Lion told me that he doesn't want to take any chances as I kept nagging him to let me walk.
The inside of a volcano is a world of its own. It looks dangerous yet magical, unreal but clearly existent as the caverns showed the passage of time.
It is obvious that the place is a well kept secret.
Visibility is low but enough for us to see our surroundings unlike what we experienced at the snowy mountains.
I can hear rumbles and deep tremors in which I snuggled tightly against Lion's chest, making him chuckle as I now appreciated his insistence earlier of carrying me.
The sound of the tremor is like the sound of the breathing of a massive monster in which Lion nuzzled my neck, speaking words of comfort into my ear as he can feel me shaking in fear.
But if I can somehow manage to mute the sounds that I hear, the environment itself isn't so bad. In fact, it has a beauty of its own. The walls itself looked like it is made out of obsidian glass.
I glanced around the pack as I expected them to somehow harvest a bit of obsidian glass as it has many purposes and amazing properties that can help them in which, to my surprise, they just continued walking as if it was just an ordinary piece of rock.
What?!
They didn't know how valuable it is?!!
I nudged Lion on his neck, in which he looked at me as he asked me if I needed anything.
I told him to stop walking in which he did, as I told him everything I know about the obsidian glass.
His eyes began to widen as he hurriedly told the rest of the pack to stop walking and to harvest several quantities of the obsidian glass.
Lion joined them in harvesting as he told me to continue talking about everything I know about the obsidian glass so that the rest of the pack can know as they were looking strangely at Lion earlier when he began to frantically harvesting the obsidian glass as if he has lost his mind.
Obsidian glass has many properties, one of which can be used as protection against dark magic.
Upon hearing that, Orm and Alpha began to frantically harvest the obsidian glass as well.
I continued on telling them that it can be used to make powerful weapons and armor, tools like magical mirrors that can see other realms, arcane items and even improve their architecture as well as they can use it to make a powerful fortress.
Now Sly and Ghost are convinced as well in which they began to discuss among themselves about making a new type of armor by also combining with the hide that they harvested from the Nemean Lion.
I hurriedly told them that obsidian glass is good in speed especially in offensive attacks, however it can easily shatter in which Orm told me that they will find a way to enchant it and mix it with other metals, ores, crystals and minerals.
Now the pack are harvesting in excitement as they kept on discussing several combinations, having a bit of heated argument in which they debated on the effectiveness of each combination.
....
I widened my eyes seeing the amount that they harvested, in which they placed it inside another magical bag that Alpha carried.
We continued on our way in which I soon became bored that I began to mention to them about the creatures and beings that usually lived inside a volcano.
Sly agreed when I mentioned about the fire drakes and dragons, telling me how they loved submerging themselves in magma and used it to hide and ambush prey in which I began to look worried as he chuckled, assuring me that there's no presence of them in this location.
I continued on telling them what I know in which they all asked me all sorts of questions as Ghost himself admitted that he isn't familiar with some of the creatures that I mentioned despite being an explorer in the past.
Soon I began to yawn and closed my eyes in which Lion told me to sleep as he will make sure to keep me safe as they decided to continue walking without resting.
I can feel that they are afraid of me being tortured again as they didn't manage to see any of the spies that are watching us.
He gave me a kiss on my forehead as he whispered how much I meant to him in which I sleepily kissed him on neck and snuggled towards him.
Then I finally fell asleep.
....
I suddenly woke up when I heard sounds of yelling and fighting.
I was sleeping on the ground inside a bubble that was protecting me as I saw the pack fighting against several hordes of hellhounds.
Hellhounds?!!
How stupid of me!!!
Now I'm reminded again about my goal in which I have forgotten.
Of course, there's nothing I can do much as I'm away from the palace.
Not only hellhounds, but there are several enormous strange beings that are attacking them as well, that looked like nothing that I've read before.
Lion and Orm was soon forced to use magic elemental attacks towards them as the hellhounds and the strange beings kept on appearing that it seemed endless.
Alpha is using his magic combat ability as well as he is trying to kept them from going near me.
Ghost and Sly transformed to their ultimate forms as the situation seems dire.
It's like pouring a bottle of glitter in a rug. The more they tried to get rid of, several more appeared within our location.
Though they can easily manage to kill them, the amount made it difficult as it seems like there's no end in sight.
As Lion cannot transform into his ultimate form as its size is now too big for the area, he became like a crazed maniac, attacking alternately using his weapon and magic as he kept glancing every now and then at me, as some of the hellhounds and strange beings are getting closer to my location.
Alpha began to howl when he saw a dozen or more fire giants running towards my direction.
The rest of the pack desperately tried to kill faster to no avail as one of the fire giants had reached me and tried to destroy the bubble with its weapon.
I huddled as I covered my head with my hands, screaming for help as several more of its companions are trying to destroy the bubble as well.
Why are they after me??!!!
I can hear the pack screaming at each other as they tried their best to rescue me but despite their efforts, they cannot approach my location as the hellhounds and the strange creatures began multiplying in amount no matter how many they had destroyed or killed.
Soon, the bubble started to crack as a result of the fire giants constantly striking it with their weapons.
Is this the end?
I can see the distraught and horrified looks of the pack as the sound of the bubble cracking echoed through the walls.
My body began to tremble as thoughts of being eaten alive started to fill my mind. Sly's ultimate form began to change into some sort of a massive being that is too terrible to behold as he became too violent and aggressive in his attacks.
Alpha began to change into his ultimate form that soon began to increase in size as his howls caused shaking of the walls and in which several large pieces of the ceiling started to fall down on the ground. He lunged an attack towards several hellhounds and the strange creatures, brutally hitting them with his claws, ripping several of them apart with his fangs.
