Lynette and Lyney's attention was immediately directed to the door of their home when they heard it open. Lucian had returned, much to their delight.

"Lucian! You are back!"

Lucian returned their greetings with a nod. Even after so long the former Grand Duelist still couldn't fully get accustomed to the overwhelming adoration the twins had for him. They are still too eager to please and still too attached to him for emotional support. He's not going to abandon them but nobody could promise another that they will be there for the rest of their lives; he will have to leave them someday. In his opinion, the twins have to learn how to survive on their own without his presence.

Lynette had immediately gone to cook a meal for him while Lyney adamantly insisted on washing his clothes. It's not an argument that Lucian can win because the only battles he can win are those where he is allowed to wield a sword.

"The serial disappearance case? Yeah, it happened while you were gone, it's pretty scary," Lyney said with a slight shudder when Lucian asked them about it while they were having their meals at the dinner table.

"Don't wander off alone outside," Lucian reminded the only girl in this house who obediently acknowledged his words with a nod of her head. It will take time to get to the bottom of this mystery even for someone like him and all young women are potential victims until he could figure out the mastermind behind the disappearances. Lynette is approaching the age where one could consider her a suitable target where this mystery is concerned.

"What is your opinion about the serial disappearances?" Lyney asked and a slight scowl appeared on Lucian's face.

"My opinion? My opinion is that such a serious case should have warranted divine intervention."

Lyney and Lynette silently exchanged a look while Lucian continued to devour his meal. They knew that Lucian wasn't fully agreeable with how Lady Furina had handled certain things in Fontaine but he had also acknowledged that Fontaine had nobody else who could do a better job than her. Still, this is the first time he had openly voiced his disagreement on a certain matter like this.

"Never mind," he sighed halfway into his meal when he realised that his personal bias had clouded his judgement once more. Focalors had never struck him to be the reliable type, but she seemed to be trying her best from what little he could tell so the least he could do is to try and stop subconsciously comparing her to his archon. Heavy is the head that wears the crown; Focalors used to avoid responsibilities like the plague so the fact that she was willing to shoulder responsibilities and lead an entire nation for five centuries probably already took everything out of her.

Focalors is many things, but Lucian never once doubted that she loved Fontaine any less than anyone else. He trusts that her decisions were made with Fontaine's best interests in mind.

"Are you both free tomorrow?" He asked and they nodded. Even if they weren't free they will clear their schedules such that they will be free because after all, it's not every day that Lucian makes a request.

"Good. Turn in early tonight and have a good rest. You will need it tomorrow."

The twins exchanged looks once more. That certainly sounded ominous.


As Grand Duelist there's really only one thing which he is good at. It's the only thing that he can impart to the two children that now live with him.

"Be quick on your feet! Your stance is too wide open! And what are you spacing out for, Lyney?! Waiting for your sister to be chopped into minced meat?!"

The quickest way to gain strength would be experience. It was how he was taught and how he would teach the twins. Granted, he probably isn't doing a very good job at it since this is his second time being somebody else's teacher and he only had his experience of being taught by his not-so-reliable archon to use as reference, but he already is very lenient when compared to what his archon had done to him.

He had tossed the twins right in the middle of a hilichurl camp, occasionally barking out what they did wrong or could do better while they frantically tried to fight their way out to survive. Yes, this would sound like a premeditated act of murder but in his defence, his archon had tossed him to fight against a very angry dragon all on his own without backup when he first started out. He'd like to think that he's already a very humane instructor.

"You are an archer, Lyney! Judging and keeping the optimal distance should be second nature to you! Look at where you are now, do you think your arrows could reach the monsters attacking Lynette from here?! You are too far behind so move it!" Lucian continued to point out all of the older twin's mistakes like an angry drill sergeant. There probably is a better way to go about teaching the twins the art of combat but this is really the best he could do. His only forte lies in slaughtering his enemies, not in nurturing the next generation.

