Chapter 122. Nahida's Judgment!
Today, Black Aila and Nahida had their fill of killing. Aside from the one that escaped, all of Dottore's slices in Sumeru were basically wiped out.
There were nine Dottore slices in Sumeru in total. Eight were killed, and the last one, being far from Sumeru City, only later learned that Futsu Mitama and his group were on their way to kill him.
So that ninth Dottore slice disappeared without a trace. No one knew where he had gone.
That made Nahida a little regretful, because that ninth slice was the one she had originally intended to kill.
But the other party had run away, which was very unfortunate.
"Eight slices are enough to make Dottore ache for a long time," Aila said calmly.
Today, she had finally vented the anger in her heart.
She killed five Dottore slices, and she did so using different methods.
In a sense, each Dottore slice was Dottore himself.
(From the Information I gathered, in the Sumeru Arc, it is said that Dottore was the last slice there is. Later on, he split himself into two. One is going to Nod-Krai, the other is going for Irminsul. While in this engagement, the only one survived known only two, and the child-like Dottore in Liyue's Prison)
So, in that sense, she had killed Dottore five times.
It was Dottore's fanatical gaze toward her that had made Black Aila feel quite uncomfortable psychologically.
"Mm," Nahida nodded seriously. Looking at Futsu Mitama and Black Aila, she said, "Creating slices is very costly. Each slice requires a huge amount of resources. Over these past four hundred years, even when Dottore wanted to create slices, he still used resources from all parts of Snezhnaya, which is how he managed to create so many of them."
"Now that he has lost so many slices at once, he will definitely feel very, very pained."
Nahida, who had briefly connected to Dottore's network, clearly understood the method of slice creation, and she found it especially inhumane.
Dottore's actions, which desecrated life, made Nahida very angry, but she also could not help admiring him.
The act of forcibly cutting one's own soul apart to create slices—
"Then let's go back to Albedo and the others."
Futsu Mitama took Black Aila's and Nahida's hands and disappeared from the spot with another teleportation.
Soon, Futsu Mitama's group arrived at Albedo's location.
Klee was not fishing with bombs at this time. Instead, she was crouched in front of La Signora, who had been turned into an ice sculpture, poking her with a small twig.
"You're back," Albedo said calmly when he saw Futsu Mitama, Black Aila, and Nahida return. "It seems everything has been resolved."
"Yes, it's resolved," Futsu Mitama nodded. He looked around and said, "It seems no enemies have come here."
Shinobu nodded and said calmly, "No enemies have come. It seems the Fatui's intelligence network isn't as powerful as people imagined."
"Of course, it's also possible that their focus is on gathering intelligence in the various cities rather than in the desert."
To be honest, Shinobu had been fully prepared to encounter Fatui patrol teams in the desert and end up in a major battle.
Because back in Inazuma, and now in Liyue and Mondstadt, Fatui could be seen everywhere in the desert.
They seemed to be everywhere, leaving people at a loss for words.
Kokomi chuckled.
"Didn't Cyno say there are quite a lot of Fatui in the desert? As for the Fatui around Sumeru City, they probably all went to guard the God Creation Project."
Kuki Shinobu thought of the groups of Fatui elites she had encountered when she broke into the Akademiya and could not help falling silent.
"Yes, from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint, that group of Fatui was indeed very, very strong. Unfortunately for them, they ran into us."
"Nahida!!!"
At that moment, Klee, who had been poking the ice-sculpted lady with a twig, spotted Nahida and immediately lit up. She hopped and skipped over.
"Klee."
Watching this little sun run toward her, Nahida's face broke into a bright smile.
For some reason, the more Nahida looked at Klee, the cuter she found her. She really enjoyed spending time with her.
"Are we going to blast fish now?!"
Klee pulled out a Jumpy Dumpty, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Nahida.
"I saw a brand-new kind of fish in that little river over there!"
"According to Brother Albedo, it's a Spincrocodile. Klee has never seen this kind of fish before, but Brother Albedo said it can be blasted, and it's very durable!!!"
