This scene felt oddly familiar. Roy could swear he'd seen it before.
"Miss Jay, get back!"
Roy slung the M1014 shotgun off his back and aimed it at Dren.
Dren's consciousness was clearly gone. Her eyes were lifeless, tinged with a dull gray.
So, what was controlling her body now?
Roy got his answer soon enough.
Pale pink tendrils slithered out of Dren's mouth. It looked a lot like the awakening of the Seed of Silence, but Roy didn't sense the usual mental corruption from her.
Dren's condition was closer to the human-faced spiders from the Octopus Incident—a symbiotic relationship between a special fungus and the host, like cordyceps.
There was likely a similar fungus in Dren's body. While she was alive, she'd kept it suppressed. But after her death, the fungus took over, turning her into something akin to the fungal monsters from Resident Evil 7 or 8.
If it was just a fungus controlling Dren, though, that made things simple.
"Die!"
Roy pulled the trigger, and the buckshot tore through Dren's body, obliterating half of it.
But almost instantly, pink tendrils sprouted from the missing parts, filling in the gaps. That was as far as it went, though.
This mysterious fungus had some similarities to the Seed of Silence but lacked its relentless regeneration and mutation abilities.
The fungus-driven Dren let out a piercing screech and started shambling toward Roy and Jay.
As expected from a fungal monster—pure instinct, no brain.
If it didn't need a brain, why keep it?
Roy fired again, blowing Dren's head to pieces.
That shot hit the fungal Dren hard. It collapsed to its knees, convulsing as more pink tendrils burst through its skin. The sight was utterly revolting.
"Say goodbye to this world!"
Roy was about to fire another shot to obliterate Dren's upper body when a delicate flower bud sprouted from the hollow stump of her neck.
Wait, fungi could grow flowers?
Forgive Roy's lack of biology knowledge—he was a bit of a slacker in school. Some fungi could grow flower-like structures to attract pollinating insects.
Stunned, Roy hesitated to shoot, and the bud grew larger, ballooning to the size of a person in the blink of an eye.
Snapping out of it, Roy went to pull the trigger, but an invisible pressure suddenly filled the hidden lab.
At the same time, a seductive, breathy voice echoed in Roy and Jay's ears, lulling them into a daze.
Roy's strong willpower snapped him out of it quickly, but the shift was enough to put him on high alert.
To charm him with just a sound… could it be…?
Not wasting another second, Roy pulled the Execution Blade from his inventory and charged at the bud, ready to slice it apart.
But by then, the massive bud had bloomed. Sitting in the center of the flower was a naked woman.
Roy had never seen a woman this beautiful. Even Elizabeth and Michael paled in comparison.
More terrifyingly, her body was perfection itself—every curve and proportion a golden ratio.
She was like a masterpiece crafted by the Creator himself!
Yeah, the Creator could be unfair like that. Some people got bodies that looked randomly thrown together, barely humanoid. Others, like this woman, were sculpted with meticulous care, flawless in every way.
Even Roy, who'd seen his fair share of beauties, was momentarily entranced.
The woman in the flower opened her eyes, their captivating gaze practically soul-stealing, impossible to look away from.
Her red lips parted, and a voice dripping with allure spilled out.
"Mmm, have I arrived on Earth? It's not quite how I remember it."
The woman curiously surveyed the sci-fi-esque hidden lab, then stepped down from the flower, walking on air, seemingly unbothered by Roy and Jay's presence.
Jay was still under the charm's spell, her cheeks flushed, hands moving on their own like she was lost in some kind of risqué dream.
Roy, now fully alert, warily eyed the woman.
Her entrance sparked some bad theories in his mind.
"The Queen of Lust?"
His voice caught the woman's attention.
She looked surprised, as if just noticing him.
"A human who can break free of my power? Interesting!"
She didn't directly confirm Roy's guess, but her attitude was as good as an admission.
It was the Queen of Lust!
Roy's pupils shrank. A simple military investigation had somehow summoned a big shot like this.
Thankfully, Asmodeus's arrival seemed relatively low-key compared to, say, Samael's terrifying descent. Her power was likely limited.
Roy might actually stand a chance—numerically, he could even have the upper hand.
The tricky part was the Queen of Lust's abilities.
In terms of stats, Roy was in a mid-game phase: strong early, weaker mid, and powerful again late. Right now, he struggled against tricky mechanics.
And Asmodeus's charm ability was exactly the kind of headache he didn't need. She came with a passive desire domain that had Jay doing… things on the spot.
Asmodeus studied Roy closely, then her face lit up with realization.
"So it's you! I remember now. You killed one of my daughters, making her the laughingstock of her sisters when she returned to Hell. And you stole another one!"
Guess he'd been recognized. Time to go all in.
Using Ghost Wolf's explosive speed, Roy appeared in front of Asmodeus and swung the Execution Blade at her head.
But Asmodeus seemed to anticipate the attack, stepping back just in time.
The blade's tip grazed the deep valley of her chest, missing her by a hair.
Sometimes, a hair's breadth was a world apart.
"Such a crude man! Coming at me like that without even asking if I'm willing or interested!"
Asmodeus's tone was almost flirtatious, blurring the line between fighting and flirting.
