head, a crackling rose the same colour floating inside it.
Immediately, lightning began lashing from it, arcing between the thrown fires. Just like with the first wave of lawachurls, they erupted in a fierce series of explosions. Though the force of the detonation failed to break its armour, Vile Rime was forced to check its charge, slowing as it flailed its arms in front of its face wildly.
Noelle and Eula dashed ahead as it was distracted, hammering desperate blows into its knees and lower legs, trying to make it stumble. Enraged, the monster brought both fists down in a hammerblow, forcing the pair to retreat. Mika fired rapidly with his crossbow, bolts pinging off its mask, and it raised a hand to protect its face.
“Fate is upon you!” Mona cried, casting her hands forwards. Hydro energy crashed into Vile Rime’s chest, a translucent dome of stars briefly flickering around the battlefield. A constellation lingered, haloing the monster in faint starlight. Eula didn’t know much about how the astrologist’s power worked, but she knew enough to know it was time to strike.
Vengeance will be mine! Darting to the monster’s left, she extended her sword fully to one side, unleashing the elemental power she’d been building over the course of the battle. The Song of Broken Pines became wreathed in white light, the blade appearing to double in size before she swung with all her might.
The illusory blade shattered on impact with the lawachurl’s midriff, fragments of its ice armour exploding away from the force of the blow. The familiar Lightfall Sword then appeared at her side, just the hilt and crossguard for now. That was soon to change, as Eula launched into a flurry of attacks, spinning and twirling from one stance to the next.
As the enraged titan bellowed and swung at her, she smoothly shifted to a guard position, her blade held across her body, bracing the flat with one arm. Only the enhanced strength granted to her by the Lightfall Sword let her withstand the attack, her arms rattled by the impact. With a grimace and a flourish, she turned Vile Rime’s arm aside, continuing her frantic assault. The floating sword of light grew more complete with every attack, fighting more and more against her restraining control.
Just a little more… And, now! She released the Lightfall Sword. It blinked out of existence, only to reappear many times larger over Vile Rime’s head. Sensing the danger, it looked up and then lifted an arm, right as the blade dropped.
There was a wet, wrenching noise and a bellow of pain and fury loud enough to rattle Eula’s teeth in her skull. The descending blade broke the lawachurl’s armour of frost, before cleaving straight into and then through its arm, severing it just below the shoulder. The severed limb landed on the bridge with a splat, and Vile Rime reeled back, foul, stinking blood fountaining from the wound. Eula felt grim satisfaction at the sight.
She didn’t have long to savour the feeling. With sudden, fury-driven speed, Vile Rime lashed out. The back of its hand slammed into her, throwing her against the bridge’s wall. She gasped, the wind driven from her lungs, stars flashing in her vision. Blinking them away quickly, her eyes widened as she saw the monster bearing down on her, intent on goring her with its horn.
In desperation she swung her sword at its face, the blade skittering across its metal mask before catching the base of the horn, severing it. Bellowing in hatred, it stood back to full height, apparently uncaring of the lightning lashing its form as it lifted a clawed foot and stamped on her.
Eula didn’t have enough air in her body to scream as she felt her leg snap, feeling more bones in her body crunching. The enraged lawachurl swept its arm across the bridge, breaking Noelle’s shield and forcing her and Mika back as they desperately tried to rush in to save her. Eula gasped in pain, barely able to do more than look as Vile Rime turned back to her.
It quickly stooped down, picking up its severed horn even as electro and hydro energy assailed it more and more frantically. She grunted, fingers gripping her sword’s hilt, but she lacked the strength to lift it. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the monster’s horn as it lifted, and then came down.
Please, no— White hot agony replaced everything. Even the pain of her broken leg dimmed as Vile Rime stabbed her in the gut, hard enough that Eula was sure it had skewered her completely. She was given no relief, the monster grabbing her by her injured leg and throwing her against the opposite wall.
Coughing weakly, she could only watch through tear-blurred eyes as the massive hand reached out to grab her again. This time, it grabbed her around the torso, arms pinned to her sides as she was lifted into the air. Blue, hateful eyes glared at her from behind its mask, before it squeezed.
Eula’s vision started to go dark around the edges, a weak, choked gurgle coming from her throat. She tried to struggle, to summon cryo energy. Even to spit in her killer’s face. She couldn’t even manage that as the life was crushed from her body. I’m sorry, Amber…
“EULA!” The horrified scream cut through the pain, and a flash of red flew into vision. It was only thanks to long familiarity that she recognised it as a Baron Bunny before it exploded against the side of the lawachurl’s head. Roaring, it was sent reeling, Eula slipping from its grip as it released her.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she plummeted past the edge of the bridge helplessly. Above her, someone dived after her, Amber reaching towards her with naked fear on her face. Behind her, mostly obscured by the structure of the bridge, a massive bird made of flame erupted into existence, screeching and flaring its wings.
Then Eula hit the water, and merciful oblivion swallowed her.