Neuvillette raced toward the location the man had indicated, his heart heavy with dread.
It wasn't that he was giving up on saving the Maison Gardiennage officer; he was confident the man had no idea of his true strength. If he acted swiftly, he still had a chance to save both of them.
Neuvillette admitted that prioritizing the Melusine's location stemmed from his partiality toward their kind—the root cause of his oppressive mood. But he couldn't afford to hesitate.
Time was already running short. Any further delay would make saving the officer even more impossible.
Faster! Go faster!
Neuvillette, your power is far greater than this!
Neuvillette felt the power within him boiling. He pushed his speed to its absolute limit, his entire being transforming into a surging azure torrent tearing through the rain-soaked landscape.
He relentlessly pushed his body, driving himself to the brink until he reached Melusine's location in just ten minutes.
Slightly slowing his pace, Neuvillette began his search.
His gaze quickly landed on a wooden cabin hidden deep within the forest.
Without hesitation, he crashed through the door, but the scene inside froze him in his tracks.
Countless explosives were piled high, filling the entire cabin.
A figure bound to a chair sat with closed eyes and shallow breathing, clearly unconscious.
But it wasn't Melusine!
Neuvillette immediately recognized the kidnapped Maison Gardiennage officer. The bitter taste of betrayal flooded his heart, igniting a rage he had never felt before.
Yet there was no time for Neuvillette to compose himself. He swiftly carried the guard out of the room and placed him on the ground some distance away, leaving behind a protective barrier before hurrying toward the opposite end of the island without hesitation.
However, before Neuvillette had covered even half the distance, a distant blaze erupted, followed by a deafening explosion.
Moments later, another explosion thundered behind him.
At these sounds, Neuvillette's hands and feet turned icy cold. His breathing quickened slightly as he struggled to suppress a powerful emotion.
A torrential downpour began, extinguishing the flames in mere moments. Yet the rain could not quench the fire raging in Neuvillette's heart.
A surge of immense power erupted from him, utterly obliterating everything in his immediate vicinity.
Though Neuvillette desperately tried to restrain himself, his efforts were futile.
Never before had he felt such an urgent, burning desire to personally deliver Judgment upon a group of sinners.
Though there should have been animosity between the Elemental Dragon Sovereign and the Seven Archons, Neuvillette, as the newly born Hydro Dragon Sovereign, retained little memory of past events and thus harbored no such grudge.
Yet today, Neuvillette tasted the bitter flavor of hatred for the first time.
He would never, never let these heinous criminals escape justice!
Neuvillette turned and departed, refusing to approach the scene further. Reason told him the Melusine had perished in the explosion. He had more pressing matters to attend to, no time to waste.
Neuvillette prepared to return to their agreed-upon rendezvous point and settle this matter once and for all!
Shortly after Neuvillette's departure, near the blast site, Lyney kicked aside a large boulder blocking his path and reached down into a sloping hole behind him.
A slender hand soon gripped his firmly, and with his assistance, Lynette emerged from the hole, revealing her Cat-like face.
Lynette wasn't alone; she cradled a small figure in her arms—a Melusine.
If Navia were here, she would immediately recognize the Melusine as Vinani.
Surveying the aftermath of the explosion, Lyney let out a relieved breath and said, "What a bunch of lunatics. Glad we made it in time."
"Older brother, should we meet up with Navia and Charlotte first, or go straight to Neuvillette?"
"Let's find Navia and Charlotte first. I sensed a terrifying presence earlier. It might have been my imagination, but to be safe, we should check on them first."
With that, Lyney glanced at Vinani and remarked with mild surprise, "Miss Vinani seems to be in remarkably good spirits, considering..."
"Never mind that for now. We can ask about it later. Finding the others is the priority. I hope they weren't caught in the blast."
After agreeing on a rendezvous point, Lyney and Lynette split up to search for Charlotte and Navia.
-
As Neuvillette approached the agreed-upon location, he suddenly sensed something amiss.
Despite being so close to the designated spot, he hadn't encountered a single person along the way.
Even in the heat of the moment, when he hadn't had time to issue specific instructions, his team would never have neglected basic preparations for treating the wounded.
Under normal circumstances, he should have encountered numerous personnel rushing toward him to provide aid.
But there was no one—not a single soul.
A wave of intense unease washed over Neuvillette, growing stronger with each step closer to the agreed-upon location.
When he finally arrived at the scene, the utter devastation before him brought a suffocating weight to his chest.
Not a single person remained standing. The air hung heavy with a foul stench, and several motionless figures lay bleeding profusely, their life signs almost imperceptible.
They were most likely beyond saving.
As this realization sank in, an uncontrollable rage surged through Neuvillette.
So this wasn't a choice between two options after all—it was a cruel choice between three.
The moment he chose to rescue one of the two captives, the people he'd brought with him became the enemy's latest targets.
What made the situation even more ironic was that Vacher was currently sitting unscathed beside a tree, completely unharmed, and the enemy hadn't even bothered to take him.
This meant that from the very beginning, the enemy had considered this nothing more than a game targeting Neuvillette himself, completely disregarding Vacher's existence!
Why had this game been orchestrated? Neuvillette suddenly recalled the time he'd demonstrated his power before that man.
At the time, the man had been the only one present. Yet somehow, his organization had learned of this event and devised this elaborate game, drawing Neuvillette into their game.
How exactly were they transmitting information?
Though he'd gained a crucial lead, the cost had been far too high.
