Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What makes you think you're qualified to define a true Ash Emissary?"

Even with his ambush seen through and effortlessly blocked, Holler showed no sign of embarrassment. He merely put some distance between them and responded to Fu Qian.

"Well said. Actually, I was just confirming you weren't the Holler I ran into earlier. Care to guess how I know?"

Fu Qian proved equally magnanimous. Instead of pressing the attack, he kept his gaze fixed on the expanding Ash Descent and tossed the question back casually.

Like wheat before a scythe, the crowd was collapsing in massive swathes.

Those below the Demigod Realm in the Transcendent Tier had practically no resistance against this.

Meanwhile, the turbaned woman at his feet remained lost in ecstasy. One could practically feel her apprehension and anticipation for the very moment she would be devoured.

"The way I see it, while that Holler wasn't exactly brilliant, he wasn't stupid enough to ask something like, 'What happened to them?' Given his behavior back at the bar, he's probably the one in the Demigod Realm who relates most to this laissez-faire attitude."

He didn't even wait for a response before revealing the answer.

His phrasing was caustic, uniquely calibrated to pierce right through his opponent's composure.

"No wonder the Prophet values you so much... So, if I'm not the Holler you met earlier, who am I?"

His target hesitated briefly before giving up on the pointless charade, gracefully returning the compliment instead.

Oh?

The imposter's display of grace seemed to catch Fu Qian slightly off guard.

He finally turned to look, eyeing the man up and down before his gaze settled on the bloodstains covering him.

The blood looked fresh enough, but the visual impression was downright unpleasant—after all, it was thoroughly permeated, inside and out, with that insidious "ash."

"The Fallen Ash Emissary?"

Fu Qian blinked and casually bestowed the classic moniker.

"Heh..."

The description was almost too fitting to argue with.

The man simply let out a string of cold sneers, seemingly accepting the title.

Thud!

Right on cue, the turbaned woman beside him finally collapsed to the ground.

The Ash Descent had fully blanketed the immediate area, and the luster of that Demigod Physique visibly dimmed before his eyes.

...

"This condescending attitude of yours is truly infuriating!"

The "Fallen Ash Emissary" appeared to be under heavy pressure, but he didn't seem to care. Instead, he started criticizing the outsider's demeanor.

"Death, silence, fear... The words she just spoke—do you actually understand them, or are you just pretending?"

He even made sure to use the turbaned woman on the ground to make his point.

"Pretending, and having a great time doing it."

Unfortunately for him, Fu Qian's response was blunt and entirely sincere.

"It seems you really do know who I am..."

His tone had grown noticeably hostile. The "Fallen Ash Emissary" fell silent for a moment before locking eyes with Fu Qian. Then, his expression shifted—and so did his face.

Without a single physical movement, his decadent features contorted into a gloomy face, his hair lengthening considerably.

It was none other than the first demigod he had encountered on this journey—the Lord.

"Honestly, I just figured that whatever you left on Holler had to be useful for something... So, if someone was going to impersonate him, odds were high it would be you."

Unfazed by the reveal, Fu Qian nodded, confirming he had known all along.

"So, what exactly was that enlightenment you received earlier?"

Having casually laid out his reasoning without a shred of smugness, Fu Qian went right back to his previous question.

"You certainly know a lot... To be honest, I'm starting to doubt what the Prophet said. Are you really an outsider?"

The Lord practically offered a tacit admission regarding the "enlightenment."

His tone was akin to laying his cards on the table. It was clear that, even though he hadn't participated in the previous mission's ambush, he had still conducted his own analysis of the event.

It was undeniably strange. From the perspective of the Natives, the situation back then had boiled down to a pack of vicious outsiders initiating a hunt, only for another outsider to inexplicably step in, save the Unseen Hill from the crisis, and walk away without claiming a single reward.

Let alone the outsiders, who fundamentally never viewed the locals as their own kind—if even one of the Natives had pulled off such a feat, they would have been awarded the title of superhero. For an outsider to do it was practically unfathomable.

"Heh... you can call me Ballard."

Faced with the Lord's suspicions, Fu Qian merely let out a distinct chuckle.

He neither confirmed nor denied it, offering only that specific name instead.

"Grimm Ballard."

He tapped his head, and gleaming mirrors immediately scaled upward, rapidly encasing it.

...

Much like the others, the Lord clearly didn't grasp the significance of that name.

But that didn't matter. He would learn soon enough.

With his face entirely concealed, the image and moniker of this champion of justice reappeared in the Unseen Hill.

Before the Lord could speak, Fu Qian threw out his arm. Only, his target wasn't the man in front of him, but the space directly overhead.

Boom!

A strange, muffled boom rang out as a massive block of ice, plummeting from the void like a meteor, was steadily caught in his grasp.

It practically blended into the surrounding palette of black, white, and gray. It carried a chill and a weight vastly more oppressive than before.

"Is this your harvest as well? Compared to the others, not only did you avoid the negative effects, but you've actually bonded even closer with this night, to the point of mobilizing its power?"

Holding his stance, Fu Qian sounded as though he finally understood why the Lord—despite suffering a loss earlier—was confident enough to strike now.

"But remember my earlier advice? If you're stupid, talk less."

"Your ambush failed, I saw through your disguise, and yet you still didn't run. You might think playing it cool lowers my guard, but to me, you practically have 'I'm stalling for my real attack' written all over your face... Honestly, you would have had a better chance of success if you just hid in a corner and launched a sneak attack."

The pressure on his arm continued to mount, as if the entire Unseen Hill were pressing down upon it. Yet, Fu Qian was handling the heavy burden with effortless ease, his critiques only growing sharper.

"What the hell are you..."

Finally pushed to his limit, the Lord voiced his disbelief once more.

Crash!

The mirror-formed iron boots on Fu Qian's feet stomped down hard, crushing a massive crater into the ground.

A massive spike hidden beneath the surface was exposed and utterly pulverized in the process.

"Still haven't learned your lesson? Your ambush failed, yet you neither fled nor shut your mouth. Even an idiot would know you had another trick up your sleeve."

The cutting mockery arrived without fail. Beneath the Mirror Armor, the Knight sounded as if he had completely given up on the Lord's intelligence.

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