Eldritch Horror Theatre

Writing off the corpse's behavior as another coincidence would be pushing it.

The moment it caught the bullet barehanded, Fu Qian knew his guess was right.

Even though the three Demigods hadn't noticed a thing, something was definitely lurking nearby—and it desperately wanted to keep both people in front of him alive.

To pinpoint that hidden presence, he had launched his second strike against Kelsen.

The corpse's second intervention finally made Fu Qian realize the anomaly was right at the entrance.

The way it hid itself, however, completely defied expectations.

As he stayed in hot pursuit, Fu Qian studied his target.

The translucent figure ahead had completely blurred features. Radiating a milky-white glow, it looked exactly like a disembodied spirit.

Earlier, it seemed to have flattened itself like a weightless sheet of paper plastered over the door.

Judging by its methods, it had clearly established some sort of special connection with the corpse.

Was this a ghost that had escaped from the mummified corpse?

Fu Qian quickly dismissed the thought.

Even if it were a ghost, it had no logical reason to save anyone.

Besides, when Colson and Sybil were beating each other up outside, this door hadn't even been opened yet.

Surely this thing wasn't going out of its way for the universal salvation of all living beings, right?

On top of that, he hadn't noticed anything unusual on the door when he opened it.

In all likelihood, this thing had followed them in from the outside.

And judging by its behavior, it clearly didn't want to be exposed.

Too bad that's not up to you!

Fu Qian sneered internally and sped up, rapidly closing the distance.

The milky-white spirit had already leaped onto a crossbeam ahead of him. Fu Qian bounded up right after it.

At the same time, his right arm doubled in size and grabbed for its neck.

Even without turning its head, the spirit acted as if it had eyes on its back, executing a hair-raising dodge to narrowly evade the unexpected strike.

Unfortunately for it, before it could put distance between them again, a spiked whip tore through the air and lashed viciously across its back.

The spirit immediately convulsed. Watery ripples cascaded violently across its surface as though it were screaming in silence.

Bang! Bang!

Fu Qian didn't let up. Taking advantage of the entity's stiffness, he raised his gun and squeezed off two more shots.

Given the entity's strange state, it was easy to imagine that if it hadn't taken that whip strike first, even these specially modified, artisan-crafted bullets might not have worked.

But in this moment, amidst the whistling gunfire, two gaping holes were blasted directly through its head.

Yet, like pierced gelatin, even these massive, penetrating wounds didn't appear fatal.

The flowing milky-white essence knitted the wounds back together at a visible speed.

The entity clearly had no desire to fight. The moment it recovered from its stiffness, it bolted without looking back.

You're just going to tank the hits relying on your fast regeneration? Isn't that a bit too disrespectful?

Fu Qian immediately chalked its behavior up to a provocation. He stepped forward without hesitation, unleashing his claws and whip to their limits.

But before he could land a hit, the sprinting spirit skidded to a halt.

The next moment, it spread its arms wide, lifting into a slight hover.

Blindingly intense light exploded outward with the spirit at the epicenter.

Amidst the radiant bloom, Fu Qian felt a surge of tremendous force slam into him, throwing his body backward.

The power behind it was immense. In a split second, he had been blasted nearly ten meters away from the crossbeam.

The foul, reeking sewage now lay directly beneath his feet.

Show weakness to the enemy, seize the chance to lay a trap, and lure the opponent in.

Not a bad tactic!

Already beginning to plummet, Fu Qian mentally gave the entity a thumbs-up.

Unfortunately, there was one thing it didn't understand—in front of a true Hunter, running was useless.

The next moment, several dark-red tentacles burst from Fu Qian's right arm. Spanning over ten meters in an instant, they latched tightly onto the massive crossbeam.

With a sharp yank, Fu Qian's falling momentum instantly reversed, launching him right back the way he came.

It all happened in a split second. The tentacles had anchored right in the direction the spirit was trying to escape, and in the blink of an eye, Fu Qian had thrown himself directly into its path.

Having just finished its attack and prepared to flee, the spirit froze in place.

It was obvious that Fu Qian's blinding recovery speed had completely shattered its expectations.

To his relief, however, the entity didn't turn and try to run again. Instead, it slowly sized Fu Qian up.

Not bad. It learned to face its problems bravely so quickly!

Fu Qian nodded slightly in approval.

Of course, against a true Hunter, prey that chose to act brave typically only succeeded in dying faster.

"What manner of monster are you? State your name."

Given the circumstances, Fu Qian let out a haughty, commanding roar.

The entity didn't answer. It merely stared at his right hand, which had already shifted back to normal.

That previous display had clearly left a lasting impression on it.

"I'm also quite curious. What is Your Excellency trying to do here?"

Fu Qian watched its reaction closely as he asked.

But right then, a sudden sensation prickled his senses. He snapped his head up, looking toward the end of the corridor.

A blinding expanse of lightning erupted from the hidden room, accompanied by a deafening roar like a crashing tide.

That guy really got scared out of his wits!

Fu Qian clicked his tongue. Without even looking, he knew Kelsen was the only one in there capable of creating a commotion like that.

The timing was just about right. The effects of the Eternally Lucid Mind on him should have worn off by now.

Regaining his lost power, compounded by the fear he had accumulated while locked in that vulnerable state...

For him to subconsciously flex his strength like this was just human nature.

However, even as the blinding lightning flared brighter and surged outward, Fu Qian noticed something strange in his immediate surroundings. The light around him actually seemed to be dimming.

He quickly realized it wasn't an illusion.

Before his eyes, the milky-white spirit was silently ballooning to several times its original size, its color turning a murky, polluted hue.

Soon after, the spirit's back contorted, and a pair of pure white wings tore out from behind it.

As they shook, pristine white Feathers drifted down like snowflakes.

An Angel?

Fu Qian frowned up at the behemoth.

By now, the entity had lost every trace of its former spirit form.

Aside from the wings on its back, its entire body was rotted and decrepit, looking even more grotesque and twisted than the mummified corpse from earlier.

Click!

Fu Qian raised his gun and aimed it dead center at the massive head.

"Heh heh!"

The entity didn't dodge; it even let out a hoarse, mocking laugh.

"A quick reminder. You're out of bullets."

It didn't just count the shots—it even knew I always keep exactly five bullets loaded?

Marveling inwardly, Fu Qian pulled the trigger without a second thought.

The hammer struck an empty chamber. Yet, an invisible shockwave blasted from his fingertip, blowing the creature's head into bloody smithereens.

"Says who?"

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