What baffled Neuvillette most was that, before leaving, he'd critically injured the man to prevent him from harming the others in his absence. He'd confirmed the man didn't possess a Vision before departing.
Yet, dragging his gravely injured body, the man had single-handedly defeated everyone here.
It's worth noting that many of these individuals had been personally dispatched from the Marechaussee Phantom by Neuvillette himself, and included several highly skilled operatives.
Neuvillette couldn't fathom how the attacker had accomplished such a feat. The only way to uncover the truth was to question the survivors.
Forcing himself to remain calm, Neuvillette raised a hand, Hydro Elemental Power surging around it.
Though not a healer by nature, as the Hydro Sovereign, he naturally possessed some healing abilities.
Just as he was about to spread the azure water waves over the crowd, a blinding light erupted from the ground.
Neuvillette's expression hardened, and he immediately channeled all his power to seal off the area emitting the light.
A silent, thunderous roar followed as a violent explosion tore through the sealed zone. Yet under the Hydro Elemental barrier, the shockwave failed to penetrate the Domain.
At that moment, Neuvillette gained a clearer understanding of the attacker's madness and malice. No wonder most of those lying here had only lost consciousness—the attacker hadn't struck a killing blow. They had intended for him to return and witness their deaths with his own eyes.
If not for his swift reaction and overwhelming power, everyone but him would likely have perished in the earlier explosion.
Neuvillette's other hand, clutching his cane, was clenched so tightly that veins bulged. Just then, the man's voice echoed from nearby.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, did you see that magnificent display? I wonder if you enjoyed it?"
"Let me clarify first: they attacked first. I was merely acting in self-defense."
"I'm sure the upright Chief Justice will find me innocent, right?"
"How many people did you manage to save in the end? None at all? Hahaha! If that's the case, you're even more incompetent than I thought!"
"Ahem... pardon me, I got a little carried away. Let's get down to business."
"First, I must thank you for your contributions to this grand performance. Without a doubt, you were the perfect supporting actor..."
Following the voice, Neuvillette steadily approached the source, his azure hand glowing brightly as he cautiously scanned his surroundings.
This time, the wave of water successfully enveloped the prone figures without incident.
By then, Neuvillette had reached the source of the voice—a Echoing Conch.
Beneath the Echoing Conch lay a mask completely stained red with blood. Neuvillette recognized it as the mask the man had been wearing. Without a doubt, both the mask and the Echoing Conch had been left behind deliberately, and it appeared the man had somehow modified them to trigger or play the recording on a timer.
"Oh my, I never expected to stumble upon such an exciting toy like you, Neuvillette!"
"With such immense power, Neuvillette, what exactly is your true identity? Could you be our revered Hydro Archon?"
"To be honest, I don't believe the Lady Furina currently residing in Fontaine is our esteemed Hydro Archon."
"To me, she seems no different from an ordinary person, though she has provided me with plenty of amusement. So don't worry, I still plan to play with her for a while longer. Heh heh heh..."
Upon hearing Furina's name mentioned in the recording, Neuvillette's eyes flickered with a brief agitation.
"Whatever. Neuvillette, whether it's you or her who truly is the Hydro Archon, I couldn't care less."
"What matters to me is finding ways to make our games together even more exhilarating!"
"Look forward to our next game, Neuvillette. I'm sure you'll love it!"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot to introduce myself."
"My name is No. 6. You can call me by my name, or just Six."
"What I love most is doing incredibly interesting things."
"Don't try to stop me, or who knows what might happen!"
"Hahahahahaha..."
A string of deranged laughter followed. After listening to the recording, Neuvillette finally realized that the person who had come to the rendezvous point earlier was one of the masterminds!
Their audacity was truly staggering—they had personally risked coming to the scene!
Only now did Neuvillette realize why the culprit had worn a mask to conceal their appearance, and why their communication style was so different this time.
Had he been calmer, he would have noticed these discrepancies immediately. But his overwhelming urgency had allowed the culprit to exploit his vulnerability.
Thankfully, he had managed to prevent the explosion in time. Otherwise, the guilt of this failure would have haunted him for life!
Of course, the situation was still dire. The innocent lives lost were, to some extent, his responsibility.
If only he had been more composed, more vigilant, these people would still be alive.
Under Neuvillette's power, the group gradually regained consciousness, struggling to their feet. Their eyes burned with grief-stricken fury as they gazed at the corpses of their companions. But when they saw Neuvillette standing silently nearby, shame washed over their faces.
How could so many of them have been so utterly defeated by a single wounded man? The thought made them too ashamed to face Neuvillette.
"Tell me what happened here," Neuvillette said, his voice cutting through the tense silence.
The group hesitated for a moment before a Melusine stepped forward to recount the events.
Their assailant had been visibly injured, coughing up blood periodically during the battle. Yet after each bout of coughing, he acted as if nothing had happened, his movements never slowing. He even flashed them a blood-stained, chilling grin.
Moreover, the man wielded Anemo, Cryo, and Hydro Elemental Power, seemingly enhanced by some kind of device he wore.
They were no match for him and quickly fell into defeat. As for what happened after that, they couldn't say for sure.
When Neuvillette heard that the man could wield Elemental Power, he froze, clearly startled. He had initially believed the assailant who attacked Vacher's escort team to be an isolated case, but now it seemed such incidents were becoming more frequent.
But what about the others? Could they also wield Elemental Power?
The thought weighed heavily on Neuvillette's heart.