Within the spacious temple, the girl in casual black and purple attire held the blonde-haired girl, a reassuring smile on her face.
"Looks like I arrived just in time, hmm?"
Gentle, like a breeze brushing past her ear. Lumine, having regained her senses, gazed at the exquisitely beautiful face, a faint blush tinting her cheeks, somewhat lost in the moment.
The former gently set her down, allowing Lumine to fully come to.
"That Fatui wants to do something to the temple! We have to stop him!"
"Yeah, yeah! Candace said this place is the core of the Abyss's suppression..." Paimon, echoing Lumine, gestured wildly, extremely anxious to explain the situation to [Raiden Mei]. In her eyes, [Raiden Mei], who, like Kiana Kaslana and the others, was a new adventurer and new to Sumeru, shouldn't know the situation here.
However, before she could finish, Raiden Mei... no, it should be said, the one who was currently [Raiden Mei] nodded.
"Mm, I know."
"Eh? You know?"
"Of course. After all... I was the one who sealed this place," the black and purple-haired girl stated a terrifying fact with utter nonchalance.
"?... Weren't you guys new to Teyvat?"
"Wait a minute..."
"You're not Mei!" Lumine directly bypassed Paimon, her vocal stand-in, having noticed something was amiss.
The latter smiled, then gently placed a hand on her chest. "You could say that... But this feeling, it undoubtedly belongs to her."
For the Traveler and Paimon, Jiang Qiao's ability wasn't entirely unfamiliar—after all, they had already witnessed it in Fontaine, acting as witnesses between Furina and a certain Mr. Jiang.
Scaramouche also noticed the abnormality, stopped his actions, and smirked. "Hm?"
"It seems things are getting interesting."
"I was starting to think this trip to Sumeru would be quite dull."
Facing Scaramouche's contempt, [Raiden Mei] smiled and shrugged. "Hmph, everyone is immersed in the festive celebrations, yet you come to cause trouble without any sense of tact. You Fatui are rather uninteresting..."
"You've already had one Harbinger dealt with, and now you send another one who's even weaker than the last?"
"I'm starting to doubt the Tsaritsa's judgment."
"Though, among the Harbingers, you certainly are the one who shares his rotten taste the most... Scaramouche... or perhaps you prefer this name—Kunikuzushi?"
Scaramouche's expression instantly darkened.
"Although I don't know where you heard that name."
"But..."
"Who allowed you to call me by that name?" A terrifying burst of elemental power erupted.
Although Scaramouche didn't have strong feelings about his past names, the name Kunikuzushi was undoubtedly the one among his many appellations most likely to stir up his unpleasant past.
Scaramouche hated this flippancy, and even more, he hated this woman's... disdain for him.
A mere mortal, daring to overstep and blaspheme a god!
"I've changed my mind."
"I was originally going to play with a despicable mortal like you."
"But now... just die!"
As he spoke, a flash of lightning erupted, engulfing and submerging the area where Lumine and [Raiden Mei] stood.
Like a prison of thunder.
"Hmph, nothing more than this," Scaramouche said with a dismissive look, turning his head, intending to continue his unfinished work. "Ultimately, just an arrogant mortal, easily broken..."
As he spoke... he suddenly froze.
Slowly, he turned his gaze towards the dissipating smoke.
—Unscathed.
Her smooth long hair fluttered in the gentle breeze from outside the temple. Crackling, tiny sparks of lightning emitted a piercing sound like birdsong. The girl stood there calmly, looking at Scaramouche with an extremely placid gaze.
"Is this the extent of your performance?" [She] chuckled lightly, asking Scaramouche.
And the latter... his pupils suddenly dilated.
—Is this the extent of your performance?
Her words echoed in his ears, making Scaramouche unable to suppress the memories of his tragic past.
Abandoned, betrayed...
—For Scaramouche, what truly broke his defenses?
It wasn't mere insults or slander—after all, Scaramouche was well aware he was a bad guy... Of course, he had absolutely no thoughts on the matter. After all... he was Beelzebul's 'vessel.' If so, as a puppet, as a divine puppet meant to house a god, then the foolish actions of mortals were meaningless to him.
If something angered him, destroy it. If something displeased him, kill it.
All this, simply because he was superior to those fools.
However, while he took such things for granted, being abandoned by Beelzebul became a wound that was difficult to heal.
