I became a vampire princess and then a dragon girl?

Those things with a short shelf life have already rotted away, but items such as furniture and ornaments are still in good condition.

In short, as long as enough people are thrown in, it will probably take no time for the city to return to its former state.

But the strange things were not over yet. When Eve and the others searched another store and returned to the street, they saw a bustling crowd of people appearing on the originally empty street.

On the surface, they looked like a group of normal people. Some were walking on the street, and some were talking to others. Eve did not sense any trace of the power of the devil on them.

"...Master Brave?"

“Yeah…I know.”

"What's going on now..."

“… Ask someone.”

Eve stopped someone and asked.

"Hello, fellow travelers here, is there anything worth visiting in this city?"

"Oh~ Hello, beautiful lady, I would recommend..."

Listening to the man in front of her talking endlessly, Eve frowned slightly.

This is very normal. If you only look at his performance, you can't tell that there is anything wrong with him. The most important thing is that there is no trace of the power of the devil on his body.

It's interesting. I don't know how the demon did this. He was able to hide it from me, who is extremely sensitive to the demon's power because of the contract with Ilvia.

After all, it would be ridiculous to say that the situation in this city has nothing to do with the power of the devil.

"...Finally, this beautiful lady, if you wish, I can serve as your tour guide. I..."

Even though the man gave a long speech, Eve still rejected his invitation to go with him. It would be more accurate to say that there was no way she would agree.

After being rejected by Eve, the man walked forward with some regret. There was nothing unusual about him, as if he was just an ordinary citizen.

"Well... let's go to the restaurant we just visited."

After briefly thinking about the current situation, Eve turned her gaze to the restaurant they had just left.

§70 Haunted City

"Welcome! Are there only two guests?"

This time, as soon as Eve and her friend entered the restaurant, they heard the waiter's enthusiastic greeting, but unfortunately, Eve's attention was not on them.

"…really."

I saw that the empty tables were now occupied by guests. They were smiling and enjoying the delicious food in front of them with cutlery in their hands. There didn't seem to be anything unusual.

That's assuming those delicacies are still the same as they were a few weeks ago.

Now, in Eve's eyes, the guests were happily eating the rotten food in front of them.

Well, it seems that the mastermind behind this place can't understand anything about food.

I can only say that he has brains, but only a little bit.

"Ok?"

Just as Eve was looking at the group of people eating a pile of rotten and smelly vegetables with a speechless look on her face, her expression suddenly became serious and she immediately looked at Istina beside her.

"Did Tina feel it?"

"Hmm, is that also true, Mr. Brave?"

At this moment, Istina's expression suddenly became serious. From the red thunder on her fingertips, it was not difficult to see that she was ready for battle.

"Yeah, that's right. It's the corrosive effect of the demon's power."

As Eve spoke, her expression became noticeably grim, because for some reason this erosion did not trigger the defensive magic on either of them. It was not until the last magic barrier was attacked that it caught their attention. This was undoubtedly the first time this had happened.

"... Let's investigate the situation here thoroughly. We must find the cause."

"Ah."

Hearing Eve's serious tone, Istina nodded seriously.

Now, even if Eve and the others are unwilling, they must find out the source of this erosion, or at least understand how the power of the demon here can achieve erosion without causing any abnormalities.

After all, this silent erosion is really terrible. The two of them are immune to it because of their strong strength. If it were ordinary people, like the city under their feet, they probably wouldn't be able to find anything abnormal until it was completely eroded.

Now that the population of this continent is all gathered in major cities, if any city is eroded by this demonic power, it will suffer heavy losses.

Then, the two of them began to make various attempts in various places in the city.

During this process, Eve also discovered some things about the city.

First of all, the people here are like in a game, they will only be refreshed in a small circle with them as the center, making the city look no different from the past.

Among the various things they do, some common-sense behaviors will cause these people's reactions to appear to be no different from those of ordinary people, just like when Eve asked a passerby a question earlier.

But if their manipulation is too outrageous, far beyond people's imagination or common sense, then these people will be like NPCs with set programs, doing their own things.

For example, when Eve used magic to create a circle of fire around everyone on the street, these people acted as if they didn't see the bright circle of fire and continued to do what they were doing.

It was not until the flames from the fire ring ignited the surrounding area and caused a fire that the group's behavior became normal. Some people ran to try to get away from the fire, while others gathered to watch the fun.

The only difference is that those people who were running away still had fire rings hanging on their bodies, making them like human-shaped fire sources that set fire wherever they went.

However, the biggest anomaly occurred when Eve and her friend pretended to leave the town.

"Master Brave, they seem to be staring at us."

Walking on the way out of the city, after looking around slightly, Istina whispered to Eve.

"Well, Tina is right, they are just secretly watching us."

Eve pinched her brows, no longer annoyed by the feeling of being spied on, and confirmed what Istina said.

For someone like Eve who is sensitive to other people's gazes, she feels extremely uncomfortable now.

