Eldritch Horror Theatre

At the sudden cry, Kelsen and Sybil looked up at almost exactly the same time.

Obviously, as demigods with acute perception, they had heard it too.

The sound was strange, however. It carried the agonizing tone of a dying shriek, yet mixed within it was an indescribable sense of relief.

"It's our people," Sybil concluded with a slight nod. "The remaining three-man team exploring the other sector."

"Judging by the sound, they've already been killed. It seems there really are hidden threats down here."

Across from her, Kelsen nodded with a smile.

"Let's head over and see what happened."

Faced with an incident that almost certainly involved casualties, the two demigods spoke and acted as casually as if they were discussing what to have for dinner.

It wasn't just them, either. At Kelsen's order, the surrounding team members simply nodded in calm agreement.

Though he didn't voice his agreement, Fu Qian could feel that his own heart remained completely untroubled.

It was a bizarre sensation. Even knowing there was something wrong with his current state, he remained immersed in that absolute, leisurely calm, unable to break free.

By now, the team members had sprung into action, each carrying out their assigned duties.

Some tended to the wounded, while others shook out a specialized bag and carefully collected the insect corpses.

Sybil and Kelsen were already a step ahead, heading back the way they came.

The rest of the group hurried after them, turning into the passage the other squad had been assigned to explore.

The scene here was completely different.

The path wound all the way to the bottom, where the stone door blocking the end had already been opened.

Even before they could step through, an intensely foul odor washed over them.

And passing through the stone door, the sight that greeted them was completely unexpected.

The space was two or three times larger than the previous hall.

Not just in area, but in height as well.

This place was essentially a massive, sunken pool.

Right now, the group stood on a ring-shaped platform surrounding the water. Below them lay a dark green liquid with visibility close to zero.

The indescribable stench wafting up was almost tangible, violently assaulting everyone's senses.

Having arrived a step ahead, Sybil and Kelsen were now standing at a corner of the platform.

A corpse lay sprawled there, half of its body dangling off the edge.

Judging by the uniform, it was indeed a member of the other squad.

Kelsen rolled the body over. Surprisingly, not only had the corpse's skin taken on an eerie, fluorescent white pallor, but its facial expression was relaxed and natural, as if the victim hadn't felt the pain of death at all.

But that wasn't the most striking detail. From this angle, they could clearly see dense clusters of Feathers growing straight out of the corpse's face and limbs.

At Kelsen's touch, some of the Feathers shook loose, fluttering to the ground like snowflakes.

"This..."

Sybil bent down to pick one up, carefully comparing it to the Feather they had extracted from Montes.

It was obviously very similar. If she had to point out a difference, the Feathers on the corpse were slightly longer and their color wasn't quite as dull.

"There are still two more,"

Sybil said, looking up at Kelsen.

"Mhm."

He nodded and leaned out over the edge to look. Not far from the corner, two clusters of Feathers could be faintly seen floating on the viscous, rotting liquid.

It was obvious that the remaining two men had suffered the same fate, and their bodies had even been tossed down into the pool after death.

Whoosh!

Amid the violent rushing of wind, Kelsen's body was lifted into the air. This time, he floated straight toward the center of the pool.

Without hesitation, arcs of lightning converged around him, rapidly intensifying into a brilliance even more dazzling than before.

The next moment, with a deafening crack, a sprawling forest of lightning crashed down, indiscriminately bombarding every inch of the pool.

Under the ravaging lightning, the previously still surface violently churned. Globs of dark, blackish-green liquid were blasted into the air.

The choking stench instantly grew ten times stronger, and an eerily colored mist even began to rise from the surface.

For a fleeting moment, the scene reminded Fu Qian of the legend of dropping a firecracker into a cesspit.

Unfortunately, after that display of godlike might, the pool quickly settled back into silence. Nothing special emerged.

"Everyone, retreat to the entrance of the Ruins,"

Kelsen commanded as he rode the wind back to the platform, his face showing no hint of disappointment.

"Remember to stay vigilant and hold the line. Don't let anything out."

"It's obvious there's something hostile to us in here, and its strength is quite formidable."

"So, you're no longer capable of carrying out scattered exploration."

Despite the dismissive nature of his words, Kelsen's tone remained perfectly calm.

"Take the wounded with you to the entrance and arrange for them to be taken back for treatment."

"Also... you stay."

Seeing the others cooperatively turn around to leave, Kelsen pointed a finger at Fu Qian.

"You will continue exploring with me and Sybil."

"Why?"

Fu Qian questioned this special treatment.

"Because I don't trust you,"

Kelsen answered quite honestly.

"So leaving you to guard the door with the rest of them isn't a good idea. You need to move with us."

"I thought my suspicion had already been cleared,"

Fu Qian said, pointing at the corpse near the corner.

His meaning was clear: he had absolutely not been present when this squad was attacked.

Of course, Fu Qian wasn't actually responding like this to plead his case.

He simply found having a conversation in this strange mental state quite interesting, and wanted to see how Kelsen would react.

"There are many types of suspicion,"

Kelsen replied, still unhurried and not easily convinced by his opinion.

"Alright!"

Fu Qian replied with a smile, no longer questioning it.

His original plan had been to split from the team once they got out and explore the Ruins freely on his own.

But since these two were so insistent on acting as his vanguard, he was happy to accept the favor for now.

...

"How much of the Underground Ruins is left to explore?"

The rest of the team quickly followed orders and left, leaving only Kelsen, Sybil, and Fu Qian standing above the pool.

Having come up empty-handed twice, Kelsen turned to ask Sybil.

"That question is stupid beyond reason!"

Unexpectedly, Sybil just scoffed, her response quite sharp.

"Since we haven't explored it, how would I know how much is left?"

What a sharp comeback, and more importantly, it was logically sound.

Besides, it was obvious that she was getting irritable again.

Impressed, Fu Qian glanced over at Kelsen, eager to see how he would respond.

"No, you know..."

To his surprise, Kelsen's voice rang out the next moment, murderous intent radiating from it.

"Because I want to know."

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