Eldritch Horror Theatre

[Today's work content has been updated: enter the 3-0129 Containment Scenario and complete the re-containment.]

[Current SAN Value: 144. Current inspiration: 99.]

The prompts continued to chime in his ears. Fu Qian, who had originally intended to slack off for a bit, realized this task number began with a mere 3. Staring at the blood-red mass resembling a shattered tortoiseshell before him, he decided to hold off and observe.

If the task proved accommodating enough, he didn't mind handling it in passing.

[Select your items and skills.]

'Hmm... A task starting with 3, and absolutely no restrictions on abilities or items?'

'Isn't this being a little too accommodating?'

'Does it know I'm busy, so it's intentionally going easy on me?'

The overly generous conditions made Fu Qian briefly suspect a conspiracy.

Suspicions aside, he still quickly equipped his skills and items.

He stuck to his usual principle: since he hadn't hit the limit, he would bring everything necessary.

[Entering the 3-0129 Containment Scenario...]

[...1%...5%...15%...45%...75%...95%...100%, Containment Scenario loaded.]

[On this remote, desolate peninsula, the ruins of a massive structure have stood for a thousand years.

As tombkeepers for a nameless Divine Entity, the Kamakura Family has guarded this place for generations.

This servitude granted them a miraculous gift known as the Severed Divine Mark.

Every generation of the family produced at least one individual bearing bloodstains that symbolized divine power.

As they grew, these bloodstains gradually spread across their entire bodies.

It was said that in battle, these bloodstains would actually seep blood. Fortunately, their opponents would bleed even more—regardless of whether they had actually been cut.

Recently, however, this fierce blessing began to spiral out of control in an incomprehensible manner.

The bloodstains tore open on the bodies of more than one tombkeeper, expanding day by day even when no enemies were in sight.

This unprecedented phenomenon plunged them into uncontrollable panic.

After exhausting all options with no improvement, they finally decided to seek help from more experienced researchers.

In response to this invitation, the Academy formed an investigation team comprised of elites from all Four Colleges, attempting to uncover the truth behind the shattering of this ancient power.]

'This... an Academy investigation team?'

'That sounds a bit eerie!'

Of course, that wasn't the main issue. If this was a recent event, it seemed highly inappropriate for him to be interacting with people from the Academy.

After all, not long ago, in his role as the Academy's demigod hunter, he had personally crushed a certain Ninety-Nine-Step Demigod from the Linghui Courtyard to death.

Given that he had left immediately afterward, he really wasn't sure what the Academy's stance on the matter was.

In fact, Fu Qian had looked into it a bit afterward and discovered that the Academy publicly claimed a certain courtyard professor had died in a research accident, with no further news released.

Amid his sighs, the scenery before his eyes began to shift, though it remained exceptionally dim.

When his five senses returned, Fu Qian found himself inside an ancient structure. Standing before him was a stone statue so shattered that its original appearance was unrecognizable.

At first glance, his only impression was that it didn't look human.

Indeed, although he could vaguely make out something resembling legs, the remaining parts of the statue still exuded an eerie, nonhuman strangeness.

Other than that, the environment was relatively dry, but the distinctly stale air indicated the location was Underground.

Thinking back to the mission description, this felt more like an ancient tomb than a temple.

The title of tombkeeper was well-deserved.

Of course, none of that was the main point. At this very moment, there was another scent in the air—the pungent stench of blood.

Fu Qian even spotted the source of the smell.

He was currently standing on the left side of the statue, and a face-down corpse lay sprawled on the ground just a short distance in front of it.

From this angle, the body could only be described as torn to shreds.

Straight and curved wounds crisscrossed all over it in a chaotic web, blood still seeping from within them.

The time of death didn't seem to be recent, yet the blood on the stone floor showed no signs of coagulating.

It remained a vivid red, its scent overpowering.

But that wasn't the strangest part. Although the corpse's clothes were soaked in blood, a single glance revealed they were completely undamaged.

It was as if the wounds had spontaneously grown right out of the body itself.

Stepping up to the corpse, Fu Qian picked up a long blade lying nearby and looked it over.

'The effect of a Divine Seal losing control?'

Based on the mission description, it was easy to draw this conclusion.

'It seems the situation is even more severe than described. People are already dying from it.'

With a sigh, Fu Qian flicked his wrist, twirling the blade in a flourish.

He had to admit, the weapon's design was quite unique. The nearly one-meter-long blade was hollowed out from end to end, visually resembling irregular cracks, yet it still retained a significant weight.

As he swung it just now, an eerie whistling wind could be heard.

Aside from that, there was nothing else in the space. Behind him was a tightly shut stone door, the sole entrance and exit.

Of course, things were much livelier beyond that stone door.

"Who's in there?"

Fu Qian could already hear a shout.

'There's actually a demigod too?'

A mere stone door naturally couldn't block his perception.

Fu Qian could clearly discern that more than one person was standing outside, attempting to open the door.

And the one leading them was remarkably a demigod with an unfamiliar aura.

He had to admit, the current situation was a bit awkward.

At this moment, the room looked exactly like a murder scene. Being cornered inside would likely be very difficult to explain.

Especially since, according to Fu Qian's judgment, there was a high probability that the person outside was a demigod from the Academy.

Before confirming exactly what year and month it was, and what his current reputation in the Academy looked like, it was best to hide his identity slightly.

And it needed to be a reasonable identity.

Fu Qian thought for a moment. Keeping his back to the stone door, his facial features rapidly shifted.

The very instant his features finished adjusting, the sound of the stone door opening rang out, and several figures filed inside.

"You're here?"

Fu Qian turned around to look at them very naturally.

At this moment, a total of three people stood before him.

Leading the group was an Old Man completely shrouded in a gray robe. His posture was somewhat bizarre, and he was staring at Fu Qian with snake-like, vertical brown pupils.

'A genuine demigod, unrecognizable, with an extraordinary bone structure.'

Fu Qian immediately appraised him in his mind.

Fortunately, right beside him was actually a familiar face, hair combed to be utterly meticulous.

Fu Qian took a moment before recalling the name belonging to that face—Guan Jingzheng, a tutor at the Sword Comprehension Institute.

As for the last person, his identity was obvious at a glance.

He looked to be in his forties, with thick eyebrows and narrow eyes, wearing a sorrowful expression. A crisscrossing network of dark red stripes covered his entire body, not even sparing his face.

This was likely a member of the troubled Kamakura Family.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Looking at the tragic corpse on the ground, this Transcendent of the Kamakura Family demanded sharply.

"A demigod?"

Fu Qian didn't rush to answer him. In the next moment, it was the demigod Old Man with the brown vertical pupils who voiced a question.

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