Chapter 118: The Death of the Doctor

The Knave’s mindset shifted just a fraction. As a Fatui Harbinger who had weathered countless trials before, she knew all too well that sitting on a bench in this place never boded well.

She recovered quickly.

Watching the murderous Dottore, the Knave frowned slightly, murmuring with a touch of feigned confusion: "The Doctor? Why would someone like him appear in my dream?"

Her confusion did not last. With a simple clench of her hand, a scarlet scythe of the Grim Reaper materialized in her pale grip. Wings of blood unfurled, and an undisguised killing intent erupted from her, the bloody cross-shaped symbol igniting in tandem. Her voice shifted, the latter half of her words cold and sharp.

"No matter. Since pests have crawled into my dream, I need only purge them."

The crimson scythe pointed directly at the Doctor. The Knave’s gaze was as sharp as if she were looking at a corpse—a parasite that had no place in her dreamscape.

She was not incapable of distinguishing dream from reality, nor was she ignorant of the consequences. But the facts no longer mattered; what mattered was that as long as she played the fool, she had a chance to challenge the Doctor.

She knew that the former Knave had died at his hands. Now, she simply wanted to send the Doctor where he truly belonged.

"You dare challenge me?"

The Doctor stared at her, a glimmer of wariness in his eyes. Though framed as a question, his tone was certain; he was not surprised that the Knave harbored such thoughts.

Although Arlecchino was the new Knave who had risen to power by slaying her predecessor, possessing the formidable strength of the Crimson Moon, she was still the Fourth Harbinger. Her power was insufficient to kill the Second, and there was a high probability of her being slain in return.

After a moment of wariness, the Doctor wore a look of contempt. While he might not be a match for Lu Mingze, crushing the Knave was a simple task.

"Do you think you can kill me?"

The Doctor slowly took off his coat, his face beneath the mask showing an amused expression.

"Hmph."

The Knave suddenly laughed. She turned to look at Lu Mingze, who was watching with great interest, and offered a warm, unprecedented smile. "My dear child, would you be willing to do your father a favor?"

"Child? You call me child?"

Lu Mingze laughed even harder. He found the Knave far more interesting than he had imagined. As his smile bloomed, a powerful pressure began to shroud the dreamscape.

On the other side, the Doctor, who had intended to start a duel, felt his heart tremble. While he was confident he could crush the Knave, facing the Dragon King Lu Mingze was a different matter—he would be better off wondering how to die with dignity.

Given the power Lu Mingze had displayed, his mental projection alone was enough to crush the Seven Archons. Even if the Tsaritsa herself arrived, she might not prevail. His ability to disable elemental power was too absurd; without overwhelming force, no one stood a chance.

From their previous dialogue, it was clear that the Knave and Lu Mingze were strangers, perhaps never having met. The probability of her successfully inciting him to attack was extremely low.

More importantly... she dared to call Lu Mingze a child? Calling such a terrifying Dragon King "child"? Was she courting death? Lu Mingze’s mental pressure had already descended; perhaps he would annihilate this usurper in the next instant.

Yet, facing that pressure, the Knave neither apologized nor panicked. She kept smiling, like a true family member, and continued: "If you are willing to call me Father, then you are my child—my most precious child."

"Ah? Hahaha! Hahahaha!"

Lu Mingze’s aura stalled, then he burst into laughter. The Knave’s response amused him greatly. He had never expected such an idea from her—it was sheer joy!

He turned his head slowly, his golden eyes filled with amusement as he looked at the Doctor, whose pupils had shrunk in shock. His inner joy reached its peak.

*‘You actually dare to go after me?’*
*‘You are a Dragon King, where is your dignity? Your dignity!’*

The Doctor roared internally. Lu Mingze’s focused pressure descended—a terrifying sensation like being in the deepest pits of hell, an extreme oppression the Doctor had never experienced before. Moreover, he had the unsettling illusion that Lu Mingze’s strength was still growing.

*How could I have such an illusion?*

In fact, Lu Mingze’s strength *was* growing. "Joy" was the source of his power, and the joy derived from the Knave and the Doctor served as fuel, boosting his capability.

*‘Success.’*

The Knave’s lips curled slightly, her gentle smile gaining confidence. Since the beginning, she had been thinking: Lu Mingze, being a Dragon King like Lu Mingfei, likely shared the same fundamental trait—madness.

They were both mad Dragon Kings. Their madness was invisible.

Lu Mingfei was usually normal, but when it came to Furina, his madness would be ignited, and he would strike with the posture of a wrathful king.

Lu Mingze seemed normal, but when it came to having fun, he would display boundless madness. For the sake of amusement, he could impersonate Focalors, and he could accept being called "Father," regardless of the fact that she was but an ant compared to him.

Lu Mingze cared nothing for dignity; he only cared for amusement. Therefore, driving him was simple: provide him with enough entertainment.

The Knave had taken a gamble. She was mad too—her attempt was something no sane person would dare—but she trusted her judgment, believing the truth she saw was real, and made the best possible choice based on it.

The Knave had succeeded.

"Sorry, Doctor, those are Father's orders." The smile vanished from Lu Mingze’s face as he looked at Dottore with feigned sadness, like a reluctant child.

"..."

The Doctor’s mind snapped, his expression twisting. He never imagined Lu Mingze would be such a Dragon King—willing to play the son to an ant like Arlecchino in a dream, and actually obeying her! Who could have expected this?

After a brief, tense silence, the Doctor steadied himself. "Lu Mingze, do you know? This 'Father' of yours rose to power by killing the 'Mother' of the House of the Hearth. She was once a child, too. Perhaps you could learn from her."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lu Mingze turned slowly, looking at the Knave behind him with a naive, questioning expression.