"But Brother Albedo lied. Klee only threw one Jumpy Dumpty, and that Spincrocodile or whatever it was immediately floated belly-up."
When Albedo heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Without his knowledge, Klee had learned a skill from Hu Tao that more than doubled the power of a Jumpy Dumpty.
Logically speaking, the Spincrocodiles in Sumeru were quite sturdy.
Because he was worried Klee might get hurt, Albedo had specifically told her how dangerous those creatures were.
And then there was no "then." Klee threw several Jumpy Dumpties at once, and a whole group of Spincrocodiles died.
The remaining Spincrocodiles saw this and immediately dove underwater, leaving without another word.
But Klee developed a strong interest in Spincrocodiles and began searching for traces of them in other rivers.
Later, she did find some, but this time she carefully threw only one Jumpy Dumpty, and the Spincrocodile was instantly blasted to death.
"I'm sorry, Klee." Nahida placed her small hand on Klee's head and said gently, "I still have things to do. I'm afraid it will be a while before I can go blast fish with you."
Yes, Sumeru still had many matters for Nahida, the Dendro Archon, to handle: the mess in the Akademiya, the mess inside Irminsul, the rather distorted academic atmosphere in Sumeru, and restrictions that still needed to be placed on the Fatui.
On top of those troublesome matters, the desert situation also needed to be dealt with quickly.
Just thinking about all that waiting for her made Nahida sigh. As an Archon, she still had so much to do.
"It's okay! Klee can wait!"
Klee, however, said it did not matter, because Nahida was an Archon, and Archons were very busy.
Klee had always been a very understanding child.
That was why, no matter how many messes Klee caused, someone always cleaned up after her, and no one blamed her.
This child was simply too well-behaved.
"Mm~ Once I finish dealing with the remaining matters, we'll go blast fish together."
Nahida smiled as well, already looking forward to it.
Although she did not quite understand why they had to blast fish, as long as Klee was happy, she would inexplicably become happy too.
Perhaps that was the meaning of companionship.
"Next up should be the Sages of the Akademiya, I suppose."
Albedo looked toward Sumeru City in the distance.
Through the Chat Group, Cyno, who was at the Akademiya, had already joined forces with Tighnari, Faruzan, Alhaitham, and other senior scholars.
They had already begun trying Azar and the other Sages for their various crimes.
The Matra controlled the inside of the Akademiya, while the Thirty were responsible for the perimeter.
A reform unique to Sumeru had already begun, and all that remained was for Nahida, the Lesser Lord Kusanali, to make her appearance. Then everything would truly be over.
"They're not urgent for now."
Nahida did not plan to go over immediately. Looking at everyone, she said,
"I've already packaged all the memories I obtained from Dottore and am preparing to upload the folder. However, I'm still quite interested in his perspective."
With that, Nahida looked at Scaramouche.
She was curious about what kind of person Dottore was from his perspective.
Since she had already obtained Dottore's perspective, she might as well get Scaramouche's perspective too.
Thinking that, Nahida extended her hand toward the sealed Scaramouche and used her authority.
Emerald-green light enveloped Scaramouche, allowing Nahida to obtain many of his memories from Inazuma back then.
After seeing everything, Nahida let out a soft sigh, her expression somewhat complicated as she looked at Scaramouche.
"From beginning to end, the path you walked was false. The people who truly cared about you met such a fate instead. Was it fate playing tricks, or were you being played by fate?"
To be honest, Nahida did not know how to judge Scaramouche.
From his perspective, everything in this world was wrong.
Among the Fatui Harbingers, the people he had the most contact with were Pierro and Dottore.
But it was precisely those two who toyed with his fate, killed everyone who had treated him kindly, and ultimately forced him to leave Inazuma for Snezhnaya.
"What's wrong?"
Futsu Mitama was quite curious why Nahida would feel this way.
