One hour passed in a flash, and currently, Alex and Eri were inside a ruin; they searched for the vessel but did not find anything, no vessel, no players. They continued until they left the designated location on the map and entered a forest, the trees in this forest were that tall, but because of the number of trees being too much, it was hard for the sunlight to pass through, making the forest darker.
After walking for two kilometers, Alex stopped forcing Eri to stop; she looked at him in confusion.
''Shh! There something ahead.'' Thanks to his Divine Sense Alex was able to detect a presence ahead; he asked Eri to keep quiet as they walked forward silently as they could. Still, when Alex stopped again and facepalmed, he created two vanishing bullets, gave one to Eri, and ordered.
''Swallow it.''
No other instruction was given; Eri gulped; her body wanted to resist, but her instinct told her not to. In the end, she followed her instinct and swallowed the bullet; she immediately felt the change, it was like she existed in this place, but at the same time not, she finally understood why Alex stopped and why he gave her the bullet to swallow but wondered if there was no other method beside swallowing.
As if he had read her thought Alex chuckled.
''The other method would be to shoot you, but I think you won't do that because it hurts like hell, believe me,'' Alex explained quietly, making Eri flinch.
Seeing her reaction, Alex smiled before swallowing his bullet in turn; his presence vanished. Then they walked forward until they arrived before the presence Alex felt. It was a man dressed in priest clothes; he was smoking while swearing.
''Fuck this shit. Why I'm the one looking after those bugs while that bastard is in the city probably enjoying that hot chick?"
Alex and Eri stared at each other before they continued to watch that priest talk alone; they could learn a lot from his rambling.
''Shit, I hope they catch that bitch with black hair soon, and I'll go back to enjoy myself.''
For an unknown reason, Alex felt some anxiety when he heard that priest saying the goddess's vessel was a black-haired girl.
'It can't be?' This feeling of anxiety kept growing as he tried to push it back; he had the feeling that something bad would happen soon, something that would shake him.
Even Eri standing next to him, noticed something was wrong with him, so she asked.
''Alex, what is the matter?"
She received no response, so she asked again.
''Alex, what is the matter?"
''Eh? Ah! Nothing.'' Alex finally responded, but he didn't tell her what was on his mind, not until he understood why he was feeling this way.
Just as Eri was about to probe for more as she didn't believe in Alex's lie, that priest said something that made the atmosphere turn chilly.
''Hehehehe, that bitch got some pretty eyes, those blue eyes, that cold face turns me on. I wish I could enjoy her myself. It- huh?"
The priest stopped and made a confused sound because the hand holding the cigarette disappeared, and blood flowed out from the wound. It was that moment the man knew his hand had been cut off.
''Gah? What he-"
Even those words he couldn't finish them before something gripped his throat and lifted him, at first he thought it was bear because the strength behind the grip was not something a human should have, but he was shocked when he saw that it was a young man, those heterochromia eyes scared the shit out of him. In that instant, he knew he would die no matter what he would do, but how he was going to die would depend on him; the man also understood this, so he had no plan on playing the tough guy, nor he would act like a loyal dog refusing to spill everything.
''I...I. will tell everything.'' He squeezes out with difficulty.
''Good, I have one question. Where is that female you are talking about?" Alex asked; his voice was so cold that it could alter the temperature around; the air chilled after he spoke.
Gulp!
The priest gulped and, with his remaining arm, pointed northeast.
''T...Two kilometers from here. I-"
Crack!
''Thank you.''
Alex broke the man's neck as if he was breaking a fragile ruler.
''Follow me.'' He didn't even look back as he said those words; the current Alex was not the usual one; he was like a male version of Maria in Ice Empress Mode.
Eri sighed and followed Alex, who disappeared; she prayed that it was not Maria if not hell would fall on whoever was responsible, he would hunt those trying to take her away.
''Let's hope it's not her.'' Eri sincerely prayed.
Those two kilometers were like a walk in the park to the furious Alex; he appeared in the indicated location, he stopped and hid to observe the situation first. He might be furious, but he didn't lose his mind; on the contrary, in this state, his mind works better.
But when he saw what was happening a few meters from him, his mind went blank. Even Eri, who was enemy with Maria, couldn't stand the current scene.
Maria was tied up, most of her clothes were gone showing her underwear, there were many bruises all over her body and a deep cut in her stomach, the current Maria had nothing with the past her, she looked haggard as if she might pass out at any moment.
Players and priests surrounded her and looked at her with lustful eyes; one of them lifted the whip and whipped Maria. The area where the whip touched was ripped with some skin, but Maria didn't even flinch; her eyes didn't waver; she was still glaring at them.
Seeing this scene, Eri felt pity yet couldn't help but respect Maria; she truly deserves respect. If she were in her shoes, she would cry and beg, but Maria refused to do that.
Unconsciously Eri wanted to see how Alex was feeling, he must be extremely angry, and she was not wrong.
As proof of the anger that he was feeling at the moment, his lips curved upward slightly, and a slight smile escaped from his mouth. Just like what happened to many people when their anger reached a certain level, Alex began to laugh softly as he took a step forward.
''I will take of them you will take Maria with you and escape.''
Eri nodded fearfully; she didn't dare to look at Alex in the face, not even his back that; she was too scared for that. The only thing she kept mumbling like a mantra was.. 'Never anger a Touch.'