*‘He didn't kill the Doctor instantly. As expected, his goal is amusement. Killing him directly might mean missing out on unknown joy, so he is giving the Doctor a chance to plead his case.’*

Therefore... if he could make it seem like there was no more fun to be had, Lu Mingze would surely kill him, right?

The Knave understood the situation instantly. She placed a hand gently on Lu Mingze’s shoulder, looked him in the eyes, and replied earnestly: "Yes, it is true."

"Because she did not deserve to be called Mother. She showed us children only superficial care. She did not treat us as true children, but as tools—disposable tools."

"So I killed her and became a Father, unlike the Mother. Though I am not good with words, I am willing to give my children true love. Lu Mingze, my child, even if you wish to kill me now, I am still the Father who loves you."

The Knave wore a look of relief. Having grasped the situation, her mindset had shifted; she knew exactly what she had to do.

"Sounds complicated."

"Yes, it is a very long story." Arlecchino sighed, then said, "Child, he is trying to sow discord between us. Don't you think such a person deserves to die?"

"Indeed."

Lu Mingze nodded deeply, his gaze shifting back to the Doctor. The pressure he released grew even stronger, hinting that he was about to end it.

The Doctor, meanwhile, had begun to understand something about Lu Mingze’s behavior.

First, Lu Mingze was not bound by rules or dignity, but his actions followed a logic of his own. He seemed keen on playing roles, much like the Hydro Archon, Furina.

When they first met, he played Focalors. Here, he played a naive little boy—and his current persona seemed to possess a strong sense of justice. If that were the case, the current situation was truly unfavorable for him.

"You don't seem entirely loyal to the Tsaritsa," the Doctor remarked.

"Because I love my children more," Arlecchino replied without hesitation.

"Then why do you raise your children as tools to be used? Is that truly love?" the Doctor retorted.

"Do you consider yourself a tool of the Tsaritsa?"

"I am merely a researcher."

The Knave and the Doctor engaged in several rounds of verbal sparring. They were fighting in a unique way. The Doctor’s answers carried the caution of a researcher, aiming to present himself as a neutral figure devoid of morality, thereby convincing Lu Mingze to spare him.

*He is a naive little boy right now. So, as long as I don't commit a taboo, there should be no problem.*

"Hmph!"

The smile on the Knave’s face grew richer. Compared to the Doctor, her answers had more flaws and clear biases, but she knew the correctness of the words mattered less than the entertainment value within them.

"Would you say sorry to those children?"

"No, because this is my profession. Letting them fulfill their intended purpose is my duty. I am just a researcher—"

"Enough."

The pressure from Lu Mingze surged in an instant. He looked at the Doctor coldly, his patience exhausted.

This man could no longer provide amusement, and he truly despised those who experimented on children. Though Lu Mingze did not state it explicitly, his disdain was absolute; such things were unforgivable in his eyes.

The Doctor, attempting to avoid further vulnerabilities, had cast himself as an utterly rational scholar. It was dull, and it was tiresome.

"Hmm?"

The Doctor looked startled. Lu Mingze’s reaction was not what he had expected; he seemed to dislike the persona he had crafted and still wanted to kill him.

But there was no helping it. Dottore knew deep down that he had committed countless atrocities. With Lu Mingze’s current persona, and the Knave exposing his faults, his demise was a high-probability event. His rational scholar persona could only delay the inevitable.

"Here."

The Knave handed her scythe to Lu Mingze, smiling sincerely. "This is my help as a 'Father.' I hope it proves useful to you."

Lu Mingze glanced at her, not taking the blood-stained scythe, his eyes filled with arrogance and contempt. He might be the type to discard dignity for fun, but some things were only amusing the first time. If she kept emphasizing that she was his "Father," he would eventually consider killing her.

*I can do without dignity, but you cannot be presumptuous. Is emphasizing that you are the father really that interesting?*

"Alchemy—Conceptual Armament—Gungnir."

Lu Mingze clenched his hand, and a spear from myth materialized rapidly. Its curve was like the arc of a falling star; it was Gungnir, the weapon of Odin from the Dragon World.

As the Supreme of the Dragon Race, he naturally mastered the highest form of alchemy. When he transmitted knowledge to Lu Mingfei, he had also included a bit of technique regarding conceptual armaments, though he hadn't made it explicit. Otherwise, how could his flame spear have been so powerful?

The flame spear itself was half a conceptual armament, allowing it to combine with the power of immortality to form the super-artifact known as the Immortal Flame Spear.

"Wait... wait..."

Seeing Lu Mingze holding Gungnir, the Doctor finally panicked. He did not know what would happen if he died in the dream. Lu Mingze was clearly different from Lu Mingfei; his power could directly affect reality, preventing the Doctor from using elemental energy in the real world.

Therefore, Lu Mingze’s dream-tapir might be stronger than Lu Mingfei’s, and it might truly kill him.

In such a situation, the Doctor’s composure crumbled.

But did it matter? Would he ever care about the feelings of those used as experimental materials? It was merely a cycle.

Unable to use his elemental powers, the Doctor turned and ran. Under Lu Mingze’s pressure, his flight was stumbling; he even tripped over a stone, yet he could only scramble away like a stray dog.

Lu Mingze watched him coldly and hurled Gungnir. The tip of the spear linked to the Doctor’s fate; Gungnir would inevitably reach the other side of destiny.

Scarlet stained the streets of Fontaine.

The sinner was pinned to the ground.