Eldritch Horror Theatre

His questionable persona was becoming more vivid by the second.

He just wondered if, in Sage's mind, his sanity had been compromised by the puzzles or if he was an undercover operative from a faction with ulterior motives.

"Mission accomplished. Mind if I step back to rest for a bit?"

Having successfully terrified everyone by showing absolutely no side effects, Fu Qian blinked and volunteered to take a break.

Did he look like he needed even a sliver of rest?

Amidst the others' barely suppressed urge to complain, Sage slowly nodded.

"Good work."

...

Thanks to Fu Qian pulling the team together, they reached the Invisible Bridge noticeably faster than last time.

He did nothing but spare a single glance toward the Invisible Bridge before Sage even issued a warning.

Clang! Clang!

Following Sage's warning, Brother Round Shield carefully advanced to the end of the Invisible Bridge. His encounter mirrored the last one perfectly: two claws slammed into his shield in unison.

A short distance away, the third living corpse hurled a Resonance Spike, successfully committing suicide in the process.

'So it really can't dominate their minds?'

Watching this unfold, Fu Qian silently reached a conclusion.

Even though they had arrived at different times during the two attempts, the living corpses' activity levels were completely identical. This practically proved that the corpses weren't being controlled by the Holy Grail.

Their attacks were purely instinctual reactions to being disturbed.

All the Holy Grail did was infuse them with the copied abilities.

'It imparts skills but doesn't brainwash them. What a pure authority of knowledge.'

'So, in Old Man Sage's estimation, the odds are higher that I belong to a faction with ulterior motives?'

'Exactly what I wanted.'

...

"Left Hand?"

Just as Fu Qian was feeling increasingly satisfied with this setup, Sage called out to him exactly as expected.

Golden light retracted as ripples spread outward. Having witnessed their companion's gruesome death, the two surviving living corpses abandoned their Resonance Spikes—just like last time—and immediately plagiarized Brother Round Shield's defensive barrier.

It was obvious that Sage genuinely needed his help with this situation, but it was equally obvious the old man wouldn't pass up another chance to test him.

"No problem."

Before the old man could say another word, Fu Qian stepped into the air, golden light flashing in his hand.

Crackle!

After a brief standoff, the two living corpses met the exact same fate as before.

As the Resonance Spike in his hand dissipated, Fu Qian gave Sage a slight nod and returned to the team, choosing to hide achievements and fame.

...

Even though this was all part of his plan, Fu Qian's effortless monster-slaying display stunned his teammates into a few seconds of utter silence.

In reality, acting like this was somewhat risky.

Considering it was highly likely Sage already suspected him, continuously pulling these increasingly shady stunts could easily shatter the old man's psychological defenses and force him to resort to lethal measures.

"Let's go. There is still a long road ahead of us."

Ultimately, however, the old man didn't choose to eliminate Fu Qian right then and there. He even signaled the team to continue along the exact same route as last time.

'Is he really that lenient?'

'Interesting!'

Fu Qian, who had already mapped out an escape route just in case, felt the situation was becoming wonderfully exciting.

The chances of a man like Sage acting out of compassion or an appreciation for talent were practically zero. Not to mention, Fu Qian had already seen his ruthless attitude toward cannon fodder during their last run.

The only possible reason for staying his hand was that, in his judgment, the benefits of keeping a suspicious character around outweighed the risks.

Which begged the question: with the heavy lifting already done, what further benefit could Fu Qian possibly provide?

A benefit large enough to offset the risk of him maliciously sabotaging this precisely calculated expedition?

As he followed the team through the hidden door, Fu Qian's mind raced.

'Does he want to use me as specialized cannon fodder to test the Holy Grail?'

'It's a logical thought. But considering how quickly I went back to slacking off right after doing my part, is he really that confident I'd volunteer to charge the front lines?'

'Wait a minute—does Sage think that even if I do absolutely nothing, my mere presence might trigger a unique reaction from the Holy Grail?'

Something clicked in Fu Qian's mind.

Based on his earlier deductions, Sage most likely believed he belonged to an undercover faction, and the old man might even have a specific organization in mind.

To Sage, members of this faction were likely viewed as highly unique... so unique that, even if they did nothing at all, an Authority Grade existence like the Holy Grail would treat them differently than normal people.

'And they'd have to be ordinary people on top of that...'

He actually knew an organization that fit that exact bill—the Veil Sisters' hometown, Bairluk Town, with Collins and his crew.

'Could they be connected to The Society as well?'

Those characters with holes in their heads from that particular script had left quite a deep impression on Fu Qian.

They were clearly ordinary people, yet under the influence of a brain dance, they had actually managed to kill an expert in the Demigod Realm.

'If that's true, then this Blind Eye Society is seriously formidable.'

Collins was obviously acquainted with Claudio—the man who had died by Fu Qian's hands after attempting to glimpse the mysteries of a Deity and triggering a Ritual Tide. The two of them seemed to be heretics belonging to factions with conflicting ideologies.

'And the Holy Grail Cult, constantly excavating anomalies everywhere, definitely seems to have deep ties to the Blind Eye Society.'

'Do all these organizations share the same origin?'

For now, this was just a one-way deduction based on sheer possibility. He lacked the concrete information needed to confirm the theory, so he would just have to continue quietly observing changes.

...

"Wait a minute. Where did that guy go?"

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to wait long.

Driven by fully mobilized proactivity, Charlotte finally beat Ais to the punch, becoming the first to realize that the team member bringing up the rear had vanished.

Less than half a minute had passed since Fu Qian had last glanced back.

As an expert in applying pressure, Fu Qian naturally wasn't going to miss a chance to put the squeeze on the Holy Grail.

Knowing the entity would create illusions to scare off the rearguard first, Fu Qian made sure to casually glance backward every so often while admiring the eye on the ceiling.

Of course, he couldn't make his glances too obvious, or the already-fuming Charlotte would likely demand an explanation.

Yet, in that tiny sliver of time, the rearguard had been frightened off.

It truly lived up to being an existence capable of 'Insight into all mysteries.' Every single word, action, and outward expression of the team members was completely laid bare before it.

"I can't believe this happened... We can't keep moving until we figure this out."

At that moment, the team was having a seemingly familiar discussion regarding the sudden turn of events.

Perhaps because his initiative was stimulated, Scrooge actually didn't take the opportunity to mock Charlotte this time around.

"There are zero traces. Even at such a close distance, none of us heard a thing..."

Ais clearly agreed with Scrooge, but as she muttered to herself, she suddenly paused, as if recalling something, and whipped around to face Fu Qian.

"Left Hand, did you see anything?"

It was obvious she had recalled Fu Qian's earlier actions.

"I did."

Fu Qian nodded, answering with complete honesty.

"Thirty seconds ago, he was still there."

"...And then?"

Ais didn't process the answer for a moment.

"And then, theoretically speaking, if we turn back and run for sixty seconds, we might just find something."

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