“Gah!” My voice cracked as I let out a blood curdling scream. I quickly pulled Zhige out of my arm, and a wave of relief flooded through me. I finally managed to catch my breath as blood trickled down my arm.

There was a deep-rooted desire to inflict pain, even death upon other people, for it was simply a repressed human desire.

Sure, perhaps I was just cynical, but was there not that inherent satisfaction in revenge, relief in anger, or humor in compilations of people accidentally injuring themselves?

“Peijin!” Yang shouted, his face contorted into extreme worry despite the blindfold. He ran forward, trying to reach me, but Wei extended out an arm to stop him.

“Don’t mutilate yourself, beautiful! We can make you feel so much better!”

“Won’t you bring your friends over, too?”

“Don’t you think we’re beautiful?”

Some of the figures shifted to take on the form of men, their bodies twisting and contorting horrifically; I fought down the bile rising in my throat.

“Mm, do you like this more?”

“Oh wait, maybe this is your type!”

“Or maybe you’re into a woman like this.”

Blood was gushing from the wound on my arm, but I retightened my grip on the ribbon and began to sprint forward, dragging everyone along with me. This moment of clarity… I wasn’t sure how long it would last, but I had to get everyone as far out of the forest as I could.

“Don’t run away from us, beautiful!”

“You bitch, get back here!”

I couldn’t hear anything but my shaky breathing in my ears as I whipped my head around and faced the howling demons.

“Get the fuck away from them!” I screamed, throwing Zhige forward.

The blade seemed to have a life of its own, undoubtedly affected by the pollen—it swung itself forward and stabbed straight through a row of demons, pinning them onto a tree before slicing them apart. Golden pollen seeped out of them, yet I had distanced the group enough to avoid the effect.

The demons let out a loud, garbled shriek as they tried to escape, their body returning to roots and vines, but Zhige quickly cut them apart.

One managed to bypass him, shooting forward at me, but Wei extended his sword and cleanly cut it in half with surprising technique despite being blinded.

[Scathing Reviewer activated!]

A small smile grew on my face before I winced, and it quickly contorted. I could feel the pollen’s effects returning. The pain returned in volcanic waves, sending me to the ground. With a loud swallow, I got back onto my feet and dragged the group forward.

Finally, like it was depicted in Yang’s poster, a cave in the distance was approaching, its entrance dark and ominous yet eerily welcoming in this hellish forest.

“Y-Yue, when this dungeon ends, you can kill Yang,” I tried to joke before covering my mouth to hold back my burning vomit.

To my surprise, I heard no response but a strange, muffled sound. I whipped around to check on my party, but only their weapons remained scattered on the black road. The ribbon I was holding now reached up into the trees. Barely able to catch my breath, I looked up to see Yang’s mortified expression just before me.

One of the floral demons had reached him, and its long arms wrapped around Yang’s body like luscious vines on a tree trunk. It whispered into his ear, one of her hands covering his mouth and nose.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Even Zhige was now restrained.

She slowly peeled her face away from Yang to look down at me, a large smile creeping up her face. Her mouth opened to mouth a single word.

“Boo.”

Countless of the same bell-shaped flowers dropped from the canopy of trees above us; red, writhing, and plentiful, they puffed out their petals in preparation to blow more pollen over the entire party.

“No!” I cried out.

If they were hit, that was it. None of us would be able to leave this forest—best case scenario, we would murder one another until only one remained. Even then, that lone survivor would undoubtedly fall victim to the forest’s hunger.

[40,000 stars used.]

[Strength level 15 → level 35]

I clung onto Wei’s white ribbon. “I know it’s too early, but help out, please,” I pleaded with the ribbon until it finally whirled alive and meshed into my arms. At once, I whipped the ribbon forward, tearing my party out of the demons’ grasps.

With a loud roar, I swung the ribbon straight into the cave, forcing everyone out of the grip of the demons and slamming them into the cave wall. Amelia’s shrill scream rang out as she held onto Yue, both of them flying in.

