Thus, Fidelle's plan succeeded, and Focalors' plan also "succeeded."
The death sentence was carried out, the Divine Throne was destroyed, and though the giant sword faced interference, it ultimately fell, completing its mission of destruction. The Hydro Authority was successfully returned to Neuvillette.
Neuvillette was able to purify the Fontainians, and the prophecy—"The Hydro Archon Cries, Divinity Vanishes"—came true in the form of the Hydro Archon's tears and the loss of her divine status. Fontaine was saved.
The only difference was that Focalors did not truly die. In the future, she would continue to accompany Furina in another form.
And the cost of all this?
Merely the extinction of Fidelle. But for some, this outcome was too high a price to pay...
-
Fontaine, inside the Opera House.
Neuvillette opened his eyes, his emotions still simmering with rage. The icy glint in his eyes was starkly different from that of the former Chief Justice.
"Neuvillette..."
Clorinde's voice snapped him out of his reverie. Only then did he notice that Lumine, Paimon, Chu Xi, Clorinde, the Lyney siblings, Navia, Melus, Silver, and the others were all staring at him.
Their faces were etched with sorrow, many still bearing tear streaks.
"You all..."
"Neuvillette, we've seen it all. We know everything now—about what the God Focalors did for Fontaine, and... Furina's five-hundred-year performance..."
A flicker of surprise crossed Neuvillette's face. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, the icy glint in his eyes had intensified.
"I have obtained the power necessary to confront the Narwhal. Through certain means, I can strip the planet's Primordial Sea power from the Narwhal's body."
"Now is the time to strike."
Lumine: "It's not just the Primordial Sea. That narwhal also harbors the power of the Abyss! The Abyss seeks Pure Souls, and Fidelle is their target!"
Neuvillette: "I won't let them succeed."
As soon as Neuvillette finished speaking, the ground in Fontaine trembled again.
"We haven't even gone looking for it, yet it's already come to find us..."
Cracking sounds echoed through the Opera House as Neuvillette clenched his fist.
Whoosh—
Neuvillette transformed into a blue column of water, instantly soaring above the Opera House, just as he had in the spatial rift.
"Paimon, Chu Xi, stay here!"
Lumine drew her weapon, wings sprouting rapidly from her back.
She shattered a window beside the Opera House and soared after Neuvillette.
That narwhal harbored far more than just the power of the Primordial Sea—it carried the Abyss itself!
-
High above Fontaine, even higher than the Opera Epiclese, a space began to shatter and collapse. The Narwhal surged forth from the fractured void, unleashing a deafening roar.
"What's that?!"
"It's the Narwhal! Run for your lives!"
On the ground, the Fontainians who witnessed the spectacle in the sky scattered in terror. Some sharp-eyed observers spotted Neuvillette soaring out from the Opera House.
"It's Judge Neuvillette! Monsieur Neuvillette has obtained the Authority of the Ancient Dragons! He'll surely defeat the Narwhal!"
The moment these words were spoken, others echoed their conviction.
"And look! There's the Traveler too!"
The Maison Gardiennage swiftly evacuated the crowd, emphasizing the danger of being directly beneath the high-altitude battlefield.
Clorinde, Navia, and others emerged from the Opera House as well. Unable to join the aerial combat, they threw themselves into the evacuation efforts.
"Hurry, get everyone to safety! Melus, are there any Spina di Rosula members still in the area?"
"Yes, Young Miss!"
"Excellent. Everyone, move quickly!"
Paimon, however, remained rooted to the spot, gazing up at the sky.
"Lumine..."
-
High in the sky, the All-Devouring Narwhal opened its massive maw and plunged downward.
Its jaws were colossal, and the suction covered an immense area, engulfing all the fleeing refugees below.
Neuvillette materialized before the Narwhal, raised his shield, and unleashed a colossal surge of Hydro Elemental Power that slammed the creature back.
The dark clouds above Neuvillette dissipated, revealing an inverted, churning sea suspended in the heavens. Billions of raindrops surged upward, swirling around him like a liquid throne guarding its King.
Those draconic eyes locked onto the All-Devouring Narwhal that had torn through space to intrude, and a chilling voice of judgment echoed across the sky:
"An interloper who dares to disrupt the plan—you have transgressed!"
Neuvillette extended his right hand, unleashing a massive pillar of water fifty meters in diameter that crashed into the Narwhal.
The Narwhal opened its abyssal maw and swallowed Neuvillette's entire water pillar.
Lumine arrived on the battlefield and immediately launched her attack, her blade flashing as she struck the Narwhal again and again.
Neuvillette extended his left hand, beginning to strip away the Power of the Primordial Sea from the Narwhal's body.
The Narwhal roared in fury, charging toward Neuvillette despite his water pillar and Lumine's relentless assault.
"Tides, I have returned!"
Neuvillette's Elemental Energy surged, and in an instant, billions of raindrops transformed into dark blue Authority Chains etched with ancient dragon runes, each as thick as a mountain ridge and imbued with the crushing weight of binding Laws. These chains mercilessly coiled upward!
The All-Devouring Narwhal's scales, capable of shattering stars, shrieked piercingly under the Authority Chains. The colossal whale's charge was abruptly halted in mid-air, its struggles futile.
Restraint was the prelude to execution.
Neuvillette clenched his fist.
"ROAR—!!!"
A primordial dragon's roar shattered the void. Behind him, the vast, deep-blue Authority collapsed, condensing into a terrifying dragon's claw that blotted out the sky!
Starlight flowed from its razor-sharp talons, ancient runes shimmered across its armored scales, and an aura of dimension-tearing pressure emanated from it, defying distance as it plunged ruthlessly toward the struggling leviathan.
Thwack!
The sound of Authority tearing through flesh and piercing essence echoed clearly.
Like a divine spear of judgment, the dragon's claw pierced through the narwhal's body without resistance, its talons piercing through to the other side. The leviathan's anguished cry abruptly ceased, and the gluttonous greed in its bestial eyes faded completely.
"I, Neuvillette, Chief Justice of Fontaine— sentence you to death!"
As the words fell, the dragon's claw tightened its grip. From the wound that pierced the narwhal's body erupted a deep-blue radiance that annihilated all in its path, obliterating the All-Devouring Narwhal's body from within.
Just as the All-Devouring Narwhal was on the verge of total annihilation, its scales abruptly shifted to a purplish-black hue, and an immense surge of Abyss Energy forcibly severed Neuvillette's Authority Chains.
The purple-black energy enveloped the All-Devouring Narwhal, swelling into a rapidly expanding sphere, growing more than threefold in size.
When the energy dissipated, the All-Devouring Narwhal's colossal form stood revealed before Neuvillette.
The All-Devouring Narwhal now stood more than three times larger, its body covered in purple-black scales, the horn atop its head gleaming with a sharp, frigid light.
-
Seeing this, an Intellitron standing somewhere below nodded slightly.
To think the All-Devouring Narwhal, originally intended to confront a God, was nearly defeated single-handedly by Neuvillette... This simply won't do!
Time for a decisive reinforcement.
And who knew Neuvillette was this powerful? Such a formidable attack method... tsk tsk...
-
High in the sky, Neuvillette's expression grew grave as Lumine crushed the flower Venti had given her.
Whoosh—
In the next breath after Lumine crushed the flower, a cyan arrow shot from the distant horizon, striking the All-Devouring Narwhal and staggering it, its massive form momentarily destabilizing.