Aside from Itto and Paimon, others were much calmer. Take Navia, for example—she was pretty scared, but the kind of scared that got her more excited. After one round, she laughed enthusiastically and wanted to go again. Clorinde, her partner, had no objections, so they queued up for another go.
Then there was Shenhe, teamed up with Ganyu. The two women were like tourists. Sure, Shenhe and Ganyu let out little "wow" or "oh" gasps, but their faces remained expressionless, emotions steady, showing no sign of fear. This demeanor hit the scare crew hard, making them doubt their skills. It was Lucian who told them to give a "wow" to play along when someone tried to scare them. Lucian's goal? Purely to mess with the scare crew. Who said the scare team gets off easy? Here's a little psychological blow for you.
Besides Shenhe's group, Lucian also roped in Ei and Zhongli—yep, he put two Archons in the adventure group. Kujou Sara and Xiao, assigned to the scare crew, turned green at the news. Xiao used his "Windwheel Stance" to spook people. When Lucian told him to go, he went, only to pop up in front of Rex Lapis and the Raiden Shogun.
"Wow," Zhongli "exclaimed."
"Wah," Ei "gasped."
Xiao: "…"
Xiao froze on the spot. Before him, Kujou Sara had faced the same treatment and still hadn't recovered, lying on the ground with tears in her eyes, looking like she'd been out of it for a while. Lucian, you used the Tengu's prized speed as a scare toy, and this is how you use it?
Aside from Xiao and Sara, Furina got hit too—not by design, just bad luck. Paired with Arlecchino, Furina was the scared one but tried to act calm, walking ahead.
"Ahem, so what's this official business you mentioned?" Furina said with a light cough.
Arlecchino didn't reply, instead pointing behind Furina. Furina turned, puzzled, to see her shadow—normal enough. Wait, not normal! Her shadow stood up, facing her head-on! Even creepier, the shadow had vague facial features and clothing. A pitch-black shadow with blurred features? That's beyond reason.
Furina gasped, stumbling back two steps until she bumped into something soft and stopped. A hand rested on her shoulder—Arlecchino's. Tilting her head, Furina saw Arlecchino's expressionless red-cross eyes staring at her, unreadable as ever. Panicking, Furina stepped forward, only to end up face-to-face with the "shadow" again, caught in a dilemma.
With no other choice, Furina closed her eyes and marched forward, thinking that if it was a "scare prop," it wouldn't hurt her. But that creepy mushroom person behind her? Not so sure! Forward it is!
Xianyun, hidden nearby, controlled the "shadow" to lunge at Furina, but Furina kept "calmly" walking with eyes closed. Xianyun sighed. As expected of a god—figuring out my "Camouflaged Shadow Mechanism" so quickly, even closing her eyes confidently. This prop, invented with Guizhong for the test of courage, used plenty of Adeptal arts, yet a god saw through its flaw instantly.
Indeed, the "shadow" could mimic the target's appearance, but it was just a "projector"—it couldn't affect anyone. With Furina charging straight through, Xianyun had no counter. Young and new as the Hydro Archon may be, she's still a god.
Damn it, my score's only 1-0-2! Only little Sayu got scared by me—Hu Tao took the rest. If this keeps up, I'm losing! Xianyun, inexplicably competitive, didn't know where this rivalry came from. She glanced at Hu Tao, curious to see her next move.
Xianyun watched Furina "calmly" pass her zone into Hu Tao's. Furina moved on, but Arlecchino, intrigued by the "shadow," stopped to observe. Xianyun promptly manipulated the shadow, obligingly changing its form. Having read Arlecchino's story, Xianyun made it take Clervie's shape, effectively freezing Arlecchino in place.
Furina, having passed the zone, opened her eyes. Her memory of this area was fuzzy, and walking forward blindly felt unsafe. Slowly opening her eyes, she didn't dare look back, just wanting to keep going, her steps stiff, legs lifting high unconsciously. Someone tapped her shoulder. Furina, not turning, said: "Ahem, let's continue our earlier topic, Lady Arlecchino."
She naturally assumed it was Arlecchino beside her, tapping her shoulder. No reply came, but the person tapped her other shoulder. Furina frowned, her ahoge twitching, sensing something off—Arlecchino wouldn't keep tapping without speaking.
Too scared to look back, Furina quickened her pace, thinking if she ran fast enough, she'd reach the end. But the further she went, the weirder it got. Despite moving forward, she seemed stuck in place, not advancing at all. Worse, the further she went, the darker the scenery became. Furina stopped, too afraid to continue.
The moment she paused, something behind her tapped her shoulder again. Furina was on the verge of tears, her ahoge wilting, legs turning inward. She wanted to crouch and yell, "Lucian, save me!" If this keeps up, I'm going into a head-hugging squat defense—that invincible pose Lucian taught me!
In the shadows, two fox ladies snickered. The "ghost wall" effect was their doing. Beside them, Hanyuuda Chizuru cautiously used her youkai power to control "will-o'-wisps" circling Furina, slowly closing in. Terrified, little Fufu glanced left and right, finally hugging herself tightly.
Earlier, Yae Miko and Kitsune Saiguu had found Chizuru and used a "puppet" to absorb her. Great—I've caught Hanyuuda Chizuru! Technically, she's still a Tsukumogami, just attached to a puppet instead of a hagoita, so no worries about disappearing.
The shoulder-tapping wasn't their trick—it was Hu Tao's "Boo Tao." Hu Tao was about to jump out with the will-o'-wisps to scare Furina, even sticking out her tongue. Then, the ever-present but subtle BGM suddenly kicked into high gear.
Boom boom boom! Clang clang clang!
A burst of drum beats shattered the spooky atmosphere, dispelling much of Furina's fear. What the—hype mode activated!?
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Character Voice · Hu Tao: About the Test of Courage
"Agh, such a shame I didn't scare little Fufu. It's all Lucian's fault—how should I punish him?"