𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 | genshin impact

| 16 |: Mission

(Y/n) immediately kicked him away from her, knocking him down, before grabbing the hilt of his sword. She gritted her teeth as she forcefully slid it out of her body, feeling the sharp edges caress the grooves of her flesh. Gasping sharply, she then cast it aside, allowing the bloodied blade to land on the snow with a soft crunch, and held onto the table behind her for support whilst pressing a shaky hand against her wound. She was only reminded of Klee's presence in the area when she heard the young girl's sniffles.

"Klee, get out of here!" (y/n) yelled, making Klee jolt in surprise, "It's not safe- Run and find Albedo!"

Klee stared at the older woman as if she was hesitating to leave her behind with the man who just stabbed her - the very person Klee had helped navigate to this icy cave. She felt guilty, believing that (y/n) would not have gotten hurt if she hadn't done what she did. Noticing Klee's hesitance to flee from the apparent danger, (y/n) shouted her name once more and that seemed to snap her out of it. After giving (y/n) one final glance, Klee spun on her heels and ran away.

"So it's true," the man began as he slowly picked himself off the ground, drawing (y/n)'s attention towards him, "You... A living creature that refuses to fall when cut or burnt... and it's all thanks to the spell that was bound to your physical body."

When he slowly raised his head to reveal his face, her pupils dilated in recognition and shock. Hair as white as snow... Eyes as red as blood... And a black eyepatch over his left eye.

She gazed at him in disbelief. "You're supposed to be dead. I killed you many years ago-"

He let out a loud laugh, interrupting her sentence.

"You did. You beheaded the Mazoku of the Demonic Mist, Aragami Muramasa. But not me," he said, summoning a katana and a wakizashi. The moment his hands gripped the hilt of both swords, she knew that there was no talking herself out of this impending battle. As she suppressed the searing pain with a clenched jaw, she eyed the sword that was used to wound her and dove for it without a second thought. Swiping the discarded sword off the ground, she then charged towards the man to land the first strike, the clash of their swords signifying the start of what would soon be a brutal combat.

"Who are you then? Why did you attack the Adventurers' Camp near Dragonspine, and why did you attempt to trap the villagers of Springvale within a barrier?" (y/n) asked, knitting her eyebrows together.

He merely smiled at her.

"I'm Muramasa. Not the same one you killed however," he answered, deftly parrying her attack with his wakizashi, "You could say that I'm his artificial reincarnation - just like how you're the artificial reincarnation of Osial's precious adeptus." The foreign yet familiar name made her stop abruptly, her lips parting ever so slightly in surprise.

"Osial...?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. Osial... Why did she feel like she knew that name? Her train of thoughts was quickly cut off when Muramasa lunged forward, prompting her to block his katana and wakizashi by raising her sword. After pushing him back, she followed up with a counterattack, their blades flashing through the air like steel birds of prey.

"The adventurers in the camp near this mountain attacked me first. They were practically asking to be skewered," he continued, "I was only going to pass by and had no intentions of brandishing my swords at them... but one of the adventurers recognised me. I recognised him too, since he's a survivor I accidentally let escape." While he was talking, (y/n) seemed to have the upper hand and drove Muramasa back on to the pile of snow. But he now gained a height advantage, his retreat clearly a ruse to get her to over-commit to her attack. He retaliated with a double strike imbued with Cryo, which almost froze her skin had she not dodged it. She quickly blocked his wakizashi but was caught out by the longer blade of the katana. It broke past her guard, threatening to skewer her through the heart. Only a late deflection and rapid footwork saved the Transcendant; Muramasa kept up the pressure and went in for the kill.