Eldritch Horror Theatre

Did going to such extremes to uncover the truth behind Laerdin's reappearance actually matter?

Especially regarding his goal of finding the Witch with less than a day remaining?

The answer was yes.

For instance, the target of his current mission offered much greater exploitation value.

This Nightmare had existed since before the apocalypse. As a convergence of power that possessed its own will, the Proxy was undoubtedly an excellent observer of the Real World.

He had to know far more than The Order, the Blood Clan, or even the Fallen Star Clan and the awakened ones—factions Fu Qian still couldn't entirely tell apart.

And with such a cautious entity, the best way to wring value out of him was to force him to fight for his own survival.

For example, by sharing his countdown.

This was one of the wonderful applications he had envisioned right after swallowing the fragment and feeling the side effect of his sense of self destabilizing.

Given the limited time, maintaining his persona as a crazed glutton before the Sacred Relic—making himself look vulnerable—was undoubtedly a good choice.

At the same time, the whole process needed to look natural, like his battle of wits with the Fallen Star Quartet.

Devouring, launching sneak attacks, using the moment he was seen through to set a trap, and unleashing a massive strike at any cost just to escape.

Madam Xia had given him the biggest surprise in that regard, making his loss of control look incredibly natural.

Otherwise, he would have needed to be far more meticulous about the force he used.

As for now, the hooked fish was about to pay the price.

...

"Find what? Stop this self-destruction immediately, and I will let you go right now."

To Fu Qian's gratification, he could tell the other party was truly panicking.

"I told you I can't stop it, because I can't even lock onto this connection."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian's response remained ruthless.

"And you need to find the source of this destruction with everything you have."

"You madman!"

A guaranteed lethal ambush had instantly turned into a massive pitfall. Even through the bizarre pitch of his voice, boundless resentment bled through.

Hearing this, Fu Qian felt even more satisfied.

A humanized will to survive was the best thing to have.

"Do you really think I can't just destroy you directly?"

Of course, the downside was that it could also provoke a surge of desperate malice.

"I really do. Setting aside the difficulty of killing me in this situation, you need someone to share this curse."

Unfortunately, when it came to deterrence, tone was always the least impactful factor.

Fu Qian replied without a hint of hesitation.

"I'm quite familiar with it, so I completely understand how you're feeling right now."

"...This was your goal all along, wasn't it?"

"You're looking for a way to break the curse. You don't covet the power of the Sacred Relic at all."

This concise and highly efficient exchange successfully plunged the Proxy into silence. When he spoke again, he sounded as though he had reached a state of complete enlightenment.

Sadly, this realization, tinged with regret, meant nothing other than showing that he had lost their contest of intimidation.

"Are you sure you want to waste time on such a question?"

Fu Qian showed no emotional fluctuation.

This maddening blood loss locked onto the most fundamental sense of self. It was precisely what had just been heavily eroded from him—the very thing he had gifted to the other party.

And that gift had now become a source of contamination, completely turning the Proxy into a target for blood extraction as well.

...

"It stems from a power of an extremely high tier, from the world you came from."

It was clear that the Proxy had fully grasped the urgency of the situation.

His concrete response to Fu Qian's reminder was to immediately correct course, abandoning the flawed paths of "irrational revenge" and "dying with clarity," and instead focusing all his energy on seeking a sliver of survival.

"Agreed."

Fu Qian also unhesitatingly showed respect for his professionalism, acknowledging his judgment.

"But the tier is too high. I have no way to track and identify its true nature in such a short time."

Unfortunately, the Proxy didn't seem to handle praise well, immediately emphasizing the objective difficulties in the next breath.

Given the current situation and his performance along the way, Fu Qian believed he wasn't intentionally slacking off.

"Then guess. I believe you understand that world very well. List the possible options, then use the process of elimination."

Fu Qian casually offered this guidance, gesturing for him not to panic and to make good use of methodology.

"Besides, this power likely originated from a month ago, the moment the ancient Laerdin reappeared."

"Stars... the Rebirth of the Law."

Gratifyingly, after being given a possible filtering condition and a guiding principle, the Proxy actually executed them and produced a result at lightning speed.

Not only did he refrain from refuting the claim about the ancient Laerdin, but he even mentioned the "Rebirth" of the Law.

Sure enough, both of these things were problematic.

As Fu Qian analyzed the sheer volume of information in those words, his lone right arm reached forward in the next moment.

However, this was not born of his own will; rather, the equally battered Proxy had extended his right hand.

And following this motion, a familiar plume of grayish-white fog actually materialized out of thin air.

Of course, even with a specific color shade, fog clearly lacked much distinctiveness.

The reason Fu Qian found it familiar was because a certain ruin he had just seen was faintly visible within it—the Town Outside Laerdin.

As expected of an observer of the Nightmare. Not only could he casually punch a tunnel through to reality, but he also seemed to have a strong grasp of that world.

However, there was no single-step leap across dimensions or anything of the sort. In the next moment, the Proxy's body gradually became harder to discern, ultimately melting into the thick fog.

But the man was still standing in place. Fu Qian was completely certain of this.

Because his own body had undergone an almost synchronous change, and his connection to the Mist had grown tighter.

Had he turned into a discarded piece?

Did the Mist actually have a direct connection to the Law?

Rapidly analyzing the scene, Fu Qian raised no objections.

Because this was already one of his approved backup methods.

In his original plan, if this mission proved unhelpful and had to be abandoned, the next step was to start with the Mist.

This seamless, unified entity that shrouded the entire world.

Of course, Brother Proxy clearly had no interest in sharing why he had made the exact same judgment at this moment.

"I now believe you truly have the will to live, rather than being an actual madman. It seems you've offered a valuable suggestion."

He chose to share his results with a great pragmatic spirit, although, in reality, there was no need for him to share them at all.

Influenced into entering a state akin to a discarded piece, Fu Qian had already experienced that unique sensation for himself.

The feeling of the blood drawn from his body stirring up ripples in the Mist.

The draining of his life had become even more tangible.

But it wasn't enough. It was still too faint, making it impossible to lock onto the direction it pointed toward.

"Keep trying."

Thus, Fu Qian decisively signaled him to guard against arrogance and impatience, and to keep making further progress.

"There's no way. It's too faint. We'll be dead before we find it."

And true to form, Brother Proxy emphasized the difficulty once again.

"Don't jump to conclusions so easily. There is no problem that cannot be solved."

Fu Qian once again stepped in to offer ideological guidance.

"If it's too faint to track, shouldn't you find a way to make it stronger?"

"...Do you even know what you're saying?"

Brother Proxy sounded as if he regretted his earlier conclusion about him not being a madman.

"I do. I also know that despite having a solution in mind, you are still wasting time expressing your emotions."

Fu Qian's posture was so unyielding he seemed to have lost all humanity.

"...Although I can't sever the connection, I actually can amplify the drain."

After two seconds of silence, the Proxy finally got back on track.

"In that case, tracking it might indeed become easier, but death will arrive at a much faster pace. And once it starts, there is no way to cancel it. Are you completely sure?"

"I'm sure."

Fu Qian's answer came without a millisecond of hesitation.

"Go ahead and do it."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!