Chapter 3006: Professional Victim

Who said the days of youth could never return? As long as the craftsmanship was high enough, even those feelings could be perfectly replicated.

Even though Fu Qian knew perfectly well that the changes unfolding before him were just the Blasphemy Monarch repeating His old tricks, the bewildering convergence of cause and effect still left him marveling.

Veterans were veterans for a reason. The Blasphemy Monarch's methods were far from simple.

There were only a few living creatures in the entire room. If eliminating them all was enough to stop Him from gorging Himself any further, then this so-called open scheme would only be fit to trick sheep.

The Blasphemy Monarch was obviously not that naive. He had long prepared a backup plan against such a brute-force approach.

And an incredibly formidable one at that.

The source of that sudden voice was far beyond anything Old Man Stoss could match.

This was likely why he had been allowed to chop off the old man's head so easily earlier—because whatever lay on the surface simply didn't matter.

"I thought you would destroy this body first."

Amidst Fu Qian's musings, the Puppet Demigod spoke up again, pointing at itself.

After swatting its master to death, it had casually taken a seat off to the side.

"That would indeed make more sense. It would prevent any sleight of hand," it added.

It had to be said, the Puppet Demigod had a point. For a moment, even Fu Qian found himself agreeing.

Since he had chosen to counter an open scheme with an open scheme, even if he couldn't locate the source of that voice right away, there seemed to be no reason to leave the entity right in front of him alive.

"Then why haven't you made a move? Surely you aren't worried I might run away?"

The Puppet Demigod was visibly confused.

"Why would I?" Fu Qian replied. "You aren't the type of entity that scatters into nothingness without a host. Destroying it wouldn't make the slightest difference."

Fu Qian shook his head. Still making no move to attack, he merely raised a single finger.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The gesture was certainly odd. The Puppet Demigod made no move to dodge; its eyes held only confusion.

Of course, a moment later, a new reflection flickered in those eyes.

A golden sphere, woven from biting flames, was rapidly expanding and spinning at the tip of Professor Fu's finger.

...The last time he had used this move was when he bid farewell to Excellency Serpent of Destiny in the Nightmare Corridor.

Paying no mind to the Puppet Demigod's reaction, Fu Qian kept his gaze locked on the sphere, taking a moment to reminisce about the fleeting days of the past.

Power was all about the method of release. This form was far more devastating than casually tossing out a cluster of the Flame of Frenzy. This was a gift that had left even Excellency Serpent of Destiny profoundly overwhelmed.

And in the blink of an eye, it was already approaching the scale it had reached back then.

"It really is you... I must say, with every encounter, you seem to become even more twisted."

As the sphere spun, the air itself seemed to fall dead silent.

When the Puppet Demigod spoke again, its tone had lost its previous casual ease.

It was completely understandable.

Even if Professor Fu truly looked like he had no intention of attacking, it was hard for anyone to stay calm when an intruder walked right into their home and calmly began hand-crafting an atomic bomb in front of them.

Besides, judging by the Blasphemy Monarch's words, He seemed somewhat familiar with the Flame of Frenzy, going out of His way to shower Professor Fu with such excessive praise.

"You flatter me."

Fu Qian was certainly no boor. Even without shifting his gaze, he casually returned the courtesy.

"Just a reminder," it warned. "This thing might shatter the cage you worked so hard to forge. Regardless of who you intend to use it against, you had better think it through."

His nonchalant reaction had baffled the Puppet Demigod, but facing an atomic bomb whose yield was still rapidly increasing, it clearly hadn't been able to maintain its silence and had ultimately offered the reminder.

"Rest assured."

Fu Qian's reply was as brief as ever, yet it carried an undeniable, convincing weight.

He didn't even continue to test the other party's nerves. A moment later, he simply blew a breath over the sphere, letting it slowly drift from his hand.

And it truly wasn't heading in the Puppet Demigod's direction.

...

It moved with exquisite slowness, but to the Blasphemy Monarch, its terrifying power was blatantly obvious.

Though it remained seated without moving, from the moment the sphere left Fu Qian's hand, the Puppet Demigod had not made a single sound.

Its massive eyes reflected only the golden radiance, as if anticipating the exact moment it would fully bloom.

Boom—

Yet what bloomed the next moment was not the sphere. As if seeping out from a rift in the void, the golden Flame of Frenzy not only illuminated the field of vision, but burned so fiercely it created a sound of its own.

"How could you possibly know?"

Dripping with obvious shock and bewilderment, it was the very same ethereal, inhuman voice from before.

Only this time, guided by the flames, it was no longer completely untraceable.

The Flame of Frenzy that had burst forth out of thin air seemed to tear His disguise wide open.

Even though He still lacked a fully materialized physical form, the burning flames traced out a bizarre silhouette that constantly shifted and flowed in tandem with that voice.

"Impossible..."

The Puppet Demigod's gasp of astonishment rang out right on cue, serving as the perfect foil for this very scene.

Boom—

Unfortunately, the only response He received was the sphere finally detonating.

Without a single trace of frenzy leaking out, the explosively blooming golden flames merged entirely into that bizarre silhouette.

The final scene reflected in Fu Qian's eyes was the golden flames stretching into the shape of a figure with a slender neck and spread wings, before dissipating into formlessness...

Dragon... King?

It was only a fleeting glimpse, consisting of a mere handful of sparse lines.

Yet a certain overwhelming sense of familiarity still made it remarkably easy for Fu Qian to recall an old acquaintance.

Combined with the astonishing, oppressive might that had leaked out in the blink of an eye, the entity's identity was all but confirmed—

'You people really are going too far.'

'Hasn't my Brother Dragon King suffered enough? You even had to drag him out to whip his corpse at a time like this?'

Even though he had been the one to personally cremate the guy, Fu Qian felt absolutely zero guilt in that moment, and even felt a sense of righteous indignation on his behalf.

The sequence of events that had just played out was very simple. An eruption of Calamity combined with the sphere of frenzy stacked together to instantly obliterate a certain someone who had been hiding in the shadows playing god.

As for the Blasphemy Monarch's shock over how he had managed to locate a hidden target?

It was simple. He hadn't needed to search at all.

From his perspective as an inner demon, his eyes already saw an endless, murky dark current. Even if he couldn't see the outline of the giant dragon, it still wasn't hard to grasp the subtle, anomalous ripples moving within it.

Yes, having anticipated early on that Professor Fu might clear the field, the Blasphemy Monarch had made contingency plans in advance.

Whether it was Stoss or the Puppet Demigod, He wasn't the least bit afraid of Fu Qian disposing of them.

Because as long as He was given a little time, He could instantly craft a new "meal" out of the dark currents at any moment.

Not only was its Rank unbelievably exalted, but it even came with ridiculously exaggerated concealment effects.

One could only say the Blasphemy Monarch's open scheme was backed by solid confidence. If Professor Fu didn't want to be stuffed to death, not only did he need to deal with entities comparable to Father's Amnion from earlier, but he even had to find them first.

His earlier guess seemed correct. The Birthday Party, or rather the Seedbed of the Palace, truly was a special place to the Blasphemy Monarch. Otherwise, there was hardly any reason He would be able to go to such extremes.

Unfortunately, what He didn't know was that this was a very special place for Professor Fu as well, so much so that His entire operation had played out right under the professor's nose, ultimately ending with Him handing over a free kill.

[SAN Value -10, inspiration +10]

And He hadn't just handed over a free kill.