Eldritch Horror Theatre

It truly was a case of appearing only after ten thousand calls.

After all his efforts to cultivate a proper environment for the task's issuance, the Containment target had finally, painstakingly emerged. Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Fortunately, the length of the task prompt was decently substantial compared to his past assignments. At least the Warehouse hadn't completely embarrassed itself.

The specific contents of that prompt, however, didn't seem to be good news.

Ensure that Natives survive?

Emphasizing this specific prerequisite as a mandatory condition directly ruled out one particular method of clearing the task—slaughtering every living thing in sight.

The trouble this time was more or less what he had expected: something known as the Bitter Fruit was using this special place—once named Akons—as its soil, taking root and spreading.

And though there weren't many Natives left in Akons, a simple, brutal massacre clearly wouldn't solve the problem.

From that perspective, his careful restraint and amiable disposition along the way had actually been entirely necessary.

Fu Qian finally turned his attention back to the tongue that was still hard at work.

It was remarkably energetic, though perhaps a shade too red. A symptom of excessive internal heat, perhaps?

Given her current mental state, that was to be expected.

"That makes perfect sense. How could a mere block of stone ever embody the glory of a great being?"

Naturally, his silent, unscrupulous diagnosis didn't delay his social etiquette. As Hilaria turned her head toward him, Fu Qian offered this response to her previous question.

Or perhaps she should be called Hilaria of the Dark.

After all, her current state involved much more than just whether her veil was pulled up or down. Her entire person had undergone such a drastic transformation that it was akin to switching to a second form.

"So, how long have you been experiencing these symptoms?"

In light of this, Fu Qian immediately and enthusiastically applied the four diagnostic methods of looking, smelling, questioning, and pulse-feeling.

...

As previously mentioned, Hilaria's current state wasn't difficult to understand.

Life always found a way, and so did the mind.

Compared to the other Natives, it was perfectly normal for her to possess a much stronger faith as a member of the clergy.

In ordinary times, this would undoubtedly be considered a commendable trait.

However, when that intensely passionate belief was met with abandonment by the very object of her faith, processing that reality became vastly more difficult for her than for the average Native.

The people outside could simply scrape the religious images off their window frames, but her own willpower could no longer even support her leaving this place.

Speaking of which, back in the Healing Dreamscape at the start of the task, Madam Bride's group of four had faced a threat from the darkness, regained their faith, and sought sanctuary inside the Church. Meanwhile, Hilaria, who had originally stood firm in her devotion, had fallen into the Underground instead, forever separated from their ranks.

It made sense why he hadn't immediately snapped Dorian's neck. The doctor's aesthetic sensibilities for dream-weaving were still somewhat intact; he had fully grasped the principle that art originates from life but transcends it.

Even the design of the Doll subtly echoed this theme in its own unique way.

Amid his silent praise, Fu Qian studied Hilaria's current appearance without rushing her to answer his question.

Although it was merely a shift in the position of her veil—lowered to obscure her eyes, leaving only her nose and mouth exposed—the rest of her attire remained quite conservative.

However, the stark contrast pushed the visual impact to its absolute peak. Her sensuality far surpassed that of Dorian, who only knew how to tug at his own collar.

If Dorian's design had hinted at a different side of Hilaria beneath her solemn exterior, then the real Hilaria in front of him had undoubtedly taken that potential to a grandmaster level.

In truth, this wasn't all that strange.

Hilaria's problem wasn't merely a physical inability to leave.

She needed an answer to a single question—why that great Excellency no longer responded—just to keep her obsession from driving her entirely mad.

And for this kind of question, the most common answer was always the same: she simply wasn't pious enough.

Her posture of prayer was wrong, her theological concepts were flawed, she had committed some unintended offense... Proposing all these hypothetical faults and then seeking answers for them was, to a certain extent, how religious doctrines were refined and upgraded.

Theoretically speaking, Hilaria truly had the potential to become a saint who could single-handedly author a new version of the gospel.

As for why she had failed to achieve that milestone and instead resorted to this novel method of "cleaning," the reason was easily guessed: she had improved her doctrine, but it was still useless.

No matter how much more devoted she became, Excellency Akons showed no signs of answering her.

Consequently, Hilaria's next choice—aside from insisting that she "still harbored distracting thoughts and needed purer faith"—was to utterly despise and profane her past "impure" behaviors. That was clearly the only way to keep her mental state from fracturing entirely.

Heh...

For example, right now, prompted by his call, she had finally pulled her tongue off Excellency Akons's knee, proving that she was still capable of reacting to external stimuli.

"You truly are a special outsider... I have already satisfied you once. Must you continue to pester me with demands?"

But clearly, this did not mean she was willing to cooperate.

Fu Qian was certain that the black veil did not hinder Hilaria's vision.

Yet she showed absolutely no intention of taking it off. She "stared" at him while maintaining that appearance, her tone indescribably ambiguous—sounding much more like she was flirting than rejecting him.

"Fair enough, I was being presumptuous. Let me change the question, then."

Fu Qian had absolutely no intention of forcing the issue. Nodding slightly, he patted the armrest of his seat.

"You didn't use that same method to clean these things, did you?"

...

"I'm just joking. It's just so incredibly spotless."

The air fell silent for a moment, but before Hilaria could even react, Fu Qian naturally shifted his hand from patting the armrest to gripping it, pushing himself to his feet.

"Thank you for the explanation. It was truly a delightful pilgrimage."

"Now for the real question. Have you remembered where Madam Bride lives?"

The fragile, devout defender of the faith she had previously portrayed would undoubtedly have found it inappropriate to leak the information of former congregants and put them in danger.

But with his help, Madam Hilaria had opened her heart a step further. Considering she was now openly desecrating a Statue she once considered holy, she shouldn't feel too burdened about betraying a group of people whose transgressions were far worse.

"...So, you are planning to switch targets?"

Just as he expected, Hilaria didn't refuse outright. Instead, she turned her head to look at the Doll sitting nearby.

"Doesn't that mean this piece can no longer be upgraded?"

"It does. Which is why I can't leave it here to serve that indescribable Excellency in your stead."

Fu Qian's motion to leave clearly wasn't an act.

"So, you originally intended to take my corpse back and leave this in its place? What would be the meaning of that?"

Though she understood his meaning, Hilaria seemed even more perplexed.

"Why wouldn't it have meaning? It isn't just about the Statue or the Emblem. According to your own words, the inherent stupidity of humanity ensures that any perception or interpretation of a great being is a form of blasphemy, something that can never be truly pure."

When it came to spouting religious nonsense, Fu Qian had never been one to lose to anyone.

"In that case, wouldn't offering a symbol of yourself—something truly pure and untainted—be a far better choice as a replacement?"

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