//------------------------------// // Episode 12: The Darknight Hero's Battle // Story: Twilight Sparkle gets a Genshin Impact Season 1 // by MLPandMiraculousFanatic //------------------------------// The next day Twilight, Paimon and Lumine went out of their rooms as they went to the plaza where they noticed Rainbow "Hey everypony, I've got a meeting planned for today with Huffman and don't worry, I didn't tell him the Darknight Hero's secret identity and even when I did he told me to tell him everything today so I thought why not bring my friends into it, I mean, we're helping him after all" Rainbow explained "True, alright then, to the headquarters we go!" Twilight announced The group then began walking to the headquarters where they entered before Huffman came to bring them into his and the other guards' office where they noticed the guards had left "So, did you figure out something?" Huffman asked "Well..." Twilight explained Afterwards the group told Huffman the whole story, they even told them they met the actual Darknight Hero without saying Diluc's name which caused a bit of an argument which ended up with the group saying sorry and Huffman to get worried "If we do not make contact with the Knights of Favonius soon..." Huffman thought worriedly "What are we to do about the Abyss Order's challenge?" Lumine asked "Yeah, there's a chance he'd die!" Rainbow reminded "I must admit, this issue of the Darknight Hero is proving to be something of a headache" Huffman explained "I agree, perhaps you know what we should do" Twilight said "Well, we've held a meeting to decide on an appropriate course of action yesterday, can you guess what it is?" Huffman asked "Join forces with the Darknight Hero?" Rainbow asked "Stop the plan with your own hands?" Twilight asked "Force the mysterious Darknight Hero to join the Knights of Favonius?" Lumine asked "We're not having the Darknight Hero join forces with us or force him to join the Knights of Favonius" Huffman explained "Why? If you don't mind us asking?" Paimon asked "Well, that would send a signal that the Knights are in favor of the Darknight Hero's continued presence in our city... Which we are not" Huffman explained "Are you sure? I mean, he's saving your town time and time again" Twilight reminded "Encouraging this kind of individual heroism undermines the knights' authority" Huffman explained "Oh, well, what's the plan then?" Paimon asked "Find out the Darknight Hero's true identity and offer him our protection" Huffman explained "'Protection'? He seems to be doing just fine without your protection so far y'know..." Paimon reminded "Pff..." Huffman scoffed before thinking "Well, since you've aided the knights in the past I might as well just tell you, the offer of protection is just a ruse in order for the Knights of Favonius to take over full and exclusive responsibility for this matter" Huffman explained "You aren't gonna let the Darknight Hero be all heroic and stuff? Why not?" Paimon asked "Firstly, to show the might of the Knights of Favonius and to prove to the people that without the Darknight Hero they can still rely on the Knights to maintain peace and harmony, secondly, the Abyss Order have no mercy in their hearts, if anything happened to the Darknight Hero... It would only serve to further their nefarious ambitions" Huffman explained "Gosh... Paimon never knew the life of a knight involved so much untold anquish before" Paimon explained in disbelief "But none of this will work if we don't establish the Darknight Hero's true identity in time" Huffman reminded Kaeya then entered into the room where he turned to Huffman while speaking as he presumably heard the whole story "There's no need to despair Huffman, just follow my plan and everything will be fine" Kaeya suggested Huffman then turned to Kaeya in shock "Ah, Captain Kaeya" Huffman said in shock "Are you here to give us some clues?" Rainbow asked "Yes, lately Master Diluc has been working working at the bar of the Angel's Share every night" Kaeya explained "Really?" Twilight asked "Yes, all I need you to do is keep him in your sight, think you can manage that for me?" Kaeya asked "Yes Captain Kaeya!... But does that mean that... Master Diluc is the Darknight Hero?" Huffman asked "Who knows...? It's just a hunch, I've been known to be wrong on occasion" Kaeya explained Kaeya then left as Huffman turned to the group "Girls, I've got some stuff to prepare, why don't you go do something else" Huffman suggested "Alright, let's go girls" Twilight said The group then left the room as Paimon turned to the group in worry and disbelief "Wow, Paimon feels like