BOOM—
"I seem to have arrived just in time."
Leaping down from the shattered stone ridge, Durandal touched the ground beside the knight's spear that had been driven into the earth moments earlier. The instant her boots landed, she reached out, gripped the dark-blue lance by its hilt, and pulled it free in a single fluid motion—its tip immediately lifting to point toward Möbius in the distance.
This girl… who is she?
Just in time?
What does she mean by that?
Venti stared, stunned. The golden-haired girl had appeared without warning, yet her presence felt like a veil of mist—his divine gaze slipping off her as though she were hidden behind clouds.
Even as a "weak god," he was still a god. It should have been impossible for him to be unable to read anything from her.
But he couldn't see her strength.
Couldn't sense her power.
Couldn't even grasp her presence.
That alone was terrifying.
She's strong… unbelievably strong.
Zhongli, who knew much more of power than he would ever admit, frowned slightly. She radiated no elemental aura at all, yet the moment Durandal lifted her spear, the air around her shifted—quiet, dignified, undeniable.
His instinct whispered something he hadn't felt in centuries:
She may be far stronger than me.
Someone from another world?
If so… then this makes sense.
The Knights' Reaction
"Whoa… that girl is… cool…"
"This—this is what a true knight looks like!"
"Even Acting Grand Master Jean… no, even the former Grand Master might not have this presence…"
The Knights of Favonius were completely captivated. They didn't know who she was, but everything about Durandal struck their hearts like a divine revelation.
Her black armor, elegant yet powerful.
The three hovering "wings" along her left arm.
The fin-like structures trailing from her back.
The dark-blue, dragon-patterned lance in her hand.
Her noble stance, the aura of an invincible warrior…
She looked like the final, ultimate form of a knight—something that had previously existed only in their fantasies.
If before this day their ideals were Jean or the former Grand Master, then now… their ideals had been rewritten in an instant by someone whose name they did not even know.
Even Eula found herself thinking:
She must train incredibly hard to stand like that…
Durandal tilted her head slightly toward Zhongli.
"Sir, leave the rest to me."
Zhongli nodded calmly, as though this were the most natural thing in the world.
"In that case… Lady, I leave this battlefield in your hands."
"No need to be so formal," she replied lightly. "Call me Durandal."
"D-Durandal?!"
Paimon gasped so loudly it echoed through the ruins.
"W-wait! Isn't that the name Rita mentioned?! Rita called her 'Lady Durandal'… s-so that means… She's Rita's mistress!"
Everything clicked together instantly.
So this was the legendary "miss" Rita served.
This was the knight Rita held in such high regard.
Venti finally understood—but he had one lingering doubt:
How had she arrived so quickly? The letter to Liyue shouldn't even have reached her yet.
Forget it. I'll ask later…
But another worry gnawed at him:
Can she really defeat that… thing?
After all, even the Geo Archon had been beaten back. Mondstadt could not withstand another failure—not after Zhongli was already injured protecting them.
He clenched his fist.
Should I help? Even a little…? No—don't be foolish…
The Knights' Shock
Leave the rest to her?!
What the—?! She's talking to an Archon like they're equals?!
To the Knights, this was unthinkable.
This girl—who had not yet shown a single ounce of her power—was speaking to the Geo Archon as if they were colleagues, and Zhongli accepted it without question.
Could it be… she is also a god?!
Because that was the only explanation that made sense.
Otherwise, the alternative was too absurd to accept—
—that this mysterious girl was stronger than a god.
Even hilichurls would refuse to believe something that ridiculous.
A Hero's Mount
"What's that?! Look beside her!"
A Knight shouted as a magnificent, dark-blue warhorse materialized at Durandal's side—its body marked with glowing cyan runes, its mane rippling with energy.
Durandal mounted the horse with practiced ease.
"The path of the Tengen Knight… begins here."
Before anyone could comprehend the declaration, she kicked off the ground—
The Final Charge
BOOM—
Durandal blurred.
No—she disappeared.
In the next instant, she cleaved directly through Möbius's monstrous form—the speed so overwhelming that the creature didn't even have time to react. A column of searing crimson light erupted skyward, engulfing everything in its wake.
The radiance was blinding, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
When the light faded—
Breath caught in every throat.
Where Möbius's towering monster had once stood…
There remained only a massive crater.
And within it—
the small body of the girl, unconscious and unmoving.
One strike.
A single strike.
Durandal had felled the creature that even the Geo Archon could not subdue.
Silence swallowed the ruins.
Then—
"W-wait—
She defeated that little girl… just like that?!
H-How is that even possible?!"
No one could process it.
The girl who had overpowered a god—
the terror they believed unstoppable—
had been defeated with one blow by a knight they had never heard of.
It felt like a dream.
No—
even in their dreams, they wouldn't dare imagine something so unbelievable.
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