Inside the room, Andrei was curled up on his side, sleeping soundly.
Ding-a-ling!
Suddenly, the sharp chime of a bell pierced the silence.
Andrei jolted awake instantly.
He had a habit of hanging a bell on his door before sleeping. Any intruder would trigger it, waking him immediately.
He spun around just in time to see a glint of cold steel thrusting toward him.
"Who is it?!"
The sudden attack terrified him.
Without thinking, a massive bone spur erupted from his body, blocking the short blade.
Clang!
Sparks flew as metal met bone.
"What the...?!"
Having blocked the strike, Andrei finally saw his attacker.
When he recognized Ekaterina, the Northland Bank receptionist, his pupils shrank. "Ekaterina! What is the meaning of this?!"
"The Harbinger was right. You are hiding something."
Ekaterina frowned, staring at the bone spur protruding from his body. "You lied to Lord Tartaglia."
The bone spur looked grotesque and unnatural, yet it had blocked her blade effortlessly.
She had come tonight just to test him.
Hearing her words, Andrei's face turned ugly.
He hadn't expected Tartaglia to send someone to test his loyalty.
It meant Tartaglia didn't trust him.
If only Ekaterina knew, it wouldn't matter. He could silence her.
But if the Harbinger knew... that was bad.
Even with his new Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) bloodline, he didn't delude himself into thinking he could defeat a Harbinger.
His only option now was to kill Ekaterina and flee Liyue.
With this power, he could live comfortably as an adventurer anywhere. Combined with the wealth he had embezzled over the years, he could disappear and live well.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
While Andrei plotted, Ekaterina attacked again, slashing furiously.
But her blade couldn't penetrate his defenses.
Each strike hit bone, producing metallic clangs and sparks. The edge of her blade began to chip.
"What is this?"
Ekaterina frowned deeply, watching more bone spurs erupt from Andrei's body.
They were hideous and terrifyingly hard. Her weapon was useless against them.
Realizing she was outmatched, she didn't hesitate. She leaped backward, intending to flee.
She had confirmed his secret. That was enough. There was no need to fight a monster she couldn't hurt.
"Trying to run?!"
Andrei sneered.
You think you can just leave after attacking me?
Even if he couldn't chase her down on foot, his bloodline gave him ranged options.
He had spent the day testing his new powers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Andrei extended his hand. The phalanges of his fingers shot out like bullets.
The bone bullets broke the sound barrier, hitting Ekaterina instantly.
She couldn't dodge.
Multiple bloody holes punched through her body. The impact sent her flying like a ragdoll, smashing into the opposite wall with a sickening thud.
Ekaterina slumped to the floor, gasping in pain, unable to scream.
She watched in horror as Andrei walked slowly toward her.
She hadn't even seen his attack coming.
"I just wanted to hide my power in peace. If you hadn't provoked me, you would still be the bank's receptionist," Andrei said coldly as he approached. "Since you came to test me, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Can you tell me more about this ability?"
A light laugh suddenly echoed in the room.
Andrei froze. His pupils constricted in fear.
It was Tartaglia's voice.
He tried to turn around, but before he could see anything, a terrifying force slammed into him.
Boom!
He vomited blood as he was blasted sideways.
His body smashed through the door frame, kicking up a cloud of dust. Pain exploded through every nerve.
It was too fast. He hadn't even fully deployed his bone armor before he was sent flying.
But the moment he hit the ground, survival instinct kicked in. More bone spurs erupted from his body as he struggled to stand.
In the distance, Tartaglia was feeding something to Ekaterina.
Whatever it was, her bleeding stopped instantly.
Tartaglia turned his attention back to Andrei. He flicked his wrist, summoning twin blades of pure hydro energy.
He walked toward Andrei with a look of genuine interest. "A very impressive ability. It looks like bone spurs. Care to explain?"
The transformation fascinated him.
If he wasn't mistaken, Andrei could manipulate his own skeleton, turning bones into weapons and armor.
He had examined Ekaterina's wounds earlier—they were caused by finger bones.
Turning one's own skeleton into projectiles? Harder than steel?
His casual hydro strike just now hadn't even severed the thicker spurs.
If Il Dottore knew about this, he'd want to dissect Andrei immediately.
"Lord Tartaglia, don't force me!"
Andrei looked desperate as the Harbinger approached with that terrifying smile. "I have a final technique. We can die together!"
With the Shikotsumyaku, he felt confident that even if he couldn't win, he could take Tartaglia down with him.
"Oh?"
Tartaglia's eyes narrowed.
What kind of confidence allows a man who was normal yesterday to threaten a Harbinger today?
Whoosh!
Tartaglia moved.
He was a blur of speed. A flash of blue hydro energy sliced through the air.
The bone spurs that had seemed indestructible were sliced clean through like butter.
But a second later, they grew back.
Bang!
Andrei couldn't react in time. He was blasted backward again.
Even with more bone spurs deployed, he couldn't block the impact.
Crash!
He smashed into a wall, collapsing it entirely. Dust billowed out.
Andrei groaned in agony. His wounds were healing rapidly, and his bones were regenerating, but he felt an overwhelming exhaustion.
He could feel the energy in his body depleting rapidly.
"A miraculous ability. Mutating your bones for offense and defense, regenerating wounds... but the consumption is massive. Energy doesn't come from nothing."
Tartaglia watched Andrei struggle to his feet, smiling. "Did you get this from the Jar Shop? You could have just told me. I'm not unreasonable. Why hide it?"
"I'm actually curious about this 'mutual destruction' technique you mentioned. Do you think you can pull it off in your current state? Regenerating those bones and healing your wounds has drained you, hasn't it?"
Tartaglia had seen the rapid healing.
He knew Andrei was running on fumes.
"Even if you kill me, you can't take the bloodline!" Andrei shouted, terrified. "I've already fused with it! Draining my blood won't work!"
"Who said I was going to kill you?"
Tartaglia laughed, sheathing his hydro blades. "I'm just teaching you a lesson. Do you understand? I want you to remember: do not deceive me. If you had just told me you pulled this power, I wouldn't have cared. It's your luck. It benefits the Fatui if you're strong."
"The only thing you did wrong was lying. Do you understand?"
He patted Andrei on the shoulder with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "As an elite of the Fatui, your strength is an asset. We've worked together for years. I won't kill you this time. Just remember this lesson."
Such an interesting ability was too valuable to destroy.
If he showed Andrei to Dottore later, the Doctor would be thrilled. A living specimen was worth far more than a corpse.
"I..."
Andrei looked at him in disbelief.
He's letting me go?
Just a 'lesson'?
So he really didn't care about the power, just the deception?
"What's happening over there?!"
Shouts rang out.
The noise of the fight—and the collapsing wall—had alerted the Millelith patrol.
Guards were running toward the Northland Bank quarters.
"Nothing serious."
Tartaglia stood up and walked out to meet them, smiling smoothly. "A thief broke into the bank's quarters. He stole some money, smashed through the wall, and ran off. We'll pay for the damages. But please, brave Millelith, help us catch this thief."
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