Eldritch Horror Theatre

Should he thank A Fei because, after getting both eyes pierced blindly, he had actually realized that ”He” wasn’t the sun, but Blazing Rainbow?

He had harbored similar suspicions earlier, but now the theory seemed fully confirmed.

Because to Fu Qian, the Sun Apostle currently looked exactly like a Containment Object he had once seen in the Warehouse.

[1-105]

A spy device from Blazing Rainbow, described at the time as a Poison Apple.

But that brought him back to the original question: was Excellency Blazing Rainbow really not going to intervene?

The attitude of ”I’m laying my cards on the table, I’m done pretending” was fine, but it needed to serve a purpose.

For example, if the entity wanted an in-depth conversation with him and used this as an opening gesture to show sincerity.

Simply handing him a piece of intel for free just did not fit that being’s long-established style.

It even clashed with its behavior during the previous incident involving Etched Intellect.Could it be that the entity simply wasn’t here?

For a moment, Fu Qian thought of the Chief Judge.

This time, the latter had also only revealed a few related traces of corruption without showing its true body.

Looked at that way, there was a degree of consistency.

The problem was that everything happened for a reason. Why were the elements related to a higher entity suddenly so faint during this instance of Etched Intellect?

The situation seemed to be growing increasingly complex.

And Fu Qian was growing increasingly satisfied with his earlier decision: selecting A Fei to act as his Proxy.

If he had just slaughtered his way here himself, he likely would have missed such subtle details.

But now that they had killed their way here, how were they going to continue the slaughter?

It did look a bit tricky, especially since the Calamity Blessing on A Fei’s sword had already been largely depleted...

Assessing the grim situation, Fu Qian still made no move, merely watching the two opposing figures.

”You are nothing but a clown to be played with. You don’t even qualify as a tool... How much longer will you let yourself be manipulated?”

Although he had theoretically lost his vision long ago, the Sun Apostle was clearly still monitoring Fu Qian’s movements. Briefly confused but somewhat relieved by the inaction, he attempted to crush A Fei’s will to fight.

Crack—

Unfortunately, the only response he received was a bizarre shattering sound.

True to his ruthless and taciturn nature, A Fei had already delivered a clean, decisive sword strike, subtly taking advantage of the moment the apostle was distracted by his own speech.

And the target he chose this time was incredibly pragmatic: the already shattered eye socket.

Exactly right. Opening a new wound was never as effective as deepening an existing one, not to mention that the head was usually a vital point.

From this alone, it was clear that A Fei lived up to his earlier evaluation: once a weapon was in his hand, he became the purest kind of killer.

There was a question here, of course. Since the eyeball had already been crushed once, why was there another shattering sound?

Simple. It wasn’t the eyeball that shattered this time.

The curved Rapier, its blade seemingly forever in flowing motion, struck true in the eye socket at that moment. It tore through the barrier and pierced the seemingly indestructible silhouette of the skull.

Like a lightbulb pierced by a grain of sand, thrilling cracks began to spread outward across the surface.

”If I am being manipulated, then I am a tool.”

Only then did A Fei finally speak, correcting the Sun Apostle’s assessment.

...

”Impossible—”

His voice was tragically shrill, carrying an agony that was clearly more than just physical. It seemed this psychological war finally had a loser.

And the loser could not accept this result at all. Howling, the Sun Apostle desperately clutched his wound as a bizarre storm roared out from his body.

Wherever the storm passed, everything seemed caught in inconceivable ripples, withering into vibrant dust.

One couldn’t really blame him for his disbelief. Even this subconscious counterattack carried the distinct aura of a High-Tier Transcendent.

As the situation took a pleasing turn, Fu Qian still did not forget to admire the dazzling scene, casually critiquing its power.

Although the Sun Apostle didn’t possess a particularly high Rank under the Vision Radar, the methods he could invoke were truly miraculous.

That was probably the benefit of following the path of faith.

But because of that, having his meticulously laid defenses shattered by a single sword strike only made him doubt reality even more.

Although as the victim, he should actually know the reason: that had similarly been a Demigod Level sword strike.

Indeed, A Fei’s performance seemed a little too good.

Compared to his opponent, he was the one who looked like he had divine assistance. His resolute strike could truly be described as transcending the ordinary and entering sainthood.

A sword intent?

Having achieved enlightenment in the Sword Pavilion multiple times, Fu Qian easily thought of an explanation in that moment.

Classmate Liushuang had shown him more than once just how unreasonable her sect could be.

And the most extraordinary among their skills was precisely this kind of profound of the profound concept.

Still, mustering courage in a desperate situation, especially while in a state of blind idiocy, making a sudden breakthrough made sense, didn’t it?

Seeing the Combat Power framework showing faint signs of collapse, Fu Qian used his professional knowledge to rationalize it a bit while continuing to monitor A Fei’s attacks.

That was right. Even as the storm battered his body, the hunter did not retreat a single step.

Instead, the Rapier in his hand flipped eerily, deepening the wound once again—Crack!

The other eye socket, which wasn’t fully covered, was struck again, and the result this time was even more thrilling.

Fu Qian clearly saw fragments flying out, the shattering sound suddenly growing dense.

It turned out his performance was incredibly stable. This sword strike was actually another blow from the Demigod Realm.

Moreover, anyone could see that while A Fei’s body was rapidly withering in the storm, the Sun Apostle was already utterly Powerless to Turn the Heavens.

”Light—”

Yet in that long, desperate cry, no miracle ever appeared to help him survive the calamity.

...

It seemed it really wasn’t there.

A sparkling pile, even radiating a faint warmth.

Staring at the Sun Apostle’s final remains, Fu Qian confirmed at that moment that he ultimately had not been met by his old friend Blazing Rainbow.

”Good work, you did very well.”

Without getting tangled in pointless obsessions, Fu Qian walked over in the next moment and offered his tool of a man some verbal praise.

Urgh...

The latter displayed an astonishing amount of vitality. Even though the hand holding the sword had partially vaporized, he not only responded but actually moved.

He used his other hand to pick up the Rapier that had fallen to the ground, pointing it directly at Fu Qian from a distance.

Oh?

The gesture was somewhat unfriendly, though as the person being pointed at, Fu Qian didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.

”Do you want to switch to another one?”

Not only that, but he smiled the next moment, attempting to interpret the action from a different angle.

The once-brilliantly glowing Rapier was indeed deeply covered in dust, its tip having been burned away by a significant chunk.

After a brief comparison, one of Fu Qian’s tentacles swayed, actually holding it out to him.

Mhm...

A Fei said nothing, staring at the incredibly heavy-looking third weapon—rather than a sword, it looked more like a giant block of iron.

A moment later, he actually flipped his Rapier around and offered it up, wanting to trade it for the ”iron block.”