Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Then let's not waste time."

Following her dark transformation, Elena had become far more decisive and ruthless. Agreeing with Fu Qian's judgment, she gave the order without hesitation.

"If they seek purification after every kill, the Statue can't be too far away. Otherwise, they'd waste too much time just traveling back and forth."

"Agreed. In fact, I think we should check over there."

Fu Qian pointed into the distance.

Following the edge of the water before them, they could see a structure carved into a slanting cliff face.

It wasn't very large—easily missed if one didn't look closely.

But considering the distance, direction, and angle, it would make a perfect base camp for anyone hunting in this area.

It was well worth investigating.

Unfortunately, Elena had been too ruthless, leaving not a single survivor.

Speaking of which...

Fu Qian looked at Elena as she took the lead beside him.

Her behavior before and after her injury formed a stark contrast. The transformation from a Saintess to a corrupted figure had happened in an instant.

Personality aside, even the very nature of her powers had completely shifted. Her current state was deeply concerning.

"This is my true innate ability."

Seemingly noticing Fu Qian's doubts, Elena spoke as she walked, black snakes coiling around her hands.

"But my father despised it."

"To break me away from this dark power, he tried everything. Ultimately, he used my own talents to mold me into the exact opposite of what I was."

"Unfortunately, that transformation wasn't very stable. During a mission, I accidentally killed him. Afterward, I ended up in this Redemption Game."

As she spoke, Elena's expression settled into a strange calmness, as though she were recounting some trivial matter.

"Actually, I think this is fine... If sins can truly be purified, then I'll finally be able to determine which part of my inner struggle over all these years was false."

"Do not lose your way, Elena. You can definitely break free from that dark influence."

Listening to Elena's recounting, Cross, who had been silent by her side all this while, finally couldn't hold his tongue.

"Perhaps. Though I actually think this is pretty good!"

Elena chuckled lightly at his words and turned to look at Fu Qian.

"What about you? Do you also think I'm steeped in evil that needs to be purified?"

"Judge your own matters for yourself. We aren't that close."

Fu Qian merely cast her a casual glance.

"And don't expect me to feed you the cliché that power is only as good or evil as the person wielding it, or that you just need to stay true to yourself. The world is nowhere near that simple."

"Well said... It seems I'll just have to stay lost."

Fu Qian's words made Elena pause before she broke into a strange smile.

"Don't want to be lost? It's simple. Black or white, just pick a side and accept the consequences."

"For example, when the day comes that you're tied to a stake and burned alive, don't cry about how you merely had a moment of folly."

"Haha!"

After hearing Fu Qian's words, Elena thought for a long moment before actually bursting into laughter.

"Makes sense. Teaming up with you really was a wise decision!"

"You can think about whether it was wise later. Right now, we have a guest."

Fu Qian stopped bantering and gestured for her to look ahead.

In that brief moment, a figure had appeared in the distance, walking toward the three of them at a leisurely pace.

...

Having learned from their previous encounter, Cross stepped directly in front of Elena to shield her. Meanwhile, black mist surged from Elena's hands.

"Please don't misunderstand, the three of you."

The newcomer stopped at a safe distance and called out to them.

From their position, they could see he was a man of medium build with refined features and perfectly combed hair. At first glance, he looked like a university professor.

"My team and I bear you no ill will."

"Is that so? Then care to explain what you're doing here?"

Elena, noticeably much sharper after her dark transformation, let out a cold scoff.

"It's simple. First, I want to apologize for our earlier conflict. Second, I wanted to see if we might be able to cooperate."

The man didn't seem to mind her tone.

"Our earlier conflict... So they were your people!"

Elena instantly caught the key detail.

"Cooperate? How do I know this isn't another trap?"

"That is certainly a possibility, which is why I am merely stating the facts. You are free to make your own judgment, Lady Elena."

The newcomer had actually addressed Elena by her name.

"You know me?"

Elena frowned. She looked the man up and down; he clearly hadn't been on her list of known participants.

"Of course. As the weaker faction in this contest, there isn't much power we can leverage to begin with."

The man maintained his pleasant smile.

"In the interest of fairness, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lynn, one of the prisoners in this contest."

"It's quite simple. To maximize our chances of surviving to the end, I organized a group of like-minded individuals to try and seize the initiative. The ones who offended you earlier were members of my group."

...

Lynn was clearly quite eloquent, cleanly summarizing the current situation in just a few words.

According to his account, he had handpicked over a dozen capable fighters and immediately scattered them to search for the Statue.

Once they found it, they grouped up and began hunting down other stragglers, accumulating the Fire of Sin before using the Statue to purify themselves.

The four-man squad from earlier was one of his teams.

That explained why the Sin Seeker had appeared so early this time.

"...It's quite obvious that we now face a common threat."

Having laid out his situation, Lynn looked earnestly at Elena.

"The Butcher accumulates Sin Fire incredibly fast. Factoring in his past exploits, we possess almost no ability to confront him head-on. Our only hope is to rely on the Sin Seeker."

"Furthermore, an unexpected situation has arisen."

An unexpected situation? Fu Qian glanced up at Lynn.

"Did you run into the Butcher?"

"Yes."

Lynn was remarkably honest.

"We barely managed to lure him away, so he shouldn't be able to find us here for the time being. But it's clear that something outside of our plans has occurred."

"The Sin Seeker didn't go after him, did it?"

Elena caught on as well, letting out a cold sneer.

"You know?"

Lynn's eyes immediately lit up in obvious surprise.

"Of course we know. We also know exactly who it went after instead."

Elena looked behind Lynn.

"Judging by the current situation, your plan didn't pan out the way you imagined."

"Save your breath and just take us to the Statue."

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