Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Impossible!"

The Priest's revelation was far too explosive; the Countess voiced her rebuttal instinctively.

"Why is it impossible?"

The Priest snorted.

"I've been an awakened one far longer than you. What makes you think my understanding of this place is any less than yours?"

"I am absolutely certain I am not the only awakened one in this town experiencing this condition—it only varies in degree."

"Given that, have you thought about what will happen if you interrogate everyone?"

"Furthermore, I can tell you with absolute certainty that I have never been to the Old City, yet the mutation occurred anyway."

"Did you really think moving to a different place would help you escape such unpredictable contamination?"

The Priest's words plunged the Countess into momentary silence.

"There is something else you probably don't know. Ever since the mutation occurred, the negative side effects of my Awakening have completely vanished."

"The negative side effects are truly gone?"

At this, even the Countess's eyes lit up.

"Exactly. Ever since I found this thing on my body, my emotional outbursts have steadily weakened."

"In fact, having to fake being swayed by my emotions just to avoid suspicion has become a real chore."

"From a certain perspective, does something with no negative effects—something that could even be considered a blessing—truly deserve to be called contamination?"

The Priest turned to look at Fu Qian again.

"The reason I am telling you all this is in hopes of reaching a consensus with you."

"If we can come to an agreement and you are willing to keep this a secret, then there is absolutely no need for us to kill each other."

"Drop the benevolent act. The real reason is that because I showed up today, you aren't confident you can kill us both, right?"

Fu Qian glanced at him.

"So in your original plan, you were going to kill her and then come after me? How did you plan to explain things to the outside world after killing us?"

"Simple. Seduced by power, you stole and destroyed the Sacred Relic to advance. The Countess discovered you, so you murdered her—but fortunately, I arrived just in time."

The Priest replied without hesitation, clearly having thought this through long in advance.

"It's a good story. No logical flaws, either."

Fu Qian nodded repeatedly as he listened, then looked back at the Countess.

"What do you think?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot agree."

The Countess remained silent for a long time before finally shaking her head.

"You claim this thing is comparable to a blessing. But over this long period, cases of the colorless curse have steadily multiplied, and not a single new person has undergone an Awakening. Are you certain this isn't its doing?"

"That cannot be ruled out, but why should you care about such things?"

The Priest's voice was soft and gentle.

"They are not like us. Those who cannot enter a sequence were never protected by the Seven Lights to begin with."

"I'm sorry, but they are all the same to me..."

The Countess shook her head, a resolute look filling her eyes.

"Therefore, I reject your proposal."

"What ridiculous stubbornness. And you?"

The Priest turned to look at Fu Qian.

"As a young man, I hope your mind isn't so rigid."

"Do you think I'm an idiot? The moment she refused, my opinion ceased to matter."

Fu Qian shot him a glance.

"The only reason you were willing to talk is because you weren't confident you could take us both down. If she dies here today, there's absolutely no way you'd let a loose end like me walk away."

"Asking me that question was just an attempt to keep me from interfering while you kill her. Do I really look that stupid?"

"You are certainly not stupid."

The Priest's expression shifted multiple times as Fu Qian spoke, but he ultimately burst into laughter.

"In that case, shouldn't you be trying even harder to persuade her?"

"I already tried. Unfortunately, she won't agree."

Fu Qian looked at the Countess.

"Care to reconsider?"

"My mind is made up."

There was absolutely no room for negotiation in the Countess's tone.

"I advise you not to entertain any illusions, either. His words hold absolutely no credibility."

"If we join forces against him, we still have a chance to survive."

"If you won't do that, then I'll hold him off. Flee immediately and spread the news; he won't necessarily be able to stop you."

"It's fantastic that you have that kind of resolve!"

To the Countess's complete surprise, Fu Qian didn't attempt to persuade her any further. Instead, he enthusiastically agreed, then turned to face the Priest.

"Looks like there's nothing left to discuss. We'll just have to rely on our own strength."

Rely on our own strength...

The Priest watched Fu Qian warily.

The next moment, the Countess let out a miserable shriek. A black serpent seized her broken leg and violently yanked her through the air, hoisting her bodily as a shield between the two men.

It was obvious the Priest was still quite wary of Fu Qian's previous lethal attack.

"You see?"

Fu Qian spoke to the Countess.

"I knew he would use you as a meat shield. That's why I said I was glad you had that kind of resolve."

...

Deftly dodging another black serpent attempting a sneak attack, Fu Qian's smile didn't waver in the slightest.

"Shall I send the two of you on your way, then?"

Despite his words, Fu Qian watched the Countess ensnared by the black serpent, holding off on unleashing his breath attack.

"Kill him! Don't worry about me!"

The Countess was growing frantic.

Seeing this, the Priest burst into roaring laughter.

"He's far smarter than you. He knows that if he accidentally injures you, he'll never be able to escape on his own."

He turned to Fu Qian.

"I think we can still negotiate. In fact, I have a new proposition."

"Oh? What new proposition?"

Fu Qian took two steps forward at those words.

"You walk away right now and never return, and I promise I won't hunt you down."

The Priest stared intently at Fu Qian, still making sure to keep the Countess positioned as a shield on his flank.

"That is one way to look at it..."

"Heh. It truly is wonderful that you possess such mature considerati—"

The Priest barely got halfway through his sentence before a grayish-white dragon head materialized right in front of him. It unleashed a formless breath at twice the speed of its previous attack, completely ignoring the Countess positioned in the line of fire.

The distance was far too close. With nowhere to dodge, he could only command the black fluid to form a barrier in front of him.

But the conical breath was relentless, continuously bombarding the surface of the fluid and rapidly destabilizing it.

The next moment, the Pus of Man violently exploded.

"You... actually dared to..."

The Priest looked at the Countess a short distance away. Having served as a shield, she hadn't been spared, taking the full brunt of the breath attack.

She wore an utterly bewildered expression, half of her body rapidly withering and decaying.

"Since... why didn't you attack just now?"

The Priest's thoughts seemed to be entirely short-circuiting. The destruction of the Pus of Man had cost him nearly half his body, leaving him gasping for his final breaths.

"This thing has a bit of a long windup. If I had attacked earlier, I probably would have missed."

Fu Qian was telling the truth. As their earlier clashes had shown, the Priest was incredibly agile. Landing a hit while he was on guard would not have been easy.

The best way to get the Priest to stand still and take the blast was to make him believe he was perfectly safe—like, say, having a hostage in hand.

"It's not every day someone offers themselves up as bait. It would have been a shame not to take advantage of it."

"Besides, I double-checked with her. She was fully prepared to die."

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