Meanwhile, in Fontaine, after extensive efforts, the authorities finally pinpointed Ron's location.
However, as they were formulating a rescue plan, it seemed there was a mole from the Cult of the Dragon within their ranks. The information was leaked, leading to a tense standoff between the Fontaine authorities and the cult.
"Stay calm! Don't be rash! Release the hostage immediately!"
"Don't do anything foolish! You all have bright futures ahead of you!"
"Monsieur Ron was only upholding Fontaine's laws! He's innocent! Many of you understand the law—you should know the devastating impact it would have on the people if the justice of Fontaine's laws is not maintained!"
"It's not too late to stop now! Monsieur Neuvillette will be magnanimous and seek to reduce your sentences!"
A representative from the Court of Justice negotiated with the Cult of the Dragon.
"Cut the crap! We want Monsieur Neuvillette to speak to us himself!"
"That's right! Release Monsieur Neuvillette immediately! He's innocent!"
"As long as Monsieur Neuvillette speaks to us personally, we'll confess on the spot!"
-
"Are these people brainless?"
Hearing them insist that Neuvillette appear in person, Furina couldn't help but snark, "Neuvillette's fans are way too extreme!"
Focalors was left speechless. As if your fans are any better, she thought.
With Ron in the cultists' hands, they couldn't risk a direct assault to capture them all. If they pushed the cultists too far, things could get messy.
However, Ron appeared unharmed, showing no signs of retaliation from his captors. This fact greatly displeased Furina.
"Back off and let us go, or Monsieur Ron will pay the price!" one of the cultists threatened.
At this, Furina's eyes lit up.
"Then stop talking and do it already!"
Her outburst left everyone stunned.
"Lady Furina, we respect you greatly, but please don't force our hand!"
"If you push us, we really will act!"
"Then hurry up and do it! If you don't, you're not real men—Mmph!"
Focalors clamped a hand over Furina's mouth, nearly causing her to ascend on the spot from lack of air.
"Quiet down! There are too many people here!" Focalors whispered urgently.
Hearing this, Furina glanced around and was met with a sea of confused stares.
Damn it, I was too obvious!
The sight of Ron's face had unleashed all the resentment she'd built up from days of overtime. Besides, these were just ordinary people. If they actually tried to kill the hostage, she could easily intervene and save him. With no real risk, all she wanted was for Ron to get a good beating before they rescued him.
"So what do we do? We can't just let that guy come back unscathed, can we?" Furina muttered to Focalors, unable to swallow her indignation.
"Don't worry. Watch me," Focalors said with a reassuring smile before shouting to the Cult of the Dragon.
"You mustn't harm Monsieur Ron!"
"As Neuvillette's accuser, Monsieur Ron has become a symbol of justice and fairness! If you harm him, the people will never forgive you!"
"It's not too late to stop! Don't forget, Monsieur Ron has fans all over Fontaine. Even Neuvillette himself is wary of him, let alone you!"
"When the public gets enraged, your futures will be ruined!"
As soon as Focalors finished, the cultists exploded with fury.
"Damn it! How dare you compare that bastard Ron to Monsieur Neuvillette!"
"So what if we hurt him?! What are you gonna do about it?!"
"Let's see you try and stop us!"
With that, they delivered two loud, hard slaps across Ron's face.
Furina was stunned. Damn, that's cold-blooded—and brilliant!
Then, she excitedly pumped her little fists. This was just too satisfying to watch!
Furina decided to add fuel to the fire.
"What are you doing?! Monsieur Ron is someone even Neuvillette respects! Stop it right now, or you'll face a severe sentence when you're caught!"
"A severe sentence, you say?!"
Smack! Smack! Two more slaps, the sound so crisp and clear it brought pure joy to Furina and Focalors's hearts.
"Let go of Monsieur Ron!"
Smack! Smack!
"You'll face the full wrath of the law!"
Smack! Smack!
"If you keep this up, we'll make Neuvillette himself apologize to Monsieur Ron!"
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack...