"What kind of parry is that?! Do you want to break your wrist?! How many times have I impressed upon you the importance of the proper way to hold your sword?!" Lucian roared while Lynette was busy fighting for her life. A mitachurl swung its heavy axe and she quickly ducked out of the way before slashing her sword at its dominant arm, severing the muscles and tendons with pinpoint accuracy that caused the monster to lose grip of its most dangerous weapon.

An arrow immediately found its mark and lodged itself right in the mitachurl's neck, effectively killing it and the monster soon turned to dust. Judging from how there were no more shouts from Lucian they must be doing something right and hopefully they can keep this up until they are finally done cleaning up this monster camp.

"Why on earth are you focusing on the hilichurl when there is a much more dangerous samachurl hiding at the back!" Lyney had to try his hardest not to flinch at the reprimand and quickly fitted an arrow and fired it at the electro samachurl once he had arrived at his position and took aim. Archons above, this training is probably the most they had ever heard Lucian speak in the years that they had known him.

Lynette was quick on her feet and easily danced around the hilichurl foot soldiers, taking them down one after the other in quick succession. A riposte ended the life of another hilichurl and an arrow killed another that was trying to hit her with a club from behind, courtesy of her twin. They eventually managed to kill all of the monsters in this camp on their own power and collapsed onto the ground thereafter, leaning their backs against each other in exhaustion.

They are not going to complain about the methods employed because they knew that Lucian has their best interests at heart and is trying to get them to learn how to defend themselves, but it still doesn't change the fact that it really felt like they were quite literally fighting with their lives on the line the entire time. None of them are vision holders!

They heard the footsteps of someone approaching and they both gulped nervously when they saw that it was Lucian. Did they perform well? The last thing they wish for is to disappoint him.

"All in all, it's not too bad for your first real combat," he told them and the twins visibly heaved a sigh of relief. "Both of you made several amateur mistakes that you usually won't commit, but it's acceptable since this is your first time facing off monsters in actual combat. The nerves will get to you sometimes, I understand that, just don't repeat the same mistakes again."

"Was this how you learnt too?" Lyney felt bold enough to ask and Lucian snorted.

"You could say that. You are already very lucky that you are only facing a small camp of hilichurls, I had to fight an angry dragon."

"... D-Dragon?"

"Long story," Lucian ended that topic with a lazy wave of his hand and the three of them spent a short while enjoying the view of the sea in comfortable silence. It wasn't long before the twins started swimming about in the shallower parts of the water, laughing happily as they splashed water at each other and having fun while Lucian watched on from the shore, content to just be an observer. While he is of the view that adults should arm children with the knowledge and the power to defend themselves instead of remaining ignorant of the dangers of the world, he also believed that children should be children while they still can.

Building a nation that is able to protect the innocence of children was something that his archon had strived for and it is an ideal world which he worked hard to protect too.

Seeing the twins having fun had him in a good mood as well. He had discreetly scanned the surrounding waters for any possible hidden threats beneath and only allowed the children to have their fun once he had ascertained that they were safe from any unseen dangers that might be lurking about. It certainly is a pity that it will take a few years before the full breadth of his powers would return. There are so many things that he used to be able to do but could not do now. The recovery of his powers since his rebirth had been much slower than he was used to and seeing that it took him five centuries to be reborn instead of the usual few years, he suspected that the corruption of the Abyss that he was exposed to when fighting that war 500 years ago might be at play.

But until he is able to gather the facts that are able to prove his conjecture, it will forever remain an untested hypothesis.

"Lucian! Want to join us?" Lucian's attention was brought back to the present when the older twin's invitation broke him out of his reverie. Lucian simply shook his head with a faint smile from where he was seated on a clean boulder on the beach. The disappearance of the lochfolk had puzzled him initially but he thinks that he is beginning to understand why after taking a dip into the waters of the great lake while completing the latest commission issued by the adventurer's guild.

