Eldritch Horror Theatre

No wonder they say the eyes are the windows to the soul.

Finally revealing his true form, Liang Shangjun reacted promptly this time.

In the blink of an eye, Fu Qian became the undisputed center of attention.

Fortunately, stage fright had never been an issue for him. He met those gazes with deep affection—and actually received deep affection in return.

There was a "thing" behind those eyes, and it wasn't Liang Shangjun.

The eyeball he had thrown was little more than a catalyst, sparking the subsequent reaction.

As for what reaction?

Put simply, this sacrifice had awakened a much more unique entity hiding behind the blood flow.

More accurately, this so-called "awakening" was essentially Liang Shangjun using the stimulus to bring that power into sharper focus. The staring eyeballs were merely a manifestation of it.

So, even if the scene before him intensified, it was still just the manifestation of inner fear—though at least the visuals had leveled up, right?

Even though he had lost his Transcendent Perception, it didn't stop Fu Qian from feeling the great terror lurking behind those countless gazes, or the blood flow in his body that now felt as heavy as lead.

Plop, plop, plop...

Eyeballs continuously dropped into Fu Qian's raised palm, carried by the blood flow.

Even as the later arrivals bounced off his hand one by one and scattered across the ground, it didn't stop them from staring fixedly in his direction.

"Is that it?"

Cradling a handful of squishy eyeballs, Fu Qian turned to the Witch beside him to confirm.

One should never take things for granted; it was always best to accept the Pope's teachings.

"Yes, it's alive. It's the core power of this Nightmare, but it doesn't possess clear consciousness. Its malice is almost entirely instinctual.

"As for its effects, they seem to run opposite to the blood loss accumulating in our bodies. This is likely the core reason this place is so fragile—it's like filth and purity reaching a strange equilibrium."

The Witch certainly didn't disappoint. Her feedback was incredibly reliable.

...

"And they use the Ruins' exit as a boundary? So that's why we felt that way earlier—if we actually breach it, it'll cause the Nightmare to collapse?"

The Witch's later description was a bit abstract, but as an academic, Professor Fu had no trouble understanding it. He easily connected it with her earlier points.

"What is wrong with you two—do you still not believe it? Do you still want to leave?"

Unfortunately, for someone lacking an academic spirit, eavesdropping on this conversation was pure torture.

Almost the moment Fu Qian finished speaking, Liang Shangjun's roar echoed out, so piercing it grated against their eardrums.

Although he was questioning their sanity, extreme self-doubt bled through his voice.

In his mind, the situation before them should never have happened.

Once they sensed the thing behind the "blood," the very thought of leaving should have ceased to exist.

"That should be the case. Even though the thing outside is the power core, this opposition between purity and filth is the true theme of this dreamscape.

"Once the boundary is no longer clear, this core power will tear everything to shreds."

Unfortunately, the Witch's reaction once again proved what it meant to act as if nobody else existed.

She quickly affirmed Fu Qian's theory, not once glancing overhead the entire time.

Wandering around this place really did feel like defusing a bomb.

Fu Qian mused at that moment.

His theory had been confirmed, but the situation seemed even more dire.

As abstract as this Nightmare was, it was also ridiculously fragile.

From that perspective, Liang Shangjun really had been working hard.

Faced with the innate desire of so many who wanted to shatter the barrier, if he hadn't perfectly played the role of gatekeeper, it was hard to imagine this Nightmare lasting until now.

So the question remained: how were they supposed to defuse this bomb?

"If we just kill it directly, is it possible to buy a brief window of time?

"Without that detonation point, could you use your control over this place to take its place and maintain the area temporarily?"

It seemed difficult, but Fu Qian's suggestion came swiftly.

"Haha... You're an absolute lunatic! Do you even know what you're saying?"

As the Witch pondered the idea, Liang Shangjun forcibly asserted his presence once more.

This was the perk of being treated like air. Although he had been completely ignored since earlier, Fu Qian and the Witch hadn't held back in their conversation at all, allowing him to overhear far too many terrifying details.

Amidst his laughter, Liang Shangjun stopped his frantic spinning overhead. He stared fixedly at Fu Qian, looking as if he might pounce and take a bite out of him at any moment.

Clearly, his attitude toward the power behind the "blood" was somewhat complicated. He was both terrified and reverent, treating it as something that could not be profaned.

"Of course I know, and I'm seriously researching its feasibility right now."

This time, Fu Qian finally showed him a little respect, even glancing over with a nod.

"Do you want to join the research? For instance, what do you think this place will turn into when that happens?"

Hmm...

Looking as though he had lost the ability to speak, or perhaps as if he had accepted Fu Qian's suggestion, Liang Shangjun fell silent. He seemed to genuinely start imagining the scenario in spite of himself.

Pfft—

Then, as if some emotion had finally crested to its peak, his body convulsed at one point. He opened his mouth wide and actually made a motion akin to throwing up.

Though even when he finished the motion, nothing seemed to come out of that gaping mouth.

"The bugs didn't crawl in from the outside; they're a manifestation of an emotion like fear. The underlying foundation of this Nightmare truly is rooted in the mind."

Fu Qian didn't mind at all. He nodded at the Witch and, in the next moment, even blew a breath into midair.

Boom—

Golden flames instantly flared up, as if some long, strip-like object had caught fire and was now struggling frantically.

It wasn't that Liang Shangjun hadn't actually thrown anything up; what he regurgitated were those bugs from earlier.

...

"It certainly is a theoretical solution, and maintaining it briefly shouldn't be a big problem. However, there's a prerequisite: that thing needs to be wiped out cleanly, while simultaneously involving as little else as possible."

The Knight had not only bought himself time to think, but had even casually conducted a small test, verifying his earlier hypothesis once again.

Such excellent time management made it seem as if the Witch could already envision the day the Dark Moon Cult would rise to prominence again. Gratified, she didn't hesitate to share her insight.

"The current problem is that while I can lock onto it to a certain extent, its form of existence is still too abstract. The boundaries are so blurry that it's hard to find a good method of execution."

However, it wasn't all good news. The Witch quickly pointed out the core difficulty of the plan, its truly thorny aspect.

"So the strike needs to be highly efficient and precise... Understood."

Fu Qian listened intently. The next moment, he raised his head, his expression looking as if he were staring at some nonexistent, illusory shape—and proceeded to detonate the Calamity Eyes overhead, which had already opened to their limit.

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