Hovering high in the air, the Succubus Queen watched the skirmish happening on the ground with her arms crossed over her chest.
With Alicia down for the count, causing the members of the expedition to fall into despair, their resistance weakened considerably, giving the Satyrs an easier time neutralizing them one by one.
Although Xander, Malcolm, and the other Rankers were doing their best, their enemies were simply too strong and too many for them to handle.
Suddenly, the corner of the Succubus Queen's lips rose when her gaze landed on the boar, whose body was starting to glow as it slowly propped itself up.
A White Unicorn was right beside her, using healing magic to heal her injuries.
Slowly but surely, Cai shed away her Boar Form and switched to her human form. The High Priestess of the Rowan Tribe then pressed her palms together as if praying to the Gods.
A moment later, her attire changed to that of a High Priestess of the Rowan Tribe, and her entire body was covered with a white Aura that grew in intensity with each passing second.
"Celestial Burst," the Succubus Queen muttered. "I knew it. This girl has the Celestial Maiden Physique."
The Celestial Burst ability was an exclusive skill that only those with the Celestial Maiden Physique could use. It would drastically increase their stats by 2000% for a brief period of time, sometimes lasting for only five to ten minutes.
In return for this overwhelming power, they would burn away their current Rank until they regressed to that of a Beginner, which was below the Apostle Grade.
In short, after the effect of this skill fades, Cai would lose all the progress that she had made and would have to start from scratch.
"Astra, no matter what happens, your priority is to save Iris," Cai stated with a determined look on her face. "Leave us if you have to, but make sure to keep her safe. Also, find a way to return to Elysium or Solais."
Astra nodded before transforming into his Demi-human form.
This was his strongest ability, which he used to fight against Eiko in their battle at Barbatos Academy.
"Let's go," Cai took a step forward and instantly disappeared from where she stood.
Staking everything on the line, she would do everything she could to save the people that were important to her.
———————
"Hahaha!" Ampelos laughed loudly. "I already told you that resistance is futile. All of you should have accepted your Fate earlier!"
Xander and Malcolm were currently unable to prop themselves from the ground because the Satyrs were stepping on their heads with smug expressions on their faces.
Only the two of them resisted until the very end, and the Satyrs beat them up until they no longer had the strength to stand.
Suddenly, a blur of white light flashed in front of Ampelos, which made him subconsciously dodge to the right.
A second later, a foot smashed against the side of his face, which sent him flying.
Because of the unexpected situation, he dropped Iris, whom he had been carrying just a few seconds ago.
Everything happened so fast that the Satyrs were unable to understand what had just happened to their Boss.
However, when their gaze landed on the young lady with light-brown hair, who was holding Iris in a princess carry, they understood that she might be one of the Humans that were accidentally transported into the Abyss.
Astra, who had first attacked Ampelos and allowed Cai to deliver the decisive blow, reappeared beside the High Priestess and took Iris from her.
"Go, Astra," Cai ordered. "Find a safe place until help arrives. I'm sure Lux will come with reinforcements as soon as he hears the news. My Fiance is that kind of person."
The first thing that Cai did after they were transported to the Abyss was contact Lux through the Guild Chat.
But, for some reason, she was unable to use it. In fact, none of the Guild Features were working, including the Guild Buffs that strengthened her body.
She also could not feel the Spirits that were always with her wherever she went in Solais and Elysium. It was as if she was transported to a different world with different rules that were in no way similar to the two worlds she was familiar with.
Astra reluctantly nodded and transformed into a streak of lightning, flying away from the battlefield. Right now, his priority was to find a safe place to hide, until reinforcements arrived.
When her best friend was finally safe from harm, Cai once again disappeared from where she stood and reappeared beside the Satyr whose hoof was pinning Xander to the ground.
With a powerful kick that showed no mercy, Cai smashed the Deimos-Ranked Satyr's head like a watermelon, sending blood and pieces of flesh flying everywhere.
Currently, Cai's Rank was B-Rank, due to her Celestial Burst.
She could fight toe-to-toe with Dreadnaught Ranked Monsters right now, so Argonaut Ranked Monsters and below were something that she could fight head-on.
