Eldritch Horror Theatre

”That actually makes sense!”

For a moment, Ais seemed somewhat swayed by Fu Qian’s words.

As a core member of The Society, she naturally knew the exact capabilities of every piece of equipment.

Scrooge hadn’t just activated his ability—he had definitely done so before Left Hand threw his punch.

While the mask’s attack was brutal, its wind-up time was much longer than imagined, and its activation conditions were incredibly strict.

Looking back now, Scrooge’s aggressive questioning really did seem a little forced.

So Left Hand had noticed the signs and struck decisively to interrupt him?

Suddenly, the story sounded far more plausible. His actions could even be considered brave.

The only problem was that none of them had seen the living-corpse transformation he kept talking about...

”That’s right. I was trying to kill you...”While Ais wrestled with her doubts, Scrooge finally hauled himself to his feet.

Blood still smeared his lips, and his face was even a little deformed. Fu Qian’s punch had been truly ruthless.

But judging by his voice, it didn’t seem to have affected his ability to speak.

”Why?”

”Heh...”

As Ais instinctively pressed him, Scrooge shook his head with a cold sneer and pointed at Fu Qian.

”I might not be able to see my own face, but I am absolutely certain this guy was undergoing a living-corpse transformation—”

Scrooge’s accusation was cut off by an explosion of shattered golden light.

Old Man Sage had finally made his move.

An invisible torrent swept across the room. As everyone’s minds abruptly cleared, Fu Qian noticed the old man giving him a rather meaningful look.

As expected, he wasn’t going to easily believe that Fu Qian had actually seen Scrooge undergo a living-corpse transformation.

But unfortunately, without being able to use Insight, there was no way to prove such a thing.

”Wait a minute. Scrooge and I both saw each other undergoing a living-corpse transformation, but the rest of you didn’t see anything wrong—I get it now!”

Fu Qian threw his head back, his face lighting up with a sudden epiphany.

”So that’s how it is... What we were seeing was fake! That includes the guy who ran away, and even what he saw when he looked at us!”

”What do you mean? The Holy Grail can secretly alter what we see?”

Prompted by Fu Qian, Ais caught on quickly, her voice rising in pitch.

”We saw that guy as a living corpse, and he saw the exact same thing when he looked at us! He thought we were all infected, which is why he bolted without a word!”

”A clever psychological suggestion, one link chained to the next.”

Fu Qian nodded, acknowledging her sharp wit.

”If I hadn’t already anticipated the possibility of a living-corpse transformation, I wouldn’t have struck so fast just now... Truly terrifying. It’s like we’re being guided to follow a pre-written script.”

As he spoke, Fu Qian kept Sage in his peripheral vision. When he mentioned the word ”script,” the old man’s expression flickered strangely.

The Old Man’s suspicion that he was connected to the See Me Faction seemed to have grown just a bit stronger.

His casual probe having yielded results, Fu Qian gave Scrooge a slight nod.

”Sorry about that. It looks like it was just a misunderstanding. We were both victims here.”

Both victims... he actually had the nerve to say that?

Ais and the rest of the group shot him incredulous looks.

If the theory was correct, the statement was technically true.

The problem was that the difference in what these two victims had suffered was a bit too drastic.

Scrooge’s chin was still dripping blood, while the only blood anywhere on Fu Qian was on the Glove he’d used to punch him.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

As the victim of the beating, Scrooge looked like someone who rarely ever took a hit like this.

He glared at Fu Qian with murderous intent. Aside from the cracking of his knuckles, he offered no other response to the apology.

”But when it comes to being decisive and ruthless, I’m still a step behind!”

Unexpectedly, in the face of that seething rage, Fu Qian let out another sigh.

”If it had really been a living-corpse transformation, my punch wouldn’t have done a thing.”

He actually had a point...

The onlookers were taken aback once again, their gazes shifting toward Scrooge.

Initially, they had all felt quite a bit of sympathy for him.

But Fu Qian’s reminder made them instantly realize that as brutal as the punch was, it had only knocked out a few teeth. Scrooge, on the other hand, had immediately unleashed a Transcendent Tier ability.

If that punch hadn’t interrupted him, Left Hand would likely be dead right now.

They had both noticed signs of a teammate undergoing a living-corpse transformation, but their decisiveness was on completely different levels.

You really couldn’t judge a situation just by its surface!

”Sage... is it really exactly as Left Hand described?”

Realizing the shift in the room’s mood, Ais, who always prioritized team cohesion, instinctively chose to de-escalate the situation, looking to Sage for confirmation.

The Old Man hadn’t said a single word since he intervened earlier.

”An incredibly clever and subtle method!”

Not keeping them in suspense, Sage withdrew his gaze and nodded.

”The Holy Grail truly doesn’t want its existence to be discovered.”

This confirmed Left Hand’s theory.

The group inhaled sharply. Suddenly, they were no longer so concerned about who was more ruthless or who had been wronged between Fu Qian and Scrooge.

Their own survival took priority. Just thinking about the lethal danger behind such a method left them shaken.

”In fact, this is exactly why we must recover this Holy Artifact for The Society. But there is no need to worry. We’ve gained at least two crucial pieces of information from this.”

Seemingly aware of the dip in morale, Old Man Sage chuckled and held up a finger.

”First, this natural tendency to conceal itself, combined with the way it replicated abilities earlier, proves once again that our target is right here—and we are getting close.”

”Second, the Holy Grail is still in a state of near slumber. Its power recovery has been limited.”

How so?

Faced with the confused looks from Ais and the others, Old Man Sage pointed at Fu Qian.

”The extent to which the Holy Grail can rewrite what we see is clearly limited.”

”Otherwise, think about it. If it could simply hide Scrooge’s attack from view, Left Hand would already be dead. Why go to the trouble of baiting us into killing each other?”

...He was right. If they couldn’t even see a Transcendent Tier attack coming, the victims of its illusions would essentially be sitting ducks.

It seemed the Holy Grail still lacked the power to conceal a Transcendent Tier attack.

The group subconsciously let out a breath of relief.

”I almost forgot the final piece of good news. From this point on, you will no longer fall for its illusions.”

Faced with the sudden boost in morale, Old Man Sage tapped the Golden Staff in his hand, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

This naturally referred to the ”secondary immunity” supported by Insight.

”Also... well done, Left Hand.”

The Old Man, who appeared to be in a good mood, even went out of his way to praise Fu Qian.

”You handled that sudden crisis perfectly. It seems even the Holy Grail agrees, considering you a priority target to eliminate.”

”Now, it is time for us to seek an audience with this crown jewel of knowledge.”