"This is utterly outrageous!"
Furina's eyes blazed with disbelief as she heard the news.
"How dare they do this?"
"She's the imposter, yet they accuse me of being the fraud? It's infuriating!"
Furina was consumed by rage.
"What nonsense is this about us colluding to ambush her five hundred years ago and seize the Hydro Archon's position? How could they even fabricate such a ridiculous story?"
"And those ordinary people actually believe her, betraying me—the true Hydro Archon! I can't fathom what they're thinking! Anyone can see I'm the genuine article!"
Neuvillette gazed at Furina, his expression complex.
Seeing Furina's intense agitation, Neuvillette might have believed her if he hadn't already discerned the truth.
Moreover, the footage showed Dark Furina effortlessly deflecting his attacks—a scene that would naturally astound ordinary viewers beyond imagination. It was therefore understandable why the public would believe Dark Furina's claims.
Just look at where Furina was in the footage!
Tucked away in a corner of the frame, trapped in a water prison, she could only watch the battle unfold from the sidelines.
Considering this stark contrast, Neuvillette was somewhat surprised that some people still firmly believed Furina was the true Hydro Archon.
"Neuvillette, what do we do now?!"
After venting her anger, Furina was forced to confront a harsh reality: she was on the verge of being usurped, a very real possibility that left her completely bewildered. She turned to Neuvillette with pleading eyes.
"Neuvillette, quick! Use your invincible power and come up with a plan!"
"With my wisdom combined with your strength, I'm sure we can weather this crisis unscathed!"
Hearing these words, Neuvillette took a deep breath, utterly baffled by Furina's unwavering confidence.
Rather than placing his hopes on Furina's wisdom, he would sooner rely on Dottore appearing before him to confess.
Moreover, the situation might be far more dire than it seemed. Although he lacked direct evidence linking Dark Furina to the organization No. 6 served, if the worst-case scenario were true—considering that even the Marechaussee Phantoms had been infiltrated—they could already be surrounded by enemies on all sides.
What worried Neuvillette even more was that as more people came to believe in Dark Furina, it would become increasingly difficult to identify the spies lurking among them.
"Neuvillette, you're not out of ideas, are you?"
"No, no, you're so strong! There must be something you can do, right?!"
Seeing Neuvillette remain silent for so long, Furina began to panic.
If even Neuvillette couldn't find a way out, was Fontaine doomed?!
Neuvillette glanced at Furina and sighed deeply.
"At this point, all we can do is try to quell the public outcry."
"If you demonstrate overwhelming power before the masses, you can regain their trust to the greatest extent possible."
"Demonstrate overwhelming power?" Furina immediately pressed him for details.
"How strong exactly? Would something like the attack at the Tower of Gestalt be enough?"
Neuvillette nodded. "Increase that attack by about tenfold, and it should suffice."
Furina: "..."
Furina immediately deflated. Even doubling her previous output would be impossible, let alone multiplying it tenfold!
What was the point of struggling? She might as well buy a grave plot now, lest the apocalypse arrive and leave her without a final resting place.
"Isn't there any other way?"
"Ahem, it's not that I lack the power," Furina quickly clarified, realizing her words might sound suspicious to Neuvillette. "It's just that all my strength is currently focused on countering the Prophecy." She cautiously observed Neuvillette's expression.
Strange... there's no reaction at all.
Could Neuvillette really be this oblivious, unable to detect anything amiss?
Oh no, how many wrongful convictions might have gone unnoticed over the past centuries?
Noticing Furina's expression, Neuvillette's face darkened. He sensed she was thinking something very unpleasant.
Still, he restrained himself and finally spoke. "Let's wait for the Academy's preliminary findings first."
"The Academy?" Furina asked, puzzled. "Can the Research Institute actually help with this?"
"It's about deciphering the device the enemy left behind," Neuvillette explained.
"Monsieur Rene mentioned that the device can suppress Primordial Sea Water. If we can mass-produce it, ordinary people might have a means to protect themselves."
"But time is short. Although I've urged them to expedite their efforts, deciphering this device won't be easy. I'm not sure if we'll have enough time..."
Before Neuvillette could finish, a Melusine brought the Academy's director before him.
The director greeted Neuvillette with a beaming smile. "Monsieur Neuvillette, good news!"
"The task you assigned the Academy has been completed today!"
Neuvillette's expression turned quizzical.
He had only met with the director yesterday to assign the task. Yet, just a day later, they claimed the deciphering was already finished. A question mark slowly formed above Neuvillette's head.
Seriously, isn't this speed just absurdly fast?
Neuvillette was stunned. At this point, the immediate embarrassment of being proven wrong was irrelevant. What mattered most was the group's astonishingly rapid progress on the decryption, making it seem as if they had simply copied the answers.
If not for the fact that the documents were crucial for addressing the impending Prophecy crisis, Neuvillette would have ordered the Marechaussee Phantoms to seal the Academy and thoroughly investigate its personnel.
"Hmm? Neuvillette, didn't you say this task was incredibly difficult and would take a long time to decrypt?" Furina, ever the curious child, pressed.
Faced with her relentless curiosity, Neuvillette desperately wished he could seal her lips shut.
Could it be that the device wasn't encrypted internally?
After racking his brain, this was the only explanation Neuvillette could come up with. Perhaps the device's creators hadn't anticipated its loss or that he would seize it, so they skipped encryption to save time.
"That's not it, Monsieur Neuvillette," Furina countered.
"There were twenty-seven layers of encryption inside. We spent ages discussing it before finally cracking them all."
"If it hadn't been encrypted, I could have given you the results yesterday, before you even finished your tea."
As everyone knows, "ages" is equivalent to a single day.
Neuvillette was speechless, feeling inexplicably like he was being subtly mocked.