"Nahida," he said eagerly, "quickly upload the group file and let us see what happened to Scaramouche."
"Okay."
Nahida did not refuse. She uploaded everything she had seen into the group file.
Dottore's perspective, as well as Scaramouche's perspective, perfectly explained what it meant for different perspectives to tell different stories.
In the Chat Group, everyone looked at the two files Nahida had uploaded, all seeming a little confused.
"Raiden Makoto: 'What is this?'"
"Raiden Ei: 'Dottore and Kunikuzushi?'"
"Maha Rukkhadevata: 'Did you discover something?'"
"Futsu Mitama: 'According to Nahida, these are things Dottore did back then. Let's take a look first.'"
"Zhongli: 'Interesting.'"
"Venti: 'I'll take a look too, since I'm free anyway. By the way, when are you sending The Lady over~'"
"Nahida: 'After I finish dealing with the Sages of the Akademiya, I'll probably use the Teleportation Scepter to send the lady over.'"
"Raiden Ei: 'Futsu Mitama, go with her and return the Anemo Gnosis to Barbatos.'"
"Futsu Mitama: 'Okay, I was just thinking that.'"
"Venti: 'Hey, what are you doing!'"
"Yae Miko: 'Hmm!!! So this is what happened back then?? I see~ the Fontainian mechanic Escher was actually a clone of Dottore. If that's the case, no wonder such a huge incident happened at the time. With Dottore secretly involved, how could things not spiral out of control?'"
"Yae Miko: 'If we had known about this earlier, perhaps things could have turned out differently, but alas, it's too late.'"
"Paimon: 'Wow... this Dottore... is so evil. He actually dug out Scaramouche's friend's heart and gave it to Scaramouche.'"
"Lumine: 'This guy can't even be called human anymore. No Humanity left on him'"
"Kamisato Ayaka: 'So that's what happened back then. Sigh.'"
"Kuki Shinobu: 'I didn't expect him to be quite pure back then. Indeed, no one starts out as an evil person.'"
"Sangonomiya Kokomi: 'That Dottore really commits all kinds of evil.'"
"Aila: 'He's that kind of guy. If he wasn't, Black Aila and I wouldn't have ended up like this.'"
"(Black) Aila: 'First of all, I am Aila, not Black Aila. Also, Dottore's personality is extremely vile. He probably thinks he did the right thing. Because in his view, his experiments are everything. Harming Scaramouche in that way was probably meant to research the technology on him.'"
"Raiden Ei: 'Sigh. It's too late to say all this now. Kunikuzushi has committed many sins. Even if he doesn't die, he'll have to spend his life atoning.'"
"Raiden Makoto: 'What would happen if he knew these things?'"
"Albedo: 'Given his personality, he would deny the truth of the matter.'"
"Yae Miko: 'Hehehe, that's right. He would deny it, but if we present evidence, what would he do?'"
"Futsu Mitama: 'Maybe he would commit suicide, because he was manipulated for five hundred years and helped Snezhnaya and the Fatui do so many things.'"
"Futsu Mitama: 'From Scaramouche's perspective, Dottore was actually quite good to him, even if his experience as an experimental subject wasn't pleasant. But at least he gained the power of revenge, and through Dottore's recommendation, he won Pierro's approval and even became a Fatui Harbinger.'"
"Futsu Mitama: 'With the Fatui's support, he also gained the power to take revenge on Inazuma. Dottore was, in a sense, his benefactor.'"
"(Black) Aila: 'Hehehehe, a benefactor who tortured him to death and then gave him a few favors. Among the Fatui Harbingers, Regrator and Scaramouche were both quite admirable and respectful toward Dottore.'"
"(Black) Aila: 'I don't know much about Regrator, but if Scaramouche had known the truth back then, he would probably have fallen completely mad and enjoyed killing Dottore just like me.'"
"Keqing: 'Fatui... Dottore... These people are doing so many things. Aren't they afraid of karma?'"
"Nahida: 'I have a suggestion.'"
