Eldritch Horror Theatre

”What a pity. I actually wanted to catch up with him.”

Even as he assessed the situation before him, Fu Qian shook his head with a sigh and continued his honest communication without missing a beat.

”I heard about something rather unique recently, and thought it might catch his interest.”

He wasn’t just making things up. He had specifically found an opportunity to ask Li Weixuan about his friend who shared that exact name, Yuan Fang.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a simple coincidence. He had been named in honor of a certain ancestor from his family.

And that ancestor, who was also named Yuan Fang, had been so breathtakingly brilliant that he sensed the call of the Supreme Will at the age of thirty, ultimately passing away in seated meditation during his seclusion.

Considering the deep historical ties between the Two Great Families of Yuan and Ji, Fu Qian had been wanting to verify this for a long time.

As fate would have it, he had finally returned to this place, only to find the man dead—leaving him with no one to verify the truth.

”It sounds like the Wisdom King was friends with the Prophet. Why do such a thing, then?”

It seemed the adage ”honesty is the ultimate weapon” was still working its magic. Faced with Fu Qian’s candor, the rather cunning-looking Lord didn’t press him any further on the topic.”If I hadn’t intervened, it would have swallowed everything.”

As he spoke, he gestured beside Fu Qian, clearly hoping the latter would distinguish friend from foe.

”So it has done this sort of thing often?”

Fu Qian didn’t rush to deny this. Instead, he reached out a finger to touch the bizarre creation, carefully savoring the pungent scent.

”Many times. Not just carriages... people, animals, even the trees in the Plaza.”

Though the Lord’s behavior was eerie, his attitude at least offered the possibility of communication.

For a moment, the Lord even spoke a bit faster, rapidly listing the mass’s vile deeds.

”It lurks in unimaginable corners and burrows out from anywhere, locking onto a moving object. It mimics their appearance, thereby inflicting hidden corruption.

”And after an indeterminate amount of time, it swallows them whole, hiding away once more with its harvest... Perhaps it can do nothing to you, but your driver is a prime example.”

With his final words, the Lord gestured toward the carriage, which was already mangled beyond recognition.

It was exactly as he said. Aside from the carriage being riddled with holes, the driver at the front had long lost all signs of life, as had the two horses.

Within their bodies, one could see that while most of the flesh and blood remained bright red, the fluid flowing through their veins was entirely black.

As for why this was so clearly visible?

The reason was simple. The Lord’s earlier attack hadn’t bothered to avoid Fu Qian, nor had it spared them.

Amid the crisscrossing strikes, the bodies had already been sliced open like specimens.

”They were too fragile. The moment they were locked onto, they were beyond saving.”

Seeing Fu Qian observing them closely, the Lord smiled coldly.

”Understood. It really is quite dangerous.”

Fu Qian finally nodded in acknowledgment, though his gaze remained fixed on his finger.

The thick, black mass not only showed no appetite for his finger, but it even seemed afraid of it, slowly shrinking back.

But that was all it could manage. Its residual vitality was seemingly insufficient to mount any stronger reaction.

”Aside from the Prophet, has anyone else met with misfortune?”

Watching this change, Fu Qian made sure to continue his questioning.

”I don’t know.”

Unfortunately, the Lord shook his head almost instantly this time.

Dayun Mingwang’s reaction couldn’t be clearer: he didn’t care that this thing had harmed numerous lives, nor did he mind its offense against himself.

”Following the Prophet’s death, certain connections ceased to exist. Perhaps some people still pretend they’re there, but not me... So I have no idea how anyone else is doing. I think you can understand?”

For the moment, the Lord decisively dropped his previous topic, simply answering the other party’s question in earnest.

A very fair statement. Some deep-seated connection no longer existed.

”I understand.”

Fu Qian nodded, finally turning to look at him.

”Then may I leave?”

It seemed the Lord had been brewing this farewell for a long time, finally finding the chance to bring it up.

”You may.”

Fu Qian remained easygoing, neither minding the earlier rudeness nor forcing any more questions.

”Very well, Your Excellency Dayun Mingwang...”

As if trying to memorize every detail, the Lord’s gaze swept inch by inch over Fu Qian’s mask.

”I will look forward to our next meeting.”

And along with this classic ’I’ll remember you’ parting remark, his body gradually faded into nothingness.

He didn’t even turn around, proving once again that his earlier action of stepping back had been a mere distraction—just as this was.

”You don’t have to be so shy.”

Tossing out this casual remark—which clearly wasn’t aimed at the Lord—Fu Qian suddenly looked up.

A streak of blue, deeper than the night itself, was plummeting from the sky. Howling through the air, it engulfed the entire surrounding area.

The tallest building bore the brunt of it. Failing to act as even the slightest buffer, it was instantly crushed to dust.

...

It was a very logical strategy. If precision sniping was impossible, an indiscriminate blanket attack would do the trick.

It was a true apocalyptic disaster, yet in that moment, Fu Qian perfectly understood the rationale behind it.

The Lord was cunning and tenacious. How could he forget the conclusion he’d just reached in the blink of an eye?

Their subsequent conversation could certainly be interpreted as him being intimidated by Fu Qian’s actions, trying to show goodwill and glean some information. But there was an even simpler explanation: preparing an ultimate move was a hassle.

Looking at it now, this attack certainly lived up to the title of an ultimate move.

That distinct blue was actually refracting from a massive chunk of solid ice.

Indeed, the object falling from the heavens wasn’t formless like his previous attacks. Instead, it strongly resembled a mythical ice Meteor.

Simple and crude, it relied purely on speed and mass to push its destructive power to the absolute peak.

Even though guiding it had taken considerable effort, it was perfectly tailored for the current scenario.

Under such a strike, regardless of whether the mysterious Dayun Mingwang could survive, the Carriage Devourer—which was already on its last breath—clearly lacked mobility.

Even if the former replicated his previous method to shatter the attack, it would be hard to prevent this tragedy.

Boom!

Amid the deafening roar, the terrifying object from above still met with resistance.

Countless flying shards completely reduced the surroundings to ruins—except for the two carriages.

Because what shattered it this time wasn’t a finger, but hundreds upon thousands of tentacles.

They tangled together directly above the two carriages, forming an absolute barrier.

”Very nice. It seems we’re off to a good start.”

Without rushing to retract them, Fu Qian didn’t even bother looking at the spot where the Lord had vanished. Instead, he lowered his head to offer a word of encouragement.

The black devourer had already overcome its fear, coiling around his body to seek shelter.