Wei’s white ribbon lengthened significantly in my hands, before it vanished into the cave as well.

Like a roaring fire tornado, the indignant flush rushed through me once more, this time even less bearable than the past. I looked down at the blood trickling down my arm in thick streaks to find it had a strange gold shimmer now as it emitted a sweet smell. The aphrodisiac had spread to every part of my body.

Whoosh.

The plants spewed out the golden pollen from their mouths, causing it to rain down all over the forest. It was as if a golden powder had been dusted all over the forest, and I hacked and tried to spit out fat wads of the aphrodisiac.

[35,000 stars used.]

[You have purchased Book of Seals.]

“Zhige,” my hoarse voice squeezed out, “get the hell out of that and watch my back.”

I ran, crawled, and stumbled my way to the cave’s entrance. My head was violently spinning, the entire forest blurring into a mess of brightly colored splotches. My hands became the only source of my navigation by brushing against the sharp shrubs and gripping onto patches of spongy moss.

I was so close to the forest’s exit. So close. If pollen wasn’t littering the forest and I could drag the party out now, I could make it to the end with everyone in tow—but I didn’t have that energy. I couldn’t put them all in harm’s way, and my blood was already overtaken by that same golden sheen.

“Yue?” I croaked. “Is Amelia alright? Yue?”

My eyes could no longer adjust to the constant fluctuations in light, and I swayed at the cave’s entrance like a wickedly intoxicated woman; however, I made sure not to step in any closer.

“Yue?”

“Medusa’s head. Use it.”

“I can’t. This forest was made by Asmodeus, and these demons don’t have eyes the way we do. It’ll only make them pause.”

A heavy silence followed.

“Why won’t you come into the cave?” Yue’s voice was firm and commanding.

I let out a weak laugh. “I’m glad you’re alright but close your eyes. You’re making my job harder.”

“Why won’t you come into the cave?”

Just to sustain this brief conversation, I had already peeled off all the skin on the back of my hand. Kraken’s mucus might have a hard time fixing this one.

I squatted down to the ground, flipping open the Book of Seals. Its old pages loudly fluttered in my bloody hands.

Even if they wouldn’t forgive me, this was the only way I could ensure that they would all survive. If I stayed in the cave with them, it would be equivalent to locking them up with a ravishing bear. If I left the cave, they would come out and meet my very same fate.

My fingers dipped into the gushing blood from my arm, coating them in the sweet red liquid before I dragged them across the cave floor. My entire arm was completely gored at this point, but it was the only way I’d be able to transcribe the images from the Book of Seals.

I stood up, looking at the two bloody seals in front of the entrance. Because my blood was infected with the pollen, it contained a greater amount of spiritual energy, and it would be strong enough for a seal.

Yue appeared just in front of my face, but her eyes were still shut. She must have felt her way to the cave’s entrance by dragging her hands along the cave walls.

“Peijin. You promised you wouldn’t leave.”

I wondered if she wanted to add “me” to the end of her sentence.

“I’m not leaving,” I replied nonchalantly.

[Disciple Yue has activated Lie Detector!]

[Lie Detector has confirmed Disciple Peijin’s words as false.]

Yue’s lips pressed into a thin white line.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you trying to atone for?”

I ignored Yue’s question and turned away from the cave, looking back at the forest. Zhige was zooming around beside me, protecting me from the ever-approaching demons.

“Don’t ignore me, Peijin!” Yue shouted, finally opening her eyes and trying to storm past the cave’s entrance before an invisible barrier threw her back.

Jumping back onto her feet, she pounded on the invisible barrier with the look of a desperate, crazed woman.

“Peijin? Peijin, what the fuck is this?!”

Zhige flew back into my hand, and I tightly held onto the hilt. In my other hand, the Book of Seals continued to flutter in the wind. I stole one last glance at one of the seals I copied.

The Seal of Imprisonment.