Eldritch Horror Theatre

They truly lived up to their reputation as law enforcers in a chaotic world—the very cornerstone supporting this unique social structure.

Neither their efficiency in tracking people down nor their tactical responses were a disappointment.

With just a slight hint from him, a seemingly minor case of operating without a license had quickly drawn their attention to the eerie anomaly lurking beneath.

After efficiently locating the parties involved and bringing the situation somewhat under control, they were met with completely contradictory testimonies. Yet they still rapidly formulated their next course of action—even while suspecting that one of the parties was an extremely dangerous Divine Being.

As for their strategy, they pushed the principle that all is fair in war to its absolute limit. Whether he was honest during their conversation didn’t matter; his physical reactions would be the truest indicator.

The fascinating part of the situation, however, was that he hadn’t come here for answers either. He was here to observe their physical reactions.

To summarize the current standoff, it seemed that compared to Mr. Rick from the Licking assignment, he was being treated as a far more dangerous threat.

It made perfect sense, considering his Rank was right there for all to see. Yet, this also revealed something else: they still hadn’t realized the severity of Rick’s problem.

Of course, these were only guesses. He needed to test them a bit further.

”What do you mean? A threat to the entire city—what exactly are you referring to?”This was exactly why his opening claim needed to be explosive.

Fortunately, for someone playing the role of a charlatan, this was a fundamental skill.

By suddenly elevating the scope of the threat to the entire city, even Brother Raylan—who had remained fiercely undaunted in the face of Demigod Might—finally wore an unprecedentedly grave expression.

Naturally, Raylan wasn’t the one asking the questions. That was Winona beside him. He was merely listening intently, refusing to let a single detail slip by.

”Don’t tell me you’re some kind of Savior who came all this way just to prevent an apocalyptic disaster?”

”City-destroying.”

In response to Winona, Fu Qian shook his head to correct her lack of precision.

”Besides, even if I claimed to be the Savior, would you believe me?”

...

That truly was unbelievable.

Winona found herself momentarily speechless.

Serving in a metropolis like Loss, she had gained extensive experience dealing with charlatans.

Yet even so, the man before her was definitely the culmination of every vile habit that demographic possessed.

Even taking a massive step back—even if some crisis truly was brewing in Loss, and even if this guy wasn’t maliciously orchestrating it—the odds were far higher that he was simply here to watch the chaos unfold.

”I wouldn’t. So you’d better explain yourself clearly.”

While Winona was still wrestling with her thoughts, Raylan spoke up bluntly.

”No need. I choose option two.”

However, Raylan’s demand was rejected almost instantly.

Amid the utter disbelief of the three people in the room—Claire included—Fu Qian tapped a finger against his chest.

The crisp sound rang out as clearly as pearls dropping onto a jade plate.

”I look forward to your upcoming performance in pursuing a marked target like me.”

”If you succeed, I’ll explain everything as your reward.”

Completely ignoring everyone else’s reactions, Fu Qian waved in farewell. He didn’t even bother to conceal his figure as he strode straight toward the door.

With an ordinary person like Claire present, the two Night Watchers clearly didn’t dare launch an attack at his back.

...

Did this guy seriously just leave?

Amid the sound of the door opening, Winona stared blankly at her colleague, but only after the figure smoothly vanished from her line of sight.

The usually decisive Raylan was just as decisively choosing not to stop him.

”He’s really gone.”

Seemingly knowing what she wanted to ask, Raylan nodded.

The man hadn’t made any evasive moves, simply swaggering his way out. The ’mark’ he left behind was remarkably clear.

”What do we do now? He’s completely unreasonable.”

”Which means it’s no longer for us to decide. We’ll see what the higher-ups think.”

With a soft sigh, Raylan glanced at Claire beside them.

”But just to be safe, we’d better take her back with us. After all, we don’t even know what Grimshaw’s purpose for returning is this time.”

”Yeah.”

Both Winona and the woman in question wholeheartedly agreed with the suggestion.

”Then let’s not waste any time. We’re leaving right now. It’s far too unsafe here—”

Gesturing with her eyes for Claire to pack up, Winona only got halfway through her sentence before an impatient rumble interrupted her—serving as immediate proof of her claim about the lack of safety.

The problem was the direction it came from...

She glanced at Raylan, only to see that he didn’t appear too surprised. He was already squinting down the path the supposed Grimshaw had just taken.

...

”What a fascinating trick.”

With one foot raised and frozen in midair, Fu Qian looked down and let out a sigh of admiration.

He was just a few steps away from leaving the Wesley Residence, yet there was no longer any path in front of him.

The flagstones, the lawn, the flowering trees... directly beneath his raised foot, a deep trench had torn through everything, as if the earth itself had split open out of thin air.

What was most wondrous was that the inside of the trench was incredibly smooth and even, as if it had been carved out with a set of calipers.

This miraculous sight stretched outward from beneath his feet until it swallowed a corner of a nearby building.

”But making a mess like this—are you really not worried about Mrs. Weasley demanding compensation later?”

Tracing the destruction with his eyes, Fu Qian finally lowered his foot from midair as he voiced his concern.

”I’m not worried. Any structural damage caused during Night Watchers’ operations is fully covered by the local administration. It’s expressly written in the regulations.”

Surprisingly, someone actually answered his question the very next moment.

Just to his left, a slightly petite figure wearing a high-crowned felt hat was casually blowing smoke from the muzzle of a gun.

With hair so thick and rich it looked almost blood-red, and a charming beauty mark by her left eye, she was a strikingly valiant-looking woman—and her outfit matched her features perfectly.

Aside from the cyan hat on her head, her attire was crisp and pragmatic.

She wore a plain-colored shirt and trousers. The only slightly eye-catching details were the sunglasses on her face—which were almost the exact same color as her hair—and the holsters resting on either side of her waist.

The Bronze-Colored Revolver in her hand had clearly been drawn from the right holster.

And the smooth trench lying before him was the result of her gently pulling its trigger just a moment ago.

”There’s no one inside it, either.”

After explaining the compensation issue with an overly dashing demeanor, she jutted her chin toward the damaged building to indicate that there was no need to worry about casualties.

”But what if someone hears the commotion and runs out? Even if they aren’t scared half to death, what if they fall into the trench?”

Fu Qian frowned slightly, unwilling to let the safety issue go so easily.

”It doesn’t matter. Raylan and Winona will keep them in check.”

Unbothered by his nitpicking, the female gunslinger continued to explain in all seriousness.

Even as she spoke, the muzzle of her gun swayed back and forth, continuously sweeping across various parts of Fu Qian’s body.