Eldritch Horror Theatre

"...Are you sure?"

Fu Qian's words clearly stunned Jacques for a moment. When he finally realized what the other man meant, his face practically spasmed.

"What's there to be unsure about? This is a discussion, after all."

Fu Qian gave him a strange look.

"Good that you remember. Since everyone happens to be here, let's share it and get their opinions."

"What was the cause?"

Seeing Jacques's bizarre reaction, Lady Bali—an active participant in the conversation—promptly asked.

"...This Excellency Herbert believes that there is a problem with the Law itself."

Since it had come to this...

...

"Nonsense!"

Unsurprisingly, the remark sparked a massive uproar the moment it left his mouth.

As if they had just heard absolute Blasphemous Words, the Blood Clan turned to Fu Qian in unison, seething with outrage.

The delicate stalemate, previously maintained by the threat of total annihilation, was instantly thrown back into turmoil.

"Is that truly your opinion?"

Even Lady Bali's expression instantly frosted over as she scowled at him.

Clearly, even to her, this line of thought was a bit too bizarre.

"No."

Somewhat surprisingly, however, the consistently overbearing Dark Moon Apostle shook his head in denial.

"It seems Excellency Jacques has forgotten a few things after all."

Just as the crowd perked up, thinking the man had finally lost his nerve, Fu Qian looked at Jacques and let out a long sigh.

"The Law was merely a preliminary opinion. Wasn't our final conclusion that there's a problem with the Stars?"

The anger that had only just begun to subside instantly hit a new, explosive peak.

...

"Such an enthusiastic atmosphere is deeply gratifying. Feel free to speak your minds, everyone."

Despite the boiling rage erupting around him once again, Fu Qian remained firmly in his seat. He even continued to encourage them, seemingly unconcerned that the mood was getting too heated.

"Your Excellency truly doesn't take the Blood Clan seriously at all—though you are entirely right."

Faced with a man who reveled in watching the spectacle unfold around him, even Bali sighed.

"We useless fools who normally style ourselves as Divine Children really do lack the ability to pose any threat to you. At least, not tonight."

Her phrasing wasn't the least bit tactful, insulting even herself in the process.

Yet, as the Blood Clan's surging fury settled, even Madam No. 2, whose attitude was usually the most fiercely combative, failed to step forward to refute her.

Reality was cruel, but recognizing reality was even crueler.

No one had intervened the moment Shafar was ground to dust, making it practically impossible for them to do so tonight. As much as they hated to admit it, the truth was often unpleasant to hear.

The man had pinpointed this exact weakness, boldly trampling the pride of the Blood Clan beneath his feet.

The more they understood this, the more endless indignation filled their chests. Madam No. 2 was actually trembling.

"But I don't understand the point. Why raise such a topic?"

Lady Bali shifted the conversation, expressing her confusion.

"I don't think you would waste your time solely for the pleasure of humiliating us."

"Of course not. My time is incredibly precious."

Fu Qian shook his head.

When dealing with this flock of arrogant oversized bats, his sole guiding principle was efficiency.

The reason he chose to communicate by stomping on their faces—aside from Shafar's rudeness—was primarily to accommodate their own convoluted style.

A friendly chat would likely just waste too much time.

Violently extracting meaningful information through fear and anger might seem excessively rude to the Blood Clan, but he called it efficient.

"You can't figure it out because you've made the same mistake as Excellency Jacques. I know this scenario seems impossible to you, but why not try assuming it for a moment? If it really happened, what would the result be?"

...

A problem with the Stars—this statement clearly provoked a subconscious rejection from every member of the Blood Clan, and Bali was no exception.

However, prompted by Fu Qian's suggestion, she fell briefly silent—and then simply remained silent.

"May I ask how exactly you administered the blessing you gave the patient as an equivalent exchange?"

Seeing this, Fu Qian didn't interrupt her train of thought. Instead, he turned to Jacques.

"I've dealt with The Order quite a bit, and I've seen them use Star Law to purify, heal, and protect people. But it's still hard to imagine such effects being permanently sustained on a target."

"Or did you actually guide her into comprehending Star Law, just like the people from The Order? To be honest, I didn't see anything particularly special about her."

"...Neither."

From the reactions around him, Jacques had gained a far clearer understanding of just how cruel reality was. He answered the question without putting on too many airs.

"The comprehension of Star Law involves communication on the level of the soul; others cannot help with it. Furthermore, the Blood Clan emphasizes equivalent exchange, and such a reward would clearly be far too expensive."

"...But you're right. No matter the effect, normal Star Law cannot be permanently sustained on an ordinary person. Therefore, the blessing I bestowed was, in essence, akin to a piece of jewelry."

Jewelry... So this guy really hadn't just fobbed someone off with a temporary trial pass.

"Except this jewelry isn't meant to be worn on the body?"

Fu Qian gave a faint nod, acknowledging the young vampire's adherence to his principles.

"Exactly. You've seen The Order anchor Star Law onto certain mediums? The Blood Clan's blessing is similar, but far more discreet."

It truly was hard to change one's nature. Even in this dire situation, Jacques's innate sense of superiority couldn't help but overflow the moment he mentioned being discreet.

"There's no need for her to comprehend it herself. We use flesh and blood as the medium and carve the desired result directly into it. That is the Blood Clan's blessing."

"It can be maintained permanently while remaining extremely hidden. Unless it's another member of the Blood Clan, it is impossible to detect."

So that was it!

Fu Qian had actually been pondering the origin of his previous mission all along—specifically, why the blessing on Jane's body had warped.

Unfortunately, last time, Brother Jacques hadn't sufficiently grasped the cruelty of reality, so his attitude during their chat hadn't been sincere enough.

"It truly is an interesting method. So, this process doesn't require the involvement of the Stars at all?"

Fu Qian didn't skimp on his praise.

"How could that be? The traces are naturally still carved into her flesh by the Stars. We merely act as a guiding medium—"

Jacques's words came to an abrupt halt. He stared blankly at Fu Qian, seemingly realizing why the man had asked that question.

"So if there is a problem with the Stars, the carved contents could very well be distorted."

At that moment, Bali exhaled and softly chimed in.

"The same goes for the Blood Clan Boon you shared at the end. The twisted abnormality wasn't because of her own inherent flaws. It was because what the Stars bestowed upon her was twisted to begin with."

It was glaringly obvious that she had just taken Fu Qian's advice, genuinely abandoning her prejudices to deduce the hypothetical scenario.

"Impossible! Then why are we completely fine?"

Someone immediately shouted out a rebuttal. Bali didn't say a word, merely lifting her eyes to look at Fu Qian.

"Speaking purely from a technical standpoint, is it possible that all of you received yours much earlier?"

The latter remained as unapologetically direct as ever.

"For instance, before the fog rolled in?"

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