Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was truly spectacular.

Fu Qian knew perfectly well that this was no mere illusion. Another Serpent of Destiny had actually emerged, completely unscathed.

Not only could it seal destiny, it could even return from the dead?

Truly worthy of being the conceptual symbol of destiny. It was an eye-opening display.

The problem now, of course, was how to handle it.

Thanks to the insights gained from the earlier ladder test, he could now relatively easily grasp that the "connection" annihilated by the Tyrant had resurrected right alongside the serpent, and was rapidly strengthening.

One sign of this was that the room, previously caught in the crossfire of the serpent's decaying body, had instantly stopped changing.

Just like when he first unleashed Myriad Tentacles, it had transformed into Indestructible Terrain.

In fact, this was one of the inspirations that led him to handle things the way he just had.

In Fu Qian's view, unless pulverizing the room would severely destabilize the current world, his opponent had absolutely no reason to make such a superfluous move.

The logical conclusion was that the "connection" was not a purely abstract concept, like some rule stating "the Tyrant pays for the Serpent of Destiny's karmic debts."

This transfer of destiny possessed at least a spatial range; the perfectly intact bar was merely benefiting from its proximity.

Since it possessed such concrete spatial properties, despite being invisible and intangible, why couldn't it be locked onto and targeted by Calamity?

It was precisely this thought that prompted him to decisively blanket everything in the Flame of Frenzy, providing a relatively stable environment for observation.

Ultimately, however, his main reliance was still his own Trauma Retracing.

He had used a similar method back in Lanphilai to locate Excellency Pin Sansan.

Although he lacked the powerful bridge of the Third Cause this time, the advantage was that the target was right in front of him—and at this very moment, it was right in front of him again.

The situation was grim.

Looking on the bright side, however, the fact that the "connection" had re-established itself so seamlessly served as further proof that this was indeed the same Excellency Destiny Serpent returning from the dead.

"You managed to achieve this with far greater efficiency than I imagined."

Even its habit of doling out praise hadn't changed in the slightest. The entity was actually lavishing praise on Fu Qian's efficiency.

"But have you considered that struggling against destiny is also a part of destiny, working together to push forward the arrival of the inevitable conclusion?"

Its cryptic, charlatan-like tone hadn't changed either.

"You seem quite eager for this inevitable conclusion to arrive," Fu Qian replied.

Naturally, Fu Qian wasn't going to be swayed by a few words, regardless of who spoke them.

As he casually shot back the question, the Calamity Eyes locked onto the "connection" hadn't rested for a single second, opening at maximum efficiency.

"Of course... just as I have always anticipated your arrival."

The Serpent of Destiny was evidently incapable of changing its bad habits, completely turning a blind eye to the offensive maneuver.

"Understood."

As if deeply moved by such profound favor, Fu Qian nodded and took a step forward.

His sharp claws raked through the air, directly tearing a spray of scales from the reptile's head—and simultaneously ripping several gashes across his own body.

At the same moment, the "connection" was struck by Calamity once again.

...

This task was indeed quite different from the rest.

Despite using brutal methods to help his opponent push toward the final conclusion, Fu Qian felt no intense emotions. He was merely scrutinizing the entirety of the encounter.

Although Excellency Destiny Serpent spoke entirely in cryptic riddles, Fu Qian didn't actually disagree with its sharp critique of the Warehouse.

This was an operation targeting a master of destiny. Someone else had already failed it previously. And he, the person involved, was fully aware of both those facts.

Furthermore, it was obvious that more than one higher entity had already grasped the Warehouse's operational logic.

Under these circumstances, as the executioner sent to carry out the sentence, the problem was no longer just whether the target's head was hard to chop off. Every action he took was likely playing right into the opponent's calculations—including this one.

The Tyrant's close-quarters damage output was no joke. In the blink of an eye, the Serpent of Destiny's fresh head was shattered to pieces yet again.

Though as the perpetrator of the violence, his own physical state was hardly looking pretty either.

This was the enemy's home turf, after all. The only real significance of shattering the "connection" was that it gave the opponent the possibility of death.

However, driven by his own destructive actions, the efficiency at which the connection re-established itself was also skyrocketing.

It wasn't surprising. He might not understand the deep mysteries of destiny, but there was already a clear pattern to be drawn from earlier.

From the very beginning, it was only as he steadily escalated the intensity of his tests that the negative feedback—representing the strength of this destined "connection"—became increasingly obvious.

The end result was that even though he had figured out the cause, it was nearly impossible to find a window to attack without taking damage.

He couldn't forget his opponent's ability to "seal destiny."

The delayed destruction could clearly be fine-tuned in its timing of release.

It was as if countless fragments of destiny were hovering all around him, just waiting for the "connection" to grow slightly stronger before swarming in all at once.

In the end, every strike the executioner landed consumed massive chunks of his own Health Bar—and the head simply grew right back, like weeds after a spring rain.

As the Serpent of Destiny collapsed once more, another head and neck slithered out from the increasingly swollen remains.

"When you do not know what you are doing, you are essentially doing it for someone else."

Returning right alongside it was another dose of destiny's enlightenment.

"Well said."

Even as he offered the praise, the Myriad Tentacles surging from Fu Qian's body drowned the entity once again.

...

"Are you certain you do not want to sit down and converse, and allow destiny to arrive a little more peacefully?"

At some point, the decaying remnants of the serpentine body had piled into a small mound right in front of him.

Resurrecting from the center of the gore for the ninth time, the Serpent of Destiny extended a gentle invitation to Fu Qian. It looked entirely sincere, without giving the slightest impression that it was softening or begging for peace.

After all, one could clearly see that even Fu Qian's mechanically reset Deity body was looking rather torn and battered by now.

In stark contrast, its own body—missing only a single-digit number of scales—didn't look dilapidated in the least. If anything, it radiated a clear, palpable sense of the concept of Eternity.

The future had been ordained long ago, and all struggles were merely a part of it.

"Or perhaps you might consider trying a different method? Though it would still be blind flailing, it might at least bring a different sort of amusement."

Without even waiting for Fu Qian to respond, it offered a second suggestion.

This suggestion sounded a bit more like a guilty conscience. It could be interpreted as a display of supreme confidence, or it could mean things were actually going poorly, and it was trying to guide its opponent into changing tactics.

But that was only the Second Layer. What if the actual goal was to guide the opponent into not changing strategy?

Truly worthy of a destiny-manipulating player. A single casual sentence could simultaneously seem like it meant nothing and carried volumes of implications.

"No need," Fu Qian said.

It was a pity that such an otherworldly demeanor was met only with the King of the Abandoned Prison's flat refusal, followed by an endless lashing that seemed to symbolize total annihilation.

...

"You were quite right earlier," Fu Qian said. "But what makes you think I don't know what I'm here to do?"

Its body shattered yet again, scales flying through the air.

Fu Qian watched the creature's body spiral into an unstoppable collapse once more, standing with his mangled hands clasped behind his back.

"And what exactly you were hoping I would do."

"As for how many heads you have left to chop off, I have no idea. But I think I know exactly who gifted them to you—that idiot."

[Current task completed. Designation 1-008 successfully contained.]

In the face of his sharp critique, the Warehouse was actually magnanimous enough not to hold a grudge.

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