Eldritch Horror Theatre

An isolated apocalyptic city and a withering fog. The aesthetic was a perfect fit.

Hearing Bali reach practically the same conclusion he had, Fu Qian gave a slight nod.

Though he knew multiple eyes were watching for his reaction, he made no effort to feign surprise.

"Why don't you ask me why I'm so sure?"

Seemingly disappointed by his lack of reaction, Bali blinked her large eyes, looking slightly confused.

"It was just a passing question. You have no obligation to explain anything not directly related to the main topic."

Fu Qian's principled nature was on full display as he replied with perfect naturalness.

"How professional. No wonder Jacques needed your help to solve his problem."

This answer caught Madam Bali off guard, but a moment later she was beaming, unstinting in her praise.

But immediately after, she sighed and offered the explanation herself.

"Yet so far, we still haven't found any trace that they still exist."

A special connection between members of the same clan? It wasn't too surprising.

"Through the Stars?"

Appreciating Madam Bali's enthusiasm, Fu Qian naturally wasn't going to let it go to waste. He took the opportunity to ask.

"Yes. The Blood Clan's connection to the Stars goes far beyond anything an ordinary person could compare to."

Bali didn't seem surprised that he had guessed it so quickly.

"I heard Excellency Jacques mention it earlier."

Fu Qian gave a slight nod, attaching the title of "Excellency" to Jacques and single-handedly elevating his status within the clan.

"But from what you're saying, it seems you don't quite support his theory?"

The core of Bali's argument was that the discarded pieces and the Mist were one and the same.

This aligned with his own observations. It also meant they could practically rule out the possibility that a discarded piece had somehow attached itself to Jane and caused her subsequent distortion.

"Indeed. I don't believe the discarded pieces possess the ability to leave the Mist. They are the Mist."

Bali did not mince words. While it was likely just her personality, the bluntness suited the objective spirit of scientific inquiry.

"As for your patient, I find it highly unlikely that merely entering the Mist and suffering the influence of the discarded pieces would result in that special, twisted constitution of hers. Do you know why?"

Under the blank stares of the numerous Blood Clan members, Madam Bali was not only passionately driving the discussion but had even started testing the host.

"They don't have the strength for it?"

Fu Qian was happy to play along, answering without missing a beat.

"Exactly!"

Bali enthusiastically clapped her hands, completely disregarding the feelings of her kin.

"The discarded pieces are not things that transcend the Law—"

"Bali, I highly suggest you figure out what you're doing."

But the lively discussion was suddenly interrupted.

Madam No. 2, who had finally managed to stow her posturing, was undoubtedly heavily provoked by this intense academic atmosphere, issuing her reminder through gritted teeth.

Though her attitude was poor, it proved once again that she was a prominent figure within the Blood Clan. At the very least, she was clearly privy to the secrets she was trying to stop Bali from revealing.

"Of course I know what I'm doing."

Unfortunately, as previously established, the loss of Safar had practically reduced the clan's organizational structure to zero in the short term.

Bali completely ignored Madam No. 2's implicit threat.

"And let me give you a piece of advice."

Not only did she ignore it, but the next moment, Bali let out a cold sneer.

"Think about your own odds of surviving tonight."

"Me? Are you sure you haven't got the wrong person—"

"You."

Displaying quite a vindictive streak, Bali cut Madam No. 2 off and unceremoniously gestured to their surroundings.

"You couldn't even urge them to take revenge at the very first opportunity just now. Do you really think you'll have another chance moving forward?"

...

Faced with this scathing critique, Madam No. 2 opened her mouth but ultimately failed to offer a retort.

As far as the eye could see, even the other targets of her biting remarks unconsciously averted their gazes in the face of such a merciless dressing-down.

"You were right. If the visible distortion was caused by the active presence of a discarded piece, I could barely accept that. But purely from a little lingering influence? I don't believe they have that capability."

Bali couldn't even be bothered to pay them any more attention. She turned back to Fu Qian, seamlessly transitioning back into their academic discussion.

"I only had a hunch. I wasn't as certain as you are."

Fu Qian maintained a placid expression the entire time, acting as if the survival odds Bali mentioned had nothing to do with him.

His claim of uncertainty wasn't false modesty. After personally venturing into the Mist, he had absolutely made his own assessment of the discarded pieces' nature.

At first glance, it was exactly as Olinter had claimed: the discarded pieces were entities outside the Law. Star Law had no effect on them.

But after making physical contact with them, Fu Qian's personal assessment was that they were more akin to "outlaws."

Rather than representing a state of chaos transcending the entire system, they were more like criminals in a legal sense—shoplifting, speeding, or breaking into a women's bathhouse at night.

At the very least, they could still be defined.

In fact, Fu Qian suspected that Pfeiffer and the rest of The Order's higher-ups harbored similar thoughts.

They must have had a decent grasp of the threat level posed by the discarded pieces; otherwise, assigning that three-person team to the escort mission would have been far too risky.

Even the artificial Nightmare had clearly been built upon the foundation of the Law in order to further test the properties of the discarded pieces.

"Then your hunch is highly accurate."

Bali continued to validate Fu Qian.

"I've personally come into contact with them. At best, that bunch just possesses something akin to a targeted immunity against some lower-tier commandments."

"At least so far, I haven't encountered a single one capable of withstanding the Spear of Fatal Death. Those people from The Order must have realized this to some extent. After all, the so-called Harmonic Sanctuary isn't entirely comprised of idiots."

For Pfeiffer and the rest, Bali's assessment sounded quite decent.

"To summarize, the existence of the discarded pieces, and even this immunity trait, most likely relies on the Mist. I do not believe they possess the capability to share it with an ordinary person who stumbled in and later returned to the Real World."

...

As Bali delivered her concluding remarks, Jacques's expression grew steadily uglier.

Her stance was clear. The theory he had painstakingly puzzled out was obviously unsupported.

"But if even this possibility is ruled out, doesn't the problem become completely inexplicable? Can you think of any other reasons?"

Thus, although he couldn't refute it, he still wanted to demand an explanation for his wrongfully sacrificed brain cells.

"That is indeed a problem. Even I can't immediately think of any other possible factors."

Bali didn't dismiss this question, frowning as she looked over at Fu Qian.

"What does Excellency Herbert think?"

She could tell that Fu Qian was paying an unusual amount of attention to this "patient." There was no way a figure like him would just casually play doctor.

"It's simple. The process of elimination is fine, but it seems Excellency Jacques was dozing off during the last consultation."

Fu Qian didn't disappoint. Without even pretending to think about it, he stared directly into Jacques's eyes.

"Didn't I share one other possibility?"

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