"Run!" Alex screamed, though the sound was swallowed by the deafening screech of tearing reality.
The "Iron Head" didn't need to be told twice. The huge E-rank beast, usually the apex predator of this domain, was currently trembling like a worm.
The pressure descending from the crack wasn't just physical; it was a soul-crushing weight.
A massive wave of Spiritual Power, dense and suffocating, washed over the forest like a tsunami.
"Get on!" Alex yelled, realizing his human legs would never outrun this pressure.
He scrambled up the slippery, moss-covered roots and threw himself onto the snake's massive back.
The moment his thighs made contact with the cold, metallic scales, Alex gasped.
"Ah!"
His body was currently in the middle of the Ecdysis phase. The scales of the Iron Armored Snake King were like jagged steel plates.
To a normal person, it would just be uncomfortable.
To Alex, whose nerves were currently rewired to be hypersensitive, it felt like sitting on a bed of vibrating knives and ice.
(Master... Hold...) Iron Head hissed in his mind, its voice panic-stricken.
The snake launched itself forward, as it tore through the forest with the subtle force of a derailed train.
Small trees were snapped in half, Alex clung to the dorsal scales for his life, his body flattened against the cold metal.
"Too rough! Slow down!" Alex groaned, squeezing his legs tight around the snake's girth to keep from being thrown off.
But the friction...
Every undulation of the massive snake's muscles sent a wave of grinding pressure straight into Alex's groin and thighs.
The loose fabric of his trousers bunched up, rubbing aggressively against his shedding skin.
"Nnngh!" Alex bit his lip, as it was a confusing mix of searing pain and a sharp jolt of electricity that shot straight up his spine.
"Enjoying the ride?" The Empress's voice laughed in his head, seemingly unbothered by the apocalypse opening up behind them.
"Shut... up..." Alex panted, his face flushed.
Behind them, the Space Crack finally burst open fully.
BOOM!
A shockwave of blue-purple spiritual energy rippled outward, flattening the canopy of the forest instantly.
Alex dared to look back over his shoulder.
From the tear in the sky, they didn't fall like rain; they poured out like a flood of trash.
Hundreds of small, green-skinned creatures—Gretchin—screeched as they hit the canopy. Larger, muscular figures followed them—Orks—roaring with a sound that shook the leaves off the trees.
When one of the larger beasts hit the ground, it exploded into a bloody mist upon impact, but where the blood landed, the ground hissed.
Where the blood touched the soil, strange, pulsating mushrooms sprouted in seconds. Pop. Pop. Pop. The mushrooms swelled and burst, releasing clouds of neon-green spores.
"What is that?" Alex gagged as the wind carried a scent like dirty gym socks and sulfur.
"Don't look back!" The Empress's voice was sharp. "Those are Spore-Born. A plague."
"Killing them is useless if you don't burn the roots. Those spores... give them a minute, and they will grow into something worse."
As if on cue, the ground where the blood had spilled began to heave. A hand, thick, green, and muscular, punched out of the earth.
A larger creature, the size of a teenager but with muscles like a bodybuilder, clawed its way out of the rapidly growing fungal patch. It roared, revealing tusks jutting from its lower jaw.
"WAAAAAGH!"
"A humanoid beast tide. They hunt by sensing spiritual fluctuations. If they catch you, they will just tear you apart… with their never-ending numbers, even your little pet can't save you."
"Iron Head! Go faster!" Alex slapped the metal scales, terrified by the sight of the faceless army raining from the sky.
The snake hissed, channeling its [Muscle Strengthening] skill.
Its body seemed to swell, the iron scales locking tighter, and it surged forward with a burst of speed that nearly whipped Alex's neck.
The wind roared in Alex's ears.
The friction between his legs became unbearable.
The rough fabric of his pants was acting like sandpaper, stripping away the dead skin on his inner thighs at an accelerated rate.
He could feel the flakes peeling off, leaving behind the raw, sensitive, creamy white skin underneath.
And directly against that fresh, exposed skin, the cold hard metal of the snake rubbed rhythmically.
"Haa... ah...!" A moan was torn from his throat, lost in the wind.
His body, betraying him as usual, reacted to the intensity.
He felt the blood rushing to his groin, his cock hardening painfully against the zipper of his jeans despite the terror of the situation.
"You really are a hopeless pervert," the Empress whispered, feeding on the spike of adrenaline and arousal. "Running for your life from an alien invasion, yet you're leaking on your pet."
Alex ignored her words, or perhaps couldn't respond, as he was still focused on retreating toward the city walls.
But the "Green Tide" was relentless. The roar behind them was getting louder. It sounded like a football stadium filled with angry drunks.
"WAAAAAGH!"
Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. And they were growing. The dead ones were releasing spores, and the spores were hatching new ones. It was an infinite loop of violence.
Suddenly, the sky lit up.
A beam of white-hot energy, thick as a building, descended from the clouds.
WHOOSH!
It hit the forest behind them.
There was no explosion. Just instant incineration.
The trees, the rocks, the green monsters, everything in a hundred-meter radius simply vanished, replaced by a crater of molten glass.
Alex shielded his eyes, the heat washing over him even from this distance.
High above, a figure stood floated in the air, surrounded by a halo of flames.
"The City Lord," Alex whispered.
The figure raised a hand, and waves of fire dropped down, specifically targeting the patches of green blood and the mushroom clusters.
"Good," Alex shivered. "Burn it all."
They didn't stop running until they reached the gravel pits near the dried-up riverbed, miles away from the invasion zone.
Iron Head skidded to a halt, its metallic body heaving with exhaustion. Steam rose from its scales.
Alex practically fell off the snake, landing on his hands and knees in the grey stones.
"Safe..." he wheezed, his chest burning. "We made it."
He tried to stand up, but his legs gave out.
"Ah!" A sharp sting shot through his inner thighs.
"Ouch," he hissed, looking down at his pants.
The inner seams of his cheap trousers were completely destroyed. The fabric had been frayed by the constant grinding against the snake's metal scales.
Through the rips, he could see his inner thighs. The tanned, hairy skin that used to be there was gone.
In its description, the Ecdysis phase involved shedding skin, but usually, it was a slow process.
The friction of the ride had accelerated it violently.
Where the old skin had rubbed away, there was now a patch of skin that glowed with a pale luster.
It was completely hairless, creamy white, and smooth as silk.
But because it was brand new skin, it was raw. It pulsed with heat.
"Status," Alex whispered, his voice trembling.
[ Feminization Progress: Phase 1/9 (Ecdysis) - 31% ]
"It jumped nearly five percent?" Alex stared at the blue screen in horror.
"Friction accelerated your shedding," the Empress explained, her voice sounding bored now that the danger was over. "You essentially sandblasted the old male skin off. Efficient. Though, judging by the state of your trousers, you've made a mess."