"Duel! Duel!"
"Duel! Duel!"
"Hydro Archon, I'm your (censored)!!!"
...
Someone, probably bored out of their skull, yelled "Duel!" and it spread like wildfire. Ten people told ten people, and soon the whole place was a roaring mob, waving their hands and chanting for a duel.
Who the hell was this son of a bitch stirring up trouble?!
Momoshiki frowned, a wave of annoyance washing over him.
This awkward situation was finally about to end, and now someone had to start chanting for a duel! It was making it hard for Furina to back down gracefully.
He seriously wanted to drag that guy into the Kamui Dimension for a one-on-one.
"Wait, what's going on?!"
Lumine and Paimon were startled, staring at the cheering crowd with bewildered expressions. Their brains short-circuited.
They were just about to wrap things up, and now it was a duel?!
The whiplash was insane!!
And why did everyone look so damn excited?!
You had to say, this was Fontaine, a land of theatrical flair. No matter how ridiculous things got, it somehow made sense.
"What's happening?!"
Furina exclaimed in her mind, the situation clearly spiraling out of her control.
[Looks like someone started it. So, do you want to go with force or the law?]
"Can I use force? If not, I can try using Fontaine's laws. They violated the rule about not flying things during the first three days of the month. I should have an advantage."
[That white flying thing called Paimon has a string attached. That magician kid secretly put it there.]
[So, technically, it doesn't count as flying something.]
"Huh?!" Furina was dumbfounded.
[Use chakra to intimidate the crowd. Your combat experience is no match for the Traveler. You'll struggle. Just pretend you're strong. I don't support unfair fights.]
Momoshiki's suggestion wasn't bad. It might disappoint the people of Fontaine, but it was better than the Hydro Archon getting her ass kicked and hiding in a Susanoo like a scared turtle.
With Furina's reaction time, there was no way she could even touch Lumine.
As for Momoshiki, he wasn't planning on possessing her or helping in the shadows. The reason was simple.
He was still playing it safe. He needed to eat the first Divine Tree fruit before revealing his hand. It was safer that way. Who knew what was watching the Traveler?
The lines and weird pupils that appeared when he possessed someone were too obvious. Even if he helped secretly, Furina's movements and expressions wouldn't match up. Any experienced fighter would see something was wrong.
Momoshiki.exe is frustrated.
He couldn't be too careful. He was playing the villain role, after all. He didn't have the protagonist's plot armor. He almost got killed right at the start, so he couldn't afford to step on any villainous landmines.
Rushing in and feeding the hero experience points was a big no-no.
"Okay, I'll try..."
Furina wasn't confident. She coughed tentatively, trying to quiet the crowd.
Lumine, who had just pulled out her sword from her subspace pocket, saw everyone stop and put it away, secretly relieved.
Lumine's understanding of gods was still stuck in the Vortex God, the Raiden Shogun, and the Shogun of puppet stages.
So, she subconsciously assumed the Hydro Archon was also a strong and belligerent type.
"Everyone, I understand your desires. A duel between I, Furina, and the Traveler would undoubtedly be spectacular."
"But times have changed. I once dedicated my power to Fontaine for its energy circulation. Now, I've gradually recovered some of it, and my strength is unmatched."
As she spoke, Furina released a large amount of chakra, creating a field of pressure within a hundred-meter radius. Everyone instantly felt a sharp pain in their chests.
Clorinde, who was standing guard, widened her eyes in disbelief.
What was this level of pressure?!
"What's happening?!"
"My chest hurts! My legs are weak!"
"Look at the Hydro Archon! She's emitting a blue light!!"
"OMG!! It's divine power! It's the Hydro Archon's divine power!!"
"Am I dreaming?! I'm seeing the Hydro Archon use her divine power!! Unbelievable!!"
"Hydro Archon, I'm your (censored)!!!"
...
The crowd was initially panicked, but after realizing what was happening, they started cheering again.
"Unbelievable! I'm seeing the Hydro Archon use her divine power!!"
"Is this the power of a god? Amazing!!"
"Hydro Archon, I'm your (censored)!!!"
...
Lumine also took a step back under the sudden pressure. After realizing what was happening, she used wind element to surround herself, offsetting some of the impact.
"Just pressure, huh..." Lumine frowned slightly, then suddenly realized something.
"Wait! It's not elemental power! There's no elemental flow!!"
Lyney and Lynette also clearly sensed the non-elemental energy. Their eyes were filled with shock and astonishment. They took a few steps back to steady themselves, exchanging a glance.
"Fontaine is a nation that values fairness. Our power is no longer equal, so a duel would be unfair."
"As the God of Justice, Furina, I would never win through unfair means."
"Therefore, the duel is temporarily canceled."
After saying these lines, Furina was still a little worried, carefully observing the crowd's expressions.
Thankfully, the people of Fontaine were pretty accepting.
The crowd was initially confused, then they had a moment of realization. They brainwashed themselves and started cheering excitedly again.
"I see! As expected of the Hydro Archon! Leading the way in upholding fairness!!"
"It's a shame we didn't get to see it, but whatever the Hydro Archon says goes!"
"Hydro Archon, I'm your (censored)!!!"
...
Who the hell was being so bold?
Worried that Furina might not be able to control her chakra accurately, Momoshiki re-established the external connection. He heard someone shouting the censored phrase over and over.
Thankfully, no one noticed, or the situation would have been even more awkward.
Furina's control over chakra was surprisingly accurate this time. She'd spread it over a hundred-meter radius without hurting anyone.
This level of precision was hard to imagine after only two days of training.
Damn... Was Furina actually a genius?
Momoshiki is questioning his own judgment.jpg
"Why did they suddenly cancel the duel?"
Watching the crowd praise Furina's fairness and justice, Paimon's brain was spinning. She couldn't keep up with the weirdness of Fontaine.
But the Hydro Archon was definitely a good god!
Seeing that no one was protesting, Furina was overjoyed. She quickly straightened her posture again and said:
"Alright, everyone!"
"That concludes the welcoming ceremony for the travelers from another world. Fontaine welcomes all guests from afar."
"As long as you abide by Fontaine's laws and don't do anything that violates the rules, you'll have a joyful and wonderful journey."
"I, the Hydro Archon Furina, offer you my blessings."
After speaking, Furina turned to Lyney and Lynette and said, "Mr. Lyney, Ms. Lynette, I'm very much looking forward to your upcoming performance at the Opera Epiclese."
"That's all for today. Goodbye, everyone."
Without waiting for a response, Furina turned and quickly left.
She couldn't stay here any longer. What if the crowd started chanting for something weird again?
[Finally, it's over...]
Momoshiki was close to tears.
Clorinde followed closely behind, her eyes fixed on Furina, trying to find something that didn't belong on a god.
As a wielder of a Electro Vision, Clorinde could naturally sense that the power wasn't elemental energy. It was incredibly strong, and she was still feeling the aftereffects.
What the hell was going on?
Her hand instinctively went to the short gun at her waist. Clorinde carefully reviewed everything in her mind.
In her memory, Furina had never shown her power. She even looked terrified when encountering ordinary monsters in the wild.
But now, not only was she no longer hiding her power, but she'd become so strong.
As for Furina's claim that she'd recovered some of her power, Clorinde definitely didn't believe it. This wasn't Hydro energy at all.
But whatever the anomaly was, it had started after Furina's strange fainting spell.
What had happened? Probably no one knew except for the Furina in front of her.
As a bodyguard, Clorinde felt she'd seriously failed. She wasn't even sure if the person in front of her was Furina anymore.
A sense of unease washed over her.
She had to report today's events to Neuvillette as soon as possible!
===
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