Fontaine's Grand Stage: Come If You Dare! (Genshin Impact)

Not only Navia, but the three people behind her were utterly bewildered by Lofan's move.

With only two crucial pieces remaining, any trap should have been easily detectable. The truly terrifying thing was that they couldn't see any at all.

Yet, if Lofan lost another critical piece, his chances of winning would dwindle to almost nothing.

Even if there was a trap, an equal exchange, or even a two-for-one trade, would still favor them, as long as they avoided immediate checkmate.

They all understood this fundamental principle. Lofan couldn't possibly be ignorant of it. So why was he acting like a complete novice, foolishly delivering his last Chariot piece right into the Cannon's line of fire?

It would be foolish to underestimate Lofan's chess skills. Their previous match had already proven that his mastery far surpassed theirs.

What terrified Lyney even more was that after the Cannon captured the Chariot, just a few more moves would lead to Lofan's complete checkmate!

Despite the clear path to victory before them, Lyney's heart was gripped by dread.

He couldn't see through it.

What was Lofan thinking? Lyney simply couldn't fathom it, as if Lofan had controlled the game from the very beginning.

Deep down, Lyney even felt a flicker of relief that he wasn't the one sitting in Navia's seat. At that moment, he could scarcely imagine the immense pressure she must be enduring.

As Lyney suspected, Navia was indeed under tremendous strain. She saw the same "opportunity" he did, but it was too obvious, as if Lofan had deliberately left the Chariot vulnerable.

After three agonizing minutes of deliberation, the silence in the room grew oppressively heavy.

Having eliminated all potential checkmate scenarios, Navia resolved to strike the Chariot!

She wouldn't back down now. She wouldn't let this opportunity slip away. He must be bluffing!

Even if there were hidden traps she couldn't see, losing a piece or two wouldn't cripple her chances. He was on the defensive, after all.

So why hesitate?

But just as Navia reached for her "Cannon," Lofan suddenly spoke.

"By the way, aren't you curious about what happened to that missing body?"

Hearing Lofan's seemingly irrelevant question, Lyney broke out in a cold sweat.

What's going on? he thought. Was my earlier deduction wrong?

Is it not consciousness transfer, but rather that each body possesses its own independent consciousness?!

No, the real question is why he's bringing this up now. What's his angle?

Charlotte swallowed hard, an ominous premonition gripping her.

"I don't care about anything else!" Navia snapped, glaring fiercely at Lofan. "All that matters is that you're about to lose!"

Her resolve was unshakeable, no matter what he said next.

"No, Miss Navia, I think you'll find this quite interesting."

With that, Lofan produced a photograph from seemingly nowhere and slowly placed it above the chessboard.

Navia's gaze was inevitably drawn to the image. She saw a group of children, more precisely, children standing at the intersections of a grid, each adorned with signs reading "Pawn," "Knight," "Cannon," and so on.

The children were dressed in red and black uniforms, and from a distance, their positions resembled pieces on a giant chessboard.

In an instant, Navia realized the implications and clenched her chess piece tightly. A boundless fury threatened to completely incinerate her rationality.

The other three, having grasped the truth, wore equally furious expressions, their eyes burning with murderous intent as they glared at Lofan. However, they had already used their chances to speak, leaving them no words to voice their rage, lest they forfeit the game entirely.

He's a madman, a demon!

How dare he prey on children's trust and orchestrate such a cruel game?

He has no heart. He doesn't deserve to be human!

They could already foresee the fate of the children who had been captured like chess pieces.

In a way, the deaths of those children were connected to each of them, for they had all urged Navia to make the moves that sealed their doom.

As they stared at the innocent smiles frozen in the photographs, it felt as if sharp knives were being thrust into their hearts, leaving their chests raw and bleeding with guilt.

"Grett, you deserve to die!" Navia screamed, throwing a punch at Lofan's face. But Lofan merely watched her eyes with detached amusement, making no move to defend himself.

Her fist stopped barely an inch from Lofan's mask. He nodded slightly and declared, "One minute remains, Miss Navia."

At those words, Navia slumped back into her chair as if her soul had been ripped away. She braced herself against the table, sweat dripping from her hair onto the surface.

Her chest heaved violently. Without this desperate support, she wouldn't have had the strength to even sit upright.

Had she... killed those children?

Was it her who had killed those children?

Confusion, grief, anger, remorse... a maelstrom of emotions threatened to tear Navia apart.

Tears welled in her eyes as the image from the photograph flooded her mind.

Warm memories of Lofan playing with the children flashed before her, only to shatter into fragmented scenes.

In the photo, some of the children appeared to be holding the Aranara dolls that Lofan had crafted for them.

"Why? Why would you do something like this?!" Navia couldn't help but shout at Lofan, but all she received in return was his cold, emotionless countdown.

"Thirty seconds remaining, Miss Navia."

Navia closed her eyes in agony, her body trembling uncontrollably.

The chess piece clutched in her hand suddenly felt impossibly heavy, as if weighed down by a mountain.

Victory was within reach, yet Navia couldn't bring herself to make that final move.

"Ten seconds remaining."

The demonic words pierced through the tidal wave of pain that threatened to engulf her, dragging Navia back to reality.

Tens of thousands of lives hung in the balance against the lives of a few children. Hmph, she thought, I suppose I already know what I have to do.

In the final second, Navia slammed her Cannon piece down onto Lofan's Chariot with a force that seemed to unleash a crimson glare from her eyes.

"A wise choice, Miss Navia," Lofan said, his words dripping with cruel provocation and mockery.

"I'll kill you! I swear I'll tear you apart myself, Grett!" Navia glared at Lofan, her bloodshot eyes blazing with the fury of a demon from hell.