Just moments after arriving beneath the Tower of Gestalt, Neuvillette sensed a rapidly approaching Abyss Aura and immediately halted.
"Ouch!"
Furina, who hadn't been paying attention, bumped into Neuvillette's back and winced, clutching her head.
"Neuvillette, why did you stop so suddenly?"
"Someone's coming."
Just as Neuvillette spoke, Jacob, twisted into an Abyss Monster, materialized before them.
"Stop right there, you two."
"We are not acting out of personal desire, but to confront the prophesied apocalypse.
Now that the Four Quadrant Circle is about to invert, let us become witnesses to the New World."
Jacob didn't attack immediately upon appearing. Instead, he attempted to persuade Neuvillette and Furina through diplomacy.
Well, what else could he do? He couldn't possibly defeat them in combat.
If he could, he wouldn't have been chased halfway across Teyvat in the first place.
Hearing Jacob's opening remarks, Neuvillette indeed refrained from immediate action and asked, "What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
"To unify the consciousness of all people and gain the power to resist the apocalypse."
This simple statement revealed a wealth of information. Many of Neuvillette's inner doubts immediately dissolved, while Furina remained utterly bewildered, grasping none of it.
Furina wanted to press Jacob for a more detailed explanation, to prevent him from simply dropping such a cryptic, out-of-context remark. However, fearing it would be too embarrassing, she ultimately kept silent.
Neuvillette took a deep breath. The opponent's plan, while feasible, was not the outcome he desired.
An astonishing aura radiated from Neuvillette.
"It seems negotiations have failed, hasn't it?"
Jacob wasn't particularly surprised by this development. If he believed he could persuade them, he wouldn't have needed to hide in the shadows for so long.
He had already resigned himself to his fate.
"I know you," the Tower of Gestalt said. "You're Jacob, one of the founders of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. You used to live at the Narzissenkreuz Institute."
Back then, the Tower of Gestalt's power was so vast that it could openly challenge the Fontaine authorities, inflicting heavy losses on them. Naturally, it had learned about Jacob, though it had only now recalled those distant events.
"You didn't die in that battle back then."
"Of course. I still have an important mission to complete."
Furina remained utterly bewildered, staring blankly at the exchange between the two men. She felt like the Hydro Archon was an outsider in this situation.
No, I'm the Hydro Archon! How can I just stand here like a background character?!
With a defiant flourish, Furina planted her hands on her hips, determined to assert her presence.
"Ah-ha! Jacob, right? I remember you too!"
"The last time I saw you, you were just a little boy, weren't you?"
For a moment, the atmosphere grew unnervingly quiet, even Neuvillette's aura seemed to falter. Eventually, Neuvillette had to remind Furina:
"He's over four hundred years old."
"Over four hundred years ago!"
Furina stared at Jacob in shock, recalling his youthful appearance. No matter how she looked at it, he didn't seem to belong to her era.
However, she quickly regained her composure, clearing her throat twice with forced nonchalance.
"Mm-hmm, over four hundred years ago, of course I knew that! That's exactly what I meant!"
Jacob was bewildered. What's wrong with this Hydro Archon? Is she deliberately playing dumb in front of me?
Perhaps I've overestimated her danger after all.
Neuvillette, having grown accustomed to Furina's stubbornness, exchanged a knowing glance with Jacob. Together, they tacitly ignored the embarrassing spectacle and returned to their previous topic.
"The person who was with you earlier must have gone to reverse the Four Quadrant Circle, then."
Before Jacob could respond, Neuvillette raised his cane slightly.
"Then let's finish this quickly."
Clearly, Neuvillette had realized Jacob was stalling for time and wanted to end the confrontation swiftly. Jacob's motives could be discussed after the matter was resolved.
"Ha ha ha, Monsieur Neuvillette, you're truly confident."
"Of course, I acknowledge your formidable strength, but I'm no pushover either."
With these words, Jacob unhesitatingly allowed the Abyss Power to completely consume his consciousness.
