The fiery phoenix exploded alongside the icy necklace, unleashing a violent surge of searing cold flames that ripped through the surrounding monsters. Wherever the fire and frost touched, enemies were obliterated—half their bodies reduced to ash, the other half frozen solid. It was a grotesque display of two opposing forces working in perfect harmony, splitting the monstrosities cleanly down the middle.
As the inferno devoured the remains, the flames drew strength from the scattered corpses. Like a relentless flood engulfing everything in its path, the blaze's intensity continued to grow, consuming rocks, trees, and anything else it encountered.
The monsters had no chance. The combined onslaught of fire and ice overwhelmed them. Even as the icy power began to wane, the flames roared ever stronger, threatening to transform the entire cavern into a raging inferno.
With a final, thunderous detonation, the firestorm reached its peak, collapsing under its own overwhelming force like a meteor crashing to earth. The resulting explosion marked the ultimate release of its stored energy—an awe-inspiring display of raw destruction.
A shrill cry echoed from within Diluc as the immortal phoenix rose anew from its fiery shell. It erupted in an inferno of rebirth, its blazing form proclaiming the resurgence of its power to the world.
Smoke and dust filled the air, the aftermath of the explosion leaving a trail of devastation. Amid the chaos, a muffled Liyue curse could just barely be heard.
As the haze began to clear, the scene within the cavern revealed itself.
Gu Sanqiu stood with Klee on his back, who in turn carried a tightly curled-up Paimon clinging to her for dear life.
"Whew! Lucky I reacted in time."
Not only was he carrying two passengers, but Gu Sanqiu also had Kaeya in one hand and Eula in the other—who, incidentally, had grabbed Amber in the midst of the chaos.
Somehow, this had all ended in a rather awkward, left-hand-right-hand-embrace arrangement.
Ahead of them, Albedo knelt on one knee, hands pressed firmly to the ground as he maintained his golden barrier. Together with Gu Sanqiu's massive Geo shield, the two had absorbed the brunt of the explosion and protected everyone.
"Well, good thing we had the remnants of Durin's power here," Gu Sanqiu muttered, releasing his grip on Eula and Kaeya. "If this had happened somewhere else, we'd all be buried under rubble by now."
Seeing the explosion's shockwave subside, Albedo stood and turned to the group. "Is everyone alright?"
"We're fine," Eula said, rolling her shoulder before glaring daggers at Gu Sanqiu.
"You dare grab my shoulder so casually? I'll remember this insult!" She paused, then added begrudgingly, "…Thanks."
Gu Sanqiu sighed. "Hey, in that moment, grabbing your shoulder was the least indecent option I had. Would you have preferred I hoist you by the waist like I did with Kaeya?"
Grabbing her shoulder could be written off as situational necessity, but lifting a girl by the waist would've been much harder to explain away.
Moments earlier, when Gu Sanqiu sensed the surge of elemental power from the Cryo and Pyro duo's ultimate move, he immediately activated his elemental seed. He had swooped in to bring Eula to safety first, then returned to rescue Aether's group and the ranged fighters.
Since he didn't have three heads and six arms, Paimon had ended up perched on Klee's back, resulting in a precarious stacking situation.
Still, his swift reaction and use of the Geo Vision's advanced shielding techniques had saved everyone from serious harm.
At the epicenter of the blast, Diluc and Kaeya lay near exhaustion. One was sprawled on the ground, while the other sat upright, leaning heavily on his claymore.
Kaeya smirked, glancing at Diluc. "Well, admit it—you couldn't have pulled off that explosion without my elemental support. Without me stabilizing the reaction, it would've gone off too soon and wouldn't have been nearly as powerful."
"Keep dreaming," Diluc replied, pushing himself to his feet. "That was nothing more than a trivial maneuver. If you had been more competent, we could've cleared out even more of the surrounding monsters."
He extended a hand toward Kaeya. "Can you stand?"
"Oh, so now you're offering help?" Kaeya chuckled, grabbing Diluc's hand to pull himself up.
The result? Both of them promptly toppled back to the ground.
Diluc shot Kaeya a murderous glare.
"Whoops! Guess I underestimated how little strength you had left," Kaeya said sheepishly, offering a nervous laugh.
"Alright, you two," Gu Sanqiu interrupted as he approached, waving his hand dismissively. With a gust of wind, he helped lift both of them upright and tossed them a few recovery pills.
"Save the heartfelt bonding for later. For now, take these and rest up. We'll need you soon."
He set up a soundproof barrier around Klee, who had already started dozing off. Then, his expression darkened.
"Seriously, what were you two thinking? A blast like that in a confined space? You're lucky we didn't all get buried alive!"
Turning his glare on the pair, he continued, "And that move? It didn't even discriminate between friend or foe! If Albedo and I hadn't shielded everyone, were you planning to barbecue us all?"
He jabbed a finger at them. "Tell me, are you sure you're not spies sent by the Abyss Order?"
He paused, narrowing his eyes at Kaeya. Wait a minute… isn't one of you actually from Khaenri'ah?
"Apologies," Diluc said, his voice even. He wasn't about to argue, but he silently added another grudge to his mental tally against Kaeya. This whole thing was his idea.
"We'll rest briefly," Albedo said, rising to his feet. "Once the monsters outside regroup, they'll attack again. Until then, hold the line. I'll set up a sealing alchemy array here. Afterward, we'll head out to destroy most of the remaining altars. If we succeed, this operation will be a success."
"Fair enough," Gu Sanqiu replied, adjusting Klee on his back. "Though I'm curious—these monsters were summoned en masse, right? Shouldn't there have been some ritual to suppress pain and fear? You'd think they'd want to optimize them for swarm tactics."
Albedo paused mid-preparation, then nodded grimly. "A valid concern. I'll work quickly. Everyone, be prepared—we don't know what tricks they might still have up their sleeves."
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T/N: LMAO almost took out the team smh... MAXIMUM PULSE (with friendly fire)