The Paladin in the Abyss

"The Black Cult? That doesn't sound like a respectable organization," Bruto leaned in closer. "You're not some kind of secret society that worships demons, are you?"

"Our primary research subject is indeed demons, but our purpose in understanding them is to combat them," Kalalin said, pulling out a notebook from somewhere and jotting something down, "We can discuss the specifics on our way to Twin Bridges Town, let's get moving."

"Hold on a minute, we need to clean up the loot," Lancelot efficiently took out several empty bags.

In the end, they filled four full bags with at least a thousand Gold Coins. After Kuka's body dissolved, Lancelot found a pair of metal rings that, after being struck year after year by the ape demon, had become extremely hard; Bruto took them to use as bracers and they fit perfectly.

Lancelot cast the spell to summon his warhorse again, this poor Abyssal creature being treated as a packhorse every time, Lancelot had never once ridden it into battle.

Fortunately, it seemed to harbor no desire to complain and followed obediently behind Lancelot.

The group proceeded downstream along the Stygian River. Compared to their journey coming here, the sky was no longer clear, and large patches of dark clouds made the temperature no longer so unbearable.

Lancelot and Kalalin walked side by side, both full of curiosity about the other.

"Mr. Kalalin, could you tell us more about your Black Cult?"

"Just call me Kalalin," Kalalin fanned himself with his notebook. "Let me ask you a question first, where does your knowledge about the Abyss come from?"

"The Elves of my world. Thousands of years ago they explored the Abyss deeply, but after that, a great war broke out, and ever since they have lived in the shadow of a potential demon invasion. Before I entered the Abyssal Plane, they left me with a wealth of knowledge about the Abyss, but I've found a lot of it seems outdated… Kalalin?"

Lancelot realized the person beside him was gone; the Kalalin who had been walking with him was now standing still behind him, staring at him with a look that appeared when he first learned Tijana's identity.

"Uh, what's the matter?"

"If I told you I am now extremely grateful to have come to the Abyssal Plane, would you believe me?"

"That's not surprising. In a sense, the Abyss is a treasure trove."

"What you just mentioned solved a long-standing problem that puzzled researchers. Occasionally, ancient Elven relics are found in the Abyss, and everyone is baffled about their origin, leading to various hypotheses."

"I imagine some of those are quite absurd."

"The boldest hypothesis suggests that the Abyss may have originally been no different from a normal plane of existence, and that Elves originated from the Abyssal Plane, later leaving for the Stellar Realm as the conditions in the Abyss deteriorated."

"Elves are quite proud of their relationship with nature,"

"Haha, so it's not difficult to imagine, elves paid many enthusiastic visits to the founder of that theory," Kalalin's lips couldn't help but curve up, "Let's return to our previous discussion. In the world I come from, for a long time, people knew nothing about the Abyss. Invasions by demons were like fires, floods, and earthquakes. Apart from the occasional direct intervention of deities, humans were helpless and could only start over in ruins after everything had been destroyed."

"Everything changed after the appearance of a scholar named Turgeit No Am," Kalalin automatically placed her hand on her chest and made a gesture of respect at the mention of this name. "He was a scholar who specialized in researching and organizing demon knowledge, systematically summarizing and categorizing the common types of demons, assessing their ranks, combat strength, habits, commonly used magic, and supernatural abilities. This greatly helped the warriors who fought against demons. Humanity finally had the opportunity to confront the horrors brought forth by the Abyss."

"He sounds like a great pioneer, but I imagine the demons were not indifferent to his actions?"

"When you gaze long into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazes into you. Every scholar who casts their curiosity into the Abyss catches its attention, especially those who actually achieve some results. Those who research the Abyss and don't know when to stop, will sooner or later encounter various calamities. But Am accomplished achievements before his complete destruction that later generations could not surpass. His works even contained detailed information about several famous Abyssal Lords and the specific conditions of their territories,"

"It's hard to believe that those terrifying Abyssal Lords would tolerate him to such an extent."

"The general view is that the key lies in the theory he proposed about demons and the origins of the world. The Abyss cooperated with his research to a certain extent because it hoped he would spread this theory."

Lancelot's curiosity was piqued, and he asked several consecutive questions:

"Does the Abyss itself have a will? What kind of view could have such an effect? Is it dangerous to discuss the specifics of that theory?"

"Discussing these theories will neither attract demon attacks nor divine intervention, which in itself proves their credibility in a certain form," Kalalin, talking about her field of expertise, became very talkative and looked excited. "Am's theory contends that the Abyss is the source of everything, the universe was originally a complete chaos, and the first deities who emerged from it took the beautiful things out of chaos, creating mountains, earth, life, and civilization, forming the Prime Material Plane that belongs to mortals, along with the various purer upper planes, taking them over, dividing them, and calling them the domains of the deities."

"Conversely, the Abyss became the abandoned dump, a breeding ground for demons. Am believed that the Abyss itself has will, an existence that even deities cannot comprehend, and demons are the crystallization of this will. Demons are the tools of the Abyss, their impulse to destroy everything is the mission given to them by the Abyss. The Abyss wishes to return everything back to the state of absolute, pure chaos of the origins; it sees that as the proper state of the universe."

"This is the core theory of our research into demons, the Abyss, and the eternal battle between order and chaos. It effectively answers three key questions: what demons are, where their power comes from, and what their purpose is."

Kalalin spoke with fervent passion, and Lancelot listened, his heart surging with excitement. He inquisitively followed up:

"What happened to Am in the end?"

"As his research deepened, his powers grew stronger, but in the end, he could not escape the fate of destruction," Kalalin said regretfully. "His works contained too many accurate descriptions of demons and even Abyssal Lords. Just as deities hear the prayers of their followers, the entities described in his works established a mysterious connection with the works themselves."

"From the day his famous Scroll of Darkness was completed, attempts to destroy it didn't cease. In the end, several Abyssal Lords who felt threatened took action. Am and his homeland were destroyed together, but most of the Scroll of Darkness survived. Many claim that Am enchanted these scrolls, giving them a sort of living quality. After that, many were fortunate enough to see fragments of the Scroll of Darkness. These scrolls had the ability to teleport on their own, actively avoiding demon searches, preventing them from falling into a fate of complete destruction."

Kalalin paused and gave a wry smile.

"But there's one problem when it detects danger and makes a run for it, it doesn't take its reader along."