The Paladin in the Abyss

Lancelot did not allow himself to dwell on the wonderful experience he had just had for too long. After dressing neatly, he left the room and walked down the spiral staircase.

As Tijana had mentioned, the end of the staircase led to a training ground where the two often sparred. At the moment, three Succubus Maids were clanging away with blunt swords. Though they all wore thick protective gear and still managed to look quite appealing, such a sight was only possible in Twin Bridges Town.

Upon Lancelot's arrival, all three succubi stopped and bowed in greeting to him—they had always done this, but the Human Knight was quite sure their attitudes were slightly different today, and it was certainly not his imagination.

Of course, he was not foolish enough to ask them why.

As usual, Lancelot respectfully returned the ladies' greetings and then walked into a special resting room next to the training ground, which housed the portal leading to Hagrid Manor. One of the benefits of his promotion to the High Rank of the Foundation Establishment Stage was that he no longer needed to intentionally concentrate his True Yuan on his ears to hear clearly what the maids whispered after he had disappeared.

"Why did Sir Lancelot come out so quickly? Didn't they…"

"Impossible! Didn't you see how Lady Tijana just looked? She was as light on her feet as if she were stepping on cotton! Have any of you ever seen her with that expression before?"

"Sir Lancelot... he's really just a mortal, right?"

"I guess he's actually a saint of some deity... remember the sudden snow on the Shattered Mountain Range earlier? They say it was the effect of Olul's descent, but Lady Tijana chased it away on the spot, and Sir Lancelot was there too..."

"Damn, I wish I had a man like that…"

"Ha, haven't you always been bragging about your Husky lover, saying beastmen are the best males in the world..."

Lancelot shook his head slightly, speechless, and silently thanked Han Tianzun once again for imparting the Spiritual Cultivation Techniques to him. If it weren't for becoming a Spiritual Cultivator, having a relationship with a succubus would certainly be a life-threatening affair, even if there was no malice involved.

By pressing a sequence of stones on the wall in a special order, Lancelot summoned a blue and white portal. Through this wondrous Spatial Magic, simply by stepping forward, he found himself once again in the garden of Hagrid Manor.

It was now deep into the night, a dim red moon hung high above Oasis Fort, and the flowers from Androlina in the courtyard were blooming wildly, proudly displaying their beauty to the viewers. Sadly, their beauty was so out of place in this bleak, barren, and malevolent plane that the master of the place had to use a large-scale Illusion Technique to hide them.

The lights were still on on the first floor of the manor. Walking down the cobblestone path, Lancelot reached the front door and knocked on the door panel, then patiently waited in place.

A familiar set of footsteps approached rapidly, and Lancelot had already recognized to whom they belonged, just as the person had evidently recognized his usual way of knocking. The door was flung open, and a petite figure immediately threw herself into Lancelot's arms.

"Brother Lancelot!" the vampire girl exclaimed joyfully, shaking his body, "how come you took so long to come back! Brother Alamir and Uncle Bruto have been here for ages…"

"Ha, how many times have I said this, Bruto is also a big brother, you can't think he's old just because he has a beard." Lancelot chuckled as he ruffled little Isha's bright blonde hair, marveling, "Eh, what's this, you seem a bit darker..."

"Ah, I knew it." The little girl's expression immediately fell, "It's all Countess Ancesta's fault, she had me under the sun for so long, it felt like my skin was burning, so painful…"

"And you endured it all?"

"Of course!" Little Isha jutted out her chin, "Now I can move freely under the sun! Fighting isn't a problem either! I just can't use any vampire powers..."

"You really toughed it out." Lancelot hugged the proud little vampire tightly, "It's all because you wanted to go on adventures with everyone, isn't it?"

"Hehe, no reason to leave me behind now, right?" Little Isha tidied her disheveled hair, her expression turning serious, "Lancelot, was your adventure this time not going smoothly? Everyone seems so somber, I initially thought something had happened to you, but thankfully Alamir told me you were with Tijana..."

"It seems they haven't told you yet." Lancelot sighed, "Let's go inside first..."

Upon entering the living room, Lancelot was greeted by Kalalin whom he hadn't seen in a while, the Scholar was eagerly discussing something with Alamir. Hearing Lancelot's entrance, both turned their heads and greeted him with mugs full of golden beer.

"Wow." Alamir gave Lancelot a smile that the latter immediately understood, "Looks like someone had quite a good time... Did you use what I taught you before? How did it work out?"

"Hmm... pretty good..." Lancelot grabbed an empty mug, flipped the switch at the bottom of the barrel on the coffee table, and filled it, "Where's Bruto?"

"He locked himself in his room as soon as he came back. After I heated the bathwater and went to call him, I found he was already asleep." The Elf Priest shook his head, "Uncle Barrend's death hit him hard. If it weren't for Tijana giving him a glimmer of hope, he might have already broken down."

"Uncle Barrend... died?" Little Isha exclaimed in surprise, "How did he die? Can't he be revived with resurrection technique?"

"During the battle at the Volcano Fortress, I summoned Tijana for help; otherwise, we would have all been burned to ash. But at that time, the delegation from Oasis Fort in Twin Bridges Town launched an attack, causing great damage in the blacksmith area, and that's when Uncle Barrend was killed." Lancelot took a sip of his beer, "However, we resolved our battle quickly, and Tijana rushed back to Twin Bridges Town the first chance she got and executed all the attackers on the spot. But afterward, when they tried to resurrect the dead, some could not be revived. Not only Barrend, but several other deceased, all important Grand Craftsmen of Twin Bridges Town, had similar issues."

"Then... what do we do? Alamir just said there's still a glimmer of hope?"

"Yes, we plan to personally go to the Netherworld to investigate what exactly is wrong with these souls. We're now waiting for your sister Tijana to find the portal to that plane." Lancelot directed his gaze towards the Scholar, "Speaking of which, what kind of deity is the King of the Dead? Being in charge of divine office of death, he must be a deity from an evil alignment, right...?"

"Not necessarily." Kalalin decisively shook his head, "The current King of the Dead has been deified for just over a hundred years, and when he was still a mortal, he was a sincere, passionate, and friendly human warrior..."