"Guizhong: 'Oh?! Nahida has a suggestion?! Tell me quickly~'"
"Maha Rukkhadevata: 'What suggestion? Tell us.'"
"Nahida: 'Dottore has probably committed such inhumane acts more than once. Should we expose this matter and join with the other Archons to sanction him?'"
Just how inhumane Dottore's actions were could already be seen from the Scaramouche incident alone. He played with everything in Scaramouche's life.
He killed his friend, made his friend bear the stigma, and even made Scaramouche personally throw his friend's burning heart to the ground.
Besides that incident, Nahida also saw many other things Dottore had done: experimenting on Hilichurls, experimenting on Aranara—basically, he spared no living creature.
Nahida rejected such an existence from the bottom of her heart. If she could not defeat Dottore...
She would have wanted to flip the table and drag him out herself!
In the Chat Group, there were four Archons present, including her. If they spoke up together, they could definitely restrain Dottore.
But to Nahida's surprise—everyone voted against it??
"Venti: 'This won't do. Play is play, mischief is mischief, but this is no joke~'"
"Raiden Makoto: 'Citizens of other nations are not ours to interfere with, nor do we have the right to interfere.'"
"Raiden Ei: 'Sister is right.'"
"Maha Rukkhadevata: 'I understand your feelings, but Dottore is a Harbinger of Snezhnaya. Archons of other nations cannot directly interfere in another nation's internal affairs. The Fatui have never crossed that bottom line. Whether it is the Tenryou Commission or the Akademiya, they have always adopted a "cooperative" attitude.'"
"Maha Rukkhadevata: 'If you were to do this—'"
"Zhongli: 'Then the original contract would become waste paper, and Teyvat would once again fall into chaos.'"
"Azhdaha: 'Is it that serious? I feel like the Dendro Archon is right. Why aren't such evil people arrested??'"
"Eula: 'I think so too. Mondstadt was also a victim back then. Many children were captured by Dottore and used in human experiments.'"
"Klee: 'Bad guy! Bad guy!!! Why are there such bad guys in this world!!!'"
"Albedo: 'No, this is no longer just about Dottore; it would escalate to another level.'"
"Guizhong: 'Hmm~ to put it simply, it would be like Liyue choosing Futsu Mitama as the next Geo Archon successor. But other nations disagree and unite to restrict Futsu Mitama's actions. What would you think, Azhdaha?'"
"Azhdaha: 'There's such a thing?! Wouldn't that be a fight?! Our Liyue's Geo Archon successor—who are you to criticize?!'"
"Raiden Makoto: 'Guizhong is right, the contract cannot be broken, BUT!!! Futsu Mitama is from our Inazuma, so don't even think about it, Liyue.'"
"Raiden Ei: 'However, regarding Kunikuzushi and what happened in Inazuma, I will personally question Snezhnaya. Thank you, @Nahida.'"
"Guizhong: '@Raiden Ei, if you go to Snezhnaya now, you might run into Morax.'"
"Raiden Ei: 'Is that so? Then it's perfect. We can go together.'"
Nahida: "It seems I thought too little. There is still so much I need to learn."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "Don't rush. I'll teach you slowly. You still have plenty of time to learn."
Kamisato Ayaka: "What a pity. If Scaramouche had stayed in Inazuma, would he have become one of Inazuma's pillars of support?"
Kuki Shinobu: "Given his talent and identity, it's highly possible."
Yae Miko: "Hehehe~ I originally planned to bring him back and teach him myself, but alas—someone was one step ahead of me."
Futsu Mitama: "What a twisted path this has been. But Pierro and Dottore really went to great lengths to devise such a brilliant scheme for Scaramouche."
—
He was genuinely emotional.
Futsu Mitama naturally knew what kind of person Scaramouche had originally been.
That guy would injure people at the slightest disagreement and even threaten his own subordinates.
To be honest, Futsu Mitama had no favorable impression of Scaramouche. Even after learning about his past, he still could not empathize with him.
