Eldritch Horror Theatre

Knowledge was power. When it came to the mechanics of how Excellency Ariel operated, this seat perhaps knew a thing or two.

Just as Excellency Kelin had lost her patience and struck first, her suspected ally had made the exact same mistake under pressure. Such excessively flexible behavior hardly fit Ariel's persona.

As mentioned before, certain subtle differences could only be felt by someone directly involved in the situation—such as whether the entity conversing with you was actually human.

If the Night Watchers had any grasp of Ariel's true nature, "mimicking humanity" would be his most defining label.

An impostor meeting the genuine article—a classic case of Li Gui encounters Li Kui—was usually quite awkward.

As stated long ago, at the level of a High-Tier Transcendent, appearances were meaningless for identification. The nature of one's power was the sole core identifier.

So even though Fu Qian remained entirely composed, not even bothering to alter his appearance, simply dropping Ariel's name had forced both factions into the open.

However, facing an absolute disadvantage in power-type similarity, his chances of winning this game of true-or-false appeared incredibly slim.

He wasn't optimistic enough to even attempt imitating Ariel's Sea of Light, even though the effects of the Commandment Residue were just as blinding.

Thus, right from the start, Fu Qian decided to win through sheer essence.

As everyone knew, achieving a visual likeness was only the first step in art; the true key lay in capturing the spirit.

Therefore, Fu Qian's bizarre behavior at this moment was never about giving up after being exposed by the genuine article. Instead, he was doubling down on his "authentic self."

Of course, he didn't expect to convince them relying solely on a routine of standing idly while being burned alive.

The core purpose behind this behavior was to play into a question everyone present was bound to ask: what exactly was this guy here to do?

If he wasn't Ariel, what possible reason would a High-Tier Transcendent have to act like this?

To boldly announce his identity right out of the gate, only to get exposed "impersonating" an Origin Council member, and then stubbornly tank a High-Tier Transcendent's attack head-on for absolutely no reason?

Nobody would do that. The more powerful a High-Tier Transcendent was, the more they would lean toward this conclusion—unless the person in question was a puppet, one truly willing to pay any price to achieve its objective.

Thus, if only to keep their worldview intact, the Night Watchers were bound to fall into Overthinking.

Of course, this was still not the end of his imitation game.

...

As the sea of light and heat finally receded, Fu Qian surveyed the scene before him.

The puppet remained.

Logically, after revealing its identity, it could have casually brushed off its clothes and left.

Yet it seemed Fu Qian's reaction had given it a bad feeling, as it wasn't in any hurry to do so.

It didn't even continue displaying its power. It simply stood there blankly, exhibiting a trace of truly inhuman sluggishness.

The situation fell into a stalemate. Even the puppet in the corner made no move.

Although the blast radius of the previous attack hadn't been large, it had still completely annihilated the three office workers, erasing them without a trace.

Yet despite the continuous commotion, the Night Watcher behind the other puppet had chosen to remain a spectator.

It appeared his imitation of the Origin Council had still managed to sow some confusion.

What a pity, young one... How could anyone ever hope to win by merely imitating their opponent?

Fu Qian sighed deeply inwardly. Breaking the stillness himself, he raised a single hand.

...

It looked almost like blued steel.

It wasn't just his hand. At that moment, Fu Qian's entire body was an absolute spectacle.

Large swathes of his skin had been completely incinerated. His flesh and blood had fused into a glazed texture, shimmering with a bizarre luster.

Yet this didn't stop him from appreciating the sight as wisps of golden flame began to seep from his wounds.

In the blink of an eye, the Fire of Frenzy—the very same power the Origin Council desperately wished to disassociate themselves from at all costs—coalesced into a sphere within his palm, radiating a terrifying, destructive aura.

Still not going to move, huh?

Little did they know the old saying: "those who copy me die, those who resemble me perish"—

Moving at an agonizingly slow pace, Fu Qian stepped forward and offered up the fireball.

Are you going to move now?

Unlike the attacker's earlier flashy display of identity, anyone with eyes could see that this slow, deliberate action had only one purpose: spreading the flames.

So even if the puppet continued its imitation by standing still and tanking the hit, its overall level of abstraction would still be a notch inferior to his own—Boom!

The puppet channeling Ariel's power seemed to have figured this out as well. Realizing it was impossible to clear its suspicions, it abruptly faded into the void.

However, the booming explosion hadn't come from the puppet itself. Just before it could completely vanish, Fu Qian suddenly accelerated and slammed into it, sending sparks flying in all directions.

Hmph. Petty scoundrels. You think you understand the Origin Council?

He didn't pursue. The flames in Fu Qian's palm slowly dissipated.

And this entire sequence of events had undoubtedly been witnessed by their lone spectator.

Without pretending otherwise, Fu Qian turned his head and locked his gaze squarely on the Needle Witch's puppet.

...

The situation was exceptionally complicated, and the problem was incredibly thorny.

Even though it remained entirely silent, Fu Qian could easily read these sentiments on its face.

It wasn't surprising. Even the Needle Witch, who genuinely possessed deep ties to the Origin Council, was likely thoroughly confused by now.

It just went to show how devastating the mental impact of introducing a single lunatic could be to a room full of smart people.

This was true pollution—far more difficult to defend against than those golden flames.

Amidst this profound self-reflection, Fu Qian put himself in the shoes of the Night Watchers. His mood momentarily grew heavy—and his body seemed to follow suit?

In the blink of an eye, the puppet in the corner had subtly shifted forward.

As it continued to stare at him, faint crimson lines surfaced across its skin. They looked like a network of pulsing veins, yet also like a tightly woven net.

In that same instant, Fu Qian felt identical restraints tighten across his own body—but it wasn't over.

The Needle Witch was clearly attempting to lock down his movements.

But considering everything he had just done, simply trapping him felt like letting him off too easy—

At that exact moment, the battered building was pierced through as if struck by the Sword of Heavenly Punishment. A blinding bolt of plasma crashed down from the sky, striking Fu Qian's exact position with terrifying precision.

...

Now that's more like it.

Reappearing in another location at that exact same time, Fu Qian recalled the fierce killing intent of the strike. That was the proper way to deal with someone like him.

Reality wasn't like rules-based weird tales. It was true that the Night Watchers preferred not to damage the structural stability of an area unless absolutely necessary, but that didn't mean they couldn't.

Clearly, given how things had developed, even taking first place in the Ariel imitation contest hadn't stopped them from deciding his crimes deserved death.

As for why the strike had failed to pin him down?

Fu Qian glanced around, feeling a twinge of regret that he couldn't find any traces of his old friends from the Origin Council.

His escape method had actually been quite simple. Just before the "Ariel" puppet could purge the Seed of Writhing he had planted inside it, Fu Qian had activated Extreme Hunger Infection, using the connection to leap right out along with it.

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