Night fell.
Noelle was still at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, washing dishes.
She lifted her head and glanced out the window.
The night was utterly still, utterly dark.
A night perfect for wrongdoing.
A night perfect for a Darknight Hero.
That transformed power… it was intoxicating, too strong to resist.
Noelle sighed. Too bad her transformation device hadn't fully recharged yet. Otherwise, she could have gone out tonight with Fischl and Qiqi as a squad of magical girls, fighting for justice.
Then again, the transformation's duration also seemed tied to one's purity of faith.
In other words, even if all three transformed at once, Noelle would still be the first to revert.
So in the end… she just wasn't ready.
Head lowered, she looked a little deflated.
---
After their evening walk, Amber brought Collei to a bookstore to buy her a Liyue dictionary.
Because Collei had grown up wandering, her education was abysmal—half-illiterate, really.
Without a dictionary, she couldn't read a thing.
Inside the shop, Amber asked the clerk to fetch the dictionary, paid, and handed it to Collei.
Collei quickly said, "I have money."
Amber smiled. "It's fine. Consider it a gift, to celebrate your recovery."
Her smile was as warm and radiant as always.
Collei froze for a moment, then murmured softly, "Okay… thank you."
She hugged the thick dictionary close and followed Amber back outside.
The night air was cool.
From above came a strange whistling sound.
Amber tilted her head up in surprise.
Collei looked too, but saw nothing.
"What is it, Amber?" she asked curiously.
Amber kept her eyes skyward. "That sound just now—it was someone gliding past on Wind Gliders. But normally, gliding in the city at night is forbidden. Poor visibility means you could crash into a building. Way too dangerous."
"So… someone just flew past?"
Amber nodded. "Exactly."
As they spoke, the sound of running footsteps and clattering armor came from behind.
Amber turned to see one of her fellow knights rushing over. "What's going on?" she asked.
Panting, the knight reported, "Knight Amber! The Order just received word from the cathedral sisters—the [Raptor] has escaped again on Wind Gliders! We're in pursuit!"
"The Raptor…" Amber frowned slightly.
Collei whispered, "Who's that?"
Amber explained, "A repeat offender here in Mondstadt. He always commits crimes using Wind Gliders, so people call him the Raptor."
Collei asked, "Does he glide really fast?"
The knight caught his breath and replied, "Extremely fast. So far… we've never managed to catch him. Tonight we tried using a relic from the cathedral as bait to trap him, but he still managed to snatch it and get away. However, this time the sisters marked the relic with elemental magic in advance!"
Amber's eyes lit up. "They marked it already?"
"Yes, Knight Amber!"
Amber pulled her own Wind Gliders from her ring. "Good. I'll join the chase."
"Eh?" Collei blinked.
Amber was already sprinting uphill. "Collei, head back without me. The cathedral's right over there."
Collei sighed helplessly as Amber's figure disappeared from sight, then turned and started back with the heavy dictionary in her arms.
The [Raptor] was fast, his flight path completely erratic.
But thanks to the elemental mark, Amber could lock onto the relic's position, quickly closing the distance.
This was the strength of a three-time consecutive Gliding Champion.
The [Raptor] soon realized Amber was on his tail and immediately changed course.
But no matter how he tried to shake her, Amber stuck close—closer by the second.
At this rate, she was bound to catch him.
The [Raptor] grinned wickedly.
He veered toward a certain spot.
A trap he'd prepared long in advance.
An area rigged with explosive barrels, all tied to a single thin trigger wire.
Once he flew through and snapped it, the barrels would explode, blasting anyone behind him full force.
To bait her into the blast zone, he even slowed down slightly.
The night was too dark.
Amber had no way of spotting the danger lurking in the shadows.
Her eyes were locked only on the target's location as she pushed herself to maximum speed.
Closer… just a little closer to the barrels.
The trigger wire was right in front of her.
The [Raptor]'s face twisted into an eager grin.
But just then—
A dark-colored arrow came whistling out of nowhere, piercing straight through all the explosive barrels he'd hidden there.
No!
Despair flashed across the [Raptor]'s face.
The next instant, his figure was swallowed whole by a raging fireball.
Amber gasped, hastily wrenching her Wind Glider off-course.
But she had been flying too fast, chasing too close—the glider couldn't change direction so easily.
She could only do her best to avoid the inferno ahead.
That was when she heard a sudden rip through the air from behind.
What was that?
The next moment, she felt a small hand grab her from the back, yanking her with startling strength, pulling both her and the Wind Glider off their trajectory.