The surrounding Maison Gardiennage and Special Task Force members froze, utterly bewildered. They saw the pained expressions on Furina and Focalors's faces, as if they were genuinely worried for Ron's safety. Yet, their pleas only resulted in the cultists treating the hostage even more brutally.
Something felt deeply wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was.
Just then, a weak voice cut through the chaos.
"Um... can I join the Cult of the Dragon?"
Hearing this, Furina and Focalors were momentarily speechless. Who the hell is that? Can't they see these cultists are about to be arrested? Is this person suicidal, trying to join them now?
But when they followed the voice and saw Ron standing there, they froze in shock.
"Actually, I deeply respect Monsieur Neuvillette too."
"You really mean that?!"
"Every word is true!"
"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"
"With Monsieur Ron joining our Cult of the Dragon, it's like we have divine assistance! Hahaha!"
"I apologize for my earlier rudeness, Monsieur Ron. You can hit me back right now if you wish."
Watching the Cult of the Dragon members chatting so cheerfully, Furina and Focalors were utterly dumbfounded.
They had only wanted to teach Ron a small lesson, never imagining he would abandon them entirely and defect to the enemy on the spot!
Well, damn, they thought, utterly flabbergasted. Just... damn!
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Furina and Focalors knew they couldn't delay any longer. They immediately sprang into action.
Furina pushed her Anemo Energy to its absolute limit, her figure weaving through the crowd like a phantom.
The cultists, being ordinary people, couldn't react in time. A whole swath of them collapsed instantly.
"Ahem... Uh, Ron, you're safe now."
Furina and Focalors glanced at Ron's swollen face, coughing awkwardly. Inwardly, however, they were snickering.
Furina found it so hard to contain herself that she spun around, clamping a hand over her mouth as her body trembled with suppressed laughter.
Ignoring this, Ron calmly picked his glasses up from the ground, pushed them back onto the bridge of his nose, and smiled at the two women.
"My Ladies," he began, "do you realize you've just broken the law?"
"And in front of so many law enforcement officers, no less. It seems this will be treated as a serious offense."
"Broken the law?"
Furina and Focalors froze, then asked in confusion, "Ron, you must be mistaken. We just saved you!"
"Actually," Ron replied smoothly, "the moment I decided to join the Cult of the Dragon, these people ceased to be kidnappers."
"And they committed no other offense. Their only fault was their excessive admiration for Monsieur Neuvillette."
"On the other hand, you two ladies assaulting innocent citizens in the street... that's no small crime."
The moment Ron finished speaking, Furina and Focalors felt their hearts drop. Furina's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Both were intimately familiar with Fontaine Law. As they mentally reviewed the statutes, they suddenly realized they might... possibly... perhaps... actually have broken the law.
"Your Ladyships may return home and wait. Soon, I will preside as Justice and pronounce judgment upon your crimes."
"Ladies, I'll see you in court."
Watching Ron's confident figure stride away, Furina and Focalors were left with expressions of utter disbelief, questioning their very existence.
-
Lumine gazed down at the towering structure below and the enormous crater at its base, lost in thought.
Did I do this?
She wasn't sure. The main problem was that she had no memory of it—or of anything else, for that matter. Her mind was a complete blank.
However, since she was currently hovering directly above the crater, it was highly likely she was the one who had created it.
Oh no, Lumine thought. If I really did this, how much will I have to pay in damages?
Just then, several missiles, trailing fiery exhaust, streaked toward her.
Lumine sensed them instantly and effortlessly dodged them all before turning her gaze to the distance.
There, several girls in strange outfits were glaring at her, their faces contorted with hatred.
"Spirit, die!"
One white-haired girl, moving far faster than the others, quickly closed the distance and launched a fierce assault.
Unsure of their origins, Lumine decided to observe first, evading the girl's attacks.
"Damn Spirit, take this!"
Another girl arrived on the battlefield, swinging a greatsword, while bullets rained down from afar as covering fire.
Lumine tried to ask what was going on, but they showed no intention of communicating. Gradually, her patience wore thin.
