Caught completely off guard by the sudden appearance of its imposter, the Giant Whale took the full force of the impact.
As torrents of Hydro Element washed over its massive body, the whale let out a pained roar and tilted sharply to one side.
Yet the Giant Whale ultimately regained its balance, its inherent resistance to Hydro Element proving resilient.
But as everyone watched, a new figure had materialized atop the whale's back.
The figure was clad head-to-toe in pitch-black armor, radiating an intense Abyss Aura.
Tartaglia's Foul Legacy Transformation.
Tartaglia raised his weapon high, then plunged it savagely into the whale's body. A surge of combined Hydro and Electro Elemental Power tore through the whale's innards, inflicting grievous damage.
"ROAR—!"
The Giant Whale finally realized its old nemesis had reappeared on its back. It let out an enraged roar and attempted its familiar tactic: trying to shake Tartaglia off once more.
"Let's settle this battle once and for all today!"
Tartaglia's body flickered rapidly, each brief pause leaving a fresh wound on the Giant Whale's hide.
Though the wounds weren't severe, the pain was real and relentless. Tartaglia's "scraping" attacks thoroughly annoyed the creature.
Regardless, with Tartaglia's persistent harassment, the Giant Whale wouldn't be able to focus on destroying the Primordial Sea Suppression Ray emitter anytime soon.
Seeing this, everyone present breathed a collective sigh of relief. Neuvillette, in particular, felt vindicated in his earlier decision to ask Tartaglia, who was recovering from injuries, to intervene.
Neuvillette had carefully considered the situation. Having completely severed ties with Arlecchino's Fatui faction, his next move was to confront Dottore. Such aggressive actions risked sending Snezhnaya the wrong signal, making them believe Fontaine was preparing for war.
Thus, Neuvillette resolved to send a friendly signal to Snezhnaya through Tartaglia, hoping to prevent relations between the two nations from deteriorating to an irreconcilable state.
Another reason was that Tartaglia had previously battled the Giant Whale. Considering all factors, he was the best candidate to restrain the creature.
Even from the perspective of Fontaine's safety, Neuvillette needed to lower his stance and seek Tartaglia's assistance.
Neuvillette refocused his attention on the Dark Furina before him and slowly began to speak.
"You've fallen into our trap. Surrender now."
"I anticipated your all-out assault today and prepared accordingly."
"Doesn't it strike you as odd that the Cult of No. 6's sudden attack didn't decisively shift the battle in their favor?"
"In truth, the moment you entered this area, I conducted a thorough identity verification of everyone present. Those with suspicious backgrounds were selected through a lottery and brought into the Opera Epiclese."
"Each of them is being watched by at least two members of the Court of Justice Special Task Force. I've already deployed Marechaussee Phantoms to intercept your reinforcements."
As Neuvillette spoke these words, Vinani was leading a Marechaussee Hunter Squad in a charge against the Cult of No. 6's reinforcements.
Despite the cultists' superior weaponry, the squad's exceptional combat skills left them no chance in the fight.
Vinani watched the incapacitated cult members with a calmness she hadn't felt before.
"Monsieur Henry, your efforts won't be in vain. Teyvat has no place for terrorist organizations like the Cult of No. 6. Today, we will end them once and for all."
"I hope everyone at the Opera House is succeeding."
Vinani glanced toward the Opera House, secretly wishing she could join the main battle there. However, Neuvillette had firmly rejected her request.
Though she protested, arguing that her strength had grown significantly—Melusines possessed an innate affinity for Hydro far surpassing ordinary humans—Neuvillette remained unmoved. His face betrayed an unwavering resolve on this matter.
Finally, Neuvillette assigned her to lead the Marechaussee Hunter Squad, tasking her with intercepting any members of the Cult of No. 6 who might appear.
Identifying them wasn't difficult: simply check if the reinforcements were carrying weapons.
The vast majority of Cult of No. 6 members were ordinary people. If they chose to enter the area unarmed, one could only admire their courage.
Vinani's operation proceeded smoothly. Her squad successfully intercepted two Cult of No. 6 reinforcement teams, with only two squad members sustaining minor injuries. Under Vinani's healing, they made swift and complete recoveries.
"Have the follow-up procedures been completed?"
"We can't take them with us. Just record their appearances, let them sleep it off for a while, and destroy their weapons."
