Eldritch Horror Theatre

So, where is this seat’s fire?

Dark Moon, God, the Dragon King, and now the Holy Infant Calamity Star.

He had just dealt with them, so the chances of a mistaken identity were incredibly small.

Not to mention, even though it hadn’t manifested a physical form and tried to cower beneath Dark Moon’s concealment, he clearly sensed this entity also had a subtle resonance with the Abandoned Prison.

For the great Tyrant to be assassinated right in his own home—even by an assassination squad of such extremely high caliber—there had to be a reason.

And then there was that fire which had been missing until now—oh, it had already appeared.

Ignoring the fragmented Dragon King during his standoff with the Holy Infant and God, Fu Qian clenched his still-lacerated right hand. A dazzling wisp of flame ignited from the wound, rapidly engulfing his entire palm.

As its beautiful colors sparkled, it brought a profound sense of wealth and freedom, even reflecting alongside the Commandment Residue on his body.

That was right. Fu Qian had already canceled the effect of Burning Frost.

When misleading people, especially clever ones, it was best not to leave obvious traces.Earlier, he had been slaying a dragon. Keeping it active all the time now wouldn’t be as effective.

As for why the fire suddenly vanished and then suddenly returned?

Although the specific operational details were hard to explain, a Rank clearly a step below the Dragon King like the Holy Infant Calamity Star could still participate in an operation of this level...

And during their first encounter, he had already pointed out that its abilities and authority required a plagiarism check...

Combining the two, it was easy to deduce a title like traitor.

Was it a subordinate god concept similar to his good friend Hamadus? Or simply a lower existence on the same Divine Path?

Dark Moon’s concealment effect was somewhat useful, so he couldn’t confirm anything more for the moment.

However, the Holy Infant acting as a guide to lead them here, using a special method to restrict part of the Tyrant’s authority with the backing of several mighty figures, was an operation not hard to imagine.

As for why it couldn’t restrict him anymore?

Restricting his authority within the Tyrant Domain, even with so many people helping, had to be an incredibly taxing job, perhaps even requiring continuous spellcasting.

In the end, it still couldn’t resist jumping out just now, turning waste into treasure by taking advantage of the Dragon King’s misfortune.

...

It certainly wasn’t the smartest move, but he couldn’t blame it either.

In the blink of an eye, the golden Frenzied Flame had already engulfed the Tyrant’s entire body. Fu Qian didn’t even intentionally restrain it to look more aesthetically pleasing; fleshy tentacles swayed and swept out, towering like a canopy.

God’s actions had already explained everything. Under his continuous escalation, the anomaly had finally broken through a certain boundary, and the collapse of consensus had begun.

In the current situation, unless Dark Moon jumped out to fight him regardless of the consequences, it still came down to that same conclusion: communication was useless, and a higher entity only believed its own judgment.

And would Dark Moon jump out?

One had to know that it couldn’t even be a fake skirmish; they would likely have to fight until one of them fell for it to be of any use.

Putting aside its previously low-key behavior, even if it didn’t mind revealing itself, Dark Moon wouldn’t go so far as to prove its loyalty with its life.

And even if it had the confidence to beat his heavily injured self to death, did it have the confidence that the remaining two wouldn’t finish off its heavily injured self in turn?

This thing called a chain of suspicion was truly a beautiful symphony played by ”wisdom,” the kind that couldn’t be stopped once it started.

In summary, the Holy Infant Calamity Star’s attack just now was actually a last resort.

After all, if this matter truly failed, the other contestants might be fine, but as a traitor, its ending would undeniably be miserable.

Therefore, swinging a teammate’s corpse for another hammer blow—if it could take everyone down, then executions and dismemberments would be easy to handle. If it couldn’t, continuing to cast spells over there would lose all meaning. And as it turned out, it failed to take him down.

Fu Qian blinked. Within the silent Land of Self-Abandonment, golden flames soared into the sky, shrouding everything.

...

So if the Tyrant failed, would it also look like this?

In the blink of an eye, it resembled Purgatory, yet it didn’t damage those buildings in the slightest.

The humanoid figures on the ground who hadn’t been caught in the battle didn’t wail in pain, either. In fact, their fear and joy burned even more intensely because of this divine might.

Yet, witnessing such a scene, what came to Fu Qian’s mind was Master Yuhun’s past description of the Flame of Frenzy.

To this day, they still burned within the Land of Self-Abandonment.

Back then, after the Tyrant was assassinated, polluted, and subsequently dismembered, more than one thing must have lost control.

Like the Frenzied Flame, like the Crimson Frenzy... Fu Qian reached out and wiped the wound. The bizarre aura within it only reminded him of the sensation of swallowing the Scarlet Angel back in the day.

This special kind of pollution could seemingly be explained as the result of God’s power corroding the Tyrant?

This was likely why it could help the Holy Infant Calamity Star activate the resurrection seed of Virgo La Nina. After all, they were similar powers.

Although it was still curious why a higher entity like God, who looked so holy and compassionate, possessed such methods and even took on the role of an assassin.

Unfortunately, there was clearly no chance to get an answer. Amidst the overwhelming golden Frenzied Flame, God’s figure had directly disappeared.

Furthermore, because the Frenzied Flame had returned, its connection to the entire Abandoned Prison had grown closer. Fu Qian was quite certain it wasn’t Dark Moon activating an even higher level of concealment.

It had completely left. After all, if it had waited any longer, it might not have been able to leave at all.

Because even earlier than that, clusters of blood threads, their tips seemingly piercing into the void, had emerged from the golden flames.

And at the center of the blood threads was, impressively, a huddled, transcendent body.

The Holy Infant Calamity Star...

Of course, it wasn’t that this entity had a sudden burst of courage and prepared to stake everything on a single throw to face the Tyrant alone; it was just that Dark Moon, who had been providing it with concealment, had run away.

As expected of a behind-the-scenes player, its actions were always so low-key and decisive.

As for now—amidst the swaying tentacles, Fu Qian greeted the opposite side.

Although the other party seemed a bit shy, before he could even finish his greeting, it had already vanished.

...

So if the Tyrant failed, it truly would be a scene exactly like this.

As far as the eye could see, the golden flames still covered everything.

However, this time it wasn’t just a certain Holy Infant Calamity Star that disappeared, but also the burning Abandoned Prison.

The Great Hall, the Ruins, the living corpses... everything had vanished. Only the endless, lifeless molten sand remained.

It didn’t seem very friendly.

Retracting a tentacle before his eyes, Fu Qian looked down to examine it.

In just the blink of an eye, he actually felt a searing heat, as if he were about to be roasted to the point of smelling like cumin.

This Flame of Frenzy wasn’t just starting to harm the physical body; even the Tyrant couldn’t avoid its influence.

As for the reason, it should be the same as why the Holy Infant Calamity Star had suddenly disappeared just now—this was no longer that night of the assassination, but the Land of Self-Abandonment a thousand years later.

The flames were no longer what he had casually ignited moments ago, but the runaway power that had erupted after the Tyrant’s fall in true history.

And what lay before him was exactly the ownerless Frenzied Flame, mixed with distortion and curses, after burning for a thousand years.

As for why he was so certain?

Although the Great Hall was gone, a certain throne that once belonged to him was still lying askew in the molten sand—even though someone was currently sitting on it.

”Thank you.”

Melia, twisting a leaf between her fingers, gave a slight nod in his direction.