Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 142: Disorder (13)
This...
Hearing the Duchess's words, the look in the Priest's eyes as he stared at Fu Qian could no longer be described as just shock; it was like looking at an alien.
Actually helping someone advance! Since when was she so kind-hearted?
But no matter how hard it was to believe rationally, the change in Fu Qian's strength was right there for all to see.
Not long ago, he had only just achieved Awakening, but right now, his strength far exceeded that of the other members of the Investigation Team.
"When you went down, didn't Collison give you a hard time?" The Priest suddenly remembered something.
"No," Fu Qian shook his head. "He even welcomed me."
This was not a lie. Regardless of the purpose and tone, that guy did indeed say "welcome."
Now, not only was the Priest speechless, but the Duchess's face was also full of disbelief.
Seeing Fu Qian return smoothly earlier, she had naturally assumed he had successfully tricked the others and found his target along the way.
Hearing this now, he had actually met Collison face-to-face, and even exchanged greetings?
The four members of the Investigation Team also looked at each other in dismay; they had all heard of Collison's style.
"That perverted sadist welcomed you?" The Duchess took a breath and frowned as she asked.
"Yes, extremely enthusiastically. He even organized a bunch of people to line up and welcome me."
……
The Priest on the side finally couldn't listen anymore and decided to focus his attention on the key.
The Starlight Key, having been refined by the Witch, undoubtedly looked spectacular. His gaze was almost instantly drawn to it.
"I'm sorry."
However, after a long time, the Priest still shook his head.
"This key is indeed magical. It contains an extremely pure power, yet it does not belong to any of the Seven Lights."
"I am very certain that the Church doesn't have anything corresponding to it."
……
Including the Duchess, everyone showed expressions of disappointment for a moment.
"Not at the Church, does that mean it might exist elsewhere?" Fu Qian, however, heard a different implication.
"You could say that."
The Priest looked up and gave Fu Qian a deep look.
"There is some possibility over at the Old City."
"The Old City?" The Duchess's gaze sharpened upon hearing this.
"Yes, there might still be remnants of such power over there... but after all, it's been too long. I can't be sure."
The Priest sighed, his expression more serious than ever.
"However, you'd best not get any ideas. That is a forbidden area that absolutely must not be entered."
"What kind of place is the Old City?"
Fu Qian didn't say anything, but someone from the Investigation Team couldn't help but ask.
"It's normal that you don't know."
The Priest shook his head.
"In fact, the people of this town all migrated here. The Old City was the earliest settlement nearby, and they lived there for a long time."
"It's just that the blizzards later became increasingly severe, so they abandoned that place and relocated here entirely."
"Relocated just because of blizzards?" The person asking clearly found it hard to understand.
"That wasn't just ordinary bad weather." The Priest's expression was stern. "That was a Calamity capable of destroying everything. The level of cruelty was beyond your imagination. Any life that stepped into it would quickly wither away."
"Actually, at that time, there were indeed some people who were unwilling to retreat here and chose to stay where they were. Initially, there was still communication between both sides, and a tunnel was even specially dug for this purpose. Unfortunately, all news from there soon ceased."
……
"You guys don't need to be too discouraged."
The Priest looked at the group, who had fallen silent again, and handed the key back to Fu Qian.
"Since she gave this to us, she definitely has her profound reasons."
"You all go back and rest first. I will think carefully about the matter of the key."
……
The Priest saying he would continue to think clearly lacked persuasiveness.
Coming out of the church, the team's morale was noticeably low.
Fu Qian, on the other hand, looked around in a leisurely and carefree manner.
Because he had already made up his mind to explore the Old City that the Priest had mentioned.
The one in the Underground Prison was clearly exaggeratedly powerful.
The Duchess asking him to find her must have been because she believed she had the ability to solve the current problem.
However, her attitude was quite intriguing. Even though she saw the problem with the Pus Stone, she still acted utterly disinterested, preferring to remain imprisoned in such a place.
Such an entity had given him such a key, which successfully piqued Fu Qian's curiosity. Ultimately, he decided to investigate this side-quest first.
Speaking of which, whether it was the church, the Bell Tower, or even the other nearby buildings, they all carried a sense of age and weathering, having spanned at least decades, if not a century.
To think such a place was actually relocated later on; the Old City must definitely be even more ancient.
He wondered how many traces could still be left there.
"Hi!"
While looking around, an approaching brunette woman threw a flirtatious glance at him, her expression full of ambiguity.
Seeing Fu Qian look over, she even deliberately took a breath to make her chest appear more prominent.
Wasn't she being a bit too enthusiastic?
Fu Qian looked at her in slight confusion.
He had encountered this kind of highly provocative greeting several times today.
The key point was that the woman throwing the flirtatious glances was currently intimately holding a man's arm.
And judging from their clothes and speech, these two were clearly a couple.
Even though Fu Qian was quite narcissistic, he still felt this was a bit illogical.
"If you fancy her, you just need to wave your hand. Their significant other won't have any complaints."
Seeming to notice Fu Qian's confusion, the young woman from the Investigation Team smiled mysteriously.
"Being able to have intimate contact with an Awakened One is something most people wouldn't refuse, especially with you, an auspicious sign fallen from the heavens."
"After all, under the threat of the Eclipse Curse, any slight possibility of increasing the chances of Awakening is exceptionally precious."
So that's how it is!
The fear of the Eclipse Curse?
That made sense. Although Awakening into any Sequence would have side effects, it was still much better than a death sentence that could appear at any time.
It could be considered a reasonable way to pursue advantages and avoid harm, although it was hard to say how much effect an exchange of bodily fluids would actually have!
Fu Qian glanced at the gentleman, who was looking at his wife blankly, without showing any reaction.
"No need to be embarrassed. Some people even impersonate Awakened Ones for this." The young woman blinked at Fu Qian while licking her lips.
Obviously, she had a completely different style from her leader.
Out of the corner of his eye, Fu Qian glanced at the Duchess and noticed her lips were pressed tightly together, clearly not approving of this.
……
Night fell. Coming out of the residence arranged by the Duchess, Fu Qian looked up at the sky.
At this moment, the seven brilliant rays were even more resplendent, illuminating the entire world in an extraordinarily magical way.
It was understandable why there was a Seven Lights Church.
In front of such miracles, turning people into believers was simply too easy.
After identifying the direction, Fu Qian quickly walked into the shadows.
He had already planned to use the night time to explore the Old City.
However, before he had gone far, Fu Qian spotted a familiar figure.
The Duchess, dressed all in black, stood quietly ahead.
"Where are you going?"
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