The water is polluted if he were to compare it to the purity he remembered from 500 years ago. Not really in the physical sense since the water is still safe to drink and capable of supporting life, but polluted on the "spiritual" and "elemental" level. While the current level of pollution wouldn't affect most living beings with its effects being close to negligible, it would be different for the lochfolk, beings that are made up of pure Hydro energy. They are extremely sensitive to anything that might affect the purity of the water bodies which they reside in. Thus, they only reside in water bodies with the purest water.

Lucian's eyes narrowed a little at the thought. He would have to find time to investigate the cause of the pollution alongside the recent reoccurrence of the serial disappearances. The lochfolk are arguably one of, if not the most reliable and powerful allies of Fontaine. He would feel more assured if the lochfolk are around to look over Fontaine like how they had once done during his archon's reign. Once he is able to resolve the water pollution issue he would also most likely have to search for them individually and invite them back home, which would probably take decades to do so, assuming that they are still around.

This is the least that he can do for his archon and also for Focalors. Like it or not, she had already been Fontaine's archon for 500 years who had seen to its continued existence and prosperity and truthfully, there are currently no better candidates than her to fill in said role. They have their differences but ultimately, their greatest wish is for Fontaine and her people to be able to prosper. They are all on the same side.

His greatest concern would be if the water pollution problem is the only factor that drove the lochfolk away. There will be problems convincing them to return if they had left because they do not recognise Focalors' rule on top of the water pollution problem. He wasn't there to witness those turbulent times in the aftermath of the cataclysm but he could guess that there probably were many who didn't see or acknowledge Focalors' legitimacy of being Fontaine's second Hydro archon. Focalors may be an extremely powerful elemental being but she wasn't exactly the most well-liked individual in the nation back then.

In fact, the only reason why she wasn't beaten to death for her insufferable personality by those who she had aggravated was because of his archon and him protecting that little brat under their wing. He never once doubted that Focalors is loyal to the nation and loves their people greatly, but her personality really left much to be desired and she has a real knack of riling up everybody that crossed her path, which naturally led to the brat unknowingly antagonising many individuals without realising it herself. Only his archon could deal with her thanks to her limitless patience and kind nature.

He could only hope that being an archon had made Focalors wise up and mature considerably since 500 years ago.

"Lucian? Is something troubling you?" Lynette asked when she discerned that his mind seemed to be elsewhere the entire time. He often told them that they can be honest with him but she really wished he could do the same for them as well. They never know what's on his mind and he never speaks much. They want to help share his worries and troubles too in any way they can.

"It's nothing, just had a lot to think about," he assured them and dried them instantly with his master over hydro after they came back to shore, not wanting the twins to catch a cold after playing in the water.

"W-We can help!" Lyney volunteered. Lucian looked troubled and while he and Lynette would never be as capable as he is, they are already old enough to make themselves useful to him. Lucian simply breathed out a soft laugh at his remark as they started to pack their scant few belongings and began to make their way home.

"I'm not belittling you, but what I was mulling about is a problem that even the Chief Justice or Lady Furina had failed to resolve. I appreciate the thought though."

"What kind of problem were you mulling about then?" Lyney asked in curiosity.

"The rising sea level and if it relates to the prophecy that more and more people have been talking about nowadays. At the rate the water levels are rising, places like the one where you guys were playing about earlier will soon be submerged underwater. Realistically speaking, how do you think Fontaine should deal with it?"

"Well, not to sound like an irresponsible citizen, but realistically speaking that really is not something that we can really do something about, isn't it? We are only humans," Lyney pointed out and for a moment Lucian wondered how the older twin would react if he was aware that he wasn't speaking to someone who had ceased being human. "And I've heard that Lady Furina is already on the case when Lynette and I were busking on the streets. She's the Hydro archon, surely she is able to do something about it?"

"And what if she couldn't?"

"If prevention is impossible, wouldn't it be wiser to find ways to adapt ourselves to the new change?" Lynette voiced her thoughts. "We are the most technologically advanced nation, surely we can find a way to adapt to this change?"

