With a deafening BOOM, Eula, Jean, Lumine, and the others shielding the front were sent flying backward by the force.
The grader's fist met only slight resistance, but that was all.
Seeing the fist about to crush him, Diluc shoved Rola aside with all his might and closed his eyes, bracing for impact.
"No!!!" Kaeya scrambled to his feet and charged forward, but it was too late.
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed through the area. Yet Diluc felt no pain. Opening his eyes, he witnessed a sight he would never forget.
His sister, Rola, stood before him, shielding him from the fatal blow.
Diluc couldn't fathom how her slender frame had withstood such an attack. From his angle, he could only see her back.
Blood streamed from Rola's eyes and mouth. Her spear was braced against the grader's fist, its tip buried deep in the machine's armor. Her feet were planted firmly in the ground, digging deep into the hard earth.
The Pyro Element coalesced into a semicircular shield before Rola, absorbing most of the impact from the grader's massive fist.
The Pyro Vision hanging at her waist glowed brightly.
"I told you, I'm strong! You're not worthy to harm my brother in front of me!"
-
Within Mondstadt,
Barbara watched the fierce battle raging in the distance, her heart filled with prayers to the Anemo Archon.
"Lord Barbatos, please protect the people of Mondstadt!"
Many knights and adventurers tried to rush out to join the fray, but they were held back.
Mondstadt's strongest warriors were already engaged; any reinforcements would only add to the chaos.
Countless Mondstadters emerged from their homes, watching the distant battle and praying to the Anemo Archon alongside Barbara.
Klee, mimicking the adults, clasped her hands and prayed:
"Lord Barbatos, Lord Barbatos, please protect Grand Master Jean, Brother Kaeya, and Sister Rola... Keep them all safe! Please, please, I still want to go fish blasting with Sister Rola!"
-
Player World
After seeing the Anemo Archon lured away by the Fell Dragon and the subsequent appearance of even higher-level monsters, the players felt a growing sense of unease.
As the story progressed, the players controlled the Traveler to battle these monsters.
The battles weren't particularly difficult. Although Chen Xiyao's gameplay skills were lacking, her character's stats were high enough that she easily emerged victorious.
This segment featured numerous cinematic cutscenes, and the grand scale of the scenes thrilled the players.
[Rola is so badass! She split a Ruin Guard in half with a single spear strike! Who else can do that?!]
[Waaah, she wasn't lying! She's seriously strong!]
[Was Diluc this powerful in his lore?! No wonder he's such a beast wielding a Claymore one-handed!]
[Lisa! Lisa is my Archon!]
[Holy crap, one ultimate wiped them all out! So Lisa was the most OP character hiding in plain sight!]
[Noelle!!!]
[The maid! Holy shit, did she just one-handedly slap a Ruin Guard flying?!]
[Damn, I can't keep up with all this action!]
[Everyone's so strong! It's clear our limited skills were holding them back.]
Guojia's live stream chat buzzed with excitement.
When Grader appeared with Malice perched on its shoulder, the chat erupted in a fresh wave of abuse.
Malice was designed to attract hate anyway, so the viewers felt free to hurl insults.
But after cursing him, they couldn't curse Jiang Mumu anymore, okay?
Then the protagonist team suffered setbacks, and Diluc was injured. Both Guojia and her viewers fell noticeably quieter.
Finally, when Rola blocked Ruin Guard's punch and started bleeding from her eyes and mouth, the chat erupted in rage again.
[Lord Barbatos, come back soon! If you don't, your home will be destroyed!]
[Damn you, you Abyss scum! What did Rola ever do to you?]
[Warning, miHoYo! Don't you dare give us any more heartbreak! I hate tearjerkers! I'll storm your company if you do!]
[Waaah, my precious Rola! Seeing you like this breaks my heart!]
[Holy shit, this is the most brutal plotline ever! The entire Mondstadt team is injured, and Rola's being treated like this!]
The same scene unfolded across various streamers' live streams.
Overseas streamers were dropping f-bombs left and right, while many others, sensing something was wrong, had already started crying.
-
Regardless of the players' reactions, in Mondstadt...
