Eldritch Horror Theatre

The demigod was furious, and the consequences were dire.

The wind and waves howled, carrying a bone-piercing killing intent.

Although her entire body remained shrouded in shadows and her face a blur, it didn't stop Fu Qian from recognizing her—or from feeling the explosive emotions boiling off her.

The good news: the primary objective of this trip had been achieved. Excellency Serana had indeed come here.

The bad news: she seemed to have achieved her objective as well.

The smooth-talking rat who had tricked her into this perilous situation was now locked squarely in her sights.

Of course, from his current angle, Fu Qian couldn't directly spot any traces of flames within the shadows.

But honestly, that wasn't enough to assume Excellency Serana was in good shape. It was far more likely that the shadowy blur obscuring her was simply too thick.

"Okay."

Facing Serana's warning, Fu Qian made sure to smile as he nodded. His posture was impeccable.

"Where is Solondil?"

Unfortunately, the feedback wasn't exactly friendly. Serana's tone held neither joy nor anger. She completely ignored his show of goodwill and cut straight to the core issue.

Honestly, it was understandable. In their previous plotting, that part had indeed been his responsibility.

"Good question. Actually, I'm looking for him, too."

Fu Qian let out a soft sigh, looking rather ashamed as he admitted he currently had no clue as to the man's whereabouts.

"I thought you were going to say he was on the ship, and that I should just go up and take a look."

Surprisingly, instead of lashing out at his irresponsible answer, Serana not only responded but thoughtfully provided a hypothetical excuse for him.

"Unfortunately, I don't think he's on the ship," he replied.

Encouraged by this, Fu Qian felt rather gratified and continued to be perfectly honest.

...

In all likelihood, Solondil wasn't there. It was highly debatable whether the man had even managed to find his way in here; a ship floating on the water proved absolutely nothing.

And even if he had successfully found his way into this place, it was almost impossible that he would have stayed on board.

This wasn't because he had some deep understanding of Solondil's advancement plans or knew what the man intended to do. It was pure logical deduction—if Solondil was still on that ship, how could he possibly evade Excellency Serana's carpet search?

Exactly. Even though she had approached from behind, Fu Qian refused to believe this was Serana's first time arriving here.

One couldn't forget the timeline of this Blood Clan Demigod's disappearance.

Since arriving in Moore, there had already been two storms. He himself had entered the Realm of the Dead during the second one, but long before that second storm even started, the Greed Worms had already reacted to Serana's disappearance.

It was obvious that this Blood Clan Demigod had most likely fallen in during the latter half of the first storm, right after agreeing to their cooperative plan.

Even if the old man was right and this place entered a frozen state of nonexistence between storms, Serana still had far more time to freely operate here than he did.

If even he could find his way to the pier, would she really arrive later than he did?

The chances of that were infinitesimally low.

The greatest possibility was that she had already been here and thoroughly searched that ship.

If he had actually suggested she go check the ship, she probably would have struck him dead on the spot.

As for why he had come here expecting to find her, despite being well aware of this time discrepancy?

The answer was simple: just because the ship was empty once didn't mean it would be empty every time. As long as Serana performed a basic analysis of this place's attributes, she would have figured out some of its rules.

Without any other clues to go on, swinging by every once in a while to check the area was just human nature.

If it weren't for the fact that she was currently on fire, Fu Qian suspected she might have simply set up an ambush and waited here.

In short, this demigod had almost certainly boarded the ship already—perhaps more than once—and had obviously failed to find Solondil.

...

"I agree with your assessment. However, aren't you forgetting something? Regardless of whether Solondil is around, someone else was supposed to be on that ship."

Faced with Fu Qian's "honesty," Serana fell silent for a brief moment.

When she spoke again, she finally stopped beating around the bush and pointed directly at her partner's dereliction of duty.

By the end of her sentence, her tone had grown dark and heavy, making it clear she was ready to strike at any moment.

"That's because I jumped ship halfway through. I wasn't on board for very long."

Fortunately, drawing on his past communication experience, Fu Qian understood that honesty was always the best policy. He readily admitted to skipping out on his post.

"Afterward, I specifically went to your place, but you weren't there. Instead, I ended up falling straight into this place from there—did you leave that portal behind on purpose?"

He absolutely refused to accept the accusation of dereliction of duty, insisting that he had simply gone to share some important information. He even made sure to ask if his ally had intentionally left a portal behind.

"Is that so? Are you absolutely certain you went to the place where we talked?"

There was a faint sneer in Serana's voice—not only mocking his seemingly dishonest maneuvering, but also doubting whether he had even gone to the right location.

"It should be the right place. I even saw bats."

Unfortunately for her, anyone who dared to mock Professor Fu to his face was destined to receive a ruthless education from reality.

Fu Qian furrowed his brows and casually mentioned a tiny detail.

"Some of them were even on fire."

...

A direct hit.

Even though the wind and waves hadn't grown any stronger, the Suffocation index in the air abruptly skyrocketed.

Shrouded in shadows, Serana didn't utter a single sound. Instead, it felt as though invisible bats were suddenly dancing—and even screeching—all around them.

When he had previously assessed this Blood Clan Demigod as exuding a strong "pay-to-win" aura, it hadn't been an idle remark.

Although their standoff seemed reminiscent of their first meeting, the shadows enveloping her body now clearly radiated a much more opulent vibe.

Not only had her shadowy aura expanded slightly, but even within its inky blackness, one could sense a subtle, flowing brilliance—an unmistakable air of low-key luxury.

"Oh... did they look like this?"

Unfortunately, she didn't give Fu Qian much time to appreciate the view. When Serana finally spoke again, her tone was absolutely bloodcurdling.

Along with her words, the mass of shadows began to silently writhe. Shapes bearing a pair of wings literally began to tear their way out from the darkness.

More importantly, even though these were clearly just illusory manifestations, the rings of fiery scorch marks on their bodies were plainly visible.

See? A true pay-to-win VIP.

This single point already explained so much. In that instant, all of his previous theories received massive validation.

"Yes."

Excellency Serana had indeed been hit. Feeling a brief wave of lament, Fu Qian simply nodded.

This was despite the fact that the swarm of violently thrashing bats were all currently aimed right at him, displaying an incredibly hostile posture, looking ready to rip him to shreds.

"Are you certain? Laurie."

The Blood Clan Demigod repeated her question, demanding that he confirm his answer.

"Of course I'm certain—but I am not Laurie."

Fu Qian chuckled at that and proceeded to drop another bombshell.

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