Eldritch Horror Theatre

The storm howled, but the Fire Bats had ceased all movement, as if frozen in place.

Frankly, Excellency Serana’s idea carried a certain deterrent power.

As someone who had invested heavily in his current state, letting a flaming bat take a bite out of him just might transmit that stench of the dead.

It might not leave any burn scars on him, but as he had noted earlier, his integration would put the stability of this Realm of the Dead to the test.

That was obviously terrible news for their subsequent exploration.

Dissuading Excellency Serana from doing something foolish clearly required a delicate touch.

No matter how calm and unhurried she appeared, her situation had always been grim, the danger deepening with every passing second.

Consequently, the patience she could spare for a delinquent with a prior record like him was undoubtedly limited.

Her previous display might have seemed like a mere threat, but the odds of her striking over a single wrong word were extraordinarily high.

In fact, if he wasn’t mistaken, Excellency Serana had hidden a lethal trap within her final question—specifically, regarding his name.”You can call me by my true name, Wei.”

He casually admitted that Laurie was just an alias. Without waiting for Serana to break her silence, Fu Qian continued.

”Wei... the obstacle standing between the Dominator of Death and His retainers?”

Serana evidently remembered the name well. The memories surfaced instantly, and she recalled the details with perfect clarity.

Her tone, however, carried a hint of mockery; Fu Qian’s credibility was entirely bankrupt in her eyes, leaving her unwilling to believe him so easily.

Even the frozen Fire Bats seemed to sense her mood. They stirred back to life, and one even dove, brushing a hairsbreadth past his neck.

”That’s right. I apologize for borrowing someone else’s identity earlier. I mainly did it so we could interact on more peaceful terms.”

In truth, the bat would have struck him had he not dodged with flawless precision at the very last second.

He did not launch a counterattack. Instead, as he offered his gentle explanation, Fu Qian rapidly adjusted his Rank, finally casting aside all concealment of his sublime Demigod aura.

...

Strength was always the finest tool of persuasion.

Quelling Serana’s impulses was no easy task. A mere name was far from enough; after all, words were cheap without proof.

Fortunately, Fu Qian had already prepared his credentials.

A Demigod possessed undeniably keen perception. The moment his divinity surged forth, Serana looked as if her entire worldview had been upended.

She remained stunned until a second Fire Bat was on the verge of crashing straight into Fu Qian’s face. Only then did she suddenly snap back to reality.

This time, the creatures did not simply freeze. Every Fire Bat vanished into thin air, and the Blood Clan Demigod took an abrupt step back.

”Impossible... how did you do that?”

Her tone had even regained some life, unable to mask the sheer astonishment in her voice.

”Are you sure you want to discuss that right now?”

Fu Qian, however, seamlessly mirrored her previous conversational style; the momentum of offense and defense had changed.

”We don’t have much time. Especially you.”

...

”You’ve been using me. From the very beginning... What exactly are you trying to do?”

Fu Qian’s final remark undoubtedly struck a nerve, forcing Serana to realize that he fully understood her precarious condition.

After a brief moment of thought, Serana fell in line with his pace, zeroing in on the core issue at hand.

”Actually, other than the name, everything else I told you was the truth, including the details about the Dominator of Death.”

With the conversation finally on the right track, Fu Qian felt deeply satisfied and casually explained his reasoning.

”Unfortunately, Laurie wasn’t nearly as detached as I claimed. In truth, just like the others, his knowledge only reached the level of the King of the Abandoned Prison.

”Furthermore, I harbored no malicious intent to obstruct anyone. It is the Dominator of Death who has abandoned everyone. I simply wanted to find Him, and it seems I actually stumbled onto a clue—I just didn’t expect to pick up an extra helper along the way.”

Sweeping his hand at their surroundings, Fu Qian finally rested his gaze on Serana.

His underlying point was quite simple: My plan was going perfectly fine. Who could have foreseen a Demigod kidnapper suddenly crashing the party?

”But since you ran into me, you figured you might as well use me? You really don’t let anything go to waste...”

Although she subconsciously tried to frame herself as the victim, under Fu Qian’s penetrating stare, Serana finally seemed to acknowledge that she had been the one to intrude on his business first.

”Not just that. You were clearly targeting Laurie and the others. While their deaths at your hands wouldn’t have affected me much, keeping you occupied technically saved them from a bit of risk.”

Fu Qian swiftly supplied another reason, pointing out that he was achieving multiple benefits with one move.

”I understand...”

Through this frank and friendly exchange, Serana seemed to reach a state of complete enlightenment.

”You knew what Solendil was searching for, and you guessed it might be connected to the Dominator of Death. That’s why you infiltrated his ship...

”When an uninvited guest like me showed up, you let me drag you off the ship just to avoid causing a scene. Then, once you deduced my motives, you immediately spun a compelling tale to string me along. Truly, an impressive display of adaptability...”

As she praised him, the shadows enshrouding her thinned slightly. Streaks of flowing flames flickered across her form; she was no longer bothering to conceal herself.

”And even now... you came here just to wait for me? To reap the rewards from your pawn?”

...

”That about covers it. However, your condition is indeed far more serious than I imagined.”

A good audience was the hardest thing to find when telling a story. Serana actively untangling the logic of the situation moved him deeply.

”Furthermore, judging by your state, you haven’t found any trace of Solendil yet?”

Fu Qian nodded, gesturing toward her injuries to signify that leaving her in such a sorry state had never been his intention.

”I have not... So, as a retainer of the Dominator of Death, you entered this place with absolutely no idea what to do next?”

Though his tone was gentle, it was fundamentally a calm, double-barreled taunt. No matter how good Serana’s temper might be, she couldn’t resist firing a question back at him.

”I don’t. Otherwise, why would I be one of the abandoned?” Fu Qian replied plainly. ”However, we could go check on Laurie’s group. They are His retainers as well. Who knows, we might just receive some enlightenment from them. You know where they are, don’t you?”

Fu Qian was completely candid, confirming that he truly enjoyed no protection from that honorific name. Instead, he proposed a fallback plan.

”...Why would you think I know?”

Serana, however, didn’t seem to agree with his final assumption.

’Nonsense. Otherwise, why would you have specifically brought up Laurie’s name earlier?’

Fu Qian kept the thought to himself.

This was the trap he had noticed. Serana most likely knew from the very beginning that the real Laurie was someone else entirely.

She had been in here for quite some time. Aside from occasionally loitering around the ship, there was no way she hadn’t investigated the rest of the area.

Not to mention, if this place was truly connected to the Dominator of Death, he might be a fake A Wei, but the Greed Worms were true retainers.

Given the circumstances, their Reflection in this place was bound to possess some extraordinary traits.