Jacob had no desire to resort to this unless absolutely necessary. If his consciousness failed to break free in the end, he would be forever lost in the Abyss, leaving him no place even in the New World.
Yet his vision of salvation was devoid of personal ambition. He would sacrifice everything without hesitation for this cause.
Still, Jacob felt a pang of regret at not being able to witness Rene's Awakening firsthand, nor to celebrate the arrival of the New World with Rene and his former comrades...
Sensing the sudden surge of Abyss Aura emanating from Jacob, Neuvillette's expression turned grave. He immediately attacked.
The Hydro Elemental Power clashed violently with the Abyss Power, shaking the entire underground chamber.
Fueled by selfless resolve, Jacob's strength had surpassed the threshold of an Archon. Even Neuvillette struggled to contain such power for a moment.
"Lady Furina, leave this to me. Immediately go below and stop the other one."
Neuvillette never expected Furina to prove truly useful. Even he was surprised, and he couldn't help but feel relieved that he had insisted on keeping her by his side earlier.
As for her safety, surely Furina, who wielded both Hydro and Abyss Elemental Power, could handle a mere mortal?
"Huh? Me?"
Furina was surprised to hear her name, but a smug expression quickly spread across her face.
"Hmph, in the end, you had to rely on me after all!"
"Watch this, Neuvillette! Next time, don't you dare say I never do anything!"
"Let's see... down there should be this way, right?"
Furina had barely taken two steps when Jacob, completely out of control and still fixated on his mission, unleashed a bolt of dark purple Electro energy directly at her.
Furina's heart jolted in terror. This overwhelming attack was far beyond her capabilities to handle. In that instant, cherished memories of her time with Emily flashed before her eyes. But before the vision could fully materialize, a brilliant blue barrier intercepted the attack completely.
With the danger averted, Furina felt as though she had been granted a second life.
Truthfully, she hadn't expected Neuvillette to intervene. After all, from his perspective, she was the Hydro Archon herself.
Yet Neuvillette had still stepped in, and Furina didn't dare dwell on the implications.
"Neuvillette, I'm leaving! Make sure you stop him properly!"
With these words, Furina immediately turned and fled down the path without looking back. Jacob tried to pursue her, but Neuvillette blocked his way.
Initially, Jacob had considered trying to slip past Neuvillette to intercept Furina. However, after a brief skirmish with Neuvillette, even this instinctive impulse vanished. He now poured all his strength into an astonishing battle against Neuvillette.
Even while diverting some of his focus to protect the structure of the area from collapsing due to their combat, Neuvillette maintained a firm upper hand.
In truth, had Neuvillette truly intended to kill Jacob, his power would have made it a relatively simple task.
Although Jacob's current strength rivaled that of an Archon, Archons themselves varied in power. Even with a portion of his authority diminished, Neuvillette remained among the apex Archons, far surpassing ordinary Archons in power.
However, the crimes Jacob had committed might not warrant the death penalty, so Neuvillette held back.
Moreover, Jacob's earlier impassioned speech about saving the world had also stirred something within Neuvillette. He knew Jacob had once been an ordinary man, and achieving such a feat must have required unimaginable effort.
These considerations led Neuvillette to prioritize preserving Jacob's life.
Entrusting the task of stopping Jacob from reversing the Four Quadrant Circle to Furina felt somewhat unreliable. Perhaps I'm overthinking things, he hoped. Furina did take the Prophecy quite seriously, after all.
Neuvillette recalled how Furina had consistently arranged for surveillance of the seawater. Reining in his wandering thoughts, he focused on the battle with Jacob.
Jacob had completely lost control. To save him, Neuvillette needed to disperse the majority of the Abyss Power within him.
-
Furina cautiously continued her descent, expecting to encounter some obstacles along the way. To her surprise, the journey proved remarkably smooth.
Before long, she even discovered an elevator. After hesitating for a mere 0.01 seconds between walking and taking the easy way out, Furina promptly stepped onto the elevator.
