Eldritch Horror Theatre

He had to admit, this thing was quite unusual.

After cleanly severing the giant hands lunging at him once again, Fu Qian marveled inwardly.

He had unleashed the Kamakura Family's Meat-Chopping Knife Technique eight consecutive times. His only reward was a far more turbulent pool surface, which now sprouted even more bizarre hands, packed as densely as autumn leaves.

Even though he was using a skill outside his usual repertoire, this level of vitality defied imagination.

His previous theories about this entity had deliberately leaned toward the horrific, but they hadn't been complete nonsense.

Now it seemed that the fundamental power sustaining this thing was truly no lower in Rank than the Severing Divine Seal.

But if this truly was the result of the Nameless Deity's blessing, why was it being targeted so heavily?

The hall above—the one he had punched a hole through—had clearly been sealed off on purpose, not collapsed over time.

Exactly what had happened in these Ruins all those years ago left plenty to the imagination.

Given the performance of the group from the Academy, he certainly couldn't count on them. He wondered how much the Night Watchers knew about this.

Or, considering they were obviously on Ye Island, the local heavyweights at the Anjing Company might know even more.

Mid-thought, Fu Qian raised his sword again, drawing on the insights he had gleaned from his previous eight strikes.

Ji Liushuang's sword was clearly no ordinary weapon, but a web of fine cracks was already visible along its blade.

Even though he was practically indestructible thanks to the Original Sin Sage's Ability, the weapon he was using as a medium for his strikes was clearly under immense stress.

However, the fear of ruining the ritual prop didn't linger in his mind for even a millisecond. A moment later, he held his breath and focused, going as still as an ancient tomb.

When praying to a Deity, how could one harbor stray thoughts!

Clang!

He leaped high into the air before plunging down.

Gripping the hilt with one hand and the tip of the blade with the other, Fu Qian wielded the sword like a half-moon Kitchen Knife, delivering a guillotine strike straight down onto the increasingly twisted arms before him.

This flamboyant strike carried the true essence of the Kamakura Family's Meat-Chopping Knife Technique, diverging slightly from how Kamakura Ki and the others executed it.

During his recent epiphany, Fu Qian had keenly noted the Kamakura Family's awkward restraint with this move. It seemed that because it looked absolutely nothing like traditional swordsmanship, they held back, unable to fully let loose.

But as a professional who understood its true essence, Fu Qian decisively stripped away that subtlety, ruthlessly erasing hundreds of years of the Kamakura Family's refined efforts.

This was the importance of foundational research.

Crack, crack...

As the blade chopped down, a rather pleasant sound finally rang out, quickly cascading into a continuous series of cracks.

Retracting the sword, Fu Qian stepped back. He brought a hand to his face and slowly traced a line across it.

A smooth, clean cut appeared silently along the exact path his finger had just traced.

Was it finally happening?

Watching the spiderweb-like cracks spread across the crystal pool once more, Fu Qian mused in silence.

As a demigod, his perception simply cannot be mentioned in the same breath as the Kamakura Family's.

Fu Qian could feel a unique connection being forged between himself and a specific entity—a bond that was rapidly growing stronger.

There really was an ancient entity down here.

His previous actions had basically been like shouting at the top of his lungs until someone finally heard him.

It was just that this Deity seemed a bit short-tempered.

Before Fu Qian even lowered the hand resting against his face, a second cut appeared across his skin, followed by a third, and then a fourth...

The cuts were packed closely together and appeared with rapid, ruthless precision—far more vicious than what the Kamakura group had endured.

Fu Qian wasn't surprised by this at all.

Given his usual style, he was less a victim of pollution and more a pollution source himself.

Still, this Nameless Deity was being far too inflexible. Did it really lack the magnanimity to save all living beings?

"Come out."

Even as he complained inwardly, Fu Qian called out and turned around.

"Mister Yun..."

Following his abrupt shout, a figure slipped out from behind the stone door.

'You've got quite the nerve, classmate. Don't you know that spying on someone practicing swordplay gets you slashed?'

Fu Qian raised an eyebrow as he looked at the stiff-faced Ji Liushuang.

...

"He went back to the Ruins?"

In the Kamakura Family's courtyard, the tutors couldn't hide their surprise at the news Guan Jingzheng brought back.

He had been one of the people who had just gone back to rest, but he had returned almost immediately.

"Yes. I asked the Kamakura Family's servants, and someone saw Mister Yun head back to The Mountain."

Guan Jingzheng kept his face perfectly blank.

"I don't think he would have gone anywhere else."

"This demigod is likely hiding quite a bit from us."

"He wouldn't have shown up here for no reason."

Someone sighed.

"Still, we should look on the bright side. At the very least, his intentions aren't detrimental to the Kamakura Family."

"I was just about to bring that up."

Guan Jingzheng let out a cold sneer.

"According to Kamakura Keiji, the demigod merely sat there for a while without seeming to do anything. On my way back, I started wondering—is it possible that he genuinely didn't do anything?"

He looked up, meeting a cluster of bewildered gazes.

"He just stopped doing something."

"Are you saying he's the one who caused the Kamakura Family to lose control?"

Someone finally caught on.

"It's just a baseless guess."

Guan Jingzheng's expression remained flat.

"Regardless, the moment the Kamakura Family ran into trouble, he showed up in the Ruins and even offered to help."

"And the end result was that after his proactive treatment, the entire Kamakura Family lost the Divine Seal that represented their sword path. It all feels just a bit too coincidental."

It was highly suspicious...

Once they stepped back from the details and looked at the bigger picture, more than one person realized how fishy the whole situation was.

"Then, going by what you're saying, doesn't that make him the exact target we've been looking for?"

In the ensuing silence, Chang Mo frowned and spoke up.

"Hm?"

Suddenly startled, the group turned to look at Ni Huayuan in unison.

So his earlier theory had actually been correct? The only difference was that their target had been right beside them all along?

Could that really be the case?

Faced with this sudden shift in focus, Ni Huayuan wore a bizarre expression, momentarily speechless.

...

"I'm... here to get my sword back..."

At that moment, Fu Qian looked like a fish prepped for the frying pan. His entire body was covered in a dense network of knife cuts that was still multiplying by the second. It was a genuinely terrifying sight.

Having been exposed, Ji Liushuang hesitated for a moment before pointing at his hand, finally finding her excuse.

"Are you okay?"

After giving her excuse, she couldn't hide her concern over Fu Qian's current state.

"Never better!"

As he spoke, Fu Qian released his grip on his own regenerative powers. Under the clash of the two opposing forces, the countless lacerations across his skin began to snap open and shut, creating a gruesome but spectacular display.

"Also, there's something else I wanted to ask you."

Forcing down the shock of the gory spectacle, Ji Liushuang braced herself and pressed on.

"Hm?"

"When you told Teacher Akai you'd visit the Academy when you had the time, was that true? Will you really come?"

'She took this kind of risk just to ask that?'

Fu Qian glanced at the young woman. Her face was filled with an indescribable sense of anticipation.

"I will."

Feeling the mysterious connection rapidly stabilizing, Fu Qian nodded and flipped the sword around, offering her the hilt.

"It's a good sword."

[Current mission completed. No. 3-0129 Containment successful.]

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