Eldritch Horror Theatre

If making excuses was pointless, then when others suspected something was wrong with you, it was best to actually have something wrong with you.

"Are you sure?"

When the Sage announced they would not abandon him, Scrooge and his companions weren't the only ones in sheer disbelief; Round Shield and the other remaining member reacted the same way.

Not only was Left Hand acting abnormally, but he was now completely crippled. No matter how they looked at it, they couldn't see any value in keeping him around.

"Of course."

The Sage had no intention of explaining further, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Strip them of their gear; it's time for us to move out."

"Alright."

Ais was the first to comply, tossing a Golden Belt directly to Round Shield before giving the Sage an inquiring look.

Her meaning was obvious: should they remove the Glove to avoid unnecessary risks?

"No need, right? Otherwise you wouldn't know what to call me."

Before the Sage could speak, Left Hand suddenly chimed in.

The blood coating half his face didn't seem to have affected his hearing, considering he still cracked a dry joke.

"Fair point."

Amidst the silence brought on by the dry joke, the Sage gave a low chuckle.

"We'll just keep calling him Left Hand."

"...Should we treat him, then?"

The atmosphere rapidly turned bizarre. Ais hesitated, glancing at the two eyeballs discarded on the ground.

"No need for that either. I don't think he needs it."

The Sage shook his head.

"Isn't that right, Left Hand?"

"Yes. I feel perfectly fine right now. This is the correct way to enter the Sacred Land of the Society."

He answered simply.

"It seems there are no further questions. Let's move out."

The Sage motioned to Round Shield.

...

No one made a sound. Inside the complex Underground Ruins, the expedition team navigated the uneven, branching paths under the Sage's guidance.

Their trek continued for quite some time, ultimately coming to a halt when a figure crawling on the ground blocked their path.

"Snake Foot."

At the Sage's call, the person at the very back of the formation stepped forward, his expression somewhat complicated.

This was originally Left Hand's duty, but he was clearly in no condition for it at the moment.

Even if he had been willing to do it, he likely would have been forbidden.

...

As the member codenamed Snake Foot stepped up, Round Shield moved aside to make room.

Yet most of the group's attention wasn't on this first direct confrontation; instead, they were scrutinizing their only blind member.

At the Sage's request, Left Hand had been thoughtfully placed in the center of the formation.

But along the way, he acted as if his blindness hadn't affected him in the slightest.

Without anyone guiding or supporting him, his movements remained completely unhindered.

It could perhaps be chalked up to extraordinary hearing, but it felt more like he was being led by some invisible guidance, filling the others with wariness.

Ugh!

A slightly pained groan rang out. A ripple of darkness gathered on Snake Foot's leg and rapidly surged.

Just as the living corpse arched its back to move, the darkness—having gathered to its peak—lashed out in a fluid arc, striking the creature like a snake.

There was no visible damage on the surface, and the serpentine shadow vanished in a flash. However, the struck living corpse crashed to the ground, crumbling into ash.

At the same time, Snake Foot let out heavy, ragged breaths.

Shocking purple bruises appeared all over his body, looking as though his flesh might tear open.

"Good work."

Signaling for him to fall back to his original position, the Sage directed Round Shield to press onward.

However, just as the team stepped past the ashes of the living corpse, he signaled for them to halt once more.

The team members looked confused by this; after all, there was clearly only one path ahead.

"Left Hand, how do you see it?"

Ignoring the bewildered gazes, the Sage looked at the blind Left Hand in the middle of the formation.

How did he see it... could he even see anything at all?

Ais, who was closest to Left Hand, looked as if she didn't know what expression to make anymore.

Yet the man being consulted silently crouched down and grabbed a handful of ash from the ground.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he walked past Round Shield at the very front and tossed the ash into the empty air to the side of the path.

A miraculous change followed. A small portion of the ash settled along a flat plane in midair instead of falling, as if an Invisible Bridge existed right there.

"Excellent."

The Sage looked highly satisfied.

"Without the burden of your eyes, you've become even sharper."

"Let's continue."

A moment later, the stunned team was ordered to keep moving.

...

A crisp clatter rang out. As Round Shield reached the end of the Invisible Bridge, his Golden Shield was struck once again by two living corpses.

The ripples rising from the shield blocked an incoming black snake, and the living corpse that had launched the attack immediately collapsed.

Facing the two remaining living corpses, which had quickly shifted into a defensive stance, Snake Foot at the back was called forward once more.

After a tense standoff where strikes were threatened but held back, both living corpses also fell.

Throughout the entire process, Left Hand made no moves, simply waiting in silence.

The Sage, having taken all this in, motioned for everyone to enter through the newly opened hidden door.

Inside the secret passage, the surroundings were far more dizzying than outside, making the atmosphere of their trek feel doubly oppressive.

The one silver lining was that the team moved even faster than before.

"Stop."

However, it wasn't long before Left Hand, one of the sources of that oppressive atmosphere, suddenly broke the silence.

"What is it?"

Barely managing to avoid crashing into the person in front, Charlotte frowned and asked.

Left Hand didn't speak; he simply pointed toward the rear of the formation.

"Snake Foot?"

Looking back in confusion, Charlotte was immediately startled.

A figure was sprinting away into the distance.

"Go check it out."

Before Charlotte could ask another question, the Sage issued the command, and the entire team instantly sprang into action.

Though they couldn't understand his reasons, Snake Foot had obviously just broken away from the group, so he was caught very quickly.

"What's going on?"

However, upon getting a clear look at the figure in the darkness, Charlotte, running at the very front, could hardly believe their eyes.

Though he had Snake Foot's appearance, his movements and demeanor were exactly like a living corpse's.

Unfortunately, the frantically fleeing Snake Foot had no intention of answering.

Seeing that escape was hopeless, he let out an agonized roar as darkness surged from his body once again.

Having used his ability multiple times in a short span, his already fragile body was immediately torn open with multiple gashes.

The next moment, the black snake, built to its absolute peak, lashed out viciously at Charlotte.

Unfortunately, this strike, which had nearly consumed his very life, was entirely blocked by the fast-approaching Round Shield, dissipating harmlessly against the Golden Shield.

With a tragic cry that sounded like both agony and relief, Snake Foot's ruined body crashed to the ground, his flesh and blood disintegrating.

"How could this happen?"

Having received no answers, Charlotte couldn't help but look back, eyes full of bewilderment.

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