Chapter 104. Faruzan Brought People
"The Anemo Gnosis? Hehehe..."
Scaramouche let out a scornful laugh.
Of course, he knew about the Anemo Gnosis. After all, he had suffered greatly because of it. Had Futsu Mitama not been empowered by the Anemo Gnosis back then, Scaramouche believed he would have subdued him long ago.
"So Dottore finally told you."
Looking at La Signora with amused eyes, Scaramouche found the situation unexpectedly entertaining.
When he first discovered that the Anemo Gnosis had fallen into Futsu Mitama's hands, his immediate impulse had not simply been to reclaim it.
He had also wanted to laugh.
Everyone within the Fatui knew that the Harbingers shared little camaraderie with one another.
Aside from the straightforward, battle-obsessed Tartaglia, relationships among the Harbingers were, at best, strained.
Scaramouche himself was the perfect example. His reputation within the Fatui was abysmal, and even the agents serving under him lived in constant fear, never daring to speak carelessly in his presence.
Back then, upon learning the truth about the Anemo Gnosis, his first thought had been to inform La Signora—not out of goodwill, but simply to mock her.
She had spent so much time carrying out miscellaneous operations in Mondstadt. Yet while she was busy there, the most important prize of all—the Anemo Gnosis—had quietly slipped from Barbatos' hands and into Futsu Mitama's.
Just imagining the expression on her face after learning that truth had been enough to amuse him.
Unfortunately, before he had the chance, Futsu Mitama had nearly beaten him to death.
Although Dottore ultimately saved him, the following six months had been spent either recovering from his injuries or serving as the primary test subject for the God Creation Project within the Akademiya.
For all practical purposes, Scaramouche had been isolated from the outside world for half a year.
As a result, he knew nothing of how much stronger Futsu Mitama had become during that time.
"Yes."
La Signora's expression darkened.
Neither Scaramouche nor Dottore had told her the truth for half an entire year.
The implication was obvious.
The two of them had deliberately treated her as a disposable pawn.
Still...there was nothing she could do about it.
The Anemo Gnosis was no longer in the hands of that useless drunkard Barbatos.
It belonged to Futsu Mitama now.
There was no point going after an Archon who no longer possessed the Gnosis. That was why she had remained in Sumeru, waiting for an opportunity to seize it from Futsu Mitama instead.
"In that case..."
Scaramouche looked at both Azar and La Signora with detached indifference.
"Come with me. You two are still somewhat useful. Futsu Mitama has never fought alone. The people around him are troublesome enough that I can't simply ignore them."
"Even though I have now become an Archon, crushing that Adeptus Disciple and that maid would still require some effort."
Speaking of which, Scaramouche suddenly recalled something. He turned toward the Lady with a trace of curiosity in his eyes and asked, "Speaking of them... are they dead? If they are, then Futsu Mitama's maid's strength will probably increase significantly."
The people he was referring to were naturally Aila and Black Aila.
Scaramouche knew very well that Futsu Mitama was never someone who acted alone. He always had two companions by his side.
One was his personal maid.
The other was an Adeptus Disciple from Liyue.
Scaramouche did not know the exact strength of Futsu Mitama's personal maid, but Black Aila was undoubtedly powerful. Regardless of whether she succeeded or failed, the maid who ultimately survived would experience a substantial increase in strength.
Even if she did not step into the Demon God Realm, she would not be far from that level.
That was why Scaramouche had asked the Lady and Azar to assist him.
Half a year ago, Scaramouche had fought against Futsu Mitama and Shenhe. If Shenhe had not consumed such a large portion of his strength during that battle, Futsu Mitama might not have been able to defeat him.
"Did you not hear what I said?"
The Lady gritted her teeth as she stared at Scaramouche, her expression filled with disbelief and irritation.
"I said Futsu Mitama has entered the Demon God Realm!!!"
For a moment, the Lady wondered if Scaramouche had truly gone insane because of all those experiments.
Had he really not understood what she had just said?
"Are you not afraid of Futsu Mitama's methods?"
Unlike the furious Lady, Azar was not angry. Instead, he looked at Scaramouche with curiosity.
Scaramouche was completely disregarding Futsu Mitama. Could it be that his current strength had already reached an unimaginable level?
"Afraid? Why should I be afraid?"
Scaramouche sneered, his expression arrogant.
"He is nothing more than a rat. I have become an Archon. He possesses the Anemo Gnosis, and I possess the Electro Gnosis. If he had not become an Archon yet, I would simply teach him a lesson on behalf of Beelzebub. But now that he has also reached this level..."
"That is even better."
"I have always longed to fight against existences of equal standing. The Archon War, that battlefield countless beings once looked forward to, has already become history. There are now very few Demon Gods remaining in Teyvat."
