Did I abond you ?

Keeping a cool head, he increased the pressure applied.

A red mark appeared on Asme's soft-as-silk cheeks, mapping the monster's massive paw. Its pitch-black claws pierced the skin tissue, digging into the fresh flesh.

Streaks of scarlet liquid made their way, running down the woman's chin and hooking into her cracked lips.

Asme's instincts acted instead. Subconsciously, she tried to quench her urgent thirst by drinking her blood. She stuck out the tip of her tongue to change the winding route of the scarlet liquid.

Unfortunately, the Goddess of Fate is a capricious creature. All it takes is the slightest offense to fall out of her favor. Asme was unlucky, by accident, to find herself on her blacklist.

" Wrrr... "

The Night Terror was ruthless in his actions. There was no room in his vocabulary for the word pity or compassion. He kept Asme alive only because it gave him unearthly pleasure.

Although he tried to keep his urges on a leash, he ultimately succumbed to his primal instincts. The sadistic cat's nature reawakened in him with redoubled force.

Being aroused to the limit, he crushed the woman's face into the forest mulch. Its tails swept the ground dynamically, showing its joy in doing so.

 At the sight of the helpless victim at his mercy, he lost his sanity. Asme would have suffered a quick and painless death had she not resisted so fiercely. Fighting to the last second, she signed a chirograph on herself.

The horned beauty let out a muffled moan. Her parched mouth opened wide, and barely visible traces of tears appeared in her cloudy eyes.

She wanted to scream out in pain. She wanted to express her grief. She wanted to kill the monster that had abused her...

However... all she could afford... was a faint moan... which faded amid the fanatical gasps of the predator.

Asme's nostrils were irritated by the vomit-inducing stench of carrion. The Night Terror, taking pride in his successful hunt, leaned over the disfigured face of the succubus. His long tongue flicked along her neck, making her shiver.

He marked her as his prey, which no one else was allowed to touch. If any of his subordinates decided to break the unwritten rule of the pack, unpleasant consequences would await them.

The horned beauty clenched her hands helplessly... or at least tried to do so. In the end, she only moved her fingers a few millimeters...

For the first time since Asme appeared in the dungeon, she felt extreme fear combined with disgust. She felt like tearing off her skin in the areas affected by the hideous monster.

It reminded her of the painful past she had come to terms with... at least, that's what she thought. Reality turned out to be quite the opposite of expectations. A wave of unpleasant memories flooded her mind like a tsunami.

Before her eyes appeared the image of Annabeth, who, out of boredom, abused her every day.

" No - No "

The little girl's voice reverberated in Asme's ears. It begged on her knees for mercy from her older sister.

" Ple - Please ... sto - stop ... "

The Night Terror laughed derisively as he heard the succubus' broken voice. The corners of his mouth lifted in an unequivocal smile. He resembled a homeless alcoholic who met an innocent woman in a dark alley of a slum in the middle of the night. 

Fortunately, the remnants of common sense broke through his twisted thoughts and desires, telling him to end it quickly. Though reluctantly, this one time, he decided to obey them. After all, you never know what tricks a woman might pull out of her sleeve.

Today, he had already seen too many corpses of his subordinates. There could have been half as many if they hadn't lost themselves in their desires.

For the last time, his cat-like eyes took in the sight of the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. There was only so much he could do before she turned into a pile of crushed meat.

Who knows, maybe if they had met under different circumstances, he could have played with her a little longer.

His muscular paw was about to sink into the disfigured face of the horned beauty when the space above the two figures was filled with the noise of dozens of thunderclaps striking empty space.

The Night Terror froze in place. He was paralyzed by fear in its purest form.

Every cell in his body trembled in panic. Previously, bravado and pride hid deep in the deepest corners of his soul.

Although his brain sent clear signals about escape, his limbs refused to listen. They feared that they would be lost forever if they moved even a millimeter.

Within a second, the atmosphere became heavy. After the euphoria of winning the battle, no trace remained. The air temperature suddenly dropped by a dozen degrees, covering the bloody ground with a snowy white frost.

The Night Terror felt as if death was sticking its terrifying blinders into him.

