The Paladin in the Abyss

The Bull Demon and the Spider's team ultimately did not lay hands on each other. They led their captured Prime Demons and Coward Devils separately, occupying a corner of the high platform and glaring angrily at each other.

Tigana did not stand up throughout, possibly due to her dissatisfaction with their impoliteness or her disdain for their masters.

"Letisha mentioned that the Demon Lord named Wisk was killed by his pet and lover?" Lancelot asked Kalalin, "These two groups don't look like representatives of pets or lovers, do they?"

"Don't try to guess the tastes of the Demons with a mortal's thinking," Kalalin rolled her eyes. "The pet definitely refers to that Giant Bull Demon, also known as 'Destruction Horns.' It's a creature which can grow over 50 feet tall and is quite popular among the Demon Lords, appearing in sieges as catapults and battering rams."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Then the lover must be the 'Web Madam.'" Lancelot nodded, "That at least makes more sense, at least their upper half is still humanoid."

"You're still too narrow-minded," Kalalin shook her head. "Demons' practices in that regard far exceed your imagination; that unfortunate Wisk might have loved her spider-like lower half."

Lancelot and Bruto opened their mouths but eventually did not continue this distasteful topic.

At that moment, a smug, nauseating voice was heard:

"Oh my, it seems I've arrived late, can't help it, Twin Bridges Town is really hard to find."

Lancelot looked in the direction of the voice and saw a bunch of Berserk Demons walking over haphazardly. These ugly toads were each dressed in silver chainmail and wielding golden weapons, a strong nouveau riche aura hitting everyone face-on.

These Berserk Demons were carrying a luxurious soft bed with a nearly naked male Succubus sitting on top, flanked by two Succubus Maids. The attire of this male Succubus Lord was very strange, with only a few metal sequined leather belts wrapped around his body and a collar around his neck reminiscent of one used for fierce dogs, from which long spikes protruded.

Lancelot couldn't help but intently examine this individual who harbored inappropriate thoughts toward Tigana. As a male Succubus, his physique was impeccable, and his extremely handsome face bore a wicked charm, making him nearly irresistible to mortal women.

Of course, for Lancelot and Bruto, this face involuntarily conjured fantasies of what that self-satisfied smile would look like after a punch.

"Lord of Oasis Fort, 'Great' Molo has arrived!!" shouted a Berserk Demon, clad in a silk robe, who was walking at the front, and he was met with a huge round of booing.

"Isn't he the Seducer? How can he still change his nickname?"

"Hey Molo! When are you going to perform that forever memorable act of using your tail to pleasure yourself again?"

"Your minions' clothes are quite nice! Where should I cut to peel it completely off your corpse?"

"Molo, are you still offering a buy-one-get-one-free service? I still have your coupon here, your round buttocks are just irresistible, use it before it expires!"

...

A fierce glint flashed in the male Succubus's eyes as he completely ignored these jeers and strode up to the high platform, making an exaggerated bow to Tigana as he spoke:

"Oh, my goddess of love and beauty, your most enthusiastic, most sincere, and most humble suitor Molo has come to see you again. In the days I can't see you, I fantasize every day about how wonderful it would be to spend a night with you; how much longer must you make me wait? My heart is withering away due to the prolonged wait!"

"That was the worst love talk I've ever heard," Bruto complained to Lancelot. "Even a stone would grow legs to flee far away after hearing it."

"Considering his nickname as 'the Seducer,' there must be quite a few who fall for his tricks," Lancelot shrugged. "Kalalin, do you know anything about this guy?"

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"He has no small number of exploits, and his name is also known in the Prime Material Plane," Kalalin said strangely. "However, his nickname is neither 'the Great' nor 'the Seducer.'"

"What is he famous for then?" Bruto asked curiously. "Could it be that all Succubi actually prefer males?"

"'Necrophiliac' Molo," Kalalin spread her hands. "He specifically targets rich noble widows, appearing when they are on their last breath, letting these old ladies burn out their last spark of life, and then taking their souls and wealth to the Abyss. No one knows how long he has been doing this, until the affairs of a family disputing the inheritance made the condition of the bodies leak out."

"Sounds like some fantastic end-of-life care," Bruto raised his eyebrows, "if it didn't cost a soul."

"Why are the Fiends so obsessed with the souls of mortals?" Lancelot asked curiously, "Besides using them to create new cannon fodder, are there any other uses?"

