Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was not corruption.

Not only did his words brim with an overwhelming sense of justice, but his attacks also carried the distinct style of the Tribunal. In that moment, the deformed Angel before him seemed to grow even more imposing in stature.

'Another higher entity tied to the Law? A Chief Judge?'

Fu Qian briefly recalled his important research topic from a while ago.

'His appearance is completely unlike that Golden Tree. I wonder what the relationship between them is.'

'At the same time, the manifestation of his abilities is slightly different. Rather than establishing laws, it leans more toward passing judgment and determining guilt.'

Because of this, his previous chuuni behavior of shouting out loud suddenly seemed justified.

'How can you make someone submit to their guilt without a pronouncement?'

All in all, it seemed that his evil-doing self was finally about to be brought to justice.

Faced with this slightly troublesome situation, Fu Qian couldn't be more satisfied.

What could be more gratifying than unexpectedly finding a way to further deepen a previous research topic while in the middle of a new one?

'Now this is what I call hitting the jackpot.'

Regarding his own Misanthropy constitution and the Remastered Commandment, he had previously speculated that verifying their properties would require encountering the genuine article.

To think he would run into one in such a peculiar place. What a fleeting research opportunity.

"Can I apply for a retrial?"

Wasting no time, Fu Qian immediately asked his question.

...

Without a doubt, his application was rejected.

Even though it was a perfectly reasonable request, it appeared to be completely ignored.

The Chief Judge didn't show the slightest intention of speaking another word, nor did the claws pressed against the ground twitch even a fraction.

To Fu Qian, the attitude conveyed was remarkably resolute: he would do absolutely nothing superfluous. Everything was solely for the continued existence of the current fallacy.

As expected of a higher entity. His mind was clear, and his execution was flawless.

He had returned to target his own greatest threat, and only that threat. Without a second word, he unleashed his mighty power to banish Fu Qian, ensuring he could no longer disturb the tranquility of this place.

As for the time he had bought, he certainly wasn't going to sit idle. Including the one pressed right in front of Fu Qian's eyes, all of his claws sprang into motion, madly tearing at his colossal wings.

Indeed, it looked exactly like plucking a chicken before slaughter.

It was noted earlier that the things swaying on his wings did not resemble long feathers, but rather hideous strips of flesh and blood. This fact was now fully demonstrated once more.

They fell away in clumps as they were torn off, carrying a visceral weight. Meanwhile, even more of them curled up to dodge the claws, resembling swarms of maggots fleeing through rot.

As for why he could see this so clearly?

He had mentioned earlier that his current state felt like being forced into a Blood Crusade.

Physical interaction might be impossible, but surely taking a stroll to look around was fine, wasn't it?

By now, Fu Qian had already circled halfway around, arriving directly behind the Chief Judge.

The other party's response was complete apathy. He didn't even turn around to raise his guard. It was an attitude of true and absolute disregard, refusing to let Fu Qian have any impact on the situation whatsoever.

Furthermore, beyond this purely visual spectacle, clues could also be gleaned from the surrounding changes.

This entire area had been corroded by Blood Face, already giving it a rather intense atmosphere of madness.

Now, under the Chief Judge's actions, a stress response had been further provoked.

Fracturing, rotting, screeching... there was even a shifting display of multicolored radiance. At a glance, the area looked as if it had transformed into a pustule festering inside the building, complete with dazzlingly colorful giant maggots writhing across it.

...

'The Chief Judge's condition is alarming. I don't think ordinary corruption even begins to describe it.'

As an observer on the front lines, Fu Qian naturally clicked his tongue in wonder at this bizarre scene, completely omitting the fact that he was partly responsible for it.

'Whether it's his dialogue or his methods, everything gives off the distinct feel of worldly justice. Yet he ended up looking like this. The contrast is a bit too drastic.'

Of course, the things inside the Etched Intellect weren't necessarily reliable. But he hadn't forgotten that this was the second time he had encountered a terrifying image related to this being.

Corroborating the two, it seemed to at least prove that this entity had an incredibly deep connection with this place.

'Could it actually be the classic trope where the righteous Chief Judge falls from the sky due to corruption, forcibly smashing out the Ash Sea in the process?'

Honestly, he felt it was a little too dramatic.

Regardless, it was clear that the Chief Judge was desperately trying to rid himself of this condition, even if it was only within this fleeting illusion.

In the blink of an eye, a significant amount of the decay on his wings had actually been ripped away, exposing the skeletal framework beneath—didn't it look somewhat familiar?

Although it was mangled from the tearing and could only be identified by its shadow, Fu Qian was still struck by a rather recent memory.

'This plucked appearance... is he truly the being served by the Prison Archangel?'

...

Fu Qian was generally quite tolerant; he didn't mind classifying anything with wings under the Angelic Lineage.

So much so that throughout his entire career in the Transcendent Tier, he had seen quite a few varieties.

And the branch he had interacted with the most was undoubtedly the one originating from the Wasteland Angel Dungeon.

The Mirror, the Feather, the fat Angel that Ji Yicheng transformed into, the Prison Archangel that appeared in Shangjing...

In short, their common trait was advocating for shedding feathers—removing all internal and external filth to achieve Sublimation into a purer existence.

Not only did the Chief Judge's wings look similar after ripping away the decay, but looking at it this way, even this act of self-purification was remarkably alike.

Although the contrast in his state was truly jarring.

'An Angel sequence focused on step-by-step self-purification, yet its highest-ranking higher entity ended up falling into a cesspit?'

'If that's true, the Long Night truly caused profound damage.'

The crux of the matter was that it currently looked to be true. In addition to the two previous reasons, he couldn't forget one more piece of evidence: the SAN Value Elimination Technique.

Earlier, when suffering from this unreasonable attack, Fu Qian had thought of those old friends.

Even though, judging solely by its form of expression, it was clearly much closer to the Followers he had encountered near the Golden Tree.

It was this very contradiction that kept Fu Qian from rushing to judgment. But looking at it now, it actually could be eliminated?

At the apex of the Angel's Divine Path was a judge wielding an alternative Power of Law.

From this point alone, it seemed to explain why the attacks from the Angelic Lineage carried that special purification effect, dealing specific damage to any outsider.

'An existence like the Law, which weaves the rules of the world, most likely has a natural repulsion against foreign intruders.'

...

'Excellent. I feel like I've learned quite a bit more.'

Despite being ignored, Fu Qian took a satisfied breath after observing everything along the way.

It was just that the situation did not look very friendly for the research facility right before him.

Granted, it wasn't on the verge of collapse from his devastation like it was earlier, but the rot torn away by His Excellency the Chief Judge was rapidly spreading in all directions.

It was painfully obvious that to Him, the only goal was to exploit the value of this place to its absolute limit; He had no other distractions in mind.

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