"Are you alright, Amber?"
A calm, familiar voice sounded by her ear.
Amber turned her head—and saw that the one holding her was none other than Qiqi.
She was standing atop a single sword as if it were solid ground, one hand casually holding Amber aloft, looking utterly at ease.
"Qiqi!"
"I'll bring you down first."
"Okay."
A flash of sword-light beneath her feet, and Qiqi had already descended to the ground. She set Amber safely down.
Amber lifted her head, watching the flames still roaring in the distance, a trace of fear lingering in her eyes.
That had been far too close.
If no one had intervened just then, she'd have been done for.
"Qiqi, I need to go pull the [Raptor] out!"
"No need. Someone else already went."
"Huh?"
"You'll see in a moment."
Amber thought of that dark arrow that had blown up the barrels. "Qiqi… you can shoot arrows too?"
Qiqi shook her head. "That wasn't me."
"Then who—?"
From the shadows came a dramatic, theatrical voice: "Why, of course, it was I, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung!"
Amber instantly recognized the voice. "Fischl?"
Out of the darkness strode Fischl, dressed entirely in black. In her hand, she dragged a badly singed man whose Wind Glider was little more than tatters. With a casual flick, she tossed him to the ground.
"Here. Your [Raptor]."
"Finally, we caught him."
"You realize you nearly got yourself killed just now?"
Amber laughed sheepishly. "Hehe… ah, but—what's with those outfits you two are wearing? You look so strange."
"This is a magical girl costume," Fischl declared.
"Magical girl? I think Aunt Alice mentioned that once…"
"Mm, that's the one."
"So why did you two suddenly become magical girls?"
"Secret~"
"…"
"Of course, if you want to be a magical girl too, I could tell you how."
"First tell me—what's the cost of becoming one?"
"No cost at all."
"I don't buy it."
"Believe it or not, that's up to you."
Amber tilted her head. "But how did you know I'd be chasing the [Raptor] tonight?"
Fischl shook her head. "We didn't."
"Then why—?"
"We just happened to be passing by, saw you in danger, and stepped in."
"Then where were you heading?"
"Nowhere. Just wandering Mondstadt, seeing where we might be needed…"
Amber blinked. "…Wait. Don't tell me you two are the rumored Darknight Hero? No, that doesn't make sense… Qiqi only just arrived in Mondstadt, but those rumors go back a year or two. Unless—it's you, Fischl?"
Fischl smiled. "Not me. But the two of us do know who the real Darknight Hero is."
"Who is it?" Amber asked eagerly.
"You know the tavern Angel's Share?"
"Of course!"
"The owner of that tavern is the Darknight Hero."
"You mean… Master Diluc?!"
"Exactly."
Amber's eyes widened. "…That's… unbelievable. But thinking about it, Diluc did return to Mondstadt around the time those rumors started. The timing fits."
"We saw it with our own eyes. There's no mistake."
"…To think Master Diluc, even after leaving the Knights of Favonius, has still been protecting Mondstadt in secret."
Amber's voice softened with admiration.
"Anyway, thank you both for saving me tonight. Otherwise, I might've really been blown to pieces. Tomorrow, shopping's on me!"
Fischl waved a hand. "No need."
Qiqi stroked the little finch perched on her shoulder, glancing at Amber. Truthfully, she wanted to say—even if Amber had died in that blast, there was no need to worry. Her master could just resurrect her.
Amber folded away her Wind Glider. Thankfully, it hadn't been damaged.
Then she grabbed the unconscious [Raptor] from the ground. "I'll take him back to headquarters. See you two tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Fischl said.
"Bye," Qiqi added.
As Amber passed by Fischl, the girl spoke again. "Do you want me to tell you how to become a magical girl?"
Amber froze mid-step, tilting her head toward her.
Fischl's tone turned sly. "Your mouth says no, but your body is being awfully honest."
Amber flushed. "Forget it then!"
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you."
Fischl leaned in with a mischievous smile, whispering softly:
"It's simple. All you have to do is ask Mr. Xia."
"Mr. Xia?"
Amber blinked, stunned.
"This has to do with him?"
"Mhm."
And with that, Fischl said no more, fading back into the darkness.
Amber turned just in time to see Qiqi riding her sword skyward.
In a blink, the two were gone, leaving only Amber with the captured [Raptor].
She stared after Qiqi's silhouette, murmuring under her breath. "A magical girl…"
If becoming a magical girl meant she could fly like that… it would be unbelievably useful for scouting in the wild.