"There might be more Cult of No. 6 reinforcements coming. We need to hide quickly and wait for them to walk right into our trap."
Hearing Vinani's words, the Marechaussee Hunters accelerated their actions.
The reason was simple: the slowest member would have to eat Vinani's specially prepared "love-infused" meal.
The thought of that otherworldly concoction spurred the Marechaussee Hunters into overdrive. Their hands moved with such blinding speed that even in combat they rarely moved so fast.
The cleanup was completed swiftly. Vinani nodded at the hunters and directed them to their ambush positions to await the arrival of reinforcements.
Six teams operated with similar roles as Vinani's, one of which was led by the original Duke Hubert and his loyal Clockwork Hound, Bit. They too had completed their mission flawlessly.
Thanks to the combined efforts of these six teams, the Cult of No. 6 members at the Opera House were now cut off from reinforcements and resupplies, their situation growing increasingly dire.
Yet Dark Furina seemed utterly unconcerned by this development, not even glancing at the battlefield below.
Seeing Dark Furina's detached demeanor, Neuvillette's mood grew increasingly grim.
Though the situation elsewhere was improving, the most critical battlefield remained right here with him.
Even though Dark Furina's power was being suppressed by the Primordial Sea Suppression Ray, Neuvillette had no confidence in defeating her now that she had completely burned herself out. Otherwise, he wouldn't have resorted to trying to persuade her to surrender.
"Neuvillette."
At that moment, Dark Furina finally spoke. Neuvillette leaned in, eager to hear what she would say.
"As the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, do you have the power to stop the sea from rising?"
Hearing her words, Neuvillette realized something was wrong and immediately looked toward the horizon.
He saw that the sea level had risen significantly, submerging much of the land surrounding the island.
Could there be a problem with the Covenant Seal?
After a moment's reflection, Neuvillette quickly dismissed the idea and deduced the true cause.
The sky above was now riddled with gaping holes, continuously pouring vast quantities of Primordial Sea Water downward.
While the Primordial Sea Water would be affected by the Primordial Sea Suppression Ray, causing it to avoid populated areas, it would ultimately flow into the sea, increasing its volume and raising the sea level.
The seawater Neuvillette observed was no longer ordinary; it was heavily mixed with Primordial Sea Water, at a dangerously high concentration.
Submerged in such water, even Vision users would struggle to survive for long. Ordinary people would likely dissolve instantly.
Unless they devised a countermeasure quickly or prevented Dark Furina from proceeding, even countless Primordial Sea Suppression Ray emitters would be useless once the seawater completely engulfed the land.
It seems I must intervene sooner than planned.
Just as Neuvillette was thinking this, a colossal hand, capable of blotting out the sky, reached over his shoulder and seized Dark Furina whole.
But in the next instant, the gargantuan hand was cleanly severed. Dark Furina strode through the newly formed opening, flicking her black longsword. The severed hand instantly crumbled, dissolving into pure Hydro Element.
Rene appeared beside Neuvillette, his face grim as he gazed at Dark Furina, who had grown immeasurably stronger. He turned to Neuvillette.
"Monsieur Neuvillette," Rene said, "I fear even our combined strength may be insufficient against her."
"Do you have any more cards to play?" Rene asked.
Neuvillette replied with unwavering composure, "None left. Do you have any useless cards you haven't played yet?"
Wait, you're asking me?!
Rene was stunned. For the first time, he found Neuvillette utterly unreliable.
You foresaw this! How can you say there's no way out?!
"What about the Hydro Archon? She should be coming, right?"
Rene didn't mention Furina by name, having already suspected she wasn't the true Hydro Archon. He subtly inquired about the real deity, but Neuvillette merely shook his head.
"I'm uncertain."
"But if she truly has a plan, this is likely her last chance to execute it."
Rene fell silent again, then smiled at Neuvillette.
"Forget it. I'll try to interfere with her as much as possible, but I can't do more than that."
"This time, I'll trust you, Monsieur Neuvillette, and believe you have some plan."
"And even if you don't, I'll still fight for Fontaine's future."
With those words, Rene turned his gaze back to Dark Furina.
To be honest, he was deeply surprised she hadn't made a move yet.
