"Damned Abyssal filth! You shall all be burned by the wrath of the gods!"
"The radiance of the Divine Pantheon will pierce the darkness and judge your sins thoroughly!"
"Filthy creatures like you shall be trapped in the Abyss forever, never to see the light of the celestial bodies!"
"The great Celestial Deity will redeem me! Even if my body falls, my soul shall be immortal beneath the starry vault!"
"Ah! Don't touch me! Take your dirty claws away! I, Thalyn, would rather die than submit to an ugly Sorceress like you!"
"Let go! Devout followers of the Celestial Deity shall never be defiled by Abyssal power!"
"Ah～!"
"Waah～!"
Angry curses and humiliating screams echoed alternately through the mine tunnel.
The corner of Kalis's mouth twitched slightly, and a scene had already formed in his mind: a tall human Mage pinned against the stone wall by a ferocious Sorceress, trapped in an awkward struggle.
"Regardless, he's still a human compatriot. I can't just stand by and do nothing." Kalis thought to himself, quickening his pace out of the mine tunnel.
What came into view was a cell hall built of black rock. The screams were coming from the first cell on the left. As he approached, another soft and sweet female voice became clearly audible:
"Poor thing, stop yelling～ Even if you scream your throat raw, no one will come to save you."
"I am the daughter of the Night Archon, the noble Princess Lilith! Am I not worthy of a human Mage like you?"
"Oh my, you're even biting me? Not very gentlemanly～."
Her voice was as sweet as honey. Even Kalis couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he heard it.
But the Mage in the cell remained unyielding, roaring angrily: "Evil Sorceress! If you hadn't sealed my magic, I would have torn you to pieces with Celestial Magic long ago! Ah, I'll bite you!"
Kalis: "..."
He stepped forward and looked through the cell bars.
Inside, Thalyn, wearing a tattered star-patterned robe, was pinned against the stone wall, his clothes disheveled and hair messy.
Standing in front of him, the Sorceress wore a dark purple gauze dress, her graceful figure like a moonlit vine.
She brushed her fingertips gently over Thalyn's robe, occasionally leaning down to whisper in his ear, teasing him to the utmost.
Thalyn's face turned bright red with shame and anger, but he couldn't resist as his magic was sealed, only struggling futilely.
"Hiss… Just looking at her back, she's really a beauty." Kalis glanced at the Sorceress's slender figure, thinking to himself.
But remembering the Abyssal Goblins' distorted sense of beauty earlier calling themselves "handsome" and dismissing humans as "ugly" while hailing this Sorceress as the "most beautiful in the Abyss," he silently added: "She's probably a back view killer."
Saving people was the priority. Kalis didn't hesitate. He gathered pale blue energy in his hand and shot a Magic Missile precisely at the Sorceress's back.
Splat!
-1,972,000
A million-level damage number popped up. Suddenly, a faint purple energy shield appeared around the Sorceress, shattering like a bubble.
But instead of falling, she turned around abruptly, a look of shock and anger flashing in her deep purple eyes: "Who?! Dares to sneak attack this princess!"
"Crap, she wasn't even seriously injured!" Kalis's heart sank. He quickly opened the Sorceress's attribute panel and was completely stunned when he saw the data:
[Abyssal Princess Lilith (Mythic Lord)]
Level: 120
HP: 9,200,000/9,200,000
Special Effect: Abyssal Shield - Absorbs all incoming damage until the shield energy is exhausted (Current shield remaining: 7,644,000 points)
(Target level is too high to display additional data)
A Level 120 Mythic Boss with 9.2 million HP and nearly 7.7 million shield points! His previous Magic Missile had only shattered part of the shield, not even touching her actual HP.
"No time to hesitate!" Kalis quickly raised his hand, gathering thunderous power. Thunder Chain, crackling with blue light, wrapped around Lilith in an instant: "Zap!"
-2,368,000
Blue lightning coiled around Lilith's body, but another denser purple shield appeared on her surface, completely offsetting the damage. Her HP bar remained untouched.
At that moment, Kalis finally got a clear look at Lilith's face. It was an almost perfect face, her skin as white as condensed fat, her deep purple eyes like a galaxy, and her bright red lips curved slightly, exuding a contradictory mix of holiness and charm. She was no "back view killer," she was a beauty who could outshine the stars.
