Chapter 206: Furina is Innocent, but the Hydro Archon is Guilty

Navia knew she could expose the true identity of the person standing beside Furina.

It was the Phantom Thief.

But she lacked concrete evidence to prove that "Luna" was indeed the Phantom Thief. Even if she had proof, now wasn't the time to reveal it. This was her final trump card—the one that would shatter the credibility of everything the Phantom Thief had said.

"Let's continue," Navia whispered.

Lumine and Paimon nodded slowly.

This was an incredibly formidable and persistent opponent, but Lumine couldn't afford to back down now.

"Let's get back to the point," Lumine declared. "We accuse Furina of not being a God."

Furina scoffed. "Evidence?"

"The evidence is—" Lumine pointed a finger. "You radiate the aura of a curse!"

This information had been gleaned from their earlier discussions, and Luna herself had confirmed it, as Arlecchino had mentioned.

Furina crossed her arms, unfazed. "So what if I carry the aura of a curse? How do you know I wasn't cursed after becoming a God?"

Paimon scratched her head. "Uh, well... it's just a possibility! Maybe you're a Long-lived Species."

Furina shrugged indifferently. "Without concrete proof that I'm not a God, refrain from slandering me. Do you even comprehend Gods? Do you understand the weight they bear?"

"So what about the curse?" Lumine pressed.

Furina spoke earnestly. "Don't try to deny my status as a God!"

The audience nodded in agreement.

"After all, Gods are beyond our mortal comprehension..."

"Wielding such immense power while shouldering such heavy burdens... it's hardly surprising, is it?"

With Phantom Thief White Cat by her side, Furina felt as if she had an impenetrable shield.

Could it be that they had forged some kind of bond long ago? Had they been working together since Phantom Thief White Cat stole Furina's Tears of the Lady of the Lake?

But there was still room to counterattack.

Navia crossed her arms. "Then, Lady Furina, since you are a God, the Oratrice must be a creation of your own hand. You must also know why it condemned Childe!"

What a move!

Furina suddenly wilted. "Uh, well..."

How am I supposed to know that?! Why don't you ask the mystical Oratrice itself instead of cornering me?

Ah, right... because I'm supposed to be the God Focalors... A headache began to form.

Still, she forced herself to speak.

"Lady Furina genuinely doesn't know why the Oratrice made that judgment," Luna suddenly declared.

Furina's eyes widened. Wait, why did you just tell the truth?!

Did she just admit it? Lumine and Paimon exchanged stunned glances. So straightforward?

Navia frowned. "...That was surprisingly quick."

"So, you're admitting that the Oratrice wasn't created by Archon Furina?" Paimon asked.

"No, we're not," Luna replied with a faint smile. "As everyone knows, the Oratrice has operated independently since its inception, autonomously judging people's crimes."

"To put it another way," she continued, "if a clockwork mechanism malfunctions, does that mean its creator didn't make it?"

"Or do you have evidence to the contrary?"

Evidence... of course, they had none.

No one understood the Oratrice's inner workings or structure, so they couldn't possibly know why it had condemned Childe or who had truly created it.

The only concrete record and claim remained: Furina was the Oratrice's creator.

Without evidence to challenge this "fact," it couldn't be shaken.

However, they still had two trump cards up their sleeves.

"Since Furina is the Hydro Archon Focalors, could you demonstrate your divine power for us?" Lumine requested.

"Or perhaps," Paimon added skeptically, "you can't even wield basic Hydro Elemental Power, let alone an Archon's Authority?"

This was their first fatal weakness.

If Furina truly wasn't a God, she wouldn't be able to wield Hydro Elemental Power.

Furina had barely begun to breathe a sigh of relief when the request struck her like a bolt of lightning.

Divine power?

She didn't possess any such thing. Furina couldn't help but cast a pleading glance at Luna, who whispered softly, "Just deny it."

The crux of this trial lay in proving Furina's humanity. That was their only leverage. If they could dismantle this line of reasoning, the outcome of the entire trial would be sealed.

Furina nodded slightly.

Hmm... Just deny it? Let me think... She cleared her throat and declared, "Divine power stems from faith. Your collective belief in justice has been transformed into divine power. I have channeled all my divine power into a single purpose: to avert the prophesied catastrophe!"

"It simply hasn't taken effect yet!"

It was a flimsy answer, and Furina knew it. But her opponents were equally vulnerable.

"Then tell me," Furina continued, raising her voice, "if I am not the Hydro Archon, where is the true Hydro Archon? Do you have any evidence that a 'true Hydro Archon' even exists?"

Indeed, no one could prove she wasn't a god.

There was no evidence to prove she wasn't an Archon.

But what if they approached it from the opposite angle?

Navia slammed her hand on the table. "We can't prove you're not an Archon, but we can prove you're human!"

"I request to present the experimental apparatus!"

Neuvillette nodded. "Request approved."

Navia clapped her hands. "Melus, Silver!"

Melus and Silver wheeled a basin onto the stage and placed it at the center. The liquid inside shimmered with an unnatural brilliance, clearly not ordinary water. It was water from the Primordial Sea.

Furina's expression darkened. Could this be...?

"Lady Furina," Navia began, "this is seawater from Poisson. As some of you may know, Poisson recently suffered a disaster."

"Several familiar faces dissolved in these very waters."

"If you insist on being an Archon, touching this Primordial Sea should have no effect on you! Only ordinary Fontainians dissolve in it."

Navia spoke earnestly. "Of course, we don't want to see anyone else dissolve in this water."

