Those eyes seemed to emerge from the deepest nightmares, carrying a fear that words could barely describe, plunging Marianne and Gretchen into a brief moment of terror.
But soon enough, the two snapped back to their sultry selves, radiating intense pheromones that seemed to sweeten the very air around them.
Nope, this time it definitely wasn't the lead poisoning.
"Mr. Black, how about an exclusive interview with both of us? The really comfortable kind!"
Marianne and Gretchen sauntered toward Roy, their clothing slipping off with every step.
Roy, meanwhile, was nursing a splitting headache, his mind too preoccupied to entertain other thoughts. A ravenous hunger gnawed at his brain, and it took every ounce of his willpower to suppress the urge to devour everything in sight.
At that moment, two cool bodies pressed against him, momentarily calming his restless mind.
But while his mind settled, other parts of him… didn't.
"Mr. Black, your body is so strong!"
"Mr. Black, you're absolutely incredible!"
Marianne and Gretchen flanked him, whispering seductively into his ears, their breaths carrying a strange, intoxicating fragrance. Roy's once-clear eyes grew cloudy, his senses overwhelmed.
"Wait, this isn't right!"
Despite the fog in his head, Roy's instincts screamed that something was off. He tried to push the two women away.
In his attempt, his hand accidentally landed on some heavily reinforced "armor," the rough rivets grazing his skin.
"Oh, Mr. Black, why so rough? Are you eager for my private interview already?"
Marianne teased, brushing her hand against Roy's cheek, her expression dripping with allure.
Gretchen, hearing this, wasn't having it.
"No way! Mr. Black has to do my interview first!"
"What are you talking about? You went first last time—it's my turn now!"
The two women, still pressed against Roy, began arguing over who'd get the first "interview." After all, there was only one microphone, and the order mattered.
"Shut up, both of you! Stop fighting!"
Roy's headache flared again, and his hands instinctively tightened, nearly crushing the "military-grade bio-armor" in his grip.
Suddenly, Marianne shoved Gretchen aside, claiming Roy's front. Not to be outdone, Gretchen clung tightly to his back.
The three of them formed a human sandwich, though the "filling" was perhaps a bit too substantial.
"Oh, Mr. Black, you're just too powerful!"
Marianne's praise was heartfelt, her body and mind utterly shaken.
But Roy couldn't respond. His consciousness was fading, driven purely by instinct now.
Gretchen, behind him, wasn't idle either. She slowly crouched, attempting a sneak attack on Roy's "rear defenses."
Caught in this pincer assault, Roy completely lost himself.
In the distance, a figure emerged from the shadows, silently observing the chaotic scene.
"Roy Black…"
The figure murmured, their eyes brimming with malice. After all, Roy had once killed them. Though demons could revive in hell, their strength would be greatly diminished. If not for the sliver of power granted by the King of Lust, this figure wouldn't have been able to orchestrate this entire scheme.
Their hatred for Roy burned deep.
Roy, still entangled in the struggle, seemed to sense something. His gaze briefly flicked toward the shadowy figure.
"Not yet," the figure whispered, vanishing back into the darkness.
It took Roy a full two hours to complete this wild "interview." By the end, both anchorwomen had passed out from exhaustion, a testament to how intense it had been.
[Ding! Obtained Marianne Megan's Conquest Chest! Open it now?]
[Ding! Obtained Gretchen Henderson's Conquest Chest! Open it now?]
Now fully清醒, Roy looked at the two unconscious women and felt a headache coming on again. What was he supposed to do with them?
Marianne and Gretchen had clearly been altered by Adra, no longer human but closer to succubi. Letting them go would surely cause trouble, but killing them didn't feel right either. Through his Eye of Judgment, Roy saw their moral arcs glowing white, indicating they hadn't done anything truly evil. They were victims too.
"Guess I'll have to ask Elizabeth for help."
Elizabeth was already caring for one succubus, Eluresa. Two more shouldn't be a big deal, right?
This whole situation felt tricky, and Roy knew he couldn't handle it alone. It was time to call in backup.
With his decision made, Roy pressed the mark on his chest. It grew scalding hot, and soon, red flames flickered around him.
Something was trying to emerge, but it faltered. The flames crackled like a welding torch gone haywire.
Moments later, the flames exploded, and a tall, stunning woman appeared—Elizabeth.
Her expression was grim as she scanned the surroundings before locking eyes with Roy and the two women on the ground.
"Roy, what happened? My teleportation just failed!"
A failed teleport? That was new.
"Teacher Elizabeth, I need your help!"
Roy spilled everything he knew, and the experienced Hell Lord fell into deep thought.
"Artificial gods, soul torches, succubi, Famine Knights…"
So many factors tangled together, creating this mess.
After a moment, Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts.
"Roy, you want my help, right?"
Roy nodded.
"Yes, Teacher Elizabeth. And can you handle these two as well?"
Elizabeth's eyes gleamed.
"I can help, but the soul torch is mine."
A torch made of millions of souls? Even the King of Sloth couldn't resist its allure.
Roy frowned briefly but quickly relaxed. He didn't know what to do with the soul torch anyway, so giving it to Elizabeth made sense. Knowing her, she wouldn't do anything too reckless with it.
"Alright, I'll follow your lead, Teacher Elizabeth."