we saw a whole new side of the Knights of Favonius today..." Paimon explained "Hey! At least I'm not one of the ones that showed a new side of myself" Rainbow explained "Still, Paimon doesn't understand, how is Kaeya so sure he knows who the Darknight Hero is?" Paimon asked "And better yet how he knew it's Diluc?" Rainbow explained "Don't say that out loud" Twilight ordered angrily before thinking "But yeah, that's suspicious too" Twilight agreed "We need to get to the winery and tell Master Diluc as soon as Paimonly possible!" Paimon suggested The group then began walking across the road to the Dawn Winery and when they arrived they entered the room where they met with Diluc in worry as Paimon flew close to him in her own speed faster than the others before stopping in front of his face "Master Diluc! Paimon has something important to tell you---" Paimon started "Yes... About Kaeya..." Diluc explained "Oh come on! We came here for nothing again!" Rainbow called out in disbelief Twilight then approached Rainbow "You'll have your chance someday" Twilight said "Thanks Twilight" Rainbow thanked "I should have known he would see this as the perfect opportunity to get back at me" Diluc explained "Sounds like there's a bit of bad blood between you guys then?" Paimon asked "I shan't get into that now, more importantly, the Knights of Favonius are responding more or less as I had anticipated" Diluc explained "We should've known too, my bad there" Twilight apologized "All we need to do now is think of a counter plan" Diluc suggested "Steering clear of the tavern I suppose?" Lumine asked "That won't work, it will only arouse the knights' suspicion if I don't show up as they're expecting" Diluc explained "True, they might get their suspicions correct too" Rainbow said "What if we pretend that you have diarhea?" Twilight asked "Gross but that's not a bad plan but that's what Kaeya is counting on, they want me to ask suspiciously" Diluc said "Hmm... So what are we gonna do?" Paimon asked "What if we tell them you're going to gather some herbs?" Rainbow asked "Patience girls, Let me think for a moment..." Diluc suggested Diluc then began thinking "If they intend to monitor me then so be it, we can use this to create the perfect alibi" Diluc explained "What's an alabla--- an alibi?" Paimon asked "Yeah, can you tell me too?" Rainbow asked "If you want to find out maybe you can do me a small favor first" Diluc suggested "Oh come on! Why do you love cliffhangers so much?" Paimon asked "In Mondstadt Mist Flowers are most commonly found in a region just northwest of the winery" Diluc explained "So..." Twilight asked "If you could gather some for me I'd be most grateful, I will make other preparations here in the meantime" Diluc explained The four then went to the northwest section of the winery and got some mist flowers and once they thought they had enough they met back up "Has everyone gotten them all?" Twilight asked "Yes, Paimon and Lumine have gotten the best mist flowers we could find!" Paimon explained "Me and Twilight too" Rainbow said "I thought this wasn't a competition" Lumine said "Well, I thought it was" Rainbow said "That doesn't matter, let's just return to the Dawn Winery" Twilight suggested The group then walked back to the Dawn Winery and when they arrived they saw Diluc talking to someone next to him as they approached him "Master Diluc!" Paimon called out Diluc then turned to them only to see they had returned "Ah, you're back" Diluc said in relief "Before we get our info, who's that guy?" Rainbow asked Diluc then gasped in realization "Right, allow me to introduce the winery's master brewer---" Diluc started "So many Mist Flowers... Great! I can't wait to see how this turns out!" The guy called out in relief before turning to Diluc "So, are you certain the equipment can withstand this level of purity?" Diluc asked "Oh my... My goodness, the winery owner is addressing me directly! Don't worry sir! It is always my honor to serve you even if it means risking my life!" The guy called out in shock and awe "Seems like we've got another fan on our hooves" Twilight whispered to her friends "Another fan? I thought this was the only one I saw ever?" Rainbow asked "You seriously need your memories back" Twilight said with a facepalm "Still, what's so life-threatening about this?" Paimon asked The guy then grabbed the Mist Flowers that were either in Twilight's magic or in Lumine's hands and walked off "Please excuse me, I must get to work!" The guy said while doing so "What's he gonna do with a bunch of Mist Flowers?" Paimon asked "Long story short... A few days ago the winery