Chapter 114

The parade finally ended after a lap around the amusement park and a short performance on the stage. As the performers disappeared, the cleaning crew, mostly part-timers, completely removed even the tow ropes, and the amusement park returned to its original state as if nothing had happened.

Jun-sang infiltrated the area where the performers had gone. He tracked the target’s movements, conveyed through the minimap, as she moved among the resting performers. Unlike the other performers, the target immediately entered a dressing room, changed clothes, and then began to leave the amusement park.

“…” Jun-sang, in Invisibility mode, slowly trailed behind her, staying out of her line of sight. This was a precaution, given their earlier eye contact. Although he was using Invisibility, he had to consider that if the enemy possessed abilities on par with his, she might have detection abilities like Supersenses.

The target soon left the amusement park and began to walk slowly through the city. As Jun-sang watched her, a question arose in his mind. Like the man who had been seducing women at the beach earlier, this target also exhibited behavior that was very familiar with Earth’s customs. The quest information referred to the target’s identity as a “user.” So, was it simply a matter of implanting the Dark Seed into her body? Like equipping Seeds onto cards or items?

As he pondered this, Jun-sang suddenly noticed something peculiar. It was several men silently following the target.

“This is…” At first glance, there seemed to be nothing unusual, but upon closer inspection, he could discern that about three men were following the target as if enchanted. They slowly walked through the city, heading somewhere.

As he quietly followed, the target seemed to move towards the vicinity of a lake near the amusement park, then crossed a bridge connecting two lakes and entered a building under construction. And sure enough, the three men followed her in.

“…” Jun-sang followed them using Phase Shift. The construction seemed to have stopped, as there was no sign of life inside the unfinished building. The target stood quietly in the basement, and when the three men entered, she spoke with a somewhat disappointed expression, “Today’s harvest is less than I expected. What a shame.”

Then she turned to the men, who stood in a dazed stupor, and asked, “How about it? Am I… beautiful?”

The men replied in a blank tone, “You are… beautiful…”

“Hehehe…” The target smiled with satisfaction, then slowly began to undress. The red dress flowed down to the floor like a snake’s skin, revealing a body clad in black underwear. The men shivered, gazing at her with enchanted expressions.

“Come, come here. Come and love me.” As the target’s red lips whispered, the men slowly moved towards her.

“…” Jun-sang frowned as he watched. It reminded him of the Dark Seed user he had defeated earlier, who had lured and preyed on people by seducing them. Was it a side effect of the Dark Seed? Or simply an expression of the target’s inherent desires? He couldn’t know for sure, but Jun-sang quietly moved through the shadows, approaching the target from behind. If he was going to take her down, it had to be done quietly and decisively.

As he thought this and switched his combo card to Martial Artist, a faint chuckle escaped the target’s lips. “Hehehe… We have an uninvited guest.”

“…” Jun-sang instantly realized something was wrong and quickly used Phase Shift to retreat from his position. And he saw it. The red dress the target had taken off spread out like blooming petals and flew towards where Jun-sang had just been.

“It seems he wasn’t an ordinary moth after all.” The target, letting the approaching men touch her, turned her gaze towards where Jun-sang was. Their eyes didn’t meet directly. But it was clear she accurately pinpointed Jun-sang’s location. The target spoke again.

“Did he send you?”

“…”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

He? Who was he?

But just as Jun-sang was about to frown at those words, the target’s arm whipped out like a whip and struck. It was a leisurely motion, like swatting a fly in mid-air. It was a distance that should have been impossible to reach normally, but her arm stretched like a frog’s tongue and flew directly towards Jun-sang.

“…” Jun-sang silently dodged the attack using Phase Shift. Then, a strange light appeared in the target’s eyes.

“Now I see you have quite an interesting ability.” But her expression held amusement rather than surprise.

“However, you’re reckless.” As a smile formed on the woman’s lips, vine-like tendrils suddenly erupted from the basement entrance, blocking it.

Jun-sang frowned and activated Supersenses. He wanted to check the thickness of the blocked wall.

“…” Jun-sang had to inwardly swallow his surprise. At some point, he realized that the entire basement of this building was enveloped by something alien. This basement was, in itself, the stomach of a monster in the shape of that woman.

