Eldritch Horror Theatre

Excellency Patches was truly formidable.

This method of seeking out a genie to make a wish was simply domineering.

The humanoid figure formed by the gathered light flickered erratically, though a faint hint of blue still shone through.

Even though it had emerged from a folding screen rather than a lamp, Fu Qian still felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

It was just acting a bit too subservient. Excellency Patches had merely knocked casually, commanding it to come out and answer.

Wait, what was the proper term for a genie of the lamp again—a spirit?

Fu Qian marveled while trying to remember, eventually realizing that this legendary figure didn’t seem to have a proper name.

But that didn’t matter. At least the genie in front of him seemed to know what it should be called. After a long moment of flickering, the ”genie” finally stabilized its form a bit, though its lower half remained tethered to the folding screen.

It was clearly a tall figure dressed in a belted robe.

The brightest part of the spectacle, however, was the pair of radiant wings stretching several meters behind its back.In stark contrast, its face was pitch black. Beneath the hood lay an impenetrable, murky gloom that perfectly matched the night sky.

Indeed, even though its eyes and mouth were completely obscured, Fu Qian had to admit the look was spot on.

Paired with the voice he had just heard, the entity’s grand title was already on the tip of his tongue—the Third Follower?

Fu Qian recalled a certain Warehouse Senior who had claimed to forsake darkness for the light, the very same one who had cornered him with math problems back in West Plain before ultimately being frightened off by his massive SAN Value reserves.

Hadn’t this guy claimed to have become one of the Saints and found his ’true state of existence’? How had he sunk so low after just a few days?

”Don’t be nervous. How can I help you?”

Since the other party was both a senior and someone he had once sparred with academically, Fu Qian decided not to be too harsh and casually offered a word of comfort.

”It seems Sha Ming really didn’t do this directly. The reason the Codex gained power is because an Emissary of the Law Descended into it. So that’s how it is—”

Unfortunately, the comfort seemed to have a limited effect. Brother Sanxun’s silhouette only blurred for a moment, and he didn’t utter a single word.

Instead, it was Patches who chimed in at the perfect time to prevent an awkward silence.

From the sound of it, he was completely caught off guard by the development before them as well.

Fortunately, once one accepted the premise, everything seemed to make a lot more sense.

Of course, that was only how it sounded. Excellency Patches had acted even more ruthlessly this time than he had against Master, forcibly dragging the man out into the open. There was really no need for him to feign innocence.

It was painfully obvious that he had known what was going on from the very beginning. To put it nicely, his earlier performance had been gentle guidance; to put it bluntly, he had just been smiling while watching people make fools of themselves.

Fools had no right to know the truth. The moment someone let their guard down, they would plummet straight into a pit that looked exactly like the truth.

”An Emissary of the Law? That description is certainly easy enough to understand, but I still feel a formal title is more polite—Third Follower.”

Fu Qian, however, clearly didn’t mind. He even gave a slight nod to correct the title.

Meanwhile, Patches’s muttered realization undoubtedly contained a massive amount of information.

Did Senior Sanxun’s so-called ’true state of existence’ mean running off to become an ’Emissary of the Law’?

That certainly matched what he had claimed back then. The detail worth noting, however, was that the term ’Law’ seemed to be a far more conceptual entity than the ’Golden Tree.’

Although the Followers had taken action back in West Plain, were they not actually under the control of the Golden Tree? Were they instead directly linked to the essence of the Law, becoming a living part of that authority?

Viewed from that angle, the senior’s claim to ’true immortality’ hadn’t been an entirely empty boast.

”He is ranked third? Your intelligence is quite detailed.”

Patches’s display of surprise was still ongoing.

”How can I help you, Excellency Third Follower?”

He had actually taken Fu Qian’s suggestion, directing the question at the still-dazed ”genie.”

The Power of Law was formidable indeed, forcing even a deceiver to use honorifics.

Unfortunately, this did nothing to ease Brother Sanxun’s tension.

He remained silent. Even though his eyes were hidden, one could still clearly sense that he was glaring daggers at Patches.

It was only human nature. Being dragged out on one’s own home turf to grant wishes without any ability to resist was simply too devastating a blow to one’s self-confidence.

”Actually, I think you should be more wary of him.”

Fortunately, Excellency Patches also knew how to comfort people.

Rather than claiming to be the good guy, he simply pointed straight at Fu Qian, indicating that the latter was relatively much worse.

”—A monstrous sin! What utter blasphemy!”

The effect was instantaneous.

It was as if the Third Follower was noticing Fu Qian for the very first time. His radiant wings flared out explosively, as though he had just laid eyes on something entirely intolerable to the world.

Ah, Misanthropy—it really was hyper-sensitive.

To an Emissary of the Law, his Pseudo-Law Core was indeed quite wicked.

Fu Qian naturally understood the reason all too well, letting out a long sigh in his heart.

It was just as the old saying went: heretics were always far more detestable than heathens.

To the Power of Law, which demanded absolute authority, something like a Pseudo-Law was not just mere filth, but a naked, brazen challenge to its claim of sovereignty.

Although he didn’t have a single aura active at the moment, he was currently in the enemy’s home territory. Coupled with Excellency Patches’s little tricks in the background, it wasn’t surprising that his special constitution had been sniffed out.

Ultimately, with those spasming wings and a howl like someone who had just been stabbed in the kidney, a clash seemed absolutely imminent. ”Stop shouting, people are trying to enjoy their nightlife.”

Unfortunately, despite actively diverting trouble onto others, Patches seemed to feel that Sanxun was overreacting. He offered a quick reminder and casually waved his hand.

The howling came to an abrupt halt, and even the radiant wings froze in place.

The Third Follower, who had only just condensed a physical body out of the folding screen, was instantly reduced to a shadowy silhouette from outside the world once more.

”Although he’s merely an Emissary of the Law, he can still be seen as a manifestation of the essence of power.

”He is defined by the Law, meaning he will exist for as long as that concept continues to exist—from that perspective, doesn’t he have every right to be a bit prouder?”

His casual gesture had been akin to swatting a fly, yet Patches’s words were filled with high praise. He sighed to Fu Qian, noting that the Third Follower had finally attained his rightful state.

”Defined by the Law and achieving immortality, only to end up appearing at the first summons?

”Escaping one’s shackles by becoming the shackles themselves—I wouldn’t call that line of thinking stupid, but I fail to see any reason to be proud of it.”

Fu Qian merely shook his head in disdain.

”Oh? So if even he isn’t qualified, who exactly do you think can lead us to the answers?”

With his newly presented cast member thoroughly rejected, Patches seemed to finally abandon his efforts, looking at Fu Qian and asking directly.

”A true seeker of answers never gives up even when trapped in a desperate predicament, never forgets their original intent despite repeated setbacks, and despite fierce verbal sparring, they are still capable of seeking common ground while reserving differences—”

Fu Qian simply chuckled lightly at the question, gazing out toward the ruins of the Laboratory not far away.

”As I see it, the only ones capable of leading us to the answers are the true pillars of the Rebirth Club—the two grandmasters, Lu Ming and Kikuchi.”

Boom! As if to punctuate his words, the very moment he finished speaking, that direction was completely engulfed by a barrage of lightning strikes, the air roaring with electricity.

Old Man Ibu had finally made his move.