was experimenting with some new flavors, they wanted to see if Mist Flowers can truly add a crisp and refreshing taste and sure enough they discovered that the flower's extract is truly potent" Diluc explained "So the new batch is selling like hot cakes?" Paimon asked in excitement "No, not potent in terms of attracting customers but slimes" Diluc explained "SLIMES?!" The group asked in shock and confusion "What makes you think it's a good thing to give wine to bucking slimes?!" Rainbow asked "Well, slimes need to extract elemental energy to survive... For them, this substance is simply irresistible so I thought to myself 'I wonder how much trouble I could cause now that I know this...'" Diluc explained Just then a bunch of crashes were heard from the dawn winery "Yikes! What was that noise?" Paimon asked "Is he okay?" Twilight asked The guy then came towards the group as he looked like he was wet and cold Ah... Cold... So c-cold..." The guy called out "Are you okay?" Rainbow asked "Well uh, Master Diluc, the purification is complete sir! B-But the equipment is..." The guy started nervously "Marvelous work, don't fret about the equipment, I shall have my butler order more immediately" Diluc said "'Marvelous! Jolly-ho! Spiffing! Somebody fetch the butler!' Paimon never knew you had to be so well spoken to get a job in the alcohol industry" Paimon said in awe and disbelief "This is what I was talking about" Diluc said "So what do you plan with doing with the Mist Flower extract?" Rainbow asked "Mist Flower extract... Or for our purposes 'Elemental bait'" Diluc explained "Don't tell me we have to---" Lumine started "Wow, it really has a strong elemental..." Paimon called out as she flew towards it and sniffed "Can we test it out?" Paimon asked "Sprinkle on the ground over there, careful though, just a small amount" Diluc suggested "Yes sir! Let's do it girls!" Twilight said Lumine then grabbed the bowl as the group went to the spot Diluc pointed as Lumine sprinked a small amount on the ground before they ran back towards Diluc "And then? That's it? How long does it take before---" Paimon started Just then some slimes ran by which the group saw thanks to their eating sounds "Holy moley, it really does attract slimes! ...And even more than we expected..." Paimon called out in shock, disbelief and awe "It appears the potency is greater than anticipated..." Diluc said "Chillax! We just don't have to fight them and we'll be fine" Rainbow said "Actually, we'd better get rid of them before they wreak havoc on the manor" Diluc suggested "Are you kidding me?! We have to kill those eating slimes?!" Lumine asked in shock "I'm afraid we don't have a choice Lumine" Paimon said "Ugh fine! But I'd like to know why you did this though!" Lumine said angrily Afterwards the group began running towards the slimes who were eating "I got a way better plan than---" Twilight started Just then Rainbow threw Twilight to the side "careful Twilight, it's mad!" Rainbow said "We could've done this peacefully!" Twilight reminded "It doesn't matter! Charge!" Lumine called out Lumine then charged towards the one bouncing slime and gave it a few slashes causing it to melt as the slimes saw this and began bouncing towards lumine "What were you thinking Lumine?!" Twilight asked "I don't know! Just help me!" Lumine ordered Twilight then sighed as she rushed towards the slimes and gave it a buck sending them towards a pole before they bounced back into Twilight's face who then struggled to breath before Rainbow slashed them with her spear causing it to melt over Twilight as Twilight used her magic to remove them "Not the perfect plan am I right?" Rainbow said Twilight then groaned in irritation before she used a big lightning spell causing lightning to thunder as the surrounding slimes got stabbed to death before Lumine went to hug Twilight "Calm down Twilight, calm down, everything's okay!" Lumine called out "Just then Twilight calmed down after feeling the soothing strokes of Lumine's brother "How'd you do that?" Twilight asked "When my brother gets mad he does stuff he doesn't want to do and I always do this to calm him down, I'm not trying to be sexy or anything though" Lumine said "I get it but for now let's ask some questions to you know who" Twilight said "Good idea" Lumine said The group then returned to Diluc who was waiting on them and when he saw the group the group turned to him with angry looks while Paimon who was hiding flew back to the duo and looked at Diluc "Whew... Such a powerful effect from such a small amount of extract, at least we didn't go picking wild flowers for nothing" Paimon