Both Noelle and the transformed Keqing began to walk closer towards each other, before they stopped approximately 5 feet away where they begin to circle around looking for a chance to strike. Noelle looked around on where all of them are standing, they are right on top of one of the towering peaks of the archipelago with a little space for the fight.

In a flash, right after a bolt of lightning struck from the skies, Keqing is already in front of Noelle, who widened her eyes and attempted to swing down the Unforged out of reflexes only for it to miss, and Keqing attempts to jab her right hand right through Noelle's cuirass. In time, Noelle summons a barrier around the targeted area, only for it to shatter instantly, due to the velocity and strength of the jab.

With a kick, Noelle knocked Keqing backwards, although her expression remains unchanging. She then casts her right hand towards her chest, before a bolt of lightning forms in front of it which is then pulled up by the hand. She then quickly tossed it to Noelle like a javelin, to which Noelle tries to summon another barrier to defend herself only for the bolt to penetrate through and hits Noelle which sends her flying off the canyon into the dark depths below, covered by the storm clouds.

"That move... That looks just like Shogun-Sama's...!" Ayaka said, her hands which were gripping on her tachi begins to tremble.

Keqing then turned her attention to the other two, whereupon Nilou suddenly came in sword drawn, and delivers multiple hydro slash projectiles with it only for Keqing to dodge all of them effortlessly as if she can read her attack movements.

Nilou then deforms her body into water, and reemerged in front of Keqing like a striking shark only for Keqing to summon another lightning bolt and parried Nilou's attack away. More thunderbolts begin to strike the archipelago, as rogue waves begin to submerge the areas below the peak.

"This power is even more terrifying than that doctor... We're fighting a monster like we've never seen before...!"

"Me, a monster...? No, I am a devil!"

"I won't just stand here and let Noelle get handled like that!" Nilou shouted, charging in as rain begins to fall down rapidly.

'Rain? Lucky me...'

Keqing sees Nilou running towards her, and retaliates by summoning a lightning stiletto before she glided through the air towards Nilou. She threw the stiletto intending for it to hit and immobilize Nilou, only for Nilou's right shoulder to deform into water, which caused the flying stiletto to miss.

After her shoulder reformed quickly thanks to the assistance of the rainwater, Nilou begins to raise her sword on her right hand while the left one prepares to grab Keqing after the slash, however an inch before the slash hits, Keqing suddenly teleports above Nilou, and after summoning another lightning bolt she stabs Nilou right through the back, impaling her to the ground. 

"Heavenly Stiletto, Level Two."

Nilou's body then begins to be stricken by electric currents which both immobilized and harmed her. She screams internally in agony as the electricity begins to fry her mind as well. The bolt disappears after a few seconds, leaving Nilou unconscious.

Only Ayaka remains, who transformed into her transcended form again. The aura of frost which emanates from her freezes the rainwater dropping down on her, and she used them as an advantage to bring forth a storm of icicles towards Keqing.

"These fools are fighting a losing battle, but I can't just stand here knowing that she can kill the entirety of Teyvat, including Aether...!"

"A...Aether...?" Keqing muttered out, her eyes blinking from having electro symbols present in them, to normal before she blinks again and the symbols returned.

The icicle storm then strikes when Keqing is still off-guard, however in a flash she moved away, just as Ayaka sheathed her tachi back and dashed towards where Keqing is currently standing. Keqing herself then summoned a sword-sized bolt, and vanished alongside Ayaka as they went into a duel of inhuman speed.

"Now you face me, the Shirasagi Himegimi of the Kamisato Clan!"

"Then I shall enjoy watching you squirm."

Multiple cuts begin to appear in the air, both of electro and cryo which caused electric arcs, and freezing raindrops at the same time. The cuts then ended with huge slashes that caused an elemental instability, whereas a shockwave of frost turned the surrounding rain into hail only to return into rain again after 10 seconds.

Both Ayaka and Keqing hovered in the air, Ayaka with her cryo wings while Keqing seems to be using the shining crystals on her gauntlets and the downward wing shaped sashes on the sides of her dress to hover.

"So hard to defeat... This is truly the Legendary Tenshou-Ryu...!"

'I was lucky that every single one of her slashes met mine, and I got no scratches as a result...'

However, a final cut is struck, and Ayaka coughed out a bit of blood that freezes before they reached the ground. She knelt down in pain, holding her wounded torso.

"What is wrong? Entertain me more, Heron of Ice. Or else, I might get bored of you, and search for Morax's successor before destroying her."

"You don't need to search for me, Lady Keqing...!"

Both Ayaka and Keqing then looked to the side, where Noelle, now in her arch-transcended form, hovers in the air, her long hair and translucent geo cape flowing in the wind.

"So you have decided to return and jest yourself before me."

Noelle then imbues the Unforged with geo energy, it's blade extending with it's light. She then glides toward Keqing where she summoned another sword sized lightning bolt for her to clash with Noelle. The both of them then locked onto each other's weapons, pushing until they can find an opening. Keqing then grabs Noelle by the throat using her left hand, and starts to squeeze it.