An unpleasant breeze of icy air wrapped the monster's body in an ethereal blanket. Like a cat playing with its prey, the Siberian chill gently caressed the helpless creature, driving it to the brink of madness.

 Subconsciously, it knew that its end was coming with inexorable steps.

Crackle

Ironically, it was now The Night Terror that lay on the ground.

A man's foot was stuck to his mouth.

The monster plucked up his courage and looked at his tormentor...

He quickly regretted it...

Towering over him was a man around whom five different weapons revolved. He was surrounded by the subtle outline of a dark blue aura from which his hair stood on end. In his ice-cold eyes, he caught a glimpse of a raging snowstorm, inside of which lurked all sorts of monsters.

There was something special about him... something that urged him to pay absolute respect or get out of the way altogether.

" Don't you think ... this has gone too far? "

The chilling voice pierced the monster's heart with thousands of frosty needles, giving a false sense of sulfurous cold. This was even worse than the invisible pressure exerted by man on the environment.

The Night Terror's breathing approached a life-threatening limit. A little more, and his lungs would explode under the increased exertion.

The effect Ramiel had on his surroundings was incredible. As soon as he appeared, he froze the entire battlefield. Even allies feared looking in his direction for fear of their existence.

The Fear of Night was partly right. What he recognized as monsters hiding in the snowstorm was actually unbridled killing intent combined with raging fury. All it took was a small spark to ignite the fire of the century.

" I asked the question. "

The scream, which wasn't a shout, nestled in the minds of living beings, giving birth to extreme emotions bordering on madness in their humble hearts.

In response, it received a pain-filled howl.

" Tsk... Pathetic... "

Ramiel's foot fell on the monster's mouth, contorted in panic. It became an executioner's axe, fulfilling an inexorable death sentence. In its face, no one could escape with his life.

To vent his accumulating anger, he repeated the process several times until the brain of the overgrown tiger was transformed into mush.

The other monsters were horrified at the alpha's death. Subconsciously, they knew that a similar fate awaited them, but an invisible force kept them from escaping. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't move from their spot.

" Ra-mi-el... " With the remnants of her strength, Asme's hand went towards the man's exposed ankle. At all costs, it tried to touch him.

Ramiel's heart squeezed with grief. The sight of the massacred women hit him harder than he anticipated.

" Shiii... it's okay, I'm here... " Ramiel's lips hid in the blood-red hair of the horned beauty, whispering a few words to reassure her.

As gently as he could, he lifted her off the icy ground. Although he tried not to offend her, he failed.

Asme groaned, and her body shuddered. The burning pain caused by the bruised spot in the middle of her abdomen radiated to the rest of her battered body.

The deplorable state she was in didn't prevent her from cupping his neck between her shoulders.

A scarlet blush poured down her swollen cheek, then stuck to her lover's chest.

The horned beauty's lower lip trembled with emotion, and her eyes became moist. Feeling the man's closeness and warmth, she couldn't hold back the tears that pressed against the light of day. 

Being safe in Ramiel's arms, she could give vent to the emotions she had accumulated all day. The sense of security he exuded was addictive. Only in his arms she felt like she was untouchable.

As if by the touch of a magic wand, the demons of the past that had plagued the innocent woman took refuge in the farthest reaches of Tartarus, fearful of catching Ramiel's attention

Ramiel enveloped Asme in a tender embrace, drawing her closer to him.

Ignoring the rest of the monsters, he moved confidently toward the lying necromancer.

Halfway there, he stopped, glancing at the shivering goblin. A quiet sigh of resignation escaped from his lips.

" Get on with it, if I'm not mistaken, you have a job to do. "

An authoritative voice broke the prevailing silence, drawing the attention of everyone around him.

The gray creature immediately stood at attention. Its bleeding stump reflexively reached for the non-existent shield.

Ba thump Ba thump Ba thump

Its heart was beating like crazy. It narrowly missed leaping out of his chest.

The goblin had completely lost the will to fight. All he wanted was to hole up deep on the second floor of the dungeon for the rest of his life. Looking deep into the eyes of death killed something in him that defined him as a warrior...

