Eldritch Horror Theatre

Hm?

Watching Ji Yicheng’s expression change drastically, Fu Qian marveled at the fickleness of human nature.

A moment ago, the man had been wearing a look of desperate struggle, yet he had composed himself almost instantly, suddenly brimming with imposing presence.

At the same time, a surging tempest of thunder and lightning closed in on them.

”It’s you!”

A familiar voice rang out. The Demigod Sybil stood there, eyeing Fu Qian with blatant vigilance.

Sure enough, it was those two. Their vitality really was something else!

”Hello, you two.”

Fu Qian turned his head to greet Sybil and Kelsen, who was standing beside her.

They had managed to extract themselves from that side pretty quickly. It seemed they hadn’t run into too much trouble after he left.Sybil’s complexion, of course, was noticeably pale, and her current condition didn’t seem very stable.

She hadn’t looked like this when he made his move earlier. Most likely, she had been caught in her colleague’s friendly fire.

It wasn’t surprising; Kelsen had clearly been unable to fully control his last-minute outburst, so bringing disaster to the fish in the pond was only to be expected.

The only comforting takeaway was that her emotional state seemed to have returned to normal.

”Ji Yicheng, what are you doing here?”

Even in her poor condition, Sybil remained incredibly professional. While keeping her guard up against Fu Qian, she simultaneously focused her attention on Ji Yicheng.

Clearly, as competitors, they were very familiar with one another.

”Was the commotion over there just now your doing?”

Before Ji Yicheng could answer, her eyes widened as she suddenly pieced something together.

”It was.”

Ji Yicheng’s response was concise and honest.

”Given my stance, doing something like that is perfectly normal, isn’t it? Besides, none of your people died, either. More importantly, are you sure this is the time to be bickering about that?”

He pointed at Fu Qian.

”The man standing in front of us should be very familiar to you, right?”

More than just familiar!

Even knowing Ji Yicheng was trying to sow discord, Sybil couldn’t help but glance at Fu Qian again as her mind flashed back to the scene from a short while ago.

Due to her special state at the time, she hadn’t reacted strongly.

But once she escaped, all that accumulated terror had surged back in a wave that refused to subside.

”How do you know we’re familiar with him?”

Sybil was momentarily left speechless, but Kelsen suddenly spoke up beside her, asking in a slow, deliberate tone.

”So you really were the one hiding in the dark back then?”

”Was the incident in the Underground Ruins truly a conspiracy after all?”

He truly lived up to being the person in charge who always held the upper hand over Sybil; his reaction was much faster than hers.

”That’s right, that was me.”

This Demigod, who usually had such a fiery temper, had certainly calmed down a lot today!

With a cold sneer, Ji Yicheng opened his palm to reveal a beam of Bright Light.

”Whether it was a conspiracy doesn’t matter. The fact is that I saved your life, and hers as well.”

”At this very moment, I think you should still be capable of prioritizing what’s urgent.”

”That’s also why I guided you over here. I figured you ought to have a score to settle with this fellow.”

With that, he turned to look back at Fu Qian, unable to suppress the smugness on his face.

”Dazzling, isn’t it? This is the true light of life and hope.”

”I told you before, you should have just killed me outright.”

”You might be strong, but now you have two Demigod enemies.”

”Do you really think you can still stop me under these circumstances?”

So this fellow’s ultimate trump card was just the Great Summoning Technique after all?

Watching Ji Yicheng make a full recovery, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

He had created all those exaggerated visual effects earlier and had even acted his heart out just to keep from being noticed.

He had actually been looking forward to it a bit, only for the man to just set off a signal flare?

If you had actually charged up an ultimate move, I would have at least considered you a real man.

For a moment, Fu Qian felt quite disappointed.

”So you’re hoping we’ll step in to help you stall him while you make your escape?”

Sybil finally figured out Ji Yicheng’s intentions.

No wonder an accident had just happened over there, yet such an ostentatious aura had immediately radiated from here, as if he were terrified no one would notice.

This guy had done it on purpose.

”It’s not about helping me... The man in front of you nearly sent both of you to your graves. Surely you aren’t thinking of dealing with me first under these conditions, are you?”

Ji Yicheng let out a snicker, completely certain of how things would play out.

...

Sybil was momentarily speechless, instinctively looking over at Kelsen.

”It hasn’t quite come to that.”

Kelsen didn’t shirk the issue either; he simply nodded and spoke.

”But there’s a problem: if he could send us to our graves back then, what makes you think he can’t do it now?”

”Why on earth should we seek out our own deaths?”

...

Kelsen’s reaction clearly exceeded Ji Yicheng’s expectations. A moment later, as something dawned on him, his expression changed drastically.

This brother’s mental state really wasn’t right!

With keen interest, Fu Qian stood off to the side, watching Ji Yicheng’s face twist through yet another transformation.

Unlike Ji Yicheng, Fu Qian’s focus had remained squarely on Kelsen the entire time.

Precisely because of that, he had spotted Kelsen’s abnormality immediately.

Even though Sybil had already recovered, this man still appeared to be stuck in that Saint State.

That shouldn’t be the case!

Given the man’s strength, he shouldn’t have been affected so deeply.

Had something else happened inside after he left?

”Kelsen, you—”

By then, it wasn’t just Ji Yicheng; even Sybil was wearing a look of shock and suspicion.

After escaping the Ruins, she had indeed sensed that her colleague was acting a bit strange, but because Kelsen had kept quiet, she had assumed he was merely angry about suffering losses inside.

Now it seemed things were far from that simple!

A dangerous enemy, an insidious opponent, and a colleague who had lost his mind—in an instant, Sybil felt all sense of security vanish as her momentum plummeted.

”So?”

Naturally, Ji Yicheng, who had gone all in, found himself in an even more wretched state than she did.

He had thought he’d fought for a sliver of survival, never expecting developments to take such an unexpected turn.

Kelsen, who usually possessed a fiery temper, had somehow turned out to be the most restrained of them all.

”Therefore, I don’t believe that our intervening right now serves any meaningful purpose.”

Kelsen’s tone was calm and resolute.

”Taking me back to Siren should hold enough value for you, shouldn’t it?”

Ji Yicheng refused to give up just yet.

”In dealing with the Ji Clan, you’ll gain plenty of bargaining chips. I guarantee I won’t put up any resistance, and I will follow you all the way into the Base.”

This...?

For a split second, Sybil even seemed slightly tempted.

”No.”

Unfortunately, Kelsen just shook his head.

”A short while ago, I suddenly realized that Siren is no longer suited for me.”

What the hell...

Ji Yicheng’s expression finally collapsed completely.

Yet Kelsen paid him no further mind, looking toward Fu Qian instead.

”We have no intention of making an enemy of you. We will back off and maintain a safe distance, solely to ensure order in the surrounding area.”

”Of course, if you still don’t believe us, we have no other way to prove it.”

”I believe you.”

Fu Qian waved a hand dismissively.

...

”You knew all along that Kelsen had turned out like this?”

With Kelsen refusing to make a move, Sybil certainly didn’t have the courage to pick a fight alone. Their retreating figures mirrored Ji Yicheng’s dissipating hope.

By the time he turned back to face Fu Qian, the man was practically roaring.

”How could I? I just knew you were luring people over and got curious.”

Fu Qian shook his head.

”Weren’t you afraid your cleverness would backfire and I’d actually escape?”

Fu Qian’s train of thought clearly drove Ji Yicheng crazy.

”It doesn’t matter. Intelligence is more important; your life isn’t worth that much.”