Eldritch Horror Theatre

There were no explicit scenes, just a sight that would deal a blow to an ordinary person’s sanity.

Everything below the waist was indeed a pair of legs, but the aesthetic was completely at odds with the upper body.

Smooth and moist, shaped into tubes or flat strips, dozens of them tangled messily together like soaked glass noodles.

Calling it a Jellyfish Vampire had just been a visual metaphor earlier, but looking at it now, could it actually be true?

There was no doubt that the parts hidden beneath the black robe bore a striking resemblance to jellyfish tentacles.

It reached the point where the upper half—which looked completely human from any angle—now involuntarily conjured up a specific image: the head of a massive jellyfish that had simply been pressed into a human mold.

Yet that wasn’t even the strangest part. As they extended downward, all those tentacles actually split into two bundles just like legs, ultimately merging into a pair of shoes at the bottom.

Delicate and bright red, they were the only things this mysterious entity wore.

”What exactly is going on... don’t you dare think about taking everything for yourself! Don’t forget, I’m the one who brought you here... Wolf.”

He clearly wasn’t completely blind to the situation. Having his own eyes opened by this very scene, Butters finally couldn’t hold back his roar.It was a justified outburst; if he had taken the robe off his head while saying it, he might have been a bit more imposing.

Despite acting so imposing the whole way here, it wasn’t hard to see that Butters wasn’t actually the courageous type.

A very direct example was right in front of them: if he was truly that brave, why would he have gone out of his way to find two teammates?

Was it really just to share?

Fu Qian wasn’t surprised by this reaction, and he was gratified by how much the man cherished his own life.

”Relax, I don’t like glass noodles quite that much. So, what do I need to do?”

Tossing out a casual reassurance, Fu Qian didn’t even look away as he directly confirmed the next step.

”Take... the shoes off...”

The Jellyfish Vampire responded quite promptly.

...

There was actually this kind of sealing method?

Fu Qian considered himself fairly knowledgeable about tropes where evil was accidentally unleashed, but resolving it just by taking off some shoes was admittedly rather bizarre.

At first glance, he had assumed he needed to help make the tentacles look more like actual legs, yet the very shoes that made her look more human were actually her restraints.

Her true form was genuinely a source of curiosity.

”That’s all it takes? And how do we get our reward after that?”

Fu Qian didn’t waste any time marveling at the situation and continued asking his questions.

He appeared relaxed, but ever since the black robe had been lifted, the mental influence had pushed his inner impulses to new heights, making it far from easy to resist.

”I will bestow it upon you once I am freed.”

Remaining as steady as ever when faced with Fu Qian’s demeanor, the voice inside his mind seemed less ethereal and replied even faster.

”Are you joking? I just said ’we,’ as in a team. Did you really think I’d hog the reward all for myself?”

Unexpectedly, Fu Qian still sounded dissatisfied.

”...Both of you will receive it.”

His dissatisfaction actually stemmed from the reward being offered only to him rather than it sounding like an empty promise; Fu Qian’s behavior finally left the entity momentarily speechless.

”Three.”

Unfortunately, Fu Qian actually shook his head again the very next moment.

”We have one more person. Where did he go?”

...One always had to keep a clear head.

As mentioned before, his purpose for staying behind instead of decisively running away was extremely clear.

First, since a Transcendent Tier entity had truly appeared, he might as well take the opportunity to confirm what kind of role this power played in the scenario.

He had already gotten a clue about this from their previous exchange. Even though it was undeniably a disaster, it seemed that, much like in common horror stories, ordinary people weren’t entirely without room to maneuver.

Next, he needed to see whether the subjective act of ”finding out the truth” was the ”correct” way to complete the scenario.

”His name is Wen. He was the first person to rush in here. Not only is he brave, he’s also the one who desires this gift the most. Where is he?”

Without giving the other party a chance to breathe, Fu Qian continued his questioning, taking the opportunity to profoundly mourn Brother Ruthless in passing.

”It has nothing to do with me. Only the two of you arrived here.”

A moment later, Fu Qian finally got his answer.

It sounded like this Jellyfish Vampire had no desire to take the blame for this matter.

”I find that hard to believe. If you didn’t do something, how could a living person just silently vanish into thin air?”

But Fu Qian obviously wasn’t that easy to fool.

”I don’t need you to believe me, I only need you to make a choice... Do you want this gift or not?”

Being an extraordinary entity after all, the Jellyfish Vampire showed no further intention of proving her innocence. She coldly laid out an ultimatum, leaving it to this expedition team to decide for themselves.

”No.”

What a pity. Fu Qian hadn’t hesitated for a single second before making his choice.

”He doesn’t want it either.”

And that wasn’t all. As he spoke, he pointed his Crowbar at Butters, whose head was still covered by the black robe.

At that moment, the latter finally couldn’t help but lift a corner of the robe. However, facing Mister Wolf, who had been terrifyingly ruthless this entire time, Butters ultimately didn’t pull the garment off.

...

”Then you may leave.”

It was clear that Fu Qian’s decision had brought about quite a shock.

The restrained entity had clearly never expected to be rejected. After a moment of silence, she actually chose to issue a direct eviction order, seemingly having decided to swallow the pain and give up on this chance to escape.

”How could we possibly do that?”

Yet to her absolute surprise, even this was rejected.

”Three of us came here, but only two are leaving. That makes no sense.”

There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in Fu Qian’s tone. As he spoke, he even casually nudged the fragments Butters had pried off back into the coffin.

”I told you it has nothing to do with me... Are you planning to blackmail me like this? To bury me again?”

It had to be said that although the Jellyfish Vampire’s tone didn’t sound very pleasant, the humanity within it was growing stronger and stronger.

”Before that, are you also planning to attack me with the weapon in your hand?”

Not only that, but she even offered a slightly mocking suggestion.

Generally speaking, this kind of provocative statement often indicated a guilty conscience underneath, and its true purpose was very likely an attempt to minimize the chances of him actually doing so.

After all, judging by her previous performance, as long as one could resist her mental influence, this restrained entity had no other means of fighting back.

”No.”

However, Fu Qian rejected her once again, showing absolutely no interest.

What a joke. An ordinary person poking a Transcendent Tier entity to death with a Crowbar might not be absolutely impossible, but why would he be bored enough to gamble on her intentions?

”I am a peace-loving person; I’ll only make a phone call to report this. The road outside is quite close by, so the police should be able to get here in no time... and then the Night Watchers.”