Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Crystal Flower bloomed, yet there was no sign of a spider around The Lake.

Its lethality was no exaggeration. Even though only a tiny segment remained—and it hadn't spread any further after missing its target—it was still terrifying.

This was a Blade of the Storm, just like the one embedded in the other whale's head. He based this judgment on more than mere intuition; he had a ready-made example right in front of him.

The whale Skull hadn't even suffered a direct hit. It was merely suspended by that bloody blade through its eye socket, yet the crystalline cracks appearing out of thin air across its surface were incredibly distinct, perfectly demonstrating the cause and effect.

One rested in an eye socket and the other in a blowhole—even their landing points shared a certain consistency.

As for the adjacent non-crystallized bone, it looked as if it had suffered a terrifying impact and vaporized instantly.

This effect alone seemed to corroborate his previous theory regarding the Transcendent Terminus: the whale's physical body had blocked the storm, and in doing so, had been infected by the crystals.

It also served as a testament to Excellency Rom's power. Not only did they understand the nature of this place, but to some extent, they could even manipulate and guide it.

Since they had saved such a move for their final trump card, the King of the Abandoned Prison—as their target—could hardly find anything to complain about.

He had already concluded that Excellency Rom would strike, but he had been anticipating a repeat of the Beyond Categorization methods he'd witnessed back in the wedding hall of the Solitary King and the Goddess of Sins.

That method had briefly removed a Divine Being from the entire supernatural framework, achieving a banishing effect that even induced an amorphous distortion.

Fu Qian had been deeply impressed by this crucial life-saving technique Excellency Rom had left behind. In fact, because the move was so miraculous, he harbored zero resentment about taking the hit on behalf of Patches.

What a pity. Either that move demanded an exorbitant toll, or it required special mediums to execute. Regardless, it seemed Excellency Rom could not reproduce it.

Crack—

Amid the soft sound, another bloody, crystalline blade materialized above The Lake, piercing the exact spot where Fu Qian had just been standing.

As for Excellency Rom, they were nowhere to be seen.

Even under the Vision Radar, the Calamity Eyes that had originally locked onto them had lost their target.

...

It made perfect sense. After dealing with them for so long, he knew exactly what the Origin Council was best at.

Nepheli, Raven Feather... they had all demonstrated abstract-level concealment techniques.

As their chief advisor, Rom could likely pull off such feats with even greater ease.

They certainly hadn't left, nor would they. This had already escalated into a true fight to the death.

At first glance, it might seem highly irrational. Even if reconciliation was impossible, shouldn't they at least rest and recuperate before fighting? Wouldn't that increase their odds of winning?

Unfortunately, that was only true in theory. Rest and recuperate?

Where could they rest? How?

Their earlier choice of drinking poison to quench thirst, fully aware of the toxicity, clearly indicated that this was a cornered rabbit's last burrow.

Even with their deep understanding of this place, Rom was clearly loath to take such measures unless they were absolutely desperate.

Yet they had still done it.

Fleeing regardless of the cost? Fu Qian believed Rom could still pull that off.

But because they had been framed, the Night Watchers were waiting outside like tigers eyeing their prey.

If they had any other options left, things wouldn't have devolved to this point.

Since their hide-and-seek skills were so exceptional, why not simply stay hidden? Why insist on executing a killing strike now, provoking the wrath of the King of the Abandoned Prison?

That would be like covering one's ears to steal a bell. Think about it—it was the King of the Abandoned Prison who had provoked them first.

Their opponent had already come knocking on their door.

Whether he'd found them by coincidence or not, avoiding the fight now meant their entire house would likely be torn down in the next moment. How could they harbor any hopes of surviving by laying low?

Instead, it was better to leverage their sliver of a home-field advantage. Combining that with their bottomless moral standards, they aimed to land a surprise attack and seize the maximum advantage in a desperate struggle.

This was exactly what Excellency Rom was doing.

It was also why Fu Qian had immediately executed a second dodge.

Because the King of the Abandoned Prison believed that his colleague had absolutely no bottom line, and he was equally certain they would never give up.

...

Excellency Rom did not betray his expectations.

The bloody, crystalline blade had just painted another vibrant stroke across this quiet space.

And it had materialized without any warning, impossible to track—another strike.

Following an almost identical time interval, another vibrant streak appeared, crossing the second blade above The Lake to form a cross.

If he had engaged in rapid flip-flopping and jumped back to his original position, he would have taken it right on the head.

Unfortunately for Rom, Fu Qian stayed rooted to the spot this time, his finger reaching out to touch the bloody crystal.

Why had he so conveniently chosen not to move?

Naturally, it wasn't a coincidence. One could only say that the Serpent of Destiny's sharp critique still held true: in such a fast-paced exchange, Excellency Rom had failed to surpass their own limitations—

First, this killing move clearly lacked a tracking effect. Because he anticipated his opponent's attack, he had easily dodged the first blade.

Jumping back when the second blade fell served two purposes: first, he believed Rom would strike again; second, he was banking on the legendary crater theory—that the most dangerous place is often the safest.

By the time the third blade struck, dodging back to the second blade's position would be a clear case of inertial thinking. Even an ordinary person wouldn't fall for that.

But a smart person might actually fall for it, suspecting their opponent would reverse the psychology and exploit that exact train of thought.

In short, at this point, the fight could easily devolve into a layered, convoluted psychological game, spiraling into endless overthinking until it became a pure game of luck.

But the Tyrant had added an extra move into the mix: reaching out while standing in place, as if testing the crystal's properties.

How one interpreted this action became the linchpin of the third blade's mind game.

And Excellency Rom's limitation was that their analysis of this action's motive remained firmly rooted in a utilitarian perspective.

Namely, it served only one purpose: to confuse the opponent.

Therefore, no matter how much they brainstormed, the scales would inevitably tip toward assuming he was making an empty show of strength. They would conclude this action was meant to fool them into thinking he'd stay put.

Little did they know, for a true researcher, testing its properties was a genuine objective.

His action was a misdirection, yes, but it was also a real test.

This difference in core values led to a disconnect, causing them to miss each other's intentions completely.

Of course, this analysis sounded perfectly reasonable, but it still felt suspiciously like a Scripted Death—

Why would Excellency Rom indulge in this kind of mind game? With so much space, why insist on striking the exact spot of the previous blade, acting as childishly as someone throwing a match?

The answer was simple.

Think about it carefully: in theory, this attack would struggle to hit the Tyrant as long as he kept moving. No matter how powerful it was, what use would it be if it couldn't land?

Since Excellency Rom was using this as a trump card, they definitely had their reasons.

Crack—

Another sharp crack rang out. The cross formed by the second and third blades was already expanding rapidly, spreading like cracks across a frozen surface.

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