Arlecchino led her subordinates away from Sumeru.
Though seated aboard a ship, she had no destination in mind.
Returning to Snezhnaya was out of the question. While only a portion of her subordinates had been affected, bringing them back could risk the entire nation's collapse.
After much deliberation, Arlecchino ultimately decided to head back to Fontaine.
Now, if she didn't want to dispose of all her subordinates, her only option was to assign them missions that kept them apart.
Fontaine was the ideal choice. Due to past incidents, she was wanted by the Fontaine authorities, and even the Fatui were officially unwelcome, forbidden from entering Fontaine without permission.
This situation had forced the Fatui's operations in Fontaine underground, creating a dire need for intelligence operatives.
This was the best solution Arlecchino could devise. Otherwise, all the effort she had invested in training these elite agents would have gone to waste—a tragic waste of resources.
As for the wanted status, it posed no challenge to Arlecchino. She had a hundred ways to infiltrate Fontaine without drawing Neuvillette's attention—this was her specialty.
"Lady Knave, look over there. It seems there's a Snezhnayan ship."
Hearing her subordinate's warning, Arlecchino snapped out of her thoughts and turned her gaze toward the indicated direction.
Sure enough, it was a Snezhnayan vessel, and judging by its size, the person aboard must be of high status.
Before long, Arlecchino recognized whose ship it was. Though the figure standing on the deck was aged, the unmistakable resemblance to Dottore remained striking.
It was clear that this man was one of Dottore's Segments, though what orders Dottore had given him remained a mystery. Judging by the ship's course, his destination also appeared to be Fontaine.
This was puzzling. Dottore had previously mentioned to her that he had already sent a Segment to Fontaine in advance. If this was that Segment, the timing didn't align at all.
That meant this man must be a Segment Dottore had recently dispatched to Fontaine. But what could his purpose be?
The mere thought of Dottore stirred Arlecchino's inner fire into a simmering rage.
After her thorough investigation, which had cost her over a dozen elite soldiers, she had found nothing. If not for his status as the Second Seat, with strength surpassing her own, she would have already attacked him.
Wait... had she truly cultivated so many elite soldiers already?
As Arlecchino surveyed the Fatui soldiers on her ship, she suddenly realized their numbers were quite substantial. But she didn't dwell on it, immediately ordering her ship to approach the other vessel.
"Dottore, what are you doing here?"
Once the ships were close enough, Arlecchino leaped across, landing squarely on the other deck.
"Ah, it's you, Arlecchino," Dottore remarked, glancing at her.
"The Jester is looking for you everywhere. Your actions in Fontaine have become a bargaining chip in negotiations between Fontaine and Snezhnaya."
"Because of you, Snezhnaya's diplomacy has become exceptionally difficult."
"Is that so?" Arlecchino replied calmly after hearing Dottore's words.
"Just leave it to the Jester. Isn't this precisely his area of expertise?"
Dottore chuckled softly, then fell silent.
After a moment, noticing Arlecchino showed no signs of leaving, Dottore frowned and asked, "Aren't you busy with your own affairs?"
"You haven't answered my question yet. What are you doing here?"
Dottore's frown deepened.
"Arlecchino, this matter has nothing to do with you."
"Nothing to do with me? That remains to be seen." Arlecchino sneered coldly.
"Why don't you guess why I came all the way from Sumeru?"
Dottore, ever astute, immediately surmised that some unpleasantness had transpired between Arlecchino and her Prime.
"This has nothing to do with me. Don't deliberately provoke me, Arlecchino."
"Heh, what if I am deliberately provoking you?"
In truth, there was nothing particularly significant about this confrontation. Arlecchino merely sensed that Dottore's aura wasn't as formidable as usual and sought to vent her frustration.
If she couldn't defeat the Prime, surely she could handle a mere Segment?
"Arlecchino, are you serious?"
Sensing the rapidly escalating aura around Arlecchino, Dottore immediately recognized the gravity of the situation and braced himself.
