Eldritch Horror Theatre

They really hadn't gone far. Was it truly a case of 'wealth is found in danger'?

Watching the unfamiliar woman swiftly take control of the situation, Fu Qian took a seat and marveled silently.

Her appearance and voice had changed, but that level of disguise meant little to him.

Without a doubt, this was the baby-faced demigod Echo in disguise.

And the location of this bar was practically right on top of where his Thread of Attachment had snapped.

The squad hadn't bothered with a long-distance retreat. Opting for the strategy that the most dangerous place was the safest, they had simply disguised themselves and hidden right where they were.

Echo's disguise was proof of that.

Meanwhile, another person still occupied the booth she had just risen from. Even from a distance, a heavy hood couldn't completely conceal his thick beard.

It went without saying: that was Stoss, the Divine Emissary of the Night Watchers.

Truth be told, they had chosen an excellent spot.

Beneath the strobe lights, the already faint traces of their abnormal nature were completely washed out.

As for their remaining two members, they were nowhere to be seen. Still, Fu Qian figured it was highly unlikely they had gone off hunting on their own.

...

"Have a seat, Mr. Clown."

Having pacified the chaos, Echo gestured toward her booth, inviting the Clown to join them.

The Clown stroked his new mask. Far from looking disappointed, he actually seemed quite thrilled.

At the lady's invitation, he turned and swept into a deep bow like an actor at a curtain call.

"It would be my honor, madam."

His dramatics left Echo momentarily speechless. Shaking her head, she led the way back to the table.

As she turned, however, she cast a glance in Fu Qian's direction, whether intentionally or not.

Meeting her eyes, Fu Qian didn't flinch. Leaning back in his seat, he simply pantomimed raising a glass to her from across the room.

You had to allow people a little curiosity.

Walking into a bar wearing a mask was bound to draw a few stares anywhere; it was only human nature.

Even though there was a ninety percent chance Echo and Stoss were waiting specifically for him.

...

Regardless, too much time had passed since their successful hunt. A victorious team should have relocated long ago.

Hiding in the darkness under the lamp might sound like a passable explanation, but it certainly wasn't the optimal choice.

Their entire purpose was to hunt. Even if Ballard and the others didn't suspect this bar, did they really plan on sitting here waiting by the stump for a hare?

Yet they were doing exactly that, which made their reasoning rather intriguing.

Who was the most likely person to visit this exact spot after the incident?

The Thread of Attachment might be impossible to sever, but that didn't mean it couldn't be detected.

He was dealing with two Divine Emissaries, one of whom was a master of puppetry. Underestimating them was out of the question.

Suppose they had noticed the Thread of Attachment he'd anchored to that half of a demigod. Add to that the fact that, thanks to his improvised patchwork, they must have experienced an unexpectedly violent backlash after successfully hunting those two demigods.

Caught in a dilemma, what would a crew of seasoned High-Tier Transcendents most likely do?

If they refused to give up, they would try to figure out exactly what had gone wrong.

And who better to interrogate than the mysterious figure who had brazenly taunted them earlier?

Especially when that figure had actually left a tracking clue behind.

In Fu Qian's estimation, finding this squad right where his Thread of Attachment had snapped practically guaranteed they had discovered his little trick.

They had laid a trap right here, waiting to see if he would walk into it.

Naturally, that was exactly why Fu Qian had come here.

And they hadn't disappointed him.

...

"Mr. Clown, I thought you'd choose to do something a little more interesting."

Fu Qian's pantomime clearly took Echo slightly by surprise, but she quickly averted her gaze, taking a seat and turning her attention to the Clown.

"The thrills here must seem a little dull to you by now, wouldn't you say?"

So when the Clown sliced his own carriage in half, this crew really had been waiting on the sidelines, close enough to hear every word.

Listening in on them, Fu Qian nodded to himself.

He had never expected Echo's group to not notice him at all. As long as they didn't realize he was the one they were waiting for before he removed his mask, that was enough.

That was the beauty of dealing with professionals: you could easily hide behind things that defied normal logic.

He had already confirmed that even a knowledgeable Divine Emissary like Nepheli couldn't detect anything unusual about his mask.

So no matter how suspicious his behavior was, Echo and the others would quickly categorize him alongside lunatics like the Clown.

Right now, he was the absolute darkness under the lamp.

"How could they be?"

The Clown could clearly tell that the woman in front of him was terrifying. She was an entity far beyond his ability to fight; killing him was simply a matter of whether she felt like it.

Yet, despite the threat, he continued to smile brightly.

Just as that guy from earlier had said, there was a far less boring spectacle going on here—he got to watch two High-Tier Transcendents playing ostrich.

"Aren't I doing something interesting right now?"

The next moment, he pointed at the mask on his own face.

"I suppose you are. Was this your own idea?"

Faced with the Clown's antics, Echo glanced at Stoss, who was silently drinking, sighed inaudibly, and even slid a glass over to him.

"No, it was inspired by a friend."

The Clown lowered his head, watching the liquor under the strobe lights.

"Oh? What is this friend's name? Did he tell you to come here?"

Echo's eyes lit up.

"No, no, no..."

To her surprise, at those words, the previously cooperative Clown began shaking his head frantically, wagging a finger at her.

"Go back to how you were."

"That question is far too boring. Don't degenerate so quickly."

"Degenerate?"

Demigods undoubtedly had tempers. Repeatedly stonewalled by this lunatic, Echo's expression finally turned ice-cold.

"You don't seem to understand the situation you're in."

She was a woman who was decisive and ruthless. She brushed her hand lightly over the glass in front of the Clown, and the liquor inside turned as crimson as blood in the blink of an eye.

In fact, it was blood. Even from across the room, Fu Qian could smell its bizarre, coppery stench.

"I know you don't fear death, but there are fates far worse than dying," Echo said slowly, staring the Clown down.

"Your face isn't the only thing that can be turned into a mask."

"If you like, your entire body could be turned into a completely conscious, indestructible mask. You would be constantly picked up and worn by the very people you find boring, forced to endlessly witness mundane things. Believe me, that would last a very, very long time."

She spoke in a gentle tone, but the threat in her words was unmistakable.

And it was quite obvious that the scenario she described was indeed far more terrifying to the Clown than death.

"Oh?"

Even the Clown fell silent for a moment before finally speaking up.

"So does that mean you'll be the one wearing me on your face?"

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