Eldritch Horror Theatre

By the time Fu Qian and Casi arrived, the room was already packed with experts.

The latest victim was a young man who looked even younger than Kamakura Keiji.

His condition, however, was far more severe. He lay rigid as smooth, neat cuts slowly but inexorably bloomed along the bloody trails crisscrossing his body.

Despite receiving initial bandaging, the gashes showed no signs of healing. In fact, they were still multiplying.

At a glance, the snow-white bedsheets were already soaked completely red.

”What is his name? What was he doing just now?”

Ni Huayuan seemed to have been among the first to arrive. Standing to the side, he was earnestly conducting a meticulous clinical examination.

He spared only a single glance for Casi and Fu Qian as they entered.

”Kamakura Shinji. He was alone in his room before this. Only he knows what he was doing.”

Kamakura Ki had clearly already questioned the others, his brow furrowed in a slight frown.”What were you doing?”

Kamakura Keiji leaned down, whispering the question directly into Kamakura Shinji’s ear.

”Ugh... Ah...”

The young man was clearly still conscious. A terrified look in his eyes, he tried to answer, but his efforts only forced a spray of bloody froth from his neck.

A gruesome gash had already severed his ability to speak.

”Open your mouth.”

Witnessing this, the female instructor who had furiously rebuked Casi and Fu Qian earlier stepped forward and pulled out a bronze cylinder.

True to her swift and resolute style, she didn’t bother waiting. Seeing the patient exhaust the last of his strength just to open his mouth a sliver, she pinched his jaw open herself.

With a sharp twist, she unscrewed one end of the cylinder to reveal a vial of potion.

Unfortunately, not only was it completely unbranded, but it also gave off a bizarre stench.

The next moment, the unbranded potion flowed like a golden thread directly into Kamakura Shinji’s mouth.

Judging by the female instructor’s solemn expression, the medicine was incredibly precious.

After pouring barely half the vial, she quickly pulled her hand back, solemnly capping and stowing it away.

”His body can’t handle any more.”

Tossing out the brief explanation, the female instructor narrowed her eyes to observe the treatment’s effects.

Although it was an unbranded concoction, its quality was undeniably extraordinary.

The moment the potion passed his lips, Kamakura Shinji’s breathing smoothed out, and a faint gleam of vitality returned to his eyes.

Not only that, but pink granulation tissue could faintly be seen stretching out from the neat cuts across his body. They rapidly intertwined into thin membranes, attempting to knit the wounds closed.

”Meditating...”

Almost as soon as his condition stabilized, Kamakura Shinji forced out a raspy whisper.

”Meditating?”

The moment those words left his mouth, Kamakura Ki slammed his palm fiercely onto the table, instantly enraged.

”Didn’t I issue a strict order that no one is allowed to practice the sword for now?”

At least he still had some sense, recognizing that this backlash was tied to the Tomb Guardian’s Boon.

His earlier decisive orders showed a remarkably strong desire for survival.

Watching this unfold, Fu Qian commented silently to himself.

”I didn’t... practice. I just meditated...”

Facing Kamakura Ki’s thunderous fury, Kamakura Shinji struggled to defend himself.

Just meditating...

He hadn’t practiced the sword, yet he still suffered a severe backlash.

Fu Qian could almost hear a collective intake of breath from the room.

Even Kamakura Ki’s expression froze.

Didn’t that mean they couldn’t escape this calamity even if they refrained from using the boon?

”What else did you do before that?”

Ni Huayuan narrowed his eyes, breaking the oppressive atmosphere to continue his questioning. He seemed quite dissatisfied with ”meditating” as an answer.

”Before...”

Kamakura Shinji’s eyes darted around frantically as he tried his hardest to remember.

But just as he opened his mouth to speak, his body convulsed violently, and the words lodged in his throat turned into muffled whimpers.

The wounds that had just knit themselves into thin membranes were now visibly swelling.

With a sickening sound like tearing kraft paper, the smooth, neat cuts burst open in the exact same spots, as if invisible blades from the void were slashing at him again.

This time, the flesh tore open more than twice as fast. For a moment, blood sprayed everywhere.

Snap!

Faced with this sudden mutation, Ni Huayuan didn’t step back to dodge. Instead, he leaned down and snapped his fingers.

Kamakura Shinji violently shuddered. Although his body continued to twist in physical agony, his mind miraculously calmed down.

”What did you do before that?”

Ni Huayuan asked again, devoid of any emotion.

His method was a forceful mental pacification that had zero effect on the physical injuries.

But unlike the female instructor, this man clearly valued the answer more than the patient.

Seeing Kamakura Shinji’s flesh rapidly splitting open, the other members of the Kamakura Family obviously couldn’t bear the sight. But since Kamakura Ki didn’t say a word, the rest of them ultimately remained silent.

”Before that, I think I was watching...”

Finally, spurred by Ni Huayuan’s coercion, the dying Kamakura Shinji experienced a moment of terminal lucidity and recalled a detail.

”...watching TV.”

Amidst the flying blood spatter, he finally managed to force out an answer.

Unfortunately, this answer was a far cry from the dramatic, crucial clues typical of such stories.

...

Never expecting such an absurd result, even someone as capable as Ni Huayuan was stunned for several seconds.

After recovering his wits, the strange gazes cast by the onlookers made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

Especially Casi’s.

Such decisive and ruthless interrogation, such swift and resolute action—all to get an answer like this?

It gave off the jarring contrast of deploying eight bodyguards to clear the way to a public toilet.

Looking at the convulsing Kamakura Shinji, Ni Huayuan felt a faint urge to hack the kid to death with a single palm strike.

”Professor Ni could continue questioning him—like what program he was just watching.”

Casi, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up, delivering exactly the kind of naked sarcasm one would expect.

”After all, he might have been bewitched and forgotten the real culprit.”

...

This well-timed, point-blank mockery was undoubtedly devastating. Ni Huayuan’s face turned so grim it looked ready to drip water.

However, considering he had just used iron-fisted methods to force out information and had absolutely nothing to show for it, he truly had no grounds to lash out.

”So what ideas does Dean Casi have? I’ll wait and see.”

”Not even Teacher Chang’s potion could save him. It seems to be a power of a rather high Rank, one that practically ignores the laws of biology.”

Having finished mocking Ni Huayuan, Casi looked utterly satisfied. In the span of a single second, he switched to a serious demeanor and began observing Kamakura Shinji.

He even peeled back the bandages over the wounds, refusing to let a single detail slip by.

Kamakura Shinji’s condition worsened in tandem; it was clear he was in his final death throes.

”From what I understand, most of your past opponents ended up like this too, right?”

Casi ignored the gruesome sight and turned to look at Kamakura Ki.

”...Yes.”

Kamakura Ki hesitated for a moment.

”This is indeed the family’s Cursed Swordsmanship, without any deviation.”

”Are you sure?”

”I’m sure.”

”Alright then.”

Casi straightened up and looked toward a corner of the room.

”Is there a way to save him, Ah Kai?”