"Anemo Vortex Sword!"
For the first time, Lumine used Anemo Energy to directly block one of the girl's swords. The attacker froze mid-motion, and Lumine could clearly see the girl's face twisted in a mask of fear and hatred.
Lumine paused for a moment, then suddenly sensed a crisis. She raised her other hand, gathering Geo Elemental Power.
"Starfell!"
A suddenly appearing Geo construct blocked the greatsword's sneak attack from behind. The white-haired girl's face registered clear shock—her sword could easily slice through steel.
"Spread!"
Lumine acted again. Countless vines erupted from the ground, swiftly wrapping around the girls' bodies.
Though the girls struggled, they were quickly bound tight by the overwhelming power.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
"Aaargh! Revenge! Damn Spirit, let me go if you have the guts!"
Spirit? What's that?
Lumine had heard the term several times now, but she had no memory of it. In fact, she felt completely out of place in this world.
Shaking her head, Lumine decided to ignore these irrational people. She patted her pockets, found them empty, and gave an awkward laugh before quickly fleeing the scene.
If I don't run now, someone's going to demand I pay for the damages!
But Lumine hadn't gotten far from the massive crater. Just as she stepped onto an intact street and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a pillar of light materialized before her. From it emerged a kind-looking young man, one hand pressed to his ear, head bowed as if in conversation with someone.
"Alright, alright, I understand."
"A powerful but relatively kind Spirit, you say?"
"I understand. I'll try a more proactive approach."
Lumine watched the young man before her with some confusion. After sensing he was just an ordinary person and wasn't wearing any of that strange equipment, she mostly lowered her guard.
"Um..."
The young man spoke, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. His eyes held a clear, almost foolish sincerity that made one instinctively want to believe his every word.
Lumine took a small step closer, waiting for him to continue.
"Please kiss me!"
Crack!
Lumine's expression froze as she stared at the young man, who was now bowing at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
Just then, the earpiece he wore blared with a piercing alarm.
Sensing something was wrong, the young man tried to flee, but suddenly felt much lighter. His vision widened dramatically—he could even see his own lower body, still standing in place.
His perspective flipped, and he saw Lumine, her face contorted with murderous intent, holding her Dull Blade.
Ah... so my head came off.
"Traveler!"
Lumine's eyes snapped open. Out of habit, she raised a hand and shoved away Paimon, who was lunging at her, before sitting up.
Her mind was still groggy, as if lingering in the dream she'd just had.
Good grief, she thought. I actually dreamed that a boy with eleven lovers confessed to me and asked me to be one of his 'wings' too!
Please, just let me have a good dream next time!
Lumine squeezed her eyes shut in anguish.
Her standards weren't even that high—something like that dream with Yae Miko would be fine.
By now, Lumine had resigned herself to her fate. No matter what treatment Dr. Edward prescribed, she was plagued by strange dreams every time she slept.
Dr. Edward's medical skills had been proven by countless people, and ruling out the possibility of him tampering with her treatment left only one explanation: her body was unique and might be having some kind of special chemical reaction with Dendro.
Perhaps she'd have to completely abandon her Dendro Elemental Power to stop these bizarre dreams. But doing so would weaken her significantly. If she ran into Scaramouche again, not only would she be unable to get her revenge, she might even suffer another humiliation at his hands
After mastering such powerful Dendro Elemental Power, she could no longer go back.
I just hope my dreams stop being so bizarre, she thought. They're causing me immense mental and physical distress!
Speaking of which, since it can't be cured anyway, should I just ask Dr. Edward to stop the treatment?
Lumine hesitated. The medicine had significant benefits for her body, and she was reluctant to give them up.
Oh, whatever. I'll just let things run their course.
Lumine snatched the pastry from Paimon's hands and devoured it in one bite.
Ignoring Paimon's whimpers over her lost food, she got out of bed and went to find Dr. Edward.
She needed to take her medicine quickly; she had to go out with Dunyarzad to earn some Mora!