Eldritch Horror Theatre

Kidnapping the Divine Child?

High risk always came with high reward. This time-honored crime was the first thing that sprang to Fu Qian's mind.

As for the Solitary King and the Origin Council being allies—with the latter helping out of pure humanitarian spirit—Fu Qian considered the chances microscopic.

For one thing, the Night Watchers clearly had no intention of destroying this place. As long as the situation remained salvageable, the Solitary King wasn't in any real danger.

At worst, the Divine Child would be discovered and eliminated as a potential threat.

In that context, the Origin Council's intervention didn't just carry massive risks; it escalated the severity of the entire situation.

It benefited absolutely no one.

Not to mention, the Solitary King clearly hadn't fully approved of them earlier. A little catalytic nudge from the Night Watchers had left the entity utterly indecisive over whether to execute its Descent upon the real or the fake Ariel.

The exact details might be murky, but it was highly probable the Origin Council was here for whatever was growing in Ariel's stomach.

Of course, his own trouble seemed pretty massive right now too.

Satisfying his curiosity came with a price.

The Rift of Time and Space. This unique domain had successfully walled off the Night Watchers, buying a brief window to operate.

It was a brilliant method, a genuine trump card for pulling chestnuts from the fire.

But with such an excellent trick, why hadn't they used it on him too?

By walling him out as well, they wouldn't have exposed their entire operation, and they would have been vastly safer.

It couldn't possibly be for the sake of this friendly little chat. He was the only one who did things like that.

Therefore, the most likely answer was that "Ariel" hadn't chosen not to exclude him; he simply couldn't.

His high proximity to the Solitary King might have played a part, but the crux of the matter definitely lay with the Calamity Eyes that had never closed.

Animals supposedly refused to reproduce in unsafe environments. Did the Solitary King of the Hippocampus Sequence inherit that trait too?

That power—clearly originating from a higher entity—had been firmly locked onto the Solitary King this entire time, steadily accumulating.

And if Ariel's connection to the Solitary King was deep enough, he should have easily sensed it too.

...

Sorry, but while His Excellency the Solitary King might not object to these adoption procedures, the King of the Abandoned Prison did not approve.

Regardless of whether they could precisely pinpoint the Tyrant's honorific name, the Origin Council had clearly identified the crux of the issue: if they didn't take care of Fu Qian, the birth of the Divine Child would likely be deadlocked.

The result was that despite his blatant offense against the Solitary King, his affinity had been forcibly elevated, dragging him into this unique domain.

He could completely understand their lack of options, but the seeds of this disaster had been sown the moment he was chosen as a pawn to get close to the Solitary King.

The unwitting cooperation from the Night Watchers' logistics team had been indispensable for that.

"I did it."

Across from him, "Ariel" actually nodded, acknowledging the identity of the Solitary King.

"If you wanted to pin things on the Origin Council, you've succeeded. It's practically impossible for us to prove our innocence now. The Night Watchers will likely mobilize with full force to eradicate us."

Yet his very next sentence shifted back to the Origin Council's perspective, a bizarre display of rapid flip-flopping.

"This was entirely foreseeable, so are you still not satisfied?"

"Your ability to hold out this long is admirable, but your physical body is clearly on the verge of collapse. If I hadn't blocked that attack, you might have already been crushed. Do you value your own life so little?"

He had to admit, the analysis was well-founded. As Ariel spoke, he even raised his head to look up at the genuine, looming doom hanging overhead.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. If that thing hits you, your backup survival methods will likely be obliterated along with it."

...

No wonder it felt so overwhelming earlier. He was, after all, dealing with a suspected Tier 1 powerhouse.

Ariel was naturally referring to the Sword of Heavenly Punishment. Judging by his tone, the strike possessed some sort of tracing effect—one couldn't just discard a physical shell to easily shake it off.

"Hearing the phrase 'value your life' come out of your mouth is a bit strange," Fu Qian remarked.

While he didn't doubt the threat, Fu Qian remained entirely unmoved by the intimidation tactic.

"For me, this is just a convenient medium for a conversation. Though you're right, he is indeed quite special."

"Ariel" didn't argue. Instead, his tone reverted to that of a king as he stared down at his own physical form.

"The periods I can remain awake are growing shorter, and I see less and less..."

"So what is your choice? Leave, or make an enemy out of me?"

The only unfortunate part was that his patience for conversation was running extremely thin.

As he spoke, a trace of inhuman ferocity crept over "Ariel's" face as he delivered his ultimatum.

"Generous terms. So, if I walk away right now, all is forgiven?"

Such leniency was truly worthy of a king. Fu Qian nodded slightly, seemingly contemplating a tactical retreat—Boom!

At that exact second, a surreal and violent spectacle erupted before his eyes.

Countless sharp blades, resembling condensed blood, formed a magnificent flower that bloomed across every visible inch of space.

Unlike the lightning overhead, these bloody petals were completely unaffected by the domain's sluggishness. At the same time, the already fragile surroundings weren't torn apart in the slightest.

His physical body, however, wasn't so lucky. Countless new lacerations were instantly carved into Fu Qian's already mangled form.

It actually reached the point where he looked like a stiff breeze could scatter him to dust. In the blink of an eye, half of one of his shoulders was simply gone.

...

This was a true blade storm.

In the midst of the sudden, brutal assault, Fu Qian was genuinely admiring the visual effects.

The Origin Council's earlier decision had actually been quite wise. If he hadn't valued the information from this conversation, he wouldn't have wasted time here—he would have completed his task long ago.

If they had truly gone all out to lock him out of this space, the Calamity latched onto the Solitary King would have simply erupted at that exact moment.

Even if the guiding force of a Tier 2 Calamity wasn't enough, he could always crank it to a higher output.

In short, the moment the Solitary King was locked onto, that particular Wound of Destiny became virtually impossible to shake off.

And solving that problem meant they couldn't afford to exclude Fu Qian from this domain.

Of course, that didn't mean they had dragged him in here for a genuine peace summit.

Eradicating a threat outright was always the simplest and safest approach. Not to mention, from the Origin Council's perspective, they still had a hidden hatchet man waiting in the wings—Raven Feather.

Out of sight didn't mean out of play. Fu Qian had a very deep impression of this mysterious figure from the Origin Council.

Using conversation as a distraction while charging up an ultimate attack fit their style perfectly.

"How are you still standing?"

Clearly, the attacker wasn't satisfied with the results of the ambush.

The storm of blades had barely ceased when Ariel's voice rang out.

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