"Lilith? You mean the Abyssal Princess?" Lia had heard Kalis mention that name a few times before, and she'd long been curious about this mysterious NPC.
Kalis nodded, never slowing his pace. "Last time she saved me, she seemed to get pretty badly hurt. We're passing by anyway, might as well swing by and check on her."
With his power skyrocketing these days, he had nothing to fear from this Abyssal Princess anymore.
Even if Lilith was strong, she stood no chance against him in a fight. More importantly, as an Abyssal Princess, she must know all sorts of Abyssal secrets—secrets that might just lead him to the Divine Dew Spring.
With that thought in mind, Kalis changed direction entirely, sprinting toward the rose-adorned castle that looked so out of place in this realm.
The two walked across the plains of the Abyss, the fog of war lifting layer by layer around them, gradually revealing the names of the regions they passed through.
This vast plain was called Klim's Dominion, named after none other than General Klim himself. Most of the small fortresses scattered across the plain, much like Zerakel's Hold, bore the names of their respective lords.
"They're coming! The humans are attacking! Run for your lives!"
As they cut through the twisted black farmlands of the Abyss, they occasionally crossed paths with low-rank Abyssal monsters.
The moment they caught sight of Kalis and Lia, these creatures were scared out of their wits, scrambling to flee in all directions. Much like how human commoners feared demons, these lowly Abyssal beings felt a bone-deep terror toward powerful humans.
Kalis didn't even bother lifting a finger against these weak, low-level mobs. He simply detoured around them and kept moving forward.
Half an hour later, the two finally reached the massive gates of the castle that they suspected was Lilith's palace.
The castle covered a vast area—easily the size of two soccer fields, its main gate built right at the foot of the mountain, exuding an air of imposing grandeur. Standing guard at the gate was a squad of Level 120 Abyssal Legionnaires.
The moment they spotted Kalis and Lia approaching, the legionnaires tensed up instantly, raising their weapons and assuming defensive stances.
"Bold humans! How dare you trespass on this sacred Abyssal ground!"
"Perfect timing! Capture them! Offer their lives to Her Highness as a sacrifice!"
"Charge! Kill these fools who don't know when to quit!"
Several legionnaires waved their rusted battle axes and spears, howling as they charged straight at the two.
Kalis had actually intended to step forward and ask a few questions first, but he hadn't expected the enemy to attack without a word. He raised an eyebrow, muttering to himself softly. "So this really is Lilith's place. Well then, let's go take a look inside."
A bunch of measly legionnaires weren't even worth his time.
He raised his hand and unleashed Thunder Chain without hesitation!
A dazzling bolt of lightning tore through the air, engulfing the entire guarding squad in an instant. The legionnaires didn't even have time to scream before they were incinerated to ash, not a single trace of them left behind.
"Wha… what! How can he be this strong!"
The guards in the watchtowers on either side of the castle watched in horror. A sharp-faced Goblin Captain screamed at the top of his lungs. "Hurry! Go inform General Klim! Human powerhouses are attacking Princess Lilith!"
Then, a Hobgoblin Sergeant roared. "We will defend Her Highness to the death! Fight them to the last breath!"
In the blink of an eye, dozens of Abyssal monsters of all shapes and sizes poured out of the castle, swarming toward the two like angry hornets whose nest had been kicked.
"Free EXP delivered right to our doorstep." A faint smile tugged at the corner of Kalis's mouth. He raised his hand and cast Meteor Shower.
A deadly rain of meteors crashed down from the sky. Wherever they fell, monsters screamed and collapsed to the ground, dissolving into a shower of glowing EXP orbs. Even the goblin captain who'd tried to run off to deliver the message wasn't spared; he was struck dead by the meteor shower in an instant.
Even though these monsters were Lilith's subordinates, and Kalis had no intention of killing the Abyssal Princess herself, he wasn't about to stand around and let himself be attacked when they were the ones who'd started the fight.
Visiting a princess and grinding levels didn't have to be mutually exclusive, after all. Besides, all these Abyssal monsters were flagged as hostile, killing them was just taking out trash mobs.
After the meteor shower ended, barely any monsters were left standing in front of the castle.
Then, from the main hall's massive doors, a tall, high-rank Abyssal Demon with green skin and a purple robe stepped out slowly.
He looked at the piles of monster corpses on the ground, a grave expression crossing his face as he barked out a warning. "Halt! This is the palace of Her Royal Highness Lilith, daughter of the Night Archon! If you dare take another step forward, the Night Archon's wrath will burn your souls to cinders! Not even the gods you worship will be able to save you!"
Kalis glanced at the system panel that popped up for the demon:
[Castellan of Rosehold – Nunuoth · Epic Boss]
Level: 150
HP: 1384000/1384000
(Target level is too high to obtain additional attribute data)
An Epic Boss with a proper name and a pretty thick HP bar. Still, he posed no real threat to Kalis whatsoever.