Knowing that Dark Furina was currently burning her life force—though she remained in a low-energy state while not actively using her powers—there was no reason for her to quietly wait for them to finish discussing their plans.
Moreover, considering Dark Furina's current state was entirely due to Amos's urging, Rene couldn't shake the feeling that she was putting on a show for Amos.
Rene shook his head, dismissing this far-fetched theory, then exchanged a glance with Neuvillette. Together, they simultaneously unleashed their attacks.
"Transform!"
Neuvillette turned sharply toward Rene's voice, nearly overshooting his target. Fortunately, his reflexes were swift, and he quickly regained his composure, focusing intently alongside Rene to suppress Dark Furina.
While Dark Furina could afford to wait, they had no time to spare. Not only would her power grow stronger as the Primordial Sea Water continued to rise, but Fontaine itself might be submerged soon. If the Fontainians were dissolved into the sea before they acted, all their efforts would be rendered meaningless.
The battle on the surface had already resumed, while the underground confrontation was just beginning.
As Arlecchino breached the passage beneath the Opera Epiclese, preparing to fulfill her promise to seize the Gnosis from the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, two unexpected figures materialized before her.
"Father, all our actions have been for Fontaine's salvation, haven't they?"
Arlecchino sighed deeply, her gaze fixed on Lyney and Lynette standing not far ahead.
"So Neuvillette convinced you after all."
"Well, aside from you two, no one else in Fontaine could stop me."
As the fourth-ranked Harbinger of the Fatui, Arlecchino possessed immense power, having already reached the threshold of becoming a god, akin to the Five Yakshas.
In fact, if Arlecchino were to fully unleash her restraints, she might even be capable of challenging an Archon in battle.
Aside from Rene and Neuvillette, whose strength surpassed hers, no other Fontainians could stand against Arlecchino.
However, Dark Furina alone had managed to occupy both Rene and Neuvillette, leaving them with no spare energy to stop Arlecchino. Thus, Neuvillette had persuaded Lyney and Lynette to serve as the first line of defense for the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
The second line of defense was the Oratrice's massive and unimaginable Indemnitium energy, while the third and final line was the Hydro Archon Focalors herself.
Though lacking definitive proof, Neuvillette had become nearly certain that the Hydro Archon Focalors resided within the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
"Regrettably, I can't afford to linger here," Arlecchino said, shaking her head as she regarded Lyney and Lynette. "I've made a bargain with her, and if I fail to fulfill my end, I'll pay a price I can scarcely bear."
"As you've likely guessed, the terms of this bargain require me to personally deliver the Hydro Archon's Gnosis to her today."
"So, will you try to stop me here? Lyney, Lynette?"
Upon hearing Arlecchino's words, Lyney and Lynette froze. They were perhaps the only ones besides Arlecchino herself who truly understood her terrifying nature.
Resist Arlecchino?
It was a thought so absurd it bordered on madness, one they had never even dared to consider.
But the current situation was clear: Arlecchino intended to deliver the Gnosis to Dark Furina. Once Dark Furina obtained the Gnosis, not only Fontaine but all of Teyvat would face annihilation. Could they truly disregard the lives of so many and allow Arlecchino to seize the Gnosis?
Remembering the young yet resilient faces at the House of the Hearth, Lyney and Lynette saw them as reflections of their own past selves.
Despite life's harshness, the children clung fiercely to survival, striving to protect the precious "family" they had fought so hard to build.
The thought of those faces sinking forever into the sea wrenched Lyney and Lynette's hearts.
Yet Arlecchino had warned that failing to retrieve the Gnosis would come at an unbearable cost.
What could such a cost mean to Arlecchino? Could it truly outweigh the very safety of this world?
Seeing Lyney and Lynette lower their heads, showing no intention of yielding, Arlecchino's face softened into a relieved smile. In the next moment, a surge of overwhelming battle intent erupted from her.
Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Arlecchino, Lyney and Lynette involuntarily retreated two steps before halting. They fixed her with complex, conflicted gazes.
"Father..."
"Take up your weapons, Lyney, Lynette."
"And fight me."
"Today is the day I will test whether you can stand on your own," Arlecchino declared.
As she spoke, a blood-red scythe materialized in her hand. The scythe became enveloped in orange-red flames, and her body dissolved into a series of afterimages as she charged toward Lyney and Lynette at breakneck speed...