Orm also transformed into his ultimate form as well in which his form and size is something that is too difficult for me to describe except that it may give me nightmares in my sleep. His tail acted like some sort of a terrible whip, in which it sliced and squashed the bodies of the hellhounds that are trying to bite him. Also, by using his ice magic, he managed to froze several of the hellhounds at the same time then smashing them into tiny pieces with his tail.
As for Ghost, his ultimate form did not change but rather, his eyes looked like he is a mad driven individual that was born to destroy as he used his earth magic to squash several of the hellhounds, smiling with glee as blood and gore splatter towards him.
It's like I'm in hell itself.
Then, to my horror, a fire giant struck the bubble with a heavy blow in which a loud CRACK sounded.
I screamed Lion's name in which he closed his eyes and shouted something as a huge burst of magical energy emitted from his body, killing almost all of the hellhounds and the strange creatures that was surrounding him and the rest of the pack.
He did a great job but somehow, several more terrible looking monsters appeared to attack them again in which after another heavy blow from another fire giant, the bubble finally broke.
A hand pulled my neck up as I tried to squirm and kick the giant that was holding me in which I can feel the giant starting to squeeze my neck.
I began to cough and choke as his hold tightened around my neck in which I tried to pull his hand away my neck.
I can't breathe!
Help me!
Chaos sounded around me as I can hear the desperate cries of the pack.
Several sounds of earth shaking roars and tremors filled the area as the pack tried to eliminate the monsters as fast as they could when suddenly, the fire giants began to start talking among themselves.
Like I said before, I don't understand most of the languages that are spoken here but somehow, I can understand a bit what they are talking about in which they mentioned that they are selling me instead of eating me.
No!
Please don't!
I rather be eaten!
I remembered a conversation between Sly and I had a long time ago in which he mentioned something about how there are places where exotic creatures are forced to entertain customers.
It's times like this that I hated being a human. Or to be precise, I hated standing out.
Just like on earth, exotic objects are either revered or sold.
In my case, they are planning to sell me.
Being unique or the only human has its drawbacks. It's a wonder that I haven't lost my entire sanity yet after everything I've been through.
They mentioned the name of a place that they're planning to sell me to in which when I saw Lion's face, I can feel that it's a place worse than hell itself.
He became desperate in his attacks, yelling at the rest of the pack of what he heard from the fire giants in which the chaos around the area worsen as they tried to save me.
Mercifully, the fire giant that was holding my neck relaxed his grip in which thankfully, I can now breathe a bit but not before he punched me in my abdomen that knocked me out.
....
When I woke up, I'm inside a cage. Sounds of crying and wailing surrounded around me as various creatures are placed individually inside an assortment of cages.
The cage I'm in is enough for me to stand up but I have to lie down in a fetal position as it's too narrow for me to stretch my legs if I'm lying down.
There's no point for me in crying so I tried to observe my surroundings as I'm planning to escape.
To my disappointment, there's no way out for me to escape as the cage I'm in is magical and I can't use my secret hairpin.
A larger cuff was placed around my neck, covering my other cuff, in which it is attached to a chain that was connected on the wall outside the cage.
I observed the other prisoners in which most of them are preys though there are predators as well but they are fewer in number.
It's not only females that are imprisoned but also males as well.
The males that they imprisoned are certainly unique looking, having beautiful faces in which I dreaded to think what would happen to them.
Most of the females have a common beauty that you can find everywhere but I somehow understood that it's not their beauty that the captors are after.
Both of the situations are horrible in which death is the only escape.
Though I'm not planning to kill myself immediately as after looking the faces of the captives, i want to kill the perpetrators first before considering death.
Many of the captives have a dead look in their eyes in which during my years of experience back in the medical field before, those kind of dead looks indicates that they are too far gone to be helped.
You can easily tell which ones have suffered the most.
....
Fighting back would be a certain suicide in which I saw what happened with one of the captives.
No matter how scared I am, I should use common sense and my wits if I want to see the pack again.
I wonder how my Lion is holding up.
I'm praying that he's not out of control again like what happened before.
For now, I will do what the captors say and pretend like I'm another person or else they will break me until I will end up like most of the captives here.
As I stood in front of the captors, I noticed that all of them are males and have a very, very aroused looks on their faces.
And so, I flirted with them, sat on the lap of what seems to be their leader in which I acted the old carrot and stick method towards him.
Disgusting pieces of excrements, all of them.
Still I smiled, laughed on their lewd jokes towards me in which as a last resort, I danced the lap dance on each of them, finally pleasing all of them.
Thankfully, they did not violate me as they decided that I'm much too valuable to be given to low classed individuals.
They made me strip my clothes in which they marvelled my body, deciding that only the very best customers can get a look in which they are planning to charge plenty of jewels.
Seeing my three mating marks, they snarled and someone was about to brand me when the rest of them protested, saying that they will ruin the merchandise.
Somehow, there was a magic user among them that is somehow competent in which he managed to make some sort of illusion that the mating marks disappeared though temporary.
As for my hair and eyes, it is a stand out as there might be a possibility that my mates might search for me so the magic user changed the color of my hair into a unique shade of violet, same with my eyes.
My ears are now pointed and the length of my hair is too long for me to escape by foot.
Seeing my appearance, they celebrated as I certainly looked unique that many high ranked customers will be willing to pay no matter how high the cost will be.
The leader of the captors then pulled on the chain that is connected to my neck and forced me to perform the lap dance for him in which I did begrudgingly as my survival is important for now than my dignity.
I'm not Iris anymore.
For now, my name is Violet.