"What if I am? So many of my people have died under your watch without explanation. Shouldn't you take responsibility?"
"That wasn't my doing! Go find whoever's responsible!"
Dottore was seething with resentment. It was bad enough that the Prime had ordered him, a Segment, to drop everything and rush to Fontaine to collect experimental materials like some common servant. Now, he was being forced to shoulder the consequences of the Prime's own messes? This was beyond unreasonable!
Arlecchino completely ignored Dottore's words, slowly drawing her sword as Pyro Element crackled around her.
"You're all the same anyway. You even look almost identical."
Dottore was speechless.
I'm a Segment from Dottore's later years! How can you call us 'almost identical'?!
But Arlecchino gave him no time to retort, launching a fierce assault the moment she attacked. Dottore reacted with lightning reflexes, immediately engaging her in a fierce exchange.
The battle erupted without warning. Confined to the ship, both combatants restrained themselves somewhat.
Though this Dottore was merely one of his many Segments, his strength rivaled Arlecchino's.
Their fierce clash quickly drew the attention of numerous Fatui soldiers, who watched the intense battle with a mix of awe and reverence.
[ What exactly did you do? ]
[ I'm stuck dealing with this madwoman Arlecchino right now. ]
Dottore parried Arlecchino's relentless attacks while communicating with his Prime.
[ I merely used some experimental materials—nothing of real consequence. ]
[ Arlecchino won't actually kill you. Let her vent her anger. ]
[ Enough. Don't bother me unless it's urgent. I'm busy. ]
Dottore froze upon receiving the Prime's message.
[ Let Arlecchino vent her anger? ]
[ Is that even a human thing to say? ]
[ Don't Segments deserve basic human rights? ]
Frowning, Dottore barely managed to parry Arlecchino's relentless assault. Though their raw power was comparable, Arlecchino's vast combat experience far surpassed the reclusive Dottore's, giving her a clear advantage.
"Arlecchino," Dottore said, retreating a considerable distance after one attack, his composure slightly frayed. "I don't have time for your games. Enough is enough."
Arlecchino scoffed, her aura gradually fading.
"Fine. This ends here."
After venting her frustrations, Arlecchino felt considerably lighter, a stark contrast to Dottore's face, which was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Arlecchino slowly approached the ship's railing. Seeing this, Dottore assumed the matter was settled. To his surprise, however, Arlecchino simply gazed at the sea and didn't move.
"Arlecchino, what are you up to now? Aren't you going back to your own ship?"
"Since we're both heading to Fontaine, what difference does it make which ship we're on?"
Difference? A world of difference!
Though inwardly displeased with Arlecchino's behavior, Dottore ultimately said nothing, choosing to ignore her actions.
In truth, Dottore understood Arlecchino's motives perfectly: she was using this opportunity to investigate his true purpose.
But Dottore didn't care. After all, it wasn't exactly a deep secret.
If Arlecchino had the time to play detective, he might as well let her investigate.
The two ships sailed side-by-side into Fontaine's territory, continuing for a considerable distance without encountering any Fontainian law enforcement personnel. It was clear this route was exceptionally well-concealed.
Arlecchino frowned. After years of intelligence work in Fontaine, she had never discovered this route, yet Dottore knew it. It seemed his influence within Fontaine was not to be underestimated.
But why, after all her years of intelligence work in Fontaine, had she found so few traces of Dottore's activity?
At that moment, Arlecchino began to doubt Dottore's earlier claim that he had no cooperation with any mysterious forces within Fontaine.
Soon after, the ships docked at a designated location on a small island.
As the two disembarked one after the other, disaster struck.
A massive, azure Sealing Array suddenly blazed to life, completely isolating an area within a kilometer's radius.
A terrifying aura emanated from the array.
Arlecchino's pupils constricted slightly. She was intimately familiar with this aura.
It was Neuvillette's.
"Dottore, you've betrayed Snezhnaya!"
