"Hmph, you think you can stop me from committing suicide?" Lofan transformed into a soul state and flew into the air, looking down at the completely stunned Furina below. He sneered contemptuously.
"No one can stop me from committing suicide!"
"Even God can't!"
"I said it!"
"But come to think of it, isn't this too many points?"
Lofan looked at the suddenly increased 8,000 points and was completely shocked. Thinking back to how he had painstakingly put on that whole act earlier, only to get 5,000 points in the end, Lofan suddenly felt very unfair.
"Wow, so earning points is actually this easy?"
Lofan felt like he had discovered a goldmine. His gaze towards Furina immediately became friendly.
This isn't some cute girl trying to stop me from making a fortune, this is a god of wealth delivering herself to me!
Truly worthy of being Fontaine's Hydro Archon!
If points were so easy to earn, why had he gone through all that trouble strategizing against the Maison Gardiennage? He'd even wasted precious points learning skills.
Lofan glanced at the tens of thousands of spectators and suddenly realized he had another chance to make a fortune. He quickly reincarnated...
"This... this can't be! I clearly saved him..." Furina stared at the twisted corpse, its features contorted in what appeared to be extreme pain. Her body shuddered involuntarily.
Furina couldn't understand it. She'd used water as a cushion, timing the descent of the liquid to meet the man's body fractionally after his fall. With her control over hydro elements, this should have been entirely possible.
So how did he die?!
Panic surged through Furina. Completely at a loss, she turned to Clorinde with desperate eyes.
Clorinde frowned. Though Furina's failure surprised her, the damage was done. Her priority now was minimizing the incident's impact.
Clorinde sighed inwardly. Furina had deliberately summoned a massive crowd to showcase herself before the people today. That scene moments ago had likely been witnessed by tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands. Now, containing the news would prove incredibly difficult.
What choice did she have? No matter the difficulty, she must do her utmost. Maintaining the God's dignity was her sacred duty.
Clorinde offered Furina some words of comfort. "Please withdraw first, Lady Furina. Leave the rest to me."
"Please don't blame yourself too harshly. That man sought his own demise. Your initial intent was to save him, but unforeseen circumstances arose."
"The people of Fontaine will understand, Lady Furina. You needn't worry excessively."
"Indeed..." Furina nodded slightly, her composure returning. At this moment, however, she had no energy for formalities.
"Then I entrust this to you, Clorinde. Having you here is a true blessing."
After saying this, Furina immediately jumped down from the box and was about to slink away.
Just then, a figure suddenly emerged from the crowd, which had fallen deathly silent. Upon seeing the dead body on the ground, he let out a deafening wail of grief!
"Brother, why did you leave me first?!"
This heart-wrenching cry, filled with unbearable sorrow, instantly froze Furina in her tracks as she was about to flee.
Furina turned to look and saw a middle-aged man with a full beard. He wore only red shorts, his body drenched in sweat as if he had been running frantically. His face was a mess of tears and snot, with occasional snorts that drew back the white strands, creating a startling visual.
The man cradled the dead body in his arms, gazing at it with affectionate eyes as he spoke with deep emotion:
"Brother, wake up! Wake up and look at me. I'm your little hammer!"
"Why did you suddenly give up? Didn't we agree just yesterday to watch sunrises and sunsets together, share the same bowl, sleep in the same bed, marry the same woman? To let you be everything in my life, to keep each other warm, never to disappoint... Have you forgotten all that?!"
"How could you be so heartless, leaving me alone like this?"
"Brother, how am I supposed to live without you, Brother?!"
"Pain... It hurts too much!"
The onlookers, momentarily stunned by the sudden outburst, were about to comfort the man who seemed to know the deceased when they heard these words and froze in shock.
Furina watched the man's performance, her sense of guilt intensifying.
"I'm sorry, Monsieur," Furina finally stepped forward, her voice thick with remorse. "I failed to save your friend..."
Her apology had no effect. Instead, the man wept even more desperately, his grief-stricken cries stirring sympathy in the crowd. It was as if the dead man on the ground were his closest friend, evoking a profound sense of sorrow in those who witnessed the scene.
"How pitiful. This person."
"Listening to his wretched cries, I feel like crying too!"
"He's sobbing so hard, I want to become his friend and stay by his side forever!"
"And this one is even more of a heavyweight."
Seeing that her words had no effect and only made the man cry harder, Furina felt utterly at a loss.
Clorinde quickly stepped forward to diffuse the situation. "Monsieur, we share some responsibility for not saving your friend. We'll compensate you later, but please cooperate with the Maison Gardiennage now and lower your companion."
"You... think I'm the kind of person who'll sell out for money? My big brother died here—my big brother!"
"You've lost money, but I've lost my best brother!"
The man who'd nearly made Clorinde deliver compensation directly to his doorstep quickly changed his tune, putting on an act of righteous indignation as if his very character had been insulted.
When he felt he'd set the stage sufficiently, the man suddenly roared:
"My big brother's dead! I don't want to live anymore!"
"Brother, I'm coming to join you!"
The onlookers who'd been trying to comfort the man froze momentarily before panic spread across their faces.
Clorinde's eyes narrowed, and she erupted with raw Electro elemental power. She charged toward the man at breakneck speed, but she was a heartbeat too late.
The man placed his hands on his neck and gave a gentle twist. With a sharp "crack," he collapsed to the ground, embracing the previous victim.
Furina stared at the scene, completely dumbfounded.
"Quick! Prepare to save him!"
Clorinde urgently directed the completely frozen Maison Gardiennage members. Only after hearing her words did the others suddenly snap out of their daze, causing the scene to devolve into utter chaos.
Although Clorinde's medical commands came in time, they ultimately failed to save the young man's life.
Sensing Furina's questioning gaze, Clorinde simply shook her head heavily. Furina's eyes lost their sparkle.
"Another death..."
"Seems like another suicide pact..."
The onlookers gazed at the two men lying entwined on the ground, their emotions running complex.