With this thought, Yuto also plunged into the water, and Furina, after a brief hesitation, followed suit.
The moment the young girl entered the water, Yuto's eyes were fixed on Furina, as if fearing that she might encounter some problem at that very moment.
Perhaps it was because Focalors's "curse" itself carried the effect of diving,
or perhaps it was because Furina's body essence was one of the purest pure-water sprites, the situation of being drowned by water, which Yuto and Furina had worried about, did not occur.
After struggling a little in the water, Furina's movements in the water became as natural as a fish's within a mere second or two.
—It was as if, for her, water was her true home.
Looking at the agile Furina, Paimon couldn't help but exclaim:
"As expected of the God who controls water…"
Lumiere nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, seemingly in strong agreement.
Seeing this, Yuto also let out a slight sigh of relief, the Vision at his waist, which had been faintly glowing, gradually returned to its original state, indicating that he had completely relaxed at this moment.
Furina herself was also somewhat surprised by this, but she found an answer she believed to be correct.
"Perhaps this is also part of what that 'curse' entails?"
She nodded slightly, seemingly quite satisfied with the conclusion she had reached.
Thinking of this, Furina had no more worries. She looked at Lumiere and Paimon not far away and asked loudly:
"So, where is our destination this time? I'm already eager to know what kind of history it is that even I, as the Water God, have some blind spots about."
Hearing Furina's words, Lumiere and Paimon quickly nodded, then slowly swam towards the location recorded in the Shadowy Court archives.
…
Perhaps because the team had grown larger this time, Lumiere and Paimon's speed towards the target location increased.
Jokes aside, you have a God behind you, and an Assistant Administrator whose race is unknown but who has lived for a very long time. Anyone in this situation would feel emboldened.
After passing through the familiar accelerated waterway, everyone arrived in an environment not much different from their previous impression.
Looking at the brass-colored walls around them, Yuto nodded slightly, then turned to the people behind him and said:
"According to Lumiere and Paimon's description, the key to those scenes appearing is a glowing lectern, so… we should look for the specific location of these things."
Upon hearing this, Paimon, who had been looking at the Shadowy Court archives from the beginning, shook the paper in her hand and said:
"Um… Yuto, this time the Shadowy Court archives seem to have recorded another glowing object?"
Furina blinked when she heard this, then leaned her small head closer and slowly read out the sentence from the archives.
"A long workbench emitting a white-gold light was discovered in the ruins… Its purpose is currently unknown, but after basic identification, it has been proven harmless."
"It seems the important thing is something that glows, and the form doesn't matter."
After a brief thought, Furina came to her own conclusion.
Yuto then looked at Paimon and said:
"Then, may I trouble Paimon to lead the way?"
"Mm-hmm! After all, I'm this guy's guide~ I'm best at leading the way!"
With that, Paimon, holding the paper with the rough index map from the archives, flew forward without hesitation.
The remaining three exchanged a helpless glance and quickly followed.
After all, in ruins… splitting up is the most taboo thing. If something goes wrong, it would be terrible to have no one to help.
However, when everyone was halfway there, Yuto suddenly felt a strange elemental fluctuation.
He frowned slightly, instinctively looking at the brass-colored wall beside him, seemingly confused as to why elemental fluctuations would emanate from here.
Yuto reached out and gently tapped the wall, and a series of dull thuds echoed in his ears, which finally made his brows relax slightly.
"Yuto? What's wrong? Do you feel like something is amiss?"
Seemingly noticing Yuto falling behind, Furina asked with some confusion.
Yuto could only assume he had misjudged, and after gently shaking his head, he followed along.
"Nothing, Lady Furina, perhaps I was overly cautious."
Hearing Yuto's reply, Furina nodded slightly, accepting his explanation.
…
Following the instructions on the index map, the four soon saw a long workbench leaning tightly against the wall, emitting a faint white-gold light.
"Hmm! This is it. I don't know what this thing is exactly, but both from its position on the index map and its appearance… it should be this."
With that, Paimon looked at Lumiere, and Lumiere likewise nodded back at her, then walked forward and reached out her hand towards the glowing mass.
Yuto, meanwhile, glanced at Furina beside him, his slightly furrowed brows seemingly conveying his concern for Furina.
—That abnormal elemental fluctuation earlier truly made him worried. He was very concerned about Furina's safety.
If a battle were to break out later, Yuto would have to directly protect two people: Lumiere, who would be drawn into history due to consciousness resonance, and Furina, who had no combat ability.
And the worst case would be… Yuto himself would also resonate with those memories due to his own special nature, and then also pass out.
In that case… only Furina would be left on the scene.
This was not the outcome Yuto wanted to see, so… he had to be fully prepared.
Thinking of this, Yuto nodded slightly, and the Vision at his waist emitted a barely perceptible glow, as a Electro element quickly concealed itself on Furina's body.
If Furina were to be attacked later… this Electro element could at least hold out for a while, serving as a backup plan he left behind.
Almost simultaneously with him completing all of this, his consciousness was suddenly swept by a violent pain—
—a pain that even a consciousness tempered by over four hundred years of trials found difficult to resist.
Yuto leaned against the wall, somewhat drained, his eyes tightly shut, as if enduring immense suffering.
"Yuto?! What's wrong with you?! What happened…"
Furina's anxious cry gradually blurred in Yuto's ears, eventually disappearing completely.
For Yuto at this moment, his world fell into silence.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard a somewhat indignant voice.
"Remus! Even if you are the Supreme, you cannot deny that your idea of shutting down phobos… is destroying the arrival of the future we both hoped for with your own hands!"
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