Chuck led the two women into the suite. After everybody entered the room, he turned around and locked the door behind him.
In front of them, the luxurious room was ready for their debauchery lifestyle. In the lounge area, unused syringes, a jar brimming with mysterious white powder, glass bottles filled with pink pills, a bong, a pot of unfamiliar dried grasses, and a stack of condoms had been arranged on a polished table.
The women froze momentarily at the sight as they didn’t expect to see these items in the room. But their initial hesitation melted into wide smiles as this wasn’t their first encounter with such indulgences. Without a word, they ransacked the well-stocked bar, grabbing the most expensive bottles of liquor from the racks.
Chuck chuckled as he began his preparations. Fetching glasses and a bucket of ice, he uncorked the bottles the women had chosen, casually dropping a pink pill into each glass. The concoction fizzed ominously as he handed the spiked drinks to the women.
The girls gulped and clutched their glasses with a nervous grip. They hesitated if they should consume the content.
Sensing their reluctance, Chuck slapped three thick stacks of $100 bills onto the table. With a smug grin, he issued a challenge.
"I’ve got a little game for us. Every glass you finish gets you $10,000. And when morning comes, I’ll wire a million to cover your medical bills."
The lure of easy money swept away any remaining doubt. Giggling, the women clinked their glasses and downed the drugged liquor. Almost immediately, their bodies flushed. Primal instincts took control, and they crawled toward Chuck, seeking carnal pleasure.
Chuck smirked, putting away his own drink before stripping off his clothes. He prepared himself for what he expected to be a wild, unforgettable night.
None of them noticed the priestess statue standing silently behind the bar. A chilling aura enveloped the room. The next moment, all three were frozen in time, and their bodies transformed into lifeless stone.
.
Rosa stepped into the room. The petrified trio stood as reminders of human indulgence and recklessness. Disgust twisted her features as she approached the statues.
Chuck’s spirit was the first to manifest. But as his spectral form neared Rosa, his expression twisted into something lewd. He leered at her while his hand reached to grope her tight buttock.
Rosa’s eyes narrowed. A flicker of holy light danced in her hand as she muttered a single word.
"Purification."
Chuck’s spirit let out an agonized scream as the light consumed him. Within seconds, he vanished, forcibly sent to the Netherworld Realm.
The two women’s spirits emerged next, but they quickly passed on by instinct as their attachment to this world was too weak. Because they committed light sins, their souls contained no Aether for Rosa.
Rosa dismissed the lack of Aether’s gain from the initial encounter and shifted her focus to the larger objective. She closed the curtains with her telekinesis, converting this room into the base of her operation. From here, she scanned the sprawling mansion with her Aether, searching for more isolated targets amidst the chaotic party.
The scene was a den of debauchery. Room after room, groups of wealthy young elites and professional women indulged in their carnal desire, boosted by illegal substances. Empty bottles, scattered syringes, and powder-lined surfaces were common in this place.
Looking at it closer, Rosa noticed another trend. Some individuals had never taken a life, so their souls were untouched by haunting spirits. However, more than half of the men bore the crimson haze of Aether.
After pinpointing and separating small fries from big shots, it was time to purge.
Rosa activated her teleportation ability, blinking into a nearby room where depravity was at its peak. The participants barely registered her arrival before she cast a spell. With a thought, the group was frozen mid-act as their bodies transformed into stone statues, forever capturing their sins.
The inquisitor moved to the next room without pause. Each space she entered was a mirror of the last as she always found a naked man and several women on a bed. As soon as she left, only statues of lustful sinners remained.
She spent no more than a minute in each room. The groups without Aether were purified and sent to the Netherworld Realm. As for the sinners, Rosa plundered their Aether and destroyed their souls.
By the time she cleaned the mansion’s second floor, 20 minutes had already passed. She returned to Chuck’s suite to rest.
.
The bodyguards patrolling the second floor moved through the hallways, ignoring the muffled ambiance of the mansion. They were accustomed to the loud music and sultry noises echoing from the suites.
However, tonight, the voices that had started so energetically faded into silence. Despite the quiet, no one called for assistance or supplies.
One of the guards chuckled, "Are they out already? That’s quick!"
Another shrugged. "Probably. Those spoiled rich kids rarely last more than half an hour. Their stamina is shit."
Another man had a mischievous glint in his eye, he suggested, "Should we enter one of the rooms and claim some leftovers? The pills are usually too strong for the women, and they might still be drunk. You know, 30 minutes hardly satisfy them."
The senior guard warned. "Don’t even think about it. Young Master ordered us to pack up and leave tomorrow afternoon. We’re not supposed to take any… luggage, especially not these junkies."
"But come on, man. After the apocalypse, where the hell are we gonna find women like this?"
The protest of the bodyguard was like a cold water to others as they made too much sense. They exchanged uneasy glances before one of them finally broke the silence.
"Screw it. I’m grabbing someone from the pool before the geezers in the bunker monopolize them all!"
