Eldritch Horror Theatre

”I want to play a game.”

On the hidden platform, Fu Qian’s words instantly drew everyone’s attention.

”What are you doing?”

Just as their alliance was barely holding together, finally offering a sliver of hope for survival, no one expected this sudden complication.

All eyes snapped to Fu Qian. Murderous intent instantly surged from Lynn and the others.

Even Elena, halfway through her movement, had to stop and stare at Fu Qian with uncomprehending eyes.

Along the way, she had learned that this temporary ally was mysterious and unpredictable.

But no matter what, she still couldn’t figure out why he was stepping forward at a time like this.

After all, from any perspective, purifying the Fire of Sin on her body to strengthen the Sin Seeker should be a good thing for everyone present.

”For the longest time, you have been infatuated with the superiority your transcendent power brings, seeing yourselves as entirely different from ordinary mortals.”Fu Qian, however, ignored her. Completely unbothered by being surrounded, he continued in a hoarse, low voice.

”It gave you the confidence to act recklessly, the calm to harvest lives, and a firm belief in the iron law of the strong preying on the weak.”

”Unfortunately, you encountered an even greater power one day and became prisoners.”

”Now you are like a bunch of crickets in a jar, forced to fight until only one remains.”

”The saddest part is that you discovered there is a nearly invincible existence in this game.”

”Thus, under the Death Shadow, you abandoned your worship of power and instead learned self-deception from the mortals.”

”Forging fragile alliances, obeying the commands of your rivals, and trying to rely on a power you fundamentally do not understand, all in pursuit of a fleeting sliver of hope.”

”In truth, you know deep down that this is nothing but a futile struggle.”

”At this very moment, your lives have already entered a countdown.”

”So right now, I will give you an opportunity.”

Fu Qian swept his gaze across the crowd, looking at them as if they were already dead.

He hadn’t suddenly spouted a Saw monologue because he wanted to play Jigsaw.

Fu Qian had no real interest in judging others.

The opportunity he spoke of was a genuine chance to push death just a little further away from himself.

Regarding the definition of a sinner in the previous task, he now had several guesses.

The simplest, naturally, referred to everyone participating in this competition.

Regardless of William’s true goal, since he had set this up as a redemption trial and broadcast it for outsiders to see, it was highly likely that these prisoners were soaked in blood, so calling them sinners was accurate enough.

At the same time, a sinner could also be anyone tainted by the Fire of Sin.

That is, anyone who had committed murder in this competition and let the Sin Fire ignite on their bodies—which was obviously much more closely related to the Goddess of Sins.

The last possibility was those tainted by the Fire of Sin who also accepted the goddess’s purification—exactly what Elena was doing just now.

These three possibilities encompassed one another, and no matter which one was true, anyone who stepped forward to receive purification would undoubtedly fall under that definition.

Therefore, as long as one more person achieved redemption, it almost certainly meant another name would be added to his list.

Of course, instantly killing everyone present was the simplest method, but considering there was obviously a problem with the Goddess of Sins, Fu Qian was in no rush to taint himself with the Sin Fire.

Even if he had to be tainted, it couldn’t be by too much.

Moreover, one of his tasks was to prevent the Goddess of Sins from animating.

It was necessary to figure out what the goddess’s animation actually meant. If sinners were not limited to this slaughter game and he had already killed everyone here, it would become very troublesome later.

So Fu Qian’s first reaction was to stop this group from stepping up to seek redemption, partly to reduce the potential number of sinners.

More importantly, he wanted to disrupt this game and make things spiral out of control as much as possible.

Only when things became chaotic would more secrets be exposed.

”Don’t blame me for not warning you, but the Goddess Statue cannot be destroyed.”

Elena looked at Fu Qian, her expression solemn.

”Someone else tried that crazy idea before, but unfortunately, no matter what methods they used, they failed.”

”Thanks for the warning!”

Fu Qian nodded. He had seen a few indestructible things like this before, so it wasn’t too strange.

He had already observed it carefully earlier; the Statue itself looked like ordinary stone, likely just a simple projection of the Goddess of Sins.

So he had never actually considered just smashing it with a single slap to complete his task.

”No need to be so violent. It just means that none of you will be communicating with this goddess from now on.”

Fu Qian let out a string of low chuckles.

”There are two choices placed before you. One is to swarm me and see if you can kill this nuisance standing in your way.”

”The other is to pick up your pride and stop trying to rely on this illusory hope.”

”I look forward to your performance.”

...

’Where the fuck did this lunatic come from!’

After Fu Qian’s speech, the prisoners looked at each other in dismay, completely unprepared for this twist.

Aside from that absolute madman, the Butcher, a maniac who didn’t even care about his own life had somehow slipped into their ranks.

”Then you can just go die!”

The man in black who had been confronting Lynn earlier was the first to jump out, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

”I imagine your companion won’t have any objections if I turn you into Sin Fire right now?”

...

Everyone turned their gazes toward Elena and her companion. She avoided the man in black’s eyes and remained silent.

”Excellent—”

The burly man grinned savagely once more.

He dashed forward, cutting past the crowd, and threw a punch.

The wind from his fist howled, fierce as a thunderbolt.

Crack!

The next moment, accompanied by a muffled thud, his sprinting figure flipped over, crashing to the ground in a dizzying spin.

The air grew frighteningly quiet. Everyone stared fixedly at the man in black’s leg.

It had cleanly and decisively snapped in two.

Fuu!

Fu Qian calmly blew on his fingertips, as if blowing smoke from the barrel of a gun.

”Next.”

...

Amidst the agonizing pain, the man in black glared fixedly at Fu Qian, his expression practically frozen.

What exactly was this guy’s background? He wasn’t even sure what the man had used to break his leg!

”What are you doing? Hurry up and finish him off!”

Having recovered his senses slightly, the man in black turned toward the crowd and roared hoarsely.

Unfortunately, he was only met with evasive glances.

’You people...’ The suppressed terror in the man in black’s heart erupted uncontrollably, turning into sharp, piercing curses.

”Keep your voice down... you’ll attract the Butcher.”

The next moment, Lynn was the first among the crowd to make a move.

He took two steps forward and crouched down beside the man.

”You—”

The man in black’s pupils shrank abruptly. However, before he could finish his sentence, his head had already rolled onto the ground.