Eldritch Horror Theatre

’Holy Infant Calamity Star?’

’With the King of the Abandoned Prison here in person, they’re nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs.’

Hardly surprised by the chiming prompt, Fu Qian snorted coldly, his gaze still fixed on Virgo and the Holy Infant—both utterly shattered by his recent strike.

Keeping a low profile didn’t make him a clean freak; rigidly setting limits for himself would just be foolish.

Activating his Mythical Form had been his planned countermeasure all along; he just hadn’t been in a rush to use it.

The reason was simple. The target of this trip seemed quite formidable, entirely worth taking a ”good look” at.

That was right. He had activated his Mythical Form partly to withstand that judgment with the status of a True God, but more importantly, because this thing was simply too interesting.

It was entirely worth taking a small risk to examine it thoroughly from the perspective of a Divine Entity.

If not for that, why would he have deliberately slowed time on his way over, allowing it to exert its power as much as possible?

Squeezing every last drop of value out of an interesting case—within controllable limits, naturally—was a required trait for any academic.So, aside from more Knights of the Apocalypse, Fu Qian had also been looking forward to the Holy Infant’s own performance.

Even just a moment ago, when he had advanced step by step and the other party still hadn’t fled, he had sighed in admiration. Sure enough, everything is the best arrangement.

Why hadn’t it run? Naturally, it was because of the excellent groundwork laid earlier.

Winning two out of three rounds in a life-and-death game—the odds were fairly standard.

But for the loser to cheat and dodge execution in both rounds... anyone could imagine how infuriating that would be.

Coupled with his guess that each Knight of the Apocalypse provided one activation opportunity, the final strike brought on by Claudora’s fall was bound to be an all-out attack. At the same time, it would definitely be designed to leave him absolutely no loopholes to exploit.

In that situation, getting a little closer face-to-face to solidify the lock-on was a completely plausible reaction.

The Holy Infant’s performance had proven this. Not only had it not fled, but it had also directly opted for a legendary lose-lose scenario.

Thus, it had ultimately given him the chance to observe it at close range, maximizing the returns on activating his Mythical Form.

So, under these circumstances, what else had he seen?

Far too much.

Although there was only a brief instant between the task’s completion and his teleportation out, the span of time in Fu Qian’s eyes was far greater than that—perhaps due to the special state of space-time, combined with his perspective as the King of the Abandoned Prison.

...

The Crimson Holy Infant was shattered to pieces, the lingering shockwaves of the Knights of the Apocalypse were wiped clean, and even the foundations of the entire Ice Crystal Prison were thoroughly ruined by that Visceral Attack, rapidly collapsing.

Space and time became increasingly blurred and chaotic. Even from the perspective of a Deity, it was difficult to discern the specifics, but Fu Qian still knew that what unfolded before him was essentially a more abstract history.

And amidst the chaos, the invisible, abstract whole he had constantly spoken of earlier became somewhat clearer as a result.

Stretching and unfurling, this entire space-time location seemed to transform into the illusory bloodlines of the Scarlet Angel, extending strand by strand into history.

And the core where they ultimately converged was, unmistakably, an even more transcendent Holy Infant.

To be specific, it was as if countless bloodlines were reaching into time and space, jointly nurturing a worldly abomination.

With just that one glance, Fu Qian seemed to understand the origin of that earlier honorific name.

It was truly astonishing. Sure enough, having only just become a higher entity, his understanding of the word ”authority” wasn’t profound enough.

As well as the level of abstraction possessed by certain special entities.

Feeding on disaster to nurture itself. No wonder it could lay low for so long. While others merely recovered their strength and waited for a chance to return, this Excellency had gone straight for Rebirth.

No matter how blurry it was, Fu Qian could still confirm that the ultimate destination pointed to by those bloodlines held a distinctly special significance in history—like a festering sore on a physical body.

It was just a pity that within his range of perception, the four originally most vibrant bloodlines among them were now rapidly shattering.

As a result, the Holy Infant’s vitality was plummeting, its fetal breathing growing faint and intermittent.

And of course, there was its inevitable, thick revulsion toward him—along with fear.

Very good. Quite the awareness.

This was the treatment the Ancient Mechanical Tyrant deserved. The dignified King of the Abandoned Prison couldn’t exactly be respected and loved; that tone would be entirely too skewed.

Fu Qian was already well accustomed to such emotions. Snorting coldly, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, casting his final gaze and critique.

’Why do these blood vessels look like they’re undergoing crystalline calcification?’

...

[Task Evaluation: Apocalypse Spirit Lamp]

As he frowned, the monotonously colored Warehouse had already appeared before his eyes, while the evaluations followed closely one after another.

[A disaster quietly unfolded deep within an isolated island far from the human world. The struggle between the conglomerates had reached a level of sheer madness.

Without even knowing it themselves, the cursed—concealed by secret arts—were cleverly sent into a certain prison of despair.

Although neither the masterminds nor the victims knew why this place was originally named despair, or why it had been sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Silently, a special curse had already permeated every corner of this ancient structure.

The Scarlet Angel, a symbol of ill omen, was quietly gestating.

However, just as it was continuing to erode its way out of the prison according to plan, a prisoner who had gradually grown accustomed to this place had their true innate talent activated by the curse.

Hidden deep within Jill’s soul, the originally inactive La Nina was impregnated by this blasphemy, transforming into a seedbed that nurtured calamity.

Even the chosen delivery room was wonderfully perfect. Within this ancient structure, the historical Knights of the Apocalypse would find it easier to arrive.

Though even the Knights themselves were completely unaware of this title being bestowed, or of their own achievements.

But it didn’t matter. Inside this briefly sealed higher entity’s swaddling, a far deeper evil had arrived one step ahead.

The Holy Infant’s rebirth was forcefully interrupted, and it even suffered heavy trauma itself.

And after a brief moment of shock, the Siren Group was astonished to find that not only had the vanished prison reappeared, but more than one person had survived.

Of course, they had no opportunity to investigate further. The Night Watchers, arriving at an unbelievable speed, took all the survivors away.

And after brief medical treatment, they learned of another organization that might have participated in this incident, aside from the two corporate groups.

Naturally, they still strictly abided by the rules they had set themselves, choosing not to pursue accountability against any party involved in the struggle.

Sometimes, a spirit lamp is also a guiding beacon, preventing one from falling into deeper darkness.]

[Kills: Pestilence of the Knights of the Apocalypse; Albino of the Knights of the Apocalypse; The Abyss of the Knights of the Apocalypse; Virgo, La Nina]

[Reward: SAN Value +30]

[Special Reward: Incomplete Ominous Star Swaddling]

[Current SAN Value: 155, current inspiration: 99]

[Playback event review?]

’Apocalypse Spirit Lamp... and a spirit lamp is also a guiding beacon?’

Listening to the task evaluation, Fu Qian’s frown deepened.

It made sense, and given how the task had played out, it was quite fitting. After all, he had personally killed three Knights of the Apocalypse on his own.

But no matter what, as the dignified interim spokesperson of the Apocalypse Branch, being gifted such a title felt just a little bit unlucky.