Eldritch Horror Theatre

To be honest, Brother Jacques's judgment was actually correct.

What had shocked him earlier was the corrosion of the commandment's symbol.

But when it came down to it, that was still a long way from actually shattering it.

As long as his opponent couldn't stretch himself into strips of flesh and squeeze through the fleeting gaps, Jacques had absolutely no need to worry about an escape.

Fu Qian's assessment was in complete agreement. Without resorting to excessively drastic measures, completely shattering the giant Cocoon would take quite a bit of effort.

And during that time, he would undoubtedly be a sitting duck for the Spear of Fatal Death.

But as a professional task runner, he had milder methods available besides the drastic ones.

The logic was simple. If the Mark of Old Days could inflict a special kind of "wound" on the giant Cocoon, could a Visceral Attack be unleashed against that wound?

In fact, he had been picking his spot to strike for a while now.

Making his move now both avoided leaving him as a living target and used the intense contrast to deepen Brother Jacques's impression of the preceding lesson.

Of course, that relied on the premise that it would actually work... and fortunately, it did.

Looking like a violently mashed dragon fruit, the carved giant Cocoon now sported increasingly obvious, widening gaps.

As he thrust his hand inside, the Visceral Attack impressively registered as available.

Without hesitation, this most brutal of execution techniques was finally unleashed upon the least biological-looking target he had encountered so far.

Boom—

In that instant, Fu Qian clearly felt the giant Cocoon tremble.

The Visceral Attack wasn't miraculous enough to destroy the patterns composing it, but the very concept of a "Cocoon" was violently ravaged in an instant.

Of course, this wasn't without a cost.

A terrifying backlash, akin to the principle of "equal and opposite reactions," instantly transmitted back into Fu Qian's body, agitating the fish mouths all over him into a hearty, wide-open laugh.

Amidst this cheerful atmosphere, Fu Qian's bloody right hand thrust into another gap.

This time, the giant Cocoon finally collapsed completely.

As strands of silk scattered through the air, Fu Qian, bearing a fresh crack right across his facial bones, finally stood beside his patient.

And, unsurprisingly, the legendary Spear of Fatal Death had still not been thrown at him.

It wasn't that Brother Jacques was just posturing, or that the Spear of Fatal Death was purely for intimidation.

Although the Visceral Attack's target had been the giant Cocoon all along, it hadn't been without its effects on Jacques.

The Mental Shock of seeing his overwhelmingly confident confinement collapse in an instant had ultimately made him hesitate.

...

Now, Jacques clearly had more factors to consider—like the partner in his fair trade, for example.

Trading a Commandment Twister for a cooperative Commandment Tearer was worth it.

But whether it was worth violating his principles for a Commandment Tearer's corpse was another question entirely.

Moreover... could he even truly kill him?

Looking at the figure crouching there, the wounds all over his body slowly closing, Jacques—who had never once doubted the killing move in his hand—actually felt a sliver of uncertainty.

The guy in front of him had simply brought about far too many incomprehensible things.

Under the shock, questions he normally wouldn't have even bothered thinking about inevitably popped into his mind.

For a moment, he simply couldn't bring himself to hurl the life-claiming spear in his hand.

But there was one thing for certain—this couldn't just end here.

Without throwing the spear or saying a word in the tense standoff, Jacques simply watched the other man until Fu Qian took the hand that had just struck the giant Cocoon and pressed it against Jane's forehead.

...

Not bad. Truly worthy of having shared the glory of the Children of the Stars.

Fu Qian was deeply satisfied with the feedback coming from beneath his hand.

Under the distortion of the Resplendent Tyrant, it was obvious that the commandment entangled around Jane reacted immediately, fighting back against this blasphemous power.

It seemed he didn't need to worry about Miss Winslow turning into a slime creature before the task was complete.

Of course, it was also obvious that finishing the task would still be a long process.

After all, not only was he down to just one of his dual halos, but the Visceral Attack was clearly no longer a viable option here.

It didn't matter, though. By his calculations, he should have enough time, and he even had a cheerleader on standby.