"Yeah, same here."
"I’ll try my luck with one of these rooms. Claiming drunk junkies is easier than rizzing those by the pool!"
With that, the bodyguards dispersed, heading in a different direction. Among them, three decided to explore one of the silent guest suites. Using a master keycard, they unlocked the door and entered.
The lounge appeared empty. But as they moved into the bedroom, they were greeted by statues of a naked man and two women frozen in a moment of passion. Their expressions of bliss were so vivid and lifelike that the guards mistook them for elaborate pranks.
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"What the hell is this?"
But as they touched the statues, the cold stone under their fingers dispelled any notion of a joke. Panic crept in, and the guards searched the room, flipping through drawers and closets in a desperate bid to find the culprit.
"Something’s wrong here! Check the other rooms!"
The trio split up, unlocking doors and finding the same lifelike statues at various places. Confirming the anomaly, they called their colleagues, spreading word of the bizarre phenomenon.
One guard finally made his way to Chuck’s suite, bursting through the door. Inside, he found the chubby young man and his two female companions, but they were petrified like all the others. His eyes widened when he spotted an additional figure.
There was a statue of a priestess standing in the lounge.
"What the…"
Before he could finish his sentence, his body stiffened, and he too turned to stone, joining the growing collection.
.
Rosa, concealed in the room, had been caught off guard when the bodyguard barged in. Panic surged for a split second, but her reflexes took over. Instinctively, she cast her petrification curse, silencing the intruder before he could react.
As the room fell silent again, Rosa let out a long sigh of relief. She approached the newly petrified bodyguard, inspecting his belongings. In his stiffened hand, she found the master keycard that had granted him access.
"So that’s how they’re getting in," she thought.
Realizing that her time was running out, Rosa decided to move. She teleported to Oiler’s suite directly, determined to eliminate him before word of her presence spread any further.
Upon arriving, she scanned the room for life signatures. Her senses quickly locked onto Oiler and a female model in the shower room, but their voices were muffled by the running water. They, too, seemed to be occupied in an activity.
The room, however, was plagued with a dense black haze that obscured her vision.
"What kind of monster is this guy?"
Rosa wasted no time, taking the initiative to curse both Oiler and the model accompanying him in the shower. The spell immediately transformed the woman into stone, freezing her mid-motion as she leaned against the thick glass wall.
"F-CK!!"
The curse, however, failed to fully affect Oiler. Instead of petrifying him entirely, it turned only the outer layer of his synthetic skin to stone. His augmented skeleton, integrated microchips, mainframe systems, and nanomachine-infused blood rendered him partially immune to such magic.
Oiler gritted his metal teeth and tried to move, but his petrified flesh merged with the stoned model. With a guttural growl, he ripped himself free, tearing away layers of the petrified synthetic skin. The flesh peeled off in chunks, revealing his grotesque organs, cybernetic enhancements, and reinforced steel bones.
The android staggered back with his torso a horrific blend of mangled wires and organic intact. He fell to his knees, and his synthetic guts slipped out. Panicked, he shoved them back into place.
Taking advantage of his vulnerable state, Rosa teleported and appeared behind him. Mimicking Carn’s signature execution techniques, she seized Oiler’s head from behind and twisted it.
CRACK!
Oiler’s steel head rotated a full 720 degrees before detaching from his metallic spine. Rosa held it aloft, turning it over to inspect it. For a brief moment, she thought the fight was over.
But then, Oiler’s artificial eyes flickered to life, locking onto hers. His jaw twitched, and the voice components embedded in his throat emitted a furious sound.
"WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU AMBUSH ME?! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!"
Rosa didn’t flinch. This wasn’t her first encounter with augmented humans, and she had no intention of letting him intimidate her. She tightened her grip around the head, and her palms pressed against the metallic skull.
Oiler’s robotic face contorted under immense pressure until it shattered, scattering wires, microchips, and synthetic fluids across the room.
Yet, the ominous black haze around them didn’t dissipate. Rosa scoffed and turned her attention to the headless body. Her experiences led her to the chest, where a faint glow emanated from a suspicious core embedded in the center. Without hesitation, she reached into the mangled remains and ripped the battery-like power source from his chest cavity.
The moment the core was disconnected, Oiler’s body slumped lifelessly to the floor, and the black haze dissipated. A sudden rush of energy coursed through Rosa as 1,500 marks of Aether surged into her body. Alongside it came the voices of countless spirits, offering their gratitude. These were the souls of Oiler’s victims, finally freed from their torment.
Rosa smiled faintly as the oppressive atmosphere lifted. Another evil sinner had been purged, and Rosa was proud of her deed.
The mission had been accomplished. It was the time to bail.
Rosa scanned the mansion one last time, believing that she had left no trace of her… until she saw a CCTV camera in the room.
"Crap," Rosa dryly laughed. She then teleported, returning to Carn’s side. She wondered if she should report her mistake to Carn after this.