Eldritch Horror Theatre

Mister Luo’s understated remark instantly caused a massive stir.

”You planted it?”

The priest, who had been screaming himself hoarse and posturing for a fight to the death, suddenly froze. He began to convulse as if having a seizure.

”What did you think?”

Mister Luo looked at him with a meaningful smile.

”How do you think you discovered the method of extracting the dolls to resist the distortion? Did you believe the old adage that wherever a venomous snake roams, an antidote must grow within seven paces?”

”Or did you think it was answered prayers and the mercy of the gods?”

”Since this was a test, certain things naturally had to be set up in advance. This Fool Tree is an incredibly precious asset. Fortunately, your subsequent performance has left me very satisfied with the arrangement. It was well worth the price I paid.”

”You... this...”

The priest could barely form words. He collapsed weakly to his knees, staring toward the white tree with a shattered expression.This was what it looked like when faith crumbled.

Fu Qian understood it perfectly well.

The man was clearly a zealot of this Sacred Tree faith, which was obvious from his willingness to flay and butcher the exploration team.

To suddenly learn that the supreme object of his worship had been casually planted by a stranger was probably like finding out the goddess of his dreams turned tricks for three hundred a night.

A mental breakdown was only natural.

”Why the long face? Look at it from another angle—I’m the one who gave you the ability to survive here... as well as your mastery over Transcendent power.”

”Otherwise, with the mediocre aptitude most of you possess, this would be something forever beyond your reach.”

”Naturally, it’s now time for you to repay me.”

Hearing this, the priest jolted in alarm. Realizing what was coming, he instinctively summoned layer upon layer of Grey Curtains in front of him.

However, in the very next moment, a thick Magma Longwhip materialized out of thin air from the Frenzied Spirit in Mister Luo’s hand.

The longwhip punched through every obstacle with unstoppable force, piercing straight through the priest’s skull.

The curtains shattered. Yet the priest, despite having a gaping hole blown through his head, remained standing.

Inside the massive cavity in his skull, flesh, blood, and brains frantically writhed. Tendrils of meat knit together, desperately trying to heal the wound.

Mister Luo ignored him. Blurring into motion, he snatched up the doll, which had gone sluggish the moment the priest was wounded.

The doll was already severely damaged, its body covered in a dense web of cracks.

He tightened his grip, producing a teeth-setting crunch.

The doll completely disintegrated, crushed to fragments just like the others.

In the next instant, the priest’s regenerating body lost whatever was sustaining it and crashed heavily to the ground.

”It’s a pity...”

Mister Luo shook his head gently, feeding the newly acquired porcelain shards to the Frenzied Spirit.

”As the leader of this group, your aptitude was truly mediocre. You completely wasted the position.”

...

”I went over the entire plan. Why did I never hear anything about planting a tree?”

Having witnessed this scene, Miyamoto finally couldn’t hold his tongue.

”When you approached us for cooperation, this area had already been under our control for years. How could you have possibly come here to set things up in advance?”

”Impossible?”

Mister Luo looked at Miyamoto with amusement.

”As I just said, you people know absolutely nothing. You have no idea of this area’s true value.”

”Long before you arrived, this place was already teeming with the power of polluted distortion.”

Mister Luo held the doll in his hand high.

”This power is as bizarre as it is mighty. It can grant unimaginable nourishment and Transcendent abilities to any living creature that delves into it. At the same time, the uncontrollable distortion means you have absolutely no say over what you ultimately become.”

”I poured a great deal of effort into this, running countless tests before finally discovering this method.”

”The Fool Tree, an exceedingly rare Transcendent organism, symbolizes the power of splitting. Exposed to its influence over a long period, even the mind will uncontrollably dissociate. I planted it here in an attempt to separate the Transcendent power from its host and allow it to exist in a special form, thereby bypassing the chaotic side effects. Opposing yet unified, maintaining a miraculous connection with the main body as it continually grows.”

Mister Luo pointed to the Frenzied Spirit in his hand.

”Finally, we obtained these dolls—beings that naturally transcend the physical body.”

”Although most of them are far too mediocre and only fit to be dismantled for materials, I was lucky. This time, I finally found a special specimen!”

”You’ve been using us this whole time?”

Miyamoto’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.

While he wasn’t sure what Mister Luo wanted with this special doll, the fact that the old man was openly telling him all this practically guaranteed he wouldn’t be leaving this place alive.

”Regardless, you wouldn’t want the Night Watchers to find out what you’ve done, right?”

Driven by a sheer desire to survive, Miyamoto instinctively grasped for a lifeline.

”If I disappear, my father will do everything in his power to find me, and the Night Watchers will absolutely not let you get away with this!”

”Are you joking?”

Mister Luo looked at him, amused.

”If you had half a brain, you would realize that after you die, the ones most afraid of the Night Watchers will be your own family.”

...

His final threat having failed, Miyamoto was left completely speechless.

The very next moment, his pupils dilated sharply as a blinding green net of fire swept over him, enveloping him completely.

The instant the fiery net touched him, an invisible shield sprang to life from his tailored jacket.

Yet it held for barely a split second before shattering under the scorching heat.

The glaring net of fire engulfed him, searing deep into his flesh.

Crackle!

A moment later, Miyamoto’s body was reduced to a pile of fist-sized, charred chunks of meat that scattered across the ground in a radial pattern.

”Ah!”

Amidst the screaming, someone finally cracked under the sheer horror of the scene.

The female team member behind Delin shrieked as she bolted into the distance.

Mister Luo watched her frantic sprint with keen interest.

He waited until she had covered some distance. Then, he vanished from his spot, instantly reappearing directly behind her.

The Frenzied Spirit, wreathed in green flames, reached out with both hands and cradled the woman’s head.

As his synchronization with the Frenzied Spirit deepened, Mister Luo’s mastery over its abilities grew increasingly practiced.

Countless fiery fissures bloomed across the woman’s face. Bizarrely, her head was simply lifted right off her neck.

Mister Luo stood right where he was, holding the charred head in his hands to admire it, while the woman’s headless corpse sprinted several more meters before finally crashing to the ground.

Because the wound on her neck had already been carbonized, not a single drop of blood spilled.

Casually tossing the head aside, Mister Luo turned and looked expressionlessly at Fu Qian.

From beginning to end, Fu Qian hadn’t shifted his feet a single inch.

”It seems you truly don’t care whether these people live or die!”

”Isn’t that obvious? It boggles the mind that you actually thought you could use them to threaten me.”

Fu Qian sighed helplessly and made a gesture.

”Be my guest.”

”No need. This is enough.”

While Delin and the other survivor remained as mute as winter cicadas, Mister Luo loosened his grip on the doll’s neck.

Rather than flee, the Frenzied Spirit actively cooperated with his movements, perching obediently on his shoulder.

”After this brief workout, the synchronization is completely finished.”

”Now, to prevent any further complications, I’ve decided to send you on your way first.”