"Because the soul itself also possesses great power, the study of souls has become one of the biggest taboos in the Multiverse," Kalalin said with a serious face, "The Fiends from the lower planes have methods to extract energy directly from souls, and this process, as you can imagine, is filled with terrible torment.

Demons rely entirely on the energy extracted from souls to sustain their existence, and they are happy to use this energy to create a large amount of cannon fodder or various powerful magical artifacts."

"Then... where do those good souls go after they die?"

"Naturally, to the realms of the Deities, who created mortals, but only their bodies; the souls, however, are born directly from the cosmos, just like the Deities themselves," Kalalin said, his volume almost a whisper, "After living lives that are either splendid or mundane, long or short, their souls, whether ordinary or strong, will go to the realm of the Deity they believe in, become a petitioner, and eventually merge with their deity, becoming part of the Deity."

"In that case, why do most Demons who go to the Mortal Realm love to wreak havoc? Why not focus on secretly fostering corruption like the Demons?"

"On the surface, the faith collapses more easily in areas destroyed by Demons. Once they reject the power of order, they easily embark on a chaotic and evil path; thus, their souls are destined for the Abyss after death. But do you remember what I previously said about the Will of the Abyss?"

"I remember, you mentioned that the universe was originally pure chaos, and the Deities extracted good and beautiful things from this chaos, leaving what remained to form the Abyss."

"Exactly, the Will of the Abyss seeks to return the universe to its original state," Kalalin spoke with extreme caution, as if a terrible mishap could silence him at any moment. "The power of Demons comes from the Abyss, which itself is dedicated to destroying order.

I personally favor the theory that this is also a way for the Abyss to compete with the Deities for power, as both are amassing strength for the day they can ultimately annihilate each other."

"What is the Deities' stance on this?"

"The Abyss is an existence higher than the Deities, and there is not much the Deities can do about it. However, they establish churches in the Mortal Realm, vigorously spread faith, encourage acts of goodness, and try their best to thwart the conspiracies of Demons and Devils.

Sometimes, they even descend themselves to intervene," Kalalin shrugged, "But if mortals truly choose the path of corruption and don't repent and receive forgiveness from a deity before dying, then no one can save their soul. The Deities detest those mortals who embark on an evil path and are indifferent to the screams in Hell and the Abyss."

"It's hard to believe," Lancelot shook his head, "knowing that such a terrible punishment awaits after death, why do some still willingly take the path of corruption?"

"The Deities are very curious about this too," Kalalin said with a sinister smile, "in fact, the Devils were originally Angels tasked with battling Demons. They became tainted from their constant battles with Demons, disliked by the Deities but still depended on to fight Demons.

Thus, the Deities agreed to the proposal of Asmodeus, ruler of the Nine Hells, allowing them to punish the Fallen souls and derive power from it to maintain their own independent existence. This agreement is known as the Prime Covenant, which led those Angels who fought Demons to leave the realm of the Deities and eventually led to the creation of Barto Hell and the Devils."

"My God," Bruto groaned, "what a terrible agreement."

"The Deities underestimated Asmodeus's ambition, which led to the current situation."

"I guess they also had no choice, since the soul possesses free will," Lancelot spoke up, "Under the premise of free will, one must rely on punishment and reward to establish order. Only under the premise of free will do nobility and virtue make sense."

Lancelot's words plunged Kalalin and Bruto into deep thought, and for a moment, there was silence among them.

But on the high platform, the male Succubus, Molo, was delivering his lofty speech.

"Tijana, I really feel sorry for you! You have so many Dwarves, just put iron chains on them, and assign some Berserk Demons to whip them harshly when they slack off, and I guarantee your monthly output of that scrap metal will multiply!

Come see my Oasis Fort to learn the proper way to treat these Dwarf slaves!" the tempter boasted, leaning back on his soft bed, tilting his head to receive some kind of bright red snack handed over by a Succubus Maid.

"This is my town, I govern it however I like," Tijana said disdainfully, "As for what you do in your slave pen, I couldn't care less, but since you think I only produce some scrap, you can leave right now. I believe Prince Kailon would be happy to take your share."

"What Kailon? Why call him Prince?" Molo seemed puzzled.

"My father assigned me to command the Destruction Flame legion," the young man with six fingers spoke blandly.

"What? You actually are... I mean, are you really a prince... from Lord Wu'an?" Molo exclaimed, his expression suddenly darkened, and he fell silent.

Tijana glanced at him, and seeing the annoying man finally shut up, she clapped her hands.

"Let's start the gladiatorial match, the audience is getting impatient."