When the Stars Fall [Genshin Impact]

Chapter 14: A Clash of Thunder

You had a quiver of arrows and a bow in case anything went wrong, but for now, you would use a polearm.

Scaramouche looked bored, almost disinterested, as if he had nothing to lose. “What are you waiting for? Or are you not as strong as everybody thinks you are?”

Was he trying to irritate you? You shook it off, and then rushed at him.

You thrust your right arm forward, aiming for his side - or what should have been his side. He stepped out of the way, seemingly unbothered. You swung again, this time at his neck so that he would be forced to take a step backwards. He did that, and your polearm filled with Electro energy as you swiped at him.

He dodged again and again and again. You landed no hits on him. His body position suggested he wanted the battle to turn the other way, as he was leaning towards the left, leaving an open space for you to fill in on his right. If you took it, the battle would continue in the opposite direction.

Your aggressive attacks quickly drained you, and you knew it was no use if he kept avoiding them. You withdrew a little, assessing your situation. Scaramouche was yet to attack; he had merely been slipping out of yours.

You could perform an area of effect attack with your polearm to hopefully stun him and then switch to your bow. Your quiver of arrows appeared, strapped to your back.

You threw your polearm in his direction. It was now imbued with Electro energy and it released a wave of it. Scaramouche, after avoiding the initial attack, also did not seem to be affected by the blast of Electro.

"What?" you muttered.

"If that's all for now, I believe it's my turn to attack."

And he rushed at you with breakneck speed. You felt a burning sensation creep up your arm, and you flinched. He was directly in the way of retrieving your polearm, so you loosed a few Electro arrows at him, which did not land.

Scaramouche had claimed he could not wield elemental powers. So that was a lie to get you to lower your guard. He attacked with a catalyst, it seemed, as he did not use a tangible weapon or object to channel his element.

The dark purple sparks that clashed against your arrows were disheartening, to say the least. Scaramouche didn’t seem to be breaking a sweat as he easily deflected.

He was targeting your weaker, exposed points to try and tire you out. But his attacks were blindingly fast and you really couldn’t keep up the defence. You were dodging, skidding and ducking away from his attacks, but it was inevitable when he landed a strike on you.

Scaramouche used the split second to close in on you, disarming you in a single fluid movement. The Electro humming in his fingers formed into a single blade, and it struck you in the stomach, sending you flying.

You landed on your side, skidding until you crashed against one of the thick trees, arrows pressed against your back. Dirt had got in your eyes and your eyesight was blurring as you pushed yourself up with an effort.

You had never been defeated as quickly as this. You were on even ground with Kaeya and Diluc when sparring, so how was Scaramouche wiping the floor with you?

Before you had time to recover, you felt a cold hand wrap around your neck. Scaramouche did not squeeze, however. Your breaths remained ragged and uneven as your body reeled.

“So this is who carries Mondstadt's legacy?” He used his thumb to tilt your head upwards at him. “I wonder how pathetic the rest of them are.”

“I can still fight,” you voiced through gritted teeth.

“We’ll see about that.” Scaramouche’s Electro blade pulsated as he brought it closer to your chest. There was a burning sensation before a cool chill ran down your body.