TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!
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The entrance to Fleuve Cendre.
After asking Katheryne, Shao Yun learned that after Lumine and Paimon had collected their rewards, they ran into Navia, who invited them to take a stroll through the Fleuve Cendre.
Shao Yun and Clorinde rode a cargo elevator that had been refitted into a platform, descending deeper and deeper underground.
"No wonder Eula thought Navia was trying to kidnap her. If it were me, I'd be suspicious too," Shao Yun said doubtfully.
Clorinde began explaining the history of the Fleuve Cendre to Shao Yun.
"The Fleuve Cendre has a very long history, one that can be traced back to the era of the first Hydro Archon, Egeria."
"As the Court of Fontaine expanded, the nobility, in the name of 'optimizing the cityscape,' drove the 'dirty' commoners underground. The sewers gradually became the dwelling place of the lower class."
"At first, the Fleuve Cendre was filled with poverty, filth, and chaos. The strong bullying the weak was a common occurrence."
Clorinde then added,
"But Eduardo Baker gradually rose to prominence. With nothing more than a scavenged copper pipe, he drove off crocodiles, protected merchants from gang extortion, mediated disputes, and even blessed newlyweds. In the end, through personal prestige and fair-handed justice, he became the leader of the Fleuve Cendre."
"Under Edward's leadership, the Fleuve Cendre slowly established its own order. The residents adapted to underground life, forming a small world isolated from the surface of the Court of Fontaine."
"Later on, for reasons unknown, 'Parsifal' the Great of that era also joined the Fleuve Cendre."
"However, Fontaine's bureaucrats later decided to 'clean up the cityscape' once again, launching an armed suppression of the lower-class people in the Fleuve Cendre. This became known as the 'Fleuve Cendre Purge.'"
"Edward and the others organized resistance, but they were ultimately captured."
"When he was sent into exile in the Sumeru Desert, his companions rescued him and occupied Poisson, continuing their resistance against the Court of Fontaine at the time."
"But in the end, they failed under Fontaine's suppression. Edward, Parsifal the Great, and the town mayor Renault de Petrichor were killed. This event is known in history as the 'Siege of Poisson,' though I prefer to call it the Poisson Massacre."
Clorinde then said, her tone unreadable, "And the ones who carried out the Poisson Massacre back then were the Marechaussee Hunters of that era."
After listening to the history of the Fleuve Cendre, Shao Yun seized the chance to tease, "No wonder the protagonist of The Gunslinger Butcher from Fontaine was written as someone born in the Fleuve Cendre. Fontaine's 'justice' really does breed remarkable figures."
Hearing Shao Yun's jab, Clorinde awkwardly lowered the brim of her hat and defended herself.
"That was a very long time ago—over five hundred years in the past. Under Lady Furina and Lord Neuvillette's leadership, conditions in the Fleuve Cendre are much better now."
"Still, the people of the Fleuve Cendre don't have a very good relationship with the Maison Gardiennage, or even with those who live aboveground in the Court of Fontaine."
Shao Yun waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, Professor Clorinde's history lesson ends here. Let's hurry up and find Lumine and Paimon."
…
The underground world of the Court of Fontaine—the Fleuve Cendre—felt especially dark and damp, having been built atop drainage channels.
However, the environment was surprisingly clean. At the very least, there was no moss growing on the ground or walls.
As for Navia's claim that the residents here were all very friendly… that was somewhat questionable.
Then again, that was probably largely due to Clorinde's presence.
Soon, the two arrived in front of the Spina di Rosula's headquarters, a three-story standalone building.
Above the entrance stood the organization's distinctive, eye-catching emblem.
Instead of knocking, Shao Yun turned and walked toward a rather noisy tavern nearby, intending to gather some information first.
The bartender looked up, coldly swept his gaze over Shao Yun and Clorinde beside him, and warned in an unfriendly tone, "Hey! We don't really welcome Fontaine officials here."
Clearly, the bartender knew Clorinde's identity very well.
Clorinde understood that the remark was aimed at her. She frowned slightly, crossed her arms, and quickly turned her gaze aside.
"I'm here after work as an ordinary citizen. Please just treat me as if I'm invisible…"
Shao Yun got straight to the point and asked the bartender, "I'm looking for Lumine and Paimon. I heard they came to the Fleuve Cendre with Miss Navia. Have you seen them?"
The moment he heard Miss Navia's name, the bartender instantly changed, his face breaking into a broad smile and his tone becoming noticeably enthusiastic.
