Eldritch Horror Theatre

Creak—

Readily accepting good advice, Fu Qian simply pushed the door open.

The door's quality was indeed as poor as expected, letting out a jarring squeal as it swung on its hinges.

Fortunately, the space inside was quite cramped, making it easy to lock onto a figure—the only figure present.

"Serpent of Destiny?"

Four-character names weren't exactly rare these days, so Fu Qian offered a perfectly natural greeting.

He even strolled forward and took a seat in an empty chair.

The figure looked like a perfectly ordinary citizen.

Brown hair, gray eyes, average height, average looks. The only conspicuous thing about him was his floral shirt.

"King of the Abandoned Prison?"

Facing this scrutiny with complete calm, the man was clearly quite well-mannered, giving a slight nod to offer his own greeting.

Compared to those higher entities he had met in the past, this one was remarkably frank at first glance, directly admitting his identity.

"It's a pity you're a fake."

However, before Fu Qian could even finish his silent praise, the man pivoted the conversation without waiting for a response, showing some frankness on his behalf as well.

"That's fine. It only matters that you're real."

Fu Qian's reaction was to keep up the villainous persona he had maintained the whole way, sitting steadily in his chair while indicating that one should always look on the bright side.

...

He truly lived up to the name Serpent of Destiny.

Theoretically speaking, his actual relationship with the King of the Abandoned Prison could absolutely be considered a secret among higher entities.

Even those higher entity acquaintances he had met before still harbored doubts about the specifics.

Yet this one had merely taken a single glance and somehow exposed this core secret.

Even though they were enemies, it didn't stop Fu Qian from admitting the other party's high caliber.

As for his own response, the meaning was actually quite simple.

On one hand, it was a tacit admission to the claim that he was a fake. On the other hand, it frankly declared his intent—regardless of whether he was a fake King of the Abandoned Prison, all that mattered was beating the real Serpent of Destiny to death.

"I am quite pleased to see such optimism from you... I hope you can keep it up."

In response to this excessively blatant threat, the God in question actually looked quite delighted, chuckling while offering words of encouragement.

The reason he was so certain the other party was a "God" was simple: his stats under the Vision Radar were truly staggering.

In gaming terms, his Calamity bar was probably the longest of any character he had ever encountered, so massive that its accumulation rate felt downright sluggish.

It felt like aside from not being inferior in Rank, the authorities he wielded might even specifically counter his Power of Calamity.

It wasn't strange. As the Serpent of "Destiny," it would actually be stranger if he didn't have any special knack for avoiding disasters and turning bad luck into good.

"I must also admit that you have done exceptionally well. I never imagined you would obtain the Key with such efficiency."

As if He had heard Fu Qian's silent praise, the unfathomable Serpent of Destiny, seemingly completely oblivious to the Calamity accumulating on His body, actually threw some flattery right back.

"Compared to you, that piece of trash fell woefully short."

As for the trash He was referring to, it didn't take much thought to realize it was the "Old Hunter."

"You flatter me. After all, I had a bit more room to operate."

Fu Qian, however, acted thoroughly modest.

"But he could squash you with a single finger, and he even received far more guidance from the entity behind you."

Signaling that Fu Qian didn't need to make excuses for his competitor, the Serpent of Destiny's disdain was utterly pure.

...

'Oh? So he really was another predecessor?'

Since the other party was already speaking so bluntly, it wasn't hard to draw a certain conclusion.

He had previously considered this possibility—that the other party also had some relevant hints.

However, "more detailed guidance" made the Warehouse sound a bit too generous, didn't it?

Could this actually be a two-sided mission, where whoever won counted as a successful Containment for the Warehouse? The probability of that was far too small.

Given the Warehouse's stingy nature, fighting such a lavish battle felt far beyond Its means.

"Was he the one who came to deal with you before?"

A moment later, Fu Qian nodded and asked.

He needed to keep an open mind. Perhaps the Warehouse was currently restricted in its abilities and couldn't give detailed mission guidance, but that might not have been true in the past.

If his competitor was a true "predecessor" who operated during Its prime, wouldn't it make perfect sense that he had received much more detailed guidance?

Even the title was very fitting: the "Old" Hunter.

Although if that were true, the relationship between the outer world and the Inner World became even more intriguing.

Was it not only an overlap of outer and inner, but also a coupling of past and present?

Had it ultimately formed such a competition arena through a tacit agreement between the Serpent of Destiny and the Warehouse?

And because the other party was a former employee of the Warehouse, had he automatically received the level of intelligent guidance available at that time?

This competitive environment was honestly a bit unfair.

"Yes. Sadly, he was nothing more than a beast that only knew how to slaughter—but do you know what the irony is?"

Readily acknowledging Fu Qian's statement, the Serpent of Destiny suddenly made a meaningful expression.

"Although it found a decent thug in you, that thing behind you has become increasingly stupid."

...

'As if I didn't already know that?'

'This isn't exactly the first time I've complained about It with someone, alright?'

It was hard to say if the Warehouse possessed an emotion like pride, but It was undoubtedly receiving wide praise lately.

"So, what exactly should that idiot be called?"

Giving a slight nod of acknowledgment, Fu Qian noted that Excellency Serpent of Destiny was so talkative and seemingly knowledgeable, prompting him to decisively ask a question that had long intrigued him.

"No one knows... so why haven't you made your move yet?"

Fu Qian's word choice seemed to deliver a bit of a shock. The other party paused for a moment before giving a highly mysterious answer.

"I can already feel the dimming of destiny, so are you going to continue spending time accumulating—"

Boom!

A blinding burst of golden flame answered Him.

It was pure and condensed, targeted solely at that specific body without spilling over in the slightest.

'So the Warehouse is really that mysterious?'

'Even the higher entities who have suffered Its torments don't know Its honorific name?'

Casually detonating the Calamity Eyes, Fu Qian couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

The Serpent of Destiny hadn't been oblivious to the accumulating Calamity after all. On the contrary, He had gauged it with absolute precision.

The exact moment He asked why he hadn't made his move yet was the exact moment he had stopped accumulating it.

Sure enough, His talkativeness was backed by confidence, and this was merely a preliminary showing—

"All this time, you have had no idea what you were actually doing... have you?"

At some point, the surging Flame of Frenzy actually extinguished little by little, while a voice drifted out from beneath it.

It hadn't been completely ineffective. At the very least, he now understood why He was called the Serpent of Destiny.

Fu Qian studied the body that was slowly revealing itself.

It was no longer that perfectly ordinary silhouette. Before him was an incredibly grotesque, mutated body.

Eye-shaped scales blanketed its entire form, even slowly opening and closing.

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