Roy wasn't fooled. If one swing missed, he'd swing again.
This time, Asmodeus couldn't dodge as easily. No matter how sharp her combat instincts were, stats were stats.
Even a pro like Faker at level one couldn't beat a max-level Bronze—it was pure numerical dominance.
But while Asmodeus lacked stats, she had mechanics.
She placed her palm to her lips and blew a kiss. A red lipstick mark materialized in front of her, growing larger by the second.
Sensing danger, Roy used Ghost Wolf's explosive speed to retreat, narrowly avoiding the lipstick mark.
"Ugh, why reject my kiss? Do you dislike me?"
She was even calling herself "this concubine" now, acting like they were old friends.
The fiery red lips chased Roy relentlessly, refusing to stop until they landed. Worse, they seemed to have the same intangible quality as the Hellhound's phantom—Roy's physical and elemental attacks couldn't destroy them.
And to make matters worse, Asmodeus's seductive voice was slowing his reaction speed.
At first, Roy didn't notice, but a brief lapse nearly got him kissed by the fiery lips, cluing him in.
This slow-boiling trap was impossible to guard against.
He couldn't keep this up!
Seeing Asmodeus lounging with her chin in her hand, watching him dodge the lips, Roy decided to try a sneak attack.
Fear Domain, activate!
Blood Fury!
Super Burst!
Even under the Fear Domain, Asmodeus was only dazed for 0.01 seconds, but that was enough for Roy to appear behind her and lop off her head with the Execution Blade.
Success?
Crack! The same wound appeared on Roy's own body, the searing pain snapping him back to reality.
He'd been fighting thin air. The beheading? That was his neck.
Now, most of his neck was sliced through, held together by just a sliver of flesh.
Luckily, his Deadpool-derived super healing kicked in, rapidly mending the wound.
"When did this happen?"
Asmodeus let out a queenly three-part laugh.
"Ohohoho! You didn't think my magic needed to touch you to work, did you? You were caught from the start."
The lipstick mark was just a decoy to keep Roy trapped in the illusion—not the real spell.
The moment Roy locked eyes with Asmodeus, he was already ensnared.
This terrifying illusion ability was something Roy had only seen from Elizabeth.
No wonder Elizabeth despised Asmodeus. Beyond any past grudges, the Queen of Lust's illusions were eerily similar to the Queen of Sloth's.
Maybe Asmodeus had stolen this ability from Elizabeth.
Two female demon lords with similar powers? That's a recipe for pure, unfiltered rivalry.
Roy clutched his neck wound, kneeling on one knee and leaning on the Execution Blade. His blood was still boiling—he hadn't deactivated Blood Fury.
Asmodeus's abilities were strong, but Roy felt he wasn't out of the fight. If he could just avoid her illusions, he'd have a shot.
That was the problem, though. Even True Sight couldn't pierce Asmodeus's illusions—Marbas's rank was too low.
A Hell's Seven Demon Lord's illusions weren't something a mere high-tier demon's ability could counter.
It left Roy frustrated, his immense stats shackled and useless.
Wait—maybe his angel form could work?
Asmodeus likely didn't know Roy could transform into an angel. After all, Adra was killed by his demon form, and Eluresha's original soul was destroyed.
So, the Queen of Lust's intel was outdated.
But Roy only had one shot at a killing blow. If it failed, there'd be no second chance.
He needed to keep Asmodeus underestimating him to make her drop her guard.
So, leaning on his blade, Roy started laying on the charm.
"As expected of the Queen of Lust, beauty and wisdom in one!"
Asmodeus ate it up. Roy was ridiculously handsome, and flattery from someone like him was music to her ears.
"Hehe, what a sweet-talker! I was going to take your soul to avenge my daughter, but I've changed my mind. You're Belial's vassal, and I love stealing Belial's things!"
She knew he was Belial's vassal?
Asmodeus licked her lips, set up a barrier, and sauntered toward Roy.
With each step, her… assets jiggled lightly, a mesmerizing sight that left Roy's eyes glued.
She stopped in front of him, tilting his chin up with a finger, her pink, heart-shaped pupils locking onto his.
"Become my vassal, and I'll show you pleasures beyond compare!"
For a split second, Roy was tempted, nearly agreeing.
But he was already Belial's vassal—though that was by trickery, not choice.
"No, I can't! I won't give in!"
Roy's face twisted in struggle, fighting her charm. But Asmodeus suddenly kissed him, her tongue slipping into his mouth.
Her tongue was impossibly long, carrying an intoxicatingly sweet taste.
It was like that scene in A Ghost Story 3, where Heroine her tongue to detoxify Hero.
Roy wanted to pull away, but her lips were like a gravitational force, inescapable.
Damn it! She's going to control me!
If Asmodeus charmed him now, he might become her slave forever.
Roy tried to transform into his angel form to take her down.
But he couldn't muster the chaotic energy in his body. His mind and body were frozen, helplessly savoring the Queen of Lust's kiss.
Then, Belial's mark reacted, sensing Asmodeus's intrusion.
But the barrier Asmodeus had set up blocked Elizabeth's side from receiving the mark's feedback.
Otherwise, it would've been like with Lilith—Elizabeth would've struck back remotely.
"Roy Black, become my slave!"
Asmodeus