Where would the people of Fontaine go?
Thinking of this, a golden-yellow light flashed in Lumine's hand once again.
"Starfall!"
With the girl's soft cry, rock constructs descended from the sky, landing precisely on the attack path of the spear thrown by Yuto.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—
Amidst a continuous series of rock explosions in Lumine's ears, the smoke from the pierced Starfall instantly filled the entire barrier.
Lumine dared not relax in the slightest, because the sense of crisis originating from the depths of her consciousness had not disappeared.
Facing the dust scattered across the sky, she could only hold her breath, vigilant of her surroundings, fearing that Yuto, who had obtained the "Evil King Armament" through some unknown means, would emerge from the smoke.
However, the moment she had that thought, she felt a chill on her side, and the tremor from the depths of her soul made her instinctively roll forward.
Almost as soon as Lumine rolled out somewhat clumsily, a purplish-red blade light slashed straight out from the smoke, striking solidly on the barrier protecting the audience.
Boom—
With a loud bang, a crack actually appeared on the originally water element-blue protective barrier... showing just how terrifying Yuto's previous slash had been.
Before she could continue to ponder, purplish-black spears instantly broke through the concealment of the smoke, directly pinning Lumine firmly against the barrier.
"Cough... cough... cough—"
Lumine coughed painfully a couple of times, then looked at the crack Yuto had cut and then at the spears that had pinned her down, a sense of powerlessness suddenly rising in her heart.
To be honest, Yuto in this state was the only opponent Lumine had encountered since arriving in Teyvat that she felt she couldn't defeat no matter how hard she tried.
Yuto looked at Lumine, who was somewhat disheveled and leaning against the barrier, and sighed softly.
He first put his left hand, which was trembling from overuse of the Law Enforcement Agency's power, behind his back, then said:
"Traveler, it's still not too late to surrender now and repent to Furina."
Yuto knew very well that he couldn't possibly kill Lumine, so everything he was doing now was just to make Lumine back down.
If she didn't intend to back down...
He planned to pull everyone here into Furina's mental world when the God lurking in the Oratrice Mecanique D'analyse Cardinale finally erupted.
As the Deputy Administrator of Fontaine, Yuto knew best what kind of character these Fontaine citizens had.
Only by letting them witness everything Furina had experienced... could they point their spears at the right person.
Thinking of this, Yuto slightly closed his eyes, let out a soft sigh, and prepared to quickly end this farce.
He gently extended his right hand, and the purple lightning that had been wrapped around the sword's edge instantly appeared in Yuto's hand.
Buzz—
With a strange sound, an arcane purplish-black inscription instantly appeared in Yuto's hand.
"Thunder Roar!"
With his sharp cry, all the water element energy that could be mobilized within the barrier continuously gathered at this moment, finally forming the shape of a sharp blade above Lumine's head, who was already close to losing her combat ability.
"Traveler... it's still not too late to surrender now."
Yuto looked indifferently at Lumine, who was pinned against the barrier, with no ripple in his eyes, as if he would transform into an executioner the next second, letting the blade composed of thunder strike down.
Perhaps because the script was changed, or perhaps because of Lumine's status as a "Descender," just as Yuto was about to control the blade to descend, an accident occurred.
A sudden, abnormal tremor erupted from beneath the Opera House, which had been relatively stable, as if something was about to emerge from underground.
Navia, sitting in the audience, seemed to have thought of something, then shouted loudly:
"Quick! All members of the Spina di Rosula, help the audience here evacuate! The faster, the better!"
Lyney and Lynette exchanged glances, and both began to assist in evacuating the crowd.
Whether it was to save more people from disaster, or to make Yuto's future meeting with Father smoother...
They had to do this.
As the tremors beneath their feet grew more intense, a huge spatial rift appeared between the audience seating and the stage.
"Roar—!!!"
Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, a unicorn whale, shimmering with an eerie glow, emerged from the spatial rift.
Looking at the huge whale leaping about in the Opera House, Neuvillette's eyes narrowed slightly, then he retracted the barrier that had been protecting the audience.
—Although... there were no audience members left for him to protect, to ensure the strength of the confrontation, he still had to retract it.
After doing this, he flashed from the judge's bench onto the stage.
Looking at the rampaging Star-Devouring Whale, he first waved his hand forcefully, causing the water element energy filling the Opera House to instantly condense, finally forming one small water droplet after another.
—Just like when he had previously helped Lumine clear out the Rifthounds.
Yuto glanced at Neuvillette, who was currently fighting the Star-Devouring Whale, and nodded gently.
He simply waved his hand, transforming the blade that had been gathered above Lumine's head and the spears that had pinned her into energy once more, which began to dissipate in and out of the Opera House.
Perhaps because the Star-Devouring Whale appeared too quickly, the massive creature had already emerged before the audience could even leave.
However, this also benefited Yuto's plan; as long as that special energy attached to them... then at the very last moment, he would be able to naturally pull these people into that empty theater.
These energies were like individual markers, marking all the audience members who had participated in this Judgment, to serve as a medium for later transmission.
"However..."
Yuto thought, while slightly raising his head, his gaze falling upon Furina, who stood somewhat flustered in the defendant's box.
"It's better to ensure her safety first..."
As Yuto's thoughts moved, that immense Electro power instantly mixed with the purplish-black power, then transformed into a purplish-black light that enveloped Furina.
"This is..."
Furina was momentarily stunned, then instinctively reached out to touch the light.
Buzz—
With a strange sound echoing in Furina's ear, a transparent purplish-black barrier appeared around Furina.
"This is... Yuto's aura?"
Furina felt a familiar aura from the barrier before her, momentarily stunned.
In her memory... when did Yuto possess this type of power?
While Furina was still somewhat puzzled, Yuto nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright, everything that needed to be done has been done. Next... it's time to deal with the Star-Devouring Whale."
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