“So that’s what it was.” Jun-sang spoke. He had realized how the target had discovered his location. It was simple. Unless one could fly, one had to touch the ground even if invisible. The target had sensed Jun-sang’s weight within her “stomach” to pinpoint his location.

“You have a charming voice. Come, won’t you come and entertain me?”

“If I refuse?”

“Then I’ll have to force you.”

The moment she finished speaking, tentacles shot out from all directions towards Jun-sang’s position. These were not mere tentacles. Each one possessed a blade-like sharpness. Jun-sang immediately drew Rangdazar’s Fury and struck the tentacles flying towards him. The tentacles, striking against the two massive iron spheres, bounced off in all directions with a sharp metallic clang.

Instantly, the target, who had been licking the lips of the man she had enchanted, frowned. “You… look familiar. Ah… the man I saw back there?”

“…”

“No wonder it was strange that you didn’t succumb immediately…”

“…”

“Aha, a returnee! So that’s what it was!”

Along with the target’s words, a new form began to materialize in the basement. It was a flower. With petals as red as the red dress she had taken off. Once the flowers were fully formed, they immediately began to emit a red mist. It was impossible to immediately discern what effect it had, but it clearly wouldn’t be beneficial to Jun-sang.

Jun-sang decided to escape this space first. In the current situation, it was unclear whether the woman’s form was even her true body. That was because the black haze, which had been flowing like a dark halo, had already disappeared from above her head. This meant the Dark Seed had moved somewhere from the woman’s head. There were two main possibilities. The first was that the Dark Seed could freely change its location, and the second was that the woman’s form itself was a type of mimicry. Whichever it was, there was no solution to be found inside. Although it was unfortunate for the three men who were still disoriented and fumbling with the woman’s body, there was no need to risk fighting in a space where even the advantages of Invisibility and Phase Shift couldn’t be fully utilized.

But there was a problem. To use Phase Shift, one needed to designate a shaded area within sight as both entry and exit points. However, this place was a completely enclosed space. With his vision obstructed, there was no way to designate an external exit. But Jun-sang immediately found a solution. It was to use Supersenses. While Supersenses couldn’t distinguish between light and shadow, if it was inside a building without lighting, there would definitely be shadows.

Once he made his decision, Jun-sang immediately acted. He used Supersenses to identify the thinnest part of the wall, then immediately rushed towards it. The woman instantly realized Jun-sang’s intention and shouted, “You can’t!” And immediately, sharp, spear-like tentacles shot out from the wall, attacking Jun-sang.

Jun-sang activated Weapon Defense towards the tentacles flying at him.

Clang!

The sharp tentacles were blocked by the two iron spheres and failed to achieve their objective. The woman clicked her tongue and extended tentacles from the ceiling and floor again, but at that moment, Jun-sang had already activated Supersenses and was setting the exit for Phase Shift.

Crash!

Numerous tentacles flew and intertwined like overcooked noodles at the spot where Jun-sang had been standing, but his figure had already vanished from that position.

Jun-sang reappeared on the first floor of the unfinished building, then immediately ran outside. As if pursuing him, tentacles shot up from the ground like fish bones stripped bare. Jun-sang first used Phase Shift to get out of the tentacles’ range, then immediately disappeared with Invisibility. And only after repeatedly using Phase Shift to completely erase his tracks did he again use Supersenses to pinpoint the opponent’s location.

However, there was no need for that. The unfinished building vibrated violently, then collapsed with a loud roar. And from beneath it, something resembling a mass of crimson flesh emerged. On that red mass, the form of the woman, now naked, appeared. She looked around and shouted, “How dare a mere returnee try to escape from me!”

“…”

“The taboo has already been broken. Nothing can stop me anymore!”

Having shouted that, the target began to transform herself. It was… a colossal flower. A giant flower, like a Rafflesia growing in a tropical jungle, was blooming from the ruins of the collapsed building.

Jun-sang, who had been hidden and using Supersenses to search for the Dark Seed‘s location, had no choice but to frown again. From the giant red flower, the same red mist as before was being emitted. The red mist billowed out. It didn’t seem to affect inanimate objects. But living things like insects or weeds melted away like candle wax the moment they touched the red mist. Or, more precisely, rather than melting, they were assimilating with the red mist and becoming part of it.

The woman cried out triumphantly, “Come out! Otherwise, all living beings in this city today shall become a part of me!”