Eldritch Horror Theatre

The storm rose again, sending the Ribbon fluttering.

Amidst another surging tide, Fu Qian removed the Eldest Son’s Vision from his face and examined the chaotic swarm of Soul Butterflies.

He had to admit it lived up to its reputation as a relic of the Dragon King. Even the impacts he had struggled to endure upon first reaching the Demigod Realm failed to leave a single mark on them.

However, there was still some effect. Their flight paths, for instance, had suddenly grown erratic.

Consequently, the already faint traces of the Dragon King vanished in the blink of an eye, rendering them almost impossible to distinguish.

Fortunately, how did the saying go? His towering figure would live on forever in the hearts of his old friends—

Trying to recall what he had just seen, Fu Qian reached out and passed a hand through the Soul Butterflies, as if stroking a massive, invisible body.

His movements were just a little bizarre. Soon, his open palm curled into a claw, as if tearing a chunk of meat from it.

Naturally, he gained nothing; his hand remained completely empty after the motion.

It made the whole scene look like performance art, as if his reluctance to part with an old friend had driven him to hallucinate.After repeating this a few times, it seemed even he couldn’t stomach the tragedy of it all, once again covering his eyes with the Ribbon.

...

Was heavenly dragon meat really supposed to taste this bland?

Fu Qian, having removed the Ribbon yet again, silently savored the taste in his mouth.

He was no longer making that tearing motion, and his hand was perfectly clean, but a distinct flavor really had appeared on his tongue.

In reality, what he had just done was quite simple.

First, in this peculiar Land of the Dragon King’s Fall, after donning the Eldest Son’s World, he had ”seen” something quite extraordinary.

If he had to describe it, it resembled a slaughterhouse.

A mountain-sized corpse lay there, its surface torn beyond recognition as if a horde of starving zombies had swarmed over it.

The Dragon King?

Combined with his previous experiences, he could interpret that scene as a trace of ”history”—not to mention that while the corpse was deformed, it still retained highly recognizable scales.

Faced with this situation, Fu Qian first removed the Ribbon, trying to use a mindset full of fallacy to consider how to exploit it—and he indeed came up with an idea.

Since the previous Sword of Heavenly Punishment could strike him, why couldn’t he interact with this in reverse? Like, for example, having a feast?

If zombies can eat it, why can’t I?

His old friend’s heroic spirit wasn’t far away. Having finally found a small trace, how could he just let it go?

And after putting on the Eldest Son’s World again, his whimsical attempt actually seemed to yield results.

Although the taste wasn’t great, and it even seemed to have toxic side effects...

For instance, while savoring the unpleasant taste in his mouth, Fu Qian felt as if he were hallucinating. He wasn’t eating alone, but sharing a table.

”You...”

Not far away, a crouching silhouette rapidly came into focus. As if sensing something, the figure slowly turned to look at him and spoke.

”Are you also... a Dragon King Apostle?”

...

A Dragon King Apostle? You really have the nerve to say that.

How about you swallow the food in your mouth before talking?

In all fairness, the speaker’s appearance was quite human.

He had strong facial features, golden eyes, and a lively expression—a far cry from a zombie.

The problem was, weren’t you still doing zombie things?

Even though the corpse was gone and only the fluttering Soul Butterflies remained, this guy’s actions were simply too vivid.

His table manners were even worse than Professor Fu’s. Right before turning his head, the man had been half-squatting there, furiously stuffing air into his mouth with both hands.

Most importantly, just like himself, Fu Qian got the feeling the man actually had something in his mouth.

And a character engaging in this kind of behavior actually had the gall to ask him: Are you ”also” a Dragon King Apostle?

”Yeah, what a coincidence.”

Fu Qian nodded. Not a trace of his internal mockery showed on his face; he even seemed to exude the sentiment of meeting an old friend in a distant land.

”I’ve never seen you before.”

The other party, however, remained vigilant, refusing to believe him so easily.

Though reading between the lines, he had subtly confirmed the subject of Fu Qian’s internal mockery: this man genuinely considered himself a Dragon King Apostle as well.

”Not surprising. I haven’t seen you either.”

Fu Qian naturally didn’t show any odd reaction to this. He simply shook his head and reached out his left hand.

In the blink of an eye, that hand morphed into a giant, incredibly hideous claw.

But Fu Qian didn’t deliberately try to mimic the shape of a giant dragon, nor did he stick Soul Butterfly-shaped scales on it.

Instead, it was covered in row after row of scalp-numbing, needle-like fangs.

That’s right; it was exactly the Dragon King’s signature trick, Dimensional Poison.

Of course, it was just a visual imitation and didn’t actually possess the anti-healing effect.

Even with Transcendent Perception gone, taking a bite of the Dragon King’s meat had restored his ability to activate this equipment...

As someone trying to survive in this mess, it was best not to count on such absurdly fantastical luck.

Fu Qian was merely using his flesh manipulation ability to mold it into that shape.

After all, his audience was an expert.

...

”This... it shouldn’t be like this! What did you do?”

It was obvious that the form Fu Qian presented carried a massive impact.

Only, it seemed a bit too massive. While the Dragon King Apostle recognized it, he also looked as though his entire worldview had just been shattered.

”Is there a problem? It’s all the same.”

Never expecting the guy to just bow down in submission either, Fu Qian gave a low chuckle. He casually reached up and pinched a Soul Butterfly that had fluttered onto his head.

He didn’t blame the butterfly for being impolite; his head was indeed quite conspicuous at the moment.

Considering he was keeping a low profile this time, Fu Qian had sculpted a new face in advance. On the other hand, heavily inspired by what he had seen on his way here, he had also incorporated some new elements into it.

Such as a skull composed of layers of lush, blooming flora.

That’s right, he had modeled it after those crimson bouquets.

Attracting a few bugs under these circumstances was completely within his design.

Coupled with his previous words, this should have dealt an extra psychological blow to the apostle in front of him.

”No, it is obviously different...”

The result was that, with a rather complicated tone, the Dragon King Apostle took two slow steps back and drew a deep breath.

This was...

In the next second, a form far more dragon-like than his own claw dramatically materialized in Fu Qian’s vision.

It wasn’t just the claws; the man’s entire body was undergoing a transformation from top to bottom.

Soon, even his head lost its human shape, elongating into a narrow reptilian skull.

The only thing retained, perhaps, was his human-like stance.

Those inhuman feet still stood perfectly straight, supporting his body.

Moreover, just like Fu Qian, his body was completely devoid of scales.

At first glance, he appeared entirely pale and slimy, completely lacking the majestic aura of a giant dragon.