In that moment, facing his father's terrifying strike, Diluc could not dodge. If he did, the wounded servants behind him would die. His brother Kaeya, also injured, would be killed as well.
So at the last moment, Diluc chose to raise his sword and block his father's attack with all his might, to save the innocent and to save his father from the evil power controlling him.
Just as Diluc gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, raising his sword, the clash of blades that everyone expected never came. Instead, there was only the soft, sickening sound of a sword piercing flesh.
Then Diluc felt a familiar body collapse against him. He opened his eyes and saw a sight he would never forget.
He saw his father drop his sword. He saw his father's snarling, terrifying face. He saw his father's bloodshot, monster-like eyes. And he saw his own blade, thrust through his father's Delusion-eroded body.
Diluc was frozen. He had only wanted to stop his mad father from hurting the servants and Kaeya. He had only wanted to stop him and save him. He had raised his sword to block his father's, never meaning to run him through.
Then, in that moment, as his monster-like father, pierced by his sword, was about to lose his final shred of consciousness, he used his last strength to raise his rotting arms, trying to embrace his son one last time.
In a faint whisper, he murmured, "Son... you did nothing wrong... you are your father's pride."
"Protect... Kaeya... live... well."
Crepus had so much more he wanted to say to his son, so much more to tell him. But his life force had long been drained by the Delusion. His last flicker of awareness was fading. He tried with all his might to raise his rotting arms and embrace his son one last time.
But he couldn't. His final consciousness slipped away, and his rotting arms fell heavily to the ground. The red faded from his eyes. His Delusion-eroded body, now a rotting mass, gave off a putrid stench.
Who would have thought that the hero who had driven away Ursa the Drake, the hero who had saved the convoy, the hero who had saved Mondstadt, would end up as a heap of rotting, shapeless flesh?
"No—Father—"
"Don't—"
"Why—"
Diluc broke down.
Why, at the very end, had his father dropped his sword and impaled himself on Diluc's blade? Why had his father been consumed by that evil power?
Can you imagine such devastation? He had wanted to save his father. But his father, consumed by evil, had used his last shred of awareness to seize control of his body, dropped his sword, and willingly impaled himself on his son's blade. He chose to die by his son's hand.
In that moment, Diluc, who had always been strong and brave, who had never cried before, wept like a torrent. His tears soaked his face as he held his father's rotting body.
Drip. Drip.
One tear, two tears, countless tears fell, soaking his father's rotting remains.
Regret, guilt, anger, grief—all of it surged together, driving Diluc to the edge of madness.
The servants watched in stunned silence. They had seen Lord Crepus raise his sword against Diluc, only to drop it at the last moment, choosing to die by his son's hand.
Kaeya was also broken. "Father... Diluc... save Father..."
His legs were shattered, but still he crawled forward with his arms, desperate to reach his father.
Just as the tragedy unfolded, the sound of hoofbeats filled the air. The reinforcements from the Knights of Favonius had finally arrived, led by the high-ranking Inspector Eroch.
Seeing that they were still alive, Eroch's eyes showed surprise. He hadn't expected a rookie Knight Captain and a convoy of servants to defeat Ursa the Drake.
He walked up to Diluc and patted his shoulder. "Diluc, well done. When this is over, I'll put in a recommendation for your promotion."
Diluc lifted his tear-streaked face and tried to explain. "No, no, it wasn't me. Father sacrificed himself to defeat Ursa the Drake."
It was then that Diluc noticed the Delusion on his father's hand. Though he had never seen one before, the moment he laid eyes on it, he felt its evil presence. It was this cursed thing that had drained his father's life force, turning him into a mindless, rotting corpse.
Hearing Diluc's explanation, Inspector Eroch's gaze grew serious as he looked at the Delusion. He understood at once.
But to protect the Knights' honor and promote their greatness, Eroch gave the order to cover up the truth, suppress the news, and seal away the fact that Crepus had defeated the dragon and used the Delusion.
Not only that, but on the very next day, before Crepus's body was even buried, Eroch used the dragon incident to spread propaganda throughout Mondstadt. He praised the Knights for slaying the dragon, glorified their strength, and lauded Diluc's heroic spirit. In all the announcements, Crepus's name was never mentioned. The Knights had shamelessly taken credit for all of his achievements.
When Diluc learned of this, he stormed into Eroch's office and demanded answers. Why were they stealing his father's glory? Why were they covering up the truth? He couldn't accept that his father's sacrifice had been claimed by the Knights, who had arrived too late. He couldn't accept that his great father would be forgotten. He couldn't accept that his father's name had been erased from the list of heroes.
But when Inspector Eroch heard Diluc's accusations, he replied with a dismissive tone, "Glory should be given to the living, so it can serve its greatest purpose. If your father were still alive, he could have been a hero and could have joined the Knights he always dreamed of. But he's dead. That's a pity."
Eroch described Crepus's sacrifice as if it were nothing. Crepus was dead. That's why he couldn't be a hero. That's why his achievements were shamelessly claimed by the Knights.
This was the great Knights of Favonius?
Diluc clenched his fists in fury.