Tang Qi now felt a surge of nausea deep within and goosebumps formed on the surface of his skin. Were the opponent just a weak little monster, he might have dispatched it directly with a "Red" or an "Illusion Spell" to clear up the trouble.

Unfortunately, he could not make a move.

After the burst of Information Fragments in his mind, Tang Qi began to consider countermeasures.

"Cognitive distortion and Knowledge Alienation are actually powers of an exceedingly high level. The moment I cast a spell on him, he would almost immediately notice and render it ineffective."

"If I were to kill him, the 'Devouring Beast' would be unleashed in an instant, which would be an even bigger problem."

"Especially since the battlefield I am currently in is not suitable."

Thoughts flashed through his mind in the blink of an eye, and Tang Qi experienced what it meant to hesitate for fear of harming the innocent.

What he faced at this moment was a human container that housed a "monster," uncontrollable and indestructible, a problem of extraordinary difficulty.

What made Tang Qi somewhat intolerable was that this container was overly pathological.

Tang Qi maintained a normal expression, seemingly oblivious to Howard Roland's twisted and disgusting tone, and with impeccable polite tone that left no room for criticism, he said:

"I'm a good friend of Rose's. I came to visit on my way through Eagle's Nest City. Could you allow me to see her, Mr. Howard?"

While speaking, Tang Qi suppressed his nausea and reached out to shake hands with Howard, whose palms were extremely well-maintained.

The second they touched, Tang Qi's keen perception alerted him to two distinct auras, like two mingled and intersecting tides, surging together.

One aura was twisted, pathological, and mad.

The other was merely an instinct, or perhaps a desire, the desire to devour everything.

While he remained calm, another kind of palpitation abruptly came from his mind.

Vaguely forming a roar, it conveyed the "desire" of a great will.

Tang Qi seemed to hear:

"Sacrifice Him!"

"Sacrifice that monster; He is quite suitable for barbecue."

Before the roar could sound a second time, Tang Qi immediately blocked its source.

He wasn't worried about angering the "Melter," who hadn't fully awakened and wasn't much better off than the Lord of Light. The roar just now seemed more like a foodie murmuring in his sleep upon smelling food.

Of course, even anger wouldn't matter much.

Tang Qi wasn't a true Melter Wizard; he had no weaknesses that fell into the Melter's hands, which couldn't control everything about a devotee like it could a conventional Melter Wizard—the body, soul, and life or death.

Besides the roar, the Melter had no sway over Tang Qi.

Due to certain suspicions, Tang Qi did not completely sever this identity.

These thoughts might sound complicated, but they were processed in the blink of an eye.

While shaking hands with Howard Roland, Tang Qi appeared completely unguarded, stepping into this house that should have been fresh and clean, following his invitation.

Only Howard did not notice that as Tang Qi stepped inside the house, an item resembling a "Badge" in his arms was emitting a faint ghost light.

Bang!

The dark red door of Lovcek 426 slammed shut behind Tang Qi as he entered the house, as if an invisible, giant hand had flung the door closed.

The male host carrying an axe, a disturbing smile, a door suddenly closed... all these elements assembled a part of the "classic horror film," and anyone who wasn't a fool should have been chilled to the bone, screaming to get away at this moment.

But inside the bright house, the atmosphere between the two was unusually harmonious.

Seeing the guest inside, Howard said with a bright smile, "Rose will be down shortly. She's changing into her most beautiful dress, you'll be astonished by her."

Before Tang Qi could reply, he lifted his axe and scraped it against the skin of his hand, allowing the sharp blade to tear open the pale flesh, blood oozing freely. Yet, he seemed unfazed, curiously asking:

"So, dear Tang, how did you come to know my wife? I know Rose so well, her pride means she rarely has male friends."

"We're pen pals. Both of us are very interested in secrets and knowledge."

Tang Qi smiled back as he answered.

He glanced at Howard's hand, then quickly looked around the rest of the room's furnishings.

It was a seemingly normal rich residence, whether it be the furniture or the decorations all seemed to have some age. Unlike other wealthy estates, however, there were books everywhere here, as well as some peculiar curios.

A glance might seem cluttered, but there was no sense of dirtiness, and every detail suggested that the owner of the house was an extraordinary woman.

Clearly, the place was full of Rose Madeline's presence. Yet, to Tang Qi, these traces seemed completely fragmented now, overshadowed by another kind of twisted, pathological dark aura, like endless webs covering everything in sight.

Despite the bright, gentle lights in both the living room and hallways, Tang Qi perceived a chilling coldness and frenzy that made one shudder.

"If he were an ordinary person, he would probably be mad by now, his mind overtaken by violence, mayhem, or some other inexplicable and bizarre desire."

The thought had just flashed through Tang Qi's mind.

In his perception, a whistling of a sharp blade cleaving through the air reached his ears, and Tang Qi's eyes immediately saw Howard Roland swinging an axe toward his forehead.

Boom!

