Eldritch Horror Theatre

It seemed Old Man Nate’s absence had made an impact after all.

Watching Grace frown, Fu Qian confirmed a particular suspicion.

Prompted by his reminder, she had clearly noticed that something was slightly off.

It all stemmed from Nate’s current special condition and his absence from yesterday’s banquet.

Given such an unstable variable, it was hard to guarantee that serious problems wouldn’t arise over time.

For now, however, Grace clearly wasn’t taking the detail to heart.

After a moment of frowning in thought, she gave up on it and began introducing the various dishes on the table to Fu Qian.

Fu Qian didn’t push the matter. Today’s lunch was already well worth the effort; he had gleaned quite a bit of important information.

As for his next move, he basically had a plan in mind.

......”Sorry, my aunt is a bit excitable today. Thanks for putting up with her.”

Lunch had concluded. After saying their goodbyes and leaving Grace’s house, Veil let out a visible sigh of relief and quietly apologized to Fu Qian.

”It’s fine. It was my idea to come, and I enjoyed the meal.”

Fu Qian looked at the cautious Veil.

It was obvious that in her eyes, he was some sort of great demon king.

”Where are you heading next?”

”Me?”

Veil blinked, entirely unprepared for Fu Qian to take an interest in her itinerary.

”I’m going to drop by the hospital to check on Lotte’s recovery.”

Checking on her recovery.

Fu Qian nodded.

To avoid agitating her sister, she probably wouldn’t even see Lotte face-to-face.

”Speaking of which, I should thank you.”

Veil took a breath and offered a smile.

”Now I don’t have to worry too much about bumping into Lotte.”

”You’re welcome. Good luck.”

Fu Qian didn’t pry into the sisters’ grievances; he simply turned and walked away.

It was about time. He needed to head to Old Knight’s place.

......

The situation was basically clear now.

Here in Baerluk, though transcendents were forbidden from entering, there existed a group known as the See Me Faction.

They were all ordinary people, but in order to let an unknown great existence ”see” them, they had gone so far as to cut open their skulls to perceive their true self.

Collins, the director of the town hospital, was their core figure, silently guiding his like-minded peers.

Unexpectedly, this seemingly absurd method actually worked.

By literally opening holes in their heads, they had truly drawn the gaze of some special entity.

This granted them a special state that allowed them to ignore various supernatural powers.

At the same time, while in this state, their cognition would be replaced by an illusory consensus formed through natural coupling, leaving them to act entirely according to a ”script.”

They were like a troupe of actors performing a play.

Not only could they retain their ”memories” through the process, but judging from Grace’s reaction, it also seemed to provide a special kind of spiritual enjoyment.

What a magical place!

Slipping into Nate Manor with practiced ease, Fu Qian once again saw the old man sitting in the Chair.

The wine bottle at hand was empty, and he was still staring out the window. He didn’t seem to have moved a muscle since Fu Qian left.

Fu Qian shook his head and quietly stepped forward, carefully studying this Demigod killer.

Compared to when Fu Qian had left, his appearance hadn’t changed much. However, his exposed skin now exhibited a bloodless pallor and seemed faintly coated in ice crystals.

Around him, the chilling white frost had more than doubled in thickness.

He must have briefly snapped out of that state in the meantime, losing his suppression over Helom’s remains and exacerbating his body’s mutation.

Now that the state had returned, he had temporarily reentered an equilibrium.

Otherwise, there was no explaining how it had worsened so rapidly in such a short time.

Fu Qian pondered silently.

Without a doubt, as time went on, the physical changes would become increasingly obvious.

Based on what he currently understood, these See Me Faction members switched between the two states every day.

Even if the durations varied, and even if he only regained his normal state for a fraction of the day, Nate, as an ordinary human, absolutely could not withstand the corruption of a Demigod’s remains.

His time was running out.

Fu Qian took a step forward and silently removed the old man’s hat, revealing Helom’s lifeless face.

Without hesitation, Fu Qian extended a finger and tapped the center of the face.

Nate’s body jolted, but he made no sound.

He looked to be in pretty terrible shape.

Meanwhile, a chill crept up the finger, instantly coating Fu Qian’s entire right hand in a layer of white frost.

The face on the scalp twitched, yet it remained firmly clinging to the top of Nate’s head, showing no intention of moving.

Did it know it couldn’t move away?

Fu Qian nodded.

That made sense.

The entire corpse had been reduced to just a face. Fu Qian could almost picture the scene from back then.

After Helom was gunned down, the corpse underwent a mutation and automatically invaded Nate’s body.

However, under the latter’s special state, it was quickly purified and dissolved.

The last remaining fragment of the remains had crawled to the top of Nate’s head, blocking the hole in his skull. This interfered with the special ”See Me” state, and only then was a delicate balance struck.

Thus, even when provoked, it refused to easily wander anywhere else.

The two were now in a state of deep integration. If he forcefully ripped it off, not only would Nate likely die, but under normal circumstances, the detached portion would also be extremely difficult to purify—unless he threw it directly onto another member of the See Me Faction.

Since the special state had a purifying effect on supernatural things, all he needed to do was assist from the side and ensure the hole in the skull remained unobstructed and unhindered. The face would have no choice but to turn to ash.

But before that, there was another approach he could try.

Fu Qian pulled his hand back slightly. The next moment, scarlet light flashed. He activated Tyrant’s Fist, striking the top of Nate’s head with a sharp crack.

Against fragile fusions, the effects of Tyrant’s Fist had always been excellent.

And as Fu Qian lashed out, the effect was practically instantaneous.

Not only did Nate tremble all over, but the human face on top of his head rapidly shrank into a ball.

Seeing this, Fu Qian lashed out again without hesitation.

Clang!

Unable to endure it any longer, Nate collapsed forward onto the table, knocking over the nearby wine bottle.

The bunched-up human face seemed to come alive in an instant, thrashing wildly before rapidly slithering down his neck.

The very second it left the top of his head, Fu Qian sensed a rapid change in the Nate before him. That feeling of emptiness instantly intensified.

The next moment, a dense freezing mist erupted from Nate’s body.

As though exposed to the scorching sun, the slithering face let out a silent scream and rapidly dissolved, melting away like ice and snow.

Ugh!

With a long, drawn-out gasp, Old Man Nate propped his upper body up with both hands and turned to look over.

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