Eldritch Horror Theatre

"The corpse of a Divine Entity has always been a sensitive topic."

Fu Qian's question was met with a long silence. In the end, it was Casi who spoke first.

"Because for a very long time, a Deity has been more akin to a concept—a symbol corresponding to an authority."

"And the so-called New Gods are nothing more than those who have completely mastered a certain type of authority."

"At least the way I see it, a Tier 1 Death wouldn't be enough to leave behind a place like this."

That aligned perfectly with his intuition.

Fu Qian stroked his chin.

Whether it was the "sun" that had Descended upon Ariel, Hamadus, whose kidney he had gouged out, or Yasui Tokiyuki, whom he had encountered later, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were all somehow different.

Casi's explanation undoubtedly confirmed this point.

At the same time, he maintained his stance. In fact, to Fu Qian, this had to be the real reason Casi couldn't wait to drag him here.

'Where does it look like one...?'

Shocked by how suddenly serious the two men had become, Lisa didn't dare instinctively deny it. But even after observing carefully, she still couldn't see what they were talking about.

"Aren't forbidden zones always filled with bizarre things?"

"Rotting, decomposing, mutating—yet completely integrated as a single whole."

Noticing that Casi wasn't in a rush to answer—looking almost as if he were testing her—Fu Qian didn't hold back.

"Even if you can't sense certain things on the level of divinity, one point remains glaringly obvious."

He pointed at the various creatures fluttering through the sky.

"From the microscopic to the massive, the essence of their power stems from the exact same source. The most direct evidence is that they are all composed of bone armor over a spirit-like entity."

"If you were to smash these few apart and mix them together..."

Fu Qian pointed out several targets in succession.

"...I'm confident I could use their bone armor to piece together a much more complete skeletal dragon. The relationship between them is nowhere near as distant as that of different species."

'Piece them together? What are you, a kid playing with building blocks...?'

Fu Qian's words once again provoked Lisa's silent criticism.

However, because he spoke so straightforwardly without trying to sound cryptic, she actually took a moment to examine the targets carefully.

One of them was a wyvern-like creature whose entire body was outlined by only a few pieces of bone armor, radiating an aura of withering. It darted rapidly through the Mist, making it quite hard to track.

But after some effort, she finally managed to burn the contours of its bone armor into her mind.

'It really does seem possible... even if the shape is a little weird.'

After mentally rearranging and combining the pieces—which took quite a bit of effort—Lisa actually managed to construct a somewhat cohesive image.

'Is this the power of a Demigod?'

'I had to bust my ass to see it, yet this guy spotted it at a single glance. What on earth does he do at home all day...?'

Amidst her marveling, Lisa was already somewhat convinced by the corpse theory.

"Well said. It's a pity some people stubbornly turn a blind eye to something so obvious, even going so far as to interpret those bones as the final shackles of a group of noble creatures."

Beside them, Casi finally gave a cold snort, backing Fu Qian's perspective.

...

Though she knew the Dean was referring to the people from Linghui, Lisa still felt a bit awkward, considering her own less-than-professional attitude earlier.

"In short, we owe the resounding success of this expedition to Professor Fu's full support."

Casi didn't seem to mind. In a split second, his face broke into a broad smile, making no attempt to hide his excitement.

'Resounding success...? You aren't about to say the operation is already over, are you?'

Lisa was instantly dumbfounded.

"You're too polite. So you were in such a rush to drag me over because I didn't know about this place beforehand?"

Demigod Fu didn't look surprised at all.

"Exactly. I needed a Demigod who was entering this place for the first time—ideally someone who had absolutely no prior concept of it—to verify my judgment."

Casi admitted readily.

"Now that our goal has been achieved, we have plenty of time and manpower for the specific verification work."

"Next up is the field trip. The scenery here is quite unique."

"Makes sense. Theory must always be connected to reality. After you, Dean!"

'So it really is over after just taking one look? Then what on earth am I even here for?'

'Even though I thought the operation was a bit strange beforehand, considering how rare the opportunity was, I still made so many preparations...'

Seeing the two Demigods up ahead chatting and laughing along the edge of the giant crater—truly adopting the posture of grandpas taking a morning stroll—Lisa, whose view on the seriousness of the operation had just started to change, felt her blood boil once again.

Trailing behind them, she couldn't help but feel that in this scenario, it would be more fitting if she were carrying a fruit platter or something.

"And you, little Lisa? Did you learn anything from coming along this time?"

While her thoughts were wandering, Demigod Fu suddenly turned back from his conversation up ahead, asking with a smile.

'What the hell is with this gentle elder routine you're pulling? In terms of seniority, I came to Apocalypse way earlier than you, and in terms of age, I'm almost certainly...'

After realizing what he had just said, Lisa gritted her teeth.

"It looks like Tutor Lisa spaced out just now."

Seeing this, Demigod Fu laughed heartily, waving a hand as he joked with Casi.

"It's alright. Just say whatever comes to mind. I'll help you straighten out your thoughts so you don't fail when Dean Casi tests you later."

"Professor Fu, you're helping Lisa cheat right in front of me!"

Lisa was so stunned she froze, but to her surprise, Casi blanked for a second before bursting into laughter as well.

"It's fine, Lisa. Speak boldly! It's a rare opportunity, and Professor Fu's theoretical knowledge is incredibly high."

'I really...'

Unable to muster a smile at all, Lisa took a deep breath and forced herself to squeeze out her takeaways.

Given the overly greasy behavior of those two clowns, she had absolutely no desire to repeat their viewpoints.

"There's no need to deify Transcendent creatures. That kind of obsession driven by personal preference will only affect our judgment, just like the people from Linghui."

Facts proved that Tutor Lisa was quite extraordinary in her own right. After a moment of effort, she actually managed to squeeze out a takeaway of just under a hundred words.

"They should always be nothing more than subjects for research."

As she said this, a strange coldness settled over her expression.

"Well said."

This time, it was Casi who commented directly.

"What else?"

'What else?' A jolt stirred Lisa's Dao heart, and she decided to put an end to this act of self-torture.

"Sorry... I can't think of anything else at the moment."

"Oh, then does Professor Fu have any guidance for our Lisa?"

"Hmm..."

Fu Qian scrutinized her while pretending to be deep in thought, staring until Lisa even started to feel a bit guilty.

"You've already spoken very well. I'll just add one point."

"Some things are relative. People who easily deify one kind of thing will often just as easily despise another. Linghui's biggest problem this time was that they completely treated ordinary people as materials. Therefore..."

Fu Qian let out a light chuckle.

"Being born noble is undoubtedly boring, but there's no need to belittle oneself, either."

...

'It really isn't easy for Casi!'

Clearly sensing Lisa's body stiffen, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

There were simply too many freaks and monsters in the Apocalypse Branch. Doing ideological work was indeed no easy task.

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