Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Is that Horn up there another special item?”

Amid the surging crowd, Lotte followed her sister’s instructions, carefully keeping her distance from the others as she pointed at the Lighthouse overhead.

”Probably not. Valentin might be highly respected, but he’s ultimately just an ordinary person. If it were a transcendent item, they wouldn’t let him touch it.”

Beside her, Veil shook her head, eyeing the massive Horn atop the Lighthouse.

”What about the people next to him?”

”The others... should be prominent figures in Dunis as well, though I’m not too familiar with them. What’s wrong?”

Noticing that her sister wasn’t as cheerful as expected, Veil asked in confusion.

”I don’t know. I just suddenly feel a little anxious.”

Lotte kept her head down, her voice muffled.

”Because of that guy?”Veil didn’t sound surprised.

If that pretentious, mysterious guy really was Lu Ming from the Ring Archipelago, the impact of his words on her sister was entirely predictable.

”Don’t worry. Even though I highly doubt anything will happen, we made special preparations just in case, didn’t we?”

She reached out and tapped her sister’s mask.

”Relax. The crowd here might be ridiculously huge, but if anything actually goes wrong, I’m confident I can get you out safely.”

”...Okay!”

Lotte didn’t say anything else and continued to look up.

Dressed in full formal attire, Count Valentin—his hair and beard entirely white—stepped forward and waved to the crowd.

But it was clear that even someone as highly respected as him didn’t dare waste the crowd’s time.

The thrill-seekers gathered below obviously had no interest in historical origins or symbolic meanings; the slightest delay was met with a chorus of impatient complaints.

Soon, under the gaze of thousands, he took his place directly in front of the massive Horn.

...

They really are right next to me!

Wearing two layers of masks, Fu Qian was currently sizing up the top of the Lighthouse, just like the Veil Sisters.

Aside from Valentin at the Horn, there was an entire senior tour group behind him—clearly all prominent figures of Dunis.

Among the sharply dressed crowd, Fu Qian easily spotted two familiar faces: the Old Man who had provided his operational funds, and Wehle, who was showing his true face without any disguise.

They hid themselves well, but regardless of whether this succeeds or fails, Wehle is definitely losing his cover.

And since Crow Feather’s puppet is here, Crow Feather can appear at any moment.

I just wonder where Ariel went.

Oooom—

As he pondered, the deep, heavy blast of the Horn rang out. It instantly echoed across the docks, forcibly drowning out the noisy crowd.

Yet the Horn didn’t stop. Instead, it grew increasingly intense, blowing with such ferocity that one couldn’t help but worry for Count Valentin’s blood vessels.

As the sound continued to ring out toward the heavens, similar horn blasts echoed from two other directions in the city in succession.

The moment these distant responses rang out, the crowd that had just been silenced erupted into earth-shattering cheers.

...

”What are they doing now?”

Startled by the shouting, Lotte suppressed her eager restlessness and pointed to the side.

All around them, she watched wide-eyed as several people pulled out a mercury-like liquid, threw their heads back, and chugged it.

”Mercury Storm. Strictly speaking, it’s a Transcendent Potion, just with extremely mild effects.”

Veil explained with a grin.

”Drinking it lets you unleash storm-like roars for a short time. It’s practically made for the Clamor Festival.”

”That’s amazing—”

Lotte instantly perked up, her tone tinged with envy.

”Don’t worry, I prepared some for you.”

Veil had already seen through her thoughts, producing a small bottle like a magic trick.

...

Lotte hesitated for only a second before reaching out to take it.

However, just as she lifted her mask to down the potion, an explosive, thunderous roar made her shudder, nearly causing her to lose her footing.

Clutching the small bottle, she instinctively looked toward the source of the sound and spotted a rather burly figure.

This is...

Beneath her shock, Lotte felt a sudden wave of shame over her own cowardice.

Just as she gritted her teeth and prepared to drink the potion, Veil grabbed her wrist.

”Wait!”

”What’s wrong?”

From her voice to the vise-like grip on her hand, Lotte could feel her sister’s tension practically turning into something physical.

”Something’s wrong!”

Veil answered hurriedly.

”That’s not an ordinary person who drank the potion. That’s a transcendent—a mad transcendent!”

Before she could finish speaking, another thunderous roar erupted, its intensity even more exaggerated than the last.

”Let’s go!”

Veil slapped the small bottle out of her sister’s hand, grabbed her, and dragged her away.

...

Did Ariel do this? As expected, Trench Coat Guy wasn’t the only victim.

Fu Qian quietly watched the two transcendents who had suddenly gone mad in the distance.

If memory served, both of them were Night Watchers he had taken note of earlier.

Once the Horn sounded, it was as if a switch had flipped inside them, and they began roaring as if their lives depended on it.

And what they were shouting, without a doubt, was the name of the God of Clamor.

Considering they were respectable Mid Tier transcendents, they wouldn’t be bored enough to act as hype men. It was obvious they had fallen victim to a trick.

Someone had planted a psychological suggestion in them beforehand, forcing them to unleash these roars once the Horn sounded.

No wonder they didn’t care whether Marco and I followed the plan. They had already arranged a backup.

In that case, the legendary Resonance Tide should be coming soon, right?

In fact, Fu Qian could already see that the crowd around the two roaring transcendents—despite having their noses and mouths shaken to the point of bleeding—had not moved out of the way. They even scrambled back to their feet and roared with even greater abandon.

Like a tsunami tearing through the mountains!

Countless shouts of ”Hamadus” surged and overlapped above Haicheng, rapidly swirling into a massive storm.

The sanity of the revelers transformed into wisps of lingering obsession, torn directly into the Tide.

Including the transcendents.

From Fu Qian’s perspective, nearly half of the stationed Night Watchers had already fallen victim in a remarkably short amount of time.

It was clear this thing was already affecting their minds.

”Quiet!”

The next second, a sigh-like voice pierced the storm, faintly suppressing the clamor.

A Demigod from the Night Watchers took action?

Fu Qian nodded, unsurprised by the development.

For a place as important as the Lighthouse, how could there not be a Demigod standing guard?

But why does this voice carry such a lifeless vibe? It feels like their specialty isn’t an exact match for the situation.

It was obvious this person was doing their utmost to suppress the formation of the Tide of Clamor.

And according to Wehle, if the Tide of Clamor wasn’t intense enough, the summoning of Hamadus would likely fail—meaning his own mission would undoubtedly fail as well.

Fu Qian remained rooted to the spot as he thought, having no intention whatsoever of crushing the Talisman in his hand.

He chose to continue trusting his fellow Daoist.