"In the daytime, I am my normal self, my true self…"
Furina spoke slowly.
"In other words, doesn't this rule mean that I absolutely cannot be corrupted or controlled by the Eerie during the daytime? Otherwise, why would it emphasize so strongly that my daytime self is the real, normal me?"
Everyone fell silent, lost in shock and deep thought…
Furina's words… actually made a lot of sense!
"No, Furina. Even if what you say is logical, I cannot let you take this risk." Neuvillette was the first to speak.
"Neuvillette." Furina looked at him with a soft smile.
"You're still the same as ever, never changing. Always wanting to care for others, to protect others."
"I also want to contribute—to help you all and to help defeat the Eerie!"
"Neuvillette, just let Furina try!" Su Yuan spoke up, agreeing with her reasoning.
If anything truly irreversible happened… he could just rewind time again!
After all, he had at least four chances per day.
The resets refreshed daily, and they didn't accumulate for the next day—so there was no reason not to use them.
"This seems to be our best shot…" Focalors added.
"If we can't strip away the Eerie's power and stabilize the Indemnitium, all of Fontaine will be finished by tomorrow…"
"Besides, the amount of Eerie power remaining inside the core is extremely small. I already absorbed the vast majority of it earlier."
"Even if Furina does get corrupted by this small remnant, perhaps we can use our own strength to purge it."
"Neuvillette, don't worry! We're all here!" Wriothesley patted Neuvillette's shoulder lightly with a grin.
"Neuvillette, you mustn't place your trust in only me," Su Yuan added.
"You need to trust Furina—and trust everyone!"
With that, the group followed Focalors into the depths of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale.
Everyone gazed at the deep blue energy core before them, feeling an indescribable pressure emanating from it.
Was this the Indemnitium energy that Fontaine had accumulated over the past five hundred years?
At the same time, they could all sense how incredibly unstable this energy was, as if it could explode at any moment.
"Furina, do you see it?" Focalors led Furina closer to the core and pointed inside.
"Do you see those writhing, intertwined red and black threads, squirming like worms?"
"That is the power of the Eerie."
Furina nodded, then, under the tense gazes of everyone present, slowly reached her hand into the energy core…
She had always been in contact with Indemnitium energy.
To her, it had always been a stable, gentle, green, and highly efficient power source.
But now, upon touching the corrupted Indemnitium energy, Furina could feel just how volatile and unstable it had become.
An uncontrollable restlessness surged within it…
Furina's fingers quickly made contact with a strand of Eerie power, but before she could even grasp it, the sinister force rapidly surged along her fingers, up her arm, across her shoulder, neck, and face, before finally burrowing into her forehead!
Her brows furrowed tightly as a pained expression spread across her face.
Her entire body trembled, and she staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Fortunately, Focalors caught her just in time.
"Furina! Are you alright?" The group anxiously called out to her.
"I'm fine…" Furina rubbed her forehead and temples before steadying herself once again.
"Just now, a strand of Eerie power indeed entered my mind. I immediately felt overwhelmed by countless negative, insane, and cruel thoughts…"
"But those thoughts quickly faded away. I don't know whether it's because the amount of Eerie power was too little or because my daytime self truly cannot be corrupted by it…"
"In any case, having me extract this Eerie power is definitely feasible!"
"Furina…" Neuvillette murmured.
The pained expression she had shown earlier left an uncomfortable feeling in his heart, but the situation was clear—this was the best solution to stabilize the Indemnitium Energy Core.
From then on, the process was repeated over and over.
Furina reached her hand into the core, slowly drawing out the Eerie power, bit by bit…
"This is the last strand of Eerie power…" Focalors said, looking at the now-stabilized Indemnitium Energy Core, which no longer contained even a trace of Eerie corruption.
"Furina, you've worked hard." Focalors gently spoke, gazing down at Furina, who had collapsed into her arms—exhausted, drowsy, and barely able to stay awake.
"Don't worry about anything. Just rest well."
"Furina… she's so strong," Focalors thought.
Even though she couldn't be corrupted by the Eerie power, Focalors could still imagine how unpleasant it must have felt to have that power invade her body.
"So, does this mean the crisis of Fontaine's destruction is finally resolved?" Chiori asked.
"No, it's only temporarily resolved," Arlecchino interjected.
"The prophecy will still come true—everyone will dissolve into the water, and only the Hydro Archon will sit upon the throne, weeping alone…"
"I returned to Fontaine from Snezhnaya precisely because of this prophecy."
"My plan… well, you all know it now." Focalors let out a helpless chuckle.
"I thought I could deceive everyone, even Heavenly Principles itself, but now everything has been exposed…"
"But, as long as you don't say anything and I don't say anything, Heavenly Principles won't find out so easily."
"Besides, certain clues and reliable sources suggest that Heavenly Principles is currently asleep…"
"As long as we don't cause too much of a commotion, it shouldn't notice anything."
"Neuvillette." Focalors turned to him, speaking seriously.
"Tomorrow—no, this afternoon—we must restart the Tribunal at the Opera Epiclese. I need to continue accumulating Indemnitium Energy to prepare for that day."
"Honestly, with the energy we've gathered so far, I estimate it should already be enough…"
"But to be safe, let's gather a little more."
"Focalors…" Neuvillette lifted his head to look at her.
Though his gaze was calm, deep within it swirled a complex mix of emotions.
"Do you really think that after learning the full truth, we would allow you to sacrifice yourself in such a way—to break the prophecy and save Fontaine?"
"Yeah, exactly!" Sigewinne chimed in, nodding repeatedly.
"Focalors, in the past, you came up with this plan all on your own… But now, there are so many of us. We can help you and find a new solution together!" Navia beamed brightly.
"After all, brainstorming together gives better results, and there's strength in numbers!"
"Actually, I really like your outfit design. I can tell that you have a great sense of style and appreciation for fashion," Chiori added.
"I still want to discuss clothing design and fashion trends with you—there's no way I'd let you sacrifice yourself!"
"But…"
"Ah, come on, Focalors! Let me tell you something—Su Yuan's intel is seriously impressive!" Wriothesley stepped forward, playfully poking Su Yuan's head.
"Who knows? Maybe after a good night's sleep, he'll wake up tomorrow with the key to breaking the prophecy and saving Fontaine!"
"Focalors," Neuvillette finally spoke.
"The trials at the Opera Epiclese will proceed as usual, but I will never allow you to sacrifice yourself for the sake of everyone else."
"Just as Wriothesley said, perhaps Su Yuan really will find a way to save Fontaine completely."
Su Yuan scratched his head with an awkward smile.
Well, since everyone had such faith in him, he would give it his all!
After all, from the very beginning, his goal had always been to save Focalors!
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