reminded "Sorry about that though girls" Diluc said "No problem Diluc! Luckily, it wasn't you that exploded!" Rainbow said Twilight then gave a playful tap on Rainbow's hoof "Anyways, can you tell us what your plan is now master Diluc?" Paimon asked "Yes, the plan is..." Diluc said as he began telling the story and once he finished "...And so I expect it to all go down without a hitch" Diluc explained "Hmm... Are you sure it will work? You're the only person in the plan..." Paimon reminded "I have persevered alone from the start and now I alone must face what lies ahead" Diluc said "Well... If you already made up your mind..." Paimon said before moving closer to her friends "But until that moment comes we can still help you out where we can, isn't that right girls?" Paimon asked "Of course" Lumine said "All for one and one for all" Twilight said "Yeah, what they said!" Rainbow agreed "I am indeed indebted to you, I shall see you at the tavern as per the plan" Diluc explained Diluc then ran off to prepare himself "I do feel a little worried on what's going to happen" Twilight said "Relax! Everything will go according to plan! Though we should be prepared just in case" Rainbow said "Good idea, let's go then" Twilight said The group then walked over to the tavern meanwhile Diluc was talking to Huffman who had just arrived at the tavern a few hours earlier "Greetings Mr. Huffman of the Knights of Favonius, to what do I owe the pleasure at this hour?" Diluc asked "...Oh, erm, nothing... I'm merely procrastinating, I thought I might indulge myself with a beverage or two" Huffman explained Just then the door opened as the group were seen entering "Hey guys!" Lumine greeted Just then Huffman turned around in shock "Ah Traveler! Fancy meeting you here" Huffman said in shock "What's going on here?" Twilight asked "Just drinking a beverage or two, what about you four?" Huffman asked "Oh, we were just in the mood for an evening stroll" Paimon explained "Alright, so what would you five like to drink?" Diluc asked "Apple cider for me please" Rainbow answered "Same here" Twilight answered "And I'll have a Dandelion Wine I suppose" Huffman answered "Ooh, Paimon wants apple juice!" Paimon answered "Give me a Mondstadian cider please, the best you have" Lumine answered Diluc then nodded as Twilight nodded after him "Oh shoot! I forgot my coin pouch with me! Girls, do you have any Mora on you?" Twilight asked "No I don't my bad" Rainbow apologized "Paimon doesn't either" Paimon apologized "Can I start a tab?" Lumine asked "Apologies, we do not give credit here" Diluc apologized "Well, in that case... Let this be my treat" Huffman suggested "No need! We'll be back in a jiffy" Paimon said The group then left and when the door closed Paimon turned to the group "Huffman showed up just as expected" Paimon explained "Yep, now what?" Rainbow asked "Remember the plan? Go to the city's side gate and place the Elemental Bait" Paimon suggested "We're on it!" Twilight said "In the meantime I'll check to see if any other guards come or not in case some more people are investigating" Rainbow said "Good, let's go girls!" Lumine called out The group then ran off to the city's side gate where Lumine stopped which Twilight noticed "What are you doing, we gotta hurry!" Twilight reminded "I know so do it, in the meantime I'll watch out to see if somebody is watching which we don't want to happen" Lumine explained "Very well, wish me luck!" Twilight said Twilight then tiptoed to the spot told by Diluc and once she arrived she dropped a bit of elemental bait only for a sword to fall down making Twilight gasp in shock and lose focus of the bowl causing it to fall "Lumine!" Twilight called out "Sorry, I didn't watch where I was going!" Lumine called out Paimon who was with Lumine then flew to see a bunch of elemental bait on the ground "Whoa, you used all of it..." Paimon called out before she turned to the sides only to see a bunch of slimes hopping by "This is gonna be pretty epic" Paimon said "I know and not in a good way! Run!" Twilight called out Twilight called out as Twilight and Paimon rushed towards the castle right before the slimes could see them as Twilight turned to Lumine "What were you thinking?!" Twilight asked angrily "I said I'm sorry! I'll watch out next time! I swear!" Lumine said "You better because this could've gone wrong!" Twilight reminded "Y-Yeah" Lumine said sadly "But that doesn't matter only to see the slimes turning towards them and once they thought they were gonna fight they hopped towards them "Yikes, here come the slimes... Now, quick, let's get to the tavern before anyone