Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What do you mean?"

Kamakura Ki hesitated, not quite understanding. A moment later, Ni Huayuan stood and walked over to the half-ruined statue.

"Don't you think this statue is a bit different from the ones outside?"

After studying it for a moment, he asked without looking back.

"It is a little different."

Prompted by Ni Huayuan, everyone, including Brother Ah Kai, nodded slightly.

"It feels much more inhuman."

"Indeed..."

"It seems so..."

Ah Kai's comment immediately drew widespread agreement.

They hadn't just been wandering aimlessly outside. Although they hadn't found a single intact statue out there either, simply comparing the lower halves was enough to spot the discrepancy.

The statues outside clearly depicted the same figure, and they appeared almost entirely human.

The one inside shared a similar style of armor, but its bodily proportions and standing posture gave off a deeply uncomfortable feeling.

In short, it didn't look very human.

"It really is different."

The professional Tombkeeper, Kamakura Ki, finally noticed the abnormality. He looked surprised.

"This is the first time I've seen a design like this."

"What a dutiful Tombkeeper. You even kept yourself outside."

Ni Huayuan mocked him without holding back. Kamakura Ki's old face instantly flushed red.

Given his recent display, however, the old man had no grounds to argue.

"So, according to you, there are no statues like this anywhere else?"

Fortunately, Ni Huayuan didn't press the issue, quickly refocusing on the anomaly before them.

"Not to my knowledge."

Kamakura Ki shook his head firmly at first. But remembering the intense scrutiny he had just faced, he couldn't help but glance at the others for confirmation.

"There shouldn't be..."

"Never seen one..."

The other members of the Kamakura Family chimed in to support him.

"But your uncle died here, which means he at least knew about it."

Ni Huayuan fell silent in thought.

"And when faced with an unsolvable predicament, his first thought was to come here to look for a solution..."

He glanced at Fu Qian and the others. Seeing them watching like spectators at a play, Ni Huayuan let out a cold snort and raised a hand to gesture.

"Step back a bit. Retreat toward the door."

As Kamakura Ki hastily led his people backward, Ni Huayuan leveled one hand, aiming it at the statue.

For the Tombkeeper Family, this action was frankly a bit disrespectful. But their feelings were clearly not among Ni Huayuan's considerations.

A rather chilling scene unfolded next.

The skin below the elbow of Ni Huayuan's raised right arm began to ripple incessantly. It was as if bubbles were bulging up from within, causing his arm to rapidly swell.

Upon closer inspection, these bubbles seemed somewhat illusory and unreal, growing out from the skin like phantom silhouettes.

A few seconds later, the clustered bubbles expanded to their limit. Their color darkened, and they slowly began to peel off his arm like a snake shedding its skin.

When this shed "skin" hit the ground, it didn't dissipate. Instead, it writhed restlessly, stretching into the shape of a head and four limbs before rapidly transforming into something solid.

In a matter of moments, a bizarre hound with a maw full of sharp teeth and a single blood-red eye appeared.

It wasn't just its eye that was red; the hound's body was bloody and raw. A single glance revealed various pieces of Carrion and sinew wrapped around it. Fu Qian could actually smell a pungent, foul stench. It looked exactly like a bio-weapon dog infected with the T-virus.

What is this? An evil spirit? A familiar? A manifestation of will?

To Fu Qian's senses, the entity's form of existence was undoubtedly special. It seemed to occupy a space between a spiritual body and actual flesh and blood, radiating an intuitive sense of chaos.

As an instructor of the Linghui Courtyard, it doesn't surprise me that he knows some Summoning Technique or the like, but isn't this design a bit too disgusting?

Fu Qian frowned as he watched.

Yet, surprisingly, it wasn't over.

As the bio-hound circled Ni Huayuan, he raised his other hand.

A similar scene played out again. This time, what struggled out of his left hand was another wolf- or dog-like creature. Its overall appearance was slightly more normal, even sporting a coat of grayish-white fur.

The only issue was that as it walked, human faces rippled across its fur, complete with practically tangible eyeballs.

What on earth is everyone researching these days!

Amid Fu Qian's internal complaints, Ni Huayuan finished his summoning and commanded the two Glove hounds to act.

Soundlessly, they first circled the statue and the bloodstains on the ground. Then, unexpectedly synchronizing their movements, they charged straight at the wall behind the statue.

Did they actually find something?

For a moment, all eyes were fixed on their actions. Just as they rushed up to the wall, looking as though they were about to bash their heads in to commit suicide, the bodies of the two Glove hounds passed directly through the stone. They swayed from side to side, treating the barrier as if it didn't exist.

"It seems there are some traces after all."

A strange light flickered in Ni Huayuan's eyes as he shot a glance at Kasi.

The implication was clear: leave professional matters to the professionals. You brutes from the Apocalypse Branch should just stick to researching how to throw fireballs and stop embarrassing yourselves out here, jie jie jie...

Of course, the latter half of that was purely Fu Qian dubbing over the scene in his head.

Given the man's triumphant demeanor, Fu Qian thought it captured the mood perfectly.

Awooo...

In the very next second, however, miserable howls rang out. As if they had encountered something utterly terrifying, the two hounds immediately turned tail and fled back the way they came.

Unfortunately, they hadn't run more than a few steps before a massive, single-eyed dog head came rolling across the floor, leaving its headless body to continue sprinting forward.

Next to it, the gray-furred hound had both of its front legs cleanly severed, causing it to instantly collapse to the ground.

Yet even with only two hind legs remaining, it resolutely kept trying to sprint. Ultimately, along with its headless comrade, it fell apart into scattered chunks of meat across the floor.

A foul stench, ten times stronger than before, flooded the entire space.

Amid the dead silence, Ni Huayuan's face turned frightfully pale.

"How could this happen?"

Kamakura Ki cried out in shock, unable to comprehend what had just taken place.

"It seems someone else has mastered your Sword of Curses."

At this moment, Guan Jingzheng spoke up.

Pointing at the scattered chunks on the floor—which were now dissipating at a visible rate—he displayed his acute sensitivity toward the sword path.

"The cuts sprouted from within. It doesn't look like any of you made a move, did you?"

"...We didn't."

As Kamakura Ki shook his head subconsciously, Guan Jingzheng looked toward the wall.

"Then there seems to be an entity behind that wall who can also use Cursed Swordsmanship. Could it be one of your Tombkeepers on duty?"

"Impossible."

Kamakura Ki immediately shook his head.

"Other than us few, everyone in the Kamakura Family is standing by outside. There is absolutely no way anyone would be running around at a time like this."

"Is that so?"

Ni Huayuan took over the conversation, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Then it seems we need to find a way to get back there and take a look."

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