Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What is that?"

Yuan Shan clearly hadn't expected such a development. Seeing this scene, she was secretly alarmed.

"It's not the Blood Clan, nor is it Brother Bu."

"It's something else entirely, and there's more than one."

Fu Qian examined his hand. The thing he had just crushed had left absolutely no trace.

If not for its violent struggle, he would have suspected it was an illusion.

"It seems a sort of channel was established as this thing transformed."

He pointed at the blood-red full moon overhead.

More than one...

In an instant, the restraints binding them all vanished.

She was decisive and ruthless.

She had completely abandoned her suppression, refusing to let the hostages hinder her movements so she could face whatever came next with her full strength.

This sight, however, frightened Grantham out of his wits.

He had been keeping an eye on his fallen subordinate. In her fury, Yuan Shan hadn't held back her strike.

The poor vampire had been brutally smashed into the ground, its bones broken and flesh torn.

Yet in the blink of an eye, clusters of curved, rigid horns grew from its wounds, tangling together haphazardly.

Even he had never seen such a bizarre sight.

Unfortunately, before he could observe further, Yuan Shan released her suppression.

Freed from their bonds, the people on the ground instantly exhibited a madness several times worse than before.

Grantham didn't hesitate and immediately lunged forward.

At the same time, illusory bat shadows exploded from his body, latching onto everyone trying to stand.

The bats vanished almost instantly, but the strange suppressing force they left behind made the crowd's joints seem rusted, slowing their movements to a crawl.

Having secured the situation in one go, Grantham wiped cold sweat from his brow.

Even though Yuan Shan had voluntarily released her suppression in a strategic abandonment of the hostages...

...if there were too many casualties, the blame would undoubtedly fall on the Gulade Family.

If that happened, there would be no room to salvage the situation.

In truth, things were already quite precarious.

Much of this had undoubtedly exceeded his understanding and seemed inevitably spiraling out of control, but—

Amid his hesitation, a blade flashed.

Grantham reflexively looked over and saw the previously silent Demigod Su stepping forward to deliver a midair slash.

The blade tore through the void. With a writhing motion, a mass of shadows was cleaved in two; it struggled violently before dissipating.

This...

While secretly marveling at Demigod Su's acute perception, Grantham noticed that the demigod's weapon didn't look magical at all. Yet, he had directly torn through the entity as if slicing through something physical.

"You're right!"

As Yuan Shan spoke, over a dozen black ribbons danced fiercely around her, radiating killing intent.

"These things are quite unusual. They seem to be some kind of special projection—"

Before she could finish, a muffled roar rang out.

The vampire that had been smashed into the ground stubbornly forced itself up.

Compared to before, its appearance and mental state were far more deranged.

Sporting a terrifying array of new accessories—sharp claws, fangs, and twisted horns—the monstrous figure lunged at the nearest target.

Looking back at this, Yuan Shan didn't move. She didn't even blink.

Grantham's eye twitched at the sight.

He had no choice. Chief Yuan clearly had no intention of intervening, but any harm coming to the people on the ground would definitely be pinned on him.

Left with no alternative, he accelerated, darting forward like lightning. His left hand morphed into a giant claw that tore the target's head clean off.

This time, the frenzied vampire didn't undergo any new mutations; it lost all signs of life in midair.

Without the confidence to subdue him, Grantham had been forced to kill his own kin.

Only then did Yuan Shan look away.

Her ribbons lashed out, brutally tearing apart a massive bird-like shadow, before she fixed her gaze on Fu Qian.

"It feels like as long as the connection is maintained, we won't be able to kill them all. Do you have a way to cut it?"

"Cut the connection... In my estimation, one of the foundations of this link is most likely the flowing dark dregs. Am I right?"

As he finished, Fu Qian looked at Grantham and asked with a smile.

...

"I'm not entirely sure—but it does look like there's some sort of connection."

Catching himself mid-sentence, Grantham gritted his teeth and decided to agree with Fu Qian's guess.

"Exactly. And this accumulation of dark dregs should be the effect of the potion, right? Along with a little guidance, of course."

Seeing Grantham's expression stiffen further, Fu Qian got the answer he wanted without needing a reply.

"It looks like we only need to purify these boiling dregs to cut the connection."

"Purify?"

Yuan Shan glanced at the struggling crowd, looking exasperated.

"How are we supposed to do that? We can't just kill everyone, can we?"

"Why not? Isn't the person in charge of Gulade right here?"

Fu Qian pointed at Grantham.

Why emphasize that I'm here?

Being pointed out like that gave Grantham a start.

"We can just kill them all and blame it on him. We can say we arrived a step too late."

"Mister Fang... I'm still right here!"

Grantham was genuinely panicked now, pointing at the ground.

"Besides... they are innocent."

"Now you decide they're innocent?"

Fu Qian looked at him with a faint, mocking smile.

...

"I apologize, but I really don't have any ideas on how to purify them. Once this kind of connection is established, it's incredibly strong, as far as I know."

Thoroughly unnerved by Fu Qian's smile, Grantham quickly explained.

"Is that so?"

Fu Qian's smile didn't waver. He looked away and turned to Yuan Shan.

"Don't worry. I'm a professional when it comes to purifying polluted minds."

He snapped his fingers, activating the Commandment Residue.

An instant later, a burst of radiant, glorious light appeared beneath the dense glow of the Red Moon.

The red moonlight clearly held a rather high status; in the face of this brilliance, it was only slightly dispelled.

However, the dark tide rolling around them melted away like ice and snow, as if directly exposed to a blazing sun.

A moment later, the rapidly contracting dark tide twisted itself into a mass of profound darkness.

"The power of a commandment? How interesting."

A voice drifted out from the darkness, sounding as if it were laughing.

Along with the voice, the profound darkness further condensed, merging into a humanoid figure.

It was a grotesque, giant-like body, standing nearly three meters tall.

It had sharp claws and slender limbs, and where wings should have been on its back, there was another pair of crooked arms.

No skin covered its swollen frame, only grotesque patterns formed by muscle fibers, all drenched in thick blood.

"You are—"

Fu Qian's expression finally grew solemn.

"Indeed, I am."

The figure let out another low chuckle.

"I am exactly who you are looking for—"

Before it could finish, Fu Qian cut it off.

"Never resting, dripping with blood from every pore, willing to trample all laws for a three hundred percent profit, eager to sell the very rope used to hang itself for money—Capital?"

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