A loud sound blasted the corridor, followed by the sound of flesh hitting something hard.
Following the loud noise, the wall shook precariously and debris flew out everywhere, hitting the wall, ceiling and the floor.
Thick white dust poured out, quickly filling half of the corridor.
The corridor fell into a deathly silence before a shrill scream tore through the air.
"Ahhhh! D-dead! Daniel is dead!"
"A-ahhhhhh— "
Chaotic screams rang throughout the corridor as densely-packed humanoid figures rushed out of the thick cloud of dust.
Hot on heels behind the humanoid figures, a silhouette of tentacles swayed wildly, thrashing everywhere.
With each lash, a deep gash appeared on the wall, the tiles cracked and the floor was dented.
With Leinster's sharp eyes, he quickly caught sight of the…tentacle silhouette.
Wait, that's not tentacles.
They were…roots?
Before Leinster could see further, the group of humanoid figures finally dashed out of the thick dust, each of them covering their faces with their sleeves.
"C'mon! We are close!"
A woman with bob-cut hair ran at the forefront of her group, her high heels hit the cracked floor with tak-tak noise.
She looked at the few rooms in the corridor with sharp eyes and pointed at the one behind Leinster.
"There! It must be there!"
The group of men and women behind the bob-hair woman brightened up at the woman's words and they bolted towards the pointed place like cheetahs.
Maybe the thick cloud of dust covered everyone's eyesight or what, for a moment, none of the people saw Leinster, whose silver hair and white clothes blended perfectly with the white corridor.
The group arrived right in front of the so-called "cleared ruin" in no time but then, before everyone could sigh in relief, a shriek pierced through the cloud of dust, almost dissipating in the thick dust in one go.
"Kieekkk!"
—Found you!
The same green root that Leinster was familiar with, this time the size of an adult's thigh, slithered out of the thick dust cloud and swiftly wrapped around the ankle of a woman at the rear of the group.
The woman was clutching her chest, catching her breath when she saw everyone in front of her turning their heads towards her.
Their eyes widened, their faces turned pale and they opened their mouths without a sound.
"W-what..."
The woman felt something tugging at her ankle and the next second, her world was turned upside-down.
!
"A-ah— "
The woman's scream was lodged in her throat and the next second, she was tossed straight into the cloud of dust that had started to disappear.
Bang!
The sound of flesh hitting something hard echoed from the cloud of dust, followed by the sound of bones crackling.
"Crack. Crack. Chew. Chew."
Soon, the cloud of dust dissipated, revealing the scene behind it—
It was red.
The pristine white wall and floor was dyed in specks of red.
A thick metallic smell assaulted everyone's nose, followed by rancid smells and other indescribable smells, churning one's stomach.
Standing amidst the ruined corridor was a huge plant wedged inside a pot with its roots crawling on the floor, acting like spider legs.
Two thick tentacles danced wildly in the air as its mouth moved up and down.
A leg stuck out of its mouth and a pointed heel dangled weakly on the exposed foot.
The group of people looked at the scene with pale faces devoid of any color.
Some people's throats bobbed and they opened their mouths to gag, but they hurriedly clasped their mouths so hard that their palms turned white.
"Huk...hukk..."
A few women stifled their cries as they walked backwards, pressing their bodies to those behind them without a care.
Everyone's legs trembled and their knees bent as they clutched other people's arms to stay steady.
Still sitting on the floor right behind these people, Leinster looked at the gigantic potted plant with dark clouds lounging above his head.
Hello? You said that he had cleared the ruin, so why the hell a stronger monster suddenly appeared??
Did he get tricked again??
Before Leinster could erupt in anger, a thick smell of something sour and bitter trickled his nose and his eyes instantly lit up.
Ah? New emotions! The amount was also huge!
Hurry, hurry, suck them all!
Leinster's non-existent antennas wriggled excitedly as the system's notification flooded his mind.
DING! [Detecting new emotions!]
[OmO congratulations~ You have unlocked "Fear Emo" (ʘᴗʘ✿)]
[Absorbing Fear Emo ••• ]
[OmO congratulations~ You have unlocked "Sorrow Emo" ( ꈍᴗꈍ) ]
[Absorbing Sorrow Emo •••]
Two new gauges, one green and one blue floated next to the red one and both of them were filled by at least 30 points each with the red "Wrath" gauge at 10 points.
[Unlocking the corresponding store~ ]
Two new sections lit up in his [Emo Market], one had the symbol of a green bubbling thing and the other a dripping water droplet, each named [Fear Store] and [Sorrow Store].
Leinster's heart felt warm at the sight of his newly-unlocked Emo Store and the sloshing colourful liquid in the three Emo Gauges.
While Leinster was drunk on his new harvest, the gigantic three-meter-potted plant chewed the last piece of meat and flung its tentacles towards the group of people.
"Kieekkk!"
—More food!!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
"Ahhhh— "
Everyone broke into a scream, all scrambling towards the door of the "cleared ruin" when a desperate cry suddenly exploded.
"N-no! No! Th-the cleared ruin— is blocked!"