Eldritch Horror Theatre

Things really did seem to have gone a bit off the rails.

The abrupt end to the female teacher’s lecture was undoubtedly one of life’s great regrets.

But Fu Qian didn’t blindly resent Excellency Nepheli’s reaction.

Because in the very next moment, even someone as oblivious as him sensed something distinct.

Pleasure?

An extraordinary word promptly surfaced in his mind.

That was right. It was that pleasure.

The key to the true self, the endlessly recursive living desire.

In theory, it was precisely what ought to be worshipped within this very Dark Sanctuary.

No wonder Excellency Nepheli had reacted so strongly. Having traveled far and wide for so many years, her profound knowledge meant she likely knew exactly how disgusting this thing was.And this anomaly had clearly caught her off guard.

That meant even someone like her, who had seen through the essence of the world and cast aside life and death, hadn’t foreseen such a change taking place in here.

So, was this a sign of the Dark Sanctuary digesting them? Of course not.

”It’s you?”

Receiving no response from Fu Qian, Nepheli turned toward the person beside him a moment later.

”It is.”

Wen Li actually replied. As she gave a slight nod, a peculiar luster gleamed on her face.

Although she hadn’t reached the point of growing those rhinestone-like fine scales seen elsewhere.

It was still enough to prove she had just gone all out to pull off something extraordinary.

Furthermore, Fu Qian had an extra piece of supporting evidence.

Back at the Academy, they had already brainstormed the exact relationship between Wen Li’s Demigod Form as a ”Sufferer” and Excellency Stomach.

Wen Li had even personally admitted to grasping the ability to animate emotions.

So the key question here was—

”Why?”

Nepheli didn’t press further. Instead, Yuan Shan delivered that soul-searching question, entirely unable to comprehend the behavior playing out before her.

Unfortunately, she received no answer. Wen Li merely reached out, picked up the candlestick, and placed it between herself and Fu Qian as she leaned closer.

...

Was this that legendary state where even the air you breathed felt filled with pink bubbles?

At that moment, Wen Li’s face was so close they were practically touching, their breaths intermingling.

Such intimacy wouldn’t usually amount to much, but paired with that omnipresent aura of pleasure, it took on a soul-stirring intensity.

Fu Qian didn’t deliberately suppress it. He merely savored the sensation, even taking a moment to evaluate Wen Li’s peculiar countenance.

As for the candle flame placed right by his hand, it was clearly on the verge of burning out.

As an item conceptually linked to his heart, this was undoubtedly bad news.

But there was also good news: he apparently didn’t need to care about the bad news. His original estimated countdown matched the candle’s condition anyway.

So much so that Fu Qian didn’t even bother asking why Wen Li was doing all this—Swish!

It seemed he wouldn’t need to ask, either.

After merely exchanging a glance, Wen Li turned her head and raised a hand, blocking an impossibly fast black spike.

That spike was far too familiar to Fu Qian; it was none other than Chief Yuan’s handiwork.

Everyone here had seen their fair share of horrors. It was clear Chief Yuan had also realized the severity of the situation.

Faced with Wen Li’s near-tacit admission, Yuan Shan proved decisive and ruthless, attacking without hesitation.

Considering the group was locked inside the Sanctuary with nowhere to flee, all she could do was strike to stop things from escalating.

The only problem was that the black spike’s original target hadn’t been Wen Li. It had been the candle flame.

That was right. Wen Li was clearly the one causing trouble, yet in her fury, Chief Yuan seemed intent on putting her captive to death.

It was just a pity that Wen Li seemed to have anticipated this, stepping in to prevent the tragedy just in time.

Of course, Chief Yuan’s wrath wasn’t so easily endured.

The hand Wen Li used to block the attack was pierced clean through. But what flowed out wasn’t red blood; it was a fluid that shimmered like a true rainbow.

At a glance, it looked like materialized joy, anger, sorrow, and delight—all human emotions condensed into one.

...

What was the meaning of this?

Chief Yuan’s behavior was somewhat akin to bullying the weak while fearing the strong.

As the ultimate victim, Fu Qian was theoretically suffering a triple blow right now—

The devastation from Excellency Nepheli, the ”poison” triggered by Lisa, and even the pleasure spread by Wen Li...

As a player with the constitution of an ordinary mortal, he was already at death’s door. Yet Yuan Shan ignored the glaringly obvious culprit to decisively deliver a fourth blow?

This kind of behavior was simply—far too reasonable.

In that moment, as Fu Qian evaluated his own rocky predicament, he seemed to find the answer to a prior question: just what exactly were these ladies here to do?

No matter how fierce and malicious they looked, they seemed quite unwilling to let him die.

That was right. Even regarding Chief Yuan, who had just committed an act of violence, Fu Qian held the exact same view.

It might look scary, but if a Demigod Realm expert wanted to kill an ordinary person like him, she had plenty of methods at her disposal. She didn’t need to use anything this crude and obvious.

And under those circumstances, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Wen Li to protect him.

If she didn’t truly want to kill him, why make such a move?

Because she wanted to test Wen Li’s reaction—to see if she minded him being killed.

This was Fu Qian’s understanding.

From this, one could tell that although the two had been cooperating from the start, Chief Yuan apparently harbored an ulterior motive.

Of course, some thoughts only flashed by, leaving no time to carefully savor them.

Because at that exact moment, an even more bizarre event unfolded.

Following that initial decadent aura, another bizarre wave of pleasure actually crashed over them, like a sublime beauty distilled from pain.

Hmm?

So much so that even though he hadn’t been hit, Fu Qian noticed the candle flame before him flickering wildly.

Urgh—

And that wasn’t even the main point. At the exact same time, someone else let out a low cry. It was none other than Madam Number Seven, who hadn’t spoken for a long time.

Even from her, that hoarse voice carried an unusual lilt.

...

You really couldn’t just say whatever you wanted—things like ”monopolizing everything.”

The pleasure hadn’t just come alive; it was breaking through individual boundaries, flowing indiscriminately.

Even though the scene was eerie, Fu Qian could easily understand what was happening.

The source of the impact was easy to figure out. The biggest change in that moment was Wen Li getting injured.

Furthermore, back when he first encountered these things, he had seen people carving up their own flesh to derive a thrill.

The main point here was that someone besides himself was actually sharing this sensation, proving it wasn’t just because his hand was tied to Wen Li’s.

It seemed that through her sudden, unhinged actions, Wen Li had somehow linked everyone’s pleasure together.