It wasn't like Kaeya to be clumsy on the battlefield, ever the graceful dancer compared to Diluc's own brutal assault and direct strikes. It was also not like Diluc to be the kind of guy to allow himself to lose track of his own surroundings. The moment his grip on focus slipped, he knew it would cost him dearly. Like it always had in the past, and he thought he'd learned from his past mistakes.
But sometimes life still had its ways to catch him unprepared, and things he'd given for granted were no longer. The complacency of having Kaeya by his side came around, and the price was steep.
All so fast, he didn't even have the time to feel his own irritation when the Cavalry Captain bumped right into him, throwing him off balance. His feet stumbled, and he lost his stance. The weight of his claymore nearly pulled him down with it.
With a grunt, he fought gravity and pulled its full weight by the muscles of his back, throwing his head over the shoulder to glare at the other.
"What are you doâ!?" His voice died in his throat the moment Kaeya's form sharpened within his vision, bringing time itself to a still. The wound in his side was barely visible against the burning white of that sharp slab of ice piercing through him.
But the sight alone was enough to make his own blood feel just as cold in his veins. That couldn't have possibly been from Kaeya... He'd never make that kind of mistake.
It all made itself plain: the stumble, the bump, the lack of warning given. Whipping his head to look forward again, it didn't take him a moment longer to spot the Cryo Abyss Mage floating atop a cliff above the battlefield. And then another. And another...
Too many. But what truly posed a threat in that moment was the searing rage that threatened to spill and make him blind. The need to let all hell break loose and turn the whole place into a wasteland of ash, until he was the only thing left standing... Let his own need for vengeance consume him.
Ideal on his own; not with Kaeya wounded and incapacitated like that. The moment he'd turn to unleash his attack, the Cavalry Captain would remain exposed.
"Look what you've done...!" With a low growl, Diluc brought his full momentum on the handle of his claymore, unleashing his Dawn strike onto the approaching wave of enemies.
The burning phoenix surged right out of the flames enveloping his blade, gliding forward and rising towards the cliffside, serving to melt through the Cryo shields of the Abyss Mages and blocking their view. Nowhere enough to kill them off, but enough to distract.
Without wasting another second, he grabbed that stupid knight and forced both himself and Kaeya to retreat.
