"So, you are still alive Adonis," Queen Rhiannon said with a smile.
"Not quite," Adonis replied. "I have already died once. I was simply re-animated by a Beautiful Necromancer, and I am now serving her Disciple."
"Oh, such a thing happened?"
"It did."
Queen Rhiannon sneered at the former leader of the Satyrs of the 13th Floor.
"Good." Queen Rhianon nodded. "Now that you are here, I can finally kill you myself. Although I waited for over a hundred years, the wait was certainly worth it."
"Well, you can try," Adonis shrugged. "But I doubt that things will go your way."
Piccoro and Lilian stared at the otherworldly beauty in the sky.
However, they were not looking at her with admiration but appraising her to find possible weaknesses that they could exploit.
While everyone was looking at the Succubus Queen, the latter shifted her gaze to look at the Half-Elf, who was glaring at her from the ground.
"You must be Lux, right?" Queen Rhiannon said sweetly. "Cai told me many things about you. Why don't you come to my Castle? I will guarantee that you will not want to leave after you experienced our warm hospitality."
After hearing the name of his fiance, the Half-Elf narrowed his eyes and continued to glare at the peerless beauty in the sky.
He originally thought that the Angel, Himea, as well as his Grandmaster, Hereswith, were the most beautiful ladies he had seen in his life. But after seeing the Succubus Queen, he had no choice but to admit that her beauty was a level higher than the two ladies that were on the top of his list.
Gaap, who understood what his disciple was feeling, spoke to the Succubus Queen in a calm tone. He intended to try to settle things peacefully as much as possible so that a battle could be avoided.
However, the Halfling wasn't someone who would shy away from battle. If the Demigod were to act hostile against them, he would not back down and show her that they were not soft persimmons that she could pinch so easily.
"Queen Rhiannon, we have come to rescue our comrades who have accidentally entered the Abyss," Gaap stated. "We would be very grateful if you returned them to us unharmed. If you wish to trade anything for their release, we will definitely try to meet your conditions, as long as it doesn't go below our bottom line."
"A trade?" Queen Rhiannon crossed her arms over her chest. "I only trade with someone of equal strength. If all of you can defeat me in battle, I will consider your proposal. But if you can't, all of you will die here in the 13th Layer of the Abyss."
"Can we not settle things peacefully?"
"No. This is the Abyss. Only the strong have the final say. Weaklings have no choice but to kneel and obey the orders of their superiors. So, if you all want to survive, beg me to spare your lives."
Piccoro, who had been silently listening since the dialogue started, snorted.
"What a cheeky little Demigod," Piccoro stated. "Since this is the first time I've seen you, I can say for certain that you did not join the great war between the Abyssal Legion and the Forces of Elysium more than a century ago, right?"
"So?" Queen Rhiannon arched an eyebrow.
"So it means that you're just a newly minted Demigod." Piccoro sneered. "How naive. Do you think that someone like you who hadn't experienced that Great War can easily crush us like insects under your foot? How delusional."
The Succubus Queen frowned after hearing the Dragon Born's words.
She had been paying close attention to the Half-Elf, the Halfling, the Dragon Born, as well as the black-haired woman, whom she was certain was a Calamity-Ranked Monster in human form.
Although the Half-Elf seemed to be wary of her, the others were not. It was as if they weren't facing a Demigod, but an opponent of equal standing.
"This is interesting," Queen Rhiannon smirked. "I can tell that the three of you are not afraid of me. Are you perhaps thinking that I am a fake Demigod?"
"Hah! We couldn't care less if you are fake or real." Piccoro scoffed. "In the end, it doesn't matter. Do you want me to tell you a short story about that Great Abyssal War over a hundred years ago?"
Queen Rhiannon didn't say anything and simply looked down on the Dragon Born with a smile on her face.
Seeing that the Succubus Queen didn't reject his offer, Piccoro decided to tell her his story.
"When the Abyssal Creatures invaded our world, a war of epic proportions was waged," Piccoro said. "Back then, the lives of Rankers were like grass being culled in the thousands. Even Saints, and Supremes, who stood at the Apex weren't spared, and many died in that great battle for survival."
King Leoric hovered beside Lux and listened to the Dragon Born's explanation.
He was one of those who had fought at the beginning of the Abyssal Invasion and died alongside his loyal retainers, who fought till the last man.
His country was one of the first kingdoms that fell in the early phase of the invasion, and now, very few people, with the exception of historians, knew that a Kingdom named Zangrila once existed in the past.
"Due to how fierce the battle was, former warring kingdoms set aside their differences and fought side by side with each other.
"Mortal enemies, who wished nothing more than to slit each other's throats, fought back to back in order to repel the invaders that threatened to destroy all they held sacred. Even the Apostles, who knew that they were powerless against the monsters that had come to ravage their friends, family, and their loved ones fought until they breathed their last.
"We fought hundreds of Calamity-Ranked Monsters and battled dozens of Demigods during that Great War. It was a sight to behold. An intense huge-scale battle that we had very little hope of winning. Even so, we fought, and didn't back down.
"In the end, the people of Elysium pushed the Abyssal Legion back to the Abyss and sealed the Portals and other Gates that your kind used to invade our world. But some of these gates remain active.
"The only silver-lining was that no Calamity-Ranked Abyssal Creature or above, could pass through them due to the powerful enchantments that were put in place."
Piccoro then summoned his sword and pointed it at the Succubus Queen, who had remained silent as he told his tale.
"And now, we will once again show you that even Demigods like you, cannot defeat us so easily!" Piccoro shouted in an arrogant tone.
"Is your boring tale over?" Queen Rhiannon yawned. "While you did manage to win that war against the Abyssal Creatures back then, most of your powerhouses also perished. A little Saint like you thinks that you can talk big in front of me? How delusional. In the beginning, I intended to show mercy to all of you, but now, I changed my mind."
Queen Rhiannon then pointed at the black-scaled Dragon Born and sneered.
"Aside from that girl whose name is Iris, and that Half-Elf, whose name is Lux, all of you will die here," Queen Rhiannon stated. "Don't worry. I will at least turn your bodies to ashes, so your souls wander the 13th Layer and suffer for eternity!"
Piccoro didn't reply to Rhiannon's statement and simply took a fighting stance.
"Ranged and Close Attacker," Piccoro said.
"Defender," Gaap commented.
"Disruptor." Lilian brushed her hair in a carefree manner.
It took a while for Lux to realize what Piccoro, his Master, as well as Lilian was talking about.
They were simply stating their roles in the battle.
In short, Piccoro would serve as the main attacker, and his Master would focus on the defense.
A Disruptor was someone who would try to prevent the enemy from using strong attacks, or cancel any attack completely.
Since he understood what they were talking about, he also decided to state what role he was going to play on the battlefield that matched his current abilities.
"All Rounder," Lux said firmly, which made Piccoro, Gaap, and Lilian nod their heads at the same time.
Right now, they were a party that was about to conduct a Raid Battle with a powerful Boss Monster.
Ampelos and the other Satyrs stared in disbelief at the people who had decided to fight against a Demigod.
For Abyssal Creatures like them, it was very normal to serve those who were stronger than them. They would rather submit than fight a hopeless battle against someone, who could destroy entire cities with just a single punch, or a single spell, due to how strong they were.
Lux's Undead Legion, Named Creatures, and Covenant, all stood behind their Master in preparation for the battle ahead.
Even Blackfire, who had been busy swallowing the dead Satyrs earlier, hovered behind Lux.
Since their Master was going to fight against a Demigod, it was their duty to see this battle until the end, even if it meant that all of them died and were turned to ashes.
