Eldritch Horror Theatre

Even if the Lord was only a peripheral member of the criminal operation, acting this proactively required a reason.

Now, it seemed he had one: embracing the darkness one step ahead of the rest to fuel his own growth.

The Lord had clearly grown stronger since their first meeting. An ordinary Demigod was likely no longer his match.

While inside the Ash Descent, he looked entirely at home.

Looking at it from this angle, it also aligned with the Black Doctor's earlier behavior.

The fog the latter had released was clearly tied to the darkness as well.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

In short, even if their hopes of freedom were shattered, staying one step ahead of their peers was reason enough for Demigods to take a little initiative.

"Why the rush to leave?"

He seemed to have finally taken the earlier advice to heart. Once the ambush at their feet was discovered, the Lord wordlessly and abruptly fled into the distance.

Unfortunately, many things in life were just like that—by the time you figured it out, the opportunity was already gone.

It was obvious that at this moment, the Lord no longer had the right to remain silent.

Accompanied by the spoken invitation to stay, the Thread of Attachment lashed out, directly yanking the sprinting figure back.

"What exactly do you want?"

Unable to comprehend this turn of events, the Lord finally seemed to recognize the massive gap in strength that still lay between them, despair bleeding into his voice.

"We aren't finished with the previous question. What enlightenment did you receive?"

Fu Qian remained as placid as ever. He didn't retaliate for the sneak attack, merely reminding the other man to mind his manners.

...

"You're an absolute madman..."

The Lord's reason was visibly being trampled; he simply couldn't comprehend the enigmatic creature before him.

But he had learned his manners after all. Soon, with a heavy sigh, he began to share his experiences in the Transcendent Tier.

"You were right, I did sense something. As for what exactly I was required to do, it was quite unique—I had to play the role of an emissary of justice."

Playing a role? Not bad. His earlier behavior made even more sense now.

Listening quietly, Fu Qian found this explanation fascinating.

He had figured that if it were just about hunting down the resurrected Catherine, the Lord's behavior had been far too strange.

He had locked onto his target but refrained from attacking immediately. Instead, he insisted on waiting until she committed a crime and initiated her devouring.

He had even spouted some incredibly awkward lines while attacking.

Now it was obvious it was all done just to stay in character.

This also explained why he still reaped a reward despite failing to kill Catherine.

Playing the part was the main point. An emissary of justice wouldn't necessarily succeed every time, after all.

"At first, I just treated it as a prank. It wasn't until I attacked as instructed and was even forced to retreat that I genuinely gained something, though the nature of the reward was a bit hard to believe."

Seeing that Fu Qian remained silent, the Lord had no choice but to continue, bringing up what had happened in the bar of his own accord.

"Because I knew Holler had been in the bar these past few days, I wanted to test it on him... What's on him isn't poison; you can think of it as a mark. Its core effect allows me to control his Shadow."

"Oh? Just like you did earlier?"

Fu Qian glanced at the Lord's body, which had completely reverted to its original state.

"Yes. The more time passes, the easier it is for me to project his appearance, and even his abilities..."

The Lord admitted he had indeed just used it, trying to exploit an information gap to ambush his old rival.

"You can even share his senses... So if this continues, what will the final outcome be?"

Fu Qian still showed no displeasure, even helping to fill in the extra effects.

From the Lord's description, it was obvious he was well aware of the conversation that took place in the bar afterward.

"Right. As for the final outcome... the title of Ash Emissary will belong to me."

The Lord hesitated for a moment before finally admitting it.

...

Now this was truly usurping the fortune of creation.

Although it was phrased delicately, Fu Qian had no trouble understanding it.

The Lord's meaning was clear: once the mark was planted, it was far more than just copying someone else's abilities. Holler's Demigod Realm status would eventually fall into his hands.

It had to be said, this was a shocking method. But considering the nature of the Unseen Hill—where all these people were inherently symbols of Ji Feng's will and thus fundamentally connected—such an operation wasn't entirely unimaginable.

"So, how do you remove it?"

While he was quietly pondering, a new question arose, though the one asking wasn't Fu Qian.

Crystal, covered in so many wounds that she could barely maintain her human form, slowly walked over and stared at the Lord's face as she spoke.

Meanwhile, she carried a body in her hand that could no longer merely be described as battered and bruised.

One could barely recognize it as the genuine Ash Emissary Holler from a few obvious traits of his power, such as the spikes, long hair, and curved horns.

The Lord hadn't lied about one thing—these two had also been ambushed.

In fact, after a bitter struggle, they weren't stupid enough to retreat to the bar, but instead gritted their teeth and charged all the way here.

As for the earlier conversation with the Lord, it had naturally been overheard, which prompted Crystal's indignant question.

This was even the reason why the Lord had hesitated just now. How could he not have noticed her arrival?

"Unfortunately, there is no way."

However, given that the terrifying Grimm Ballard had no reaction to this, it seemed the question was only asked to satisfy curiosity.

Naturally, the Lord wasn't afraid of Crystal alone, so he casually delivered a despair-inducing answer.

"Then let's just kill you and see what happens."

Yet, completely unexpectedly, the moment the words left his mouth, a cold judgment echoed from beneath the Armor.

...

You...

At that moment, not only the Lord but even Crystal looked stunned.

Would this person really uphold justice like this?

In that moment, she and the Lord both stared at the Mirror-Armored Knight in unison, seemingly doubting whether the person beneath was still the same one as before.

Rip!

In the very next moment, the Lord verified it with his own flesh and blood. Even though he dodged with all his might, an invisible shockwave still tore off a massive chunk of his upper body.

There were no threats, no bargaining—"Ballard" attacked directly.

"Madman!"

A dignified Demigod Realm expert naturally wouldn't surrender without a fight.

Having been ambushed by the very kind of method he excelled at, and before Crystal could react to follow up, electrical currents seemed to brew within the Lord's shattered body. Even as his flesh tore apart even more grotesquely because of it—hmm?

A second later, the Lord's movements halted. The strange luster on him actually retracted a little, and he stared at his wound in incomprehension.

All the damage was rapidly and inexplicably healing... as if the injuries had directly converted into healing.

Couldn't hold back anymore, could you? Angel of Death.

Though the Lord couldn't understand it, Fu Qian marveled inwardly—he had seen this exact scenario before.

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