Just as Neuvillette was hesitating, Navia, Melus, and Silver, who had just returned from destroying a secret laboratory and received news of Vinani's awakening, rushed to the scene.
The trio initially wore expressions of excitement and joy, but halfway there, they heard the sounds of battle. Their faces immediately darkened, and they raced to the scene.
When they entered the room, they saw Vinani lying on the ground, surrounded by Melusines, a gaping hole in her chest, and no signs of life. Their pupils constricted sharply.
Then they noticed Lofan, pinned against the wall by water currents, completely immobilized, his arms stained with blood. A chill gradually settled over them.
Why... why did this happen?!
Seeing Navia and her companions arrive, Neuvillette tightened his grip on his cane.
Vinani seemed to be a new friend of Navia's, and once again, Navia had witnessed someone important die before her eyes...
"Monsieur Neuvillette, what exactly happened here?"
After a long silence, Navia finally spoke, her voice strained as she questioned Neuvillette. He took a deep breath and recounted the earlier events, including Lofan's explanation.
Upon hearing Neuvillette's account, the relief on Navia and her companions' faces was palpable. Thankfully, the situation wasn't as dire as she had feared.
Initially, Navia had believed that Lofan had been mind-controlled and forced to kill Vinani, someone he cared deeply for. If that had been the case, Navia wouldn't have known how to face him.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, I believe Monsieur Henry's words."
"Moreover, I can vouch for him—he too has regained his past memories."
"Perhaps that's why he was able to so easily detect the anomalies here."
"Is this true, Miss Navia?!"
The Melusines' faces lit up with excitement upon hearing Navia's confirmation.
If that were the case, the person who had died before them wasn't Vinani. There was a high probability that Vinani was still alive.
"Mm," Navia nodded, then turned to Lofan.
"Monsieur Henry, given your current predicament, I doubt you'll mind me revealing your secret, will you?"
"No wonder your deductive abilities were so astonishing back then. It wasn't mere deduction at all—or rather, it wasn't solely your own."
"It seems you've uncovered quite a bit during the time I was unaware, Miss Navia," Lofan said with a wry smile, then coughed twice, more blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this, Navia frowned.
"Neuvillette, did you attack Monsieur Henry before uncovering the truth?"
"I apologize. I lost control in the heat of the moment," Neuvillette admitted without argument.
"By the time I realized what I was doing, it was too late to stop."
"I will do everything I can to compensate him for this."
Neuvillette didn't release his grip on Lofan, but he began using Hydro Elemental Power to slowly heal his injuries while ordering someone to fetch the Melusine Doctor.
"Miss Navia, you can't blame Monsieur Neuvillette for this."
"Yes, yes! We were all terrified when we saw what happened!"
"I think Monsieur Neuvillette must have been terribly worried about Vinani's safety, which is why he acted so forcefully."
"We'll treat him immediately!"
Having studied medical knowledge, the Melusine doctor immediately approached Lofan and bowed apologetically.
"We're terribly sorry, Monsieur Henry. Please don't blame Monsieur Neuvillette."
"We'll treat your injuries right away."
With that, the Melusines began to administer basic first aid to Lofan's wounds.
"You've changed so much, Neuvillette," Navia said, turning to give him a deep, scrutinizing look before continuing.
"The old you would never lose control, no matter the circumstances."
"What exactly happened that day? Why is everyone keeping it a secret from me?"
"I apologize."
Neuvillette offered no further explanation, his gaze distant and slightly dazed.
For some reason, Neuvillette suddenly felt a faint unease settling in his heart...
Navia ultimately refrained from pressing Neuvillette about what had happened that day. Whenever she tried to inquire about the situation from the others, they either stammered evasively, deftly changed the subject, or simply fell silent.
Charlotte's report had also selectively omitted certain details from that experience, summarizing the incident as the discovery of human experimentation in a secret stronghold.
In recent days, Navia had destroyed numerous clandestine laboratories, and the horrors she uncovered there filled her with shock and fury. Yet she refused to believe that these discoveries alone could have triggered such a profound transformation in Neuvillette.
"Monsieur Henry," Navia said, turning to Lofan, "it seems you'll need to reveal more information to convince our Chief Justice."
Noticing Lofan's relatively steady breathing, she temporarily set aside her worries about him.
Turning her gaze back to Vinani's corpse, Navia frowned and said, "Regardless, you should have consulted us first."
Lofan gave a wry smile. "That would have been far too risky. You had no way of knowing when they might activate their contingency plan."
"Moreover, I believe that even if I explained the danger to you, you wouldn't have the heart to kill her."
Hearing Lofan's words, Navia pondered for a moment and had to concede. Even if she was absolutely certain this Vinani was a fake, she couldn't bring herself to kill her outright unless the imposter took a threatening action.
Next, Lofan turned his gaze to Neuvillette.
"Monsieur Neuvillette would likely resort to restraining her with his power, but that would be pointless."
At Lofan's use of the word "pointless," Neuvillette's body twitched involuntarily. The word now triggered a sort of PTSD in him. He stared at Lofan, desperately wanting to tell him to stop using that word, but ultimately kept his mouth shut.
Just then, the Melusine Doctor finally arrived. Upon entering the room and witnessing the chaotic scene, she froze in place.
"Please check his injuries first," Neuvillette instructed. The doctor snapped out of her daze, her face pale as she rushed to Lofan's side and began examining his injuries.
