Ch 18 : Jet-black flames
Facing the pitch-black bullet speeding toward him, Neuvillette turned his head to look.
With just a wave of his hand, a wall of water formed behind him.
However, to everyone's surprise, this seemingly impenetrable water wall did nothing to stop the bullet!
Neuvillette showed a slightly surprised expression and tilted his head just in time—the bullet grazed past his cheek, whizzing by before striking the wall behind him.
The impact shattered the surface, producing a loud crash as thick black smoke billowed out.
A thin scratch appeared on Neuvillette's cheek, and a few drops of blood seeped out...
"So this is that eerie power?" Neuvillette spoke slowly.
"Indeed… unknown, powerful, unfathomable…"
"Hahaha… What a pity! I almost blew your head off, Neuvillette!"
Chevreuse opened her mouth and laughed maniacally, her sharp fangs making her look terrifying.
"Let me handle this!" Wriothesley declared, rolling forward swiftly.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small container of unknown substance, and threw it toward Chevreuse!
Chevreuse had no idea what it was, so she chose to shoot it down!
The container shattered instantly, releasing a mysterious liquid that scattered like a blooming flower, engulfing the space in front of Chevreuse.
Wriothesley's gauntlet transformed in an instant, operating at full power.
A surge of intense Cryo energy burst forth, reacting with the liquid and freezing it solid!
"Not enough!" Wriothesley understood that because the container had detonated too far away, it hadn't completely frozen Chevreuse.
However, the frozen wall of ice in front of her was enough to block her vision and movement!
Without hesitation, Wriothesley swiftly dashed forward, closing the distance between him and Chevreuse in an instant.
He pulled out another container and shattered it with a powerful punch!
In Chevreuse's shocked gaze, the liquid inside burst forth, enveloping her entire body.
In the blink of an eye, it solidified into ice—Chevreuse was now frozen into an ice sculpture!
"Wriothesley, I thought you only knew how to throw punches," Neuvillette remarked calmly as he observed the scene.
Wriothesley chuckled and waved a hand dismissively.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, no need to be so surprised."
"I've been practicing this move for a long time—pretty cool, right?"
Neuvillette: …
"Your Grace! Your Grace!!"
Just then, urgent knocking sounded from outside the door.
"We heard what sounded like gunfire coming from your office, but the door isn't locked—why can't we open it?"
Since Chevreuse had been frozen right at the doorway, the ice had sealed the office shut, making it impossible to open.
"Oh… so that's what you're worried about?" Wriothesley called out to the people outside.
"Relax, it's nothing serious. Captain Chevreuse was just giving me a lesson on gunplay."
"But… Your Grace, firing a gun indoors carries the risk of ricochets. Wouldn't it be safer to practice in a more open space?" The person outside still sounded concerned.
"Relax, relax! Do you guys really think you know more about guns than Captain Chevreuse? Alright, alright, go back to your own duties, no need to worry about us!" Wriothesley said.
Only then did the people outside gradually leave.
"Your subordinates care about you a lot," Neuvillette nodded.
"That means you've treated them well. Since Sigewinne is under your care, I can rest assured."
"Now then, Su Yuan, what exactly is going on with Chevreuse?" Neuvillette turned to look at Su Yuan and asked.
Su Yuan then proceeded to share the new intelligence he had gathered today with Neuvillette.
"Of course, excluding the restriction on my own rollback count."
After listening, Neuvillette nodded thoughtfully.
"When Chevreuse came to see me early this morning, the barrel of the gun on her back was pointed downward. That suggests she was already under the influence of the eerie force at that time."
"But her behavior was completely normal—I didn't notice any difference at all… Perhaps it's because I don't interact with her often and don't know her well enough to spot any changes."
"As Su Yuan mentioned, the eerie ones are adept at disguise. They don't easily reveal themselves in front of ordinary people," Wriothesley added.
"Even though Chevreuse had already been controlled, she only exposed her true nature after stepping into this room."
"Su Yuan, based on your intel, we now understand the conditions for Sigewinne's transformation. That's good—we can take precautions. But the information on Chevreuse is still unclear, just like Furina's. We need to investigate further," Neuvillette said.
"Speaking of which, how is Furina now?" Su Yuan asked.
"When she woke up yesterday, she said she wanted to see you, but I refused. You were still seriously injured at the time and needed to recover. I couldn't let Furina see you in that state, or else the truth would have been exposed…" Neuvillette mused.
"After that, last night, she stayed in her suite the whole time—she didn't go anywhere, and nothing unusual happened."
Su Yuan nodded and continued asking, "Exposed? Exposed what?"
Neuvillette continued, "After returning with Chevreuse, I held a press conference and falsely claimed that yesterday's incident was a training exercise. To ensure the utmost realism, we didn't notify any departments in advance. But if Furina were to see you severely injured, that lie would fall apart instantly."
"To be honest, lying doesn't sit well with me—it goes against the sense of justice I hold dear… But in order to deal with the eerie forces and minimize the impact, there was no other choice," Neuvillette said with a hint of helplessness.
"Su Yuan, once you've recovered a bit more, I'll arrange a meeting between you and Furina," Neuvillette looked at Su Yuan.
"I can tell she's worried about you."
Su Yuan immediately felt a warm sensation in his heart and thought to himself, Furina is worried about me… That means she does care about me… I'm so happy…
I just wonder… after we clear up the misunderstandings and have a deeper conversation, will I finally be able to get rid of the title 'Mr. Pervert'…?
But suddenly, Su Yuan felt that something was off…
Feeling warmth in his heart was one thing, but why was his whole body getting warm?
More than that, the air around him was growing hotter as well…
Su Yuan glanced at Neuvillette and Wriothesley, only to find that both of them were staring at the door with serious expressions.
Following their gaze, Su Yuan turned his head—only to see that Chevreuse was now engulfed in flames…
However, these flames were not the fiery red of ordinary blazes. Instead, they were pitch-black—dark enough to swallow all light and hope…
The ice encasing Chevreuse was melting at a visibly rapid pace.
"Tch… Pyro Vision wielders are always such a pain to freeze solid," Wriothesley clicked his tongue in frustration, clearly displeased.
"Looks like we'll need to have the Fontaine Institute refine and improve this solution again…"
"Su Yuan, step back and head upstairs. Leave this to us," Neuvillette glanced at Su Yuan and ordered.
(Author's Note: I just realized while writing this that Wriothesley's office actually has two levels, and the main office area is technically on the upper floor in-game… I'm too lazy to go back and change the earlier parts, so let's just roll with this minor adjustment. It doesn't affect the story or readability—thanks for understanding! o(╥﹏╥)o)
"You really thought these pathetic little ice blocks could keep me frozen, Wriothesley…?"
Chevreuse let out an eerie laugh, her mouth dripping with fresh red liquid as she made disturbing, unsettling noises…
The black flames surged higher and hotter.
In an instant, the ice had been completely incinerated.
Chevreuse brought her gun to her lips and ran her long, barbed tongue along the barrel, licking it slowly…
Her hollow, blood-red eyes widened as she stared at Wriothesley and Neuvillette.
"Wriothesley… your strong, scar-covered body must have such an interesting taste…"
"And Neuvillette… I wonder what the heart of an Hydro Dragon Sovereign really tastes like…!!!"
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