The day of purgatory exploration.
A woman was standing near a huge boulder that was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dense vegetation. She was wearing a hunter's outfit that was only a bit effective in undermining her hourglass figure.
She had been waiting for someone at the place for quite a while now. And that someone had just decided to show up, long after dawn had arrived.
"You like to make me wait, don't you?"
Jules greeted Ronny with a mild frown on her face. The latter smiled at her, got closer, and kissed her on her cheek before responding:
"I was busy getting some help, Jules. I hope you don't mind."
Ronny diverted Julie's attention to the three rankers following him. One of them was in E-Rank while the other two were novice rankers. They were Renar, Viper, and Belar.
"Hm? You didn't tell me…"
"Before you say anything, let me say that they are anthropes and excommunicated from the Beast Bloods."
Ronny made Jules aware of his followers' identities before she could register her complaints. His diversion worked because Julie stopped her speech. It was in her interest that more ex-members of Beast Bloods joined this exploration.
"Well, they'll have to sign the binding contracts. We can't just take random people in, you know."
Ronny shook his head before saying:
"No need, Jules. I've already done that. They are bound to me. And since I'm bound to the Illuminati, the same restrictions apply to them as well. Here, check them yourself."
Ronny showed Julie the binding contracts he had Renar and the rest signed for him. The illusionist was content when she looked at the binding rules.
"Alright, Ronny. Everything seems to be in order. Let's head out then."
Julie led Ronny and his group to a salt lake not far away from the boulder. She stopped in her tracks and gave her companions some instructions:
"Listen up, boys. The site I'm about to show you is extremely sensitive. So be on your toes after you get there. Leave your attitude and arrogance out in the open here. Because there will be higher ranked individuals there.
I don't know about you, but I value my life. And people who show a bit of prudence when they are in the presence of high-ranked entities tend to live longer."
"Where are we going exactly, miss?"
Renar spoke after surveying his surroundings. He couldn't see any route that would indicate there was going to be a sudden change of venue.
Julie pointed her finger at the small salt lake that was beside her where she was standing before declaring further:
"We have to dive into this lake. Follow me and you'll find out."
Jules said this and coated her entire body in her mana layer before diving into the lake. Renar looked at his group's leader who just shrugged his shoulders and did the same thing Julie did before diving right in:
The group swam to the bottle on the lake and travelled through an underwater passage before coming out of the water from the other end of it.
The lake's bottom was dark, chilly, and gloomy. But the passage opened up to a huge underground cavern above the water level that had numerous yooperlite stones studded over its walls.
The yooperlite stones exuded enough luminance to offer clear visibility in the underground cavern. The group followed Jules as she started walking deeper into the cavern.
There were some security precautions in place in the form of array traps and the like. But Jules took care of them without triggering them with the token given to her. The token had pyramid insignia etched over it, indicating the security measures were put in place by the Illuminati.
*****************
They traversed deep inside the underground cavern after many twists and turns. They soon reached an open space that was almost 100 meters wide and twice as long. There was an insanely cryptic array drawn on the ground. And someone was waiting for them right outside the array.
"Lady Zee, I'm here to report along with Ronny."
Julie greeted what looked to be a feisty and mature woman in her 40s who had a scar on her left cheek. It was Lady Zee who had previously contacted Jules about Ronny.
Lady didn't reply with words but narrowed her eyes on Ronny and the anthropes following him. Jules explained things to her and introduced her to the group:
"Ronny, this is Lady Zee. She'll be in charge of our group in the purgatory exploration."
Lady Zee smiled mischievously at Ronny before replying:
"Young man, you sure impressed me with your… let's say "endurance" the other day.
Too bad there was nobody who could handle your vigour for more than a few sessions. Hehe! You let me know if you want to get cosy with someone who can."
'This old-ass bitch is openly hitting on my man.'
It took a while for Jules to understand what lady Zee was talking about. She couldn't help but get a bit angry at her as a result. She looked at Ronny who had confusion written all over his face and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't think too much, Ronny. Lady Zee likes to joke around sometimes.
Lady Zee, what do we need to do right now?"
Lady Zee could feel that Julie's mood had turned a bit foul because of her teasing. But that didn't discourage her from eyeing Ronny one more time like he was some tempting side dish she needed to test.
But the Adept ranker in her soon regained the composure she needed to guide her team. She addressed the same in a serious tone:
"Guys, we are going to enter an unknown ranker's purgatory. The others have already gone ahead and are waiting for us there. The spatial entrance is a tad unstable. So make sure you stick close to each other and brace yourself for the spatial turbulence."
Lady Zee warned Ronny and his team before they stepped into the purgatory.