"Rosehold... the Abyssal Rose."
Seeing the name, Kalis suddenly remembered that he still had a "token" of Lilith's in his inventory. An idea sparked in his mind. He reached into his bag and pulled out the Abyssal Rose Necklace, his voice calm as he spoke. "I'm here to see your princess."
The moment the deep purple rose necklace appeared, a wisp of pure, noble high-rank demon aura began to permeate the air.
The low-rank monsters around them, who'd been preparing to charge to their deaths, suddenly felt all their strength drain out of their bodies, freezing in their tracks.
They stared at the obsidian rose necklace, trembling violently, then dropped to their knees with a chorus of thuds, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
This was suppression from the very depths of their bloodline. Low-rank demons would instinctively feel fear and submission in the presence of a high-rank demon's true aura.
The castle's castellan, Nunuoth, didn't kneel, but his eyes widened in sheer shock as he stared at the obsidian rose necklace, gasping out loud. "This aura... It's Her Highness's true essence! Y-You actually possess a token of Her Highness's origin!"
The fierce, intimidating look on his face vanished completely, leaving him rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.
For a moment, the entire castle fell deathly silent.
Kalis clicked his tongue in annoyance, shaking his head. "If I'd known this thing was this useful, I should've taken it out the moment we stepped into the Abyss."
With this rose necklace in hand, these mobs wouldn't dare lift a finger against him. It was basically a free pass to farm EXP anywhere he wanted.
SQUEAK——!
Just then, the ornate wooden doors of the castle hall creaked open slowly.
A slender black figure floated out like a ghost, appearing in front of Kalis in the blink of an eye.
"Darling Kalis! You've come to see me!"
Her voice was seductive and soft, laced with a hint of playful pout, so charming it made one's bones turn weak.
Kalis caught a whiff of sweet fragrance, then felt a sudden weight slam into his chest—he'd been tackled into a tight hug by the black figure. He stumbled back half a step instinctively to steady himself.
"Whoa! Hey! What are you doing!"
Before he could finish his startled exclamation, he felt a soft, warm sensation against his neck. The succubus nuzzled her head against the crook of his neck, the sweet scent of her hair drifting into his nose, making his heart skip a beat.
The intimacy of the gesture was like something out of a lovers' reunion after a long separation.
And what caught him completely off guard was—
Just as Kalis stood there, dumbfounded by this sudden "ambush", Lilith suddenly lifted her head, and in the blink of an eye, pressed a soft, quick kiss to his lips.
"Mua~"
"Love you~."
Kalis: "..."
"My first kiss..."
His mind went completely blank, as if a thunderbolt had just struck inside his head, or like ten thousand mythical winged horses were galloping through it at full speed.
He'd just been kissed by an NPC! Against his will!
He'd always known Lilith had a bit of a flirty streak, but he'd never imagined their reunion would start with something this outrageous.
"W-What the... what is this?!"
Lia, standing off to the side, was completely frozen in shock.
She'd seen a Level 120 Mythic-rank Boss with an insanely long HP bar charge out, and she'd already gotten ready to slap all her buffs on Kalis, then duck for cover and let him tank the boss alone.
Instead, this Boss had flashed over to Kalis in the blink of an eye, and instead of attacking him… she'd kissed him!
And then cooed "love you~" like it was the most natural thing in the world!
In that moment, Lia felt like her entire worldview had just been shattered into a million pieces.
Aren't Bosses supposed to be hostile?
Aren't Bosses supposed to be fought and killed?
Since when do they tackle you into hugs and steal kisses?
And was "darling Kalis" really a pet name a Boss should be calling a player?
This was so not how the game was supposed to work!
To make matters even more ridiculous, Kalis, usually the grumpy, kill-first-ask-questions-later mage, wasn't even pushing her away!
"Darling Kalis, it was all worth it—risking my life to break into that human city for you~ You came to visit me so quickly. I'm so happy!"
Lilith clung tightly to Kalis's waist, refusing to let go. She tilted her head up, looking at his dumbfounded face, her beautiful orchid-purple eyes gazing at the young, handsome mage, brimming with pure, unadulterated joy.
As for Kalis...
"Uh... about that... I, uh, suddenly forgot what I was gonna say."
He'd originally come here with a perfectly serious mission, asking about the Divine Dew Spring, but that succubus's surprise attack had scrambled his brain so thoroughly that he couldn't even string a coherent sentence together.
Lilith let out a soft, tinkling laugh at his flustered expression, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons. "Forget it then! Don't even think about it. Come on, let's go back to my chambers. You did promise me, after all, if I helped you out, you'd 'take good care of me'~."
With that, she took Kalis's hand without waiting for a reply, turned on her heel, and dragged him straight into the castle.