Eldritch Horror Theatre

See? Impatient again.

While not an absolute rule, outstanding traits often came with corresponding weaknesses.

Locking onto a target in advance was certainly an advantage, but much like an overly explicit strategy, it left room for enemies to exploit loopholes.

Such as right now.

The intent behind Blood Crusade had been to create as much of a buffer as possible.

But as mentioned before, it was hard to say how effective it would be, especially against an execution with its target lock dialed to the maximum.

However, the specific location targeted by this Handheld Thunder provided an idea worth trying.

Left and Right, inherited from the Skeletal Remains of the King of the Abandoned Prison. Once activated, it fundamentally scrambled the concepts of the left and right hands, along with anything related to them.

He hadn't officially used it since acquiring it. To think a higher entity would actually cooperate in testing the technique today.

But the beauty of the current situation was that, because the escorting White-Hot Knight had been far too powerful earlier, not only was Fu Qian's right hand gone, but the corresponding fundamental self was also still crippled.

Under these circumstances, if he activated Left and Right, what would the effect of locking onto his left hand become?

He wasn't entirely certain it would work, but this curiosity alone ensured Fu Qian wouldn't miss the test. Having a Deity volunteer for it was a rare opportunity that wouldn't come around again.

Boom—

In the very next moment, the test results were out. This time, Fu Qian didn't even need to provide his own sound effects.

Amid the concussive blast, that tiny molten core violently detonated, swallowing him whole.

...

Truly not bad.

Canceling Blood Crusade, Fu Qian examined his mangled hand and the bloody wounds spreading across his entire body.

Even his carefully designed Fish Scale Armor had been shattered to pieces.

Supreme power was indeed not something ordinary trickery could entirely counter. Even with the confusion of left and right, he still hadn't been able to prevent the molten core from exploding.

Nor was he able to reflect this misfortune back at the enemy—but it didn't hurt.

That was right. The effect of this execution—the first to officially land on his body—could barely be considered a flesh wound. It was a far cry from the Meteor of Fate.

The reason was simple: although the molten core had exploded, the Chaos Multiplier hadn't seemed to trigger.

His trick of scrambling yin and yang and inverting heaven and earth hadn't been entirely meaningless.

At that moment, the target originally locked onto by the concept ceased to exist conceptually, causing this perfect strike to ultimately miss a crucial link.

Although the judgment succeeded, the Butterfly Effect did not trigger.

So much so that by the time Claudora noticed his injuries, they were already on the verge of healing.

"Professor Fu, what just happened?"

However, that didn't stop her from furrowing her brow in concern for her junior.

"His excellency didn't really want us to visit, so he sent a little gift."

Not hiding anything, Fu Qian didn't even pause his steps, continuing along the Pilgrimage Road as he spoke.

"...Is everything fine now?"

She obviously found it hard to believe that an ancient higher entity's attack would merely be a "little gift."

But seeing Fu Qian handle it so calmly—and realizing that his brief disappearance just now might have been an attempt to avoid dragging others down—Claudora couldn't hide her shock.

After a slight hesitation, however, she caught up and refrained from asking about the "future," focusing instead on the incident at hand.

...

"No problems now, though I can't rule out another attempt. You know how persistent they can be."

Fu Qian's reply was earnest. As he spoke, he pointed a finger upward, signaling toward the higher entities.

"You're not wrong..."

These words seemed to resonate with Claudora, who immediately let out a sigh.

"Although the Academy's exploration in this area is far from deep, and the Night Watchers have always been highly secretive about it, certain wills looming over this world are truly astounding."

Having confirmed him as a peer and even a colleague, her choice of words became much freer as she casually shared the scientific progress of her era.

"And we aren't the only ones to have discovered this..."

After a moment of hesitation, Claudora pushed a little further past her usual reservations.

"This investigation is nominally taking place in a forbidden zone. But based on some of the traces we've seen inside, it's far from the standard religious structures—like a Holy Temple—typically associated with those higher entities. Instead, it feels somewhat similar to the Academy..."

"So far, we haven't found much else, but that's precisely the problem. There are absolutely no outside records of this special research organization."

Oh?

An ancient research organization inside a certain forbidden zone? An even earlier Transcendent Academy?

That was indeed interesting news.

This was the benefit of treating each other with sincerity. Fu Qian found the new information Claudora provided deeply intriguing.

Furthermore, it confirmed that the Academy had suffered catastrophic losses in this place, nearly to the point of never recovering.

As a result, not only did information about this organization seem to have been erased, but the Academy's handling of the incident was also kept top secret...

"I am merely a projection right now. After this is over, I won't remember any of my experiences here, will I?"

While Fu Qian was deep in thought, Claudora went on to pose another question.

"In my estimation, most likely yes. Cross-temporal conversations aren't that simple."

Glancing at her, Fu Qian gave a ruthless answer, even though he knew exactly why she had asked.

Having encountered so many higher entities up to this point, an authority like altering the past seemed to exist quite exclusively here in the Warehouse.

The probability of the Holy Infant Calamity Star—whose oppressive presence didn't even match that of Blazing Rainbow—wielding such a taboo power was rather low.

After the projections of the Knights dissipated from here, it was highly likely that whatever they saw and gained couldn't be brought back to their main bodies, making it impossible to borrow strength from the future.

As for pulling in projections to assist with its own rebirth, the specific logic behind this power, or exactly what authority it involved, remained an unsolved question.

"I figured as much..."

As the one asking, Claudora had clearly already formed her own judgment on the matter. Facing this junior whose Rank and intellect were both exceptionally outstanding, she merely wanted to consult his opinion.

Thus, at this moment, she still couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.

...

"If you have anything you want to ask, you may ask me now."

Just as Claudora hesitated to speak, the two descended another level, arriving deeper within the building.

Fu Qian suddenly offered this reminder, even though she had already been asking questions a moment ago.

"...What happened to me later?"

Looking at the path ahead and faintly realizing something, Claudora straightened her clothes and finally asked, as if mustering her courage.

"You are still in the Apocalypse Branch. Everyone is proud of you."

Watching her actions, Fu Qian nodded and provided an answer.

...

Claudora remained silent.

"You've helped everyone a lot."

Fu Qian didn't mind and added another sentence, while a thought flashed through his mind.

"Professor Claudora."

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