Fontaine, Fatui Headquarters.
"The Knave, the Hydro Archon disappeared from her room around 13:00 today, then suddenly reappeared around 19:00, being unaccounted for six hours in between."
"Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the Hydro Archon was not in her room during those six hours. She is suspected to have gone out."
"There was no elemental power residue in the room, which indicates my subordinates' lack of ability to detect anything."
"Other than that, the Hydro Archon's presence was not detected anywhere else in Fontaine."
"..."
Sitting behind her desk, The Knave listened to the Fatui agent, who was bowing before her, reporting the news.
This was a Fatui Pyro Agent, a debt collector, equipped with a Delusion developed by The Doctor, and whose body had been modified to use the Delusion with minimal side effects.
With the power of the Delusion, they could achieve a certain degree of invisibility, making them excellent intelligence gatherers.
"Anything else?"
The Knave spoke again. Knowing that the Prophecy was bound to occur, she did not want her homeland to be destroyed. However, the god on the throne was being secretive about it, leaving The Knave with no choice but to use her own power to find a way to break the Prophecy.
"There is no other news..."
The Pyro Agent lowered his head, not speaking further. He was smart enough to know that he should not continue talking at this moment.
The Knave narrowed her eyes, her index finger tapping rhythmically on the solid wood table. She was deep in thought.
In her childhood memories, her fondness for Furina seemed to be innate.
Furina's charismatic words, witty yet elegant demeanor, all exuded a unique confidence and charm belonging to a "god."
Her every action was imbued with a unique "theatricality," making her behavior so elusive that no one could predict her next move.
Initially, The Knave believed this was what a god was, and even after hearing the so-called Prophecy, The Knave trusted that the god would resolve everything, and she had no need to worry.
But later, when The Knave joined the Fatui and became a Harbinger, she received some information that made her realize the Prophecy was not merely a prediction, but a fact that was truly bound to happen.
And after meeting the Tsaritsa, The Knave began to have doubts.
After all, compared to the Tsaritsa, Furina's demeanor truly did not resemble a god; instead, she seemed more like a... normal person.
Therefore, she developed some doubts about Furina's identity. After applying to the Tsaritsa to be the Harbinger responsible for Fontaine-related matters and receiving the Tsaritsa's approval, The Knave immediately rushed back to Fontaine.
Upon arriving in Fontaine, The Knave wasted no time in deploying her plans and submitting a diplomatic request to Palais Mermonia. However, at this time, The Knave received news that the Hydro Archon had not shown her face for several days.
After some probing, The Knave discovered that Furina's room was completely sealed by powerful Hydro Elemental Power, the specific reason unknown.
A few days later, Furina reappeared and subsequently had lunch with her.
During lunch, The Knave took a risky attempt to perceive Furina with her mind, trying to gauge Furina's depth using this method.
This method was extremely risky, as failure could easily lead to a diplomatic incident.
However, The Knave deemed it worthwhile. After all, if Furina was just an ordinary person, her mental perception would surely detect something.
And if she couldn't perceive anything, or if Furina noticed her, it would prove that Furina was definitely not as simple as she appeared, at least proving that Furina herself possessed some power.
However, the result of the probing greatly exceeded The Knave's expectations. Her mental probe was directly detected without yielding any useful information, which made The Knave realize that Furina was definitely not as simple as she appeared.
Yet, the reason The Knave still wanted to probe Furina was Furina's expression at the time; that expression was simply too strange.
The expression Furina had at the time gave The Knave the feeling that it wasn't that Furina knew she was being probed, but rather that someone had told Furina that she was probing her with her mind.
Because of this, The Knave still harbored doubts about Furina. It was precisely for this reason that she continued to station Fatui spies near Palais Mermonia to monitor Furina's actions.
And since the banquet that day, Furina's actions have shown almost nothing suspicious, much like the completely blank half-month before. Every day, she simply traveled between Palais Mermonia and the Opera Epiclese.
Aside from inviting the great playwright yesterday and discussing the script together this morning, there seemed to be no other issues.
The Knave was now somewhat uncertain. She did not know whether Furina truly possessed power, or if someone was manipulating everything behind the scenes.
And through certain channels, The Knave clearly knew that the Prophecy was a fact that would inevitably occur, and Furina's existence would undoubtedly play a crucial role in this event.
"All will dissolve into the sea, leaving only the Hydro Archon, weeping on her throne."
The Prophecy is drawing near...
Although she didn't know the exact time, The Knave was certain it wouldn't be too far off. She also needed to prepare, even if she couldn't stop the Prophecy, she had to find a way to save more people...
"You may leave."
The Knave finished her thoughts and waved her hand, dismissing the Pyro Agent before her, as she had no more questions to ask.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
The Pyro Agent nodded, then stood up. However, the next moment, terrifying Hydro Elemental Power instantly appeared, enveloping the Pyro Agent in front of The Knave in a giant hydro sphere. Before The Knave could even react, the hydro sphere suddenly contracted, turning into a fist-sized, blood-red water sphere.
The Knave's pupils constricted slightly, and she instinctively stood up, watching the hydro sphere warily.
Then, the next moment, the Hydro Elemental Power on the hydro sphere instantly vanished. The Knave's pupils constricted further, and flames suddenly rose, shielding her front.
"Bang!"
Losing the support of the Hydro Elemental Power, the extremely compressed flesh exploded in an instant, and blood-red filled the entire room!
After the explosion ended, The Knave silently withdrew the flames in front of her. Urgent footsteps came from the doorway, and several guards opened the door, only to see the scene of flesh and blood splattered across the room.
"Your Excellency..."
The guards exchanged glances, not knowing what to do in the face of the sanity-dropping scene before them.
After a long silence, The Knave finally seemed to recover and spoke:
"Issue the highest-grade bereavement payment for this person."
"Clean up the room."
"And... withdraw all personnel responsible for monitoring the Hydro Archon."
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
The guards, relieved to receive the order, fled the scene without hesitation.
The Knave, however, remained standing in the room covered in flesh and blood.
The smell of flesh in the air was nauseating, but The Knave showed no reaction. After a long while, she murmured softly with a complex expression:
"Is this... a warning?"
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