Eldritch Horror Theatre

‘Could this be the legendary Soul Butterfly?’

Examining the thing pinched between his fingers, Fu Qian remembered what Elena had said.

It was completely clear and transparent, so pristine it hardly seemed like a solid entity.

And it had only taken on this appearance after he caught it.

When it was fluttering in the air moments ago, it had blended so perfectly with its surroundings that even the concept of transparency hadn’t applied.

Coupled with the brilliant Golden Rain, he had only noticed a slight anomaly when it drew close enough.

It certainly lived up to its name.

The only problem was that it didn’t look much like a butterfly!

It was about the size of a palm, and its wing was as perfectly regular as a geometric shape. Most importantly... it only had one wing.

Exactly. Although the struggling force against his fingers proved it was itching to fly, this butterfly unequivocally possessed just a single wing.”A Soul Butterfly!”

It seemed there was no need to keep guessing.

Fu Qian looked up at Nora, who had just cried out. Her face was full of disbelief, mixed with a faint trace of reluctance.

It was like feeling flushed with success, only to turn around and see a peer pull a legendary weapon from a drop.

”Is it valuable?”

Fu Qian nodded immediately, adopting the tone of a complete novice.

”Of course it is! It’s one of the most valuable things you can get from the blessing, and it’s incredibly hard to catch—”

Nora’s words came to an abrupt halt as she watched Fu Qian open his fingers.

Regaining its freedom, the Soul Butterfly instantly fluttered. Its single transparent wing traced a bizarre curve as it rapidly faded, blending right back into the air.

This guy’s mental state was visibly unstable!

In fact, Madam Nora wasn’t the only one dumbfounded.

She had just said it was extremely valuable, and he simply threw it away like that?

‘Truly fascinating. It really does fly like a butterfly.’

Amidst the trio’s gasps of shock, Fu Qian simply stared thoughtfully at its bizarre vanishing trajectory.

Its erratic flight path made it look as if there really was another, nonexistent wing beating on the opposite side to balance it.

Marveling at this, Fu Qian reached out his right hand again.

The Soul Butterfly that had just vanished without a trace was plucked right out of thin air for a second time, forced to materialize once more.

”They say it has a mind-confusing effect?”

Casually holding the single-winged Soul Butterfly out toward the trio, Fu Qian recalled what he had heard earlier.

”...For us?”

Realizing that Mister Lu wasn’t just showing off his loot but was actually giving it to them, Nora cried out in surprise.

”Didn’t you say it was precious? Besides, it looks like I’ll have to take a trip with Gerald after the blessing ends anyway.”

Fu Qian gestured with the Iron Anchor in his hand.

...

Nora was speechless for a moment. She turned to look at Tyr, only to see him give a slight nod, signaling her to accept it.

”Thank you!”

Although they hadn’t anticipated such a windfall, the group was clearly well-prepared. Nora quickly pulled out a tightly sealed metal box and carefully took the butterfly from Fu Qian.

”The Soul Butterfly’s mind-confusing effect actually comes entirely from its wing.”

Gesturing for Nora to wait before boxing it up, Tyr looked at Fu Qian and earnestly answered his earlier question.

‘Its wing?’

Fu Qian glanced at Nora’s hand. In just that short amount of time, the butterfly’s wing had resumed its sharp, polygonal shape, its surface as smooth as a mirror.

”When catching a Soul Butterfly, you must remember never to look directly at your own reflection on its wing. Otherwise, you’ll be confused by the anomaly it reflects, potentially even losing all ability to resist,” Tyr quickly explained.

”Although Mister Lu is powerful, in a place like this, even a tiny oversight could lead to unnecessary injury.”

‘So that was it. A mind-confusing reflection?’

Old Man Tyr had explained it very clearly. Fu Qian nodded to show he understood, and in the next second, he focused his gaze directly on that mirror-like surface.

‘Was this... worm-eaten?’

They clearly hadn’t expected this guy to be crazy enough to deliberately look right after being warned not to.

Under the horrified gazes of Tyr and the others, Fu Qian got a clear view of the reflection on the wing.

It was definitely him, but in the reflection, right in the center of his forehead, a flesh-colored worm as thick as a finger swayed side to side as it tried to pull its body out.

At a glance, the head burrowing out of his forehead even wore his own face.

The back half of the worm’s body seemed to be growing straight out of his brain.

And it wasn’t even the only one.

In the center of his sternum and on his lower abdomen, there were similarly shaped entities putting up the same struggle.

‘This scene is a bit grotesque!’

Watching this scene carefully, Fu Qian marveled at it while simultaneously sensing the confusion Tyr had mentioned.

Not only was his attention swiftly drawn in until his eyes seemed to see nothing but the writhing curves of the three worms, but a surging urge to rip them all out rapidly swelled within him.

‘If I actually did that, would I lose my mobility?’

Deep in thought, Fu Qian extended two fingers again, slowly reaching toward the corresponding position of the worm on his forehead in the reflection.

”Wait...”

Seeing this, Tyr reached out and stopped Nora from stepping forward, preventing her from blocking the Soul Butterfly.

Not only that, he even slowly took a few steps back himself and signaled the craftsman to follow suit.

...

He actually seemed to have grabbed something.

At this moment, as Fu Qian pinched his two fingers together right before his eyes, he was clearly holding thin air, yet a peculiar sensation transmitted through them.

His thoughts rusted over for a moment, slipping into a peculiarly sluggish peace.

‘A bit twisted and eerie. This place looks clear and brilliant, but its surface and core styles really don’t match.’

With a sigh, Fu Qian suppressed the urge to grab a second worm and even let go of his grip.

”It is indeed very mind-confusing.”

His sluggish thoughts rapidly recovered. The next moment, he nodded in acknowledgment to Tyr and the others, sounding as though he had just finished a test.

He had naturally seen the trio’s actions clearly and was highly satisfied with Old Man Tyr’s scruples.

On one hand, he had respected Fu Qian’s choice and stopped Nora from interrupting him.

At the same time, seeing that Fu Qian might fall into a confused state, he proactively backed away to maintain a safe distance, showing that he wouldn’t take the opportunity to attack.

The Hand of Justice’s reputation truly was well-deserved.

‘...Did you really need to say that? Didn’t we just tell you? Do you just love courting death that much?’

Nora could hardly suppress the urge to roast him in her mind, while simultaneously marveling that he had actually managed to stop after just a taste.

According to the experience of hunters, once someone entered that confused state, it was extremely difficult to break free without help.

”That is why more than one person has lost their life to this.”

In the face of Fu Qian’s feedback, Tyr remained as steady and prudent as ever, continuing to share as much information as he knew.

”The same goes for the rain just now. Getting soaked in it also affects the mind. Running into a Soul Butterfly in that condition makes it even easier to fall prey to it.”