Eldritch Horror Theatre

"To think you provoked the Night Watchers over a diary."

"What exactly did you do?"

Fu Qian asked, full of curiosity.

"I went back after the mission. But even after that entire family died, I still couldn't squeeze any clues out of them about the second page of the diary."

Goto Hi said, her tone perfectly casual.

That was certainly a bit harsh.

Keeping a diary really was a hazard to yourself and everyone around you.

Fu Qian sighed repeatedly.

Still, keeping a diary for those little moments of happiness did seem exactly like something Madam Star would do.

Fu Qian asked, rubbing his chin.

"We have no reason to be afraid, do we? It just makes getting around a bit inconvenient sometimes."

Goto Hi stated it like a matter of fact, before suddenly remembering something.

"So you've met this Stella?"

"I have."

Fu Qian recalled the moment he had blown Madam Star's head off.

"Is she really in the Demigod Realm?"

"There are many others in the Demigod Realm besides her."

...

Provoked by the remark, Goto Hi fell into a sullen silence.

"So what was this revelation that guided you here? I'm guessing it wasn't Stella's diary."

Fu Qian didn't give her much time to wallow.

"Why should I tell you? You aren't even willing to help me out of my predicament."

Her mood souring, Goto Hi refused to cooperate.

"You want to debate the nature of our previous cooperation right now? Are you sure?"

Fu Qian retorted with a half-smile.

"But to return the favor, I can answer your question first."

Seeing Goto Hi momentarily at a loss for words, he continued magnanimously.

"You guessed correctly. I came here looking for an opportunity to advance."

"During a certain mission, a mass of peculiar, indescribable colors converged into a revelation right in front of me. It showed me a connection stemming from the Ash Sea—something that transcended flesh and soul."

"It wasn't very clear, so I had to be meticulous."

...

As Fu Qian spoke, Goto Hi stared fixedly at him, her expression turning visibly strange.

"That really is quite a coincidence..."

Oh?

Fu Qian frowned slightly.

"I once ran into a zealot of sorts. They were very weak, but they tried to use a strange item against me."

"While trapped in a moment of carelessness, I saw an unbelievable scene within that mass of peculiar colors. It also originated from the Ash Sea."

"That sounds like a proper blessing in disguise,"

Fu Qian remarked admiringly.

"That was what I thought at the time, too,"

Goto Hi said, her voice ice-cold.

"It even seemed I was luckier than you, because my target was incredibly clear."

"The only annoying part was accidentally being discovered by the Night Watchers along the way."

"They pursued me fiercely. It took no small effort to escape into the Ash Sea."

"But you should know you can't just indiscriminately eat things in here, right?"

"Of course I know. That was the beauty of the revelation..."

Goto Hi sneered.

"It pointed to a mermaid born with divinity. After fleeing in here, I quickly confirmed that her existence was incredibly stable—completely different from the creatures of the Ash Sea."

So she really was set up by the Miracle after all?

That single sentence instantly verified two of Fu Qian's hypotheses.

First, the bizarre creature before him was indeed the result of Goto Hi "eating" Vivian.

Second, Goto Hi could actually be considered cautious. Even faced with such an opportunity, she had observed carefully before making a move.

Unfortunately, without understanding the crucial nature of the Shattered Crown, her caution had merely dispelled her concerns, leading her to mistake Vivian for an entity from outside the Ash Sea.

"I'll be sure to learn from your experience."

Reaching this conclusion, Fu Qian nodded with a serious expression.

"Heh... So have you found the thing calling out to you?"

"I have."

Fu Qian turned and glanced into the distance.

"I don't know what it looks like, but I've heard its voice."

"Interesting... When I arrived here, I immediately heard Vivian's voice, too."

Goto Hi's smile was fierce and malevolent.

"She wasn't very welcoming, and her guard was up. She kept wanting to know how I got in. Of course, she never found out that it was actually her who had guided me."

"Anyway, after some probing, she seemed to realize I wasn't all that eager to leave. She started looking for an opportunity to strike, but unfortunately for her, I was one step ahead."

"And then you turned into this."

"Yes... What a beautiful trap."

Goto Hi let out a sigh of genuine admiration.

"When Vivian appeared before me, the sensation from the vision was unprecedentedly clear. It made me absolutely certain that the opportunity to achieve Sublimation was right in front of my eyes. And indeed, it was real..."

"Following the revelation, I used her to complete myself, and my existence truly underwent a fundamental change—so much so that I couldn't separate her out again even if I wanted to!"

By the end of her sentence, she was practically seething with murderous intent, glaring coldly at Fu Qian.

"Fortunately, as a Divine Being, she hadn't been completely annihilated on a conceptual level. I barely managed to find a method to expel her bit by bit, only for you to show up and cause trouble."

"Care to reconsider your phrasing? If I gave you my full assistance, what would be the outcome for me?"

Fu Qian showed absolutely no guilt.

"...I admit, my original intention was to transfer it onto you. Once you completed the agreed-upon task, my main body would be freed,"

Goto Hi explained, sounding entirely justified.

"But you're different from me. Your fusion with that thing wouldn't necessarily be as tight, so extricating yourself would be much easier."

"Thanks for being so considerate."

"So what do you want to do? Settle the score?"

Goto Hi steeled her resolve, her killing intent surging.

"Need a reminder? Even if it's inconvenient for me to leave, I'm still a genuine Tier 2 in here."

"Don't be nervous. As theoretical colleagues, how could we engage in infighting over an inherently doomed, evil entity?"

Fu Qian gestured for her to calm down.

"So we really were led into a trap? And you know who set it?"

Goto Hi was clearly somewhat doubtful.

"I have a rough idea."

Fu Qian naturally thought of his itinerary for the following day.

The hint of an opportunity had come from the Blasphemy Monarch, but that guy was barely even clinging to life, making the chances of him pulling off a scheme far too low.

In contrast, a certain entity with the honorific name Blazing Rainbow seemed to be constantly making petty moves against the Warehouse.

This was also why he had placed special emphasis on the Distorted Colors of the Lantern.

And the results were even better than he'd imagined.

The revelation Goto Hi had seen actually originated from similar elements.

Strictly speaking, of course, their experiences had clear differences. Goto Hi's path had been incredibly smooth and direct, while he had faced all sorts of obstructions.

But there was a difference in their respective levels. As an operations advisor, how could he be compared to a wanted criminal like her?

Perhaps that entity's true intention was to make him swallow this 'hard-earned' harvest?

Or perhaps it genuinely was his own opportunity. Having failed to stop him, that entity had deliberately buried a counterexample here, hoping he would be too afraid to use it even after getting his hands on it.

It was even possible that this 'opportunity' truly could be taken out of the Ash Sea, but would essentially remain a poison to him.

Truth and falsehood—it was far too difficult to distinguish between them.

"So who is it, exactly?"

"A God."

Fu Qian corrected Goto Hi's phrasing.

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