"Y-Yeah! Like a floating city! Or better still, an underwater city! That will be so cool!" Lyney was quite literally buzzing with excitement at the ideas that suddenly took root in his head.

"Lyney, we can't breathe underwater," Lynette very blandly pointed out the flaws in his logic with her usual stoic expression. "Going underwater is impossible, I think it would be more feasible to build a floating city than an underwater city. Nobody said that Fontainians have to live on land itself, we are the water nation, why can't we build our city on a giant ship and live on it?"

"Whoa, a giant floating city that is actually one giant ship? Hey, that's pretty cool too!" Lyney agreed before that excited expression on his face was covered with a frown. "But you are pretty bad with machinery, what if you screwed the entire ship and by extension, the entire city, simply because you were on it? Remember what happened the last time you touched a dishwasher?"

"Lyney," Lynette spoke her brother's name in a dangerously calm voice and the older twin had immediately sensed the imminent threat, bolting off and running as fast as he could. Lucian watched as the twins got tangled into an impromptu game of tag as he strolled after them from behind. A floating city built on a giant ship? That is actually something within the realms of possibility, his archon would certainly be open to such an interesting suggestion if she were still around.

The twins' impromptu game of tag caused them to return to their city much sooner than expected. It's still rather early into the day and Lucian recalled that he had promised Clorinde extra lessons on sword fighting. If she happens to have some free time now might be a good time to go through on his promise. He informed the twins of his plans and they ended up tagging along.

So that's how they found themselves occupying a large clearing just right outside the city walls about an hour later, with Lyney and Lynette having a small picnic at the side while the former Grand Duelist coached the aspiring duelist.

"There is something informally known as "duel etiquette" in Fontaine, or at least there was such a thing centuries ago before Lady Furina took the seat of the Hydro archon," Lucian unsheathed his sword in a smooth motion, twirled his sword with a flick of his wrist out of habit and held it in a salute close to his chest on the side opposite of his dominant hand and perpendicular to the ground, the sharp edge of the blade of the sword pointing to the opposing duelist, which in this case is Clorinde. "This is a salute known as the En Garde, which calls for the duelists to be on guard. Most duels will have a witness and the witness would usually have the authority to call for the start and decide on the end of the duel for most cases. The match is called to a start when the witness calls out En Garde, both duelists will salute each other in respect, and the duel will start. Well, that used to be the prevalent custom of duels. Most duels nowadays just start at the count of three and forgo this salute entirely."

It was indeed a surprise when he learnt that the customs of duels had been simplified to this extent. He wouldn't call it a bad thing, but he personally was rather fond of the old- and outdated custom by the standards of this era- En Garde salute that signalled the start of the match. It gave duels a sense of importance and formality that embodies its significance.

"Like this?" Clorinde imitated the salute. It's an action that she often sees Lucian subconsciously do whenever he unsheathes his sword and she had always wondered why. Now, she had her answer. Personally, she found the En Garde salute rather interesting.

"If you aspire to be a Champion Duelist then you will need to know that there are two main types of duels that are usually held in Fontaine. There is the Judicial Duel and there is the Duel of Honour. While generally speaking they are very similar to each other and most people don't really differentiate one from the other, there are still some differences that you have to be aware of as a professional duelist. A judicial duel is the kind of duel that people are usually crazy about and what you usually see being reported on the news."

"You are talking about the duel held before a trial, where the accused have one chance to redeem their honour against a Champion Duelist. Victory would mean that charges against them would be dropped."

"Yes, that is correct," Lucian affirmed with a nod of his head. "However, many accused tend to defend their honour to the very end so they usually end up dying in the process; if they choose to stop the duel, then they are sent to trial instead. The history of the judicial duel originates from the early days of Fontaine when the first Hydro archon just started building up this nation. If the accused claims that the accuser had lied, they believed that the judgement of God would determine the winner and thus, it will be clear to all who is speaking the truth and who lied."

