Immediately, a sultry voice reached Sparkle's ears. "Lei, you're here~? Come quickly, come quickly! I've been waiting for you for so long~"
However, the voice wasn't quite what Sparkle had imagined. It sounded forced and unnatural, and the timbre wasn't particularly pleasant—nowhere near as lovely as Robin's or Elysia's. The sultry quality she'd described referred solely to the speaker's tone.
Slightly puzzled, Sparkle took a few steps forward. A spacious bedroom came into view, and there, seated on the edge of the bed, was... a man striking flamboyant poses.
He had long hair styled into a towering topknot, his eyes adorned with red and purple eyeshadow, and his lips were painted a striking dark red.
Completely bare from the waist up, his body showed no hint of muscular definition. Instead, his pale skin and slender waist resembled those of a woman. Below, he wore only a pair of briefs and black fishnet stockings on his legs.
The most outrageous thing was that this man was now fluttering a delicate orchid finger, throwing a coquettish wink at Sparkle.
"Come here, my lovely Thunder~"
"Ugh—"
Sparkle's reaction was simple and visceral: she dry-heaved on the spot. Goddamn it! Is it literally all gay men here?!
In virtually every movie, anime, and game, the Seven Sins' embodiment of Lust was always a seductive demoness. Sparkle had naturally assumed that the Eldritch Concord's Lust would follow suit. But who could have imagined that their Lust would be a man?
A perverted gay man, no less?
Which meant that chat log they'd seized from the Wrathful Cultist's hideout—the one that showed Wrath and Lust being suspiciously close—now made horrifying sense. If they were actually involved, did that mean Wrath was gay too?
The thought sent a shiver down Sparkle's spine. What the hell is wrong with this cult organization? Are they this twisted?!
Truth be told, a normal girl might not have batted an eye at two men being gay, and some yaoi enthusiasts might even have found it exciting. But Sparkle was far from normal. Her only thought right now was: Get this shit out of my sight!
Sparkle's dry heave instantly aroused Lust's suspicion. His brow furrowed as he growled, "Something's wrong. You're not Lei, are you? Who are you?"
But his frown quickly smoothed away. "For a little rat to sneak in here... impressive. I don't know what you're after, but it doesn't matter. Once you're mine, you'll gladly tell me everything."
Lust licked his lips and stepped off the bed, his fishnet-stockinged feet padding against the floor as he took two steps toward Sparkle.
Goosebumps erupted across Sparkle's skin. She instinctively backed away, not out of fear, but sheer disgust.
Lust swayed his hips as he walked, his voice oozing seduction. "Don't be afraid, handsome. I adore men who look as reliable as you do. Come here, and I'll show you pleasures beyond your wildest dreams..."
"Ugh—"
This time, it wasn't just a dry heave. Sparkle felt like she was about to vomit. The lunch she had eaten earlier churned violently in her stomach.
It's worth noting that Sparkle had activated her Illusion Ability the moment she entered the room. Everything happening now was taking place within an Illusionary Realm.
However, this didn't stop Sparkle from nearly vomiting in the real world.
After Sparkle gagged again, Lust paused, frowning. "You... don't find me attractive?" Sparkle stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious? How can you even say that with a straight face?!"
The next moment, Lust's expression twisted in shock as he stumbled backward. "Impossible! This room is saturated with my Ability. Every man who enters is instantly 'charmed' by me—they can't resist my invitation!"
"Unless... you're a woman?!"
At that, Sparkle dropped her "Lei" disguise and reverted to her true form, her lovely burgundy eyes narrowing with undisguised disgust.
If Lust's claim was true—that anyone entering the room would be affected by his Ability—Sparkle should have been vulnerable, since she only activated her illusion after entering.
The exact mechanism behind Lust's ability remained unclear. Given the Blood God's twisted nature, it likely involved releasing a colorless, odorless pheromone that induced a state of arousal in nearby males, creating an alluring effect.
Alternatively, it could be one of those inexplicable "super abilities" that simply charmed the target through sheer force of will. As Lust himself had admitted, the drawback was that this ability seemed to only affect males, with no effect on females.
Regardless of the method, Sparkle showed no signs of being charmed. "No, no, no," she sneered. "Physically and psychologically, I just find you utterly disgusting."
"Ugh—" This time, the gagging sound came from Lust, his face contorted in disgust. "Damn it, woman! I can smell your foul stench from here! Stay away from me!"
The scene was utterly absurd: two people so repulsed by each other that they were on the verge of vomiting.
"Stench? Are you fucking delusional?!" A vein popped on Sparkle's forehead as she spat, "You're the one who reeks! You haven't showered in days, you filthy pig!"
If it were anyone else—Elysia, Robin, or Firefly—they would never resort to cursing, mindful of their public image. But Sparkle was the sole exception.
The two immediately launched into a heated exchange of insults.
"You fucking—!" Lust began.
"White Eagle trash!!!" Sparkle retorted.
In the end, Lust was just a native of White Eagle, while Sparkle was a seasoned veteran of the Dragon Nation's notoriously sarcastic online culture. Before long, Lust found himself completely outmatched in the verbal sparring.
Visibly turning pale, Lust suddenly waved his hand. The walls and floor of the room began to writhe.
Instantly, dozens of tentacles erupted from beneath Sparkle's feet and the surrounding walls, shooting out like frog tongues with such blinding speed that they were barely visible. In a flash, she was tightly bound.
The entire room was alive!