else spots us with them" Paimon suggested The group then began walking towards the tavern as they knew slimes were slow but while they were on their way Diluc and Huffman were talking about each other "...Captain Kaeya is no doubt a formidable knight but he also brings us more than his share of hassle..." Huffman explained before he realized what he was doing "No, this isn't right, I should not be talking about my superior in such a manner, if he were to overhear me---" Huffman started Just then the door opened as the group walked in "We're back! Are our drinks ready?" Paimon asked "One moment" Diluc said Just then the door smashed open as another guard rushed in "Can you at least do it a little calmer?!" Twilight asked angrily while turning to the guard "Mr. Huffman, mr. Huffman! A situation at the side gate! Everyone to the side gate!" The guard called out in worry "What is it? What happened?" Huffman asked "It's... Slimes mr. Huffman" The guard explained worriedly "Slimes? You see them all the time, what's the big panic?" Huffman asked "We do but... Sir, there are more slimes out there now than all the slimes I've seen in my life added together!" The guard explained worriedly "Ahh... Whoa..." Paimon called out in disbelief while looking away "Surely this couldn't be the Abyss Order's secret weapon... But... I have another matter to attend to here---" Huffman called out in disbelief "Oh? The matter of your Dandelion Wine?" Diluc asked "N-No, I... That's not what I meant..." Huffman started nervously "Hmph, so this is how the Knights of Favonius conduct themselves in a crisis" Diluc said "Yeah, not cool, you better help or I'll tell Jean about your misbehavior" Rainbow said "Remember... The Abyss Order is encroaching on the city gates and your response is to sit here... Drinking wine?" Diluc reminded "I agree, shouldn't you be helping your fellow members with the slime situation instead of drinking?" Twilight asked "True, it's like I've always said, the Knights are not to be trusted" Diluc explained "I..." Huffman started nervously "Master Diluc is right you know, your behavior has been below par the last few times" Rainbow reminded "Very well, I shall set off at once, but first..." Huffman started before turning to the heroes "Girls, may I have a quiet word?" Huffman asked "Huh?" Paimon asked in confusion "Sure" Lumine answered Huffman then puts a finger on Lumine's lips for a moment "Shh, keep your voice down" Huffman ordered before pulling the finger away "I persume you know what this is about, please watch Diluc for me, do not let him leave under any circumstances!" Diluc said "Not even when he has to pee?" Rainbow asked "He may go do that but one of you must always follow him" Huffman said "Yes sir!" The group called out "I feel terrible that we're breaking rules already but I'm willing to help if it means Diluc doesn't get found out and nobody gets mad" Twilight thought "I must head to the side gate now but I'll be back shortly, I'm counting on you!" Huffman said Huffman then rushed out of the tavern as the group who were worried about being found out shook their thoughts off before going towards Diluc "Good, that's him out of the way" Diluc explained "Are you sure this is a good idea, I may get fired or worse... Banned from Mondstadt!" Rainbow reminded "Of course" Diluc said "Then everything's going according to plan!" Paimon called out "I must get going too, I won't have a second to spare if I'm to be back in time" Diluc said "Are you seriously planning on doing this on your own? Because if so there's no way we're gonna let this happen!" Rainbow said "Very well, let's go then" Diluc said The group then rushed towards the main entrance and once they got there they saw a bunch of hilichurls and Abyss Mage's running or floating towards the group which got them worried except for Diluc who went to stand in front of them "Ah, there you are" Diluc said in relief "Be ready for the battle of your life guys!" Twilight called out "Of course since dealing with them will be the easy part" Diluc explained "Paimon, if things go wrong you'd better be our last hope" Lumine said "Of course, in the meantime I'll k eep watch!" Paimon said Diluc then pulled out his sword smashed it to the ground as a bunch of hilichurls flew into the air but not before Rainbow flew towards the hilichurls in rapid speed to give them a head butt towards others as the hilichurls yelped in pain as Twilight floated above them to whack them down to the ground while Diluc continued to attack the remaining hilichurls as Rainbow helped him with her spear and Twilight followed after them with her laser