"You… Dark Demon, how did you do it?"
There was even a slight tremor in Venti's voice when he spoke. Even he was afraid of how easily Fu Ning had dealt with him.
Fu Ning looked into Venti's flustered, expectant eyes and replied casually, "It wasn't anything impressive. I accumulated Sequence Ten energy ten minutes in advance. And since you didn't resist at all, I was able to take control of your Anemo element."
"That kind of condition would never happen in real combat," Venti muttered.
"Ten minutes? I bet the great God of Freedom could finish a few barrels of wine in that time," Fu Ning said with sarcasm. "In actual battle, no one's going to give you a head start."
He smirked. "And tell me, has there ever been a god who just stands still and lets someone seal them?"
Venti looked thoroughly embarrassed and could only laugh awkwardly to save face.
But silently, he committed the term Sequence Ten to memory.
Sequence Ten… It sounded like one of the Dark Demon's authorities.
If there was a Sequence Ten, then surely there was a Sequence Nine… Eight… all the way up to Sequence One.
Wait—if Sequence Ten was already this terrifying, then what about Sequence One?
Venti couldn't even imagine it.
What kind of secrets does this so-called Dark Demon hide?
He fell into deep thought.
And in that moment, he mentally ranked Fu Ning—this mysterious "Dark Demon"—as a threat on the same level as Morax.
Venti nervously shrank his shoulders and asked, "Which one—"
But Fu Ning interrupted him coldly. "Besides Lady Furina, myself, and Neuvillette, if you want the rest of Fontaine to find out you're Barbatos, the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, then by all means, go ahead."
He glanced sharply at Venti and added, "We in Fontaine are not afraid of Mondstadt."
Venti: "…"
Neuvillette arrived quickly, his pace sharp and precise. He could sense the refined energy that Fu Ning was intentionally releasing. Something serious had occurred—either something Fu Ning couldn't handle, or something that might shake Fontaine's balance. In either case, it required his intervention.
Within ten minutes, Neuvillette found them.
He immediately saw the familiar green figure handcuffed by Fu Ning.
At first, he assumed this person had committed a minor crime and been caught red-handed. After all, Fu Ning usually threw such troublemakers straight into detention.
But… this time was clearly different.
Why had Fu Ning specifically called him?
And why had Fu Ning gone so far as to seal the intruder's elemental aura? The person now felt like nothing more than a breeze—utterly stripped of power.
Neuvillette raised an eyebrow but maintained his calm. "Is there something urgent, Mr. Fu Ning? Who did you capture?"
Fu Ning nodded. "Yes, something significant—and beyond my jurisdiction. The man I caught calls himself Venti… and he is Barbatos, the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt."
"Wind…"
Neuvillette's eyes widened. "The Wind Archon? Barbatos—the god of freedom from Mondstadt?!"
Fu Ning replied matter-of-factly, "Correct. He came to Fontaine to steal wine. So I arrested him."
"…That's… rather unbelievable." Neuvillette rubbed his temples. "Regardless, I had no idea how to deal with this, so I called you."
He turned to glance at Venti, still handcuffed. "A truly free nation… and even its god is that free."
"But your actions have infringed on the freedom of Fontaine's citizens."
"Legally speaking, the freedom of an individual ends where the rights of others begin."
Venti laughed awkwardly. "Ahaha… Are you giving me a legal lecture? I should be thanking you, I suppose."
Neuvillette: "…"
Fu Ning… do you really intend to challenge Celestia itself?
Even he wasn't sure how to handle this.
The Wind Archon—captured in Fontaine over wine theft?
Who would believe this?
Who would even dare believe it?
Then it hit Neuvillette.
The wine thefts. Every fifty years in Fontaine. Could they have been—?
He narrowed his eyes. "Then… the legendary wine theft that occurs every fifty years in Fontaine… was that also committed by you, Lord Venti?"
Fu Ning shrugged and patted Venti on the head. "Answer him."
Venti winced, then nodded sheepishly. "Uh… if nothing unexpected happened, and if there was no one else… then yeah… it was probably me… maybe."
"Hahhh…" Neuvillette sighed long and hard.
Of course. Only the God of Wind would have the ability to carry out such crimes undetected for centuries.
He stood in silence, weighing the options.
"In any case," Neuvillette began, "Mr. Venti has clearly violated Fontaine's laws."
"But… your identity is too sensitive to be exposed. Doing so could provoke serious tension between our nations."
"So—here's what I propose: Mr. Fu Ning will file formal charges for this incident. The rest, Lord Venti… you will compensate for privately."
"This way, we avoid revealing your identity as Barbatos, the Anemo Archon."
He folded his arms. "I hope this solution is acceptable to you."
Faced with the formal, diplomatic tone and the reality of the situation, Venti nodded reluctantly.
Fu Ning narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint flashing through them. He had already grasped how to handle someone like Venti.
Venti was certainly far stronger than he was now letting on, but with Neuvillette's presence added to the mix, the Archon had no real choice.
And this time, Venti was clearly in the wrong. If Fu Ning had pushed just a bit harder, Venti would've backed down entirely.
Suddenly, Neuvillette seemed to remember something.
"Wait a moment… Venti is the Anemo Archon, but his aura is sealed… So…"
Fu Ning answered calmly, "Yes. I sealed his elemental aura and power."
Neuvillette: "?!"
Fu Ning… are you really challenging the heavens?!
That's the Anemo Archon! One of the original Seven! One of only two surviving Archons from the first generation!
Even if his strength has faded with time, he is still one of the most powerful beings on Teyvat!
"I mentioned it earlier. It wasn't very difficult. I accumulated Sequence Ten energy ten minutes in advance. Since Venti didn't resist, I was able to steal his control over Anemo and suppress his aura." Fu Ning added.
