Fontaine's Grand Stage: Come If You Dare! (Genshin Impact)

"Clorinde!"

When Furina finally saw Clorinde appear before her, she threw herself into her arms, sobbing softly. "It was terrifying... people just turned into Hydro..."

"And there was a Maison Gardiennage officer right in front of me. I watched it happen..."

Clorinde, noticing the untouched dessert on the table, realized how deeply shaken Furina was by the incident. She immediately began to comfort her.

It took a long time before Clorinde finally managed to calm Furina down.

Clorinde then questioned the Maison Gardiennage officers present for a detailed account of the incident.

After hearing their descriptions, Clorinde felt the matter was incredibly thorny. Rather than attributing it to human intervention, she suspected it was more akin to a natural disaster. Moreover, the unfolding events seemed to align disturbingly with Fontaine's prophecy.

This isn't a good sign at all...

As these thoughts weighed on her, Clorinde's mood grew heavier.

"Lady Furina, the Court of Justice and the Marechaussee Phantom have jointly taken charge of this investigation. I believe we'll have results soon," Clorinde reported.

Hearing this, Furina nodded slightly, visibly relaxing. Wiping tears from the corner of her eye, she gazed intently at Clorinde and asked, "Clorinde, do you think this could be connected to the prophecy?"

Clorinde opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. After a long silence, she finally replied, "I don't know."

News of the mass Fontainian transformation into water in Fontaine spread like wildfire, causing unimaginable chaos.

Captain Elton, already overwhelmed by the Serial Disappearance Case of young girls, spat his imported coffee directly into the face of the Maison Gardiennage officer who delivered the news.

The officer's delicate sensibilities were deeply wounded by the taste of imported coffee.

"How can people possibly turn into water?!" Captain Elton exclaimed, utterly bewildered. This defied all logic!

But the scale of the incident made his disbelief irrelevant.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He grabbed the officer, who was about to leave to wipe the coffee off his face, and barked, "Go get Vice Captain Henry—no, invite him! Hurry and fetch Brother Henry!"

Before the officer could summon Lofan, however, another crisis erupted at the police station.

Arriving at the detention cell, Captain Elton's face turned grave as he surveyed the scene: a large hole corroded through the reinforced wall and a corpse dissolved beyond recognition by acidic liquid. The situation had become gravely serious.

Murder and a cover-up—how ruthless!

This was a blatant act of defiance against the Maison Gardiennage. Whether in the past or present, the perpetrators clearly held the organization in utter contempt.

The ease with which they disposed of the victim and escaped dealt a crushing blow to the Maison Gardiennage's authority and prestige.

Captain Elton felt a headache coming on. Could he lose his job so soon after being reinstated? If someone had to take the fall for this, it would undoubtedly be him.

Just then, Lofan and Vinani arrived at the scene, having rushed over upon receiving the news.

Their expressions immediately turned grim as they surveyed the crime scene.

"Ah, you're here," Captain Elton sighed wearily. Though the deceased hadn't been a saint, he hadn't deserved such a death. The loss of a life still saddened him.

Vinani examined the large hole in the wall, pondered for a moment, and then spoke. "Captain Elton, this case is beyond the Maison Gardiennage's capabilities. It appears we need to hand it over to the Court of Justice or the Marechaussee Phantoms."

Hearing Vinani's words, Captain Elton's expression grew even more bitter.

"Miss Vinani, you haven't heard about what's happening in Fontaine, have you?"

"Neither the Court of Justice, the Marechaussee Phantoms, nor any of the Maison Gardiennage officers in Fontaine have any spare manpower to send to Poisson to investigate this case."

"Did something major happen in Fontaine?" Lofan asked, feigning ignorance.

Hearing this, Captain Elton looked at him with a hint of shame. "Brother Henry," he said, "I was too hasty in doubting your deduction earlier."

"You wouldn't believe it, but a mass incident occurred in Fontaine where citizens turned into puddles of water in broad daylight. Preliminary estimates suggest at least a thousand people have vanished."

"In short, Fontaine is in complete chaos. Panic is rampant, and there's absolutely no way they can spare any resources for our case in Poisson. We're lucky they haven't recalled us entirely."

"I heard this incident even affected Lady Furina, the Hydro Archon... Sigh, it seems Lady Furina's luck has been running thin lately."

Captain Elton couldn't help but feel sorry for Furina. After being targeted by the serial suicide case perpetrator, she had now witnessed such a horrifying scene firsthand. What terrible luck!