and her kicks before two abyss mages shot icicles at Diluc which Twilight noticed causing her to block it "Thanks Twilight" Diluc said Diluc then did a flip over Twilight and her shield to knock down one hilichurl's club before giving it a flaming punch in the face causing him to fly back to the ground before throwing his sword towards Lumine who used both weapons to knock down all hilichurls in her path while Diluc used some ninja attacks to knock a few hilichurls down before three icicles came from three sides of Lumine causing her to jump high up into the air with her anemo powers before spinning rapidly to make a Lumine tornado to catch the three Abyss Mages and shooting them towards a three knocking them out before she stopped and flipped a few times before falling to the ground "Crazy skills you got there Lumine!" Rainbow called out "Thanks Rainbow!" Lumine said Rainbow then blocked another hilichurl attack "How did you do that though?" Rainbow asked "Learning, duh!" Lumine answered "Cool!" Rainbow said Just then Rainbow knocked the last hilichurl down with Twilight "That was so cool! Do that again!" Paimon called out Just then more abyss mages and hilichurls appeared which made the group turn to Paimon angrily and shout "PAIMON!" The group called out "Oops!" Paimon called out in disbelief "Don't worry guys, let's defeat them the same way we did before!" Diluc said "Yes! Let's do this!" Lumine called out The group then rushed towards the next few of them as Diluc then threw the hilichurls into the air before spinning his claymore towards Rainbow who jumped on it before jumping off of it to use her spear to knock the hilichurls down as Twilight began to attack the Abyss Mage with lasers while Lumine attacked them with her sword until the Abyss Mage shot a few icicles to Twilight who dodged but while they weren't looking Diluc smacked the back of the claymore against them causing them to fall to the ground causing him to stab the Abyss Mage causing it to disappear in dust as Rainbow continued to attack each hilichurl and when one caught her by the front hooves Twilight shot down with an electric barrier around her causing the hilichurl to be stuck in the ground and Rainbow to bounce away "Thanks Twilight!" Rainbow called out "No problem Rainbow" Twilight said Just then the last few hilichurls rushed by until Rainbow zipped behind them and tapped them all causing them to look behind them only to see Diluc smiling and whacking them into the water where bubbles formed signaling that they were drowning as the group panted in relief "Whew! That was close!" Rainbow said "Definitely!" Twilight said Paimon then flew to the group still in awe "Classic girls, not a baddie left standing" Paimon called out "Well, they were nothing more than a few hilichurls" Diluc explained "Of course, nothing we couldn't handle on our own" Rainbow said "No time to taunt, I don't know how long those slimes will keep Huffman occupied, best we get back to the tavern" Diluc suggested "Of course! Let's go girls!" Twilight called out The group then began walking towards the tavern and entered and when they did Diluc looked to see no one was there "It sees Huffman hasn't yet returned, we made it in time" Diluc said in relief "Yep, anybody wanna drink?" Twilight asked "Me, me, me!" The trio called out "Alright, four bottles of what we ordered before!" Twilight said Diluc then prepared it as Huffman entered the tavern while panting "The situation is sorted now, I never expected that the Abyss Order's army would turn out to be nothing more than a few slimes" Huffman said "Really? Now that was something we didn't expect either" Rainbow said "Yeah, that is a surprise, perhaps the Kights' true calling is to be slime exterminator, who knows, domestic pest control may turn out to be a more valuable use of your resources" Diluc reminded "Master Diluc, please, have you no respect at all..." Huffman said in disbelief "Yeah, I know we're friends but please be nicer to the guards" Twilight said Huffman then wanted to say something to the group as he turned around only to see them sweating a bit "Girls, how come you're all sweating so much? You all didn't leave did you?" Huffman asked "We just did some squats" Lumine answered "Is that so? But why now of all times for the love of barbatos---" Huffman started "Because we got bored so I challenged these two to a squat competition and it turns out it was a draw!" Rainbow explained "I can't believe you were so tough Rainbow!" Twilight said "Wanna try again next time?" Lumine asked Just then Huffman got a bit suspicious "Uh oh, Huffman is getting suspicious!" Paimon