046 LOOKING FOR ROSE
"The demon in you is growing strong. If you are not too careful, he would awaken to consume you," she replied to his horror.
"We need the sacrifice to help Leo grow his magic", Dassa defended her actions.
"That is not necessary. Summoned beings could grow their magic like any other mage in this world with the right guidance. There is no need to indulge in the tools of the System. It is much quicker but there are consequences", Yun-Yun explained.
"You seem to know it all," Dassa said mockingly.
"You're also a demon practitioner, aren't you? Wrath, I assume?" Yun-Yun asked Dassa.
Dassa nodded. "Yes, Wrath. How the fuck do you know?"
"Demon practitioners use their sin to power their magic," Yun-Yun warned, "Wrath is harmful to the mind. If you push too hard, it could consume your consciousness."
Leo glanced at her, concerned. "Will it… affect her badly?"
"Not immediately," Yun-Yun said. "But harmonizing it with other emotions would slow the risk of mental decay. Slower progress, but safer."
"I've been saying that- Lust is good for your wrath," Leo added with a grin. "See, even Yun-Yun thinks our time together does you good."
"Maybe," Dassa muttered, blushing slightly. "Better than letting her replenish your Lust counters," she said with a hint of jealousy, gesturing to Yun-Yun.
Yun-Yun chuckled. "No need for jealousy. He needs Lust, more than anyone alone can provide. I merely help him regain strength —he helps me in return with his unique abilities."
"So, I'm the fucking girlfriend, and you're… what? His friend with benefits?" Dassa teased.
Leo's face brightened. "Are you saying you're my girlfriend now?"
"Dream on." She smirked.
Leo cleared his throat. "Back to our problem. We need to deal with a boss—a powerful Rose Demon. She's the leader of the Order of Rose, Madame la Rosa."
Yun-Yun's brows furrowed. "Describe her. Perhaps I can help."
Dassa recounted, "When I arrived here, I joined up with other human players, and together we encountered this Order of Rose. It's a bloody sex cult targeting human players, especially the men… they castrate their victims, turning them into wretched, cursed beings they call 'unicorns.'"
"What do they do with… the mutilated parts?" Yun-Yun asked, her eyes sharp.
Dassa's voice darkened. "She feeds them to her roses, creating magical thorns for her scepter."
Yun-Yun nodded with understanding.
"She's a rare type of demon," Yun-Yun began to summarize. "We call her a Rose Demon for simplicity. She has a magical realm of her own—a 'rose garden'—which she fuels through human sacrifices."
"The Roses? What about them?" Leo asked, unabashed. "And why are they so... infatuated with me?"
"Roses," Yun-Yun explained, "are what the Rose Demon calls young women with a unique constitution. Some call them 'sacrifices' or 'vessels.'"
"Vessels?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"They're called that because they're like sacrificial vessels. A 'vessel' can channel powerful magic to anyone who consumes her energy usually killing her in the process. These Roses were born with a constitution meant for demon rituals, making them ideal sacrifices. They're also drawn to demons by their nature—almost irresistibly," Yun-Yun explained.
"So, these Roses would be drawn to any demon, not just me?" Leo asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"One of my maids is a Rose," Leo said, before calling in Lillsa, a former beggar girl he had saved.
Lillsa soon came into the room. "Why did you ask for me?"
Yun-Yun examined her. "Yes, she has the 'Rose' constitution. The perfect sacrifice for demons."
Lillsa's face fell. "Am I… going to be sacrificed?"
"Not by him," Dassa assured her firmly, throwing Leo a warning look. "But what's strange is that all of these Roses would willingly follow the cult leader, believing they serve Lusifar as his brides."
"Am I a bride of Lusifar?" Lillsa whispered fearfully.
"No," Yun-Yun explained.
"The Rose Demon deceives her followers, which she selects from women with the 'Rose constitution', making up the myth of Lusifar's brides to control them. In truth, she seeks magic and sacrifices from 'players' and makes the Roses help them achieve that," she explained.
"That's why she targets human players only," Dassa said thoughtfully.
"Can we kill her?" Leo asked.
"She's strongest when she's in her garden, but if you destroy her roses and free her unicorns, you'll weaken her significantly, the magic of her realm is supported by the magic from the roses and unicorns," Yun-Yun speculated. "However, even weakened, she's still powerful—probably a peak Svad tier demon."
"So, we have no chance," Dassa muttered.
"If you can wrest her scepter away, I guess that is the focus of her powers, you might stand a small chance," Yun-Yun added.
Dassa scoffed. "How do we even get her to leave her fucking lair and steal her weapon?"
"She'll have to leave the lair eventually," Leo replied. "With all her Roses gone, she'll have to go find new ones," as he looked at Lillsa.
"What me?" Lillsa asked.
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"Damn those bitches! Where did they all go?" Madame la Rosa fumed, complaining about her missing attendants.
A twisted man, his limbs crawling on the ground like a wild beast, replied, "I don't know."
His body was smeared with dark, dried blood, a grotesque sight.
"Seer," Madame la Rosa called, her voice sharp. "Where is the new Rose you identified?"
The Seer was a unicorn twisted by Madame la Rosa's dark magic. He had a unique ability—he could discover and pinpoint the locations of summoned beings and the precious "Roses."
"We have been chasing her since Gomora, she's nearby, she's stopped running," Seer said, gesturing toward a village deep within the forest.
"This is troublesome," Madame la Rosa complained.
Normally, her subordinates handled recruiting Roses, but now the responsibility fell squarely on her shoulders due to the mysterious disappearance of all her staff.
The Seer found a potential Rose for her, and they have been chasing her trail ever since. The chase ended in a village in the forests outside Gomora.
As they entered the village, a sense of unease washed over Madame la Rosa. "Something feels off," she murmured, scanning the deserted streets.
"The Rose is close," Seer assured her. "I can sense her."