The Paladin in the Abyss

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Upon hearing this, everyone promptly put their Transformation Rings back on, and Alamir looked at the transformed group with appreciative eyes, his face brimming with a sincere smile. Shuni taught her followers to appreciate all beautiful things and creatures, and the Succubus were among the most beautiful creatures in the Multiverse.

That was until the Elves saw what Bruto looked like after his transformation.

The sight of this bearded Succubus shocked the Elves so much that their face turned pale and they promptly sat down on the ground with a thump.

Lancelot chuckled inwardly, noticing that Alamir was still in a state of shock, and he motioned for Bruto to quickly wrap his scarf around.

"What's the matter, you see, he's completely mesmerized by me." Bruto reluctantly said, even throwing a flirtatious wink at the Elf on the ground.

"Just wrap it," Lancelot couldn't stand the gesture and pressed the scarf onto Bruto's face himself, feeling that if he were any slower, the Priest on the ground might even begin to question their faith.

As Bruto's red beard was covered by the scarf, Alamir finally came back to his senses. He breathed heavily, as if he had forgotten to breathe the whole time.

"From a Dwarf's perspective, we guys without beards are the real monsters," Kalalin consoled, "I believe the lady of fire can understand that Dwarves have their own standards of what is beautiful."

"Thank you, I...I understand," the Elf Priest staggered to his feet, his face still pale. Seeing that others were armed, he pulled a chair over and with a bit of force, broke off a chair leg.

"You're pretty strong, huh," Brutolia commented.

"Not hard to guess why," Alamir shrugged, stuffing the chair leg into his robe, "I'll rely on this until I find a proper weapon, just in case."

"Definitely better than nothing," Lancelot shrugged and opened the door.

The Elf Priest handed the chain connected to a collar to Lancelot, feigning exhaustion, and led the way out, with the three of Lancelot following close behind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The corridor outside the room was temporarily empty. Alamir looked around and then quickly walked to the opposite side of the corridor, pressed a discreet bulge on the wall, and immediately part of the wall silently slid open, revealing a staircase spiraling downward.

The Elf Priest took the lead down the staircase, followed closely by the three Succubi. The steps were quite narrow, but there were gemstones glowing on the walls, providing illumination for those mortals who lacked night vision abilities traveling in this passage.

Even without these light sources, the four people currently in the passage wouldn't have much of a problem, because Elves and Dwarves inherently possessed night vision abilities, and Kalalin had also acquired the Demons' night vision abilities after transforming into a Succubus. Even if he took off the ring, he had a vial of Night Vision Potion on his belt to help him cope with the darkness.

The passage was not long, and the group quickly descended to the first basement level of the Succubus Palace, where the exit of the passage was guarded by two two-headed Giants.

These Guards clearly recognized the Elf and let him pass straightaway, but they stopped the three Succubi following the Elf, puzzled by their appearance.

"You shouldn't be here," one of the Giants' left head spoke up, while the right head immediately countered, "Guests can go wherever they want! It's none of your business!"

"But guests never come here."

"Someone was just here last month! You idiot!"

Lancelot was astonished as he watched this rare scene—a creature with more than one head arguing with itself. It made him wonder what would happen if he chopped off one head but kept the other.

Another, slightly skinnier, two-headed giant seemed equally foolish. It hesitated, looking at its partner, as if waiting for both heads to agree.

Taking a risk, Lancelot lowered his mask to reveal his beautifully transformed face.

"We just want to have a look. There shouldn't be any problems, right?" he said, smiling at the four heads and waving the shackles in his hand.

The two two-headed giants paused, a silly smile spreading across their faces as they nodded vigorously and drool dripped from their mouths.

Bruto, surprised at how easily the giants were persuaded, widened his eyes. He wanted to take off his mask and charm the giants too but was quickly stopped by Kalalin's swift intervention.

With a gentle push, Lancelot nudged aside the massive club blocking their way and walked past.

The burning gaze of the two-headed giants closely followed Lancelot, making him feel like a thorn in his side until he disappeared into another room together with the Elves, vanishing from the giants' view.

"Very effective," Kalalin briefly remarked. Lancelot shrugged, hiding embarrassment that seemed to come from nowhere.

They entered a hall resembling a dungeon. On either side were rooms sealed with iron doors, containing groups of slaves chained and shackled. Several foul-smelling Berserk Demons here acted as guards.

The guards noticed the Elves and the Succubus behind them immediately, but they just glanced at Alanis and then looked away, indicating that the collars and shackles had served their purpose.

Just then, the ground suddenly shook, and a loud noise came from above, causing the Berserk Demons to jump up and look at the ceiling uncertainly.

Bruto and Kalalin immediately looked at Lancelot with questioning eyes, but he shook his head gently, indicating that the noise wasn't caused by Phil, at least not at his request.

However, a sense of unease still emerged in his heart. There might have been an unexpected disturbance outside, and it was best to get out of there quickly.

He quietly picked up his pace, urging the Elves to lead them into the next room.

"Alamir? What are you doing here?" a familiar voice called out. Lancelot looked up to see that the room was a kitchen, and speaking was Daryl, the Succubus Maid who had welcomed them earlier. She led several Goblin servers carrying trays and was about to exit through another door.

"I need to recover," the Elf Priest said calmly, turning to signal the others following him including Lancelot, "The three guests insisted on accompanying me."

"He's indeed great, but he doesn't seem as miraculous as you described. He couldn't last even an hour," Lancelot complained, displeased.

"Rest assured, guests. We have magical items that can quickly revitalize these men," Daryl said, smiling apologetically at Lancelot, but then she turned and fiercely told the Elf Priest, "Get going, and put on your best performance. If the guests are even slightly dissatisfied, I'll force-feed you with healing potion and flay you myself!"