called out worriedly Huffman then turned to the group of people that were seated in the tavern "Hmm... Excuse me sir, might I be so bold as to inquire, did you see master Diluc--- I mean today's bartender... Did you see him leave just now?" Huffman asked Paimon then turned to the group worriedly "Yikes! He's asking other customers... We're done for!" Paimon called out worriedly "I don't think so Paimon, listen" Twilight suggested Somebody then turned to Huffman "Master Diluc? Why no, he's been behind the bar this entire time" Somebody explained "I see..." Huffman realized "Mr. Huffman, your Dandelion Wine" Diluc called out, putting the wine on the counter "You ought to get back after this, send my regards to the rest of the Knights" Diluc suggeted "Oh... Never mind, I must be going, I should report back" Huffman said before putting cash on the counter "Here, take this as a token of my esteem" Huffman suggested before walking off in confusion "Hmm... How odd..." Huffman thought in confusion After he said that he exited the tavern and when the door closed Paimon sighed in relief "Phew! That was too close! Paimon was sure we were toast..." Paimon said in relief "I foresaw this eventuality so all the guests here tonight, save you two, are my own people from the Dawn Winery" Diluc explained "They're all in on it?" Paimon asked in shock and confusion "I knew you had a plan if things didn't work! I mean, you always knew the future before we were able to tell it!" Twilight said in relief Just then Kaeya walked towards the group "Not all of them... Or should I say, not all of us" Kaeya said "That's it... We're doomed, I better pack my bags" Rainbow said in defeat Rainbow then began walking off before Twilight stopped her "Hold it! Don't leave so quickly, we still need to know something" Twilight reminded "Yeah, like... Where did you come from?" Paimon asked in worry "I just picked a good spot to quietly sit and watch the show" Kaeya explained Just then the group dropped their jaws to the ground for a moment before Paimon interrupted him "Whaaa... You've been here this whole time?!" Paimon asked in shock "Correct 'The Darknight Hero's Alibi...' I think it's my favorite chapter so far, more intriguing than a fine wine" Kaeya explained "Chapter?" Rainbow asked "Did you just break the fourth wall Rainbow?" Paimon asked "Fourth wall, what are you--- Nevermind" Rainbow said in disbelief "Hmph... Diluc called out in confusion before turning to Kaeya "So? You plan to report everything to the Knights of Favonius?" Diluc asked "Haha... Come now Diluc, you know me better than that, I have no interest in exposing secrets, I was just curious to see how far Mondstadt's Darknight Hero would really go and you did not disappoint" Kaeya explained "I have nothing to proof to you" Diluc reminded angrily "Oh, naturally" Kaeya explained before he realized something "I must say though, one thing I didn't see coming is that the mighty Darknight Hero would actually need help from other people..." Kaeya explained "Sorry, we're closing, please see yourselves out" Diluc ordered "Alright, alright... I have no further need of wine to entertain myself tonight in any case, just one last thing before I go" Kaeya explained "What is it now?" Rainbow asked in disbelief "It had better be the very last thing" Diluc reminded angrily "Please be calm guys!" Lumine called out worriedly "I feel strangely comforted by the fact you now have an assistant Diluc" Kaeya explained "..." Diluc called out in disbelief Kaeya then walked off before he stood before the still open door "I hope you all have a wonderful night" Kaeya said Kaeya then left as the group who were both confused and worried turned to Diluc "What was all that about?" Paimon asked Diluc then sighed in disbelief "Don't mind him" Diluc suggested before putting the coins in the cashier before pulling out four bottles of the drinks the group ordered "Thank you for all your help with this matter, this is a token of my gratitude" Diluc said Paimon who saw this then clapped her hands in excitement "Woooow! Thanks master Diluc!" Paimon thanked "I'm gonna drink the whole night away with this, thank you very much" Rainbow thanked "I'm in the habit of working alone but I did enjoy having your assistance this time" Diluc said "No worries, if you need us again just let us know" Twilight said "Okay and in the future if there's anything you ever need you can come to me for help" Diluc said "Yes sir!" Twilight said The group then left the tavern as Rainbow gave a loud yawn before turning to the group "Wow! I must be super tired, welp, I'll be off to my room in the