The High Priestess of the Rowan Tribe knew that time was limited, so she unleashed a fury of deadly blows to all the Satyrs that were weaker than her.
Contrary to her looks, Cai was actually very proficient in hand-to-hand combat.
She and her sister, Rose, had been trained by their Grandpa in close combat from a young age.
Maximilian believed that there might come a time when his granddaughters might face foes who would think that they were helpless Priestesses who couldn't defend themselves.
The element of surprise could be a very deadly weapon, and Cai was now utilizing it to the fullest.
Seeing his low-ranking subordinates being slaughtered, Ampelos roared in anger and charged at Cai, who had just killed an Argonaut-Ranked Satyr.
The High Priestess knew that she was not a match against the Leader of the Satyrs, so she ignored him. Using her fastest speed, she targeted another Deimos-Ranked Satyr, who had tried to run away from her.
However, Cai was faster than him, and a second later, her fist smashed against the Satyr's back, punching a bloody hole through it.
This time, the Dreadnaught-Ranked Satyrs finally decided that enough was enough and encircled Cai, preventing her from getting away.
Ampelos also used this opportunity to jump inside the encirclement and attack Cai.
The High Priestess barely dodged the Satyr Leader's attack, forcing her to jump back. However, the Dreadnaught Ranked Satyr that was behind her kicked her towards Ampelos making Cai grit her teeth as she endured the pain.
Knowing that this would probably be the last time she would get a chance, she twisted her body mid-air, and unleashed a round-house kick at the Leader of the Satyr, hoping that she would be able to deal great damage to him.
But Ampelos was no pushover. After that surprise attack earlier, his guard was up completely, so he was able to block Cai's attack.
Cai didn't back down and launched a flurry of punches and kicks at Ampelos, who either dodged, blocked, or deflected her blows.
Suddenly, as Cai was about to kick Ampelos on the side of his body, her legs lost their strength, causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground.
The White Aura that surrounded her earlier vanished without a trace, making her feel extremely weak, and unable to even lift a finger.
"Hoh~ is that it?" Ampelos said in a cold tone. "What's wrong, little girl? Did you finally run out of juice?"
The Leader of the Satyrs walked towards Cai before crouching down to look at her closely.
He then pulled up her hair, forcefully lifting her head off the ground to look at him in the face.
"You did a good number to my subordinates, Young Lady," Ampelos growled, his eyes cold and ready to kill. "I don't know what trick you used earlier, but I can tell that right now, you're as weak as a child. But that won't stop me from giving you the punishment you deserve!"
Ampelos yanked Cai's hair, making her cry out in pain. The leader of the Satyrs stood up and lifted the young lady by the hair.
"Although the other one escaped, it doesn't matter," Ampelos stated. "You're just as beautiful as her, so you will do nicely. For every Satyr you killed today, I'll make sure that you give birth to the same amount and more. I will treat you as my personal broodmare until the day you die. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being a woman!"
As if wanting to humiliate her in front of everyone, Ampelos' hand reached out to grab Cai's Priestess Clothes to tear them apart.
The Leader of the Satyrs knew that his subordinates wanted nothing more than to get revenge on Cai by ravaging her body until she broke. So he decided to humor them and allow them to see the place that all women held sacred.
But just as Ampelos was about to tear Cai's clothes apart, a voice that made the Leader of the Satyrs shudder reverberated in the surroundings.
"That's enough, Ampelos. If you don't want to die, don't do anything stupid."
The Succubus Queen descended from the sky and landed in front of the Leader of the Satyr with an amused look on her face.
She then caressed the side of Cai's face, who was still in pain from having her hair pulled, and smiled.
"Tell me, little girl, do you want me to save you?" the Succubus asked in a gentle and seductive tone. "All you need to do is say yes, and I'll make sure that these boorish Satyrs no longer touch a strand of your hair or harm any of your friends. So, how about it?"
The Succubus Queen smiled sweetly, as she continued to caress the face of the young lady who had piqued her interest.
"I'll ask again," the Succubus Queen said softly. "Do you want me to save you?"
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m