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“Ajax, I can't do this.”
“Yes you can, comrade.”
“No, I can't! Look at him!”
“Oh come on wifey! Appearances can be deceiving, you know that. You look like a dainty flower but hit like a truck!”
“But… But he's SO cute!” Childe held his grip tight on his hydro blades, but Lumine only fidgeted, eyes fixated on their opponent.
“And the name ‘He Never Dies’ isn't enough to prove his strength? He'll be fine!” Before them, stood a small blue capybara who hadn't seen to really care they were there until they came closer.
“Oh come on, it's like naming a weasel ‘Skull Crusher’. A name doesn't mean he's deadly, Ajax.” She leaned down to look at the Capybara getting up. “Hi cutie, my husband seems to think you're a dangerous animal but I-” With an aggressive roar, the blue animal bashed into the girl's stomach, sending her flying back to the ground with a cry.
“Lumine!” He looked back at the girl sprawled out on the ground, clearly out of it. Anger shot through his veins. He’d warned her to not be deceived by appearances, and usually she was good at it; so why had she assumed a small animal couldn’t be stronger than it looked? “You’ll PAY for that!” His bow was in his hands in seconds, firing off an arrow at the capybara.
The arrow managed to lodge itself in the creature’s forehead, yet it didn’t seem all that deterred by it, nor his riptide. Instead, it prepared another charge, leading the harbinger to rely on his delusion. He dashed forward, whipping around the creature as it flung its head at him. Childe’s blades were in his hands in seconds, slashing up the cavy’s rear.
It was already clear this was not a normal capybara. If this strange dimension hadn’t told him that, nor the fact that it was blue and was strong enough to one shot his wife; then he would’ve known by how the deep gashes he was leaving didn’t seem to bother the animal. The instant the beast turned to face the ginger, he grabbed the arrow protruding from his head and flung him behind him. He had to be creative, after all.
With a little room to breathe and the capybara trying to get up, Childe darted for his unconscious wife’s body. He lifted her up as the blue beast taunted him, pulling her up onto his back and holding one of her limp arms. As he was getting back up, the inhuman capybara came barreling toward him in a fit of rage. He was quick to leap out of the way while holding Lumine’s arm to his collarbone.
Childe narrowly dashed out of the way as the little thing charged back at them with an intent to kill. He just had to dodge his attacks until he could get an opening to-
The capybara slammed his head into the tall man, knocking the wind out of him. He skidded back, relying solely on his and Lumine’s weight to keep him from falling back like his wife had, but he was coughing and still struggling to breathe. Alright, maybe he hadn’t expected that. Maybe he had underestimated the animal.
It was fine, he wasn’t done yet; but he knew what he had to do. Realistically, if it wasn’t for Lumine depending on him, he wouldn’t do this. He loved a challenge, he would’ve kept dodging and attacking when he saw fit. But this was far more about protecting his wife than it was about challenging himself.
Abyss energy began to gather at his limbs. It was stupid that he was resorting to Foul Legacy against a capybara, but he had no choice. An abyssal claw moved up to hold Lumine’s arm as the rest of his body began to transform, he didn’t want her to go flying or fall with his changes.
With a roar, abyssal energy surged from the harbinger, a burst that only seemed to bother the little animal a little. Childe dodged the headbutt from the smaller animal, summoning a blade coated in abyss energy in his free hand. He slashed into the cavy, dealing a deep, heavy blow before he actually kicked back from the animal.
Yet, the beast simply turned to him as if there wasn’t a large gash on his back. Childe couldn’t tell, was it healing? Why was the gash closing itself? Why was this one animal so powerful?! Was it an effect of the realm? Was this animal truly immortal? Was he going to lose to a capybara?!
The creature slammed his head back into Childe’s armored gut, packing a punch that almost made it feel like he’d been ricochetted against his armor. That. Was. It. One more hit and he’d be done for. He had one more move to try.
Hydro gathered under him. If this didn’t stop him, he didn’t know what would. A great narwhal concocted from hydro burst up from the ground, twisting as it crashed down onto the small animal. Childe dropped his blade to wrap his other arm around Lumine’s back, keeping her close to him.
When he looked back up, the small animal laid on the ground, dazed by the heavy impact of the hit. Or at least it did for a few seconds before it started to get up. That was it. There was no winning this one like this! If he wasn’t protecting Lumine, he’d go all out until one of them fainted; but he couldn’t. Not right now. His wife came before winning a battle.
“Abandon Challenge!” The capybara froze in his spot before laying back down lazily. Shame washed over the ginger man as his abyssal energy burned away, but he sighed out in relief.
Childe turned to approach the spire they’d entered through. He would have to train harder, it seemed. Next time, they would beat this being. It was just impressive such a small animal could take them both out.