Meanwhile, the other Melusines quickly explained the situation to her. Upon hearing their explanation, the Melusine Doctor's hands relaxed, and her complexion improved significantly. However, she still occasionally glanced at "Vinani" lying on the ground before quickly averting her gaze.
Next, Neuvillette summoned several individuals to conduct a thorough examination of "Vinani"'s body, but the results remained unchanged—no anomalies were detected.
This outcome plunged Neuvillette back into deep contemplation. The truth now rested entirely on Lofan's testimony, and while Navia had vouched for him, Neuvillette remained uncertain whether he could fully trust the young man's words.
Though he had sensed a significant change in Vinani's behavior earlier, he couldn't rule out the possibility that she had suffered inhuman abuse and psychological trauma, leading to a drastic shift in her personality.
After prolonged deliberation, Neuvillette finally released Lofan, but kept him within his sight to ensure he couldn't attempt any tricks.
"We must rescue Miss Vinani immediately!" Lofan exclaimed anxiously, the moment his restraints were removed.
After briefly catching his breath, Lofan immediately turned to Navia, asking urgently, "Miss Navia, have you found any clues to Miss Vinani's whereabouts during this time?"
Navia simply shook her head. If she had discovered any clues during that time, she would have immediately suspected the true identity of Vinani, who had been comatose in bed all along.
"I see," Lofan said, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face before he quickly masked it. "Then I'll try questioning the others."
With that, Lofan withdrew his consciousness from his body.
Seeing Lofan in his current state, Neuvillette, who had witnessed similar scenes with Kelly, found himself believing Lofan's words even more. Yet, inexplicably, this only intensified his unease.
At that moment, Silver suddenly spoke with a hint of melancholy:
"To think we went through so much trouble, even risking our lives to save Miss Vinani, only to discover she was a fake."
"So, the murderer's plan from the beginning was just to use this fake Miss Vinani to provoke Monsieur Neuvillette?"
Upon hearing his words, Navia and Neuvillette froze simultaneously, their expressions darkening.
How could the murderer leave a contingency plan on someone who was already doomed to die?!
If Lofan's explanation was true—that he had discovered the murderer's backdoor on this "Vinani" and had to eliminate her before they could react—then everything had just become far more dangerous.
What motive could the murderer have for tampering with a dying person?
Unless... the murderer never intended to kill "Vinani" with the explosion. Perhaps this "Vinani" was the key to stabbing them in the back.
Following this line of reasoning, Kelly, who had proactively revealed herself and led Navia and the others to save "Vinani," became highly suspicious.
Neuvillette finally understood the source of his unease and immediately sought out Lyney's current whereabouts.
When Neuvillette learned that Lyney had made a major breakthrough and mobilized several times his usual forces to launch a full-scale assault on a secret stronghold, he knew Lyney and his team were likely in grave danger.
"What's wrong? Why do you all look so pale?"
At that moment, Lofan regained consciousness and, noticing the group's grim expressions, feigned curiosity and asked.
"Monsieur Henry, my partner might be in danger. I need your help," Navia said.
After a brief pause, Lofan flashed her a confident smile.
"Leave it to me!"
-
On the other side, Lyney's eyelids twitched slightly. After a long moment, he forced himself to open his eyes, enduring the discomfort.
The surrounding environment was pitch black, making it nearly impossible to see anything. Lyney could only vaguely sense that the space around him was vast.
He tried to move, but found himself firmly bound to a chair, completely unable to move.
His Vision had also been taken, and he could no longer sense the presence of Elemental Power.
Lyney shook his head, his memories of what had happened earlier hazy and fragmented.
He vaguely recalled being ambushed by a Fatui soldier from his own team—a soldier who possessed an unnatural and overwhelming power.
Had it been a direct confrontation, Lyney wouldn't have been so easily subdued. The problem was that he had lowered his guard around his own people, never imagining that one of them would betray him.
Clearly, he had fallen into his opponent's trap and was now in grave danger.
But what worried Lyney even more was Lynette's current situation. If there was a traitor within the Fatui, her whereabouts had likely been exposed as well, and she might be in just as perilous a position.
What about the rest of the team? What's their situation? Could they already be...
No, Lyney, stay calm!
Lyney shook his head again, trying to clear his mind.
I have to save them!
Lyney's only hope now lay in his magic props, but with his hands and feet bound, he couldn't move at all, let alone access any of his gear.
The knots were expertly tied—the more he struggled, the tighter they became, leaving him no chance of escape.
After repeated attempts, Lyney finally gave up in frustration.
During his escape attempts, however, Lyney sensed signs of life nearby. By tapping out signals, he confirmed the identities of his companions and exchanged information.
Relief washed over him when he learned that Lynette's team wasn't in this location. This meant Lynette might have avoided danger altogether.
He also learned what had happened after he lost consciousness. When he collapsed, the others had immediately swarmed the traitor in a furious assault.
Though the traitors were ultimately eliminated, various traps had captured the group within the stronghold, and many comrades had fallen in the battle.
We will avenge them!
Lyney soothed the crowd's emotions with rhythmic taps while squinting through the dim light, trying to make out his surroundings.
Just then, bright lights flooded the area.
Blinded by the sudden glare, Lyney struggled to open his eyes for several moments before finally managing to squint them open again.
The place resembled an opera house, with a stage ahead and rows of seats behind him. Many of the seats were occupied by Fatui soldiers, all bound to their chairs and completely immobile, just like Lyney.
A thick curtain hung on the stage, slowly parting to reveal a figure standing in the center.
When Lyney recognized the figure on stage, his face erupted in utter horror.
He saw... the girl named Kelly.