Still, the fact that they had successfully deciphered the device was a good thing.
"You've worked hard. Do you need to rest?"
"No, no, it's fine. It wasn't too bad—just a regular workday, really. Eight hours of sleep is plenty."
Neuvillette: "..."
Good grief, not even a full day?
Neuvillette's feelings were conflicted. On one hand, he was frustrated that despite his insistence on the urgency of the matter, the other party had still procrastinated. On the other hand, he admired their efficiency in producing results so quickly. He couldn't decide whether to praise them or give them a stern lecture.
The moment those words were spoken, even the clueless Furina found them utterly absurd, let alone Neuvillette.
Though she didn't fully grasp the Academy's workings, she remembered how it used to take years, even decades, for them to produce a single breakthrough. The current situation clearly defied all logic, prompting her to ask, "Could you explain a bit about how you deciphered it?"
"Oh, Lady Furina, it's quite simple! You just need to perform an integral transform first..."
"Stop, stop! No need to explain—I get the gist!"
Just hearing the beginning of the explanation made Furina's head spin, and she hastily cut him off.
Neuvillette fared little better. Despite his immense power, he couldn't grasp such complex concepts without dedicating centuries to study.
"In any case, let's see your results first," Neuvillette said.
"Very well. Please observe here. I've brought the Primordial Sea Water along as well."
The researcher then demonstrated the Academy's replicated device for Neuvillette and Furina.
When Furina and Neuvillette observed the Primordial Sea Water's activity level plummeting, a surge of joy welled up within them.
They both understood the implications of this result perfectly.
Primordial Sea Water with low activity wouldn't dissolve bodies outright; it would merely cause certain symptoms.
This meant ordinary Fontainians would face significantly reduced casualties when confronted with it!
"Wonderful! This means even ordinary people now have a chance to fight back against the Primordial Sea Water!" Furina exclaimed.
Neuvillette nodded in agreement, a faint smile gracing his lips. On one hand, Fontaine had finally developed an effective countermeasure against the Primordial Sea Water; on the other, there was now a possibility of salvaging Furina's reputation.
"How long will it take to resolve the mass production issue? And what's the production efficiency like?" Neuvillette inquired further.
Hearing his questions, the researcher replied dismissively, "Monsieur Neuvillette, you needn't worry about that at all."
"After we cracked the device's code, someone with too much time on their hands decided to resolve those problems while I was packing to come to Palais Mermonia."
"If the factories operate at full capacity, we can deploy these devices across every corner of Fontaine—from the grand cities to the smallest villages—within a month."
Upon hearing this, both Furina and Neuvillette felt deeply offended.
Furina, unable to contain her frustration, dismissed the person immediately.
Watching the person leave, Furina finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When she stood beside Neuvillette, she still maintained a considerable intellectual advantage.
Neuvillette, unaware of Furina's thoughts, merely finalized the deployment arrangements before the person left, ensuring generous compensation for their efforts.
"Neuvillette, now that this device can be replicated, let's take our own instruments and confront that imposter claiming to be me in a few days!" Furina exclaimed. "I saw them using that same instrument to weaken Rene's power back then!"
Hearing Furina's somewhat naive suggestion, Neuvillette shook his head.
"It's not that simple," he explained. "Rene had already dissolved himself into the Primordial Sea Water, which made him particularly vulnerable to the instrument's suppression. But the effects on the other individual won't be nearly as pronounced."
"Even if I could suppress some of her power, I still can't guarantee her capture."
Hearing this, Furina's anxiety surged anew.
"Then what should we do now?"
"First, we need to find the right moment to expose this situation, minimizing her influence over the Fontainians."
"As for how to deal with her, I'll think of another way."
Neuvillette had never intended to tell Furina about Dottore. Now that he knew the enemy was merely a mortal spirit, he was even less inclined to share that information.
At this point, Neuvillette's only concern was confirming whether Furina could contact the true Hydro Archon, Focalors.
Neuvillette considered revealing the truth to Furina, but ultimately dismissed the idea for various reasons.
"The right moment? Shouldn't we tell everyone now?" Furina asked, her voice tinged with worry.
"The longer we wait, the more people she'll deceive!"
"Releasing a few rumors will make most people cautious, so we don't need to worry too much about that for now."
"It would be better to present this at the Judgment concerning Rene and Jacob in two days."
After hearing Neuvillette's explanation, Furina agreed to the decision.
Furina went home to rest, but as Neuvillette watched her departing figure, his mood remained heavy.
Though the situation seemed to have taken a turn for the better, Neuvillette knew the situation remained dire. There was one crucial truth he hadn't revealed to Furina:
A deity's power comes partly from their authority and partly from the faith of their people.
Dark Furina's true target wasn't Furina herself, but the Hydro Archon Focalors.
As her followers dwindled, Focalors' power would gradually weaken, potentially disrupting her carefully laid plans in unpredictable ways.
Moreover, once Dark Furina amasses enough followers, she might truly usurp Focalors' position as the new Hydro Archon—a Hydro Archon whose ultimate goal is to annihilate Fontaine and the entire world.
Hydro Archon Focalors, even now, in this situation, you still refuse to reveal yourself?
Neuvillette couldn't fathom Focalors' true intentions, but a deep unease gnawed at his heart.
His thoughts drifted back to Lyney's investigation of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale, which had uncovered an unimaginable accumulation of Indemnitium within it. The realization intensified his anxiety.
The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale was personally crafted by Focalors, and the Indemnitium it had collected was under her control. Neuvillette couldn't shake the conviction that Focalors intended to use this vast power for some purpose.
Let's hope my fears don't come to pass...
Lost in thought, Neuvillette arrived at the New Fortress of Meropide.
He gazed at the fortress gates, his eyes narrowing slightly.
It's time to settle the score, Dottore.