He only felt that the other party was a little foolish, a little slow-witted.
His friend had been such a good person, so why had he so easily believed what others said? Yae Miko had even offered to help, but he could not wait and insisted on rushing back.
There may have been Dottore's influence, but what Scaramouche did still left Futsu Mitama unable to sympathize.
If one said he was pitiful, he really was pitiful. Everything had been manipulated by others, yet he had been completely unaware, believing instead that he was in control of his own destiny.
But after gaining power, his first action was to seek revenge on Inazuma. What had those people he hurt done to deserve that?
His pitiful circumstances did not make him innocent.
Shinobu and Kokomi were also discussing Scaramouche.
As Inazuma citizens, seeing Scaramouche's past left them feeling rather conflicted.
Just as Yae Miko said, Scaramouche could have become a protector of Inazuma. That was not an impossible outcome.
It should be remembered that Yae Miko held almost all of Inazuma's inheritances, including Raiden Shogun's.
If Scaramouche had not left Inazuma and instead had gone to Yae Miko again, then with his unique identity, he would most likely have received an inheritance from her.
At that point, he would probably have become an existence above the Three Commissions.
After all, the Shogun was, in a sense, merely his younger sister.
As a result, through someone's deliberate manipulation, Scaramouche's hands became stained with sin. Now, he could no longer turn back.
Even if he learned the truth of that year, at most it would only mean another person furiously hunting Dottore.
Dottore was probably past caring about a few more fleas. For someone who wanted to kill him, one more or one less did not make any difference.
"Let's go. We should head to the Akademiya."
After seeing everything, Futsu Mitama was ready to go to the Akademiya.
It was time to give those Sages a "surprise."
The appearance of the Lesser Lord Kusanali would bring Sumeru to its climax.
Nahida also took a deep breath. She was quite nervous, clearly ready to face her people next.
"We won't get involved."
Albedo looked at Futsu Mitama and Nahida and said,
"We'll stay here and continue guarding the Lady and Scaramouche. As for what happens over there, we can just watch through the group live stream."
At that moment, accompanied by a white light, Black Aila also separated.
"Young Master, I'll stay here too."
Black Aila spoke up as well, wanting to stay and guard the Lady and Scaramouche.
Although Dottore had been almost completely wiped out by them, the Fatui near Sumeru City probably also received the news and were preparing to withdraw.
Still, it was better to be careful. What if they launched a surprise attack?
Of course, Black Aila did not really want to get involved in Sumeru's internal affairs. Such matters were too troublesome.
Since she did not want to get involved over there, she might as well stay here and guard this side. If any unexpected incident occurred, her strength would be enough to withstand it.
Shenhe and Kuki Shinobu also said they wanted to stay. They were a little too lazy to move.
Sangonomiya Kokomi and Aila, on the other hand, wanted to go with Futsu Mitama to Sumeru City and see the final outcome.
"Alright, let's go."
With that, Futsu Mitama and the others vanished from where they stood in a flash of lightning.
—
At the same time, in Inazuma City, inside Tenshukaku, Raiden Ei slowly stood up. Purple lightning flickered in her eyes as she gazed toward Snezhnaya and decided to make another trip.
"Planning to go?" Yae Miko looked at Raiden Ei with a smile and said slowly, "If that menace knew you were going to confront the Tsaritsa for his sake—"
"He would probably be moved to tears. After all, I can sense that he has always held special feelings toward you."
"To put it simply, he wants to prove to his 'mother' that he has grown up. However, even if you did that now, he would probably mock you for not doing it sooner."
What Yae Miko said was quite hurtful.
But Raiden Ei remained calm. In a tranquil tone, she said,
"I'm not standing up for him, but because the Fatui set their sights on my people. As an Archon, I must fight for those citizens who died because of the Fatui's schemes and seek justice for them."
"As for what Kunikuzushi thinks, I do not care. Because he made mistakes, and no matter how many reasons there were, he must bear everything and atone."