Since he'd already explained it once—and because this was Neuvillette—Fu Ning spoke quickly.
But Neuvillette caught every word, no problem.
And in that moment, his understanding of Fu Ning's capabilities reached an entirely new level.
***
The next morning, Fu Ning knocked on the door of Furina's bedroom with a bright smile on his face.
"Lady Furina, wake up. There's going to be a very dramatic trial today."
"Hmm… huh… yawn…"
From inside the room came a pleasant yawn.
"Mm… Fu Ning, what did you just say?"
Fu Ning smiled faintly. "I said, there's a trial today that you will definitely be interested in. It's going to be extremely dramatic."
Fu Ning knew his Lady Furina loved drama more than anything else.
The voice behind the door paused, then asked, intrigued, "Extremely dramatic? What's it about?"
"Judgment of the Anemo Archon."
"Ah???" Furina's shocked voice rang out from within.
In less than five minutes, she burst out of the room fully dressed. She grabbed Fu Ning by the shoulders, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Wait—who are you putting on trial?"
Fu Ning calmly recounted everything that had happened the night before.
"Ah… this…"
"Ahahahahahahahaha!"
Furina clutched her stomach and burst into laughter, abandoning any trace of composure.
"I really… I can't believe the Anemo Archon would act like that!"
"This is too funny!"
"Hurry up, Fu Ning! Prepare breakfast—I need to get to the Opera Epiclese early!"
"I must prepare for the trial of a foreign god!"
"As expected, with sufficient legal grounds, I can put even the gods of other nations on trial!"
Fu Ning smiled and nodded. "Breakfast is ready, Lady Furina."
***
Opera Epiclese, Fontaine.
Venti sat half-crouched in the defendant's seat, looking thoroughly bitter.
He never imagined that two years after arriving in Fontaine, the Hydro Archon would one day discover a so-called "Dark Demon"—a title Fu Ning had apparently taken upon himself.
And now, standing at the prosecution table, was none other than Fu Ning.
Neuvillette looked between the two, spreading his hands solemnly.
"Now that both parties are present, the trial of Mr. Venti for the theft of wine will officially begin."
"To begin, in order to ensure everyone here understands the facts, we will first hear from the prosecution. Mr. Fu Ning, please present your account."
Fu Ning nodded and instinctively looked up toward Furina's balcony. Seeing her watching intently, he smiled faintly, then raised his voice:
"As you all know, I am Fu Ning, known by some as the 'Dark Devil.' I possess nearly inexhaustible strength and currently serve as Lady Furina's personal bodyguard."
"I often use my free time outside of duty to patrol Fontaine and eliminate threats that may endanger our people. Many citizens can attest to this."
"Last night, during one such routine patrol, I spotted Mr. Venti."
He turned toward Venti, expression firm.
"He was moving swiftly between rooftops. Concerned, I chose to conceal myself and follow him. Eventually, I saw him approach a wine cellar. Somehow, he had rendered the two guards unconscious and entered the premises."
"When I followed him inside, I caught Mr. Venti in the act of stealing wine. I immediately apprehended him and brought the matter to trial."
Murmurs broke out among the audience.
"Lord Fu Ning has been protecting Fontaine for two years!"
"Yes! I used to think I worked late, but I've seen him still patrolling after midnight."
"Of course! Since Fu Ning arrived, incidents in Fontaine have dropped drastically!"
"This case is obvious—Venti tried to steal wine and was caught red-handed!"
Neuvillette nodded solemnly, turning to the accused.
"Mr. Venti, as the defendant, do you have a rebuttal to these charges?"
Venti opened his mouth to speak—but no words came out.
Neuvillette pressed gently, "Then, Mr. Venti, may I interpret your silence as a lack of objection to Mr. Fu Ning's testimony?"
Still, Venti said nothing. As the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, this was the first time he had ever been publicly tried. He had no idea how to respond.
"Please respond, Mr. Venti," Neuvillette said again, his voice authoritative.
After a long pause, Venti finally replied, "Fine… Mr. Neuvillette."
He had intended to argue on two fronts:
Fu Ning had claimed he knocked out the guards, but how he did so was suspicious—perhaps an opening for counterargument.
There was no concrete proof that he had actually stolen the wine—only Fu Ning's word against his.
But…
Venti smiled bitterly. The first point risked revealing his identity as the Anemo Archon. The second was even more hopeless—Fu Ning was almost universally respected in Fontaine.
People would never believe Fu Ning stole anything.
After all, Fu Ning always paid. His salary was so generous that even Venti, a god, felt jealous.
A clicking noise echoed through the hall—the scales of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale had already tilted almost entirely toward Fu Ning.
"Look! Even the Oratrice favors Lord Fu Ning!"
"Well, obviously. He's captured so many criminals in the past!"
The crowd's murmuring grew louder.
"Silence!" Neuvillette's voice cut through the courtroom.
"Since there are no objections, I, Chief Justice of Fontaine, will now issue my judgment regarding Mr. Venti's theft."
"Mr. Venti, you are hereby declared guilty."
"And finally, the Oratrice will deliver the official decree."
He slid a golden card into the Oratrice Mecanique. Immediately, the mechanism flared with brilliant blue light.
Neuvillette read the resulting verdict, nodded, and announced:
"By the authority vested in me, I hereby declare: Mr. Venti—guilty."
Furina's eyes sparkled with delight. She leapt to her feet, laughing.
"Ahahaha! Fu Ning, well done! Security! Take Venti away! Hahaha!"
In an instant, Fu Ning flew up to Furina's side and whispered softly,
"Lady Furina, considering Venti's special identity, we should personally escort him."
He wore a devilish grin.
"Ah, yes, my dear guard. Indeed, we must bid farewell to this foreign god with such… improper behavior."