The Paladin in the Abyss

"No... not exactly, what are you doing? Where did you get all this stuff from?" Tijana, a Demon Lord who had seen her fair share of grand appearances, quickly composed herself after the initial shock.

"Where else, the treasure vault of the Succubus Palace," Lancelot shrugged his shoulders, "We were just about to have a meal, planning to tell little Isa about this adventure while distributing these spoils of war."

"Oh? Is that so..." Tijana circled the huge pile of treasure, her eyes spinning non-stop, "That Goblin and Werewolf are my subordinates, right?"

"Indeed they are, they're very satisfied with the payment I gave them..."

"The information about the Succubus Palace was provided by me, correct?"

"Correct, but we found the vault ourselves, and that Succubus Guard inside was taken down by us as well..."

"Samantha was killed by you? Not bad, not bad... The one responsible for backing you up, Iados, he lost all his men and suddenly became a 'lone commander'. How pitiful."

"That doesn't seem to be my fault, does it?"

"...I don't care!!" The Succubus Lord grabbed Lancelot by the collar forcefully and said righteously, looking up, "I must have a share of these war spoils!"

"Alright, you do have your merits here." Gazing at the face so close to his, Lancelot struggled to suppress the urge to kiss Tijana's red lips and reluctantly nodded.

Tijana still clutched tightly onto Lancelot's collar as if she hadn't heard what he said until Bruto cleared his throat softly, and then she turned her head blankly toward the Dwarf.

"Shall we eat first?" Bruto looked innocently at the Succubus Lord, "All these delicious dishes are going to get cold."

"Koula is the chef of the Succubus Palace, very famous indeed." Lancelot took a step back discreetly, "Would we have the honor of dining with you this evening, my lady?"

Only then did Tijana look towards the dining table, her eyes full of disdain as she flatly refused:

"It's not necessary, hurry up and divide the spoils. My time is very precious!"

"Didn't you have something to discuss with me? We can talk while we eat." Lancelot's voice sounded very sincere, "And this meal is also part of the spoils; it cost us over a thousand Gold Coins."

"What?! Why is it so expensive?" Tijana frowned upon hearing this, "You mortals are so eager to squander all your wealth before you die, aren't you?"

Despite her words, she had already taken a seat at the head of the table.

Lancelot, whose spot was taken, could only helplessly sit at the first seat to Tijana's right, while little Isa dutifully filled everyone's glasses with wine, except for herself — partly because she had to drink the 'beverage' specially prepared for her by Kalalin, and partly because at 15 years old, she wasn't technically of age, although time had already lost its meaning to her.

"...Thank you." Tijana nodded to Isa, saying somewhat awkwardly.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Lancelot stood up with his wine glass, "Let us toast to our Lord, the ruler of Twin Bridges Town, the beautiful and noble lady Tijana. May her Twin Bridges Town flourish forever."

Everyone raised their glasses to Tigana, and the Succubus Lord, somewhat awkwardly, responded in kind, drained the liquor in her glass in one gulp, and then picked up a fork to spear a piece of meat from the nearest plate and threw it into her mouth.

"Mmm, this scorpion-tailed lion's nape meat is really well done," Tigana's eyes suddenly lit up, and she used her fork to pick up a bunch of vegetable that looked like seaweed and tasted it, "this sea hag's hair is great, too!"

"Ha-ha, I'm glad you like it! The dishes I made in the Succubus Palace always received high praise from the guests," Koula said, clearly delighted to hear Tigana's compliment, "but, could you not mention the names of these ingredients? The others might not be ready to accept them..."

Upon hearing this, the Succubus Lord glanced at Lancelot and noticed that the Human Knight's complexion was indeed a bit weird; she snorted, "You mortals are all so hypocritical. What's the difference between this and chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep? Or is it that the taste is better if the creatures can't fight back?"

Lancelot wisely did not debate this issue with the Succubus Lord. And although Tigana was unabashed in her speech, she indeed stopped mentioning the names of the ingredients for the remainder of the time.

It was obvious that she was indeed enjoying her meal, truly deserving of being the head chef of the Succubus Palace, although it seemed that Koula was the only chef there.

"Tell me about your little adventure this time, the complete process from start to finish," said Tigana, eyes on the food, but she obviously hadn't forgotten the main issue.

"A memorable experience, I hope the story will please you."

Lancelot lifted his glass and gently sipped the wine claimed to be from Shendiravir, beginning with their arrival at the Oasis Fort. When it came to sneaking into the Succubus Palace, under Tigana's strong insistence, he eventually put on the Transformation Ring in front of the Succubus Lord.

"Wow!!!!!"

Little Issa looked away after a mere glance, her face flushed with embarrassment. Lancelot had just been wearing a casual shirt, and upon putting on the Transformation Ring, it turned into an extremely provocative sheer garment. Even Tigana had a weird expression on her face, her eyes fixed on Lancelot's enlarged part, her hand unconsciously reaching out as if to confirm its authenticity.

"What are you doing?" Lancelot instantly took off the ring, watching the succubus warily.

"Tch, boring." Tigana pouted, "Continue."

Lancelot went on to describe how they discovered the treasury, and the astonishing vast treasure within. Undoubtedly, his words held conviction, as the best part of the story was right before their eyes.

"Just thinking about Molo's expression right now fills my heart with sweetness," Tigana said with a sultry look at the Human Knight, "but what's the deal with Samantha? Did you really kill her?"

Lancelot described the succubus' final fate, but Tigana furrowed her brows.

"Something's not right, the Teleportation Magic shouldn't have been effective," the Succubus Lord tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her sharp claws unconsciously extending from the tips, a habit she had when deep in thought, Lancelot had learned. Continue your journey with empire

"Are you saying she might not be dead?" Bruto asked in surprise, "But her body was... like that."

"A body is just a shell," said Tigana with disdain, "a powerful Tanari can split off a small portion of their life essence to create a container, so when we are killed within the Abyss, we can resurrect using this amulet. Considering Samantha's relationship with Molo, she would certainly have the resources to make such an amulet."

Lancelot let out a sigh within his heart; it seemed he had gained another enemy. He had actually suspected this, having absorbed some demon power from the evil spirit demon he had killed, though he didn't know why that happened.

Yet, when he killed the more powerful succubus, that phenomenon didn't occur, which made him doubt whether that malicious woman with an octopus growing from her back was truly dead.