The woman's bright red fingernails gently traced across John's face, sending a shiver through him.
John clenched his teeth, trying to fight the wave of fatigue overwhelming his mind, but found it impossible.
He felt as though his vitality was being drained, leaving him increasingly listless.
The pervasive pink smoke in the air continued to assault his senses.
"Who... who are you?"
John mustered all his strength to ask.
A flicker of something different passed through the woman's eyes as she chuckled lightly.
"My name is Rosie. Make sure you remember it this time."
Rosie?
A flash of something crossed John's mind, but it was too quick for him to grasp.
The intensifying scent of Rosie in the air dulled his thoughts even more.
Boom!
A sound like a bomb exploded above them, breaking John's train of thought.
Even the pale pink smoke in the air seemed to dim slightly.
"Ugh..."
Rosie looked displeasedly above her head, then turned her gaze back to John, her lips curling slightly.
"I knew you wouldn't be so bold as to come here alone, little one. You've called for help, haven't you?"
"If this were any other time, I might have wanted to play along with you, but not today."
Rosie touched John's cheek somewhat regretfully, as if lamenting not being able to spend more time with him.
As Rosie drew nearer, the scent of roses in the air intensified, adding to the confusion in John's eyes.
The emotions stirred by the explosion began to dissipate once more.
The sounds of explosions continued overhead, even causing the pale pink smoke in the air to disperse slightly.
Despite such disturbances, the people in the lobby below seemed unaffected, still fervently fixated on the statue veiled beneath the red cloth on the platform.
As the sounds of explosions drew nearer, the fragrance of roses grew stronger until, finally, Rosie smiled softly and pressed a kiss to John's lips.
In that moment, the intense scent of roses almost entwined John completely, overwhelming him to the point where he could barely control his emotions.
Inside his head, a voice incessantly urged him, kiss her, hold her, possess her fiercely!
This woman was a divine creation, meant to be his!
But his body was too weak to move.
After pressing a kiss to John's lips, Rosie seemed unsatisfied and pulled down his shirt to leave a lipstick mark over his heart.
The air still held traces of pale pink smoke, which made them feel slightly dizzy after inhaling it.
"This pink smoke can confuse people's minds; be careful," John warned, his voice rough with hoarseness.
The others sensed something was amiss and glanced at him instinctively.
"What's wrong with you?"
Amelia's gaze fell on John's lips, which seemed unusually red.
John shook his head, shifting his focus back to the frenzied crowd on the first floor.
There were at least two to three hundred people there.
Each person's cultivation varied, but even the weakest was at the silver-tier.
Now, it appeared each had lost their self-control, becoming wildly deranged.
"These people are the most loyal followers of the Dusk Sect. I don't know what Rosie did to them, but they seem to have gone completely mad. When I came in, they didn't even notice me."
"It seems they are worshiping the statue on the platform. We must avoid that statue at all costs, or something terrible will happen!"
A voice inside John's head continuously told him to steer clear of the statue, warning that what followed would be beyond their ability to handle.
Everyone's expressions turned serious, trusting John completely.
They all knew John would never harm them.
Given this trust, they knew they had to figure out what was really going on here.
"I've already notified the people from Hidden Stars; they should be here shortly."
Capturing so many Dusk Sect followers and interrogating them thoroughly should reveal some needed information.
Isabella's tone carried an edge of severity.
They all knew that the situation was far from simple, given the sheer number of people here—it was even terrifying.
And all of this was happening right under their noses in the Imperial Capital!
To have such a large underground plaza with so many cultists in the Imperial Capital was utterly astounding.
As Isabella finished speaking, everyone shivered.
They realized that the people on the first floor were staring intensely at them.
Some faces still bore frenzied expressions or manic grins.
But every single one of them was staring fixedly at them, as if they were prey.
It might not have been so frightening if it were just one person staring, but the gaze of hundreds made everyone's skin crawl.
"What's wrong with them?" Archibald swallowed nervously.
Just moments ago, none of those gazes had been directed at them.
What had suddenly changed?