"Isn't the duelist's strength the key to winning the duels instead of who is speaking the truth?"

"Normally that would be the case," Lucian patiently answered Clorinde's questions. "However, our first archon does possess the ability to "deliver judgement" and Fontaine wasn't as big and as heavily populated when it first started out, so she ended up having the time to act as both the witness and judge of the trials and duels. Her power over "justice" made it such that the righteous would always win the Judicial Duel that she's a witness of. In fact, the very idea of creating a mechanism that eventually took shape in the form of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale originated from the concept of Judicial Duel."

"Then what about the Duel of Honour?"

"The main difference between a Judicial Duel and the Duel of Honour is determining if a crime is involved and if it was a reason why a duel was initiated. In a Duel of Honour, no crime was involved, which meant that a Duel of Honour is an arrangement to work out the differences that nobles had with each other. Some nobles took their honour very seriously, so whenever someone said or did something to diminish their sense of honour they would enter a duel to restore said honour."

"Sounds like something that rich people with an inflated sense of pride who have too much free time on their hands would indulge in."

"Well, you are not wrong," Lucian cannot help but agree since he personally also does not really see a point in holding a duel of honour most of the time. Duels of honour are a luxury that only the nobles in Fontaine can indulge in, not the commoners.

"The other main difference in a duel of honour is that the main point of this duel is to restore one's honour, not to kill their opponent. That would lead me to the next segment, the rules of duel. The rules of duel had been greatly simplified in the present day so I won't delve too much into the duels. Now, you just need to know that most matches would end when first blood is drawn, or when one is disarmed, severely injured, or when someone is dead. The rules can be agreed upon by the duelists before the start of the duel, so there is much room for compromise as long as all parties involved are agreeable to the terms. For a Champion Duelist, there are a few more additional rules for a judicial duel that you will need to take note of. The elderly and children are exempted from judicial duels, so neither you nor the twins are legally allowed to take part in one yet. If a Champion Duelist held a duel against an elderly or a child, the Champion Duelist will be the one facing punishment, so keep that in mind. Certain disabilities, such as a missing limb or eye, can also be reasons to refuse a judicial duel although if the party with said disability appeal to go through with the duel regardless, that request will still be honoured most of the time. In such a situation the person who has the final say to decide if a judicial duel will still be held will be the Chief Justice."

Lucian handed over a plain steel rapier over to the girl. It was a sword that he had commissioned the Beaumont Workshop to forge. A present for the girl, if he could call it that.

"Fontaine swordplay mainly revolves around the five types of swords that are more commonly used in our nation: the arming sword, the rapier, the longsword, the smallsword, and the sabre. From what I had seen thus far you would be more suited to wield a rapier. Rapiers and smallswords are the preferred and most suited weapons for most female duelists due to the biological differences between man and woman. The rapier is the second lightest weapon among the main five and strictly speaking, it is a hybrid weapon that can also be classified as a type of broadsword. Its sleek design meant that it is designed for quick and nimble thrusting attacks rather than the slashing power provided by other bigger types of swords, although I had seen quite a few interesting hybrids that are an in-between of longswords and rapier. Those kinds are significantly heavier than the typical rapier but being able to perform both slashing and thrusting attacks means that the wielder will have more options available, especially if they have the strength to effectively wield the weight of the blade."

"So I have to build up my arm strength if I want to wield such a hybrid blade?"

"Yes, you will need to, but that comes later. If you want to do that you will need to first master the basics of the rapier before I introduce you to the basics of the longsword, then we will go deeper into how you should wield a hybrid blade," Lucian mentally noted how Clorinde seemed to have taken a great interest in the idea of a rapier-longsword hybrid. It will be a very well-suited weapon for the girl given her talent and assuming that she will eventually grow to have a suitable physique to wield such a blade and gain the strength to effectively wield it.

But she is now still a child, so training how to wield a longsword will have to be put on hold, which was why he decided to first get her started on learning how to wield a rapier.