The blade of the axe whizzed by Tang Qi's ear, just narrowly missing the area protected by the "Guardian Spell," and buried itself in the doorframe.

Under Tang Qi's gaze, Howard's face showed annoyance as he apologized to Tang Qi, "I'm terribly sorry, I actually forgot to pour tea for my guest. I hope you don't mind, my friend. I learned of an unpleasant secret last night, which has caused me some sleeplessness."

While Howard gave this irrelevant apology, he moved to one side and began to prepare black tea and pastries for Tang Qi. However, as he poured the tea, Tang Qi saw with his own eyes the thick blood on the back of Howard's hand dripping "drip-drip-drip" into the teacup.

The blueberry cookies and sugared pastries he took out were also soaked in fresh blood.

"Please have a taste, dear Tang, you must be both thirsty and hungry after rushing over here so quickly."

Howard pushed the bloody pastries and tea in front of Tang Qi, and then went back to the doorframe to retrieve his axe.

Tang Qi responded with a smile, seemingly unaware of the strangeness of the sequence of events, as a faint noise reached his ears from above the stairs.

At the same time, both men looked up toward the stairs.

But there, at the topmost step, appeared an utterly enchanting lady.

She was dressed in a grand gown that one would only wear to a dance hosted by high society in the Divine Eagle Federation, a style derived from the noble states of the Old Continent with a long history, complex, cumbersome yet incredibly magnificent, especially as the dress Rose was wearing was a modified version.

The so-called modifications involved removing some conservative details to better emphasize the femininity of the wearer.

Accompanied by Rose Madeline's mature and intellectual aura, Tang Qi believed that within the vast Divine Eagle Federation, it would be hard to find a second noblewoman as charming as her.

Although upon first seeing Rose, Tang Qi felt her discomfort.

This was not her style, she was being forced.

"Too beautiful, indeed too beautiful."

"Rose Madeline, truly my angel. Only such a you can drive me to abandon everything, to sacrifice both my soul and body, just to crawl back from that desolate, silent world."

...

As Howard Roland began chanting like an exaggerated "opera actor," Tang Qi and Rose were already exchanging looks.

Neither found in the other's eyes the sense of unfamiliarity that should be there; it was like they were friends who had met numerous times, instantly creating an understanding.

Both being polymaths, although Rose was currently controlled by Howard Roland out of caution, losing her ability to speak, she still managed to convey some messages to Tang Qi through her gaze.

"Very dangerous, leave quickly!"

"He is no longer my husband, he has become mad and dreadful?"

"Go quickly, and seek assistance from the Federation or other organizations."

"You cannot kill him!"

Information Fragment after Information Fragment was easily deciphered by Tang Qi.

However, their "communication" to outsiders seemed more like flirtation that could make any husband enraged.

The bizarre thing, though, was that Howard Roland did not show any signs of anger.

After praising his wife, he suddenly stood between the two, his handsome face filled with an abnormal smile. With mouth wide open, he clomped over to Rose, grabbed her hand, and yanked her down unexpectedly.

He then abruptly pushed Rose Madeline into Tang Qi's arms, who quickly steadied her.

Before the two could react, he snapped his fingers, and suddenly the grand, antiquated living room was emptied, and at the same time, music began to play in the room. A slow song, filled with deep emotion as if a girl brimming with love was softly singing, instantly took the atmosphere into the indescribable.

Caught off-guard, Tang Qi heard Howard's increasingly weird voice: "Let's begin, the beautifully dressed wife, and the brave young man who risked his life to come, they will dance their last dance in the soft dawn light, they will bid farewell amidst the blood, ah, such tragic, intense love."

As this voice rang out, Tang Qi and Rose resisted the urge to look at Howard.

They both realized in an instant that Howard Roland had clearly entered a certain "State," his voice laden with intense Pain, even greater excitement, and an undeniable desire for destruction.

It was speechless for Tang Qi that the impulse was clearly directed at him.

If the situation was different, Tang Qi really wanted to criticize, "What kind of third-rate, nonsensical, crappy script is this? These kinds of scenes, these twists, are they meant to win an award?"

Tang Qi felt the Abnormality, while Rose Madeline was filled with discomfort and Pain.

At this moment, she had given up all hope for her "husband." A fake past shattered, leaving behind only contempt.

But Howard's pathological state still made her feel incredibly embarrassed.

She looked at Tang Qi, blinking rapidly, conveying her apologies and urging him to seek a chance to leave.

"Let's start then, the handsome but frail husband is waiting to dance the second dance with his wife, he has waited too long, far too long."

The excited, pained whisper drilled into both Tang Qi and Rose's ears.

Rose's body suddenly trembled, and through her clear blue eyes, Tang Qi saw a reflection of an extremely bizarre, horrific scene. Unbeknownst to when, Howard Roland appeared behind him, like Tang Qi's own "Shadow," about to cling closely to him.

A chill unlike any before swept over Tang Qi's Mind.

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