Even though they had long known how powerful the entity before them was, seeing him strike in such an unadorned, effortless manner still made Furina and Neuvillette's eyes tremble with shock.
The colossal power capable of shattering a divine throne was effortlessly manipulated by Zoran. He merely reached out and pinched his fingers together, a casual motion as tranquil as sweeping a falling blossom into his sleeve.
Zoran glanced at Furina, nodding in satisfaction. "You are very obedient. That is a virtue."
"As part of our transaction, your people will be spared from this disaster of extinction."
Furina's face was filled with utter astonishment, mixed with a joy she couldn't hide. "But... But if I do not die, the Hydro Archon's throne remains intact. How will you claim that authority?" she asked anxiously.
Zoran's objective had been laid bare during their very first meeting; this entity had never made any attempt to conceal his goals. She had assumed he would only strike after the guillotine executed her. After all, even if she desired to give it away, she had no way to directly hand over the Hydro Archon's authority. She had long been prepared for her journey toward death.
Zoran smiled faintly. "Is it really that difficult?"
He extended a secondary hand, shrouded in Moon Demon Chi, its torrential aura spreading toward Furina. This was power originating from another world, a power that neither the god nor the Dragon Sovereign before him could comprehend.
The Source Spell. The Siphon Spell.
These were the powers of ancient Demon Sorcerers from another world.
"Relax," Zoran said, glancing at the tense Furina.
In the blink of an eye, he retracted his hand. A divine force was excised by him and promptly concealed within his own body.
Neuvillette stared blankly at that fleeting flash of light. It was a power extracted by the First Descender from the original order of this world, something that, by rights, should have been the authority of the Ancient Dragon. He was intimately familiar with it. But at this moment, that power had been taken by Zoran. A complex, indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.
"If you want it, you can try crossing hands with me," Zoran remarked, sparing him a casual glance.
Neuvillette fell silent. He was no fool. Who could possibly cross hands with the Descender standing before him?
"Then, what of the Gnosis?" Furina asked hurriedly, not yet having time to examine the changes within herself.
"Mere skeletal remains. A useless trinket," Zoran said, shaking his head.
Only then did Furina quiet down. Having lost her authority, she was now no different from an ordinary human. In the beginning, she had been nothing more than an Oceanid by Egeria's side. But perhaps, this was the best possible conclusion.
"Very well, children. It is time to fulfill my promise." Zoran smoothed his robes and slowly floated upward under their bewildered, hesitant gazes.
The Moon Demon's silhouette ascended grandly. The dome of the Opera Epiclese seemed to actively pull back to make way for his body, peeling entirely open. Zoran finally rose into the high sky, surveying his surroundings.
The flood was raging.
Fortunately, the Hydro Archon's authority had already been extracted. In another sense, the core of this original sin had also been taken away by Zoran. The raging Primordial Sea was supposed to remain deep beneath the ocean; it was only due to a certain disobedient creature that the water level had risen out of control.
That being the case, striking at the root of the problem would suffice.
He pressed his hand downward.
The wildly surging Primordial Sea instantly ceased its churning. The entirety of Fontaine fell beneath his aura, resembling a painting frozen in time. He closed his eyes slightly, then opened them again. Pointing a finger not far away, a Repulsion Slash silently cut open a rift.
From within the passage, the low, resonant hum of a massive creature echoed.
The All-Devouring Narwhal.
It was precisely this mischievous pet that was influencing the Primordial Sea.
Zoran's figure vanished instantly, plunging into the rift. Upon entry, a deep blue space unfolded before him. A whale of astronomical proportions was humming, thrashing about wildly within the domain. This was one of the prime culprits behind the cataclysm. A titanic beast named the All-Devouring Narwhal, beneath which humans were as insignificant as ants.
Zoran silently evaluated the All-Devouring Narwhal, a glint of satisfaction gradually surfacing in his eyes. He suddenly looked behind him; Neuvillette had followed him in.
The Dragon Sovereign's expression was grave, his attention entirely locked onto the All-Devouring Narwhal. He spoke up: "Be careful. This monster is far from simple."
Having failed to reclaim the complete authority of the Ancient Dragon, even Neuvillette found facing the All-Devouring Narwhal to be an incredibly daunting task.
"You followed me in. That surprises me," Zoran remarked.
Leaning on his cane, Neuvillette merely replied softly, "Fontaine is a decent place. Five hundred years... I have grown accustomed to it. Staying here... isn't bad."
After a moment's hesitation, he continued, "I finally understand the meaning behind Furina's apology. I must admit, even I hesitated for a long time..." He looked directly into Zoran's eyes. "The price of reclaiming the Ancient Dragon's authority and becoming a fully realized dragon was Furina's life, wasn't it?"
Zoran smiled and nodded.
Neuvillette's expression finally softened as he let out a deep, heavy sigh. "This era no longer belongs to dragons. Even if I reclaimed the Ancient Dragon's authority..." He stared silently at the palm of his hand. "...I would still be unable to judge the existing order."
He was a smart dragon. Even if he truly took back the Hydro Dragon's authority, it would be impossible for him to challenge the current status quo. He might be able to defeat the other gods, but what about the Heavenly Principles? Even the Archons of the seven nations were nothing more than laborers for the Heavenly Principles.
The current era was an order dictated by the Heavenly Principles.
In the beginning, when the Heavenly Principles descended, the native arbiter of order, the sole and strongest dragon, Nibelung, alongside the other seven fully realized Elemental Dragon Sovereigns, had still lost to the Heavenly Principles and her four shades. Neuvillette was merely the second-generation Hydro Dragon Sovereign. His true predecessors had long since perished in the past.
Even if he reclaimed his full authority under the current world order, he could only live under the shadow of the Heavenly Principles. What difference would that make from the past or the present?
"To some extent, Furina hired me five hundred years ago. She cannot die. Otherwise, who would I look to for closure on all of this?" Neuvillette murmured. He had diligently served as Fontaine's Chief Justice for five hundred years without receiving a single Mora in wages, though he didn't care about that.
"If she dies, who am I supposed to ask for my back pay?" Neuvillette delivered a deadpan joke, almost as if he were trying to convince himself.
Zoran let out a low chuckle. "It seems you have no talent for comedy."
Neuvillette shook his head. "We should deal with this troublesome monster in front of us first." He looked toward the All-Devouring Narwhal, whose gargantuan body practically blotted out the entire sky of this realm.
Zoran, completely unfazed, smiled calmly. "Where is the troublesome monster?"
He pointed a single finger toward the All-Devouring Narwhal.
"I see only a mischievous pet. Or rather... a reasonably acceptable tonic."
Neuvillette froze. He had to admit, the entity before him seemed far better at deadpan humor than he was.
But the reality was exactly that. The true monster had actually revealed itself a long time ago.
Right in front of his eyes.
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