"Fontaine swordplay places a very heavy emphasis on footwork and this is especially so for the smallsword and rapier. Speed and nimbleness are essential when wielding these two types of swords, so agility training will be a vital part of your lessons. En Garde." Lucian held his sword in front of him in a salute and Clorinde quickly followed, knowing that their lesson had now truly started.

Lucian moved. While he holds a longsword in his hand the bladework he displayed were undoubtedly those of a rapier. The whole point of this training was to impart the knowledge of how to wield a rapier to Clorinde and the fastest way to do so would be to let her both witness and experience how a rapier user should wield their blade. The plain sword in his hand lashed out like a viper and Clorinde quickly moved to avoid it. She understood that it would be a cold day in hell before she could ever best Lucian so she focused her attention entirely on avoiding his strikes and if that proved impossible, parry it with her new blade.

"Watch out, Lucine~ Here I come! En Garde!"

The moves which his archon once used against him during their lessons were being fully replicated against his current opponent. The dance of metal which he re-enacted based on his memories dug up some fond memories from a time long past.

"Hey Lucine."

"Yes?"

"Just curious, have you ever thought about taking in a student? To, you know, pass on what you know?"

"Me? Taking on a student? I'm bad with kids and even worse at teaching."

"Really? How did you know? You've tried teaching before?"

He pointed to the snivelling brat that had been getting on his nerves as of late with a scowl on his face.

"My dear archon, you must be getting on in your years if you had forgotten that it was yours truly who ordered me to teach this insufferable child how to wield a sword."

"Eh… whoopsie daisy?"

"And for the record, I'm so done with her."

Trying to teach the bratty Focalors was a nightmare that he did not want to recall but she was indeed a very talented student as she would later prove. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone since it would only inflate her already inflated ego even further and she would be truly insufferable then.

"Parry, Lucine, parry! You rely too much on your sense of sight, use your other senses too!"

Lucian allowed a faint look of surprise to appear on his face when the girl managed to parry a strike from him. He hasn't seen such a level of talent in anybody else since Focalors, Clorinde is truly a born duelist, a talent that one could only see once in a few centuries.

"That will not do, Focalors! Learn how to identify weak spots in your opponent's stance at a glance!"

"Arrrrrgh why do I need to learn how to do so when I can just drown, them, in, water?!"

Whack!

"Hey stop hitting my head! This is why I couldn't grow any taller! Hit me some more and I will bring you to court!"

Whack!

"DAMMIT LUCI-"

WHACK!

"STOP-"

WHACK WHACK!

"OKAY OKAY I'M LISTENING!"

The girl may not realise it herself, but she's already starting to subconsciously adjust her stance such that she is minimising the number of flaws in her stance that he can exploit. The way she held her blade is such that she can easily block or parry any blow that he could possibly use to exploit the flaws in her stance that she could not hide from him in the shortest time possible. That instinctual talent is rare to see.

"Ha… HAHAHA! I did it I DID IT! I parried all your strikes! Hah, take that, Lucine! It only took me three months to pass your test! Hey everyone saw it, right? The almighty Focalors fought toe-to-toe with the Grand Duelist on equal footing, her blade repelling all of his venomous slashes with unwavering might of the divine! O Fontainians, praise my magnificence and my purity! Fontaine just gained herself a new contender and powerful protector by the name of the Great Lord Focalors! Rejoice! Rejoice and celebrate this joyous occasion!"

He allowed Focalors to gloat over her small achievement that very one time because she earned it. That still didn't stop him from throwing her off her high horse and reminded her how harsh reality can be the very next day. The Great Lord Focalors didn't feel that great that day.

His surprise grew when Clorinde found the opportunity to weave in a counterattack when he least expected it. It was just a single thrust and he easily blocked her attack, but it was the fact that the girl managed to do something that even the divine couldn't. She truly surpassed all expectations he had for her. He hadn't even officially started her on the basics of how to wield a rapier and she's already starting to instinctively grasp that knowledge all on her own in this short amount of time.