After all, being abandoned meant that he, as a divine vessel, was a 'defective product'—or, in Scaramouche's own words, the 'trash' he disdained the most.
Questioning the performance of him as a puppet became Scaramouche's taboo.
And at this moment, undoubtedly, [Raiden Mei]'s extremely casual words had broken his defenses.
"You despicable mortal!"
Enraged and shocked, Scaramouche didn't hesitate for a moment. "Regret your foolishness!"
Perhaps desperate to prove that his functionality wasn't fragile, the next moment, a terrifying power rippled out from Scaramouche.
The burst of elemental energy directly pushed the unprepared Paimon and Lumine back. They could only plant their swords into the ground, struggling to hold on. Fortunately, [Raiden Mei] gently raised a hand, blocking the force.
[She] looked at Scaramouche, somewhat surprised.
She had originally thought that without the Akademiya's help, Scaramouche wouldn't be able to obtain the Shouki no Kami, the Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom—this meant Scaramouche couldn't possess power comparable to a god, unlike the top three Fatui Harbingers.
But now...
This power had undoubtedly reached the Archon level.
Even... among Archons, he could be considered outstanding.
"So that's it. It's Dottore's handiwork," [Raiden Mei]—Jiang Qiao—understood, smiling.
—Scaramouche's essence, like the Raiden Shogun, was that of a 'vessel.'
A form to contain power.
Although his inherent qualities weren't outstanding compared to an Archon, he was, after all, a puppet body like the Raiden Shogun. Moreover... he even contained Khaenri'ah's technology. Under Dottore's modifications, he possessed an extremely high upper limit.
The only thing missing was the content.
Originally, Scaramouche had filled it with a Gnosis.
And this time, Dottore seemed to have helped Scaramouche... He had inserted 'segments' (of himself) as a power source.
Although Dottore's segments were crippled due to the double curses, they still possessed Archon-level power.
By repurposing this power, turning it into a pure energy source, it was enough to elevate Scaramouche, whose inherent qualities were already decent, into an outstanding figure among Archons.
"He really went all out, didn't he?" [Raiden Mei] found it somewhat amusing.
To create an energy source comparable to a Gnosis, Dottore would have had to sacrifice almost all of his segments, including the largest one. But this was indeed a clever choice.
After all, due to the curse of Justice, Dottore's segments would be punished according to the sins corresponding to their time of existence, making them effectively useless.
If he discarded all those deeply sinful segments and only kept the early ones that hadn't yet committed crimes, Dottore could indeed minimize the impact of the curse of Justice.
Perhaps it was by this means that he was able to barely survive among the Fatui, instead of being kicked out as trash.
However—This ugly 'struggle for survival' was undoubtedly the kind of mediocre behavior Dottore detested most.
Because only mediocre people, lacking ability, would resort to any means to save their position.
As a genius, he shouldn't be like this!
"Hmm?"
[Raiden Mei], who was about to make a move, looked at Scaramouche with some surprise.
At this moment, his originally incredibly arrogant aura suddenly vanished, replaced by... 'shocked anger' and a 'scream.'
"Dottore! You tricked me!"
An incredibly terrifying power spread out from Scaramouche... The next moment, a 'crack' sound, like an eggshell breaking.
...The temple's seal, broken!
The towering black light, previously suppressed and vanished, shot straight into the sky, engulfing Scaramouche.
"Wh-what's happening?!" Paimon panicked.
Lumine was also at a loss.
'Raiden Mei] watched this scene, deep in thought.
"Using Archon-level power to break the seal... then drawing upon the power of the Abyss."
[She] smiled.
—If the power of Phanes couldn't lift the curses of the Seven, then wouldn't using the Abyss suffice?
Covering oneself with the Abyss, though extremely dangerous, could grant immense power while also altering one's form of life.
"Hehehe... hehe..."
"I've finally broken this damned curse!" A sinister voice sounded. 'Scaramouche' slowly stepped out of the pitch-black pillar of light, his words filled with ecstasy.
"Dottore... you tricked me!"
"Hehe, you can only blame yourself for being too stupid."
"However, I must also thank you, Scaramouche. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to withstand this level of Abyssal power."
Undoubtedly, at this moment, the one controlling 'Scaramouche,' piloting the 'Scaramouche' vessel, was Dottore.
