"Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, I can already vaguely sense Irminsul's specific condition."
With Nahida's power now significantly stronger, re-establishing her connection to Irminsul wasn't too difficult.
However, the real challenge was just beginning. So much time had passed; Dr. Edward must have already corrupted a large portion of Irminsul.
Nahida judged that Dr. Edward likely couldn't corrupt Irminsul entirely. He would probably only target a specific part—the section that governed the fates of millions of people.
If they didn't act quickly, Dr. Edward's plan might already be complete.
"According to the information Irminsul is sending me, a considerable portion has already been corrupted."
"Although Irminsul itself is resisting, it's already in a weakened state due to the Forbidden Knowledge. Its ability to fight back is extremely limited."
Nahida relayed this information to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, simultaneously broadcasting it through the Akasha to everyone in Sumeru.
Having just learned that this battle would determine the fates of countless Sumerians, many who had previously removed their Akasha Terminals put them back on. Nearly the entire population of Sumeru was now watching this decisive battle unfold.
"Nahida, can you sense the current level of Forbidden Knowledge contamination within Irminsul?"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's question clearly caught Nahida off guard. She immediately focused her senses, only to discover, to her utter shock, that the Forbidden Knowledge was steadily diminishing.
"It seems... the Forbidden Knowledge is being corrupted along with everything else..."
As she spoke these words, not only Nahida but even the worldly-wise Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was stunned.
She had only asked about the Forbidden Knowledge out of thoroughness, never expecting to find something truly abnormal happening to it.
The Forbidden Knowledge... not even she, a god, could fully cleanse it, even at the cost of her own life. Even Deshret had perished fighting it back then. And yet, now, a power existed in Teyvat that could corrupt the Forbidden Knowledge itself. How could she not be utterly shocked?
If they had possessed such power back then, they never would have suffered so terribly at the hands of the Forbidden Knowledge.
"Could it be... the same power from that time?"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata suddenly recalled the moment Dr. Edward had stripped her from Irminsul. A mysterious force had swallowed her whole, then spat her out. When it was over, she was clean—the contamination of Forbidden Knowledge and her remaining power were gone, leaving only her purest consciousness, her connection to Irminsul completely severed.
Thinking back, the power that had extracted her from Irminsul must be the same one Nahida was witnessing now.
If Dr. Edward hadn't explicitly stated his plan, she might have even suspected he was here to save Irminsul.
"If they can cleanse the contamination within Irminsul, then expelling their consciousness from it can wait for now."
Hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words, Nahida realized the same thing. She hadn't expected Sumeru to turn this disaster into a blessing—even the contamination of the Forbidden Knowledge could be completely cleansed.
This meant that if they could thwart Dr. Edward's plan, Sumeru's crisis would be resolved effortlessly!
With this thought, Nahida proactively began feeding the contaminated parts of Irminsul to Scaramouche, letting him devour them.
Although the Forbidden Knowledge suddenly presenting itself seemed highly abnormal, Scaramouche's mind was consumed by nothing but revenge and the desire for power. No matter how much Forbidden Knowledge appeared before him, he devoured it all, the Power of Nihility within him growing ever stronger.
"Dottore, killing you a thousand times won't be enough!"
"I'll hack your filthy body apart! Slice it! Mince it!"
Meanwhile, Dottore, who was rushing toward Port Ormos, suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold, as if some entity had locked its gaze on him. His already unstable aura from his injuries nearly caused him to collapse.
With his numerous enemies, Dottore was accustomed to such feelings and paid them little mind.
He was confident he could easily escape even if a lesser god had targeted him.
After steadying himself, Dottore continued rushing toward Port Ormos.
"My Eleazar is cured!"
Just as everyone was nervously watching the two figures in the Akasha, a shriek—so excited it was almost uncontrollably sharp—pierced many people's eardrums.
Many immediately shot angry glares in the direction of the voice. Didn't this person know how rude it was to interrupt someone watching a good show?!
But then, everyone froze.
What... what had they just heard?
Eleazar is cured?!!
"For real? No way!"
Not a single person believed it at first. Even when the person who had shouted unwrapped all the bandages from their arm, revealing healthy skin, the crowd couldn't accept it as fact. But soon...
"My Eleazar is cured too!"
To everyone's astonishment, another person's Eleazar had been cured. Many people remembered this individual from before—sitting on a roadside bench, pale and listless, looking half-dead.
And now, they were suddenly leaping a meter into the air to express their inner cheers and joy. Does this even make sense?
"The scales on my body are fading away!"
"What's happening? My body feels so light!"
As soon as the first person announced their recovery from Eleazar, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Soon, cries of tearful excitement erupted across Sumeru.
Many people broke down into loud sobs, seemingly trying to release all the pain and grievances they had endured over the years.
"It must be Lesser Lord Kusanali! Lesser Lord Kusanali saved us!"
As for why no one attributed this to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, it was because she had previously revealed that she no longer possessed her power. Otherwise, many would have risked Nahida's wrath to restore Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to her throne.
Dunyarzad gazed at her arm, its skin now smooth and delicate once more. Tears streamed down her face, splattering on the ground below.
It's really cured!
Dr. Edward had told her he'd found a way to cure Eleazar, but now that it had actually happened, Dunyarzad couldn't contain her overwhelming emotions.
"Congratulations, Miss," Dehya said, her voice filled with sincere warmth as she saw Dunyarzad's restored health. She offered her shoulder.
The next moment, Dunyarzad leaned against Dehya and broke down into uncontrollable sobs.
After what felt like an eternity, Dunyarzad finally managed to suppress her emotions and pulled away from Dehya's shoulder.