"Currently, Sumeru has Futsu Mitama and Buer. That will finally give me something interesting to do."
As if recalling something, Scaramouche revealed a cruel smile.
He had never truly feared Futsu Mitama.
Six months ago, he had always believed that his defeat was not because he was inferior. It was because Shenhe had drained too much of his strength. Futsu Mitama himself had relied on the Anemo Gnosis to obtain divine power, allowing him to defeat Scaramouche.
Without Shenhe's assistance and without the blessing of the Anemo Gnosis, what could Futsu Mitama possibly use to fight him?
And now—
Futsu Mitama's entry into the Demon God Realm was exactly what Scaramouche wanted.
Only now could they truly fight to the death.
Their strength was finally equal.
Whatever advantages Futsu Mitama possessed, Scaramouche possessed as well.
Futsu Mitama had the Anemo Gnosis.
He had the Electro Gnosis.
Futsu Mitama had Shenhe and other Adeptus Disciples supporting him.
He had Azar and the Lady.
Even Dottore would eventually target that former experiment of his—the puppet who had once escaped his grasp.
How could Scaramouche possibly ignore such a perfect opportunity? Did they truly think he was foolish?
No. He understood everything clearly.
"This..."
Azar's expression became troubled.
If Scaramouche was only planning to target Futsu Mitama, he could still understand. But now, the other party was also mentioning the Archon War and even discussing dealing with Buer.
Although Azar had always looked down on this seemingly useless Archon, she still possessed the Dendro Gnosis.
If they truly wanted to deal with her—
They would inevitably have to activate Maha Rukkhadevata's meditation device, allowing her consciousness to escape.
Regardless of whether Scaramouche possessed a method to kill her, the Dendro Gnosis in her possession meant the safety of the Akasha System was also connected to her.
If this so-called useless Archon became enraged and used the Dendro Gnosis to shut down—or even destroy—the Akasha System—
Then the Akademiya's greatest achievement would disappear, and the consequences would be impossible to predict.
"Are you insane?"
The Lady was now completely convinced that Scaramouche had truly lost his mind because of Dottore's experiments.
"Fight Futsu Mitama? Leaving aside whether you can win—even if you can! Do you realize what openly taking the Anemo Gnosis from him means? You would be announcing to the entire world that the Fatui's objective is the Gnosis!"
"Once that happens, the Archons of other nations will inevitably become cautious."
"Not to mention whether the Anemo Archon Barbatos will take action after learning that his Gnosis was stolen. No one knows what he would do."
If possible, the Lady naturally wanted to secretly obtain the Anemo Gnosis from Futsu Mitama.
That way, even if Futsu Mitama and Barbatos attempted to exert public pressure afterward, they would still have room to handle the situation.
But openly taking it was completely different.
That was why the Lady believed Scaramouche had truly lost his mind.
"Heh."
Scaramouche merely sneered.
He did not bother responding.
The Lady had no idea what he had experienced six months ago.
If she had gone through the same thing, perhaps she would not be standing there making sarcastic remarks.
And...
Futsu Mitama was the successor acknowledged by Beelzebub. The next Electro Archon.
Hahahaha—
Just thinking about it made Scaramouche's heart twist with resentment.
He wanted nothing more than to fight Futsu Mitama immediately. He wanted Beelzebub to see clearly. He wanted her to see how her chosen successor—
Would lose to him.
"The time is not right yet. Stop speaking nonsense, Scaramouche."
At that moment, Dottore appeared.
He looked at Scaramouche calmly and continued,
"Your current form is still incomplete. Your confrontation with Futsu Mitama will happen sooner or later. However... right now, you are still not his opponent."
Dottore had personally exchanged blows with Futsu Mitama before, so he naturally had a rough understanding of Futsu Mitama's current strength.
Although Scaramouche could be considered to have stepped into the Demon God Realm even proclaimed himself as an Archon, he was still too naive.
The Electro Gnosis he possessed—
It was merely something forcibly activated through the Akademiya's methods. It had been implanted into Shouki no Kami, The Prodigal, as an energy source, allowing the enormous mechanical body to operate smoothly.
Without relying on Shouki no Kami, Scaramouche would probably only be capable of bullying Buer, an Archon who had been imprisoned for five hundred years and had little experience in direct combat.
Against Futsu Mitama?
That would simply be seeking his own destruction.
Even among Archons, there were differences in strength.
Dottore had never cared about weaker Archons.
But the truly powerful ones, such as Barbatos, Beelzebub, and Morax—
Those were existences he would not casually provoke.
As victors of the Archon War, their strength was something Dottore had a general understanding of.
This was also why, after completing his objectives in Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma, he had left without hesitation, leaving the remaining trivial matters to others.