And all of this was his scheme.
To submerge those wretched Archon curses with the power of the Abyss—this was Dottore's final struggle.
His reason for specifically choosing Scaramouche was, naturally, part of his plan.
Snezhnaya's research into the Abyss was extremely profound. Therefore, as a researcher, he knew how terrifying the Abyss was; even with his Archon-level combat power, he couldn't easily wield this force.
If he blindly tried to use it, he might be consumed by it instead.
But... Scaramouche was different.
He possessed a god's body and also contained Khaenri'ah's technology.
With a few adjustments, he could potentially bear the power of the Abyss.
And Dottore, by biding his time and seizing Scaramouche's body, could use him as an adaptation device, helping himself adapt to the Abyssal erosion, and then wash away that detestable curse.
This plan had two key points: sufficient Abyssal power and Scaramouche's cooperation. The latter was simple; that fool Scaramouche was easily manipulated by him. Even with his divine spark obscured, that muddle-headed puppet was no match for him.
But the former... Snezhnaya was out of the question. If the Tsaritsa or the Fatui discovered his intentions, he would surely be killed on the spot.
Other Abyssal openings weren't large enough—the only suitable one was Sumeru's Tunigi Hollow.
Because this place was the largest Abyssal breach on the surface during the Khaenri'ah war.
By breaking the seal, Dottore could not only obtain sufficient Abyssal power but also retaliate against those damned Archons of Sumeru and Fontaine.
And after usurping Scaramouche's body, as long as he could recover his proud intellect, he was confident that he could advance towards the path of the Five Sinners with this Archon-level body—at that time, even Snezhnaya wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
Without a doubt.
To reclaim his wisdom, Dottore didn't mind making an enemy of all of Teyvat.
"What's going on? How was the seal of the Abyss opened?"
A childlike voice sounded, filled with confusion and anger.
—It was Nahida and the others.
With such a huge commotion here, the Dendro Archon and her companions, even if they rushed from Sumeru City, couldn't possibly ignore it.
"A Fatui Harbinger?"
"Traveler, what exactly happened?"
"This, we don't know either..." Facing Furina's question, Paimon was a bit dazed.
If it was about Scaramouche, they definitely knew.
But the subsequent developments were completely beyond Lumine and her emergency food's comprehension—inexplicably, the Fatui's villainous boss seemed to have evolved into an ultimate boss.
"Sumeru's Dendro Archon and Fontaine's Hydro Archon? Hehe... you've come at just the right time."
"It's time we settled our previous scores."
Having completely suppressed Scaramouche's consciousness and seized control, 'Scaramouche'—Dottore—saw Nahida and Furina appear, and it was like enemies meeting, their eyes blazing with hatred.
His current anger and hatred for these two Archons truly surpassed his feelings for the Heavenly Principles.
Or rather, Dottore didn't even hate the Heavenly Principles that much.
He followed Snezhnaya in rebelling against the Heavenly Principles merely to seek truth. But these two Archons—Furina's curse of Justice nearly turned him into a pariah, forcing him to endure the most humiliating contempt, and Nahida's wisdom snuffed out his pursuit of truth as a scholar.
That was more unbearable than death itself.
After returning to Snezhnaya, Dottore had once contemplated suicide.
But he couldn't even die. Until all his sins were cleared, due to the curse, he didn't even have the qualification to die.
He could only endure the pain while feeling the powerlessness and foolishness of a mediocre person, becoming the very existence he disdained most.
And now, he would do the same thing.
He would trample on Furina's justice, blaspheme Nahida's wisdom—and destroy everything the Archons cherished!
Only in this way could he dispel the humiliation he had suffered during this incredibly short, yet seemingly endless, period.
"This body is truly magnificent, so suitable." 'Scaramouche's' face, invaded by Abyssal power, had become like that of an Abyss Herald, full of pleasure and intoxication. "Such powerful strength... It's making me feel so high!"
"Powerless mortals, false gods, feel this divine body, infused with the power of the Abyss!"
"I, Dottore, will pilot this 'vessel' and trample everything you hold dear!"
"With this true divine power, this invincible strength..."
As Dottore ranted, [Raiden Mei]'s facial lines seemed to harden at this moment.
"—You mentioned 'vessel' just now, didn't you?"