Seeing the wet patch her tears had left, she felt a pang of embarrassment and couldn't bring herself to meet Dehya's eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'll go get you a change of clothes."
"Don't bother," Dehya said, stopping her. A sudden wave of heat radiated from her body, quickly evaporating the moisture from her clothes.
Just then, Dunyarzad's parents rushed over. Seeing their daughter's healthy body, they ran to her, overcome with emotion, and embraced her tightly, weeping.
When a child is sick, how could the parents' hearts ache any less than the child's?
The emotional atmosphere made Dunyarzad's eyes well up with tears once more.
It took a long time for the family to calm down. Afterward, Dunyarzad's parents began to thank Nahida profusely.
"It must have been Lesser Lord Kusanali who saved our daughter!"
"The Homayani Family can never repay this debt of gratitude!"
Dunyarzad simply smiled at her parents' words, offering no explanation.
In her heart, however, she believed Dr. Edward was the one who had cured her Eleazar. After all, he had promised her he would.
Even now, knowing that Dr. Edward was willing to sacrifice millions of lives in Sumeru—a sacrifice that could include herself, her family, and her friends—she found it impossible to truly hate him. He was doing it to save Teyvat, after all...
Through the Akasha, Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata learned of the changes happening to the people of Sumeru. Instantly, radiant smiles bloomed on both their faces.
Not only was Eleazar disappearing, but the Withering Zones—which had brought endless trouble and countless casualties to Sumeru's wilderness—were also vanishing one by one. It wouldn't be long before Sumeru could finally leave this painful chapter of its history behind.
However, if she failed to stop Dr. Edward's plan, Sumeru would pay an even greater price.
Nahida would never allow that to happen—not even if it cost her own life!
As she watched the Forbidden Knowledge within Irminsul dwindle, Nahida knew it was time to reveal herself and confront him directly.
While he had been devouring the Forbidden Knowledge, Nahida had been deepening her connection with Irminsul. Because she was inherently a part of the World Tree, she succeeded.
In that moment, Nahida received Irminsul's sensations and emotions. When she saw the frenzied, demonic figure of Scaramouche, she froze in shock.
Why is it him?
Where's Dr. Edward? And No. 2?
At that moment, Neuvillette relayed the intelligence he had gathered. He had returned to Irminsul's location and immediately spotted three new pitch-black eggs on the World Tree.
Without needing much deduction, Neuvillette guessed that Dr. Edward and the other two were inside the Pitch-Black Eggs.
He also conveyed his intentions: if Nahida's plan failed, he would attempt to destroy the three eggs—and even the corrupted parts of Irminsul itself.
Although such an act might cause many deaths, he had no choice when millions of lives were at stake.
After disconnecting from Nahida, Neuvillette once again marveled at the convenience of the Akasha. His mind burned with a new idea: once this was all over, he would integrate the Akasha with Fontaine's mobile phones. He would develop a tool for real-time information dissemination, creating a vast intelligence network to gather information on that mysterious faction.
Furthermore, if the Seven Nations were to form a cooperative alliance, the significance of a new communication tool would be self-evident.
Before arriving in Sumeru, Neuvillette had already heard that the Fontaine Research Institute had nearly completed its research on mobile phones. Although there were many aspects they didn't fully understand, they could simply treat those parts as a "black box" and replicate the technology based on the existing design.
They could gradually decipher the underlying principles later and consider upgrades and iterations then.
Integrating the Akasha with mobile phones would undoubtedly present new challenges, but Neuvillette had great confidence in the scientists at the Fontaine Research Institute—those who had already seen the heights of knowledge.
Neuvillette's heart stirred with excitement, barely contained, as he envisioned the dawn of a new era of rapid development for the Seven Nations.
Of course, he reminded himself, first, I must help Sumeru overcome this crisis.
Snapping out of his reverie, Neuvillette turned his gaze back to the three Pitch-Black Eggs nearby. The thought of the actions he might have to take made his heart grow heavy.
Suddenly, a realization struck him, and he froze.
To save millions of lives, sacrificing tens or even hundreds of thousands is an unavoidable necessity...
How similar this thought is to Dr. Edward's philosophy.
Suddenly, Neuvillette felt a profound sense of empathy for Dr. Edward, sighing silently to himself.
Yes... who doesn't know that human lives cannot be measured by mere numbers?
But when pushed to the brink, with no other options left, one must make this choice, no matter the inner torment and self-reproach.
Dr. Edward faced this. And now, so do I.
At that moment, Neuvillette couldn't help but recall Emily's final warning.
When all their plans have failed, what insane acts will the leader of the Numbered Members resort to?
It seems I must find a way to save Teyvat as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if things reach the final stage, it will be irreversible.
Neuvillette sighed softly again. Having finally understood the inner conflict and agony that plagued Dr. Edward, much of his hostility toward the mysterious faction dissipated, replaced by a deep, overwhelming sense of helplessness.
They simply stood on different sides; it had nothing to do with right or wrong.
Neuvillette had always believed that everything in this world would ultimately face the most just Judgment. But now, it seemed he had been mistaken. Right and wrong were not so easily distinguished.
Fontaine's laws were crafted by Fontainians. How could they ever guarantee that those laws were absolutely fair and just?
Perhaps he had been too fixated on the concepts of fairness and justice...
Neuvillette slowly descended from mid-air, landing on the roots of Irminsul. Leaning on his cane, he gazed at the three Pitch-Black Eggs in the distance and slowly closed his eyes.
Yet, the aura emanating from him grew increasingly terrifying...