Eldritch Horror Theatre

”And the process was very easy, as if the barrier didn’t even exist.”

Even knowing Mrs. Harper possessed sharp hearing and eyesight, Fu Qian casually continued sharing this information in the face of the Witch’s surprise.

It was obvious at a glance that the Witch had already casually handled the situation, so there was absolutely no need to worry about frightening anyone.

”The barrier didn’t exist...”

The old lady wasn’t frightened, but this information seemed to bring a slight shock even to the Dark Moon Pope.

”I still can’t sense it on my end.”

Always a woman of action, the Witch shook her head and delivered her conclusion a moment after muttering to herself.

In that brief moment, she had clearly tried to verify Fu Qian’s claim, only to sense nothing at all.

”It seems the situation is indeed quite special.”

Fu Qian wasn’t too surprised by this result, and simply gave a slight nod.”Although the reason is still unclear, I just encountered a special Excellency. Theoretically speaking, He should only exist in the place I pass through every time I return.”

Fu Qian was quite certain of this. On one hand, there was the Silver Room Door with its overwhelming sense of déjà vu, as well as Excellency Destiny Serpent’s disgust toward the Warehouse.

On the other hand, the Warehouse had explicitly stated before that the several higher entities in the Nightmare Corridor could never leave it by any means.

All in all, although the situation was bizarre, his experience during this task had somewhat broken the deadlock of their previous explorations, providing a rather interesting variable for their next course of action.

Who said relaxing and drinking tea delayed business?

Of course, it was a pity that he ultimately hadn’t gained any meaningful information regarding another matter—was the IV drip scene he saw right after waking up at the very beginning of the task truly just a pure coincidence?

The Mysterious Clinic still remained entirely untraceable, and that Old Man with the scythe was truly keeping a low profile.

”Oh?”

This was undoubtedly another bombshell piece of news.

The Witch had always known that for every second Fu Qian spent over here, he accumulated a heavier negative effect, which would later force him deeper into a certain special place. She had even specifically reminded him of this earlier.

It was only because Fu Qian indicated it was fine that she had slowed down the overall pace.

”The things on your body are still accumulating. The speed is slower, but there doesn’t seem to be a fundamental difference from last time.”

Along with her surprise, the Witch had drawn her conclusion, shaking her head to indicate that the negative state on Fu Qian’s body was still present.

”That’s good.”

Although he had long suspected this would be the case, Fu Qian still nodded with great relief.

In his original plan, he really didn’t mind meeting up and catching up with either Brother Persuader or Yaragil, let alone now that Excellency Serpent of Destiny had been added to the mix.

Although that figure was impressively listed on the kill list in the task summary, Fu Qian remembered very clearly that there was a modifier in front of the Serpent of Destiny—”behind the door.”

The Warehouse’s descriptions in this regard should be quite accurate and reliable; that modifier most likely wasn’t added for nothing.

Characters of this divine charlatan archetype were always very hard to kill.

...

”So before that, what is your plan?”

The Witch cast a slight sidelong glance at the Templar Knight’s death-courting demeanor, but offered no comment.

Given the Knight’s current strength, being silently and directly injured to such a degree undoubtedly involved something astonishing behind the scenes.

However, she suppressed her curiosity, fully respected the involved party’s choice, and directly confirmed the plan for their next step.

With such an unexpected change, their actions obviously needed to be adjusted accordingly.

”And there haven’t been any special changes in this Painting World either?”

Fu Qian casually confirmed this first, looking across from him.

Mrs. Harper had already returned with a portion of dessert and was slowly savoring it with her tea.

Looking closely, this dessert even looked a bit familiar; it was the kind the young man, Anke, had bought before.

He still remembered how the old lady had advised Anke to get as much nutrition as possible back then. Now that she was buying and eating it herself, was this considered a form of remembrance?

Recalling the earlier statement about ”being humans rather than Saints,” Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Of course, even though it looked quite tasty, the old lady didn’t show the slightest intention of politely offering any to the two people across from her.

Her posture was so leisurely, as if she had long forgotten the existence of her two visitors—she likely truly didn’t remember them.

Turning a blind eye on a psychological level might not be easy elsewhere, but in the reborn Laerdin, it was a skill universally mastered by the Blood Clan.

And now, it was almost like a custom server. For the Witch, who had transformed the Stars into the Dark Moon Law, what difficulty would there be in replicating it within this Painting World?

”None. Do you want to go out and see if there are any changes?”

The Witch understood Fu Qian’s meaning almost instantly.

”Yeah. If they’re really drawing closer, there should be some sort of sign, shouldn’t there? It would be best if you had a recommended location.”

Fu Qian nodded.

His meaning was quite simple: as a hidden sanctuary, the core purpose of the Painting-Within-a-Painting World was to avoid external interference as much as possible.

If some disturbance had genuinely occurred between the two worlds, going outside to take a look would undoubtedly make finding clues more likely.

This ”outside” was a step even further than their previous Nightmare exploration, reaching out into that true doomsday.

”A reasonable thought. We previously used the Fused Nightmare to perceive anomalies without any results yet. We can take this opportunity to look together.”

The Witch raised no objections to the adjusted plan. As she spoke, her gaze landed on the plate of dessert.

”However, it is indeed a bit chaotic outside. Are you sure you don’t want to recover your condition a little?”

”Makes sense.”

Readily accepting good advice, Fu Qian reached out the next moment, taking a piece from the plate and tossing it into his mouth.

”It tastes pretty good. You should try some.”

...

Faced with this method of replenishing nutrition, the Witch’s attitude seemed somewhat aligned with Mrs. Harper’s.

However, seeing Fu Qian eating with such relish, she didn’t stand on ceremony.

”It is indeed not bad. Thanks for the treat.”

After carefully savoring and swallowing it, she stood up while giving it a good review, speaking to the woman across from them.

”We’ll come by again next time.”

Knowing perfectly well that the Witch had already lifted the restriction, Fu Qian stood up after her and gave a similar farewell to the slightly stunned Mrs. Harper.

”You’re welcome to. Preferably after lunch.”

Her daze lasted for just a fleeting second, and soon the old lady was chuckling as she saw her guests out.

...

”So why do we still need to use this?”

The instant they stepped out the door, the two of them found themselves in another Great Hall—the very origin place of the Dark Moon Cult.

As he felt the emptiness of the unpopulated world, Fu Qian was quite curious about the object the Witch had brought out.

A Brain Fork, an item he had used not too long ago.

Before he had even finished speaking, the Witch had already pierced it into her hand again, offering a smiling explanation.

”From Nightmare to doomsday, isn’t that quite fitting?”

An illusory Nightmare surged forth, rapidly enveloping them.