"You mean the beautiful traveler with dazzling blonde hair and that cute little white companion at her side?"
"They went out together with Miss Navia. I heard they were heading toward the Fountain of Lucine near the Opera Epiclese."
As he spoke, the bartender's expression suddenly turned strange, and he muttered softly,
"Didn't expect two girls to go to a place like that together. Feels kind of odd."
Seemingly worried that his words might offend Shao Yun, the bartender hurriedly added, "Ah, don't misunderstand—I don't mean anything by it."
"It's just that there are too many strange things in this world. But no matter how you look at it, two girls going there together… there's no way a kid would be involved."
Upon hearing that Lumine and Paimon had gone to the Fountain of Lucine, Shao Yun ground his teeth in anger. What were that big one and that little one doing there?!
"Oh no… don't tell me it's what I think. The moment I stop watching you two, you go and cause trouble again."
Seeing Shao Yun's expression, Clorinde thought he had gotten the wrong idea.
"What? Causing trouble? You don't think your wife and Navia are going to…"
Clorinde found it impossible. Navia and Lumine together—how could that be? She'd known Navia since childhood and had never seen her harbor any strange thoughts like that.
From Clorinde's expression, Shao Yun immediately knew she had misunderstood.
"Not that! What are you thinking?!"
With that, he urged her on anxiously, his composure cracking. "Hurry and come with me! If we're any later, something really bad is going to happen!"
…
Just like that, the two hurriedly boarded an aquabus bound for Erinnyes Island.
As the vessel was about to approach Marcotte Station, Clorinde suddenly heard an unusual sound.
Her expression instantly turned grave.
"This is bad. Something's wrong with that sound! It feels like a large number of security meka are mobilizing—and I can hear Navia's weapons firing!"
Hearing this, Shao Yun's heart sank. Damn it. Lumine must have run into serious trouble again.
Thinking of that, he couldn't help but complain bitterly, "I hate Fontaine already. You can only travel by boat here—if we could ride horses, we'd have reached them ages ago!"
When the aquabus docked at the platform, the moment it slowed down, the two leapt off the deck and sprinted toward the Fountain of Lucine.
Along the way, all they could hear was the shrill sound of metal grinding against metal from the security meka.
The air was thick with the sharp stench of gunpowder, creating an indescribably tense atmosphere.
When they finally reached the front of the Fountain of Lucine, the scene before them made both of them suck in a sharp breath.
Lumine and her group were tightly surrounded by a dense mass of security meka.
Although Lumine and the others fought back with all their strength, the sheer numbers of their enemies gradually left them struggling to hold on.
At this critical, life-or-death moment, Clorinde's gaze shifted to the vivid red Vision hanging at Shao Yun's waist.
Without the slightest hesitation, she decisively drew her own one-handed sword—"Absolution."
The blade gleamed with bone-chilling cold light, faintly exuding a power that could not be underestimated.
"Do you understand what I mean?" Clorinde stared at Shao Yun and asked in a low voice.
Shao Yun merely nodded faintly in response, signaling that he understood her intent.
In the next instant, the Electro Vision embedded at Clorinde's neck burst forth with dazzling purple light.
At the same time, she exerted force and launched herself forward.
In less than ten seconds, at a speed that left onlookers stunned, she struck every single security meka present, imbuing them with Electro and coating them in crackling arcs of lightning.
The meka afflicted with Electro slowed dramatically, completely losing their earlier aggression, buying Lumine and the others precious breathing room.
At that very moment, Shao Yun raised John's Cattleman Revolver and aimed it at the nearest security meka.
Simultaneously, the red Vision at his waist flared with brilliant crimson light, and from the eye sockets of the skull ornament connected to it, a black liquid exuding dark vapor slowly began to flow.
The next second, a dark crimson bullet shot out from the barrel, striking its target with pinpoint accuracy.
In an instant, a violent Pyro–Electro reaction erupted!
As the raging Overloaded reaction swept across the field, every security meka detonated in a split second.
Flames shot skyward, thick smoke billowed, and deafening explosions rang out one after another.
Countless shattered parts were blasted into the air like scattering flowers, then rained down with a clatter, forming a storm of debris.
Shao Yun coldly surveyed the wreckage of broken, scattered meka parts littering the ground, his brows knitting slightly.
He glanced down at the skull ornament at his waist, which was still steadily oozing pitch-black liquid.
Shao Yun spat viciously and cursed under his breath, "Oh… damn it!"
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