Of course, Furina wasn't entirely reckless. Given the loud mechanical noises the elevator made during operation, anyone would know someone was using it to descend. To avoid a potential ambush at the bottom, she pried open a hole in the elevator's roof just before it reached its destination and slipped out through the gap, exiting in a different direction.
As it turned out, Furina had been overthinking things. She encountered no ambushes whatsoever.
Relieved, Furina returned to the ground level and continued down the tunnel, chuckling self-deprecatingly as she walked.
In the past, she had been just an ordinary person with no special abilities. But now, things were different! She had become a formidable figure wielding two Visions simultaneously!
In Fontaine, as long as she avoided those few absurdly strong individuals, she could practically strut around with impunity!
Moreover, she had already met her opponents. Jacob was indeed a formidable foe she couldn't afford to provoke, but the other one was just an ordinary person.
Even with the help of a Clockwork Meka, these ancient contraptions were no match for her!
The more Furina thought, the more confident she became.
So, if Neuvillette can keep Jacob occupied, I'm practically invincible!
Those days of meek submission were over. Apart from Neuvillette and Jacob, she was the strongest here!
As these thoughts raced through her mind, she reached the end of the path and found herself before a massive gate.
The gate and the surrounding walls were intricately adorned with complex patterns, clearly indicating that a seal had once been in place—one that had recently been broken.
"Hmph, they moved quickly enough," Furina scoffed.
"They must have sensed my approach and hastily broken the seal."
"There haven't been any ambushes along the way. Even they must know such tactics would be utterly futile against Lady Furina!"
"I must admit, that was a wise decision."
"But it all ends here..."
Furina pushed open the massive gate with all her might. With a groan of rusted hinges, it creaked open slowly.
"Immediately cease your unlawful and criminal activities! In the name of the Hydro Archon Furina, I hereby declare you under arrest...?"
Furina and her dark counterpart locked eyes, her mind instantly going blank.
Completely stunned, Furina couldn't comprehend why Dark Furina was here.
"Oh, Lady Furina is here too!"
At that moment, a young man holding sophisticated instruments appeared beside Dark Furina, greeting Furina warmly.
"Guests are always welcome! Please, come in and sit down!"
"Ahem, about that... I appreciate the offer, but I just remembered I left a pot of black tea brewing at home. I should go check on it right away!"
"You guys carry on with your work. I won't bother you. I'm off!"
Hearing Lofan's words, Furina jolted, immediately turning to flee.
Stop their plan?
How could she possibly stop them?!
That doppelganger, who looked exactly like her, could probably hold her own against Neuvillette in a fight. What chance did she stand against her?!
She'd naively thought her opponent had given up resisting, only to realize they'd simply dismissed her as a weakling, waiting for her to foolishly walk right into their trap!
She had to rush back and find Neuvillette immediately. Only his intervention stood any chance of resolving this situation.
"Stay and be our guest. Lady Focalors has been waiting for you for ages!"
Lofan watched Furina flee in disarray, a smile playing on his lips. He was certain she would be thrilled with this surprise.
Dark Furina moved next. Without even needing Lofan's direct control, she effortlessly seized Furina by the neck and dragged her back in mere seconds.
Furina struggled briefly, but Dark Furina swiftly bound her with Hydro Elemental Power, rendering her helpless. She was then carelessly tossed to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
Neuvillette, you've doomed me!
Furina inwardly raged at Neuvillette. Despite possessing power far surpassing that of ordinary mortals, she continued to suffer repeated setbacks. A wave of despair washed over her, threatening to bring her to tears.
Refusing to show weakness before her enemies, Furina vehemently retorted to Lofan's earlier words:
"She's not the Hydro Archon Focalors! She's just a fraud, a criminal!"
"You're right, Lady Focalors isn't yet the Hydro Archon," Lofan agreed, then added, "But she will be soon."
"And you, mortal Furina, will have the privilege of witnessing this momentous occasion!"