As the smoke cleared, Charlotte noticed the white barrier fading rapidly.
Uh-oh. That can't be good.
She took a step back just as Yaoyao raised her hand again—another wave of gentle light cascaded over her, the shield solidifying once more.
"Don't worry, Charlotte!" Yaoyao said brightly. "I'll protect you!"
Charlotte stared at the comforting barrier around her and nodded numbly. "...O-Okay. Thanks, Yaoyao."
She stepped aside to stand next to Xia Lin, both watching in disbelief as the two little girls tag-teamed the massive Ruin Machine.
Jumpy Dumpty!
Kaboom Spark!
Boom Boom!
Dear Archons, how many kinds of explosives did Klee have on her?!
And she was laughing while throwing them—like she wasn't fighting for her life but playing her favorite game.
Despite the noise and flashes, her bombs barely scratched the construct's armor. Its plating was absurdly thick, made from some ancient alloy that resisted both heat and impact. The best Klee managed was leaving black scorch marks.
The real damage came from Yaoyao.
She glowed with white holy light, looking for all the world like a harmless little angel—except the "angel" was swinging a spear taller than herself, slamming it into the Ruin Grader again and again, driving it backward.
Watching her, Charlotte suddenly recalled stories from the Lantern Rite—how the Adeptus Shenhe, had wielded a spear to drive back the sea monster Beisht.
Like master, like disciple.
Each thrust of Yaoyao's spear carried divine strength.
After a few minutes, though, even she saw that the blows weren't doing enough damage.
She paused, looked up at the Grader's glowing eye, and focused.
Then—she lunged.
Her spear struck dead-center, piercing through the eye.
The construct froze mid-motion, shuddered—then went still.
The red light flickered out.
Silence.
Yaoyao landed lightly on the ground, exhaling. It was over.
She turned—and found Charlotte and Klee staring at her, eyes wide with awe.
"Yaoyao… what was that?" Charlotte asked faintly.
The little girl blinked, scratched her cheek, and said softly:
"Um… have you ever heard of Magical Girls?"
---
Grand Narukami Shrine.
Xia Zhi had just handed the mask to Hanachirusato when his phone rang—it was Xia Lin.
"Papa, there's a big thing here… and it's moving."
"I know. I'll be right there."
After getting the gist of the situation, Xia Zhi hung up and started heading out.
He wasn't too worried about everyone's safety—Yaoyao was there, after all.
Yaoyao was a Magical Girl. Even if things somehow went south, he could still support her remotely, the same way he'd done for Collei before.
And really, a single Ruin Grader that had been abandoned for centuries couldn't possibly pose more danger than one of The Doctor's clones.
But when his thoughts drifted to Collei, his footsteps faltered, his expression darkening slightly.
Something about all this felt… too coincidental.
Until today, everyone had been perfectly fine.
Yet now, within the same span of time, first Collei was ambushed by multiple segments of The Doctor, nearly losing her life—then Charlotte and the three little girls just happened to get attacked by an ancient Ruin Machine.
According to Xia Lin's report, that construct had been sitting dormant in Araumi for ages.
So why would it suddenly activate—right when the four of them showed up to take a look?
Did Charlotte accidentally trigger some kind of switch?
If so… that was some spectacularly bad luck.
Wait. Bad luck…
Xia Zhi paused, a thoughtful look flickering across his face.
He remembered something.
To test whether his acquisition of Intertwined Fate had been influenced by his unusually high luck stat, he'd once activated a passive skill he'd learned from Bennett back in Mondstadt—Forsaken by the World.
Forsaken by the World
Passive: Luck value is permanently fixed at 0. All your actions contradict the will of the world, decreasing the luck of those around you. The closer your relationship, the greater the reduction.
Back then, he'd only wanted to test the first half of the skill—to temporarily drop his luck to zero.
But shortly after activating it, Collei had prayed to him for aid… and now Xia Lin was calling about the chaos in Araumi.
Could all of this have happened because of the second half of that passive's effect?
Collei was his devoted follower. Yaoyao, even more so—a fervent believer. Among his connections, aside from Shenhe, Ganyu, and Cloud Retainer, those two were easily the closest to him.
According to the skill description, anyone closely tied to him would have their luck drastically lowered while the effect was active.
Of course, low luck didn't guarantee disaster—it just made it a lot more probable.
As for Shenhe, she had Auspiciousness and the Thread of Fate; Ganyu carried Blessed Fortune. Even with reduced luck, the impact on them would be minimal.
Cloud Retainer, though she had mountains of karmic merit, wasn't exactly shielded by fortune either…
To confirm his theory, Xia Zhi took out his phone and called her.
"Cough—kff— hello?"
"What's with your voice?"
"Ah—nothing! Nothing! I just bought some Amethyst Lumps at the blacksmith's yesterday. I was testing a charging mechanism and, uh, there may have been a tiny explosion. Cleaning up now."
"...I see."
"What do you mean, 'you see'?"
"Nothing. Anyway, Charlotte and the girls found a Ruin Grader in Araumi. Interested in coming along to take a look?"
"Oh! Of course! Give me a moment—I'll be right there!"
"Mm."
He hung up, a peculiar look on his face.
Sure, accidents in mechanical research weren't rare.
But this was Cloud Retainer. A master of mechanisms, blowing herself up over something as basic as Amethyst Lumps? That was… a bit much.
Only one explanation made sense: her luck was in the gutter.
Again with the luck…
By now, Xia Zhi was almost certain. They'd all been affected by his passive skill.
He'd only had it active for a short while, yet chaos had already spread this far.
Thinking of Bennett, who'd lived his entire life like this and somehow remained relentlessly cheerful… Xia Zhi couldn't help but respect the guy.
In any case, he resolved never to activate this cursed skill again.
…Though it might still come in handy for certain people.
He smirked faintly at the thought of engraving it into the Book of Erudition someday—let some unsuspecting soul "study" it and see what happens.
When he reached the shrine gate, he waited.
Soon enough, Cloud Retainer arrived, looking freshly washed—her hair still slightly damp, her robe changed since lunchtime.
So she really had taken a full blast to the face earlier.
Maintaining her usual composure, she said calmly, "Let's go."
Xia Zhi smiled and reached out, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Cloud Retainer froze for half a second, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
He withdrew his hand and said with a grin, "Hold on—others heard about it too. They want to come along."
She nodded, the irritation from her earlier failure already melting away.
A short while later, everyone had gathered.
Xia Ci drove the hovercar down the mountain toward Araumi, where the now-motionless Ruin Grader awaited.
"What a huge machine!"
"Never seen one this close before."
"It must've been here for centuries, huh?"
"Likely. Khaenri'ah fell five hundred years ago, after all."
"And it still worked?"
"Not just worked—it fired a laser. See that charred line on the ground? That's where it hit."
"Yikes! Good thing you all made it out alive!"
"And these other burn marks?"
"Oh, those? Klee's bombs."
"All of them?"
"Yep."
Klee puffed out her chest proudly. "Klee's super strong, right?"
"…"
Silence.
Xia Zhi nodded gravely. "Yes, Klee's very strong."
After all, how could something that cute ever mean harm?
Klee beamed. See? Big brother always understands!
----
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