Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian's words pressed the pause button.

Goya's unruffled expression froze almost instantly, fixed on his face like a mask.

The piercing alarms had actually stopped. It was impossible to tell whether he had used some special method to silence them.

For a moment, the surroundings plunged into absolute silence.

It seemed Goya did not want the situation to escalate so rapidly.

"Why four?"

Staring quietly into Fu Qian's face, Goya finally spoke after a long pause.

"One, two, three—four."

Fu Qian pointed in three different directions overhead before settling his finger on Goya.

His meaning could not be clearer, and Goya obviously understood.

"I get it. Theoretically speaking, you are indeed different."

Fu Qian settled his bizarrely shaped body directly into a nearby seat.

"After all, those three are already dead, and you still have a little time left. Plus, out of the three dead, one hadn't even reached Mid Tier. But—"

Fu Qian's tone hardened.

"As far as I'm concerned, you four are exactly the same."

...

"You really are... a one-of-a-kind thing!"

The next moment, faced with Fu Qian's overbearing logic, Goya actually laughed out loud.

The most incredible part was that, along with this aria-like sigh, the skin on his face began to ripple. His features twisted and morphed, shifting into a completely different appearance—even taking on the face of a woman.

At the same time, his voice kept changing.

"To think you could actually see through our connection..."

"But did you ever consider... if we could masquerade as someone below Mid Tier, why couldn't there be one above Mid Tier?"

By the end of the sentence, the voice had grown noticeably sharper, turning into a brisk female tone.

The features on "Goya's" face settled into a somewhat familiar arrangement—

Kuraki Eiko. Fu Qian rapidly recalled the owner of that face.

The woman who had been completely frantic just a short time ago now took on an entirely different posture. She looked completely at ease, a mocking smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

At the same time, her aura spiked rapidly. In just a few short seconds, she transformed into an entity vastly different from before.

"A demigod?"

Witnessing this scene that reeked of a final showdown, Fu Qian adjusted his vocal apparatus to produce a perfectly shocked tone, even as his heart blossomed with joy.

Hmph! What was that about heaven helps those who help themselves?

This was what it meant to be a Child of Destiny.

Although he had spoken with absolute confidence just a moment ago, Fu Qian obviously hadn't been entirely certain that his kidney shot had exactly affected four targets.

But given that the true Goya standing before him had reacted differently from the previous two times, Fu Qian had ultimately decided the bluff was worth it.

Given the current situation, though he couldn't rule out the possibility that the other party was playing along with his bluff, the odds that he had just smoked out the entire group in one go were at least ninety-five percent.

It was a massive success!

"Surprised? Did you see this coming?"

The Kuraki Eiko standing before him beamed, looking exactly as she had when she first appeared.

"You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble... but some people just have too much curiosity. They hate leaving any room for others."

"Unfortunately, most of the time, that also means leaving no room for yourself."

"I actually agree with you on that."

Faced with this transcendent posture after her grand reveal, Fu Qian nodded, the tentacles atop his head rippling.

"But what I'm a bit curious about is that you could probably be anyone. Why specifically choose this face to talk to me?"

"You don't like it? Given your previous 9527 persona, I figured a young woman's appearance would make you feel a bit more comfortable during our chat."

Kuraki Eiko looked genuinely surprised.

"Or do you prefer someone more mature? It's a little disappointing, but if you ask for it, I can satisfy your request."

"Why would I? But your level of professionalism needs some work."

Fu Qian pointed toward her waist.

"Regardless of what you choose, at least keep the image consistent. This top-tier cross-dressing boss look of yours is a bit too exaggerated."

"Right now, with every word you say, I am forced to notice the ripples echoing across your lower belly."

...

Completely caught off guard that Fu Qian was actually paying attention to that, Kuraki Eiko fell silent for a moment. Then, she pressed her hand against her belly, stroking it gently.

A moment later, that greasy, flabby mass of abdominal fat rapidly shrank. At the same time, the curves of her body swiftly shifted into an enchanting shape.

"As you wish. How is this?"

"Very nice."

Fu Qian offered his praise while examining the figure before him, who now showed absolutely no resemblance to Goya.

At this moment, even through his own perception, there was absolutely no way to link this person standing in front of him with Goya.

A transformation of this degree went far beyond simply molding a new face.

Fu Qian had always been curious about how these four individuals could divide the concept of Goya among themselves. Now, it seemed he had finally found the answer.

Tch!

I overestimated you lot. I thought you genuinely faced death unflinchingly!

Once he figured it out, Fu Qian quickly began to mock them in his head.

The current development almost perfectly aligned with his earlier guess.

Kuraki Eiko, Cynthia, Goya's Substitute, and the true Goya standing right here.

As it stood, he wasn't entirely sure what methods they had used, but all four of them simultaneously possessed the concept of Goya.

As a result, when facing a task runner like him, as long as a single one of the four remained alive, his task would be impossible to complete.

Ultimately, throughout the process of this fake test and real ritual, each of them had perfectly played their roles, never exposing the truth even in the face of death.

In his initial guess, Fu Qian had assumed this group was playing Russian roulette, willing to bet their lives and accept their losses.

If they died, they died; they could only curse their own bad luck while the survivors claimed the spoils.

Now, it was obvious that this bunch lacked that kind of fearless resolve to embrace death.

The method they had actually employed was that every single one of them was all four people.

As long as one of them lived, it meant all four of them lived.

It wasn't a terrifying sudden-death lottery after all.

The single shred of appreciation Fu Qian had held for them completely vanished.

"So, given the current situation, shouldn't you reconsider our conversation?"

"Slaying a demigod is quite a troublesome endeavor."

"Furthermore, I can make you a promise. I won't look into what you are, or how you figured out the situation with the four of us."

Kuraki Eiko wore a smile, her tone totally serious.

"So... what do you think of my suggestion?"

"It does sound somewhat reasonable."

Fu Qian nodded, the tentacles on his head swaying again as his tone softened.

"There is indeed a massive difference between four Mid Tiers and a demigod. Therefore, I choose the maximum exemption range of a demigod."

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