Elizabeth smiled, waved her hand, and forcibly opened a portal, tossing the two women inside.
"Here's the plan: you keep moving forward alone, and I'll stay hidden, following you. I'll step in when the time is right."
It was a solid plan. Only Elizabeth could perfectly conceal herself from Alma's detection. With Alma's immense psychic power, Roy doubted even his deception space could fool her.
"Got it, Teacher Elizabeth."
With the plan set, Elizabeth's form slowly faded until she vanished completely.
Roy left the energy facility and headed toward the central laboratory of the Amacham Research Park.
By now, after everything that had happened, it was 6:00 PM. The last rays of sunset lingered on the horizon, and the world was about to plunge into darkness.
The pitch-black central laboratory loomed ominously in the shadows, radiating an eerie aura.
Roy forced open the lab's unresponsive doors, disabled by a power outage. But when he stepped inside, he didn't find a high-tech laboratory. Instead, he was standing in a grassland bathed in orange light.
Grasslands, trees, a swing—this place was all too familiar. He'd been here several times before.
But this time, sitting on the swing was a woman in a red dress, her figure strikingly alluring. Her face, however, was obscured by her hair.
Adrian had once speculated that Roy wasn't under an illusion but was connected to Alma's mind. Right now, he was inside her mental world.
And Alma's appearance—hiding her face like this—reminded him of another woman who covered her face with her hair: Sadako.
(Alma's image likely draws inspiration from Sadako.)
"You're finally here," Alma said, swaying on the swing. Her movements were almost childlike, despite her terrifying psychic power. Living in the Amacham Research Park for so long had left her mental state oddly immature.
But an uneducated child could be far worse than an adult, capable of displaying pure, unfiltered malice. Anyone who'd seen The Eden would understand—the raw, primal evil of a child.
Roy could sense that pure malice emanating from Alma, her sins beyond anything he could imagine.
If Alma succeeded in giving birth, her child could become a super-demon, a being akin to Satan himself.
In this mental world, Roy knew he was no match for Alma. His only option was to stall until Elizabeth could pull him out.
But time in the mental world didn't always sync with reality, so he had no idea how long he'd need to hold out.
"Why are you doing this? Killing so many innocent people?"
Alma looked at Roy, surprised.
"Why? Because I wanted to, so I did."
Her face carried a chilling indifference, as if killing millions was as trivial as deciding what to eat for dinner.
Roy was at a loss for words. Alma's mindset was so alien, so detached from normal human reasoning, likely due to her lack of proper socialization.
Thankfully, Alma spoke again.
"Roy Black, I know why I need to have a child with you. A voice in my head keeps telling me you're the perfect choice."
It sounded like schizophrenia, but Alma seemed utterly convinced.
"That's not a good enough answer. Maybe you should think it over."
Roy was still trying to buy time, but Alma was losing patience.
"Roy Black, are you rejecting me?"
Her anger flared, and the space around them warped and twisted with her emotions.
Her psychic power stabbed at Roy like a blade, the pain sharp and real. For the first time, he realized a gaze could truly wound like a weapon.
In this mental state, Roy lacked his physical body's defenses. Thankfully, Raphael's blessing before departing had boosted his mental resilience, or he might not have withstood it.
"Is it because of another woman that you're rejecting me?"
Though Alma had never been in love, she was already possessive, craving all of Roy, not just a part of him.
"No, it's not about other women! If you don't give me a proper answer, I won't agree to this!"
Roy pushed back, enduring the mental pain and trying to argue, but Alma was done listening.
Suddenly, the environment shifted, and Roy found himself pulled right in front of her.
A surge of psychic energy blew Alma's hair back, revealing her face—a pale, innocent one that clashed with her fiery figure, like the girl next door.
"Is it because of that woman? Or the one you've been searching for?"
The first woman was likely Miss Jay, whom Roy had sent away. Alma had already shown murderous intent toward her, and if not for Roy and Adrian's efforts, she might have succeeded.
The other woman was clearly Iris. Alma had picked up on Roy's true goal.
At the mention of Iris, Roy's mind snapped to her situation.
"What did you do to Iris?!"
Alma stared at him, jealousy etched across her face.
"So it is about her. I found a peculiar woman at the Amacham Tower. Her body housed two souls, which intrigued me, so I brought her here. Later, I realized her body would make an excellent vessel, so I kept her. Maybe if I erase her soul and take her body, you'll accept me, right?"
Before, Roy might've doubted Alma could harm Iris and Uriel, but after this encounter, he realized she was fully capable of erasing their souls.
"You monster!"
As Roy began to curse, a fierce burst of flames erupted beside him.
In the next moment, Elizabeth appeared in Alma's mental world.
"Roy, you okay? This girl's psychic power is insane—I've lived for millennia and never seen a human this strong!"
Relief washed over Roy at Elizabeth's arrival.
"Teacher Elizabeth, can you handle her?"
Elizabeth grabbed Roy, and with a shout, she broke the mental hold on him.
"Hard to say! Her psychic power is bottomless. Unless my true form descends, I'm not sure I can take her!"
Roy's eyes widened. Even the King of Sloth's human form wasn't confident?
Alma's jealousy and rage grew darker.
"Another annoying woman? Roy is mine. No one's taking him!"
Gretchen (Nicole Kidman, so pale!)