Knights of Favonius headquarters, if there's ever anything you need just let me know!" Rainbow said "Of course, we'll be off too, see you tomorrow Rainbow" Twilight waved "What? Why?" Rainbow asked "Nothing, I was just thinking we could go get something to eat, celebrating another victory against the Abyss Mages, or at least, an easy defeat" Twilight explained "Oh, well, uh... Sure thing Twilight, I'll see you then!" Rainbow said The group then splitted up as they went to sleep [Moments earlier] After the Abyss Mages hit the tree they fell to the ground "Ugh! Retreat friends! We better get Starlight's help!" The first abyss mage said "Actually, I've got a way better plan, have you heard of the almighty abyss herald?" The second abyss mage asked "You mean that guy that can easily kill people within the blink of an eye with his almighty powers?!" The third abyss mage asked "Yes, let's go get him, the battle is not over yet" The second abyss mage said The three abyss mages then teleported towards a guy who sat in the shadows "Well, well, well, if it isn't my fellow allies" Somebody said "Abyss herald, we came to tell you that those heroes have kicked our butts again" The first abyss mage explained "Oh, so they did and why did you retreat, couldn't you get a little more power?" Somebody asked "Y-Yes, but they seemed stronger than normal, not even the best abyss mage can beat them!" The first abyss mage explained "Hmm, what about me? I am stronger and way above you all, isn't that right?" Somebody asked "Yes!" The abyss mages said "Very well, but first we need to get prepared, who knows what might happen if I lose, oh and when I plan to go I suggest you ask Aether and Starlight to join me" Somebody said "W-Why master?" The first abyss mage asked "Because I think I know a way on how to cause a ton of despair in their souls" Somebody said "Yes, and that'll make them lose, great idea boss!" The third abyss mage said "Of course, after all, it is the end of another era, especially after they failed to save Khaenria'h 500 years ago" Somebody said After that the three abyss mages gave their own signature smirks before they began laughing in excitement of their future victory [A few hours later] It was midnight as everybody was asleep except for Twilight who went to the balcony in worry as she looked at the nightsky in worry "Girls if you hear this, I'm doing fine, I found Rainbow and soon enough I'll be going to search and find you, no matter what it takes, it may take a whole year or two or I don't know how long but just know that when I find you I'll make sure Rainbow's memories are back" Twilight explained Lumine then walked towards Twilight "Hey, you doing alright Twilight?" Lumine asked "Yeah" Twilight answered sadly "Missing your friends and Spike?" Lumine asked "Yeah, I don't know what happened to Rainbow, what happened to my friends and if they even remember me, I mean, it's been a few months since I last saw them" Twilight explained "I know" Lumine explained as she sat down with Twilight "Look Twilight, it's not just you who's missing your friends and brother, I miss my brother too and while it may take a while to find them all, not to mention we'll have to travel across the whole of Teyvat to find them I'm sure we'll be back together eventually" Lumine said "But what if not only does Rainbow not remember me but the rest of my friends too, especially your brother" Twilight explained "I doubt that's gonna happen, I mean, have you ever lost your friends during one or a few of your adventures?" Lumine asked Twilight then thought of her past adventures and thought about all the times she lost her friends during one or two of their adventures "Yeah but I find them easily most of the time, not to mention I didn't even have to travel the whole country to find them, well, except for that one time but still" Twilight explained "I understand but you should remember that even though they're gone or may have lost their memories, deep down they know you're gonna rescue them from their lost memories, after all, friendship will find it's way back to you, I've learned that since that time Aether slept through the entire Khaenria'h event" Lumine explained "Khaenria'h event, what are you talking about?" Twilight asked "It's a long story but I'll tell you some other time, trust me" Lumine said "Okay" Twilight said "Now then, let's get some sleep, we've got a meeting to get to tomorrow with Rainbow" Lumine said "Yeah, that's true" Twilight said Lumine then walked off as Twilight looked at the nightsky one last time before following Lumine back to bed as they prepared for their next adventure