My Supernatural Girlfriends Spoils Me Rotten

Asher and Lucy moved while making sure they stayed hidden.

The creepy creatures shuffled forward, their oversized heads lolling unnaturally with each step.

Their movements were slow, almost lethargic, but not aimless.

There was a rhythm to their steps, as if they knew exactly how fast or slow to walk to avoid bumping into each other.

"What's that smell?" Lucy covered her nose, her face twisting in disgust.

A thick, putrid scent clung to the air, like rotting wood and stagnant water.

The ground soon became wet, patches of mud swallowing the creatures' steps with a squelch.

As they ventured deeper, the terrain became less solid.

The path turned into a swamp, water pooling between twisted roots.

Somewhere in the fog, something rustled, unseen but moving. Every so often, a soft plop echoed—a reminder that they weren't alone in the murky water.

Lucy observed the creatures "They're still moving "

Asher gave a slight nod. "Keep watching."

The big headed monster waded into the murky water without fear. It reached their knees, then their waists.

They kept walking. Soon, only their bulbous heads floated above the surface.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "They're submerging themselves."

"No," Asher gestured forward.

At the swamp's center lay a massive, jagged boulder.

It jutted from the ground like a monolith, its surface dark, slick, and wet.

The water around it was unnaturally calm, an eerie contrast to the rest of the swamp's sluggish, bubbling movement.

Asher and Lucy hovered above the surface, avoiding contact with the swamp.

The creatures didn't seem to notice them. They stood motionless, all facing the boulder, while more and more arrived, their numbers swelling into the thousands.

There were so many of them that their sheer presence caused the water level to rise.

In addition, their bubbling heads churned the surface, sending ripples and splashes outward—yet the boulder remained untouched, as if it existed outside physics.

Asher narrowed his eyes, sensing a different kind of energy radiating from the object.

It was dreadful, to say the least, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Why do I feel like these creatures are familiar?" he wondered aloud.

"What do you mean? Aren't these just low-level Yokai?"

He took a closer look at the heads. They were oversized, but there was no mistaking it—they looked like human babies.

And the purple color was more like a sign of suffocation.

"I don't think there's more to it. Even in the demon world, things like this exist—though I have to admit, Yokai are way uglier." Lucy pointed out.

Asher nodded in understanding. Maybe he was just being too paranoid.

SPLASH!

Just then, the boulder vibrated, sending ripples through the water.

The creatures reacted instantly. Their heads twitched more rapidly. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

Lucy tilted her head, intrigued. "Something's coming."

Thick, black blood seeped from cracks in the boulder, spilling into the swamp.

The liquid spread fast, staining the water.

A foul, acrid scent filled the air, burning their noses. It smelled of iron, decay, and something unnatural—like old, stagnant blood left to curdle in the heat.

EEEEEEEK!

EEEEEEEK!

EEEEEEEK!

The creatures shrieked, their mouths stretching really wide.

"They're drinking it," Asher noted, watching them gulp down the black liquid.

Their bodies trembled with each mouthful, their throats bulging as they swallowed.

Lucy covered her nose as the stench grew even more unbearable.

EEEEEEEK!

EEEEEEEK!

EEEEEEEK!

One let out a piercing screech. Then another. And another, until all the creatures joined in chorus, their wails rising into a deafening, unbearable noise.

After their eerie cries faded, they moved forward, stretching their thin arms toward the boulder's surface only to be devoured.

Flesh melted and faces contorted as the creatures pressed themselves against the stone, their bodies merging into it.

The cycle continued until the last creature dissolved into the stone, leaving nothing behind but silence.

"Is that it?" Lucy questioned, expecting more—perhaps a powerful Yokai suddenly emerging from the boulder.

But nothing happened. They even waited a full five minutes, and their patience was met with only silence.

The two drifted closer. Asher's curiosity got the better of him—his thirst for knowledge as a mage was embedded in his core. A habit he couldn't shake.

His fingertips grazed the surface.

A pulse.

A slow, rhythmic thud, deep beneath the boulder.

Like a beating heart.

"This isn't a stone," he murmured. "It's an egg."

Lucy crossed her arms, watching with intrigue rather than fear. "Interesting. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "but the energy it's emitting is very poisonous .

"I see etchings on the surface. Someone might have put it here to hatch."

Lucy glanced around the swamp, then back at the pulsing stone.

"Maybe we're close to a town?" she wondered aloud.

Asher touched his chin, thinking. "You're right. For now, let's not disturb this thing"

He was concerned that the boulder might be connected to something—maybe even trigger an alarm.

Finding Kitsune's exact location was already proving difficult in this confusing place.

He could either move cautiously or tear everything apart until she finally showed herself.

Unfortunately, that would put him in a difficult situation if he got surrounded. Though he was confident in his power, there was no such thing as a guaranteed victory.

And then there was the mystery of the mist. Up to this point, he had no clue what it was, and even Pantheon offered no insight.

"Let's go."

They decided to move in a single direction, careful not to stray from their path.

Eventually, they reached the edge of the swamp and felt solid ground beneath their feet again

As they advanced, small details caught their attention.

A half-buried wooden post, its surface etched with eastern language.

A lantern, cracked and long extinguished, dangling from a low-hanging branch.

And then, scattered footprints and tracks.

"This are fresh." Lucy noted.

Asher studied the markings.

From the looks of it, it was frequently used—ruts from cartwheels, scattered hoofprints, and even fresher footprints lined its surface.

Lucy stretched her arms, looking ahead. "Think it leads to one of those towns?"

"Only one way to find out."