"Are you just going to keep watching?"

Fu Qian turned his head with a smile.

"Did you think I was going to let you off?"

Jacques was visibly not amused, though his tone was firm.

"I came here by invitation, didn't mind your interruption, am currently treating the patient you couldn't cure, and haven't even retaliated against your attacks. Where exactly is this self-righteous stance of yours coming from?"

Fu Qian's smile didn't fade in the slightest.

"Your blasphemy against the commandment alone is enough to make you pay any price," Jacques said.

"So you admit the commandment can be blasphemed?"

...

Jacques was left speechless for a moment as the very questions he had been desperately trying to ignore resurfaced once again.

"I don't mind having an audience while I administer treatment, but I am a little worried it might trigger you further and harm your mental health. Care to reconsider my previous proposal?"

Fu Qian continued.

"What proposal?"

"A time and a place, and I will pay you a visit."

"Are you certain?"

Jacques stared at him as though he were looking at a genuine madman.

"I am."

"...The earliest would be the weekend, at night."

After a moment of silence, Jacques finally replied in a muffled voice.

"The place?"

Fu Qian wasn't entirely surprised by this level of efficiency.

"The West District Church of the Celestial Sphere Cult."

Hmm?

"Just borrowing it."

Seeming to realize what Fu Qian was about to say, Jacques quickly tacked on an explanation.

That really does sound like something you people would do.

Fu Qian couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Needless to ask, that was definitely achieved through the Untouchable.

Not wanting to be seen, yet desperately needing to assert their presence—what an elegantly twisted contradiction.

"I'll be there on time."

Regardless, Fu Qian was quite satisfied with this timeframe.

He had checked the calendar earlier. The "weekend" Jacques mentioned was clearly tomorrow in the Real World.

"...I hope you keep your word. And... cure her."

After hesitating for a moment, Jacques finally seemed to make up his mind, and the long spear in his hand shrank and dissipated away.

"You already know the answers to both of those things in your heart. There is no need for hope."

"Good."

Jacques was finally decisive for once. Before his voice had even faded, he spread his wings and vanished into the night in a silent glide.

Even Fu Qian quickly lost track of him.

The already sparse blood fog completely dissipated in his wake, leaving only Fu Qian sitting there, bathed in the light of the stars and the moon.

As for the bloody marks on Jane beneath him, dense, cold cracks had already formed upon them, and some parts had even begun to disintegrate and fade away.

It was obvious that since she was only sharing the boon, she was nowhere near as stable as Jacques.

"With such beautiful scenery on a fine night like this, how could one not engage in Quiet Reflection and Wandering!"

Watching the changes silently, Fu Qian suddenly looked up at the sky and lamented with quite the literary flair.

And with his words, a snow-bright beam of light descended from the heavens, splashing out a dreamlike, brilliant radiance.

Quiet Reflection and Wandering—the Gulade Family Secret Treasure, the harvest reaped from the Insight of the Ancient Reminiscence.

Within that radiance, a body stumbled out and hit the ground.

Before he could even steady his footing, another beam of light struck the ground at his feet, illuminating half of his face.

Indeed, it was none other than Olinter.

Given that he had struck an attacking posture yet again just a moment ago, Fu Qian had no choice but to stop him from doing anything stupid.

As for why he had shown up here?

Now that Jacques had left and the blood fog hindering perception had completely cleared, it was perfectly normal for Olinter, who had long since recovered his senses, to find his way here.

In fact, this was the main reason he had sent Jacques packing.

Letting the Celestial Sphere Church witness the glory of the Dark Moon was the only way tonight's operation could be considered perfectly complete.

Of course, Fu Qian was fairly confident that Brother Jacques had also caught a glimpse of this scene.

For someone who could so easily conceal his presence, Fu Qian didn't believe for a second that he would have just left that cleanly.

[Task completed. Containment of Anomaly 2-191 successful.]

Just as Olinter was being blasted into the distance by the moonlight and the figures of Mr. and Mrs. Winslow finally appeared at the top of the building, that beautiful notification chime finally rang out.

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