Eldritch Horror Theatre

Flame of Frenzy, gold quality.

This power, produced by the Tyrant and viewed as a curse and a taboo, had always specifically targeted the mind.

It stabilized the mind and cleared away rot without regenerating flesh. Even the former Dean of the Benevolent Curse Institute praised it.

Given old man Kadon’s current condition, the medicine’s effects might seem a bit harsh. But considering the man was already dying, treating it as a bowl of soul-returning soup was practically perfect.

Fu Qian’s logic was simple. Even if this was merely a projection of will, and even if there was a deeper, inextricable entanglement, the figure before him was still a ”non-self”—one Kadon had barely managed to separate with his guidance.

And now, starting from this piece, the soul had been ignited.

It would indeed burn the old man out completely in the end, but this was a matter of who could hold out longer.

Throughout this journey, he had felt old man Kadon’s firm resolve for self-redemption.

Since he was actively helping to secure an early lead, the advantage still seemed to be on their side. He might as well wait patiently for things to unfold.

”Ah—”Sure enough, after half a second of sluggishness, an inhuman scream erupted from the face that had been so imposing just moments ago.

Not only that, but the female dentist who had been sitting there suddenly lunged without a word, throwing her arms wide for a fierce tackle.

He really hadn’t been boasting. Elder Ji had practically become the underlying logic of Kadon’s will, to the point of being able to drive the other ”parts” into this desperate charge.

But it wasn’t entirely meaningless; at the very least, it would accelerate the collapse of Kadon’s will.

Smack!

Fu Qian showed no mercy. With a single slap, the female dentist flew back even faster than she had come, splattering against the wall.

Compounded by close-range exposure to the Resplendent Tyrant’s influence, her entire body visibly deformed.

But at least she didn’t catch fire, right?

Fu Qian had no intention of sparking fires everywhere; he hadn’t attached any flames to that slap.

Instead, the bottle in his hand glowed a warm gold.

Slapping people didn’t stop him from tasting the final bottle of this colorful travel beverage.

He had to admit, saving it for last had been the right choice.

The ingredients weren’t exactly premium, but both the carrot and orange flavors were quite pure, and their combination worked beautifully.

Smack!

Mid-critique, Fu Qian launched a backhand slap. Mister Dickens, who had charged over a step behind, suffered the same fate, slamming headfirst into the wall.

”You have no idea what you’re doing... Urgh—ahhh—!”

As for Elder Ji, who had been set ablaze, he completely lost the ability to stand.

Amidst his intensely infectious, resentful screams, he rapidly reduced to ash inch by inch, drifting and scattering into every corner.

”Thank you...”

Once the figure completely vanished into nothingness, flames began to spark lightly across the body of Kadon, who lay there.

Seemingly jolted awake by this, he didn’t open his eyes, but his face twisted in pain as he voiced his gratitude.

The shadows of decades had been dispersed in a single day. One could almost feel the joy of his final liberation—though he was celebrating a bit too early.

”Don’t mention it.”

Fu Qian replied politely. At the same time, with a sharp ripping sound, his expensive suit tore even further.

Not only was the Resplendent Tyrant still active, its expansion multiplier had actually increased.

...

In theory, the situation was already crystal clear.

Kadon had finally obtained a moment of relief on his deathbed. All Fu Qian needed to do was remove the Resplendent Tyrant’s interference, allowing the man to experience the peaceful dream he hadn’t known for decades, and the task would be complete.

Unfortunately, ”don’t mention it” literally meant there was no need for thanks.

Fu Qian silently savored the last bottle of his drink. In his grip, the bottle looked practically miniature against his enlarged body.

In the blink of an eye, not only had Elder Ji been reduced to ash, but even Mister Dickens and the female dentist had thoroughly disintegrated amid violent tremors.

The churning ashes scattered wildly, even phasing through the walls like falling snow, offering a visceral sense of old man Kadon’s mental palace burning down.

”Urgh... ah...”

Even for the man lying there, his tightly shut eyelids could no longer conceal the golden light leaking from beneath.

Surviving decades without sleep, and still harboring the ambition to die cleanly on his deathbed—the old man could theoretically be considered a tough guy.

Yet right now, even he seemed unable to endure the agony, letting out groans on the brink of collapse.

”So, you really think that was a good story?”

Facing a scene where the task could fail at any second, Fu Qian finally spoke up, asking the question softly.

...

In that moment, the painful groans seemed to pause.

Fu Qian’s body swelled another fraction, making the bottle of carrot juice in his hand look like a tiny vial of oral medicine.

”Everything that happened back then is just a story from your mouths as far as I’m concerned. I can’t even be sure if those faces from earlier were real or fake... That’s why the story from a moment ago looked perfectly reasonable at first glance.”

He received no response, nor did he press for one. He just continued talking to himself, emphasizing his own lack of experience.

”But even so, the story still had holes. Didn’t you notice? For example, if the one tormenting Kadon was truly that elder, there wouldn’t seem to be any need to hide it from me, right?”

The Pendant dangled from his fingers. A second later, he shifted the subject.

”In fact, letting me know in advance would have even reduced my chances of being misled?”

...

It seemed the talk therapy was actually somewhat effective. After just a few words, the painful groans had dwindled to almost nothing.

”So, from very early on, I’ve really only been thinking about one core question: exactly what kind of entity would cause a negative impact just by me knowing about it? And the answer provided earlier was brilliant.”

Even though Kadon’s state could be interpreted as having gone numb from the pain, Fu Qian still didn’t let him off the hook.

”A righteous one. Free from the constraints of matter, existing purely within cognition. It’s incredibly easy to connect it to the anomaly mentioned earlier—that merely knowing about it would make things more troublesome.”

Tossing aside the empty carrot juice bottle, Fu Qian pointed a finger at his own temple.

”Couple that with the fact that I practically knew about this elder from the start. I even saw the excavation site of his bones, and the things on his body were casually handed over to me... It all seems to lead to one conclusion: there is indeed a righteous one you didn’t want me to know about, but it’s not him.”

The swirling ash was so thick that not even the rim of the beverage bottle had been spared. Fu Qian wiped it with his finger, silently feeling the gray-black soot that seemed to seep into his flesh as he delivered his concluding statement.

”That was just a theory, but a testable one. As a result, this story I made up immediately won your approval, and you played right along with it.”

”Too clumsy, and too eager... Are you really Kadon? Or are you the very thing he didn’t want me to know about?”