Once the main objective had been accomplished, why would he remain there? To wait for those Archons to come and settle their accounts with him?
Scaramouche narrowed his eyes as he stared at Dottore.
If anyone else had told him that he was inferior to Futsu Mitama, Scaramouche would likely have summoned lightning without hesitation and taught them a lesson.
Because he absolutely refused to accept anyone saying that he was inferior to Futsu Mitama.
This had already become an obsession.
Originally, that obsession had been directed toward the Shogun.
Now, it had shifted to Futsu Mitama.
There was no helping it.
Raiden Ei treated Futsu Mitama so well that anyone could easily mistake him for her own biological son.
Scaramouche had once been deeply jealous of the Shogun. Now, he was jealous of Futsu Mitama.
Why was it that he could obtain everything from Beelzebub?
However, the person standing before him now was Dottore. Because of that, Scaramouche could only suppress his anger.
No matter what, Dottore was still someone he considered his "benefactor."
Although Dottore coveted his body and had conducted countless experiments on him, in a certain sense, he had indeed given Scaramouche the power he desired.
After leaving Inazuma, it was Dottore who took him in and provided him with strength. Although Scaramouche understood that the other party was merely using him—
He was still somewhat grateful.
Therefore, despite never admitting it openly, Scaramouche still held a certain degree of respect and fear toward Dottore.
"Meddlesome."
Scaramouche spoke coldly.
However, his attitude clearly showed that he no longer intended to seek out Futsu Mitama immediately.
Seeing this, Dottore naturally understood that Scaramouche would not act recklessly, and he nodded in satisfaction. If Scaramouche had insisted on challenging Futsu Mitama at this moment, Dottore would have found the situation troublesome.
After all, although there were differences in strength between Demon Gods, Dottore could not confidently claim that he could easily defeat Scaramouche in his current state.
It was good enough that Scaramouche was willing to listen.
Dottore then turned his gaze toward Azar and the Lady.
"I already know what Futsu Mitama intends to do."
Hearing this, Azar and the Lady's eyes immediately brightened.
They had been troubled by this matter for quite some time, yet they never expected that Dottore had already discovered Futsu Mitama's plans.
"What is it?"
The Lady looked at Dottore impatiently. If there was anyone here who was most concerned about Futsu Mitama's intentions—
It was undoubtedly her.
The Lady was far too invested in obtaining the Anemo Gnosis.
Azar did not say anything, but he also turned his attention toward Dottore, equally curious about what Futsu Mitama had been planning recently.
"Your trouble has already arrived."
Dottore looked at Azar with a faint smile.
"?"
Azar was confused.
He did not understand what Dottore meant.
Dottore looked at him calmly and continued, "To be honest, I did not expect their actions to be this swift. According to my estimation, it should have taken more than ten days for them to successfully build enough momentum."
"Even after that, once their preparations were complete and our experiment had succeeded, I still did not expect—their actions would begin so quickly."
"Interesting."
"Is someone else assisting them from the shadows? To be honest, I cannot think of anyone in Teyvat who could accomplish this within such a short period of time."
Dottore's mysterious words caused Azar, the Lady, and Scaramouche to all frown slightly.
Dottore was excellent in almost every aspect.
Except for one thing.
His habit of speaking in riddles was extremely irritating.
What was the point of all this? Just explain it clearly!
Everyone was already in a hurry.
Just as Azar was about to continue questioning Dottore about Futsu Mitama's plans, he suddenly received a message from one of his students.
"What is happening?"
Azar frowned.
He had not expected his student to contact him through the Akasha System at this moment. Had he not clearly instructed them that they were not to contact him unless it was an emergency?
The God Creation Project had reached a critical stage recently.
Azar thought this, but he still accepted the message immediately.
If the student could not provide a reasonable explanation—
Then punishment would be necessary.
[This is bad!!! Teacher!!! Senior Faruzan has brought people to block the entrance of the Akademiya! Not only Senior Faruzan!!! Renowned scholars from all Six Schools have arrived as well!!! They are all demanding an explanation from you!!!]
[The God Creation Project has been exposed, and the experiments we conducted within Sumeru City have also been revealed!!!!]
As Azar read the three messages, his pupils contracted slightly.
His expression changed completely.
"How is this possible?! This cannot be!!!"
For the first time in a long while, Azar lost his composure.
He had never expected that in merely three days, Faruzan would return to Sumeru City with a group of renowned scholars from the Six Schools and stand before the Akademiya.
How was this possible?
Just the time required to travel and gather scholars from various regions should have taken at least half a month.
This was precisely why Azar had never been too concerned about Faruzan leaving Sumeru City.
But reality had struck him with overwhelming force.
Faruzan had returned.
And she had brought the most influential scholars of the Six Schools with her.