"Miko, Inazuma is temporarily in your care. I will be back soon."
With that, Raiden Ei disappeared, leaving Yae Miko alone in Tenshukaku.
"Oh my, she's grown up."
Yae Miko sighed, feeling that Ei could now distinguish priorities.
Indeed, seeking justice for Scaramouche was not truly important.
He was miserable, yes. But all those decisions were his own—going to Snezhnaya, joining the Fatui, and using the Fatui's power to act against the Raiden Gokaden.
Were those not all things he brought upon himself? It was not as if his early experiences erased everything he did afterward.
The key point was that the Fatui had interfered in Inazuma's affairs four hundred years ago, and that led to the deaths of a group of Inazuma citizens.
It was fine when this had not been discovered, but once it was...
Then Raiden Ei naturally had to seek justice for them.
Even Dottore would have to pay the price for this.
"It's just that death seems too easy for him."
Yae Miko was now thinking about how to make Scaramouche atone for his sins.
Death was truly too easy for him. Once he learned the whole truth, he would definitely sever ties with the Fatui.
At that point, he would most likely spare no effort to hunt down Dottore across Teyvat.
Perhaps Scaramouche no longer had much of a sense of belonging to Inazuma, but Yae Miko could use this information to turn him into a proper blade.
A blade aimed at the Fatui—she believed he would certainly be very willing to do that.
Here, she had to thank Nahida. If not for the information she provided, Yae Miko's final plan would probably have been to publicly execute Scaramouche.
Expose all his misdeeds, then utterly destroy him, leaving not even ashes behind.
After all, before this information, Scaramouche's hostility toward Inazuma had been too strong, and his strength was not weak.
Do not let Futsu Mitama easily defeating him fool you. Right now, there were very few beings on Teyvat who could withstand Futsu Mitama's full-power attack.
The fact that Scaramouche could endure so many of Futsu Mitama's moves showed how terrifying his strength really was.
So how could Yae Miko allow such a powerful being, one who harbored hostility toward Inazuma, to live?
Yae Miko was a ruthless fox.
If she were not ruthless enough, Inazuma could not have remained so peaceful during the centuries Raiden Ei retreated into the Plane of Euthymia.
Over here, Yae Miko had already begun plotting against Scaramouche.
She intended to set a trap for him before his arrival—a trap he would know was a trap, yet still have no choice but to fall into.
On the other side, at the Akademiya entrance, Cyno had already learned that Futsu Mitama, Nahida, and the others were about to teleport there.
He immediately brought the Great Sage and the other offending Sages forward.
Not only that, but other well-known scholars—anyone involved in the God Creation Project—were also brought to the Akademiya entrance.
"What are you doing! What are you doing!!! What crime have we committed!!!!"
"Exactly!!! What crime have we committed?! We initiated the God Creation Project! Wasn't it all for Sumeru!"
"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!!! How dare you arrest Sages! Are you trying to rebel?!"
"Great Sage, say something!!!"
At that moment, chaos reigned at the Akademiya entrance, with many scholars shouting and yelling.
They still did not understand what had happened, only knowing that not long ago they had been working hard on the God Creation Project.
The next second, the Matra and the Thirty appeared and arrested them.
Then other seniors and juniors started pointing fingers at them, making these "pioneers" who believed they were carrying out reform plans furious.
They were the "pioneers" of Sumeru!
For five hundred years, Sumeru's wisdom had not advanced.
They, as humans, were creating an Archon!
Such a great undertaking!!!
You do not praise us, fine. But you arrest us?!
The scholars were clamoring, but at that moment Cyno suddenly slammed his weapon down, his gaze sweeping coldly over the group.
"..."
The previously noisy scholars fell somewhat silent.
Who was Cyno?
He was the Mahamatra.
Almost every scholar in the Akademiya feared him, dreading the day he would kick open their door during research, tell them their work violated Sumeru's laws, and drag them away.
