Eldritch Horror Theatre

”So, according to what Mister Lu just said, is another person from Siren going to die?”

Since the man had been arrogant enough to let the Sunken Anchor lock onto him, the situation was back under control. Gerald’s mood had clearly improved.

So, seeing the mysterious madman’s famously blood-soaked right hand move again, he even felt in the mood to tease him.

”Don’t be so full of yourself. Why should Siren be chosen every time?”

Fu Qian shook his head.

”Also, don’t be so conservative. What makes you think there will only be one?”

With that casual mockery, his raised right hand slowly opened.

This...

Given the lengthy buildup to this reveal, no one could resist looking at his raised palm.

The next moment, they were horrified to see a pale gray eye darting around, looking right back at them.He had an eyeball embedded in his hand—and it didn’t even look human!

It was a visually shocking sight, but everyone here was a transcendent. After spending years surviving in a treacherous place like the Wasteland, they had seen far too many creations that defied imagination.

The odds of terrifying them with mere bizarre visuals were extremely slim.

At most, they were surprised that such a thing could grow on a human body.

What truly horrified them was that as the eye swept over the room, everything in their vision rapidly dimmed, steadily draining of color.

Simultaneously, the mysterious madman calling himself Lu Ming—the owner of that gray eye—instantly became as radiant as a deity, rendering it impossible to look directly at him.

Even a brief glance was enough to scramble their consciousness.

Danger!

Everyone present was a battle-hardened hunter. They knew this prey-like vulnerability was extremely dangerous, and their immediate reaction was to break free.

Unfortunately, they soon found themselves completely powerless against what was unfolding. Their resistance only made the colors fade even faster.

”Lorraine...”

Elena, equally trapped in that sense of powerlessness, suddenly noticed a strange reaction from her teammate.

Lorraine clearly despised the sensation and was brimming with intense agitation.

At the same time, the belly beneath the cloak was writhing violently—except it was Elena’s own belly.

How could this be?

In that instant, having never experienced such a sensation, Elena almost plunged a hand into her stomach to rip out whatever terrifying creation might be inside.

But a sudden realization flashed through her mind, forcing her to suppress the urge.

I’m definitely not pregnant, yet something is moving in my belly. This shouldn’t be happening...

So, could it be that it isn’t actually happening at all?

Looking up at the world around her, which had completely faded into grayscale, Elena came to a realization and let out a long breath.

It’s not happening... Everything in front of me is likely just something akin to a dream. Its Rank is just too high for me to detect or resist.

And Lorraine noticed it, using this method to warn me...

Her anxiety instantly dissipated. After a brief hesitation, Elena placed a hand over her belly and gently soothed it.

Signaling that she had received the warning, she also conveyed her intent to remain quiet for now.

The situation was changing rapidly, but it still seemed to be under Mister Lu’s control. It wouldn’t hurt to quietly observe the changes.

Regardless, his earlier offer of an alliance could still be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill.

If she made a sudden move and caused the situation to spiral out of control, the alliance would be ruined. Furthermore, if she ended up being targeted by such a character at every turn, their chances of success on this trip would become terrifyingly slim.

...

Not bad at all!

Noticing Elena’s actions, Fu Qian nodded in satisfaction.

Naturally, none of this was real. He had simply activated Lucid Dream while showing off the eyeball.

As a Dream Dominator, draining the color from everyone’s vision was incredibly easy.

What wasn’t easy was the headcount. Even though Lucid Dream had recently been upgraded, there were still a few too many people present.

Trapping this many transcendents in a single dream for the first time—while keeping them unaware that they were dreaming—was quite difficult.

Fu Qian’s solution had been simple. When he activated Lucid Dream, he triggered Commandment Residue as well.

He used the latter’s effect to disorient them, lowering their mental resistance.

The plan was a success. The only slight anomaly was Lorraine.

Between her Rank and her animalistic way of thinking, she was the hardest one to drag into a dream.

Fu Qian’s response was simply not to force it; he wasn’t going to go out of his way to bully a child.

His pragmatic choice proved correct. Elena displayed the proper self-awareness of a temporary ally.

”What the hell... are you?”

With just a few casual gestures, the man had dragged everyone into a perilous trap. Overwhelmed by an intense sense of crisis, Gerald’s earlier good mood vanished without a trace.

It only worsened when he saw the man stand up and walk toward the counter, step by step.

The iron chain entangled around his body pulled taut, yet the Iron Anchor at its end failed to delay his movements in the slightest.

Impossible! The Sunken Anchor can bind even Divine Beings!

His worldview shattered, Gerald practically squeezed the question through gritted teeth.

”You’re asking what I am?”

Fu Qian walked up to the counter, pulled a bottle of liquor from the proprietress’s hand, popped it open with a flick of his finger, and gave it a sniff.

Hearing Gerald’s question and seeing the others looking over as well, he revealed an amused expression.

He reached out his right hand and lifted the Iron Anchor from the ground, inch by inch.

Under the clash of immense physical forces, the iron chain creaked, on the verge of snapping at any moment.

”Let me tell you what I am...”

The liquor bottle in Fu Qian’s hand abruptly shattered. Hundreds of shards converged into a translucent serpent. Moving far more nimbly than the iron chain, it shot forward and coiled around Gerald.

As Gerald instinctively tried to dodge, the serpent exploded outward in all directions.

The horrified spectators ducked for cover, only to find that the dazzling attack had cleverly bypassed everyone. Even if they had stood completely still, they wouldn’t have been hurt.

”The people the Night Watchers don’t dare to kill, I kill. The things the Night Watchers don’t dare to do, I do.”

Astonishingly, even after the bottle shattered, the liquor inside retained its original shape, suspended firmly in Lu Ming’s hand.

Following his wildly arrogant declaration, he tilted his wrist and slowly ”poured” the liquor onto the Iron Anchor, washing away the Rust Marks upon it.

”In short, I govern the affairs of transcendents, and I govern the affairs of ordinary people even more!”

”Melting blood and dissolving souls, blaspheming the gods and deceiving fate.”

”This is the Origin Council.”

Drawing aggro for someone else—who doesn’t know how to do a job like that!