Eldritch Horror Theatre

I’m honestly speechless.

Faced with Fu Qian’s answer, Ais gritted her teeth slightly. Ultimately, she looked toward Old Man Sage, deferring to his judgment.

”He was completely normal at that time?”

The latter kept his expression perfectly in check, merely giving Fu Qian a deep look.

”Completely normal.”

”Then why were you paying attention to whether he was normal?”

But before Old Man Sage could comment, Charlotte suddenly spoke up.

Excellent!

Looks like they aren’t just being driven by hormones anymore.

Fu Qian cast a glance at Charlotte. The latter’s gaze was sharp; though skeptical, it showed little of their earlier emotional volatility.Clearly, Charlotte had asked this because they had also realized how suspicious their own behavior was.

As expected of an apprentice Saint. Very spirited.

”This operation leaves no room for error. I wanted to confirm everyone was in a normal state.”

Fu Qian blinked, utterly unfazed by the intense scrutiny.

You’re the most abnormal one here...

For a moment, almost everyone cursed him inwardly. Unfortunately, Old Man Sage clearly held the final say.

”We still have enough time, but we’d better pick up the pace.”

Faced with the increasingly suspicious Fu Qian, the latter showed considerable tolerance. Not only did he genuinely signal them to double back and search, he didn’t even demand that Fu Qian walk at the front.

...

With greater initiative, the team moved faster than before, soon catching that fleeting glimpse in the darkness.

”What’s going on with that guy’s leg...”

Confronted by a living corpse still wearing a Golden Saint Robe, Charlotte was utterly shocked. Without even discussing it with the others, they took the lead and charged recklessly forward.

Of course, by the time the rest of the group caught up, Charlotte had also stopped much faster than before.

Clearly, they had failed to catch up again. Operating at a hundred and twenty percent, Charlotte realized far sooner that they shouldn’t be lured deeper in.

”It looks like a living corpse, but it’s definitely wearing our gear. Every detail is exactly the same.”

Standing in place and waiting for the group to catch up, Charlotte spoke rapidly.

”But it’s different from the others. It seems to be hiding from us, and it’s incredibly fast. I’m not sure if we should keep chasing it.”

”You did the right thing.”

Sage listened carefully while staring back into the pitch-black path they had just taken. He nodded, pondered for a moment, and then abruptly looked toward Fu Qian.

”Left Hand, what do you think?”

This guy... even Sage is asking for his opinion?

”It doesn’t look like it was attacked.”

While the old man’s action left the rest of the group somewhat bewildered, Fu Qian showed no signs of stage fright. He rubbed his chin with exaggerated seriousness and offered his critique.

”Not attacked... Don’t tell me you think one of our own silently turned into a living corpse within those thirty seconds just now?”

In this seemingly familiar exchange, Scrooge was still the quickest to react.

But it was here that the gap in persuasiveness caused by status became obvious.

When Fu Qian put forward the same view, Scrooge understood it, but his immediate reaction was to question its unreasonableness.

”Hard to say.”

Fu Qian threw his hands up, looking like he was merely offering an idea.

”Maybe the mutation started in the brain?”

”...Have you ever thought about getting your own brain checked first?”

Charlotte subconsciously voiced this question, but was directly interrupted the next moment.

”I agree with Left Hand.”

Staring at Fu Qian, Sage spoke without any expression.

”Although we lost the trail and can’t make a precise judgment, I’m inclined to believe that was one of our own, so we don’t need to worry too much about an ambush.”

”But...”

Never expecting Sage to actually take Left Hand’s side, Scrooge clearly disagreed with this conclusion and couldn’t help taking a step forward.

In that moment, his action also drew a silent note of praise from Fu Qian.

According to how things had developed previously, Scrooge’s incredibly natural reaction was just a smokescreen. A second later, Sage would be missing half his head.

The only problem was that this time, Scrooge wasn’t looking at the old man, but at Fu Qian himself.

...

Had the worldline shifted without anyone noticing?

The target of this deadly trap was actually aimed at me?

In the Holy Grail’s judgment, is my threat even greater than Old Man Sage’s?

That suits me perfectly!

Deeply feeling that he was finally being taken seriously, Fu Qian felt a surge of strength fill his entire body under this encouragement.

”I still find it a bit hard to—”

The next moment, Scrooge—who was speaking to Sage while staring straight at Fu Qian—took a vicious uppercut right to the jaw.

The remaining half of his skepticism was forcefully swallowed back down his throat.

The Golden Gauntlet was no laughing matter. Even without using supernatural power, its lethality was extraordinary.

Amid the excellent feedback of the strike, Fu Qian vaguely saw a few white teeth mixed in the blood, along with a dark red beam tearing through the darkness.

Unfortunately, because he had been forced to look up, the beam ultimately blasted into the ceiling overhead.

What exactly is this guy’s background? There’s no need to hit someone over a disagreement—wait a minute, what is that?

The sudden turn of events before their eyes left the spectators completely shocked.

They had originally thought Charlotte was right and that Left Hand’s brain had a problem, but who would have expected Scrooge to be the same?

Using supernatural abilities without permission, and even targeting one of their own?

Of course, the most crucial point was: how did Left Hand know he had gone crazy?

”I am now one hundred percent certain that the one just now was one of our own...”

Fortunately, as the party involved, Fu Qian didn’t leave the team guessing for long and quickly answered their doubts.

With an icy tone and a sharp gaze, Fu Qian gently stroked his bloodstained Glove, looking down at Scrooge as he struggled to climb back up.

”Because we have a living example right in front of us.”

”What do you mean?”

Scrooge was temporarily unable to speak up in his own defense, so Charlotte, now on full alert, questioned him instead.

”I think you really have gone crazy!”

”I wanted to ask if all of you had gone blind.”

Fu Qian gave a cold sneer, pointing at Scrooge.

”This guy has been slowly turning into a living corpse right next to you, and you guys actually couldn’t tell?”

Scrooge has turned into a living corpse? Really?

Hearing this, Charlotte and Ais, who were standing the closest, simultaneously took a step back.

However, after carefully scrutinizing Scrooge, who was now holding onto the wall and slowly standing up, they simply couldn’t find any trace of a living corpse on him.

”Left Hand, are you sure?”

Ultimately, Ais was the first one unable to hold back from asking.

”It’s so obvious and you guys can’t see it?”

Fu Qian sounded even more surprised than she did.

”Bas... tard... it’s clear... ly... you...”

Before Ais, whose head was full of questions, could respond, Scrooge let out a strained voice.

It was just that the punch from earlier had apparently made him bite his tongue, making it a bit difficult to understand him.

”Still won’t admit it!”

Fortunately, Fu Qian understood him and immediately let out a cold laugh.

”If you haven’t turned into a crazy living corpse, why would you try to attack me?”