Now, although most scholars claimed innocence, the God Creation Project was a research project jointly formulated by the Great Sage Azar and the other Sages.
How could that be a crime? And who could convict the Great Sage?!
Even so, no one dared openly challenge Cyno.
Aside from these noisy scholars, some of the more perceptive ones, seeing the distraught expressions of the Great Sage and the other Sages, already knew the Akademiya was probably about to undergo a major upheaval.
Although they did not know why the Great Sage and the others looked so distressed, they did know one thing: the God Creation Project was not a good plan, or rather—the name itself already carried an aura of great impiety.
"Silence."
Cyno's voice was extremely authoritative.
He scanned the crowd and said seriously,
"As the Matra, I have the right to judge you. But today, I will not judge you, because today I do not have that authority."
As Cyno spoke, most people looked puzzled.
How could Cyno not have the authority?
He was the Mahamatra. If anyone in the Akademiya had the most authority to judge them, it would be Cyno.
But he actually said he did not have that authority? That was truly surprising.
Some people looked relieved. They did not know who would judge them, but as long as it was not Cyno, that was fine.
Other scholars, however, had solemn expressions and could not be happy at all, because the only existence that could make Cyno step back was probably "that one."
Swish!!!
Just then, accompanied by a flash of purple lightning...
Futsu Mitama, Nahida, Aila, and Sangonomiya Kokomi arrived.
"Futsu Mitama?!"
"Why is he back?!"
"He's back, doesn't that mean—"
"Is he here to judge us?!"
"This doesn't follow the rules!!!! No matter how high Futsu Mitama's status is, he doesn't have that authority!!!"
"Yes!!! He doesn't have the authority to judge us!!! He's the next Electro Archon! Even if he has Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's inheritance! He still can't judge us!"
"What Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's inheritance?! What are you talking about?! Are you joking?!"
"Futsu Mitama has Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's inheritance, that's a fact, but even so, he does not have the authority to judge us."
"After all, he's not the next Dendro Archon, but the next Electro Archon—an Archon belonging to Inazuma."
Everyone misunderstood, thinking Cyno had brought Futsu Mitama here to judge them.
However, the scholars who had seen Lesser Lord Kusanali were trembling all over.
"Lesser Lord Kusanali— Lesser Lord Kusanali—"
The scholars lowered their heads toward Nahida.
Even Azar, upon seeing Lesser Lord Kusanali, was filled with an inexplicable fear. He lowered his head and did not dare meet her gaze.
Futsu Mitama's reappearance meant that Scaramouche, the core of the God Creation Project, had been defeated; otherwise, he would not be here.
Lesser Lord Kusanali's presence further meant that the Akademiya's five-hundred-year-long imprisonment of an Archon would be exposed to the world.
In that way, all the former Great Sages—and he, the current Great Sage—would be nailed to the pillar of shame.
Thinking of this, Azar felt an overwhelming mix of grief and indignation.
It should not have been like this. His ending should not have been like this.
In the future he had imagined, he should have completed the God Creation Project, received the cheers of the crowd, and ushered in a new era for Sumeru.
"What?! Lesser Lord Kusanali?!"
"The Dendro Archon who stays in the Sanctuary of Surasthana?!"
"She—how did she get out!!! No!!! I can't stay here!!!"
"She's here to take revenge on us!!!!"
"We'll die, we'll die!! Let us go!!!"
For a moment, the other scholars, seeing Nahida beside Futsu Mitama, felt an inexplicable fear.
They wanted to flee because they were key personnel in the God Creation Project and naturally understood why they had wanted to create an Archon.
Wasn't it to replace that useless Lesser Lord Kusanali?
But how terrifying Archons were—those scholars at the core of the God Creation Project understood that better than anyone. The more they knew, the more afraid they became.
However, the surrounding Matra and Thirty members were not to be trifled with; they stopped the scholars who tried to escape.
At that moment, a terrifying divine pressure emanated from Futsu Mitama.
Others felt nothing, but the scholars who tried to flee felt an unimaginable fear.