Despite this, he didn't dare to defy Ramiel's orders. If he had described him earlier as a superior predator, now he would have compared him to an apostle of the grim reaper. The aura he exuded around him scared him to the marrow.

" Seraphine... "

Before Ramiel could finish, the necromancer was already kneeling on one knee, bending her neck before him.

She didn't know what had happened during the man's absence, but she was certain of one thing: He had become tolerably strong.

Even the distance separating them didn't prevent her from sensing his power level. What to talk about. His presence paralyzed all living beings within a kilometer radius.

" Yes, Master? "

Playing the role of an obedient servant is the smartest thing she can do now. It is said that one doesn't enter the cage of a hungry lion. At the moment, Seraphine avoided the wild and emotionally unstable animal with a wide arc.

" Get them out of here ... "

" Don't - Don't leave me ... please ... Let - Let me stay ... "

Cough Cough

Asme held Ramiel tightly, coughing up her blood. She panicked at the thought of being torn from her safe haven. If staying in her lover's arms meant death, then so be it. She is prepared to meet Haron.

"I'm sorry... "

" No... "

A ball of darkness the size of a tennis ball formed on the tip of Ramiel's finger. Before Asme had time to do herself more harm, the spell penetrated inside her mind.

Suddenly, the horned beauty became drowsy. Her eyelids were heavy, effectively limiting her vision. It was as if someone had attached a ton of weights to them, dragging them down.

When she found herself on the border of the land of the eternal hunt, she took one last look at the man's face. Her feminine intuition told her to etch his image in her memory. Otherwise, she might regret it for the rest of her life.

" Seraphine, pull everyone out of the abyss. The road to the east is cleared of all monsters, but I don't know how long it will stay that way. Don't ask unnecessary questions, and absolutely obey Avi's orders. She will guide you to the exit. "

As if fearing something, Ramiel looked at the northern wall of the forest.

" No! I am not going anywhere! I will not leave you alone again! "

The little fairy bluntly expressed her opposition. She had accompanied Ramiel from the very beginning and knew very well what this imbecile had done.

Her tiny fists clenched out of frustration to the point where blood drained from her fingers.

" If we have to end this, we will end it together, do you understand? "

There was a flash of unbreakable determination in the violet eyes that could move mountains with its strength.

" AVI! We don't have time for this... Please don't make this difficult... "

Ramiel's shout not only resounded in her ears but also in her mind.

The fairy's determination burst like a balloon left in the sun. Finally, how could she face the apostle of death?

Ramiel felt like the last trash, shouting at Avi, who was simply worried about him. But it was the only right solution. If he didn't stand firm, no one would leave the forest in one piece.

" Avi... don't make such a face... it's not like you're leaving me alone... after all, we have a bond connecting us, right? "

By the same bond that Ramiel mentioned, he felt Avi sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of depression.

' Avi ... please ... '

Ramiel's sincere words reached the fairy's mind. In response, he received a faint murmur.

" Promise... Promise me that you will not die... "

Avi found herself on the verge of tears. She knew how absurd her request was, but without a clear answer, it wouldn't leave the man.

A sullen smile dawned on Ramiel's face.

" Avi ... it isn't nice to make promises that cannot be kept. "

" Idiot... "

Avi looked away, unable to stare at the man any longer. The realization that she might see him for the last time hurt. It hurt terribly. It was the kind of pain that slowly devastates a person from the inside out.

Ramiel kissed Asme's forehead tenderly, then handed her over to Seraphine.

His amethyst eyes moved to Caera, who was unconscious in the distance. He wanted to say goodbye to her, but time was working inexorably against him.

" Seraphine, when they wake up ... hand them the letter inside the ring. " Along with these words, Ramiel sent the space ring toward the necromancer.

" Remember what we talked about. Everything is prepared. If the dungeon core chooses you, don't screw it up. "

Seraphine suspected what was going on. In a twisted way, Ramiel said goodbye to her.

" Master, it has been an honor to serve you... "

For once, she was sincere in her words. Only at the very end did she fully appreciate Ramiel and his capabilities. She only regretted that it wouldn't be given to her to see how far his potential reached.

" Azazel... "