All of it, simply by observing him.

"Lucine! Hey hey hey, pssssst! Guess what? I bested Rhodeia in a duel today!"

"Fair and square?"

"Fair and- Whaaaaa?! Come on, of course it was! Have a little more faith in me!"

Rhodeia and Focalors had never gotten along. To be more precise, Focalors had never gotten along with the lochfolk and the only reason they hadn't organised a joint assassination attempt on her was because of his archon. Rhodeia is going to be very sore at her loss with how much Focalors is gloating over the outcome of the duel, he could already imagine Rhodeia sulking.

But a duel is a duel and Focalors won fair and square. Rhodeia has to accept her defeat with grace. Such is the way of life in Fontaine.

"Hmph, this is the least you should be capable of. It would be a disgrace if a divine being taught by the Grand Duelist lost in a duel."

"Heh, why would I need to be powerful when I have our almighty archon and Grand Duelist? Both of you are always going to be here, right?"

"Complacency-"

"-is unbecoming of a warrior. Yes, I know, I know. Jeez, you really act like an old grandpa sometimes, you know?"

"I am indeed old enough to be your grandpa in terms of physical age, you snotty brat."

Focalors smugly shrugged her shoulders in a what-can-you-do manner.

"It's just like you said, I'm just a brat. Fontaine has her archon and her Grand Duelist who protected this land for thousands of years, why would the nation ever need me then? So I should just focus on enjoying myself! The theatrics, the drama, the opera! Ahahaha, I really love Fontaine! It has everything I love!"

He remembered sighing.

"You are irredeemable. I really worry what would happen to you if there comes a day where you have to fend for yourself."

"Nah, that won't happen~" Focalors dismissed his concerns with a dramatic and flippant wave of her hand. "Because I am a citizen of Fontaine too and our esteemed archon and Grand Duelist will always be here to defend Fontaine and her people, including me! Justice always prevails!"

"You damn leech."

"Leech? No no no, how could you say that? Don't you think that Fontaine has gotten so much more lively and fun ever since I was born?"

"I woe the day where our archon assigns you the responsibility of overlooking an aspect of our nation like she planned to."

"Oh oh oh! Can I request to oversee the development of the entertainment industry in our nation? I'm the best candidate for the job, I can swear this upon my sword! You are looking at the Chief Entertainer of Fontaine right now, in the flesh! Our nation needs more sparks of joy in our life, seriously!"

If all had gone well, if the cataclysm never happened, Focalors would probably have gotten what she wished for and become the "Chief Entertainer" or whatever pompous title she cooked up in that queer little head of hers, overseeing the entertainment industry of Fontaine.

"L-Lucine… A-Are the both of you…"

She was always so fearless and full of hot air. It was the very first time he saw fear in her eyes.

"We will be back," he promised her and ruffled her hair. For the first time, she didn't bat his hand away like she always does. "We will leave Fontaine in your hands. Don't worry too much, Neuvillette will be here to assist you and we will be back before you know it. Hold your head high, you are the Chief Entertainer and the magnificent and embodiment of purity Great Lord Focalors."

She perked up a little when he mentioned her self-proclaimed title, so he guessed his words must have some effect that he desired.

"Y-You better!" She immediately held onto his promise and it was clear to everyone that she's extremely nervous and barely managed to put up with her act of false bravado. "I-I will protect Fontaine while you guys are gone! You guys better be quick and return or you might just find yourselves ousted and outdone because the magnificent Great Lord Focalors would have made Fontaine so much greater than what you two could have ever done!"

"Will she be fine?" He remembered asking his archon as they left Fontaine and made their swift journey to combat the forces of the Abyss where the worst hit area was at, down at the Tunigi Hollow.

"Focalors is stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Don't worry, it's in God's nature to love mankind and she is a kindhearted divine despite her faults with the needed determination to see things done. I can entrust Fontaine to her in our absence and besides, she has Neuvillette assisting her."