Although they were all elite scholars of the Akademiya, very few of them could actually fight.
Strong research ability does not mean one can fight; after all, not everyone is like Alhaitham.
Aside from his outstanding scholarship, he also had muscles to back it up.
The scholars knelt on the ground, their faces pale. The others immediately realized this was Futsu Mitama's doing and all turned their gazes toward him.
"What have you done? Are you trying to deny it now?"
Futsu Mitama looked at the scholars trying to escape and did not withdraw his pressure.
He said calmly,
"Creating a so-called Archon, trying to replace the successor recognized by Maha Rukkhadevata—"
"In our Inazuma, even the head of the Kanjou Commission, if he does something that harms Inazuma's interests or diminishes the dignity of our nation's Archon, his fate is imprisonment in a death cell."
Saying that, Futsu Mitama took a step forward.
He looked down at the scholars and said coldly,
"Are you people believers in the Dendro Archon?"
One scholar, suppressed by Futsu Mitama's divine pressure, raised his head and chest and shouted at him,
"Of course we are the Dendro Archon's people, but the being we worship is Maha Rukkhadevata!"
"And not this Archon without wisdom!!! She is not an omniscient and omnipotent being like Maha Rukkhadevata! How can she—"
Before the scholar could finish, Futsu Mitama drew Seven Thunder of Retribution: Narukami and pointed its blade at him.
"Since you do not recognize Lesser Lord Kusanali," he said calmly, "then that means you are not the Dendro Archon's people. Your Akademiya uses Lesser Lord Kusanali's name to claim that your nation is still protected by an Archon."
"But you are scholars of the God Creation Project. Since you are all preparing to create an Archon, how can you still believe in Maha Rukkhadevata? In other words, all of you are believers in evil Archons, imprisoning an Archon and creating an evil Archon—this is a sin!"
Hearing Futsu Mitama's words, all the scholars involved in the God Creation Project went pale.
Because Futsu Mitama was right:
if they believed in Maha Rukkhadevata, why were they still carrying out the God Creation Project and trying to create a brand-new Archon?
They did not recognize Lesser Lord Kusanali, yet they still used and imprisoned her.
They even planned to cast her aside after creating a new Archon.
That was an undeniable fact.
"Just as Futsu Mitama said."
Nahida stepped forward and looked at the surrounding people of Sumeru with a calm expression.
"Perhaps, as an Archon, I am not qualified. I am not the Maha Rukkhadevata you idealize, but I am also an Archon. I have my own mercy and my own wrath."
"My mercy is that I endured imprisonment at your hands without complaint or regret, because I was immature, and because I still needed to work harder to face the disasters coming to Sumeru."
"But my wrath is that you used the lives of others to create a so-called 'Archon.'"
Nahida stepped forward, and a vivid green light instantly enveloped the entire scene.
In an instant, scene after scene appeared before everyone present.
They saw that on a recent night, some people suffering from Eleazar, in the dead of night, suddenly showed painful expressions in their sleep.
Soon after, they withered away and died.
Not only that, but there were also patients with serious illnesses who, despite receiving effective treatment and only needing rest to recover, died anyway.
They would laugh and talk with their families during the day, but when night fell, accompanied by a 'beep' sound—the unknown experiment began, and all these people died.
The Scholars involved in the God Creation Project turned very pale; they naturally knew what this experiment was.
The other Scholars who were not involved in the God Creation Project showed anger, some even saying,
"No wonder I was so listless those days! So that's what it was! You guys are too much!!!"
"To use other people's lives for experiments!!! This is a disguised human experiment!!! This is a taboo among taboos!!!"
And because of this, so many people died; these guys are unforgivable.
"This is your evil."
Nahida looked at the Scholars below, watching them dispassionately, and said calmly,
"I was imprisoned for five hundred years. But I will not blame you. However, I will place this sin upon you, because this is the result of your selfishness, arrogance, and disrespect for life."
"All of you, death sentence!"