After hearing the full details of what had happened, Gaap summoned the Abyssal Soul that he had captured and started to interrogate it.
"Hahaha!" the silver-haired Abyssal Noble's Soul laughed out loud. "You lowly mortals thought that you could get the Beast Core of a Noble Abyssal like me? Serves you right! I cast a Grand Spell on my Core so that, if it was ever taken away, it would create a gateway that would give you all a one-way trip to the Abyss!"
The faces of everyone at the Gate of the Fallen contorted in anger as they glared at the Soul who was currently gloating due to their dire circumstances.
"Did you have fun?" Gaap asked. "Laugh more. For every laugh you release, I will make sure to burn your soul with Necromantic Flames. Let's see if you can feel smug later."
With those words, the Soul immediately stopped laughing and shuddered from simply imagining Gaap's threat. Ever since he was captured, the Halfling would torture him and force him to reveal some of his deepest and darkest secrets.
Gaap had asked the Abyssal Soul many questions about the Abyss during his free time, gaining great insight about the land beyond the void.
Seeing that the Abyssal Soul was behaving, Gaap once again asked him a question.
"Do you know the identity of the Succubus Queen in the Abyss?" Gaap asked.
"Are you talking about that b*tch, Rhiannon?" the Abyssal Soul replied. "If your people were sent to her territory, then you should forget about them. After all, that slut, Rhiannon is a Demigod. She's one of the most powerful figures in the Abyss, and only a handful of individuals would dare to mess with her."
Gasps of shock and disbelief were heard in their surroundings as the Abyssal Soul revealed Rhiannon's Rank.
Even Gaap frowned after hearing that the enemy was a Demigod.
'If she was only a Calamity-Ranked Creature, then I could deal with her,' Gaap thought. 'But, if she is really a Demigod, I will need Antero's full power in order to defeat her.'
Using Antero's full might drain Gaap's lifespan greatly.
This was why he had only been using Partial Summoning in order to preserve his second rebirth, which Lux had imparted to him.
"Do you know her weakness?" Gaap inquired.
"That b*tch has no weakness," the Abyssal Soul replied. "Well, maybe if you are handsome enough, she can make you her plaything. At least, you won't die if you are captured by her."
The Abyssal Soul then glanced hatefully at the Half-Elf, who was the source of his downfall. Currently, he wanted nothing more than to see Lux become Rhiannon's plaything and watch the Succubus Queen drain his life essence until he died.
"Where is her territory located?" Gaap asked.
"The Thirteenth Layer of the Abyss," the Soul answered. "We often refer to her as the B*tch Queen, because she is the Queen of all those Succubi whores who will fornicate with any demi-human creature as long as they have a d*ck!"
Gaap asked a few more questions, and he found out that in every layer of the Abyss, there was a portal that led to the layer above it and the layer below it.
These were characterized by Black and Gray portals.
The Black Portals lead to the lower layer, while the Gray Portals lead to the upper layer.
According to the Abyssal Soul, there were hundreds, and maybe even thousands of Layers of the Abyss, with each layer spanning countless miles.
He added that the Abyss was still expanding, which is what had allowed it to breach through several worlds, which the Abyssal Creatures had already conquered.
Even today, they regret that they were still unable to conquer Solais and Elysium due to the Unified Resistance of the people living there, which kept thwarting their plans of invasion.
After hearing everything they needed to hear, Gaap unsummoned the Soul and looked at his Disciple.
"We are up against a Demigod," Gaap stated. "Are you prepared to die?"
Lux nodded. Even if the chance of succeeding was small, he wouldn't back down from the mission to save his two fiances, whom he loved very much.
"Originally, I intended to ask the three of you to join us, but you are not strong enough for this mission," Gaap said as he looked at Vera, Alexander, and Maximilian.
The people who were quietly listening earlier found the Halfling's words very amusing.
For an Apostle to say that the three Saints were "not strong enough" was quite hilarious. If he considered the Saints to not be strong enough, then what could possibly be his definition of strong?
But Vera, Alexander, and Maximilian didn't say anything to refute Gaap's claims. They had fought alongside the Halfling when they were fighting against the Divine Army of Light.
Others may not know how strong Gaap was, but they had seen him fight alongside Antero, making them change their opinion of him.
"Can we really not join you?" Maximilian asked. He was very unwilling to just watch as Lux and Gaap took a gamble with their lives.
Gaap firmly shook his head. "You can't. Our opponent is a Demigod who has a very powerful Charm Ability. If the three of you got charmed, then bringing you with us might only make the situation worse.
"I am somewhat immune to Charm because of my Master. Lux, on the other hand, can also resist Charm, so he is good to go. The three of you don't have such abilities, so you will only end up being liabilities instead of assets. Lastly, we need you here just in case something unexpected happens."
Gaap then held up one of the White Marbles that Lux had given him.
"Once this is used, a Black Hole will appear and create a gateway to this world. If some Abyssal Creatures were to slip through, it would be your job to eliminate them as soon as possible. We can't risk having a strong Abyssal Noble reach our world. That would be catastrophic."
The Saints from the various factions all tensed after hearing Gaap's statement. Even Piccoro, who had come with four other Saints from the Crystal Palace for the rescue mission, frowned upon hearing that there was a chance an Abyssal Noble could come into their world.
Gaap then scanned the surroundings before pointing at Piccoro and his team of Saints.
"The five of you will come with us," Gaap stated. "Dragon Borns have resistance stronger than the average man, so you guys will do."
"We are Saints," one of the Dragon Borns replied. "The Domain of the Fallen only allows C-Rankers and below. How can we possibly bypass its restrictions?"
"Naturally, I have a way of bringing you guys with me," Gaap commented. "The only question is, do you dare to go to the Abyss with us?"
The Dragon Borns felt as if their pride as one of the strongest Races in Elysium was being questioned. Because of this, all of them spoke up to affirm that they would accompany Gaap if he really knew of a way to bypass the restrictions of the Domain of the Fallen.
Only Piccoro didn't react the way his comrades did and remained silent, which was very surprising for his character.
"There is something that I'd like to say first," Piccoro said. "The Crystal Palace and Lux's Guild are allies. However, we can't possibly help you fight against a Demigod. The reason why we are here is to save our own people.
"Even so, since we will owe you a great debt of gratitude, I alone will accompany you to face that Succubus Queen. My other comrades will not interfere and focus on bringing our people back home."
Lux, who thought that Piccoro would declare that he really wouldn't help him, sighed in his heart.
'No wonder Cethus likes Piccoro,' Lux thought. 'Although he is stubborn and arrogant, he knows how to repay debts.'
The other Saints of the different Factions, namely the Skystead Alliance and the Xynnar War Pact also asked Gaap to allow them to go to save their countrymen.
Gaap agreed but he made sure to let them know that he would only bring them to the Abyss. What happened afterward was no longer his concern.
"Gather around me," Gaap ordered. "I will only do this once, so if you guys back out, then I will not take you with me. Remember this, don't resist."
Without another word, Gaap summoned a miniature version of Antero's head, which was around five meters tall.
The Golem of Destruction then opened its mouth to suck up all the Saints around Gaap, temporarily storing them inside his body.
Eiko had the same ability, but Lux and Gaap both agreed that this was something that they should keep a secret from others. Since the Baby Slime looked harmless, they'd like to keep it that way for as long as they could.
"Let's go," Gaap said after he was done.
Lux nodded and both of them pressed their hands against the Gate of the Fallen.
A second later, Lux and Gaap transformed into particles of light that flew towards the center of the Gate, leaving behind the people who were hoping beyond hope that they would succeed in their rescue mission.
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