The Paladin in the Abyss

"Thank you very much," Lancelot took the amulet, feeling the potent magic energy ready to burst forth, and carefully tucked it into his chest.

"Leave early and return soon," Tijana dropped a line, nodded to the Fallen once more, and then turned and left through the door from which she had appeared.

To Tijana's actions, the Fallen seemed somewhat surprised. She thought for a moment, took out a delicately crafted silk pouch, poured from it another amulet resembling a red jade, and handed it to Lancelot as well.

This amulet still bore the warmth of the Fallen; when Lancelot held it in his hand, the red patterns inside seemed to flow as if they encased a flame. Lancelot cast an inquiring glance at the Fallen and spoke:
Stay updated via empire

"What is this amulet for?"

"When you face an enemy you absolutely cannot defeat, you can use it to summon powerful aid," the Fallen gazed at the amulet with a longing look, "To activate it, hold it and whisper softly to it: 'Time is not your enemy.'

"This amulet seems to hold a special meaning for you," Lancelot hesitated, "I'm not sure if I should carry it with me."

"That's why you must come back alive and return this amulet to me," the Fallen's eyes showed that she was already lost in her memories, "Many years ago, someone gave me this amulet, just in the same way Tijana just gave that amulet to you."

"We will definitely bring back both this amulet and Elothysia," Lancelot assured her, but he had already resolved in his heart that he would never use this amulet unless absolutely necessary.

What kind of terrifying existence could sincerely belong to the succubus before him? Imagine summoning her beloved only to have the summoned 'descend' and find that the summoner was a man, perhaps a hasty one who might cleave him in two at first sight, where would he go to argue his case?

"I trust you," the Fallen regained her graceful demeanor. "But it seems you have forgotten something."

"What?" Lancelot was truly puzzled this time.

"You forgot to ask about the reward for this mission," the Fallen appeared amused by Lancelot's charming reaction, "That angel probably can't pay you in gold, but he can give you gemstones worth fifty thousand gold coins, along with any other reasonable request.

If any of you sacrifice yourselves on this mission, as long as you bring back a complete body, he can also resurrect your fallen companion."

"Ah, thank you very much," Lancelot scratched his head embarrassedly. As a mercenary, forgetting to inquire about the mission's reward was not a good habit.

Just then, the golden ring flashed with a ripple-like radiance, signaling that the summoning was about to start.

The group walked over, each taking hold of a part of the ring (Eckmond with his teeth). Madam Fallen bowed to them once more and softly said:

"I wish you all the best."

Lancelot's vision was gradually filled with increasingly bright magical light, and he felt as though he had suddenly lost weight, floating in the void, but the next moment everything returned to normal.

He found himself in a dark underground cave, standing on some complex magic formation, and a human male in tattered robes was standing restlessly in front of them. Judging by the shimmering multicolored light emanating from him, at least a dozen defensive magics were in effect.

"Very well, I thought I might summon something worse," the man spoke, his voice much older than his appearance suggested, "Before you speak, listen to me. I was ordered to perform this summoning ritual on the outskirts of the instant fortress. Who you are or why you're here is of no concern to me, and I don't wish to know, so I won't answer any of your questions.

Now, head back through that entrance to the surface and forget you ever saw me, is that clear?"

"Got it! Stop nagging," Bruto grumbled in response, leading the way out of the cave first. The others shrugged their shoulders and followed the dwarf out. Lancelot kept his expressionless gaze on the man until everyone had left, then he nodded at him and turned to leave.

Just as they stepped out of that entrance, the cave behind them thunderously collapsed, burying the secret of their arrival altogether. As for the man who had summoned them there, he surely had another secret passage in the dark corners of the cave through which he had quietly slipped away.

Lancelot then surveyed their current surroundings. They were standing on a small hill, and the area around them was still the typical dry, cracked, dust-filled land of the Plains of the Abyss, with almost no clouds in the sky and the dark red sun a bit higher than it should have been.

Not far away on the plains stood a huge and dilapidated stone fortress. Large sections of the outer walls had collapsed, likely unable to provide any defense, and a plethora of low and disordered buildings were scattered around; the fortress itself in the center seemed somewhat intact, but its gates were wide open, completely unguarded.

Lancelot's Spirit Perception suddenly stirred, he turned his head to one side, and Frostslash was already in his hand.

The others were accustomed to his exceptional Perception Ability, and although the Human Knight said nothing, they all drew their weapons, ready for the imminent appearance of their enemy.

From behind the small hill, a squad of four Berserk Demons emerged. Upon seeing Lancelot and his group, the demons seemed startled, but showed no immediate intention to charge into battle; instead, they watched them warily and continued advancing toward the fortress.

Since the demons didn't initiate trouble, the group wasn't interested in starting a fight out of nowhere. In fact, unlike the terrifying impression they left in the Prime Material Plane, demons in the Abyss didn't attack people indiscriminately like madmen (at least those as intelligent as mortals didn't). This was because for most demons, dying in the Abyss meant true death.

Even though as demons they endured constant terrible pain from their bodies (especially the Low Rank Demons), most believed that being alive was better than being dead, hence demons in the Abyss tended to restrain themselves to avoid unnecessary conflicts, despite their chaotic and impulsive nature.

Of course, if they were sure their target couldn't fight back, demons were still very happy to pop a few eyeballs or pull out a few intestines for fun.

Lancelot took out the amulet with Elothysia's portrait, holding it in his palm to feel it.

The amulet was ice cold and did not emit any supernatural heat.

"It seems our target is still quite far," Lancelot explained to his companions, "Let's check out that fortress first."