Eldritch Horror Theatre

’Such an open-minded Mother?’

It sounded like the Red Moon wasn’t angry about his rebellion at all—if anything, she seemed rather pleased.

Fu Qian thought to himself, faced with the Red Moon’s unprompted greeting.

But it made sense.

No matter how you looked at it, the Red Moon was the greatest beneficiary of this incident—the veritable oriole behind.

She most likely hadn’t been watching him just to be a bad influence on a child; ”leading him astray” was merely a means to an end.

Fu Qian vividly remembered the first time he had faced the Red Moon.

Those scars and ravines, the sensation of being forcibly twisted.

He might not have been able to draw a conclusion before, but the sight of the arm tentacles being forced to retract just now had once again confirmed a certain theory of his.

It was an incomprehensible curse, one that not even a Deity could resist, that forcibly turned her into a ”moon.”This was highly likely the predicament the Red Moon was facing.

And Yasui Tokiyuki’s final fate looked exactly as if the Red Moon had used the deep corruption to pass that curse onto him.

In Fu Qian’s estimation, he had likely been targeted by the Red Moon because of his ”Containment” actions.

Simply put, because of the Warehouse.

As could be seen from past events, the Warehouse’s existence was not an absolute secret. For an old ones Divine Entity like her, the odds of knowing about it were not small.

Therefore, there was a high probability the Red Moon had sought him out to help her escape. To achieve that goal, she likely needed him to advance further, regardless of any hidden risks.

To her, as long as he advanced, it was a good thing. How he actually advanced probably didn’t matter.

...

At this moment, the restrained Red Moon was already moving upward again, no longer as oppressive as before.

However, Fu Qian knew clearly that this was only a facade. Because of Yasui Tokiyuki, who had turned into a sphere, the Red Moon had established an unprecedentedly stable connection with this place.

This was now her Half-Step Moon.

At this moment in the darkness, the vanished azure planet appeared once again. For a time, red and blue hung side by side in a spectacular display.

Speaking of which, where was his Mercy? How did such a massive revolver just disappear?

He had only used it a few times. Had the thing resorted to passive slowdown and bolted?

Granted, the working environment had been a bit harsh lately—facing nothing but a Divine Emissary or a New God.

Even as he admired the spectacular view, Fu Qian had not forgotten to search for his missing equipment.

Unfortunately, a glance around revealed no traces of modern industrial products. However, a small mound was slowly bulging up from the ground just a short distance ahead.

...

Remnants?

This familiar sight made Fu Qian frown slightly.

This was the classic entrance for Yasui Tokiyuki’s monsters.

The problem was that this one was far too small!

Fu Qian narrowed his eyes, noticing that as the mound bulged upward, it was actually blocked by a stone and took a bit of effort to push it aside.

It was actually a whole nest of them?

As the mound rapidly cracked open, the things underneath finally appeared.

At a glance, they were tiny, oddly shaped skeletons with massive heads, clustered together in various postures.

And one of them was impressively holding up a Silver-White Pistol in its hands.

Had the Red Moon found it for him? Was she making these little guys act as messengers to deliver it?

After devouring Yasui Tokiyuki, she seemed to have grasped some similar authority, making her far more flexible than before.

Fu Qian took two steps forward and reached out to take Mercy.

”Mother has always been watching you...”

Amid the Red Moon’s voice, the little messenger danced around wildly, seemingly thrilled by Fu Qian’s acceptance.

Almost at the same time, another one scurried to the front, raising both hands high to offer a sparkling ring.

It was clearly not the Delusion Step Ring. On the delicate, slender band was a tear-shaped gemstone, dark red as blood.

Was this an extra reward?

Fu Qian didn’t stand on ceremony with this one either.

[Favor]

The moment he took it in his hand, the ring’s name surfaced in his consciousness, accompanied by an intuitive understanding of its effects.

[Blood Crusade: Use blood as fuel to traverse space by traveling through another dimension]

[Oath of Homecoming: Anchor yourself to the Half-Step Moon. On the long road ahead, the homeland will always remain]

It really was compensation for the Delusion Step Ring?

Faced with the information in his consciousness, Fu Qian marveled as he activated the Blood Crusade effect.

Everything became ethereal. He could feel himself detaching from the world before his eyes, and the vigorous blood mist dispersing from his body illuminated another overlapping dimension.

Fu Qian gave a light leap, his body traversing a distance through the blood-red hue. At the same time, a fraction of his body heat seemed to be drained away.

The ambush effect might not be as good as the Delusion Step Ring, but it had its own characteristics. During movement, time in the outside world flowed normally, while his own body entered a state that was difficult to observe. In certain situations, it might work wonders.

No matter how you looked at it, this was the Red Moon using her authority to compensate for the Delusion Step Ring.

Even the price was perfectly suited to his specialty. As long as he didn’t fall asleep inside it, he could withstand the toll as much as he pleased.

As for the second effect, did it mean he could return here anytime? That he could just seek ”Mother’s” protection whenever he ran into trouble?

It seemed somewhat redundant with the Warehouse’s effect. He would consider it as circumstances required later.

Overall, not bad.

Canceling Blood Crusade, Fu Qian expressed satisfaction with this result.

However, after sensing his reappearance, the messengers that had broken out of the ground actually continued crawling rapidly toward him.

There was more?

Fu Qian clicked his tongue in amazement as he looked at the new object being hoisted up by three messengers working together.

Despite the solemn presentation, it looked like nothing more than a thread.

Squiggly and bright red.

And almost the moment Fu Qian reached out, the thread crawled onto his wrist and vanished inch by inch.

It was actually a skill?

The next moment, Fu Qian closed his eyes, sensing the new addition in his consciousness.

[Thread of Attachment: Within a certain range, condenses a fine thread on a target stained with your blood to pull them in front of you. Even if the opponent breaks free, the invisible thread will help you find them immediately]

[An attachment from Mother, which not even a Deity can sever]

Moreover, no matter how you looked at it, this was a divine skill for murder and robbery—quite a perfect fit for his favorite type of mission.

After a brief thought, Fu Qian flicked a finger at the empty air.

A bloody index finger subsequently flew through the moonlight.

As his consciousness shifted, an imperceptibly thin yet incredibly tough thread of blood pierced the air, yanking the finger right back.

A divine skill for tracking and killing. The name, of course, presented a huge contrast.

After the rather unorthodox test, Fu Qian rubbed the stump a couple of times and popped the finger back into place.

”Go back... child... do not lose yourself in the Lie...”

The messengers that had completed their tasks jumped for joy and rapidly shrank back underground, as the Red Moon’s warning echoed down once more.

As the scene shifted, in the very next moment, Fu Qian found himself standing in front of a familiar door, less than a step away.

So it really was a Half-Step Moon?

Amid his musings, through the unclosed door, Su Gao, who was sitting inside, sensed something and looked up.