Eldritch Horror Theatre

Professor Lisa was very likely not human.

Fu Qian had harbored this suspicion right from the start.

It largely came down to her motive for being here.

Casi wouldn’t lie about something like this. He undeniably wanted Fu Qian’s opinion.

Given that, his decision to bring Lisa along was somewhat baffling.

Something as trivial as guiding him to the laboratory could easily have waited until after the matter was settled.

Nor was it likely that this academic expedition was simply short an attendant.

Furthermore, there was the matter of Professor Lisa’s clearly contradictory attire.

Setting aside her overall aura, during his careful observation just now, Fu Qian had actually spent most of his time looking at Professor Lisa’s neck.

Against her decidedly academic style, a glossy black metal collar sat prominently around her throat. It severely clashed with the rest of her look.Moreover, despite her deliberate attempts to disguise it, Fu Qian was absolutely certain it was a transcendent item.

For her to insist on wearing a transcendent item even at the cost of ruining her outfit meant it was incredibly important. It practically screamed of concepts like suppression or transformation.

It was entirely possible that Professor Lisa needed the item to maintain her current form.

Upon realizing this, Fu Qian decisively slipped into the role of an expert and inquired about the female tutor’s academic insights. This was both a test and a show of cooperation.

Judging by Casi’s reaction, he hadn’t been overthinking things.

Professor Lisa seemed exceptionally sensitive to topics regarding species.

So much so that she was currently still standing there in a daze, looking as if she had just suffered a severe blow.

She wasn’t human, and her usual sense of identity was likely somewhat extreme—that was Fu Qian’s assessment.

Casi had likely brought her along to use the stark contrast of a universally acknowledged ”noble and elegant” creature degenerating into a giant maggot to counsel her, helping her establish a proper outlook on life.

Coupled with Fu Qian’s own guidance, Professor Lisa had clearly taken the lesson to heart.

The only question now was: if she wasn’t human, what exactly was she?

”Thank you for your guidance, Professor Fu. I believe I have gained a great deal today.”

Just as Fu Qian was wondering about this, Lisa finally spoke, her tone sounding as though she had achieved instant enlightenment.

Although she was thanking Fu Qian, her eyes were fixed on Casi; she clearly understood her superior’s painstaking efforts.

”So, how old are you exactly, Professor Fu?”

The next moment, Lisa turned her head back to him.

”In my opinion, words like those require both profound wisdom and rich life experience.”

Brilliant!

Truly an intellectual. She had seamlessly flattered her boss while taking a jab at Fu Qian’s age to reclaim some face, killing two birds with one stone.

The question was so perfectly crafted that Fu Qian almost wanted to clap in admiration.

Of course, that wasn’t even the most impressive part—Professor Lisa had turned her head in the exact same direction as before.

This meant her neck had already rotated more than four hundred degrees. It had even silently elongated, bringing her face less than twenty centimeters away from his own.

I think I know what race she is... Dean Casi is truly a man of his word!

He had encountered a similar scene back when he braved the Rotten Forest Underground Passage.

Fu Qian’s first reaction was to look past the face right in front of him and peer behind Lisa.

Below her genuinely serpentine waist, there was absolutely nothing that shouldn’t be there.

”She really doesn’t have a tail?”

The next moment, he looked at Casi in surprise.

The rumors about the Apocalypse Branch’s Giant Serpent Maiden weren’t just baseless after all.

...

The moment that question left his mouth, both of their faces darkened simultaneously.

”Tail?”

Subconsciously reaching back to cover her rear, Lisa twisted her neck around yet another revolution to glare at Casi, her tone laced with poorly concealed murderous intent.

Not only had her attempt to scare him completely failed, but this guy’s first reaction to seeing her like this was to ask about a tail?

It left a lot to the imagination regarding exactly what kind of conversation they had been having behind her back.

”Uh, well, last time...”

It was clear that Lisa held a fairly high position within the Apocalypse. The usually mighty and imposing Dean Casi actually started to stammer after being caught red-handed like this.

”Watch out!”

Fortunately, the three of them were already near the edge of the massive crater. While they were talking, a giant bat with beating wings of light and a bone-armored face spotted them and dove straight at them.

Thanks to Fu Qian’s warning, Casi instantly snapped to attention. A long whip of black flames shot out and wrapped directly around the creature.

A demigod’s methods were truly miraculous. Even though the giant bat barely possessed a physical form, it was still tightly bound, and the flaming whip continued to constrict around it.

The beast’s ferocity didn’t wane in the slightest. The bone armor on its face peeled open, and after it snapped its jaws futilely at empty air, the eerie emerald light radiating from its body began to tremble.

”It’s trying to call something else over.”

Lisa realized what it was doing and warned them instantly.

”Don’t worry.”

Casi snorted. Reaching out with his other hand without hesitation, he clamped a grip of black flame over its hideous, bone-armored face and gave a vicious tear.

The terrifying giant bat didn’t even make a sound before the light composing its body shattered, dissipating into nothingness.

”It doesn’t seem all that noble or elegant, and this bone armor certainly wasn’t a shackle!”

Casi snorted, summarizing the results of his little test as he played with the pure white bone in his hand. A moment later, he handed the mask-like piece of loot straight to Lisa.

”I wasn’t planning on hunting today, but since it delivered itself right to our doorstep, take this back for some preliminary testing.”

...

Seeing the Dean forcibly use his fresh spoils of war to change the subject, Lisa hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out to accept it. She even pulled out a pouch embroidered with strange patterns to carefully store it away.

Could that be her shed skin?

Fu Qian had a sneaking suspicion, but he wasn’t in any rush to draw more aggro.

While the giant bat had certainly been aggressive, it hadn’t actually attacked them on its own initiative. It had been dragged over.

Seeing how awkward the situation had gotten, he had casually fired off a Thread of Attachment to help his boss out of a tight spot.

If he provoked Lisa any further right now, the Dean probably wouldn’t be able to handle the fallout.

”So, what exactly is this about a tail?”

Unexpectedly, Professor Lisa possessed the sheer stubbornness of a true researcher. After stowing the item away and hanging the pouch from her waist, she still refused to let Casi off the hook.

”It was just a minor question I was curious about and asked the Dean earlier.”

Casi’s eyes betrayed another plea for help. Clearing his throat, Fu Qian slowly spoke up.

”I asked him if the Apocalypse Branch had a legendary Dragon Maiden. The Dean told me there wasn’t a Dragon Maiden, but there was a Giant Serpent Maiden, and that she didn’t have a tail.”

”I see...”

Clearly not expecting Fu Qian to answer so honestly, Casi pulled a bitter face, only to hear Lisa let out a soft ”oh” of understanding.

”No wonder you weren’t scared at all. And here I wanted to give you a little fright.”

Surprisingly, there wasn’t much anger in her tone.

Maiden. That was the crucial keyword he absolutely had to mention.

Looking at the baffled and astonished Dean, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

He had extracted that absolutely vital piece of information from Professor Lisa’s earlier question.