Rola flipped herself onto the grader's arm, simultaneously yanking her spear free from the grader's fist.
The extracted spear had lost its tip. The spearhead had fulfilled its purpose, shattered completely within the grader's fist.
Rola retrieved a new spearhead from her Vision and attached it. She twirled the flame-infused spear, then swiftly climbed up the grader's arm.
The grader's massive fist blocked most people's view, leaving Kaeya and Lumine, who were closest, the only ones who could see Rola's facial expression.
"Rola, don't push yourself! Come back now!" Kaeya shouted.
Kaeya and Lumine tried to follow Rola, but the grader's fist had already retracted. They could only watch helplessly as Rola climbed onto the grader's body.
All eyes were fixed on Rola, hearts pounding wildly.
What the players saw in the Player World was the scene edited with a battle anthem, making it even more breathtakingly intense!
Rola charged upward, nimbly evading the grader's relentless attacks with graceful agility.
Frustrated by her elusiveness, the grader unleashed a massive burst of gas from every seam in its body. The force of the blast knocked Rola off balance, sending her tumbling from its back.
The onlookers from Mondstadt gasped in shock.
As she fell, Rola thrust her fiery spear into the grader's body. The spear plunged deep, and she used its momentum to swing herself back up onto its back.
The crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Just then, Rola retrieved the Jumpy Dumpty bomb Klee had given her.
Following Klee's instructions, she infused it with Pyro Element and hurled it into the grader's core, where it lodged securely between two seams.
The grader's massive hands lunged at her again, but Rola dodged left and right, remaining just out of reach.
After stalling for a few moments, Rola leaped off the grader's back, landing nimbly on the ground before it.
The grader lunged forward, ready to strike again, but with a thunderous boom, the core of the grader exploded, the tremendous force tearing a gaping hole in its core.
The blast sent the grader's leaning body crashing backward, its massive frame seemingly losing all support as it slowly toppled.
Klee deserves the credit for this victory!
The falling grader created another massive commotion, but Rola didn't even glance back.
A hero never looks back at explosions, she thought. I look so cool doing this!
Diluc stared at his sister, whose face was covered in blood. His eyes welled up with pain.
This was the first time he had cried since their father's death.
Rola glanced at the others, seeing the admiration she craved in their eyes. While pleased, she also noticed their worry—especially her brother, who was even sniffling! How embarrassing! she thought.
A sudden realization struck her. Rola frantically wiped her face with her hands, then gave the crowd a thumbs-up, flashing an innocent, harmless smile.
The bloody mess she had been in was now haphazardly smeared into a cat-like appearance, complete with crude whiskers.
"See? I told you, I'm super strong, right? You didn't believe me before, but you do now, don't you, big brother?!"
Diluc nodded vigorously.
I believe you now! I really do!
Rola held that pose and expression for a long time, wanting everyone to remember her as she was in that moment.
Because...
-
Nearby, Lumine, who had been about to give Rola a thumbs-up in return, suddenly realized something—something that sent a chill down her spine!
That guy had been hiding nearby the whole time. He had been watching them all along!
Lumine's heart clenched as an ominous premonition flooded her body.
"Rola, watch out—"
Before Lumine could finish her warning...
Thunk—
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was faint, yet at that moment, it rang clearly in everyone's ears.
Rola lowered her head to see a long blade protruding from her heart. Her expression was one of confusion, as if she couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
"Rola, no—!"
The blade was withdrawn, and a torrent of blood gushed from the wound.
The searing pain forced Rola to her knees, her body collapsing in the direction where her brother Diluc stood.
Earlier, forcefully blocking the grader's punch had already pushed Rola's body to its limits, nearly shattering it. She had only managed to secure a final burst of strength by unleashing the power of her Vision.
This final strike by malice, shattered the precarious balance within Rola's already crumbling body.
In the last vestiges of consciousness remaining within her body, Rola mustered her remaining strength and lifted her head.
She saw her brother stumbling toward her in panic, the others rushing forward without hesitation, their mouths moving, but she couldn't hear a single sound.
Is this... my curtain call?
I suppose so...