Once they smelled the fragrance, the citizens were affected differently based on their mental endurance. Only the bravest could remain calm and attempt to flee; those with weakened mental defenses instantly turned into terrifying attackers, capturing the opposite sex nearest to them, attempting to produce offspring; the most vulnerable instantly became loyal servants of Suzukawa Kiyo, their skin crystallizing, emitting rainbow light from their chests, chanting the name of Suzukawa Kiyo.
If they came directly into contact with the filth expanded by Suzukawa Kiyo, this influence would become even stronger. Those citizens who carry body modifications are even more unfortunate; the metal in their bodies would instantly come to life, viewing themselves as more suitable to dominate the body, starting to attack their hosts.
"Don’t come near me—"
"Suzukawa Kiyo is the strongest!" Those citizens, heavily manipulated mentally, also fell into varying degrees of collapse.
Nestor Corporation’s armed personnel quickly blockaded the streets, speedily using bullets and flamethrowers to clear the expanding flesh-magic carpet, barely stopping the growth of flesh on some streets.
But when the entire city began to experience the infection, the gain or loss at one intersection meant nothing.
As for the main body of Suzukawa Kiyo, it hid somewhere within this approximately 30 square kilometers of decayed land.
This was truly a high-level war. Farosa perceived countless terrifying manifestations of Suzukawa Kiyo.
This was a desperate contest close to godlike beings.
Very strong, incredibly strong. Farosa was both excited and anticipating.
Farosa propelled herself upward using gravity, heading into the sky. She overlooked the sprawling scarlet corrosion below, now she could understand Suzukawa Kiyo.
The corrupted, blood-dripping flesh chunks were her scarred, distorted shell; the shining crystals represented her truly devoted worshippers; the tempting sweet fragrance was the true source of Suzukawa Kiyo’s power.
She gained boundless fame and wealth by satisfying the lowly desires of the audience, also dragging herself into the abyss.
There was only one way to stop Suzukawa Kiyo from expanding further, consuming all of Shangjing.
"I need the support of a powerful Witch." Farosa communicated to Lila.
"102 is already in the battlefield." Lila replied.
Farosa saw from afar, 102 in action, clad in Iron Wings, furiously bombarding with her Short Spear, disrupting the spread initiated by Suzukawa Kiyo.
dared not shoot at the streets, hence continuously fired at the corrupted wilderness and forests at the city’s edge, creating massive explosions and waves of flames.
"It’s too slow, we need another Dominator." Farosa said.
"Takahashi Kyoko? Can she detect the target’s weaknesses?" Lila pondered.
"No, there’s another Dominator on this island, one more. Get her here, the sooner the better." Farosa calmly watched the violently growing Suzukawa Kiyo below.
At this moment, Suzukawa Kiyo was frantically unleashing her power, preparing for a fight to the death.
Knowing she faced difficulties against Farosa face-to-face, she decided to voluntarily disintegrate, transforming into a vast mountain of flesh-magic.
Suzukawa Kiyo could feel her power also covering the entire Northern Archipelago in the form of projections, every minute and second more people succumbed to disaster, their minds deranged, bodies twisted, turning into loyal servants of the Suzukawa Army.
Cities, roads, architectural structures, and war machinery, none could escape the corrosion of Suzukawa Kiyo, gaining certain characteristics of Suzukawa Kiyo under her influence.
She felt a morbid thrill, now those people, those things, everything around could understand her state of existence.
Grown with excess flesh like Suzukawa Kiyo, shining like Suzukawa Kiyo, indulging joyfully like Suzukawa Kiyo.
No longer needing to hide, just spreading openly and boldly. Now, what use was there in taking photos? Now, recording, criticizing, condemning, abusing, what use were they? What were those negative comments, those private message insults, those wanton attacks from behind the net worth?
She was the Archipelago, she was the world!
"What happened to that place?"
"There’s an earthquake!"
"A red wave... rolling over!" the nearby urban residents panicked, frantically driving away from the danger zone.
Vehicles heading toward the city center increased, clogging the streets tightly. Citizens fleeing on foot, by bike, and by car urgently rang their bells, cursing each other.
Among those falling behind, once covered by the power of Suzukawa Kiyo, they were instantly swept up, disappearing without a trace, reappearing wholly mad. Their vehicles then transformed into bizarre entities featuring a combination of mechanical, metallic, and flesh traits, even beginning to move on their own.
As for air routes, over thousands of Shuttle Machines densely fled, making even the airborne areas extremely crowded, forcing many to venture into other air routes.
All just to escape that self-replicating, infinitely expanding mountain of flesh-magic.
People were fleeing, half the city plunged into panic, while Suzukawa Kiyo continued to expand, her size already grown tenfold.
With such an attitude of violent consuming, corroding, and invading, the countless stray thoughts and illusions swallowed by Suzukawa Kiyo grew even more, further pushing her toward the brink of madness and breakdown.
She felt very painful, even more so than before.
For survival, this was the only way.
Now Suzukawa Kiyo and large sections of the streets merged as one, and every second her own body continued to expand relentlessly.