"Gaahhh...!"

"I've expected more from you, Morax's successor. However, you disappoint me as you lack the will to slay."

"Because if I were to slay you... Then I will not know what will the others in Liyue will think about it!"

"Why would they? 'Keqing' will be a forgotten memory like many things in the past, like how everyone forgets about me, reducing me into a being akin to that of a fairytale!"

"Not just Liyue... But Lady Ganyu, Lady Ningguang... The people that Lady Keqing called friends in the harbor... and Aether...!"

"Stop saying that name!"

Noelle shook.

"Just hearing that name uttered... Takes a toll on me... What is wrong!?"

"You loved Aether."

"What...?" Keqing's grip on Noelle begins to loosen.

"You loved him. Not just Lady Keqing, but your entire being as well. His otherworldly appearance and heroism struck your thundering heart."

"I loved him... This can't be. Then if I continued my rage... He'll be gone as well..."

"Which is why, please cease your rage and this rivalry with Rex Lapis, for he has turned a new leaf."

Noelle's body then reverted to normal, as sheenclosed the distance of her two hands to one another, and formed a rose made of gold. She then raised both of her arms to the sky, to which it's petals spread to stop the furious storm, and she fanned the rest of the petals using her left hand gently towards Keqing. Everything is then blinded in light, and after it dissipates, Keqing finds herself still in her transformed state, but the skies and the surroundings are bright and clear again. Both Ayaka and Nilou's wounds are healed instantly as well.

"You... You stopped my wrath, but how?"

"I shall choose who I save, and those who I judge using my power. As long as I exist in Teyvat, other than to serve Aether as his Knight, I will protect the innocent, as well as their bond with others. That is my Proof of An Orderless Knight."

Keqing is dumbfounded. A girl bearing the second Geo Gnosis, chose to spare her due to her bonds with some otherworldly traveler instead of eliminating her which what Rex Lapis would have done to ensure Teyvat's safety.

"Now, let us return, shall we?"

Noelle opens a portal, which led to the Serenitea Pot. They find themselves encountering Aether the moment they walked through.

"Keqing..."

"Aether..."

Keqing then dashed to hug Aether, who returns the hug in an instant as she cried into his chest.

"Please forgive me, Aether... I... I may have ruined your night due to the sudden storm that your Maid-Knight stopped. And... I hurt all three of them..."

"You couldn't control your rage, Lady Keqing."

"Noelle? What do you mean?" Paimon asked.

After a long explanation...

"What!? Keqing is the mythical being that you were looking for!?"

"I find that hard to believe myself... But Keqing, Noelle is right. You were in a blind rage, after seeing the light similar to Rex Lapis' within Noelle."

"So, as punishment... You can do whatever you want to me."

"H-huh!?"

"I said it. Do whatever you want."

------

The next day, Keqing confessed to the people of Liyue on what she truly is, and apologized that she caused a sudden fright at that one moment. No penalties were given however, seeing that none of the harbor is damaged or even worse, ruined.

After the public apology, Keqing opens a portal to the Serenitea Pot. She walks out finding herself standing in the dining room in the first floor of the mansion.

"I feel that I should do more as a punishment for what I tried to do with those three."

Noelle smiles, as Aether is ready to hear what Keqing is about to say next.

"Allow me to join in your journey as well. Until the end."

"What!?" Ayaka shouted, whilst Nilou clasped her hands together, smiling cheerfully.

"But your duties as Yuheng..."

"Already taken care of~" Nilou winked mischievously.

As it turns out, she conjured a hydro clone of Keqing that took on her form perfectly. The clone will last until Nilou instructed it to stop.

"I also connected it's memories to you with a droplet I left inside you, so it won't be suspicious when you returned to Liyue, as in you suddenly forgetting schedules, work and such."

"It looks like we don't really have to worry about your work at home, huh?" Aether asked, stroking the back of Keqing's ears.

Keqing turned her glance to Aether's face, and planted her lips against his for  5 seconds, before pulling away, all done in front of a furious Ayaka, getting held back by Noelle.

"Lady Ayaka, want it or not, she has decided that this is her punishment. And so, let's get to befriend each other better!"

"As if, after she tried to kill us all...!"

"But after I defused the situation--"

"No buts, Noelle!"

"Here they go again, Aether..." Nilou sighed.

"Yeah. Truly, the rest of my... No, our journey will be quite eventful indeed."

------

Two Fatui agents handed over their reports to a short figure with elvish ears in front of them, who read through it quickly.

Raising a brow, the figure quickly threw the report scrolls into a fire on a brazier.

"Is it going to be a wise decision, burning them?" The male agent asked.

"Indeed. If we were to keep the morale of our agents and soldiers in the field as high as it is, we need to make the Maid-Knight of Destruction not an open matter to speak of."

As it turns out, the report scrolls depict Noelle's activities in Sumeru, Mondstadt, Inazuma and finally Liyue. All of them were burnt into ashes, within seconds.

- Book End

Coming Soon
"The Chronicles of The Maid-Knight"