Eldritch Horror Theatre

Sure enough, her outfit and overall look suddenly made perfect sense.

The word “guest” carried a considerable amount of information.

Fu Qian’s gaze immediately fell on the evening gown, which had lost much of its dignity.

“So that's how it is. No wonder you're dressed so formally.”

The confusion hiding beneath Demigod Aike’s feigned composure was equally easy to understand.

Surrounded by distinguished guests and the clinking of glasses, enjoying a grand feast only to be suddenly thrown into a place like this—a place akin to a living tomb—it was entirely excusable for her to be a bit aggressive.

However, there was a small problem.

“May I ask what the theme of the banquet was?”

“Your focus is truly unique. Furthermore, considering the encounter you just described, isn't your current reaction a bit too calm?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Without rushing to answer, she scrutinized Fu Qian once more.

“You must know your story isn't all that credible. If you fabricated it to mislead me, exposing your lies this quickly seems a bit too unprofessional.”

“Or it's possible that I'm deliberately acting abnormal to reduce the suspicion that I'm misleading you.”

Faced with her almost palpable threat, Fu Qian’s tone remained mild.

Aike’s reasoning was perfectly sound. Suddenly thrown into a predicament, let alone undergoing incomprehensible physical changes, anyone would feel a degree of unease—just like her.

It felt as if this was also one of the sources of her current negative emotions.

It was a pity that, even if his current reverse-course strategy was indeed aimed at finding a useful pawn, he had never considered playing the role of a simple victim for an easy win.

The reason was simple: an easy win was impossible here.

Fu Qian didn't believe the Demigod Aike before him had the ability to solve their current predicament.

He suspected she might even need someone to overclock her a bit before she could be of any real use later on.

“If you put it that way, that possibility really can't be ruled out... but have you considered the risk that I simply won't believe you?”

His provocation seemed to have a good effect—while acknowledging Fu Qian’s logic, Aike didn't readily accept the possibility that he was truly sincere.

Instead, on the trunk of the tree where she hid, the bark's grooves began to writhe like skin, and the liquid seeping through it turned dark red.

The next moment, amidst a splatter of liquid resembling rotted blood, the writhing bark tore open into densely packed holes, and plump flying insects crawled out from within.

...

Good. Very energetic.

Seeing the gloomy ancient tree instantly transform into a bloody insect nest, Fu Qian marveled inwardly, recalling his own leg turning wood-like during his time at the Unseen Hill.

Demigod Aike’s ability was undoubtedly unique; she seemed capable of forcibly converting life forms to a certain extent.

As the swarm of thumb-sized, vicious-looking insects flew right into his face, Fu Qian had no doubt of their bloodthirstiness.

Such methods were far more energetic than hiding behind a tree just to talk.

The provocation was a success. Even if he turned and left right now, the commotion the riled-up Demigod Aike would stir up next was well worth anticipating—and Fu Qian really did leave.

Without lingering for a single second, Fu Qian leapt backward along his previous path like lightning, his hand reaching out behind him as if he had eyes on his back.

His fingers blurred in a flurry of motion, accurately flicking the incoming insects into bloody pulp one by one.

Of course, for Fu Qian, this didn't come without a price.

Although they were far from the Demigod Tier, the bodies of this insect swarm were absurdly hard, and their surfaces were covered in bloodthirsty Spikes.

From the recoil alone, even before he landed back at his starting position for the task, the five fingers of his Left Hand had been stripped down to exposed white bone.

Lacking the qualitative transformation of divinity, his recovery rate was still somewhat lacking after all.

Amidst his inward sighs, Fu Qian reached out with his right hand, and the two fastest insects instantly burst into bloody pulp.

“Please wait a moment!”

However, just as he accurately stepped back onto his starting point, a call actually chased after him.

At the same time, he sensed the relentlessly pursuing insects instantly lose their vitality, smashing into the ground from midair like falling gravel.

...

“Has Your Excellency changed your mind?”

Coming to a sudden halt, Fu Qian, readily accepting good advice, neither feigned ignorance nor expressed any displeasure over the sudden attack.

Glancing at Aike, who was still standing in her original spot, he watched the speed at which flesh and blood crawled back onto his fingers while asking in an easygoing tone.

“...Your Excellency's reaction is quite interesting. It makes me feel that trusting you wouldn't be a bad thing.”

Her expression was slightly complicated, but Aike ultimately didn't want to compromise her Demigod Might, so she quickly replied in an emotionless tone.

“But it still can't be ruled out that this interesting reaction was also intentional on my part.”

However, Fu Qian casually threw out another layer of mind games.

“When I said it was interesting, I had naturally taken that into consideration as well.”

Snorting, Aike actually stepped out from behind the tree for the first time as she spoke, as if to express her sincerity.

And in that moment, the reason she had been hiding behind the tree became clear.

In the area previously obscured from view, covering more than half of her left shoulder down to her hand, wavy bark-like textures sat beneath her torn gown. That part of her body was already shaped exactly like dead branches.

“I regret to tell you that the direction you've chosen is correct.”

Naturally noticing Fu Qian's gaze, Aike's figure floated weightlessly the next moment, gliding through the space between them.

Coming to a stop off to the side, she didn't shy away from her physical abnormalities at all, explaining directly.

“This place might not be reality, but you still can't leave by walking in the opposite direction. This is the price of trying.”

Tapping her fingers against her arm, producing a sound just like knocking on a hollow tree trunk, Aike revealed a self-deprecating smile.

...

“I thought that if I kept walking outward, I would run into, at most, a Mist like the edge of a dream.”

His action of directly walking away just now was naturally no mere posturing.

Just as before, once Demigod Aike rallied her spirits, whether she believed him or not, her subsequent reactions would be entirely acceptable to Fu Qian.

Yet since she was displaying such a sincere attitude toward communication in this moment, Fu Qian naturally got back into character within a second, voicing his own speculations.

“I once had the same thought, but unfortunately, that wasn't Mist... it was a poisonous fog.”

Aike let out a light sigh.

“You don't have to walk far to run into it. I merely grazed it, and my body began to decay so rapidly that I had to temporarily transform it into another material...”

“It seems the only way out of here can be found over there.”

Looking ahead at that dilapidated yet magnificent building, Aike's expression was noticeably solemn.

“Additionally, I can answer your earlier question. The theme of this banquet is very simple: the Laria Royal Family has gained a new member.”

“Even with one of my hands turning to wood, I still haven't seen this newborn with a noble bloodline... though it seems I can hear them now.”

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