"Damned human adventurer… How dare you ruin this princess's fun… Huh?" Lilith was about to fly into a rage, but when her eyes fell on Kalis's face, her anger vanished instantly, replaced by a look of almost infatuated daze: "S-so… so handsome a human…"
Her chest rose and fell slightly, her breathing becoming noticeably rapid. Her galaxy-like purple eyes were fixed on Kalis, and her entire person exuded an air of infatuation.
Kalis: "..."
The human and the monster stared at each other across the air, the atmosphere suddenly turning awkward. Looking at Lilith's dazed expression, Kalis was filled with confusion.
He had already prepared to be one-shot by the Level 120 Mythic Boss and respawn in Silverpeak Hamlet. But not only did she not attack, she showed such an expression? Was this princess… out of her mind?
"W-what's your name?" Lilith bit her lower lip, her voice soft as a coo, asking cautiously as if afraid her voice would scare him away.
Her purple eyes trembled slightly, and the infatuation in her eyes was almost overflowing—like a naive girl seeing her crush for the first time.
"Ahem. Even though I'm handsome, you don't have to lose your composure like this." Kalis cleared his throat, trying to keep his tone calm. "Pardon the interruption, but I have urgent matters to attend to. I'll take my leave now!"
Are you kidding? A Level 120 Mythic Boss—even if she wasn't attacking now, who knew if she would suddenly turn on him the next second?
He had no desire to get entangled with this Sorceress. He immediately pulled a Return Scroll from his backpack, ready to activate it.
"Wait! Don't go!" Lilith reacted quickly. With a wave of her hand, a wisp of pale purple black energy, like a vine, shot out and wrapped around Kalis's feet tightly. A system notification popped up:
[Notice: You have been affected by Princess Lilith's Abyssal Bind. Stunned for 12 seconds. Unable to move or use Return Scrolls during this period!]
Kalis: "..."
It's over. Looking at his immobile feet, he felt nothing but helplessness.
This infatuated Sorceress even knew how to trap people? At this rate, he was afraid he would end up like Thalyn, imprisoned in this Abyssal cell.
Remembering that other players had mentioned someone triggering the hidden class "Heart Stealer" by molesting an NPC girl, Kalis's mood became even more complicated.
Could it be that he was going to be the one molested by an Abyssal NPC instead? If this got out, he would become a laughingstock across the entire server.
"Kalis… What a beautiful name～" Lilith walked out of the cell, her gaze never leaving Kalis for a moment. Her previous interest in Thalyn had vanished without a trace.
She saw through Kalis's name effortlessly. She approached cautiously, her fingertips brushing his cheek gently, her voice soft enough to melt: "You're the most handsome human I've ever seen! According to Abyssal royal customs, you must be my consort and bear me children with both Abyssal and human blood～."
Kalis: "..."
He took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sincere: "There's no need for that! To tell you the truth, I'm afflicted with the Eternal Hatred Curse. I can't get close to the opposite sex—any contact will trigger the curse's counterattack. I beg you, Princess, show mercy and let me leave!"
"Is that so?" Lilith blinked her purple eyes, clearly not fully believing him. Her pale jade-like hand rested gently on Kalis's left shoulder, and her red lips leaned close to his right ear, her warm breath brushing against his skin: "Then let me check for you to see if the curse is real, okay～."
As she spoke, her hand slid slowly down Kalis's shoulder, past his chest, and toward his abdomen…
"Stop! Don't!" Kalis quickly spoke up to stop her, a hint of imperceptible panic in his tone.
Lilith paused, smiling at him, her eyes full of teasing: "What's wrong? Are you lying to me?"
"Please spare me! I'm just a regular human male—how can I be defiled by an NPC!" Kalis pleaded innocently. Being molested by a beautiful woman might be bearable, but being molested by an NPC was an entirely different matter!
"NPC? Defiled?" Lilith tilted her head, looking confused. Her slender fingers tapped her chin, asking curiously: "What's this NPC you're talking about? My name is Lilith, daughter of the Night Archon—a genuine Abyssal Princess!"
Kalis: "..."
For a moment, he didn't know how to explain the concept of "NPC". But just then, Thalyn suddenly shouted angrily from the cell, breaking the awkward atmosphere between them:
"Evil heretic! Traitor to the gods! Kalis! How dare you collude with an Abyssal Sorceress! Once I return to the radiant land of the Divine Pantheon, I will report your treason to the Celestial Church and let the Celestial Deity rain down star punishment to judge you!"