"By the Laws of Heaven and the Shape of Earth—Reveal Yourself!"
"W–What in the world…?! Why aren't these two following any kind of script?!"
Furina stared pale-faced at the sky, where a colossal water curtain had unfolded like the Sea itself was lifting into the heavens.
Neuvillette—normally the very picture of calm, reserved authority—had suddenly gone completely off the rails.
She turned desperately toward Nahida.
"If… if you're really the God of Wisdom—please tell me what's happening!"
Nahida studied the sky, brows knitting ever so slightly.
"It appears the reason they're fighting seriously… isn't solely because of the earlier conflict in Fontaine."
"There must be something else fueling this."
Then she tilted her head.
"Actually… does anyone here know how to read lips?"
Furina and the Maison Gardiennage stiffened.
Nahida, being who she was, could see the movement of Idris' and Neuvillette's mouths clearly—but the distance was too great to hear their words.
If they could understand even one sentence, it might explain why the battle had suddenly escalated to this terrifying degree.
A guard stepped forward, saluting nervously.
"Lady Furina, Princess of Wisdom—I can read lips, but… the distance is far.
I might only catch fragments, and some parts may be imprecise."
"That's fine," Furina urged. "Just tell us anything you can!"
The guard swallowed, eyes flicking upward.
"…I've only managed to catch one line so far. A line spoken by Idris."
Furina and Nahida leaned forward instinctively.
"He looked at Lord Neuvillette and said—
'Don't even think about touching my princess.'"
"Cough… though there may be slight inaccuracies, the meaning should be similar."
"——Eh?!"
Everyone's heads snapped toward Nahida at once.
Princess?
Idris' princess?!
Who else could that possibly refer to?
Nahida froze—then her entire face turned scarlet.
"Th–That man…! Why must he always say things that cause massive misunderstandings?!"
Furina, meanwhile, stared at Nahida… then slowly lowered her gaze to her own body.
Small.
Flat.
Tiny.
Her expression twisted.
Wait… wait! Don't tell me Idris really likes—
She quickly shook her head, face red.
But beneath the embarrassment, Nahida understood precisely why Idris reacted the way he did.
Neuvillette wasn't just the Chief Justice.
He was the Hydro Dragon Sovereign.
And if the day came when a dragon reclaimed its primordial duty—a duty to "judge the gods" and retrieve the power once lost—
the weakest and least combat-capable Archon would be the first target.
Which meant… her.
So when Nahida looked at Idris in the sky, surrounded by an ocean of rising water, emotion surged in her heart—
complicated, but also deeply touched.
Even if Idris acted boldly because he believed he had the strength to back it up…
he was shielding her.
And that was enough to stir even a god's heart.
In the Sky
Neuvillette's water-dragon manifestation had fully formed—a towering, roaring titan of the sea.
"Idris," Neuvillette boomed, his voice echoing across Fontaine's capital,
"if you agree to submit yourself to Meropide for one year, I shall end this now!"
Idris raised a brow.
"You really are something… so rigid it becomes comedic."
"Yes, this is Fontaine—your land of water. You can draw on the entire region's ley, sea, and sky."
"But right now?"
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"You're still. Not. Enough."
A single shout split the air:
"Heaven and Earth Respond—Manifestation!"
Behind Idris, a colossal, phantom figure of deep green wood materialized.
Though still a mere shadow of what it would one day become, its presence alone made the world tremble.
Neuvillette's brows rose.
He had not expected Idris to possess something akin to a divine astral form.
But he did not hesitate.
His water-dragon roared and surged forward—a torrent with enough force to crush mountains.
Idris answered with a single sword strike.
A strike so sharp that the sky itself cracked for a brief moment.
"Evilblade—Sky Severing Art:
Moses' Divide!"
Their attacks collided.
The heavens detonated.
The water-dragon split cleanly in half, its form collapsing into a tidal explosion.
Neuvillette was blasted backward, blood misting from his lips as he plummeted into the sea.
Simultaneously, the remains of the dragon crashed into Idris' wooden manifestation, shattering the astral phantom into countless green motes.
A storm of mixed energies washed over Fontaine.
Plants sprouted wildly where dendro particles fell, then instantly withered under imbalance—
until Nahida raised her hand, collecting them into her body like one gathering lost fireflies.
Hydro energy, however, rained down as a colossal deluge.
Within seconds, nearly everyone in the plaza had become a dripping, drowned-looking mess.
But no one cared about that anymore.
Every gaze turned upward—
Who had won?!
And then—
Two streaks fell from the sky.
One plunged into the ocean.
The other smashed through a distant cliff before re-emerging with a shaking of newly-formed green wings.
Idris.
Bruised, soaked from the rain, clothes torn—but still standing.
Still smiling.
He landed lightly beside Nahida.
The wings of elemental energy dissolved behind him, and he exhaled slowly.
"Well… that was refreshing."
Nahida hurried forward, her small hand clasping his, pure life energy flowing gently as she repaired the tatters of his clothing.
Her cheeks still pink.
Furina rushed over, soaked hair sticking to her face.
"Idris! A-are you going to keep fighting?!"
"No need."
Idris stretched lazily.
"It's over."
"He lost."
Furina blinked several times.
Then she spun toward the sea.
"Oh—oh! Lord Neuvillette—?"
Idris waved a hand dismissively.
"Relax. I didn't kill him."
"He's just reorganizing his form using the ocean. He doesn't want to surface looking too embarrassed."
Right on cue—
The calm sea rippled.
A faint blue glow emerged.
Neuvillette slowly rose from the water, his expression unreadable.
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