Eldritch Horror Theatre

His demeanor remained unchanged. Time hadn't left a single mark on this presumed "young Marco."

He was even exhibiting an intense stress response—like someone who had barely caught his breath before being thrown to the torturers once again. His aggression was already boiling over.

"Don't move."

Fortunately, Aike was clearly a professional at calming people down. Following Old Man Stoss's instructions, she stepped forward, offering soft words of comfort before she even reached him.

She even reached out a hand, as if to stroke his slightly pointed head.

Hiss—

Unfortunately, his insecurity was simply too deep.

He not only jerked away in a subconscious dodge, but with an eerie noise from his throat, he violently slashed out with a sharp claw.

Despite the sudden attack, Aike made no attempt to dodge. A split second later, the blow landed solidly against her.

Her footsteps didn't falter, nor did her expression shift. Her hand finally rested on his head as she calmly delivered the instruction.

This time, it seemed to actually work. The young Marco stopped trying to retreat. Even the hand that had struck Aike remained stiffly in place, unretracted.

The already scrawny arm stuck out rigidly, resembling a withered branch stripped of its leaves and blossoms—in fact, it looked as though it had literally turned to wood.

Fu Qian, already familiar with Aike's abilities, easily noticed that the sharp claw and the arm attached to it had completely lost all mobility. A bark-like texture had even formed across the surface of the skin.

She had clearly activated her ability the exact moment he touched her, forcibly mutating the young Marco into something resembling a guardian of nature.

...

It was certainly a pragmatic way to handle him.

Words were ultimately shallow. It was far more effective to let him feel it physically, forcefully hammering the concept that stillness was better than movement straight from his flesh into his mind.

As for whether this was a bit cruel?

That sort of thing depended entirely on what you compared it to.

If Aike hadn't stepped up, the task would have fallen to either him or Su Gao—and frankly, neither of them had the best reputation for gentleness.

A quick glance at their past combat records would easily cross the threshold of "extremely cruel and unusual methods."

Excellency Stoss was no brainless brute; he had clearly put thought into selecting his team.

"He seems to still have some shreds of sanity."

The final result was quite decent, too.

Lifting her hand from the boy's head, Aike carefully scrutinized the rigid figure. A few seconds later, she gave Stoss a signal.

The spot she had just touched had taken on a miraculous state.

The surface of his less-than-round head had cracked, developing a texture reminiscent of crystal rock candy.

Fu Qian could even confirm that it was genuinely "icy," radiating a noticeable chill.

"Can you understand me?"

Excellency Stoss didn't waste any time. He spoke immediately, staring directly into those eyes, which clearly still retained some function.

"As long as you are remotely capable of it, try to answer. Otherwise, you will be destroyed."

He even offered this extra warning. Though his tone was perfectly even, it carried an immense, undeniable weight.

So much so that after five seconds of locking gazes, those wildly darting eyes miraculously calmed down.

"They..."

Even so, he didn't seem to be strictly responding to Stoss.

A moment later, in a voice that sounded like his throat was stuffed full of earthworms, the young Marco managed to choke out a few syllables.

"They are... over there..."

...

Hmm?

Though simple, the words were packed with information.

Paired with how his eyes seemed to stare into the depths of The Ark while he spoke, it immediately sparked a flurry of unsettling thoughts. It felt like needles at one's back.

"Who are they?"

Before the group could let their imaginations run wild, Old Man Stoss continued asking in a deep voice.

"The two of them... are right there..."

Unfortunately, the response he received still missed the mark entirely.

Even though the boy appeared to have reached maximum "calm" both physically and mentally, very little of the young Marco's normal consciousness remained. He was practically a broken record, repeating that single phrase over and over.

"What should we do? Should I push harder?"

After a brief wait yielded no further information, Aike finally turned back to confirm with Stoss.

"There is no need."

Shaking his head promptly, Stoss didn't seem to think he was hiding anything.

"Execute him immediately."

The command sounded incredibly jarring after the previous calmness, showing not a single shred of mercy.

Just because he didn't know anything else didn't mean he had exhausted his usefulness.

Of course, Fu Qian completely understood this choice.

Even with his mental state in utter shambles, the figure on the ground still held one final piece of value.

Namely, as the most unique specimen they had encountered so far, they could observe whether his death would trigger any special effects in the surroundings, allowing them to compare it with their previous encounters.

It was an exceptionally pragmatic approach. Perhaps with careful and patient coaxing, he might eventually spit out another word or two. But in a situation where every single second counted, it was far better to wring out whatever value was left immediately.

"Understood."

As a Transcendent Tier member of the Night Watchers who had long held a high position and seen her fair share of cruelty, Excellency Aike was clearly capable of effortlessly suppressing any pointless pangs of sympathy.

She offered a soft reply, and in almost the same breath, she gently tapped her finger against the paralyzed head.

All life faded from him in an instant.

The body, already as rigid as a statue, silently had all its vital connections severed, reducing it to nothing more than a piece of dead wood.

...

Impressive technique.

Even though the target had offered no resistance to begin with, this bloodless execution—which almost looked like a spiritual purification—was far milder on the eyes.

No wonder she was qualified to dress up and attend the Former Royal Family's banquets as a representative of the Night Watchers.

Watching this scene unfold, Fu Qian silently praised her, though he didn't slack on monitoring his surroundings for even a second.

His conclusion: absolutely no movement.

It seemed they hadn't gained anything from extracting the poor soul's final scrap of value.

Much like the Feather and Fish they had encountered earlier, the fading of his life force failed to trigger any disturbance within The Ark.

Old Man Stoss appeared to have reached the exact same conclusion.

"Just as unremarkable... It seems we'll just have to find another way to track down those 'two people.'"

Gazing at the body that had now become a true statue, he stood in silence for a long moment, sensing his surroundings, before finally sighing and shaking his head.

"...And what if we can't find them? It's hard to say how much credibility his words actually have."

Even though she had been the one to execute the boy, Aike seemed momentarily unnerved that Stoss was actually basing his plans on such a fragmented, nonsensical phrase.

"Then that means we can continue exploring."

Old Man Stoss, however, had clearly already considered her concerns. He glanced at her and replied bluntly.

"Because if we can't, this operation must be aborted immediately."

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