Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Underground was getting livelier by the minute. Taking it all in, it felt as if he had successfully triggered a bug.

True to the Dream of Healing's purpose of curing the sick and saving lives, Doctor Dorian's scene design remained undeniably monotonous. Fu Qian was still standing in the Stone Chamber beneath the Church.

Standing right in the middle, Fu Qian had undeniably walked into an ambush from all four sides.

The four Hilarias surrounding him from the front, back, left, and right, however, looked astonishingly identical.

He didn't see Hilaria II with her reversed veil this time. In fact, he couldn't spot a single difference in their appearance or demeanor. Even their seated postures were exactly the same.

They possessed a saintlike serenity, exactly like Hilaria's final state in the Church.

Their gazes all converged on him as they called out softly.

This definitely wasn't a good sign.

Faced with this upgraded version, the fact that the other Dolls were still functional was one thing.

Theoretically, this should have been the scene of a four-way split personality.

As for the sight before him, the only explanation he could think of was that the Bitter Fruit had reached full maturity. Hilaria had been thoroughly purified, completely shedding all greed, anger, and delusion.

Looking on the bright side, he could reasonably expect that the effects of an embrace from this foursome would be even better.

But I think I'll pass.

Deciding to skip the treatment and take a stroll to clear his head instead, Fu Qian smiled and withdrew his gaze. Completely ignoring their affectionate attempts to make him stay, he marched straight toward the stairs.

Even though the dense, sweet fragrance permeating the air made that decision quite difficult.

"Outsider..."

Suddenly, the voice called out from above.

"Did you hear a strange sound?"

...

Of course I did. I even heard you sprinting like the wind.

Taking in her white dress and veil, Fu Qian stared into Madam Sarah's neurotic eyes and mused to himself.

She got here even faster than last time. Doctor Dorian is really going all out.

Just as he had predicted, it didn't matter how provoked Dorian was by his "everything is under control" attitude. As long as Fu Qian dove headfirst into his home turf, Dorian—no matter how baffled he might be—would instantly pull out all the stops, throwing everything he had into "curing" him.

Madam Bride's increased speed was a perfect example.

Fu Qian had walked this path before; Sarah must have launched into a full hundred-meter sprint to get down here so quickly.

"I heard it. A child crying," he said. "Is it yours?"

Fu Qian happily played along, rapidly pushing the conversation forward.

"...Of course. Have you seen it?"

Sarah froze for a second before her voice grew even more frantic.

"No. What about the father? Have you seen him?"

Fu Qian fired back a perfectly smooth counter-question.

"The father..."

Under his prodding, Sarah's emotional state visibly collapsed. A heartbeat later, she let out an ear-piercing shriek.

"You don't understand anything! You'll never understand—"

Her dialogue was undoubtedly a continuation of her previous style.

Unlike Hilaria's transformation, Sarah didn't seem to have reached full enlightenment yet; she was still a work in progress.

Instantly reaching that conclusion, Fu Qian once again mentally applauded Hilaria's deep-rooted wisdom, casually stepping aside to dodge the flying droplets of blood.

Because in that same breath, Sarah ripped open her own abdomen even faster than before. Her body rapidly swelled and—Bang!

Only this time, it didn't even require the enlightenment of a Gospel Shockwave. With a completely ordinary punch from Fu Qian, her body simply blew apart.

Gore showered the air in an inescapable blanket.

Not that Fu Qian tried to dodge. He walked straight through the gory rain.

Speed alone was useless.

He had already noted the extremely high Rank of the power behind all this, and it remained just as high this time around.

Unfortunately, it hadn't gotten any higher.

It seemed the corruption afflicting the Natives wasn't being buffed by Dorian at all.

This only made the White-Faced Man even more of a special case.

...

"It's quite lively today! We've got a full house!"

Moving every bit as fast as Madam Sarah had, Fu Qian took the final step and entered the Acons Church.

Sticking to his highly efficient style, he took the initiative to call out a greeting before even fully stepping inside.

And he wasn't exaggerating.

He had thought the Underground was lively, but compared to this place, it wasn't even on the same level.

Right now, dozens of people were packed into the modestly sized Church. It was so crowded there was barely any room to stand.

Clearly, his threats hadn't gone to waste. Doctor Dorian had squeezed out every last drop of effort to set up the grandest possible stage for him.

Was this what they called bringing out the best in each other?

It was just a shame that, despite the massive crowd, barely anyone actually turned to look when he called out.

Aside from the three Natives, the rest of the men, women, and children—whether dressed to the nines or clad in rags—shared a shockingly identical demeanor. They were all huddled in on themselves, clutching their heads and shivering in terror.

The outsiders clearly hadn't had a very pleasant time; most of them had been scared senseless by the local legends.

Watching the crowd instinctively bunch up together, Fu Qian was naturally reminded of that massive, tangled pile of clothes back in the Tower.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Surprisingly, the first one to speak up was Brother Felt Hat, who was currently being pushed away from his spot near the Statue.

He was visibly struggling to comprehend or accept the situation.

"Isn't it obvious? Everyone's afraid of the dark."

Fu Qian shoved his way through the crowd. The area around the Statue really was the most packed—in times of crisis, faith still offered people some comfort.

"...Bullshit," Brother Felt Hat snapped. "I know they're outsiders. I even recognize some of their faces. But they've never stuck around here after their treatments."

Unfortunately, Brother Felt Hat was as rash and rude as ever. His temper flared instantly at Fu Qian's casual response.

So he really does remember.

Completely unfazed by the hostility, Fu Qian rapidly analyzed the new information.

Brother Felt Hat and the others were reflections of the real-world Natives. So, while they didn't know the outsiders ultimately became Dolls, it made perfect sense that they retained memories of them.

But this also highlighted one major detail: these people were different from him. They had genuinely lived and moved within the real Acons without ever running into that pane of glass.

Which made him a massive exception. Why?

Searching for a reason, the easiest answer was his Administrator Identity.

While he was trying to solve the problem of the Bitter Fruit, he was also being explicitly targeted by it.

But was it really this powerful?

Did it instantly recognize his Administrator Identity?

Based on his past experiences, the Warehouse's arrangements were highly reliable. It almost never messed up his immersion.

"Is it possible that you just don't get out enough?" he asked.

Fu Qian offered the casual reply while deep in thought. At the same time, his hand settled firmly onto the man's neck.

"Get ready."

In the same breath, he turned toward the somewhat dazed Old Lady in the distance and nodded toward what she held in her hands.

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