Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Together?"

Faced with the Countess's question, Fu Qian showed no embarrassment at being caught. Instead, he simply pointed into the distance.

Since she had appeared right on cue, she must have been staking this place out. She clearly knew exactly what he was after, so there was no point in hiding it.

Evidently not expecting him to be so upfront, the Countess was momentarily stunned.

"Did you not hear what the Priest said? It's incredibly dangerous!"

"I know. But at a time like this, we shouldn't let a single thread of hope slip by, should we?"

Fu Qian looked at her with a smile.

"Don't you feel the same? Or did you drop everything else to wait in ambush here just to catch me?"

"Either way, I'm going no matter what, unless you plan to lock me back down below."

The Countess fell silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating over whether to push the issue, but she ultimately let out a heavy sigh.

"The tunnel was sealed off a long time ago. We need to find another way."

...

"I was born in the current town too, so I don't have any memories of the Old City."

In the darkness, the Countess spoke softly as she cleared the path ahead.

"My understanding of the place is limited to a few historical documents and the oral accounts of my elders."

"But even from those limited records, it's clear that it is extremely dangerous. You must follow my instructions once we're there."

"Understood."

The Countess had clearly come prepared, wasting almost no time getting her bearings.

The two of them moved quickly through the foliage. Before long, the temperature began to plummet.

White frost was already visible on the surrounding leaves and rocks.

It was a good thing he had recently leveled up. Otherwise, he might not have been able to withstand the cold as they pressed on.

Just as Fu Qian was thinking this over, the Countess suddenly gestured for him to stop.

"Careful—"

Scanning their surroundings vigilantly, she seemed to have noticed something and called out a sudden warning.

Before her voice even faded, Fu Qian heard the howling wind.

The next moment, a vast white expanse enveloped them. The area instantly transformed into a world of ice and snow, and visibility dropped sharply.

It truly lived up to the name of a natural disaster!

Fighting against the extreme cold that felt as though it could freeze his very soul, Fu Qian recalled the Priest's words.

A golden halo erupted from the Countess ahead, enveloping them both.

The freezing temperatures and the blizzard were kept at bay, and their body heat rapidly recovered.

"How could this be..."

However, the Countess was looking noticeably pale.

"What's wrong?"

Fu Qian glanced at her.

"Logically, we should have had to go a bit further before encountering this. The blizzard's area of effect seems to have expanded. This is not a good sign."

The Countess shook her head, her expression growing even more solemn.

"Are you sure you still want to continue? It might be more dangerous ahead than we anticipated."

"As if you would stop just because I said to turn back."

Fu Qian cut her off before she could finish.

"Keep going."

"Very well."

Seeing Fu Qian's resolute attitude, the Countess didn't waste any more time and pushed forward.

It was obvious that the expanding range of the disaster worried her deeply, leaving her with no extra energy to test him.

The two pressed on through the snow and wind. Soon, their surroundings turned completely into a world of ice and snow. As far as the eye could see, everything was a blinding white without a single speck of any other color.

Nor was there a single trace of life!

Faint traces of the Seven Lights still lingered overhead, but they were indescribably dim.

"Found it!"

Hearing this, Fu Qian took a couple of steps forward and noticed that the ground beneath his feet was no longer crushed rock and snow, but something resembling terracotta roof tiles.

In the blurry distance ahead, several perfectly straight Spires came into view.

"Are we on a roof right now?"

Fu Qian realized the situation and looked at the Countess.

"Looks like this place has been almost completely buried!"

"Yes."

The lifeless scene before her caused the Countess's voice to grow heavy.

After a brief glance around, she took the lead, rushing straight toward the tallest Spire.

Fu Qian was forced to brace himself against the blizzard on his own as he followed behind her.

Although the vast majority of it had already been buried, the sheer scale of the place was still apparent. It was much larger than the current town, giving an idea of its past splendor.

"Hurry up."

Standing beside the Spire ahead, the Countess waved and shouted for him to catch up.

By the time Fu Qian arrived, a ball of radiant light had already gathered in her hands. She smashed it ruthlessly against the side of the Spire.

Crash!

Countless shards of ice and colored tiles flew in every direction, revealing a gap large enough for a person to pass through.

The Countess jumped straight down without a word, not even bothering to signal Fu Qian.

She was clearly in a terrible mood!

Fu Qian sighed inwardly as he jumped down after her.

Dropping rapidly past rows of crossbeams, the Countess continuously shot tiny motes of light from her hands, illuminating their surroundings.

As Fu Qian descended, he surveyed the area. This was clearly a structure similar to the Church in the town, though perhaps even larger.

He quickly caught up with the Countess and found her looking down at her feet.

What lay beneath them wasn't the floor at all, but a thick layer of ice and snow. They were likely standing halfway up the Church's interior.

Even inside the building, the vast majority of the space had been buried beneath the dense snow.

From the outside, this Church was already the tallest structure around. If even it had been buried to this extent, there was no need to wonder about the rest of the area.

Trying to find anything in a place like this would be nearly impossible.

The Countess kept her head down in silence. As Fu Qian continued his own observations, he suddenly caught a faint, strange noise.

It sounded like the clashing of iron plates, coming from right above them.

"Above!"

Realizing what it was, Fu Qian called out a warning.

The distracted Countess snapped to attention, looking up just in time to meet a dark shadow descending from above.

Radiant light flared, intercepting the dark shadow when she was hanging by a single hair, and the Countess used the opening to roll aside.

Illuminated by the light, the attacker's true form was revealed.

It was a towering figure completely encased in armor.

Even in this state, this place still had guards?

For a moment, Fu Qian was genuinely surprised.

It had clearly jumped down from somewhere above, most likely disturbed by him and the Countess.

Looking shocked and bewildered, the Countess watched as the attacker once again raised the Longsword in its hand.

The next moment, a phantom hammer formed of starlight slammed mercilessly into the heavy armor.

The attacker crashed to the ground. Its visor flew off and rolled to the side.

Yet, to their astonishment, the inside of the armor was completely empty.

Had the armor come to life?

While Fu Qian made irresponsible guesses from the sidelines, the headless armor stood back up.

The next moment, a mass of pitch-black, viscous matter that looked like asphalt slowly bubbled out from the armor's collar.

Ah!

Witnessing this, the usually calm and capable Countess underwent a drastic change in expression, letting out a trembling scream.

Boundless light erupted from her body, illuminating the entire building.

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