As they got closer to the city's exit, the peeping became more and more undisguised.

When they walked over, the people around them would put down what they were doing and stare at their movements intently. Even if Eve and the others had left their sight, they would continue to stare at the place where the two disappeared, like living statues.

"…Are you ready?"

Under the fixed gazes of countless people around, Eve held Istina's hand beside her and asked softly.

"Ah."

"Then let's give it a try. If nothing unexpected happens, they will attack us the next moment."

They hadn't even left yet, but the people over there? Or rather, the things covered in human skin, were already ready to attack. If they really took that step, they would probably pounce on them.

As they spoke, the two of them took a step forward and left the city. The moment they left, the people closest to the city entrance also took off their disguises and turned into familiar black monsters, roaring and rushing towards them.

But then...

"Hey."

The two people who had just jumped out jumped back and returned to the town.

This action was like a switch. The people who had turned into monsters put on human skin again and turned back into human beings. Even the sight of those who were spying on them became obscure again, as if refreshing their hatred.

Wow, this is becoming more and more like a game.

Shaking her head helplessly to get rid of the messy thoughts in her mind, Eve continued to analyze the current situation.

Hmm... It seems that if I stay here for a period of time, I will begin to be eroded by the power of the demon, and this erosion can also bypass the effects of many defensive magics.

Once people who enter here want to leave, they will be stopped by these monsters disguised as humans.

But why didn't they see these human-skinned monsters appear when they first arrived here?

According to common sense, you have to do the whole act. It doesn't make sense to let them realize the abnormality only after they have already noticed it and start rehearsing the act.

Hmm... Does that mean they did something special to cause this situation?

For example, appearing directly in the center of the city?

After all, it is common sense that people have to go through the entrance or teleportation point to enter the city.

Eve, who had figured out the key, had a slightly strange expression on her face.

What the hell is this? A bug in the real online game? What the hell is going on?

§71 Disguise

"...Anyway, that's pretty much the situation here. Do you have any idea about this special demonic power here? Or is there anything you'd like us to try?"

After testing everything they could think of, Eve used magic to contact the God of Creation to see if she had any unique insights into the current situation.

After all, when it comes to familiarity with the power of the devil, this creator god who once severely damaged the devil is definitely one of the best.

In Eve's opinion, if the power of the demons and the waves of the abyss in the past were as powerful and difficult to resist as natural disasters, then this time this strange city was like a trap with imperfect disguise. Although it lacked the kind of overwhelming sense of terror, it was still very scary.

"Um…"

On the other side, after listening to Eve's story, the God of Creation also fell into deep thought.

"Eve, can you guys try going to other towns and see if the situation is the same elsewhere? If so, this time, just go through the city entrance like everyone else. I have some guesses, but I need to verify them."

"No problem, I'll contact you later."

As she spoke, Eve seemed to remember something and asked again.

"By the way, will it be okay if this city is destroyed like this?"

"It's okay. If nothing unexpected happens, this city won't continue to pretend when you, Eve, want to destroy it."

"That's good."

After the communication magic was hung up, Istina asked.

"Mr. Brave, how is it? What did my sister say?"

"She told us to go to other cities and use the normal entrances to test the situation, and then it wouldn't matter if we just destroyed the city."

"Destroy it directly?"

"Well, the Creator seems to have guessed what's going on here. According to her, if we plan to destroy this place, then this place won't be able to maintain its disguise anymore."

As she spoke, Eve snapped her fingers a few times, making a crackling sound.

"So... let's start now?"

"Well, I can't stand this feeling of being eroded anymore. Let's get rid of it quickly."

As Eve spoke, there was a devilish glint in her eyes, and she stared with annoyance at the faint black power spreading from the ground beneath their feet.

The feeling of being constantly harassed by the power of the demon is like being in a sweltering summer night and having a mosquito buzzing in your ear when you are about to go to sleep, but you can't kill it with a slap.

If it weren't for the investigation, Eve would have already destroyed the city.

"By the way, move a little slower. It's just right to see what will happen if we try to destroy this place by force."

Before taking action, Eve gave one final reminder.

"Ah."

Snapped--

With a snap of her fingers, Eve said with a relaxed look on her face.

"Then let's get started."

Like a signal, with the sound of a snap of fingers, countless fireballs replaced the sky above the city, while the group of monsters covered in human skin below seemed not to notice the abnormality above their heads and continued to do their things step by step.

But this strange tranquility was completely shattered when Eve waved her finger downwards as if giving an order.

As countless fireballs fell into the city like a rain of fire, destroying everything in the city, the people in the town just now seemed to have pressed the pause button. They all stopped what they were doing and looked towards the top of their heads with dull eyes.

The next moment, the feet of these people began to melt, revealing the original dark mud, and the ground that was originally paved with stone slabs turned into a black mud swamp like an abyss.

Faced with an attack that could have destroyed it, the city finally shed its disguise, revealing its true face of the abyss.