The Paladin in the Abyss

The Lord of the Dead stopped, turned to look at the weeping Queen, his cold metal mask devoid of any expression. After a few moments of silence, he spoke lightly:

"This is not a moral judgment, merely a recognition of the fact that he was a heretic. And, upon thoroughly reviewing the entirety of his life's deeds, I do not consider Peyton Derrick to be innocent... far from it." Cranvo shook his head gently. "Generally, I don't explain my judgements, but as a friend of mine once went through a similar experience, I felt obliged to make an exception for you..."

With a gentle wave of his hand, Cranvo caused a light to emerge from the head of the Lich kneeling on the ground, which quickly burrowed into Yushiel Derrick's head. Yushiel immediately stood there in a daze, as if his consciousness had been drawn into another world.

"My lord, Lord of the Dead, this is..." Fran glanced worriedly at her mother, "Mother didn't mean to offend you, she just..."

"Trust me, as the Grim Reaper, there are few gods in this Multiverse who understand the greatness of a mother's love better than I do." The Lord of the Dead shook his head lightly. "What I showed her was merely Peyton's own memories about his mother..."

"Peyton's own memories?" The Zombie Princess's face showed a sorrowful expression. "Oh, my poor mother..."

"I know this is cruel, but in my hall, everyone must face the truth... no matter how uncomfortable that may be." Cranvo shook his head again. "That is why I demand my followers to face life honestly in my teachings, because death is the ultimate reality. Every lie carried to the grave becomes an eternal torment for the dead..."

Cranvo sighed lightly, no longer paying attention to Fran, and walked towards Lancelot and the others standing aside.

"We finally meet, Madam." The Lord of the Dead first greeted the Queen of Ravens, "It is an utmost honor..."

"This cooperation benefitted both sides, and I am pleased with the ideal results." The Queen of Ravens nodded gracefully. "Of course, the greatest credit goes to the extraordinary Sir Lancelot..."

"I agree." Cranvo also nodded at the Human Knight. "I must admit, your performance greatly exceeded my expectations. Truly exceptional."

"You flatter me, my lords." Lancelot quickly shook his head. "In the end, I failed to withstand 'His' power, nearly ruining everyone's efforts. If it weren't for Miss Elizabeth, the consequences would have been unimaginable. She deserves the most credit."

"No, no! It was you, brother, who attracted all the enemy's attention, giving me the chance to act... and also Kalalin, Alamir, Sister Tanya, Uncle... Brother Bruto, and Grandfather Barrend's contributions..."

"Hey, get things straight, Alamir is older than Kalalin and I combined..."

"Right, right, sorry... It's all because of Brother Bruto's beard, it looks... mature..."

The young girl's earnest attempts to explain amused everyone, and in the end, Lancelot gently patted her head and laughed:

"We are a team; everyone has different responsibilities, but without each one of us, victory wouldn't have been achieved. I'm glad we didn't let you down, great Lord of the Dead, and I hope what we did today will end the suffering of this land..." Lancelot's expression changed after he finished speaking with a dignified air, "However... I encountered a small problem. After defeating the Lich, an unexpected figure emerged from the corpse, which I believe matches the description of Shrek..."

"That must be Him." Cranvo nodded. "Don't worry, He has now lost most of His power and can't leave this Demon's Domain. It won't be long before I can drag Him out."

"Well, my Trident has a special ability to store things inside it. I know it sounds like a Dimensional Bag..." Lancelot raised his fork with a complex expression, "It also seems to have a mind of its own and it acted before I could react, swallowing your old foe..."

"...What?" The shock on the Lord of the Dead's face was audible even through the mask. "What did you say?"

"You heard him correctly," the Queen of Ravens interjected. "I was present and saw it clearly... and, if I'm not mistaken, this Trident is filled with the waters of the Stygian River, correct?"

"Yes," Lancelot nodded repeatedly, "Could that be why Shrek hasn't come out yet?"

"Of course." The Queen of Ravens nodded, "It's an exceptionally powerful ability. Perhaps I should revoke my initial evaluation of your weapon. Calling it a pitchfork indeed seems a bit inappropriate now..."

"The waters of the Stygian River... even effective on gods?"

"Yes and no," Cranvo interjected. "The main danger of the Stygian River is its ability to cause amnesia, which is effective even on gods. However, divine power always consists of numerous incarnations, sharing consciousness and memory among them. Even if one incarnation is affected by the Stygian River, it would immediately recall what it just forgot..."

"Ah! But it's different here!" Lancelot clapped his hands, "Communication inside and outside the Demon's Domain is impossible. Once Shrek inside here loses his memory, he really can't remember anything!"

"And even when the Demon's Domain is unsealed, His true form won't know what transpired here." Cranvo's voice carried a lighthearted relief. "I was troubled by this problem, but you solved it effortlessly..."

"Oh, that's good to hear. But what should I do with Him then... just keep Him imprisoned?"

"Let Him soak longer. That guy is full of malice, if anything, soaking in the Stygian River will be a matter of who contaminates whom..."

At that moment, the previously frozen Queen suddenly sprang up from the ground, clawing and rushing towards the still-kneeling Lich, shrieking:

"How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!"

An invisible barrier appeared out of nowhere, blocking the frantic mother. The Lich, who had been motionless, slightly turned his head, a gleam of vengeful satisfaction in his eyes. Compared to his mother's agitation, the father's emotions were much calmer. Tedder Derrick had been standing quietly by the side and now gently patted his daughter's shoulder, signaling her to tend to the distraught wife.

"I should never have given birth to you!" Even as Fran helped her up, the Queen was still shouting at the Lich, "Your grandmother loved you so much, and you killed her with your own hands! Her will asked me to take good care of you... boohoo... why, why..."

"Every soul eventually passes to me, and I must read each life to determine their most fitting afterlife." Cranvo spoke to Lancelot quietly. "Believe me, it's an awful job, as people always seem to remember their wicked deeds the most vividly. Declaring him a heretic was the best-case scenario. Given his actions, he deserves to be on the soul-roasting rack in the Nine Hells for several hundred years..."