Eldritch Horror Theatre

Virgo's position at the top of the Number 2 series was looking more and more well-deserved.

The mission environment was brutal. Aside from an insanely lethal physical countdown, if things really were as he suspected, a single careless move would mean digging his own grave.

For one, its concealment was absolute. Not only had a Tier 2 failed to spot it face-to-face, but even now, with the Lucid Dream active, he still couldn't sense any anomaly despite being the Sovereign.

This alone would cause any intuitive participant—those who acted without theoretical guidance—to immediately clear Jill of suspicion.

It wouldn't even matter if they were the completely deranged type who didn't even rely on intuition.

Slaughtering every living thing in sight still wouldn't solve the problem.

With its existence blending seamlessly into the environment—achieving unity of heaven and humanity—the difficulty of finding it would only increase.

When that happened, the administrator would be met with total mental disarray.

Their next steps would likely spiral toward the logic of Jingwei filling the sea.

Jill was nothing special—she was just a Breeding Seedbed.

He didn't doubt her personal drive right now, but her opponent was any random Escort Knight whose strength was above the Demigod Realm.

Not to mention she was rapidly running out of time.

This was why he had utilized the Lucid Dream to give her a helping hand, along with Brother Scholar.

Seeing Jill's expression change drastically—maintaining an eyes on nose, nose on heart focus to aggressively splinter her own mind—Fu Qian turned his gaze toward the Scholar.

"What's wrong with Jill? Are you saying that thing is on her? Cough, cough..."

Though he was a bit slow on the uptake, he was still the intellectual type. Mid-question, the Scholar suddenly realized the implications and broke into a longer, startled fit of coughing.

Judging by his agitation, this makeshift survival team had fostered a surprisingly decent bond. He genuinely seemed worried about Jill's predicament.

Unfortunately... Fu Qian curled his finger, and a surging thread of blood agonizingly but firmly tore itself free from Jill's neck.

......

There was no geyser of blood, only dried, wood-like flecks of bone and flesh peeling away.

The transformation was far too distinctive. Both the victim and the onlookers knew exactly what it meant.

The erosion of the Crimson Frenzy had reached its final stage. The true countdown had begun.

"Are you mistaken, excellency? I refuse to believe it's Jill... Can you save her, excellency?"

The Scholar didn't even try to run. Staring at Jill, he finally broke his silence.

"No. Have faith in your teammate. She might be the one saving you."

Unfortunately, his judgment still fell short of Jill's. Fu Qian offered a blunt response, along with a word of encouragement.

"But she's out of time... Can't you heal her just a little?"

Rejected, the Scholar finally recalled the Sinner Excellency's ruthless track record and realized his own naivety.

Since appealing to emotion had failed, he desperately tried to appeal to reason, his voice laced with despair.

"No. The only one who can buy her time is herself."

Unfortunately, the response he received was as cold as ever.

......

Stunned into absolute silence, the Scholar stared at Jill like a statue. Amidst his grief, he seemed to see a reflection of his own inevitable future.

Taking in the man's reaction, Fu Qian felt deeply satisfied.

The real Jill outside the dream wasn't progressing this fast, of course.

Throwing in this little special effect was simply meant to spur her along.

As for his conversation with the Scholar, it wasn't born from some twisted sense of humor.

Everyone had their uses. Pulling the Scholar into the Lucid Dream naturally helped ensure Madam Jill's immersion, preventing her from feeling that the situation was fake due to missing details.

Moreover, the man was undeniably perfect for setting the mood.

Highly emotional, prone to overthinking, paralyzingly indecisive, and genuinely concerned for Jill.

He was confident that every word of their previous exchange would profoundly help Madam Jill grasp the sheer peril of her situation.

Even though it still didn't seem to be enough.

"excellency..."

Finally, unable to hold back any longer, she opened her eyes. Her trembling hand reached up to touch her neck.

Her voice was so distorted it was barely recognizable, yet the sheer despair bleeding through her words was unmistakable.

"Do you remember what Ann said?"

Too bad for her, she was facing an evil god with a heart of stone.

Meeting her gaze with a gentle look, Fu Qian spoke as if comforting a lamb about to plunge into eternal darkness, offering her one final piece of guidance.

"Ann... embrace it, do not resist..."

Her mind was clearly still churning. As she subconsciously muttered the words, she seemed to genuinely grasp something.

......

That first Pestilence Knight truly was wicked. It seemed actively embracing the infection actually did something.

Seeing Jill close her eyes again, successfully lured astray, Fu Qian closely monitored every minute shift within the dream.

As a space running parallel to reality, her actions here naturally wouldn't trigger any genuinely disastrous real-world consequences, but they weren't entirely meaningless either.

Layering the dual Insight of his Tier 2 status and his role as the Dream Dominator, he finally detected a faint, distinct shift as Jill willingly gave in to corruption.

Specifically, her connection to her surroundings—or rather, to this prison—had deepened.

It felt somewhat similar to those animalistic Scarlet Angels, yet it was much more unique in certain aspects.

A premium vessel ripe for infusion would be a much more accurate description.

This was absolutely not a good thing. But had Ann not been cowed by him earlier, her words back then would have undoubtedly carried immense temptation.

The rest of the group would have undoubtedly died off much faster, and the Knights' Descent would have most likely gained an extra boost as a result.

Right after manifesting, before they even fully grasped the situation, they had immediately resorted to such blatant, malicious deceit. The title of Knight was truly earned.

Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough.

Even though he had detected this shift, he still couldn't sense the hidden Virgo.

The same could be seen in Jill's expression. Despite pushing herself to the very brink of mental collapse, she had gained absolutely nothing.

And his own time was running out.

In reality, outside the Lucid Dream, a bloody thread was already beginning to tear itself free from the sleeping Jill's neck—

Taking a step forward, a thread of blood ripped from his own fingertip. Feeling its pull, Fu Qian forcibly controlled it, inching it ever so slowly toward Jill's neck.

Ann had also mentioned that Scarlet Angels could devour each other.

A true researcher never just forced others to take all the risks.

He wondered if tapping into the connection of this unique curse would allow him to see more through Jill.

This was his final shot of nitrous on the road to meeting Virgo.

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