Eldritch Horror Theatre

Had they really become a disorganized mess without the Prophet's sacred connection?

The scent of roasting meat seemed to drift through the air, but at that moment, Fu Qian was focused on the activity around them.

According to the usual script, now that the villain had found a way out of a desperate situation, his arrogance should be at its peak. This was the perfect time for everyone to rise up and attack him to uphold justice.

Especially since this place was supposed to be a gathering spot for the wise and powerful.

Yet, even with such a brutal scene playing out right here, the surroundings remained eerily quiet.

It was not that they had gone unnoticed; Fu Qian was certain there was no shortage of bystanders watching the entire spectacle.

But that was exactly why the Lord's remark about their "so-called justice" struck such a deep chord.

In such a moment of upheaval, with the future so uncertain, what was the point of risking their lives to kill him?

That was to say nothing of whether they could actually pull it off, or the myriad risks involved in the attempt.

It was not just the Justice Faction, either. Even the supervillains were holding back from causing trouble.

It was easy to imagine the desperate struggles everyone was making to cope with the impending changes.

As a result, the most unoccupied person in all of the Unseen Hill at that moment seemed to be Crystal.

The intent behind Holler's sudden attack had actually been very clear: he wanted to buy her a little time to escape.

While she clearly understood that, she seemed unwilling to just give up.

At the same time, since the Lord was a target who only healed from incoming attacks, there seemed to be nothing she could do even while he was temporarily restrained—

"I apologize for all my previous rudeness. Can Your Excellency help? I am willing to pay any price."

Or rather, it wasn't that she had no options. Suddenly realizing something, Crystal rushed straight over to Fu Qian and unhesitatingly begged the spectator for help.

His stance was bizarre, but his methods were undoubtedly stranger. This suspicious outsider was clearly the only remaining variable in their current predicament.

She did not try to claim the moral high ground by talking about upholding justice, either. Instead, she offered a purely personal apology and a desperate plea.

"Sure. Tell him to let go."

For someone with her personality, swallowing her pride like that was no easy feat.

Having waited this long, Fu Qian decided not to give the remaining demigods any further chances to show off. He actually nodded.

Figuring out how to deal with the Lord in front of him was indeed a troublesome problem. Most importantly, he still had to deal with an Angel of Death afterward.

Regardless, it seemed the local factions were not going to offer any good ideas.

...

The true meaning of deterrence was fully demonstrated at that moment.

Holler, who had been relentlessly pinning the Lord down, backed away almost instantly.

That was not necessarily due to a sound mental state or quick reflexes on his part. It was easy to see that the force pushing them apart had actually come from the Lord.

Regardless, he was clearly paying close attention to Grimm Ballard.

Upon hearing those terrifying words, the Lord seemed to immediately activate some sort of item, paying any price to break free and take up a defensive stance.

"I thought you would have left first."

The Lord did not dispel his layer of lightning armor as he expressed his confusion at the outsider's actions.

"Soon enough. It is not quite as lively here as I had imagined."

Fu Qian did not bother to hide his disappointment in the demigods.

"And you plan to kill me before you go? I am very much looking forward to seeing your methods."

The Lord was clearly not going to let his guard down, but he genuinely looked curious.

"It's simple enough. Honestly, I was inspired by Holler."

Fu Qian did not stand on ceremony. As he spoke, he cast a glance over at the Ash Emissary.

The latter was clearly no longer able to maintain a stable form. Having finally recovered her wits, Crystal was desperately trying to restrain his struggles.

Inspired?

The Lord had just begun to feel confused when he watched the body clad in Mirror Armor suddenly and explosively expand.

...

The scale should be about right.

Under more than a few awestruck gazes, Fu Qian not only opted to grow taller and larger just like Holler had, but he also maintained an incredibly strict scaling ratio.

However, there was a massive difference between standing upright and dropping to all fours. The visual impact was overwhelmingly stronger.

"A fine trick... but do you really think it will work?"

Even the Lord himself seemed momentarily stunned as he faced the Giant God Soldier that had materialized right before his eyes.

Nevertheless, having lived through his fair share of extreme highs and lows, he quickly snapped out of it and questioned its effectiveness.

"Of course."

Knowing that the other party's casual remark masked extreme vigilance, Fu Qian did not keep him waiting.

Immediately after that confident reply, one of his giant arms continued to mutate. In the blink of an eye, it lost its original shape, its front end transforming into a terrifyingly massive maw.

"Holler inspired me in more ways than one."

With that solemn declaration, the arm shot out, locking dead onto the Lord.

If he couldn't be killed, then trap him. It was a very practical approach. But what if he took it a step further and just swallowed him whole?

Naturally, the food was not going to sit down and be eaten. The moment he spotted the hand full of vicious fangs, the Lord seemed to realize what was happening. His lightning-wreathed body instantly transformed into a streak of light.

Unfortunately, just as he managed to carve out a sliver of a chance to escape, his worst fear came true. That completely unreasonable pulling force appeared once more, and in the next instant, he was dragged right back to where he started.

The terrifying giant maw nimbly whipped around and snapped its jaws shut—oh?

Fu Qian wiggled his arm a bit, as if picking out scraps of meat from between his teeth. Sadly, the maw was completely empty.

At the very last moment, a hand had materialized out of thin air holding a black sack. It had slipped the sack over the Lord and yanked him away.

...

Wasn't that a little too abstract? A cross-dimensional kidnapping?

Musing over the scene that had just played out, Fu Qian sighed as his massive body rapidly dehydrated and shrank. He made no attempt to grope blindly around the area.

He had not just been inspired by Holler; his line of reasoning had been perfectly consistent the entire time.

He had used every trick in the book to force the Angel of Death to reveal itself. How could he just let that slip through his fingers?

The Lord, who had shared its power, was undoubtedly a direct thread leading right back to it.

It did not matter if he failed to kill the Lord in this situation. Simply using Insight to probe the situation would likely yield very interesting results—though this outcome was actually far more entertaining.

In Fu Qian's vision, the line left behind by his Thread of Attachment was pointing straight toward a very familiar location: the legendary Sage Lake.

As everyone knew, for a higher entity, the only difference lay in exactly how they chose to win.

It did not matter that his Insight had failed. Even though his target had been rescued, his Thread of Attachment was still providing a direct line to their location.

And the fact that it pointed to such a classic location was incredibly satisfying—

"Taking a break?"

Ignoring Crystal and the other person, Fu Qian vanished. In the blink of an eye, he was already revisiting an old haunt.

To his great comfort, a familiar Deck Chair was sitting by the lake, and someone was actually lying in it.

Staring at that head of multicolored hair, Fu Qian casually offered a greeting.

Indeed, despite the familiar scenery, the person lounging there was not the Prophet. It was the clown.

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