Undine and Joanie didn't harbor much suspicion regarding the "night watch" arrangement. After all, in a place as perilous as this, keeping watch was perfectly normal.
Outside the vine hut, Syphreya brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek, took a few steps forward, and threw herself into Eros’s arms. After a long moment, she took a deep breath of his scent and said with satisfaction, "I finally get to hold you~"
Eros looked down at the content girl in his arms, his eyes shimmering with affection. "Me too," he replied tenderly. At this, Syphreya gave a sweet smile.
The two remained in a warm embrace for a while before Syphreya tilted her face up, pursed her lips, and asked with a flirtatious smirk, "Thinking about it?"
Eros didn't play coy; he nodded directly. "Yes." This was exactly why he had called her out for the watch.
The Soul Ring on his finger had become noticeably more active since entering the Sin Realm. The sins it absorbed here were far greater than in the outside world, and its influence on him was much more potent. Previously, it would take ten days to a fortnight for the effects to accumulate; now, it had barely been two days, yet the influence was already palpable.
Hearing his affirmative answer, Syphreya’s eyes turned watery, and a seductive smile played on her lips as her index finger traced down from his chest.
But just as she was about to make a move, her body suddenly went limp, and she began to topple over. Eros caught her quickly, only to find her head resting against his chest—sound asleep.
Eros: "..."
Seriously? How can you fall asleep at a time like this?
However, Eros knew he couldn't blame Syphreya. The culprit was the contamination carried by the mist. He sighed, straightened his clothes, picked her up, and headed back into the hut.
Inside, Undine and Joanie were both fast asleep. He assumed Ayesha in the other room was likely in the same state. Eros laid Syphreya down next to Joanie and stepped back outside. Once there, he glanced at the red moon, raised his hand, and released the Eerie Maiden.
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A long while later, Eros returned to the hut. Within the room, translucent, illusory tentacles were unconsciously sprouting from the bodies of the girls. Seeing this, Eros calmly pulled out The Brilliant Sun to purge the pollution. The scene looked terrifying, but they were still far from actually mutating into monsters.
As the pollution was cleansed, the girls gradually woke up under the stimulation of the warm yellow light. They quickly realized what had happened, though Syphreya looked particularly dazed, glancing between Eros and herself with confusion.
Eros put away the artifact and entered the inner room. The sight inside surprised him: Ayesha had no illusory tentacles sprouting from her. Instead, her body was currently emitting a faint, silver-white glow.
Sensing someone's presence, Ayesha opened her eyes. Seeing Eros standing by her bed with a strange expression, she panicked. Is this guy trying to do something indecent under the cover of night? There are people right outside! While thinking this, she secretly felt her backside. Phew! No pain. She let out a small sigh of relief.
The silver light vanished once she woke up. Judging by her expressive little face, she was unaware of what had happened to her body. Seeing she was free of contamination, Eros gave a small nod and politely closed the door behind him.
He was only briefly surprised by her state; upon reflection, it made sense. She was the vessel for a deity—even if it was a temporary role, she wasn't someone ordinary pollution could easily corrupt. However, it seemed her "immunity" wasn't constant like his but had a trigger mechanism. Since he had been delayed "a little" tonight, the contamination in her body had reached a threshold, triggering a self-cleansing or devouring mechanism.
Eros lay down beside Undine. Seeing him return, Undine and Joanie prepared to head out.
"What are you doing?" Eros asked.
"Night watch! You two finished your shift; it's our turn now," Undine replied matter-of-factly.
"No need. There's no danger tonight," Eros stated confidently. Simultaneously, an invisible force (Barbara’s power) enveloped the hut. Undine trusted him implicitly and stayed. Though Joanie was still worried, she chose to believe him and lay back down.
Silence returned to the hut. As time passed and the crimson moon reached the zenith, its light continued to bathe the Sin Realm with indifference. However, under its glow, the color of the mist began to change—from white to a faint, rosy pink.
Suddenly, Eros felt someone licking his neck and face. He snapped his eyes open and saw Joanie, her eyes watery and blurred, kissing his cheek. Sensing he was awake, she looked up, revealing a flushed face and a hazy, longing gaze.
Eros glanced at the other two girls and saw they exhibited the same symptoms. He understood instantly. This was the Original Sin of Lust. The contamination in the mist had changed properties.