Eldritch Horror Theatre

While Akasha's Claw Tip was by no means an ordinary item, it still fell somewhat short when faced with a Divine Emissary Grade silencing method.

It held out for a mere half-second. A blood-like liquid began seeping from the dark red surface of the section placed into the flames, evaporating instantly.

A strange fragrance wafted out in its wake, intoxicating the senses.

Truth be told, Fu Qian had wondered before the experiment if it might smell like roasted crab legs. The results proved otherwise.

It was an alluring scent that struck almost at a genetic level, practically grabbing people by the head and shoving their thoughts toward lust.

After taking a whiff, Fu Qian even recalled a certain movie he had seen years ago.

In it, the protagonist collected the scents of numerous women to craft a masterpiece of a perfume. Its effect was probably a hundred times weaker than what was happening right in front of him.

In an instant, the entire bar fell under the spell. The sights and sounds descended into utter chaos, to the point that no one even noticed the human torch blazing in the corner.

"You're welcome."

Fu Qian sat quietly in place, hiding his achievements and fame.

Five seconds into the chaos, someone outside finally couldn't stand it anymore.

A dense cloud of white mist rapidly blanketed the entire bar.

The temperature plummeted in an instant. Fu Qian could almost hear the tables and chairs creaking as they succumbed to the bitter cold.

The patrons fared even worse. Their movements slowed to a crawl as their burning passion was forcibly cooled.

"Get out."

A moment later, accompanied by that icy voice, a figure materialized inside the bar.

Judging by the aura, this was undoubtedly a Demigod. But this appearance...

Studying the bar's latest arrival, Fu Qian found himself momentarily surprised.

Though the voice had sounded female, the creature standing there was actually a frost wolf on all fours.

She stood about a meter tall, her slender, semi-transparent body enshrouded in white mist from head to tail. She looked like a spirit stepping out of the snow, her deep blue eyes locked dead onto his position.

He definitely didn't recognize her.

Demigods really were a dime a dozen in this place.

This had to be the one who just cast that Physical Mind-Purifying Universal Benevolence Mantra.

Amidst Fu Qian's musings, several more figures flashed into existence.

Leading the pack were Akasha and Ballard, the pair he had shared that enthusiastic conversation with earlier.

Their reactions were perfectly synchronized. They inspected the dying flames of the corpse before staring in sheer shock at Fu Qian's outfit.

Akasha, in particular, froze as her eyes locked onto the half-burnt severed claw in Fu Qian's hand. Her gaze darted back and forth between him and Ballard, her expression impossibly complex.

It couldn't be helped. Aside from the color scheme, their outfits were far too similar.

...

"Who are you?"

Although the person in question, Ballard, had his face hidden, he was clearly just as shaken. He was the first to speak.

"Hah... Ballard..."

Encased entirely in that bizarre armor, Fu Qian sighed to himself with deep emotion.

"You lingering ghosts of the Practitioners of Order. Seeing you really sours my mood."

"Are you trying to claim that you're the 'Clown'?"

Ballard sneered.

"Leaving aside the obvious difference in Rank, you really should have done more research before trying to impersonate someone. The Clown would never, under any circumstances, take on my appearance!"

"Clown, Andiel, call me whatever you like."

Fu Qian paid the suspicion no mind whatsoever.

"As for this look, I had it custom-tailored. What do you think?"

...

It was obvious Ballard wanted nothing more than to chop him down with a sword right then and there.

But as the sole witness to the scene, no matter how bizarre his identity was, Ballard couldn't do that just yet.

"Where is that group?"

Ballard bluntly shifted the subject.

"Internal strife. They left."

Fu Qian's reply was just as succinct.

"Impossible—"

"I know. You laid an inescapable net outside, and as outsiders, there was no way they could slip away so easily."

"Unfortunately, they had two Divine Emissaries on their team."

Fu Qian dropped the most explosive piece of information with the calmest tone imaginable.

"There was even someone bordering on a Divine Emissary keeping watch in a carriage not far from here. They saw your operation coming a mile away."

Divine Emissary...

The title clearly carried immense deterrent power. The auras of the Demigods instantly stagnated.

However, the fact that two Demigods had just died simultaneously made it impossible to deny the possibility.

"So, aren't you glad they ran off?"

Fu Qian's voice turned teasing.

"After all, even if you managed to drown them in numbers, those of you leading the vanguard would have faced a rather high casualty rate."

...

"So you're saying the one who died was Andiel? Then why are you holding my property?"

Ballard was momentarily at a loss for words, prompting Akasha to finally speak up.

"Were you using that to confirm Andiel was here?"

Fu Qian twirled the fire-tempered claw tip between his fingers.

"Clever, but not quite clever enough."

"Playing those sorts of tricks in front of a Divine Emissary carries a massive risk!"

His meaning was crystal clear: Akasha's probing had been overly reckless and had ultimately exposed her intentions.

"You still haven't explained why you have that in your hands!"

As Akasha reeled from the blow, the frost wolf—who had spoken only a single sentence since arriving—spoke again.

"Great question!"

Despite her inhuman appearance, Fu Qian didn't underestimate her in the slightest, turning his gaze toward her.

"Because what just burned to ashes was the Clown's body, along with Andiel's will."

"Faced with that Hunting Squad, I couldn't fight back at all. I was just lying here spiraling into madness. But suddenly, there was a moment where my mind became incredibly clear."

He pointed at his own head.

"Next, I watched as 'my' body rapidly began to burn."

"Are you saying... the other party used some special method to swap your minds?"

Akasha frowned tightly. She understood what he meant, but she was entirely unwilling to believe it.

"A Divine Emissary's methods are hard to fathom. But obviously, I wasn't the goal of this action, because they left immediately after finishing it."

Fu Qian recited the script he had prepared long ago.

"That's also why I think they fell into internal strife."

"A mind swap... I've never heard of such an ability."

Ballard's faceplate parted slightly as he frowned at the frost wolf.

"Crystal, what do you think?"

"The people in the bar do indeed bear strange marks. They surpass my understanding, and the Rank is very high."

Though she wasn't human in shape, it was still obvious that the Demigod named Crystal was nodding.

"But this one-sided story doesn't prove anything."

"I think you should hand him over to the Prophet and let him make the judgment."

"...I actually think killing this guy right now is the best way to handle this."

Ballard was clearly very unhappy about Fu Qian copying his outfit and leaned toward just offing him on the spot.

"If he were that easy to kill, would he still be sitting here telling us all this?"

Crystal's voice suddenly grew overbearing. With a sharp question, she forcefully demanded that Ballard follow her suggestion.

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