Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Why ask that all of a sudden?"

Elena looked visibly puzzled by Fu Qian's question.

She was undoubtedly in a foul mood.

First, Swordsman Yun had shown up to disrupt their plans, threatening to send the situation spiraling out of control.

Then, she had ended up trapped here because of these stubbornly incorrigible fools, making her chances of winning even slimmer.

Even so, she didn't dare ignore Fu Qian.

She had never gotten a clear read on his strength; she only knew he was powerful.

Thinking about it, this mysterious man had been exactly like this from the very beginning. Whether facing Swordsman Yun or Patrick, he hadn't shown a trace of fear, and he did things entirely at his own pace.

He had even indirectly scared off the Butcher.

Fu Qian smiled.

He hadn't asked the question casually.

He had been pondering it since earlier.

What was the point of this slaughter game they called redemption?

For starters, gathering this group couldn't have been easy. Many of them were quite strong and seasoned outlaws; capturing them alive would be far harder than just killing them.

What exactly was Sir William's goal in expending so much energy to orchestrate all this?

Elena had mentioned that he was the first to earn redemption here, thereby becoming an executor of justice.

But Fu Qian didn't buy that Sir William was truly out to redeem these fallen souls.

The facts had already proven that the Butcher was clearly beyond saving, having gone through redemption three times without managing to become a Buddha on the spot.

He couldn't just be playing a game of catch-and-release with him, could he?

If so, the extras dragged along for the ride were quite pitiful.

That made Fu Qian quite curious about the fate of the other victors.

"Aside from the Butcher, there should have been five others."

Elena hesitated for a moment before finally choosing to answer.

"But they're all dead now. The Butcher is the only one still alive."

Oh?

Fu Qian's interest was immediately piqued.

"How did they die?"

"It varied, but it basically all came down to accidents. After winning redemption, those people seemed to truly find inner peace. Every single one of them turned over a new leaf and stopped fighting."

"Of course, many people were dissatisfied with that outcome, believing they deserved to die rather than be redeemed. But as long as they stopped committing crimes, William wouldn't capture them again."

"But they died anyway?"

Fu Qian raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, all dead. The only one still breathing is Patrick."

"And he is the most stubbornly incorrigible of them all. After obtaining redemption three times, he went right back to killing the moment he got out, and was then caught once more."

What an ironic story!

When Elena finished, Fu Qian let out a heartfelt sigh.

Those who achieved redemption died by accident, while the one who refused to lay down his blade was alive and kicking.

Was this the legendary trope of 'it's hard to be a good person, and turning over a new leaf means certain death'?

No.

Fu Qian shook his head.

He had never put much stock in these kinds of seemingly destined coincidences.

There had to be some deeper reason behind it.

"Not necessarily. Rumors are easily distorted. Maybe they just kept their crimes low-profile because they didn't want to end up back in here."

With that, he offered a counter-theory.

"...Perhaps!"

Elena clearly didn't want to dwell on the subject, trying hard to steer the conversation back to their current predicament.

"But regardless, Patrick is absolutely the worst of the bunch. He is purely bloodthirsty."

"If memory serves, he's the only one who, even after slaughtering everyone else, still refused to accept purification from the Goddess of Sins."

"Every time, he waits out the full three days, letting the Fire of Sin burn until the very last second before stopping, and he even looks like he hasn't had enough."

At this point, she looked up at everyone around her, her face filled with disdain.

"He'll slaughter you all like dogs!"

"If you continue to be this stupid."

...

Elena's words, combined with her earlier description, clearly stoked the group's barely suppressed fear.

Locked up with a cold-blooded animal like that, fighting each other for a sliver of survival—it would be a lie to say they weren't afraid.

"The ten minutes are almost up."

The man in black finally gritted his teeth.

"If Natalia hasn't returned yet, we can resume our previous cooperation—"

"We can do that even if she has returned."

However, before he could finish, a woman's voice rang out from outside, and a figure walked in.

It was an older woman with brown hair, dressed in a red coat, her face pale.

"Natalia!"

Seeing the newcomer, the man in black called out in pleasant surprise.

"Did you lure him away?"

Lynn, standing nearby, showed no emotion as he calmly asked the question.

"Yes, but I'm not sure how long it will hold him."

Natalia glanced at him, then strode past the crowd and stood beside Elena.

"You..."

Elena had just started to speak when the newcomer grabbed her chin.

"Very nice!"

After examining her from side to side, Natalia spoke. It was hard to tell if she was evaluating Elena's strength or the Fire of Sin on her body.

"Alright."

Without wasting any more words, Natalia let go and gestured for the crowd to clear a path.

"We have to hurry! The speed at which the Butcher accumulates the Fire of Sin is astonishing, and he is clearly searching for the location of the Statue."

"He knows exactly what we're planning."

This woman was clearly the backbone of the man in black's group!

Watching her issue orders, Fu Qian silently appraised her from the sidelines.

People truly were strange creatures sometimes.

Regardless of their relationship with one another, when faced with a greater threat, they still instinctively sought someone to rely on.

...

So this was the Statue of the Goddess of Sins?

A moment later, led by the group, Fu Qian arrived at the upper section of the structure.

It was a platform jutting out from the sloped wall, though the angle made it entirely impossible to see from below.

The layout on the platform was exceedingly simple. Right in the center stood a stone statue of a young woman.

She wore a cloak, her long hair cascading to her waist, and her figure was full and voluptuous.

He had to admit, that imposter from earlier had done a remarkably good job mimicking her.

[Current task updated: Eliminate all sinners to halt the vitalization of the Goddess of Sins.]

Just as he was examining the Statue before him, a task notification chimed in his ear.

But this content...

Sinners?

Did it mean this group of prisoners?

Killing them all wouldn't be too difficult.

The problem was, what did halting the vitalization mean? Was the Goddess of Sins coming to life?

Moreover, the previous and current tasks seemed entirely disconnected. If he just needed to kill the sinners, why have him find the Statue first?

As his thoughts raced, Fu Qian caught sight of Elena eagerly stepping forward out of the corner of his eye.

Under the varying gazes of the crowd, she raised her hands without hesitation and struck a pose.

Seeing the Sin Fire surging around her, it was clear she was about to receive purification.

However, in the very next second, someone stepped in front of the Statue to block her way.

"Everyone."

With his back to the Statue, Fu Qian looked out at the crowd.

"I want to play a game with you."

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