Eldritch Horror Theatre

This senior clearly still had some ideas and resolve, just not a lot of either.

Although Goto Hi was indeed at Tier 2, her overly chaotic state had clearly hindered her abilities.

After her stealthy guidance was interrupted, she decisively opted to crush skill with brute force, adopting an attrition tactic to drain his Health Bar.

That tongue, so fast it was impossible to dodge, combined with her ability to transfer damage, made her perfectly suited for such an approach.

Unfortunately, before committing to this strategy, Goto Hi could never have imagined that her Health Bar was nowhere near thick enough to handle Fu Qian, and her armor was utterly worthless.

For Fu Qian, her choice was exceptionally accommodating.

Not only had she tried to match the length of his Health Bar, she had also conveniently positioned herself so he could maximize his damage output.

By this point, having taken all the damage head-on, the frog's flesh had practically been reduced to a pulpy mush.

This underdog victory concluded with extraordinary speed.

If someone brought this to an anatomy class, they would score at least an A, right?

With that thought in mind, Fu Qian took a couple of steps forward and picked up the eyeball that was still rolling on the ground.

This object had fallen from the frog's "back." It hadn't dropped from the face belonging to Vivian, but from the crown of the head further up.

Even though it was located in such a standard position, to Fu Qian, the thing still didn't look much like a frog's eye.

And the surging tide of decay from the wounds hadn't eroded it in the slightest.

Compared to the rest of the body, it seemed to possess a much higher degree of independence.

This was actually not good news.

This object, the one most likely to retain a sliver of Vivian's will, had still been used as a Soul Casket for escape.

It served as further proof that the two entities had nearly completely fused.

As for that resplendent long tail, it had already shattered into fragments across the ground.

Of course, it hadn't been completely useless.

Fu Qian glanced to the side.

Lane, who had been keeping his eyes closed and playing dumb, was now missing his head.

A hole had pierced straight through that curled-up ball of a man, leaving marks that clearly belonged to the tail.

Once he had completely lost his value, Goto Hi disposed of him while simultaneously attacking Fu Qian.

"Thank you..."

As he pondered, Vivian's voice actually echoed in his mind.

Fu Qian glanced down at the eyeball in his hand; it remained dim.

"I am finally free. I thought this day would never come!"

Before Fu Qian could say anything, the voice sighed again.

"My sister, is she alright?"

"She's doing well."

Fu Qian finally nodded.

"That's good."

Vivian sounded somewhat relieved.

"I cannot protect her for the time being. If possible, can you take me off this island?"

"No problem, I was just about to leave."

Fu Qian nodded again.

"We had better get moving."

"...I actually just want to leave this island."

Vivian's voice paused in surprise.

"If I completely leave this Miracle, my will might dissipate at any moment."

"What do you mean? I went to all this trouble just to get absolutely nothing out of it?"

Fu Qian's tone carried a hint of displeasure.

"...There are still some valuable things in here. I can guide you to them."

"Oh? Like your sister?"

"You can't do that!"

Vivian gasped.

"They are genuine items left behind by outsiders, not creations of the Ash Sea that cannot be taken away."

"Relics? You think you can brush me off with some scraps?"

Fu Qian sneered.

"Do you think this seat would ever settle for such mediocre garbage?"

...

"I'll give you a choice. Either you come with me, or your sister does."

Amidst her silence, Fu Qian adopted a tone befitting a bandit chief.

"Excellency..."

...

After a long pause, Vivian's voice finally echoed, fraught with deep conflict.

"I will have to trouble you to take me out."

Hmph!

Fu Qian gave a cold snort.

"That's more like it."

The next moment, he snapped his fingers and initiated a Lucid Dream.

'Senior, to refuse to take a gamble even at a time like this truly shows a lack of strategy and resolve.'

...

"What did you do?"

A shocked voice echoed in the seemingly unchanged environment.

Appearing alongside it was a blurry silhouette.

But with just one glance, it was clear that the figure's face looked vastly different from Vivian's.

In fact, the voice was completely different too.

"Don't worry. This seat is generous and benevolent; I merely helped you refine your soul to achieve Transformation."

Fu Qian casually waved his hand.

As a Dream Dominator, forcing a lingering will to manifest its true form was hardly a difficult task.

"Impossible. There is no reason you should have been able to figure it out..."

Goto Hi naturally couldn't believe such nonsense. Her face twisted violently like a storm; she found this outcome impossible to accept.

"Weren't your assumptions a bit too idealistic?"

Fu Qian frowned slightly.

"You were clearly stopped while trying to escape earlier. No matter how you look at it, that's incredibly suspicious, isn't it?"

"...But everything I said was something only Vivian would know."

Goto Hi was clearly unwilling to concede.

"You did handle that part rather cleanly."

Fu Qian gave her partial credit.

"When your escape failed, you sacrificed the purity of your ego to forcibly fuse with Vivian's residual will. Then, maintaining absolute dominance, you spoke to me using her identity."

"It was a logical decision. That was indeed your only possible chance at survival."

"Your earlier performance was entirely natural, but you exposed a fatal flaw with that last question."

Fu Qian shook his head.

"I made you choose between you and your sister. If I was being serious, the one left behind would naturally die. But the question also felt like a test, and there was a high probability that I wouldn't actually take anyone out at all. If you truly chose to save your sister, you risked wasting all the effort you put into your act. That contradiction is what made you hesitate."

"But the real Vivian wouldn't hesitate because of that question. At the very least, she wouldn't have hesitated nearly as much as you did."

"In truth, you should have realized that there were no safe choices left in that situation. Decisively betting that I was just testing you was the only logical move, but you simply weren't willing to take the risk."

"...Why must you wipe me out completely? You should know that the current me can essentially be considered Vivian as well."

"Senior."

Fu Qian sighed.

"Just a few hours ago, you said you'd kill me if I didn't help. Did you forget so quickly?"

"And who says I'm wiping you out completely? This seat has always taken pleasure in helping others."

Fu Qian snapped his fingers once more. Goto Hi's face rippled violently, faintly revealing Vivian's shadow beneath.

"Excellency, although I do not know what happened, please help destroy the eyeball to kill her completely. I am willing to perish alongside her."

Almost instantly, the newly manifested face—who didn't even seem to fully grasp the situation yet—blurted out a desperate plea.

"Handle your own problems."

Hearing the voice Vivian managed to squeeze out after barely seizing control, Fu Qian merely shook his head.

"Didn't you notice? Inside here, you two have become relatively independent again."

"No matter what method you use, once you eliminate the other, the dream will end."

Having laid out the rules, Fu Qian said nothing more, merely watching the humanoid figure in silence.

...

Just a few minutes later, the dream shattered entirely.

Fu Qian examined the eyeball. It had already been dim and lifeless, but now, it was completely covered in cracks.

"As expected, a battle between wills doesn't require much time."

Sensing the faint will inside that was on the verge of fading away completely, Fu Qian muttered to himself. He casually tossed the eyeball into the water and began recalling the directional cipher he had obtained from Niniane.

Almost at the same time, the seemingly familiar song of the little mermaid drifted over from the near distance.

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