153 Entering the Human Hideaway, The Looming Danger

At the depths of the pure lake that rested at the center of the hidden valley, was a beautiful scene like no other. The waters were now of a similar purplish hue, as its weeds and other sea plants glowed in various lights, giving one a pleasing feeling. Occasionally, one would see a few tiny and strange-looking fish that moved about in groups, some descending further below as they faded into the darkness.

Evan and the others were already within this sector; they were calmly following behind Emilia, who seemed to be able to see through the darkness. In fact, at this stage, no one needed to use night vision lenses anymore; now that they had an abundance of Battle Energy and mastery, they could simply use it around their eyes to strengthen their visual senses.

After making a few more turns and diving into an underwater tunnel of sorts, Evan began to feel a strange feeling, as if the space ahead had a kind of resonance with his being.

Right at this moment, Emilia's face brightened as she spoke using a device that covered her mouth, "It's up ahead..."

As Evan heard her words, he smiled and stared at the scene before him with flashing eyes as he thought to himself, 'Finally, I just hope we can successfully negotiate with these fellows...'

There, ahead of him, was a source of light, a spiraling ripple that seemed no different from a gate to another realm. If one looked closely, one would see a few mechanical devices spiraling around this ripple at alarming speeds, each of them having a strange rune on their faces that glowed in bright light.

'Spatial fluctuations? So, they were made with a deep understanding of space, such that they could even carve runes onto machines to perform this kind of feat. They truly must either have been brilliant scientists like no other... or this knowledge was transferred to them from a treasure of sorts,' Evan pondered as he and everyone else had finally arrived a fair distance away from the ripple.

At this location, everyone could see a net of thin red lights that had blocked all paths forward, as well as a few drones that floated about with arm cannons.

Joe looked at this scene before gazing at Evan and asking, "Evan, were you expecting us to do mission impossible?"

Hearing Joe's words the others felt like laughing, even Rick didn't see a way through that net, Layla was also a bit conflicted, but Breya seemed to be fiddling with something.

As everyone had their thoughts, Emilia asked, "How do we get in, Evan?"

Evan replied, "Breya will temporarily divert those sensors before we cloak ourselves and enter their domain. It should be safe so long as they don't discover us on initial entry, but even if they do with our strength, we will be able to leave at any time as the strongest amongst them should only be a Level 11 Human Ascender."

As they heard Evan's words, Joe and the rest turned and looked at Breya, who had only now finished what she was doing.

She nodded at everyone before she pointed a device with an antenna forward and pressed a button. As this happened, the antenna lit up for a moment before it sent an invisible sonic ripple forward, one who caused all devices to momentary stop functioning.

"We have 5 seconds, let's go!" Breya shouted as she swam like a speedy torpedo.

Evan also wasted no time, he swam and pressed a button on his watch along with everyone else, before their figures began to distort and fade away, turning invisible.

Moments after, the portal had rippled for a slight moment as they vanished behind it, entering the Human Hideaway. However, while it seemed to have been smooth and perfect, there was an area that had a slight change.

Suddenly, a seemingly ordinary rock formation had crumbled to bits of rocks, revealing a plump figure in a bug's shell. It stared at the portal coldly, fixing its eyes on the machines as it many fingers moved as if counting something.

Buzz! Soon, the net that blocked off the portal appeared once more, barring all forms of entry, the previously dim lens on each drone also glowed as they continued their patrol.

"Huhu... 5 seconds, it's as she said, perfect... even that ripple can easily be replicated if we find the right sonic bug. I don't know who those humans are, but these past few months resting here has proven fruitful, I must hurry!" The bug man said with a laugh as he hurriedly sped away from this area.

It only took him a few minutes to reach the surface, as he bolted from the waters into the air like a fish taking a giant leap. His back started to change as two bug wings appeared, rapidly flapping as it propelled him towards the sky.

"Huhuhu! Now I can cash in this information to increase my standing in the Insect Hive!" The bug man said with a face filled with excitement, but before he could even get farther away, a scene had appeared, which caused him to grow pale.

Looking into the distance, one would see a massive black cloud that spanned all directions. It only took a moment for this cloud to arrive in the vicinity, as this happened, a dark aura shrouded the entire body of this bug man, causing him to tremble in fear.

'Oh-no! It's the Mosquito Witch Marlin!' The bug man inwardly exclaimed in horror, he wanted to retreat, but sadly, it was already too late.

"Hahaha!" A burst of sinister seductive laughter sounded far and wide, as this cloud wrapped over the body of the bug man, dragging him towards the summits of the dark sky that was now illuminated by the twin purple moons.

In moments, he arrived before beautiful and deadly Marlin that sat on top of her cloud formed by her mosquito horde. She sat with her legs crossed over, and she leaned back at ease in a chair of bones as she stared at him like a predator.

"This... t-this little one greets the Great Marlin, h-how may I be of service to your grace?" The bug man said while stuttering.

Marlin's eyes shone in a blood-red light when she spoke, "I couldn't help but hear your words, how about you tell me of this secret of yours? If you behave nicely, then I might consider how I'll handle you..."

The bug man trembled for a bit before he bit his lips and spoke, "Will you spare me if I say everything?"

Marlin's eyes shone as she called him over by flexing her finger, the bug man's body flew over to her as the black fog carried him. As he arrived before her, Marlin made a sly smile as her fingers ran across his face, then to his neck before stopping on top of his hard shell.

"Mmm~ you're quite a hard, aren't you, I like hard fellows, they don't break so easily. My little bug, if you are obedient, this queen will reward you with the ultimate prize..." Marlin said as she licked her lips, stared at the fat, and plumped flesh underneath the hard shell with flashing eyes.

The bug man was a bit surprised, but as he saw her look, he couldn't help but get a heated feeling. He gritted his teeth and spoke, "Okay, I'll talk."

Marlin made a sly smile as she heard those words and listened as he spoke about everything he saw underground and the recent events. After finishing his words, he looked at Marlin with infatuated eyes as if he was under some kind of spell.

Marlin ignored his look as she spoke as if speaking to herself, "You see, I've been looking for some intruders who dared to enter my grounds. With this information, you've given me a chance to kill them and annihilate that Human Hideaway, claiming the credit for myself. Now, I can have a better chance at replacing that Spider Bitch..."

As if the bug man didn't hear her words, he still carried an infatuated look, but if one looked at him closely, they would see that his mouth was drooling.

Marlin smirked at this sighed as she spoke in a whispering tone, "You've done so well, but it's such a pity that you can only be no more than food. It's okay, don't worry, for I shall forever remember your service... and your taste..."

As Marlin said this, the bug man's eyes began to drip with tears, but he knew he couldn't do anything; he was under a kind of spell due to a strange scent coming from her body.

Marlin opened her mouth, and her sharp tongue easily pierced through his hard shell, into his plump flesh underneath. In but a few moments, the fat body of the bug man had shrunk to a skinny size, as he became no different from a dried-up corpse.

Marlin tossed him from the air, before setting her sights towards the ground and speaking in an excited tone, "Haha, they are all mine! Bring me a sonic bug; we will attack these humans only once we've secured one."

Following her words, the mosquito horde sealed off this area, as a few larger and faster mosquitoes scattered towards the distance in search of the bug their trump card.