Eldritch Horror Theatre

A high-end technique like Feint to the East and Strike to the West was naturally not a spontaneous move by this ”horse.”

After this period of contact, Fu Qian had gained a solid grasp of the Celestial Sphere Cult’s style.

To sum it up: they were ”principled.”

Much like the commandments they revered, they were ruthless and unsparing within what they deemed reasonable bounds. However, once those limits were reached, they possessed remarkable discipline not to cross the line.

Along the way, serving as a new case of interest to them, he had successively come into contact with Nightmares, disease, and pollution, ultimately even letting a pollution-related bloodsucking worm bite him.

It was obvious this had reached their limits.

Fu Qian didn’t doubt that Reginald could solve the problem in front of them, but he could easily imagine what The Order’s subsequent reaction would be once this was over.

Judging by the attitudes of Amira and Reginald, he suspected that the moment they got out, this observation project—prompted by his ”uniqueness”—would be firmly concluded with a null result.

Aside from follow-up visits to determine if he needed to be locked in an asylum, it was highly probable no further resources would be invested in him.

The Painting World might just be treated as an ordinary collective dream.But until he squeezed out everything The Order had to offer, Fu Qian would not allow such a thing to happen.

So he needed to give them a ”valid” result right now to continue swindling funding—bah, increasing their scientific research investment.

Thus, right when the little horse threw itself at him, Fu Qian directly used Thread of Attachment to yank it over.

The effect was quite good. Fu Qian was certain his execution had been flawless; the two civil clerics would absolutely never notice.

The only problem was that with this sticky mess plastered all over him, the expensive outfit Brother Anke had bought was instantly ruined.

He could only hope this damage wouldn’t carry over to the outside world.

...

How was this possible!

With this sudden turn of events, not only did Reginald feel as though he’d been toyed with and cast aside, but Amira, who was covering their flanks, stared in horror at the staggering Fu Qian.

Had its target been Anke all along?

It was far smarter than they had imagined, feigning an attack on Reginald only to launch a sudden ambush.

He was clearly still wearing the mask, so how could... Was it because he’d been bitten?

But he showed no special changes whatsoever.

Amidst her flurry of thoughts, Amira decisively dropped the barrier and cast a radiant healing light onto Reginald to help him recover quickly.

”Strange.”

The latter stepped forward in tacit understanding. He didn’t rush to attack, however, but instead looked the afflicted volunteer up and down.

During that strike just now, the ”little horse” had actually darted straight out of its original body and was now plastered all over Anke.

Its head had completely disintegrated, and the rear half of its body was clearly just an unformed, slender strip.

”I thought it wanted to use this method to switch hosts and flee, but it shows no signs of invading him at all. It even faintly looks like it wants to escape. How could this be?”

Soon, the Lead Flame in Reginald’s hand slowly dissipated, leaving his face full of doubt.

’That’s simple enough. This thing might lack intelligence, but its sense of danger is leagues beyond yours.’

Currently ”trapped” and unable to move, Fu Qian heard these words perfectly clearly and remarked inwardly.

The reason this thing wasn’t so ferocious was simple—it didn’t dare to be.

From their initial contact until now, Fu Qian had noticed one thing: compared to how easily he could gauge their levels, these people from the Celestial Sphere Cult were clearly insensitive to things like Rank.

During his numerous maneuvers along the way, from concealing his aura to gradually releasing it, and even intentionally generating fluctuations...

Neither Amira nor Reginald had shown the slightest reaction.

His identity as a Tier 2 seemed to be an existence their system simply couldn’t recognize.

In contrast, the Nightmare construct in front of him appeared much more sensitive.

After being forcibly dragged over, it had clearly sensed some of his uncamouflaged Tier 2 might.

In the very first instant, the creature completely lost its previous imposing aura and instinctively shrank back.

As for why it hadn’t succeeded in retreating?

How could it leave so easily once it arrived? The moment they made contact, Fu Qian had spawned a patch of tiny tentacles beneath the area it covered, firmly holding the pollution in place.

So right now, it looked as if half a horse had sprouted from Fu Qian’s upper body, the creature still struggling and writhing desperately. It was a terrifying sight.

”I noticed that too, but shouldn’t we save him first?”

Amira’s voice chimed in. Agreeing with Reginald’s assessment, she urged him to act, clearly unable to bear the sight.

”I’m fine. Any new discoveries this time?”

Having just steadied himself, Fu Qian’s first reaction was to report that he was safe while asking for their observation results.

...

Weren’t you taking your role as a volunteer a bit too seriously?

Just as she was about to comfort him and tell him not to worry, hearing those words shook Amira’s worldview to its core once again.

Not fearing death was one thing, but to have absolutely no reaction when this kind of thing was plastered to his face?

And his very first reaction was to ask if there were any new discoveries?

”Is the person dying? Hurry up.”

Before she could voice her astonishment, she heard the volunteer speak again, unexpectedly urging the two of them on.

”About a minute.”

These words seemed to remind Reginald. He immediately glanced at the ruined body of Brother Brain Fork.

The latter, whose form was practically mangled beyond recognition, had actually opened his eyes slightly. He looked indescribably peaceful.

The entity leaving his body seemed to have brought him some relief, though it was accompanied by his rapidly fading life force.

And as the Dream Sharer, the moment he died, the trio’s operation would be forced to end as well.

”That’s enough. There’s no need to leave extra time to act; everything is under control.”

”If the invasion doesn’t happen, I won’t be able to bring the pollution out. If I truly get invaded at the last moment, don’t worry. I’m with you two anyway, so you can deal with it immediately.”

The volunteer’s voice continued, calmly analyzing the situation before asking a question.

”To get the best result, should I take off the mask?”

”...No need. The mask only prevents it from noticing you. Whether you take it off now makes no difference.”

Equally shocked, Reginald gritted his teeth as he replied.

”But judging from the current signs, it seems nothing is really happening—”

The next moment, his words were interrupted by a piercing chill.

The thick mist that had filled the room instantly condensed into frost.

”So that’s how it is. I understand now.”

The volunteer’s voice rang out almost simultaneously, sounding as if he had reached complete enlightenment.

”You have actually been here the whole time...”

”Even in the darkest of nights, you still shelter me...”

As he spoke, an ethereal, dreamlike radiance resembling Burning Frost actually enveloped his body, making him look like a Saint.