Eldritch Horror Theatre

As the second faction he had placed high hopes on, figuring out how to establish communication with the Nightmare Guards as quickly as possible had been Fu Qian’s top priority on the way here.

After all, as a heretic among heretics who had brutally taken lives twice in a row, he had left a rather poor initial impression.

Fortunately, as an expert well-versed in ice-breaking techniques, Fu Qian had spent a few breaths formulating a multi-tiered plan for the Nightmare Guards’ possible forms before he even entered the lake.

And since luck always favored professionals, the level of communication Frankie and his group were capable of turned out to be the exact ideal scenario he had imagined.

They gave the impression of being the city’s secret underground guard.

The kind who lived like ordinary people day to day, only to transform and fight monsters at critical moments.

And thanks to the veil of mystery he had deliberately cultivated from the very beginning, they also seemed quite eager to talk. It even sounded like they had a demonstration prepared.

...

”You certainly don’t lack for manpower!”

Sandwiched in the middle of the group, Fu Qian continued to study his surroundings as he followed Frankie and the others downward.Just as he had noted earlier, though this underwater structure was a bit rough around the edges, its scale was undeniably grand.

Heading all the way down, the depth they had reached was likely equal to half the height of the West District Church, even though the space was gradually narrowing.

Along the way, Nightmare Guards in similar everyday clothing continuously greeted Frankie’s quartet before fixing their scrutinizing gazes on Fu Qian.

”Don’t worry. They won’t try anything without orders.”

Frankie offered a cold explanation, though he seemed to doubt Fu Qian was genuinely worried about that.

”A member of the Fallen Star Race never strikes without reason.”

’Fallen Star Race?’

He could almost smell the intense animosity aimed straight at the Stars.

Fu Qian silently appraised Frankie’s choice of title.

At the same time, the mention of orders undoubtedly confirmed his guess about the core figures.

These four were indeed the leadership of the Nightmare Guards.

”So you’ve known about those awakened ones for a while now, and you’re just sitting on the sidelines watching?”

Nodding slightly, Fu Qian didn’t question Frankie’s claim. Instead, he took the initiative to bring up the resistance organization led by Lady Raven.

”We know every single one of them.”

This time, it was Madam Xia, bringing up the rear, who answered.

”Their names, ages, identities, and even their so-called abilities.”

A disgusted sneer curled her lips as she spoke the last word.

”It’s a pity those idiots have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.”

’Just as I thought.’

Fu Qian shook his head and sighed.

Lady Raven’s supposedly secret operations and cautious recruitment of new members were being watched clearly from the shadows. They were probably even running real-time threat assessments on them.

”But you can’t possess them?”

Since the Fallen Star Clan was being so cooperative, Fu Qian saw no reason to be polite.

”...What makes you say that?”

The question instantly startled Frankie and the others.

”Back in that asylum, I took down three guards acting under your orders. Their condition was distinctly different from yours just now. To me, it looked more like a specialized form of possession.”

Fu Qian pointed to the back of his own neck.

”Considering you were explicitly targeting me from the very beginning, taking control of Mariana and the others like that would have been a much better option.”

”The same goes for the ambush just now. With a few moles inside their ranks, that group would probably already be dead.”

”...We prefer to call it a Descent.”

He had to admit, the atmosphere was much more active once the ice was broken.

The four leaders exchanged a brief glance, and Madam Xia opted to continue answering.

”Every member of the Fallen Star Race can temporarily replace a target body within a certain range, releasing a portion of our power.”

”And you’re right. These so-called awakened ones cannot serve as targets for a Descent... and neither can you.”

She paused for a moment before adding that last part.

”Because of the Boon of the Stars?”

Fu Qian nodded slightly.

”Heh... that’s certainly how you all see it.”

Xia’s sneer was clearly aimed at the concept of the boon, her tone dripping with disdain.

”Actually, the definition shouldn’t be that narrow. After all, Esther still seems like an ordinary person for now. Is it simply that anyone capable of walking in that world cannot be targeted for a Descent?”

Fu Qian didn’t mind, thoughtfully adding to his conclusion.

...

Faced with this further conclusion, Madam Xia’s eyes narrowed slightly. She turned her head away without responding.

”I get it. Besides being unable to perform a Descent, you also have no way of entering that world yourselves, right?”

Unfortunately, stimulating someone’s eagerness to speak was simply too easy for Fu Qian.

”How would you know that?”

But perhaps his prod was a little too sharp. Not only did Madam Xia whip her head back around, but the other three also stopped dead in their tracks in shock.

”There had to be a reason for your tolerance of Lady Raven’s group.”

Fu Qian naturally wouldn’t lose his nerve. Braving their scrutiny, he smiled and continued his analysis.

”I don’t think it’s out of mercy, to give lost souls a chance at salvation or anything like that. You certainly didn’t hesitate when killing people just a moment ago.”

”But despite your obvious disgust, you haven’t rushed to deal with them. You haven’t even tried to stop them from expanding, allowing them to bring all sorts of bizarre powers in here. There’s simply no way you would allow that without a sufficiently weighty motive.”

Fu Qian clicked his tongue.

”And what value could those people possibly hold for you?”

”You are natural enemies, making compromise impossible. Given your level of control, there’s little point in using them to help root out potential threats, either. The only unique thing they have left is their experience in that waking world.”

”Considering that Awakenings have been appearing in clusters recently, this is likely a situation you need to figure out.”

”And assuming you can’t walk over there like they do, then this mercy makes perfect sense.”

”You need to piece together a picture of that world from the mouths of those wretched people. To get more comprehensive information, you’ve even let them develop more members... and the same goes for me.”

Fu Qian finally pointed at his own head.

”I’ve obviously brought in a great deal of things outside your current understanding. That’s why you were looking forward to this exchange.”

...

”Excellent. It seems we can avoid wasting time to the greatest extent possible, Mister Grimshaw.”

The quartet didn’t stare at him for very long, but the turbulent shift in their emotions was plainly visible.

By the time Frankie finally spoke, he seemed to possess a strange sense of relief.

”You understood what we wanted before we even had to ask.”

”You are correct. Just as we cannot perform a Descent upon those who are corrupted, we are indeed incapable of entering the source of the corruption.”

’Excellent. Honesty is a Virtue.’

Fu Qian was naturally quite satisfied with Frankie’s candor.

”And I truly don’t like wasting time.”