When Vinani heard that over a thousand people had been victimized, her face registered utter shock.

"But there's some good news," Elton continued. "Everyone's families are safe."

"It might sound selfish considering the victims, but I can't help but feel relieved that my family is okay."

"As for you, Brother Henry... I seem to recall you're an orphan, aren't you?"

"Is that really polite, Captain Elton?" Lofan snapped irritably.

While the System could theoretically provide him with a body that had family connections, the emotional devastation caused by the death of such an identity would be unbearable. Lofan preferred not to be so heartless.

Turning to Vinani, he asked, "Miss Vinani, can you see any useful clues?"

Vinani nodded. "Yes, I can."

"There are traces of residual Elemental Power, but like the traces left after the investigation reports were destroyed, they appear in isolation."

"However, this time the residual Elemental Power is Hydro, and it's significantly weaker than the Pyro energy we detected before."

"We can confidently conclude that both incidents were perpetrated by the same organization, and this group is capable of crafting items imbued with potent Elemental Power."

To cover his own oversight, Lofan subtly steered the others' thinking toward specialized artifacts, similar to how the Kairagi imbue their weapons with Elemental Power using talismans.

"The culprit in this case is exceptionally powerful. We might not be able to handle this alone," Vinani said.

Captain Elton sighed softly, his thoughts echoing her concerns. Even their combined forces might not be a match for this individual. Still, they had a duty to continue the investigation.

"Actually, there might be another way," Lofan suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention.

"Even though we can't expect any assistance from Fontaine, we still have other options, right?"

"Like cooperating with the local power brokers in Poisson."

"You mean the Spina di Rosula?"

After listening to Lofan's suggestion, Captain Elton furrowed his brow in thought for a long moment before finally making up his mind.

"There's no other choice. We'll do it your way. I can't stand by and watch you young officers throw your lives away on this case."

"If this causes trouble with the higher-ups, I'll take full responsibility."

It was a desperate move for Captain Elton. He knew that getting too involved with the Spina di Rosula was dangerous, but given the circumstances, it was the only way to protect his men.

"I know how to contact Miss Navia, the President of the Spina di Rosula."

"Leave this to me."

Lofan stroked his chin thoughtfully. He realized he'd never actually visited the Spina di Rosula's headquarters before. Might as well check it out while I'm in the area.

Captain Elton didn't reject Lofan's proposal.

"Alright, I'll do my best to persuade headquarters to send us some competent reinforcements. Brother Henry, you handle the collaboration with the Spina di Rosula."

"As for Miss Vinani..."

Captain Elton's expression grew complicated. He wanted to dissuade her from participating in the case to prevent any accidents, but he didn't know how to voice his concerns.

"If you're trying to convince me to drop this case, Monsieur Elton, save your breath," Vinani said firmly. "I'm part of this team, just like everyone else. Please don't single me out."

Hearing her unwavering words, Captain Elton sighed again. He raised his head and scanned the assembled group.

"I won't say any more. Just remember to prioritize your own safety."

With this final warning, he began reassigning tasks.

Meanwhile, Lofan left the police station with Vinani, preparing to enlist the Spina di Rosula's assistance.

-

Meanwhile, the Spina di Rosula had also received news from Fontaine. Upon hearing the report, Marcel was utterly stunned.

What's going on?

He hadn't targeted any of these people.

Could someone else have obtained Primordial Sea Water?

He had only instructed his men to use it on the wealthy merchant's daughter.

And dissolving a person requires a significant amount of Primordial Sea Water. With so many victims, did they stumble upon an entire Primordial Sea Lake?!

But that didn't make sense. Even with such a vast quantity of Primordial Sea Water, the manpower required to administer it to so many individuals would be unimaginable.

Marcel couldn't make sense of it. Yet, far from feeling sympathy for the victims, he found a perverse satisfaction in their deaths.

This must be divine retribution against the Fontainians!

He chuckled darkly. I told them Vigneire was dissolved by the sea right before my eyes, but none of them believed me.

This is their punishment!

Despite his twisted gratification, Marcel knew his current situation was precarious. This incident would inevitably draw connections to the recent Serial Disappearance Case, and the Maison Gardiennage might uncover new leads.

For his own safety, he needed to lay low for a while, retreating into the shadows until another opportunity arose.

Before disappearing, however, he had to clean up any loose ends.

As he thought of this, a cold glint entered Marcel's eyes.