"Ying, what do we do? How did these Ruin Guards all 'come alive'?"
The surrounding Ruin Guards activated on their own. Paimon looked around, noticing they were closing in on them.
"Is Feng Yi unable to find us? If only Feng Yi were here..." Paimon muttered softly. Four Ruin Guards had already surrounded them, blocking all escape routes.
She couldn't help but pray, wishing Feng Yi were here. At least he could be a decoy, drawing one away, giving them time to slip away.
"Paimon, you hide further away..."
Before the fight began, Ying told Paimon to move back, as she wouldn't be able to take care of Paimon once combat started.
"Then be careful! I'll cheer for you from the side!"
Paimon thought the same. Her staying wouldn't be of any use and would only hold Ying back.
Ruin Guards: *Sigh, what are you talking about? How could you be useless if you stayed? Wouldn't you be perfect as a moving target?*
Paimon's swift movement was immediately detected by the four Ruin Guards. They stopped, braced themselves on their arms, and powerful energy cannonballs began to charge in their chests.
"Ying, save me!"
Paimon cried out in panic. Being locked onto like this was terrifying; it felt like a giant 'DANGER' sign was flashing wildly in her mind.
Ying frowned, throwing her longsword to interrupt one Ruin Guard's charge.
With her other hand, she unleashed a Geo-infused flying sword, disrupting another Ruin Guard.
But for the other two Ruin Guards aiming at Paimon, she was too late to intervene.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—*
Several homing missiles flew from the Ruin Guards' energy cores, directly pursuing Paimon.
Just as the missiles were about to hit Paimon, time seemed to momentarily freeze. Paimon shifted her position, narrowly dodging the missiles.
*Yo, nice footwork.*
Feng Yi, wielding his spear, shattered a wall and rushed over. Seeing Ying and Paimon safe, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmm... If you had come any later, you wouldn't have seen us."
Paimon urged Feng Yi to stop watching and help.
With Feng Yi's addition, the remaining Ruin Guards were quickly dismantled.
Afterward, when the topic of Paimon dodging the missiles came up, Paimon was always evasive, quickly changing the subject.
"What about Tok and Tartaglia? Are they in danger too? Let's go find them..."
Paimon's method of changing the subject was clumsy, but Feng Yi didn't press the issue. Some things would become clear later. For now, finding Tartaglia was the priority. After this incident, he worried the story's progression might not be as smooth as in the game.
Meanwhile, Tartaglia, after dealing with several slimes used as power sources, used his experience exploring ruins to open the stone door mechanism to Teyvat's room.
"Hey, the door's open! Brother, there are so many 'Cyclopses' here!"
Teyvat waved happily to his brother.
"Teyvat, don't move around too much. Brother will be there soon."
Tartaglia hurriedly cautioned him. He wished he hadn't indulged 'Teyvat' so much before.
"Phew... Finally reunited. Teyvat, are you hurt anywhere?"
Tartaglia carefully avoided the laser beams set by "The Doctor" and finally reunited with Teyvat.
"Hurt? No, Teyvat thinks it's really fun! What's in front... such a big room! Is this the 'Cyclopses' reception hall?"
Teyvat felt this was much more fun than an amusement park. He then pointed to the large hall at the very back. The 'Cyclopses' seated inside looked even more advanced, clearly limited edition toys.
"Yes, it's a very spacious area. How about we play hide-and-seek?"
Tartaglia sighed, then forced a smile.
"Huh... Now? But..."
"Brother wants to prepare some... hmm, surprises for you."
"Surprises? What surprises?!"
"Surprises aren't surprises if you tell them. Teyvat can go find them himself later, but before that, Teyvat needs to close his eyes and count to sixty."
Tartaglia made a deal with Teyvat. As Teyvat turned away, Tartaglia's eyes, fixed on the hall, were filled with killing intent.
*The Doctor actually dared to lay hands on his family. This is unforgivable!*
"Okay... Sixty counts, that's so long. Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight..."
Time was limited, so Tartaglia decided not to hold back and prepare to go all out to deal with the danger here.
"Forty-seven, forty-six, forty-five... What's that banging sound, brother..."
"That's part of the surprise too, don't rush~!"
Tartaglia crushed the energy core of a Ruin Guard with his hand, while nimbly dodging the heavy blows from the other Ruin Guards' iron arms.
"Sixteen, twelve, seven..."
"Hey Teyvat, did you skip some numbers just now?"
Tartaglia swung his dual blades mercilessly, his gaze cold and sharp, but his tone when speaking to Teyvat was extremely gentle.
"Hehe, you found me out. Alright, sixteen, fifteen, fourteen... Three, two, one!"
All the Ruin Guards in the hall were eliminated by Tartaglia. But as Teyvat finished counting, three modified Ruin Guards were just lowered onto the conveyor belt, as if perfectly timed.
"Are you done, brother?"
"Give me ten more seconds, Teyvat. I haven't hidden yet..."
Tartaglia's gaze grew even colder. He couldn't guess "The Doctor's" intentions by now.
If he didn't comply with "The Doctor's" wishes, modified Ruin Guards like these might keep appearing endlessly.
But he would remember this grudge.
"Hmph, brother is cheating again. Alright, ten more seconds..."
Teyvat: *I'll spoil my brother one more time then.*
Tartaglia smiled apologetically, his fingertips already touching his Delusion.
Just as a Ruin Guard's iron fist swung towards Tartaglia's face, a brilliant purple lightning flashed, creating ripples like a starry sky pattern.
*Zzzt—*
The Ruin Guard's body stiffened and collapsed. Its energy core was immediately impaled by the Demon God's embodiment of Tartaglia, and its targeting system failed completely at this moment, unable to lock onto the lightning-fast Tartaglia.
Dust flew, lightning crackled. For every second Teyvat counted, another Ruin Guard with a blown energy core toppled over.
"Six, five, four, three, two, one... I'm opening my eyes!"
Teyvat opened his eyes and found that his brother had hidden and was waiting for him to search. In the hall, 'Cyclopses' lay scattered everywhere, some still steaming, arranged like toys – just like in his dreams!