Chapter 29: First Appearance

"Second Harbinger of the Fatui, The Doctor, also known as Dottore, correct? Your words are truly laughable." Fanseti spoke softly as she looked at the man who had appeared. "Mr. Dottore, leaving aside whether the two of you Harbingers are even capable of killing me, even if you could, the idea that the Supreme Bishop would feel distressed over it is impossible—would you feel distressed if one or two of your 'slices' were destroyed?" "...The amount of information in that statement is staggering, and it's impossible to ignore." Dottore's voice was filled with intrigue. "I've changed my mind. I won't kill you. I'll capture you and study you thoroughly." "I told you, Mr. Dottore, your words are laughable." "Whether it's laughable or not, you'll find out soon enough." "Find out what?" This sudden, calm voice caused Dottore's words to freeze mid-sentence. Signora's expression changed drastically, almost in fear, as she instantly turned around to look at the man walking toward them from behind. She instinctively took two steps back toward Fanseti. Dottore slightly turned his head. Although his expression was hidden behind his mask, his tightly pursed lips were clearly visible. "Supreme... Bishop... of... Fontaine!" Dottore spat out the words one by one. "You have so much free time, do you?" "I'm very busy, so let's not waste time." After this simple reply, the man in the ornate black robes spoke plainly: "I need to collect the Gnoses to make a deal with the Tsaritsa. So, could you please leave the Gnosis behind?" "You previously said you would use the Anemo Archon's Gnosis to make a deal with the Tsaritsa, but until now, she hasn't seen any terms of the deal." "That's just a small negotiation tactic. Originally, it was one Gnosis for one condition, but under such terms, the benefits I could gain might not be significant. However, if I use five Gnoses to exchange for just one condition, then no matter what the condition is, the Tsaritsa will agree to it." The Supreme Bishop spoke his plans as calmly as if he were discussing the weather. "And in the end, if the Tsaritsa is only missing one Gnosis to collect them all, and that last Gnosis happens to be in my hands, then no matter what, she will agree to my second condition." "What exactly are you trying to do?" "Stop wasting my time. Leave the Gnosis behind and go." Signora gritted her teeth. "Aren't you afraid the Tsaritsa will hold you accountable for this? No matter how strong you are, you're no match for her. Or do you think the Hydro Archon can protect you? If she knew about your plan to seize the Gnoses, do you think she would still protect you?" "Don't you understand? To obtain the Hydro Archon's Gnosis, your Tsaritsa has already tacitly allowed this." "What do you mean?" "How foolish." The Supreme Bishop of Fontaine sighed lightly. "If she truly wanted to stop me from seizing the Gnosis, knowing my plans, she would have come personally to make a deal with Morax, not sent the two of you to deliver the Gnosis to me—the Gnosis are meaningless unless all seven are collected. In other words, if the Tsaritsa cannot obtain the Hydro Archon's Gnosis, then holding the other Gnoses is of no value to her." "I see." Dottore nodded in understanding. "So, to obtain the Hydro Archon's Gnosis through you, the Tsaritsa has tacitly allowed your actions, just to facilitate the deal and make it easier for her to obtain the Hydro Archon's Gnosis, right?" "If you understand, then stop wasting my time. I'm very busy right now." The Supreme Bishop's voice didn't show any impatience, but both Dottore and Signora—and even the players watching this scene—felt an indescribable pressure in that moment. Their hearts raced, pounding so hard it felt like they might leap out of their chests, as they experienced a deep sense of fear. "I... I can't... This part is absolutely insane!" Axue's body trembled slightly, her eyes wide. "Who is this voice actor?" With just one line, delivered without any change in tone, why did it feel so overwhelmingly oppressive? Axue could only attribute it to the voice actor's skill. However, the identity of the Supreme Bishop's voice actor remained unknown. But Axue was certain that after today, the voice actor would definitely become famous! This animated short would be replayed endlessly in various short videos. —But that was for the future. What was happening now was that, under the overwhelming pressure of the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine, Dottore, after a brief silence, calmly said, "Rosalyne, hand over the Gnosis." "..." Signora opened her mouth, wanting to curse at Dottore, but at this moment, she found herself unable to speak. Dottore could at least maintain a semblance of calm, but Signora's body was trembling uncontrollably. Fear. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, Signora had to face the truth. She was utterly terrified of the man before her. That fear made her unable to defy him. In the end, Signora gritted her teeth, took out the Gnosis, and threw it into the distance. This was the only act of defiance she could muster. Black flames instantly enveloped the Gnosis, slowly burning it to nothing. As the flames burned, Fanseti nodded slightly to the Supreme Bishop and smiled elegantly. "It is indeed the Gnosis, Your Excellency." "Good." The Supreme Bishop nodded slightly. Axue's eyes widened in shock, and all the players watching this scene felt their hearts skip a beat. Because, in the scene, the Supreme Bishop, who had been nodding, had somehow appeared in front of Dottore, his hand piercing through Dottore's chest. In this situation, the Supreme Bishop nodded slightly, then slowly withdrew his arm. Signora's eyes widened in terror as she quickly backed away. Dottore's body trembled slightly as he spoke in disbelief, "Why...?" "Sorry, force of habit." The Supreme Bishop apologized as if he had just realized what he had done. "But I remember saying before that I'd kill you every time I saw you. So, you should have been prepared, right?" "...I will never forgive you..." "Mm, I'll accept your hatred. After all, I'll be sending more 'yours' to meet you." With these words, the Supreme Bishop turned and walked away. The animated short ended with a final shot of the Supreme Bishop's profile. The screen returned to Lumine's perspective. Lumine stood in the embassy's courtyard, now empty. Axue didn't immediately continue with the next quest but fell into deep thought. "Do you think Snezhnaya and Fontaine are a bit too overpowered?" "Aside from Morax, the Geo Archon, Liyue's strongest forces are just a few Adepti. But from the previous story, it's clear that the top three Fatui Harbingers are all god-level in strength, and the top three Knights of the Holy Knights are the same. Fontaine is even more excessive—aside from the Holy Knights, they also have the Supreme Bishop and the Chief Justice. Isn't the power gap a bit too big?" 「What's there to fear? Morax can solo all of them.」 「Didn't the story say that in Liyue, gods can also be called Adepti? That doesn't mean all Adepti are gods.」 「Gods are Adepti, but Adepti are not necessarily gods.」 「Even so, the Adepti are still strong, right?」 「Compared to Tartaglia and Signora, they're definitely strong. At least the Adepti's abilities are quite impressive, and they seem to have the strength to fight gods... though they'd definitely lose, they're still strong.」 「But they're no match for the top three Harbingers or the top three Knights of the Holy Knights.」 「And the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine is clearly on another level, instantly killing the Second Harbinger, Dottore.」 「Speaking of which, how strong are the Hydro Archon and the Tsaritsa? Their subordinates are all god-level in strength.」 「The Tsaritsa's strength is still unclear, but the Hydro Archon must be ridiculously strong. Otherwise, with all these god-level traitors like the Supreme Bishop and the Holy Knights, her Gnosis would have been taken long ago.」 「By the way, what does 'slice' mean? And what does 'more of you' mean? Is this Dottore just a clone? If a clone is confident enough to take on Fanseti, who's also god-level, then Dottore must be insanely strong, right?」 After discussing for a while, Axue and her viewers came to a consensus. When the game reaches the Fontaine region, the story will likely enter its climax. Of course, as for this conclusion... the miHoYo employees remained expressionless. Forget Fontaine—will the story even survive until Sumeru without falling apart? No one knows.