Like a single frame from a film, none of them dare to move. It seems as if even the candles in the lamps and the curtains swaying in the wind stop. Y/N hisses out, "Put your weapon away, Fatui."
-----
The Agent looks over at Y/N. "Hah, Knights of Favonius?" He scoffs. The smell of smoldering flames emitting from the Agent fills Y/N's nostrils. "What are you doing out here?"
"My business is none of your concern." Y/N glares at him.
"You are the one concerned with my business."
"Your business is extortion." Y/N hisses. "I'll ask again. Put your weapon away." She demands. The Fatui Agent reluctantly puts down his blade as Y/N withdraws her rapier from his throat.
"Extortion? Don't make me laugh." He snarls. "This man has a debt to pay and thinks wringing me of my mora and time is a good idea."
"Usually, deciding not to murder someone isn't considered a debt." Diluc mutters as he stands in front of Ji Tong protectively. "If he isn't worth your time, then leave. Find another Light Refractor."
The Agent chuckles darkly at Diluc's words before looking him and Y/N up and down. "Oh, you know, don't you? Let me guess, you're the Knights from Mondstadt investigating the exploded buildings?"
Y/N's eyes widen for a split second as she clenches her jaw. She doesn't respond to his question.
"Who told you, hm? Who told you!?" He shouts as his laughs turn into snarls. "Was it that traitor, Igor? I bet Igor told you all about our secrets, didn't he?!" He draws his blades again and slashes at Y/N. She quickly moves to the side to dodge, his blade barely grazing her cheek. The Fatui Agent begins to fade from view as he turns invisible, an annoying ability of all Agents.
Y/N backs up to stand next to Diluc, protecting Ji Tong. The Agent's footsteps can be heard walking around them as they all stay dead silent. Suddenly, Diluc reaches a hand out, grasping something as his palm ignites into flames. The silhouette of the Fatui Agent is now outlined in red embers as Diluc's pyro is applied to the Agent. Diluc's hand grabs him by the jaw as he hisses in pain at the burning flames.
As the Agent reaches for one of his blades, Diluc quickly turns him around and pins him down on the ground. His movement is so swift that Y/N barely saw a blur.
Woah, that was kind of hot. Y/N thinks before shaking her head mentally. Get back on track. Y/N walks in front of the two, the Agent's gaze is trained at Y/N's shoes as he struggles underneath Diluc. "You seem to know a lot. How about we make a little deal? Answer some questions and you'll get to go back to your little Fatui friends." Y/N crouches down to his level, glaring down at the Agent.
The Agent scoffs. "You're not going to kill me. You Knights never solve things with death."
"Who said I would kill you?" Y/N asks, drawing her rapier. "You have many areas on your body for me to cut that wouldn't kill you." She states, though she hopes it won't come to that. "Though, my rapier is coated with venom, so enough non-lethal cuts would eventually kill you, anyway."
The Agent lets out huff of rueful laughter. "How do I know you're not bluffing?"
Y/N frowns. "I was only half-bluffing." She runs the tip of her rapier across his jaw, creating a small cut. She holds back the urge to grimace. Since she usually only kills monsters like hilichurls and abyss mages, she feels a little uncomfortable hurting a person like this.
A trickle of blood runs down the Agent's chin. He lets out a heavy breath. "Fine. What do you want to know?"
"Who is leading your mission?" Y/N demands, though she already knows the answer.
"A Harbinger." He replies as Y/N circles him like a shark.
"Wrong. Your boss is Ida L/N." Y/N drags the edge of her rapier along the back of his leg, tearing the fabric of his pants. "Don't take me for a fool. I know a lot more than you think. You better not think of lying again."
"Next question. What are you using to blow up the buildings? It's definitely not the Light Refractor." Y/N questions.
The Agent hesitates before replying, "They're hand-sized bombs made by Liyue's mining companies. They're just mine explosives."
"Usually Fatui like to work behind the scenes." Diluc says. "Why are you drawing so much attention by blowing up buildings?"
"We can afford to. The Light Refractor is a good enough distraction. Nobody would be able to trace the explosion back to us if they don't see us." He explains. "The only way you could have found out is through that traitor, Igor." The Agent hisses.
"You keep mentioning this 'Igor'. Is he one of yours?" Y/N asks.
"I just said that he's a traitor. He's nothing to us but greedy, lying, scum!" The Agent spits. "We wouldn't be going through all this trouble if it weren't for him."
Y/N raises an eyebrow. "Your mission revolves around him?"
The Agent clicks his tongue. "I've said enoug-" Diluc pushes his head down into the floor, cutting him off. "We're not done asking questions." He states.
Y/N presses, "What exactly did Igor do?"
"That fool kept asking for raises even though he doesn't put in half the work. He even threatened to expose every scheme of ours. When he didn't get what he wanted, he ran off with the vault key to one of our larger vaults in the Northland Bank." The Agent explains.
"Shouldn't you be catching him instead of blowing up buildings?"
"We don't want to catch him. We want to eliminate him." The Agent clarifies. "We blew up his house in Springvale thinking he would be at home. Nobody was there except for his wife and daughter, and the vault key wasn't there either."
Y/N's brows furrow as she recalls Dagna and Bluma's exploded home in Springvale. Dagna said they weren't home that night. They were in the city. Y/N remarks.
"You couldn't have killed him more discreetly?" Diluc mutters.
"No, we wanted people to see the explosion, draw a crowd, and make a distraction." He states. "Unfortunately, a lot less Knights went over to Springvale than we thought, so our next attack was a bit rushed."
Ah, that explains why they left more traces and clues in the flower shop. Y/N notes. "I'm assuming that rush caused the first Light Refractor to break?" He nods- well, tries to in the position he is in. "Then, why did you attack the flower shop? Why would Igor be there?"
"When we asked his wife where he left to, she said she went into the city to buy flowers for a relative. We didn't blow up the shop with the intention of killing Igor, we wanted to evacuate the area of people so we could search for his traces." The Agent explains.
"So, did you find anything?" asks Diluc.
The Agent shakes his head. "The bitch probably lied to us." He curses referring to Dagna.
"Alright, last question." Y/N says. "Where do you plan to plant your bombs next?"
"I don't know."
Y/N stops pacing around the Agent. She looks down at him, studying him closely. "You don't know?" The tip of her rapier points close to the Agent's masked face.
He gulps and shakes his head. "I'm telling the truth! I only know the more general parts of the plan. I don't know any of the intricacies. I was just ordered to get another Light Refractor."
"Who would know these intricacies?" Diluc questions.
"You think I would sell out my coworkers? You already seem to know about Ida. Go ask her." The Agent spits. "Plus, you said your previous question was the last one. The deal is over. Let me go."
"You're inches away from death and you think you have room to bargain." Y/N threatens. During times like this, Y/N feels her family's Fatui influence in her shines out. "Answer."
In the moment of silence between Y/N's demand and the Agent's response, a quiet voice echoes through the house from the stairwell. "Daddy? Y/N and Diluc? What's happening?"
All of their heads turn towards Changchang's voice and Ji Tong rushes over, scooping her up and carrying her back upstairs. In the flash, the Agent squirms out and kicks Diluc off him before turning invisible again. "I'll be back for the Light Refractor." His voice states before the front door swings open and slams shut.