Several blood-red snot worms clung to Alice's pale, pretty face, wriggling faintly. Gwen yelped and stumbled back again and again.
The warm, friendly smile on "Alice" slowly vanished. In its place came a twisted, terrifying expression, along with a chilling, sinister laugh.
"Heh… heh… how did you figure me out?"
Even her voice had changed, turning hoarse and grating.
"Who are you?" Grandpa Max demanded, face grim. "Where's the real Alice?"
"Oh, her?" "Alice" giggled. "She was the first one I ate. Delicious. And not just her, either. I ate everyone in this town. Hahahaha!"
As she laughed, the red worms on her face sank into her cheeks, melding with her skin as if they'd never been there.
Lucian's gaze turned icy. "You thought you could fool us? That 'strawberry cake' was bait. You wanted us to eat it so those disgusting crawlers could kill us, right?"
Earlier, Yenji had caught the strange smell from the cake and warned Lucian immediately, along with one terrifying detail.
This "Alice" smelled exactly the same as Aunt Vera.
Meaning they weren't the same person.
They were the same monster.
"Ben," Lucian said slowly, "go check the bedroom. See if Aunt Vera is still there."
"Heh. No need." "Alice" smiled, and her body twisted violently.
She collapsed into a mass of blood-red slime, then gathered again and reshaped… into Aunt Vera.
"Gross…" Ben grimaced.
Staring at the bloated "Aunt Vera," Lucian snorted. "In the bedroom, you pretended to be Aunt Vera and said you needed to rest. You were really trying to get Grandpa and the others out of the way. Then you changed into Alice, climbed out the window, and brought us that strawberry cake to wipe us all out."
"Clever, my good grandson." "Aunt Vera" clapped, laughing loudly.
"But you planned for everything… except the fact that we have a fox with an absurdly sharp nose."
Lucian's eyes shifted to Yenji.
Yenji huffed, looking smug. In her head, she was already planning to demand a few extra cups of Kangshifu instant noodles from Lucian later as a proper reward.
"Hmph. Consider yourselves lucky!"
"Aunt Vera" bared sharp teeth and instantly transformed into the Phlegm Queen.
Her entire body was blood-red, coated in thick, sticky slime. Six crimson tentacles swayed behind her, horrifying to look at.
Lucian pressed the Omnitrix. A hologram popped up, and he started cycling through options quickly.
Ben did the same, laughing as he searched. "Hero coming through!"
Gwen raised a hand and began chanting under her breath, but she barely got halfway before a tentacle whipped out and sent her flying. She hit the carpet and rolled.
Splash!
In the next instant, a stream of rainbow-colored flame burst from Yenji's hand and wrapped around the Phlegm Queen like a living ribbon.
The Phlegm Queen threw back her head and laughed wildly. "Hahahaha! I'm not afraid of fire! If anything, this feels even better!"
"Is that so?" Yenji snickered. "Too bad it isn't fire~"
With smooth, confident steps, she walked straight up to her.
The Phlegm Queen tensed, tentacles lashing out toward that hateful fox-woman.
Just as the sharp tentacle was about to stab into Yenji's eye, it froze midair, motionless.
"Psychic Flames make you hallucinate," Yenji said, her red lips curving into a smile.
Her flames didn't burn flesh. They were a mental attack that forced terrifying illusions onto the target and slightly weakened them.
Of course, the stronger the target's will, the less effective Psychic Flames became.
Right now, the Phlegm Queen writhed inside the rainbow flames, her expression twisted in pain. Struggle filled her eyes as she fought the hallucinations.
She was powerful, but her will wasn't strong enough.
Still struggling, she used her tentacles to slap at the flames on her body.
Psychic Flames were a mental attack, but they still had physical substance. They could be put out by force.
Yenji didn't give her the chance.
Her figure flickered, turning into a red afterimage. Her claws shot longer in an instant, stretching into dagger-like blades.
"Die!"
She slashed in a storm of crimson streaks, tearing the Phlegm Queen apart.
The Phlegm Queen collapsed into scattered puddles across the floor, wriggling faintly as if trying to pull itself back together.
"Didn't expect you to be that brutal."
A hoarse voice came from behind.
Big Chill beat its wings once, blasting out freezing air that instantly locked all the slime into ice.
"Ha!"
Then it exhaled again, blowing the frozen chunks apart into a swirling cloud of icy dust that drifted upward and slowly vanished.
This time, the Phlegm Queen was dead for good.
Ripjaws rushed in… only to find the fight already over. He scratched his head, looking a little dumbfounded. "Oh man… if I'd known, I wouldn't have transformed."
Big Chill turned around, only to find Yenji staring at it.
Was she mad because it stole her kill?
Yenji strode up and hugged Big Chill tightly. "You're so pretty! And super cool! You can even spit ice!"
Big Chill went intangible, slipping out of her arms. It backed away a couple steps, tapped the Omnitrix, and returned to Ben.
"Alright. It's over," Lucian said, finally letting out the breath he'd been holding.
But Aunt Vera and the others…
"Grandpa…" Lucian patted Grandpa Max's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
Grandpa Max let out a heavy sigh, fists clenched, and didn't say anything.
Gwen, holding her waist, limped over. "Next summer, I am absolutely going to summer camp…"
Just to be safe, Lucian and Ben transformed into XLR8 and raced through the entire town, searching for survivors.
The chances were slim, but they had to try. What if someone was still alive?
But the result was heartbreaking. Aside from their group, there was no one left in the desert town.
It had become an empty city…
After a long silence, everyone returned to their rooms. The all-night travel and the loss of family had left them exhausted in body and mind. They needed rest.
Soon, the night passed.
...
Early the next morning, Grandpa Max got up and started making calls, reporting what happened so the plumbers and electricians could send people out and record everything.
As for Ben and Gwen, nobody knew where they'd run off to. With the whole town deserted, they could wander into any shop—stores, clothing boutiques, whatever they wanted—without paying a cent.
Yenji, still wearing her torn red tight-fitting dress, followed Lucian to a clothing store.
"I said I'd get you a new one." Lucian gestured toward a row of brand-new dresses, all designer labels. "Now… pick whatever you want."
Yenji lit up like a kid. She hadn't worn a new dress in ages. Back in the arena, food was hard enough to come by, let alone buying clothes.
She quickly started trying things on, darting into the fitting room to fuss with different outfits.
But with some human dresses, she didn't know how to put them on, so she kept calling Lucian in to help her get dressed…
Women could take forever shopping, and the Empress of Fox Star was no exception. Lucian waited until he felt like he was about to wither away.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Lucian spotted a lemon tea shop across the street.
His eyes lit up, and a craving he'd never felt this strongly before surged up from deep inside him…