"...Confessing your crimes often brings relief."

Relief?

Yes, admitting everything would bring relief, but it would also mean giving up.

Furina pressed her lips into a firm line.

"Lady Furina," Luna's voice drew her back to reality. "Remember what we discussed? You'll be alright."

What we discussed?

Right. Luna had long ago warned her that this moment might come. All Furina could do—all she had to do—was push open the door behind her and step onto the center of the stage.

"Trust me, Furina," Luna urged again.

Clutching her chest, Furina nodded faintly. "I will."

But only this once.

She turned and decisively pushed open the door behind her.

This was the door leading to the heart of the stage, the critical gateway that would determine the final outcome.

Soon, Furina stood beside the basin of Primordial Sea water.

Neuvillette spoke up. "Lady Furina, this trial is merely a unilateral claim by the prosecution. You have the right to refuse."

"No, I don't."

Refusing the trial would be tantamount to admitting she wasn't a God.

Refusing the trial would mean the plan would fail.

Furina stared into the Primordial Seawater.

What was happening? Was she really going to put her hand in?

This was completely different from what they had predicted. Panic crept onto Navia's face.

Could it be that concealing her identity as an Archon was more important than her own life?

The next moment, Furina plunged her hand into the basin of water.

She actually did it!

But... she didn't dissolve? The audience gasped, stunned into silence.

"See? I haven't dissolved," Furina declared, holding up her hand.

Neuvillette frowned slightly. "Miss Sigewinne, please come forward."

Head Nurse Sigewinne stepped onto the stage.

"Just a moment, let me take a look..."

Sigewinne carefully examined Furina.

"Huh?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Paimon asked anxiously.

"Nothing..."

"Nothing?"

Sigewinne looked bewildered. "Lady Furina's skin is perfectly normal, and she isn't breathing rapidly. She shows absolutely no signs of being affected by the diluted Primordial Sea water."

The water in the basin was a diluted solution mixed with purified water, essentially the same as Sinthe. Direct contact would only cause temporary skin and respiratory irritation in Fontainians, not life-threatening harm. This had already been confirmed by Freminet's examination results at the Fortress of Meropide.

Navia stared in disbelief. "This... how is this possible?"

Logically, there should have been a reaction.

If Furina were human, she'd most likely be a Fontainian. It's hard to imagine her being from another country, isn't it? But if the test results are what they are...

Then we can't prove Furina is human.

Nor can we prove she isn't a God.

Furina smiled faintly, turned, and walked back behind the door. Moments later, a confident Furina emerged from the corridor behind Luna.

"How's that? Now you're truly out of ideas, aren't you?" she said, glancing at Luna.

In truth, the person who had descended onto the stage earlier wasn't her at all.

Following Luna's instructions, she had hidden in a secret compartment in the corridor, waiting for the opportune moment. How Luna had pulled this off was completely beyond Furina.

Luna winked playfully at her, and Furina's cheeks flushed slightly.

Wait, this isn't a reaction to Primordial Sea water! She immediately suppressed her inner turmoil.

[Masked Puppet (LV: 2/2): You can create a puppet body indistinguishable from a living human, devoid of consciousness but capable of autonomous movement. While controlling the puppet, you cannot use other abilities. Its appearance can be freely customized—but don't do anything weird with it. Humans shouldn't do such things.]

While Furina hid in a secret compartment in the hallway, Luna deployed the Masked Puppet, which had been prepared in advance and disguised as Furina, to take her place.

The puppet was impervious to the Primordial Sea water and showed no reaction when exposed to it.

But this also meant the Judgment had reached its conclusion.

The entire courtroom fell silent.

Their final trump card had failed, instead providing powerful evidence in Furina's favor.

The Oratrice had completely sided with Furina.

Which meant...

"We've lost?" Paimon asked, unable to accept it.

Navia remained silent, her fists clenched.

She still had one last card to play: her identity as the Phantom Thief White Cat.

The "Luna" present was actually the Phantom Thief in disguise.

By revealing this, they could leverage the White Cat's demonstrated abilities to continue the defense.

Navia turned to Luna.

"Do you... want to save Fontaine?" she asked hesitantly.

Luna smiled. "Yes."

By this method?

By making them our enemies?

Navia lowered her head.

"...I still don't understand."

Navia fell silent for a moment.

"...But I'll trust you just this once."

If Phantom Thief White Cat were truly cold-blooded and ruthless, she wouldn't be hunting down sinners or saving the residents of Poisson. Perhaps she had another way, or perhaps she knew everything all along.

But the most important thing was—they had failed.

Furina felt a pang of guilt. These people had only wanted to save Fontaine, but...

"I feel the same way," she murmured.

But don't worry, I'll save everyone...

She lifted her chin.

"I believe the Judgment has been reached. Neuvillette, do what you must," Furina declared, hands on her hips.

Neuvillette paused briefly before nodding.

"Then let us proceed to the sentencing phase."

"In my capacity as Chief Justice, I hereby declare Furina... not guilty."

"Now, let the Oratrice render its final verdict."

He tapped his staff.

The Oratrice reactivated, transforming the entirety of this trial—or perhaps this drama—into pure energy, delivering its ultimate judgment.

Neuvillette picked up the slip of paper.

"The Hydro Archon... is guilty."

Furina froze. "What?"

Guilty?

Navia and the others exclaimed in disbelief, "Guilty? But the defense just now—"

They had won.

"Not again?"

"It's just like what happened with Childe..."

"What's going on?"

Neuvillette's expression turned grave. "The sentence is... death."