Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Lord's decision to show up despite knowing he would be rejected seemed more than a little irrational.

At the same time, the fact that their long-tracked target never showed up after losing her protection seemed just as irrational.

Since two negatives make a positive, his decision to drop by for an awkward chat suddenly became quite suspicious.

As the party involved, Ash Emissary Holler had clearly realized something too, hastily checking his own blood.

Judging by his grim expression, the test results didn't look good.

"He did indeed treat me to a drink, but..."

He admitted as much in a low voice in response to Fu Qian's question.

Though he obviously couldn't figure out how it had happened so silently.

"You've been poisoned?"

Her immediate conclusion regarding the sudden mutation in Holler's body was extremely pragmatic.

"It seems so, though it doesn't feel too strange yet... I'm more curious as to why he would do it."

Holler shook his head, indicating he was fine for the moment, completely baffled by the Lord's actions.

"Does Excellency Andiel have any idea?"

Crystal looked thoughtfully at Fu Qian, who had taken the initiative to bring up the topic.

"Doesn't he already have an antisocial personality and a penchant for plotting chaos? Dropping by so mindlessly like that—shouldn't he have been a bit more careful?"

Everything seemed fine until the question was raised. To be honest, his behavior was genuinely suspicious, and clearing his name wouldn't be easy.

Yet in the face of their suspicious gazes, Fu Qian remained perfectly composed, even countering with a puzzled question of his own.

...

It was a well-founded point.

When he first arrived, he had heard Ballard comment on the Lord's exploits, confirming that the man was definitely not a hero in Unseen Hill.

Thus, Fu Qian's rhetorical question was momentarily difficult to refute.

But Holler couldn't be entirely blamed for his carelessness.

These were clearly not normal times. Everyone was shrouded in the predicament of Freedom Is Calling, forging a subtle sense of shared animosity toward a common enemy.

Under these circumstances, it was easy to let go of usual prejudices.

"Besides, are you sure this is the Lord's ability? It looks very unique."

When no one answered, Fu Qian gestured again at the blood oozing from Holler.

"I'm not sure... but those guys often come up with new inventions."

As the victim, Holler undoubtedly had the most authority on the matter.

After mulling it over for a few seconds, he shook his head again, noncommittal.

That makes sense, Fu Qian thought to himself.

Despite what he had just said, from his perspective, there was actually a more nuanced interpretation for why the Lord would act this way—

Even though she had been right there for the taking, he hadn't gone looking for trouble with Catherine again.

Fu Qian didn't think the Lord lacked the courage, especially since the potential payoff was likely ridiculously high... So, by process of elimination, could it be that it was simply no longer necessary?

For instance, even though Fu Qian's interference had prevented him from securing the kill back then, the Lord might still have reaped some sort of reward.

It was even possible that this unknown method afflicting Holler—a technique the Natives didn't recognize—was that very reward.

As for his motive—whether he was following a new directive or simply acting out his wicked nature after being stifled for so long—that was a new question worth exploring.

Regardless, this could be considered another important gain since the carriage had brought him to this bar.

On top of that, the tension in the atmosphere had reached a boiling point.

Even a superhero's decadence had limits. Now that all sorts of monstrosities were stepping right on their toes, they might just lose their lives if they kept drinking.

Excellency Holler's rage meter was clearly maxed out. In a movie, this would be the moment he finally snapped, flipped the table, and drew his weapon.

The best part was that he had found a suitable proxy to stir the pot for him this round. While shaking up the situation, he managed to maximize his own detachment from the fallout.

This remained perfectly consistent with his previous principles, while running completely contrary to the will of the team behind Akasha.

...

"You lot are seriously annoying..."

Sure enough, when the Ash Emissary spoke again a moment later, his voice sounded vastly different.

It carried such deep killing intent that if the Lord had dared to appear before him, he would likely have been torn to shreds on the spot—

Crack!

It didn't even matter that his actual target wasn't there. A bristly, mutated arm had already torn through the air and everything blocking its path—such as Akasha's bone claws.

Exactly. Unable to find the culprit, Holler hadn't bothered to bottle up his anger and wait for the right moment; instead, he directly attacked the person right in front of him who was "within his reach."

It made perfect sense. Once enraged, didn't everyone just go berserk and slaughter every red-named target in sight?

Fu Qian wasn't even that surprised.

In fact, as a villainous outsider, he had already evaluated the probability of being targeted himself.

But it seemed Akasha ultimately had the worse reputation and the more glaring target on her back.

The Spider Silk Queen's reaction was nothing short of swift; she threw up a defense almost instantly.

It was just a pity that Holler's abilities clearly excelled in raw physical strength.

With a crisp snap, the bone claw broke for the second time.

Roar—

An ear-piercing bellow swept straight through the entertainment venue.

...

This was why they always said: the old man lost his horse, how could it not be a blessing.

Earlier, he had just noted that Excellency Crystal's attitude was a bit milder this time, as she hadn't immediately turned the place into an ice cave to drive everyone away.

Yet, for the patrons currently trying to enjoy their nightlife, the icy eviction might have actually been preferable.

When Crystal arrived, a bunch of people had already noticed something was wrong. Most had evacuated, but there were still a few persistent individuals watching the commotion from a distance.

The end result was that they were forced to endure the full brunt of Holler's battle cry.

Fortunately, it seemed the attack was primarily a mental assault, lacking any overly exaggerated physical impact.

For a moment, the affected bystanders just stood there in dumbfounded unison, as if their souls had been roared right out of their bodies.

"Utterly absurd!"

Even the main target, the Spider Silk Queen, was inevitably affected to some extent, leaving her no time to maneuver out of the way.

Red hair flying, she swung her two remaining bone claws up to meet the attack again, barely managing to block Holler's pursuit.

Crack!

The price was that another one of them snapped.

"I don't have time to go crazy with you here!"

The furious shout that escaped her lips clearly reflected her intense dissatisfaction.

But by utilizing this hard-won sliver of time, a phantom Silk Net finally took shape, making her figure suddenly elusive.

Akasha was clearly unwilling to let this fire spread to her, and she had even less interest in fighting Holler right here.

Though her method of stopping him wasn't exactly gentle—

Just as Holler roared toward the source of the voice and leaped into the air again, those omnipresent phantom silk threads transformed into cutting blades, instantly tearing open countless wounds across his body.

However, for Holler, who was already in a manic state, such trauma seemed only to further stimulate his ferocity—Squelch!

That is, until an ice crystal spear pierced completely through his back.

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