One-On-One

Her words fell into place in one swift motion as the knights quickly switched to a certain formation. Ras watched from the back, afraid that his interference would only make things worse.

Jean stood at the center, gathering Anemo at the tip of her sword, a wind current swirling around as Amber shot a flaming arrow straight at the ruin hunter's core.

It did nothing but startle the machine, freezing it for a moment—more than enough time. Eula and Kaeya were quick to combine their Cryo abilities and freeze its limbs, while Diluc swung his claymore around, charging it with a raging blaze.

He stepped closer to Jean as they both pointed their weapons forward, combining wind and fire into a firey tornado, its insatiated hunger seeking to burn all before it. Frozen, the ruin hunter took the blow, which overheated the core, resulting in it imploding.

"Be on edge, everyone," ordered Jean, watching the other machine approach. Two of them had made their way out first, with the others soon to follow behind. Ras felt the urge to step in, despite being unaware of how he would fit into the entire scheme.

"I guess I'll wait for a while and see how it goes."

The second ruin hunter hovered in place, ascending slowly until it stopped, an ominous light glowing within the core.

"Run!" bellowed Kaeya as he shot an ice spike at it, doing nothing but halting the process for a moment. They dashed away as a beam of energy began generating, shooting after them. Ras took a deep breath as he leapt forward, standing between them and the ray. His arms were on fire, the intense heat making him feel like he was truly melting. Somehow, he was able to absorb that energy as well, yet a lot of it was dissipated as heat, something his powers neglected.

"Son of a bitch!" grunted Ras, gathering as much energy as his fried fists allowed him to. Without thinking twice, he released it as two fast blasts, both of which struck the core at once. It managed to deform the hunter, even rendering one arm immobile, but the rest of it was still able to kill.

Cursing, Ras tried to gather his energy once more, hoping to take down his current foe, yet backup had arrived for it. Ten ruin hunters in total gathered together. The sight was enough to make him shiver.

"We're out!" screamed Ras as he began running, following the others. The ruin hunters were quick to pursue, showing no signs of restraint.

Diluc turned around, burning claymore in hand, releasing a large eagle made of fire, which Jean doubled with a few smaller tornados. They cut it close, yet in the end they had managed to retreat someplace hidden, catching their breath for a moment.

"We're in deep trouble," said Jean, trying to control her breathing. The look on her face was a mixture of tiredness and fear.

"We need to formulate a better plan," said Diluc, looking over at the others.

"Separating them would work best, yet I'm afraid we can't hope to do that unless they do so on their own." replied Eula. 

Ras felt his mind rush, somehow thinking clearly despite his heavy breathing. Separating them could work, but at the same time, it required them to spread out and locate all of them. If one single ruin hunter were to make his way inside Mondstadt, chaos would ensue as a one-sided bloodbath happened.

The others kept talking, rumbling on and on about what they could try, pointing out flaws and ways to improve it. Ras didn't bother to listen, instead focusing on his own voice.

"Perhaps I could try using a Mountain Slasher, but I'm not sure how effective it would be. Normal punches filled with energy seem to work, but they're not the best."

He stared down at his hand, noticing that the burn marks were healing, healthy skin taking the place of the burnt one. His eyes widened as he realized that his power could do that as well, yet he kept those thoughts for another time.

"Right, ways to fight. I'd have to avoid large blades, energy beams, and who knows what else? I have the faint feeling that we're doomed."

Silence fell around as he took a moment to focus back on his surroundings. Despite their dire situation, everyone had a hint of determination behind their gaze.

"This is even worse than the situation with Dvalin. Back then, we had a way to fight back, a weakness to strike, but now... now it feels like we're pushed around."

Jean's words weren't meant to bring comfort, but rather to reduce some of her anxiety.

Ras stood up with a jolt, feeling all eyes fall on him.

"This is going to be risky, but I have a suggestion. How about we fight them one-on-one? I know that it's difficult, but still, we should be able to at least deal some damage."

To his surprise, they were considering his proposal. Kaeya had on a devilish smirk, seemingly enjoying the thought of going against one of the kiling machines on his own.

"So, we should at least try to hold out until one of us manages to take down one of them. It's a matter of holding out, despite having fewer people. Worst-case scenario, I charge myself up and run around them like crazy, hoping to distract half of them while you take care of the rest."

Mixed feelings were displayed around him, none of which fit his taste. He'd have wanted at least someone to say his plan wasn't good, to move on from his stupid ideas. Instead, he found the opposite.

"Are you sure you could keep up with five of them?" asked Eula, skeptical about what a single man could achieve.

"I did run with you in my arms all the way to Mondstadt in one go. I'm pretty sure I could buy you at least twenty minutes."

They gave it some thought, trying to assess whether finishing them off would be possible in that time.

"I guess that's one of the few plans we have, and I must say, I like the way it sounds. It's stupid and dangerous; I'm in." chuckled Kaeya, twirling his sword around.

Diluc sighed, placing a hand under his chin as he gave it one last review.

"Fine. I'll go along with this."

Eula nodded, looking over at Amber, who was somewhat reluctant.

"I don't think I'll be able to take down one of those huge machines."

Eula chuckled as she gently patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle yourself just fine. You're our Outrider for a reason."

She smiled weakly, gripping her bow with a shaky hand.

Jean met Ras' gaze with serious eyes, her expression firm.

"Ras, we're counting on you."

He nodded, thinking to himself.

"Great! I can finally disappoint them. Oh boy, I'm fucked."