Eldritch Horror Theatre

Nobody understands pawns better than I do.

Facing his shocked audience, Fu Qian noted that Excellency Crystal's intentions were entirely too obvious.

Even though Unseen Hill had ushered in a "new era," she was still in a rush to find Akasha.

Because the timing of the disappearance aligned so perfectly with the Prophet's, she now shared his exact objective: confirming whether Yuan Fang was dead or alive, or at least discovering his whereabouts.

In that sense, his strategy of waiting by the stump for a hare had yielded a very plump catch.

For this particular mission, Crystal was an even better choice than Akasha.

It was also easy to understand why the former was in such a rush—

If the Spider Silk Queen could return, what about Akasha?

Fundamentally, the name Akasha was already tainted by the Spider Silk Queen.

But whether the name Akasha would survive that process was another story entirely.

From that perspective, it meant her good friend was very likely gone for good.

Even in a thoroughly bleak place like Unseen Hill, this was obviously a grave matter.

In short, for the notoriously short-tempered Excellency Crystal to sit patiently and talk with him for this long, she could only have one goal in mind: she wanted him to go through the door and take a look.

"Just as I thought. I really should just speak plainly with someone like you. I overthought it."

After a brief silence, a hint of relief crossed Crystal's face as she genuinely admitted it.

"Honesty brings progress. Besides, who taught you these communication skills?"

Fu Qian offered an amiable smile.

"The Prophet... I saw him once after you left, and he told me that with a sigh."

...

Just as he thought—Crystal could never have reached that realization on her own.

Furthermore, her claim about being in frequent contact with the Prophet definitely didn't seem like a bluff.

With his suspicions confirmed, Fu Qian marveled inwardly.

Yuan Fang truly lived up to the title of Prophet. Despite his seemingly low-profile departure, he had clearly understood the critical role he could play in these events.

Kindred spirits were hard to come by. He just wondered if they'd ever get the chance to have another heart-to-heart.

"Let's go."

Wasting no time, Fu Qian immediately took the lead.

"What about her?"

Crystal obediently followed, though she couldn't help gesturing toward Catherine and asking.

"Working the night shift is hard enough. There's no need to drag her out into the field with us."

Glancing at the fidgeting Catherine, Fu Qian had no intention of bringing her along—he didn't even bother ordering her to stay put.

"The food was good. Thanks for the hard work."

Meeting her blank stare, he still took a moment to commend her professional skills.

...

"Mind telling me how you found her?"

He was discarding her immediately after use, showing no desire to wring out every last drop of her value.

Crystal seemed to have her own thoughts on Fu Qian's decision, but ultimately chose to respect it.

As they hurried along on their pilgrimage, however, she couldn't suppress her curiosity about how things had played out earlier.

"Don't overcomplicate things. I didn't leave anything on Akasha."

They were a temporary alliance of interests, after all. Easily seeing through her budding conspiracy theories, Fu Qian offered a casual explanation.

"Finding Catherine was partly a coincidence, and partly thanks to the Lord's help."

The Lord...

"That guy doesn't exactly have the best reputation. What did he do?"

It was obvious Crystal didn't like the title, her brows furrowing the instant she heard it.

"That's the funny part. He was tailing Catherine and actually stopped her from hurting innocent bystanders."

Just as he'd guessed, the Lord belonged to the evil faction—so much so that Crystal was full of preconceived notions about him.

But everything came down to contrast. Fu Qian casually recounted the man's heroic deeds.

"Such a thing actually happened..."

At that moment, Crystal looked absolutely dumbfounded, clearly suspecting Fu Qian was spouting nonsense.

"I don't think I have any reason to lie for him, do I?"

Fu Qian just pointed at himself and countered.

"It's still just too weird... I'd sooner believe he's brewing some sinister plot in the shadows, or that someone else was impersonating him."

Indeed, there was no reason for that. Crystal reluctantly accepted the point, but she clearly remained highly suspicious of the Lord's motives.

It wasn't surprising. Anyone in their right mind would react the same way—a sudden turn to righteousness was a little too dramatic.

"His motives are suspicious."

Fu Qian nodded.

The Lord's reaction was indeed a bit abstract, especially considering the current situation Crystal had shared.

During such a massive upheaval, instead of paying attention to the Prophet and the Gate of Freedom, he'd run off to turn over a new leaf?

Even reviewing their clash, it hadn't been a mere skirmish. He had put in serious effort the entire time.

For a mature supervillain, this reaction was truly hard to justify.

Out of everything, the only reasonable part was probably what the Lord had said to Catherine: Did you really think no one would keep you in check right now?

That actually matched the situation Crystal had described.

"But his methods are quite capable."

Fu Qian didn't dwell on the issue of motives. Addressing Crystal's impersonation theory, he described the attacks he had encountered.

"That really does sound like him, but..."

Crystal grew increasingly silent as she listened, clearly unable to pick out any flaws, so much so that her train of thought practically short-circuited.

"So, apart from people disappearing, have any new faces been spotted around here lately?"

But that was fine. Fu Qian was always good at offering guidance at times like this.

"New faces... outsiders like you?"

Crystal looked at him, unsure of what he was getting at.

"Not necessarily. It includes those who have integrated into this place like the rest of you."

Fu Qian signaled for her not to be too narrow in scope.

"Then no. Although this place is crawling with various villains and psychopaths, the total number of High-Tier Transcendents here has remained very stable."

Crystal almost immediately shook her head, sounding very confident.

"Before the Prophet left his final words, he didn't issue any warnings about anything like that... And since his disappearance, I've been keeping a close eye on the city's movements. I haven't seen the kind of situation you're describing."

...

So that was how it was?

Crystal shared generously, but to Fu Qian, the situation was sounding somewhat grave—

No new faces, none at all from beginning to end. In that case, what about Excellency A Wei, who he had sent in?

As the vivid memory of a certain Apostle of the Death God flashed before his eyes, the entire city seemed to grow increasingly bizarre.

Through Ash Bestowal, he had sent two individuals to this place. Sophia might have been less conspicuous, but A Wei was undeniably a High-Tier Transcendent.

Even a Tier 2 Transcendent.

"We're being watched."

Clearly unable to empathize with his inner thoughts, Crystal simply offered a sudden warning.

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