Since Dottore had led them the entire way, Arlecchino naturally suspected him, especially after so many traitors had emerged from his own ranks. She was now even more inclined to consider such possibilities.
Caught off guard by Arlecchino's accusation, Dottore momentarily lost focus amidst the sudden chaos.
But quickly regaining his composure, he solemnly declared to Arlecchino, "This has nothing to do with me. We've been ambushed. This route has likely been compromised."
As Dottore spoke, he cursed inwardly at Dottore No. 1 and Dottore No. 2.
They were the ones who had given him this location in the first place. How could those two incompetent fools have failed to notice the compromised route? It was hard to believe they were once his younger selves.
Was I ever this stupid in my youth?
Dottore tried contacting his other Segments, but it seemed someone had severed the network. He couldn't reach anyone.
Just as the two were surveying their surroundings, distant rumbling sounds echoed from a nearby mountain peak.
As the commotion intensified, fiery missiles began streaking across the sky toward their position.
"Intercept them!" Arlecchino ordered, her body erupting in scorching flames the moment she spoke.
The searing flames engulfed several missiles, detonating them mid-air. However, the sheer destructive power of these missiles made Arlecchino's expression darken.
These missiles packed over three times the destructive power of their standard counterparts. Even intercepted mid-air, the shockwave made her body sink, let alone if they had detonated at close range.
Worse still, countless missiles continued to rain down upon them, filling the sky like a storm of fire. The muffled booms from the distant mountains persisted, suggesting the missiles were still being replenished.
Though Arlecchino and Dottore's strength approached Archon-level, even they struggled to cope with such overwhelming firepower.
On the distant mountain peak, Neuvillette was directing the Court of Justice's Special Task Force as they operated Gardemeks to conduct weapons testing.
Neuvillette didn't reveal the truth to the assembled onlookers, simply stating that he had brought them here to test the latest weaponry. The weapons being demonstrated were the newest models.
When Neuvillette received reports from Dottore's segments, he learned that Dottore had set his sights on the Fontainians and Melusines. Unable to suppress his anger, Neuvillette arranged this weapon test.
Having captured so many Dottore segments, Neuvillette had gained a basic understanding of their capabilities. He concluded that the weapons currently employed by the Clockwork Mekas posed no significant threat to the segments' lives.
Of course, if any accidents were to occur, it wouldn't matter. After all, they were merely conducting routine weapon tests, and Dottore had smuggled himself into Fontaine, then carelessly wandered into their firing range. Any mishaps would be his own fault.
However, Neuvillette was somewhat surprised to find Arlecchino present as well.
Now he could settle both old scores and new grudges at once. Neuvillette immediately ordered the Gardemek to switch to more powerful weapons, instantly intensifying the pressure on the segments.
Nevertheless, Neuvillette shielded the remaining Fatui soldiers, reluctant to spill unnecessary blood unless absolutely necessary.
Though he could have personally intervened, his outrage toward Dottore was absolute. He was determined to deliver Judgment.
However, as the Fatui's Second Seat Harbinger, Dottore likely enjoyed considerable leniency from Snezhnaya, regardless of his transgressions.
Thus, Neuvillette had already begun considering the possibility of war with Snezhnaya, which led to his idea of testing Fontaine's weapons.
As it turned out, Dottore and Arlecchino proved ideal test subjects. Watching them struggle to cope with the assault, Neuvillette gained a clearer understanding of Fontaine's current military might.
Fontaine's rapid development had only occurred in the past year. Neuvillette suspected this was connected to those who had regained their past memories. It was likely someone had awakened to their past experiences, integrated that knowledge with Fontaine's modern science, and further propelled the nation's progress.
Since they hadn't brought up the matter themselves, Neuvillette, though he had his suspicions, refrained from asking directly.
After testing all the latest weapons, Neuvillette decided to test the final one: the Pneumousia Obliteration Bomb, which its inventor claimed could annihilate Patrick Star and cause mushroom clouds.
Neuvillette had no idea what "Patrick Star" was, so he thought he might as well see it for himself.