"I'm just worried that our Nation of Justice would turn into the Nation of Theatrics by the time we return."

"Hmm, that is indeed possible. Then let's make haste, shall we?"

He kept up with the pressure of his assault, curious to see just how far he could push the girl until she reached her limits. Despite the fact that this was only a spar against an amateur, his blood was singing in exhilaration with how the girl had quickly kept up with his pace, proving that she has talent that could make even geniuses bow their heads in shame.

"The Abyss… Hah… It's truly a fearsome enemy."

That war was a nightmare that even the divine could never imagine. Comrades fell one after the other in their best efforts to contain the contamination such that the corruption would never reach their homes. If this corruption were to reach Fontaine and pollute their waters…

Hope was briefly reignited when their archon decimated a large portion of the Abyss monsters with her power over the Hydro element. Even their archon is starting to look worse for wear, which isn't good news, but they could not afford to back down.

There's no longer anywhere for them to retreat to. Any further and Fontaine will be in danger.

She started weaving in her own counterattacks the moment she grasped the knowledge of how to properly use a rapier simply by being on the receiving end of his assault. She yelled out a battlecry and he was mildly impressed at how she forced him to pause his assault for a few moments in order to defend himself or risk being stabbed by her rapier. Their dance of metal continued as they both began to lose themselves in this waltz, the sound of metal clashing against metal the only music they knew and could hear.

"Stand, my people! This war is not over! Nobody but us can defend our home!" Their archon rallied their forces and morale was restored, the power of the divine flooding through their bodies as she granted them her blessings and protection. The power of water lies in its ability to take any shape to match the circumstances of the situation and their archon displayed to the forces of the Abyss why that is so.

Water flowed in continuity that day, endless in volume and neverending deepness in depth.

His ears picked up the sound of an unexpected addition to the waltz they were having. The signature crackling of electro stunned him for a brief moment, his mind unable to comprehend how the presence of the electro element suddenly came to be. The girl swung her blade and vanished in a blur of violet a split second later and he instinctively summoned the power of hydro to shield himself from this unexpected threat.

The resulting collision of elemental power caused them to skid backwards from the impact and for a moment he was worried that he might have accidentally used too much power due to the unexpected presence of electro. The dance of steel finally ended and his worry dissipated when he saw that the girl remained standing, surpassing each and all of his expectations that he had for her. He will have to reevaluate her talent and potential and for once in a very long while, the idea of taking in an official student truly crossed his mind.

It also didn't escape his notice that the girl now has a new accessory hanging from her belt, one that could only be granted when someone had been gazed upon and acknowledged by the gods. Somehow or another, the girl had received an electro vision.

"Passing on our knowledge to somebody else is also a display of continuity, much like the flowing water. Won't you reconsider it, Lucine?"

Even the hardest of rocks will wear down when exposed to the erosion brought about by the endless continuity of water. He couldn't help but recall his archon's words when they discussed the option and possibility of him taking in a student. He had declined back then, citing that there was nobody worthy of his time and attention. Nobody had caught his interest.

"... I'll try. No promises though."

He looked at the girl standing across him in the clearing. Her legs were shaking and about to give up on her due to how much she had exerted herself just to push through the training he subjected her to, but her resolve remained strong and her hold over her weapon remained firm, her rapier pointing resolutely at him in preparation for another bout, if any.

She should be proud of herself. Granted, he lowered the difficulty to match it to a suitably reasonable level for a mortal and it is different in intensity from the one he put Focalors through since that brat is a divine elemental being, but Clorinde is still the first person in thousands of years to have passed the preliminary test that the Grand Duelist once used to screen the candidates who requested a chance to be taught by him as his student, only for them to fail without exception.

But Clorinde passed and earned herself a vision from that. On her first try, no less.

Is this what you meant by continuity, my archon?

Perhaps, this is fate's way of telling him that it's time for the Grand Duelist to pass on what he knows.