Eldritch Horror Theatre

Everything carried on as usual. The rearguard who had fled made his contribution once again, and was subsequently abandoned amid profound remembrance.

In theory, however, this hardly counted as good news.

While a few things had changed and a bit of information had been gleaned, it wasn't enough.

At least in Fu Qian's eyes, it was far from enough to help this team escape its predetermined fate.

As an outstanding team member recognized by Old Man Sage, he marched in the center of the formation with a completely untroubled conscience, silently pondering their current situation.

Meanwhile, the glances cast his way by the other members were rather complicated.

Even with the Old Man's endorsement, the oddities Fu Qian had displayed along the way had clearly been noticed by everyone, making it difficult for the team's feelings toward him to remain uncomplicated.

Scrooge was an exception, of course; the killing intent in his flickering gaze was exceedingly high.

Fu Qian wasn't surprised in the least.

The wealthy and powerful weren't necessarily vindictive over every petty grievance, but they very likely possessed a firmly established worldview.

The specifics of that worldview could be glimpsed in how they had treated the cannon fodder earlier. It was obvious that none of these three would ever let themselves be bound by something as trivial as the team's best interests.

In other words, just because you were doing the right thing didn't mean you were allowed to make them take a hit.

Fortunately, Fu Qian's own perspective on this was just as mature; he didn't entertain the slightest thought of melting away past animosity.

"Sage, is there a reason for these eyes?"

He immediately shifted his focus to a different issue.

"Compared to the ones outside, it feels like they do more than just emit light."

"They were drawn using the blood of a Fallen Star Beast."

Old Man Sage didn't even turn his head, his tone completely flat.

"Rising after the end of the Mythological Era, the Blind Eye Society went through a long period of exploration before ultimately going down the wrong path."

He actually offered a fairly detailed explanation, casually divulging ancient secrets.

"The Society's founding belief was that humanity was too foolish, which was why they were abandoned by the Deity during that long night."

"The solution was simple. Endless knowledge lay right in front of them; they just needed to truly open their eyes."

"They did exactly that for hundreds of years, until one day they decided that relying solely on human eyes was no longer enough, stepping onto a Road of No Return."

"You should be able to see that, aside from the glow, the shape of these eyes is also different."

Pointing toward the ceiling, Sage sounded just like an instructor giving his students a field lecture.

And it truly was.

Naturally, Fu Qian had noticed this long ago. The eyes in the secret passage were much more bizarre in shape, yet their lines were considerably simpler, lacking many of the obscure, meaningless textures.

"No one knows exactly what they saw, but one thing is certain. While these new eyes allowed them to see more, they also stripped them of their independence. Do you remember the Society's most important cardinal rule that I taught you?"

Adopting a testing demeanor, Old Man Sage looked even more like a mentor now.

"Mortal Flesh, Witness the Transcendent."

Everyone, even Scrooge, answered almost in unison. It was clear they had taken it completely to heart.

Naturally, Fu Qian—who hadn't managed to recite it—once again became the center of attention.

It sounded rather interesting.

As witnesses to the transcendent, did they deliberately isolate themselves from the transcendent?

Fu Qian, however, showed absolutely no self-awareness of being a poor student, simply sinking into deep thought under everyone's watchful eyes.

It sounded even more like those fanatics from the See Me Faction.

"Anyway, thanks to the disaster this triggered, the Society was utterly destroyed. A few individuals who held differing opinions left one after another, choosing to carry on its ideology in their own unique ways. Among them was the Holy Grail Cult, who used the Golden Cup as a vessel to control the transcendent—which is exactly where the items on your bodies came from."

Glancing casually at the only team member who had failed to answer, Old Man Sage showed no intention of holding him accountable.

More than one team member frowned at this, seemingly questioning whether the old man was being too lenient, but Fu Qian could somewhat understand the reasoning behind it.

Old Man Sage was giving such a detailed lecture precisely because of Fu Qian's earlier performance, but these words weren't necessarily meant for his ears alone.

If his guess was correct and the Sage suspected he was tied to the See Me Faction, then the true purpose behind this speech was likely just to pass a message to the hidden will backing him: The Sage might have figured something out. What sort of emotional reaction Fu Qian displayed right now didn't matter.

Additionally, it clarified one particular point—the Holy Grail Cult actually did evolve from the Blind Eye Society.

It even sounded like the scattered pieces of Sacred Cloth the group carried were actually forged from collected Golden Cups?

"Of course, none of that matters anymore. The purest form of the Blind Eye Society has achieved Rebirth."

"Knowledge is far more noble than the transcendent. That which is true is forever immortal!"

Amidst his impassioned speech, the old man turned back around.

By this time, a familiar hall had appeared in front of the group. The Weeping Stone Statue was clearly in sight.

He still didn't rush forward blindly, nor did he display any hostility toward Fu Qian. When Sage gestured for Brother Round Shield to inspect the eight seats, the wings on the Golden Staff crossed once again.

The sensation of being perceptive down to the smallest detail washed over him. Unsurprisingly, Fu Qian once again spotted the Two-Dimensional Living Corpses clinging to the dome ceiling. All five were present—not one more, not one less.

"What's that on the wall..."

Amidst the cries of alarm, endless pop-up windows exploded in his mind. The Holy Grail was repeating its old trick, frantically flooding him with information.

...

It seemed he was receiving a lot more attention this time around!

Stepping aside with far more casual elegance than before, Fu Qian calmly surveyed the three beams of light he had just barely dodged, a sincere sigh escaping him.

That was right—this time, even Ais had been completely ignored. Out of a total of five beams, two had targeted the Sage, while a full three were aimed directly at him.

Just how exactly this Holy Grail calculated aggro was a matter of genuine curiosity.

As the relentless flood of information slowly faded, Fu Qian once again found himself the absolute center of attention, triggering a prolonged silence from the rest of the team.

"Left Hand."

Old Man Sage didn't even question how Fu Qian had managed to resist the information flood; in fact, he actually looked quite delighted.

"The objective is right ahead. Go stand beneath that stone statue over there, and I'll instruct you on how to open the way."

Was the moment finally here?

As expected of the successor to the Blind Eye Society, the old man's train of thought was crystal clear!

Victory was right in front of them, and having just seen through their opponent's tricks, they seemed to be in absolute control of the situation. At a moment like this, singling out a hidden variable like himself was the perfect way to test the waters for any unknown dangers lurking beyond their comprehension.

It truly was the perfect way to maximize the utility of a highly suspicious individual like him.

Of course, the most crucial part of it all was that there really were dangers lurking beyond their comprehension!

Marveling at the tactic, Fu Qian didn't hesitate in the slightest, striding directly into the gaze of the countless eyes filling the room.

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