The Paladin in the Abyss

"""

"Such people are not uncommon..." Kalalin curled his lip, "Imagine you're in the prime of your life, yet die on the battlefield for your Lord, leaving behind a helpless wife and daughter. As your soul worries about their miserable remaining lives, the Demon appears, offering to send a large sum of gold to your living relatives. If you still don't trust them, Demons have plenty of patience.

They can even allow you to watch over your loved ones in the Netherworld, seeing them happily live out their lives, and all it costs is your soul. If it were you, would you be willing?"

Bruto opened his mouth, wishing to say something, but ended up keeping silent.

Seeing that everyone had fallen into contemplation, Kalalin waited for a while before continuing:

"Those who choose to sell their souls after death typically have some compelling reasons. For a person important to them, for the answer to a problem, for an unachieved revenge, for a long-standing desire." Kalalin's voice carried a weary undertone, "Put yourself in their shoes and think about it. If you were faced with such a situation, could you truly refuse the Demons' offer?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"How terrifying." Bruto shuddered, "Do those deities just stand by and watch their followers be tempted by Demons?"

"It is said that according to the contract signed between the Demons and the God of the Dead, Demons cannot deceive these newly deceased souls and must fulfill their promises to mortals," Kalalin's expression was very serious, "Unlike the contracts that tempt mortals to become Fallen, agreements signed in the Domain of the Vague must be executed with honesty and in full."

"What do you mean? Are there issues with their agreements with mortals in general?"

"The issues are numerous. Demons are experts at playing with words," Kalalin sat up straight, "Take a few examples, such as promising to prevent your body from aging, by turning you into a stone statue; or promising to reveal an important secret, but whispering it in your ear while you're asleep; willing to offer you a large fortune, but killing you immediately after handing it over.

When dealing with Demons, you'd best have a team of lawyers examine every punctuation mark to ensure there are no loopholes for wordplay, or terms written with Invisibility Potion. Even then, don't expect to gain any advantage from a deal with a Demon; a fair exchange is the best outcome you can hope for."

"I detest any text longer than three sentences, including what you've just said," Bruto sighed and slumped back into the couch, "Priest, what's your take on this?"

"Selling your soul for the benefit of others may be a noble act," Alamir shrugged, "But compared to the price paid, it's absolutely not worth it."

"What happens to those souls who have signed a contract with Demons?" Bruto asked, and Lancelot was also very curious.

"I'm not sure about that," Kalalin shook his head, "No one has ever lived to tell of their experiences, most likely they become slaves of Demons or something of the sort."

"Ah, I happen to know about this," a skull-shaped encyclopedia spoke up, "These souls are immediately sent to one of the layers of the Nine Hells, depending on who the boss of the Demon agent you made a deal with is.

There, souls undergo torments ten times more brutal than the extreme limits of what mortals can imagine, horror sufficient to strip away the humanity remaining in the soul, and during this process, release some kind of energy that flows to the Archduke of that layer of Hell."

"And then?" Bruto looked like he didn't enjoy hearing this, yet he couldn't help wanting to know more details.

"Once the last trace that could be called human is peeled away by the torturer, what's left of the soul, like an empty husk drained dry, is thrown into a deep pit full of maggots, where the soul is filled and reborn as a Lesser Demon, the lowest existence among all demonic forms, and completely forgets everything about their mortal life."

"""

"What did Enreyes mean by offering me a contract that would satisfy me?" Lancelot asked out of pure curiosity, "Since demons in the Domain of the Vague must remain honest, could it possibly promise to exempt me from this torment?"

Eckmond fell silent for a while, as if sifting through the knowledge in his mind, before he spoke:

"As far as I know, no, but demons can promise to make the process as brief as possible, avoiding any unnecessary... amusement. Moreover, demons might promise to free you from the form of a lesser demon as soon as possible, knowing that being a lesser demon, you are constantly suffering intense physical pain."

"I see," Lancelot nodded, "Kalalin, Eckmond, thank you both, this is all very valuable information."

"Don't mention it, I know very little about Barto Hell, it's Eckmond who has more extensive knowledge," Kalalin said somewhat sheepishly, scratching his head, "I should ask him for advice more often in the future." Enjoy more content from empire

"Uh, I'm not obliged to answer any of your questions, you know!" Eckmond grumbled dissatisfied, "But it's a different story for the boss, ask me anything you want to know, don't be shy."

"In that case, I have another question I want to ask you," Lancelot said, causing the skull to pause in its expression, "Today at Tijana's place, what did Iados talk about regarding the demons' Second Group Army? What does that mean?"

"Oh, that, I know about that," Eckmond seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "Demons have three group armies, most of the soldiers in the First Group Army are high-rank Bartez, they are the elite forces of the Nine Hells. In war, they are the first to charge into the enemy's lines, carrying out those outright suicidal missions.

Despite this, serving in the First Group Army is considered a very high honor for demons. Their commander is Arusur, a deep hell Demon Refiner."

"Is this Arusur one of the eight archdemons?" Bruto asked curiously. Kalalin had mentioned this term in their chats earlier; they were said to be the eight noble demons responsible for all blood warfare affairs.

"No, these front-line commanders still have to follow the orders set out by the archdemons; the archdemons also have many responsibilities in intelligence, diplomacy, military supply, and more. Remember, fighting is just a small part of warfare."

Lancelot could relate to this, but he was more eager to know about the Second Group Army, especially since he had surely made certain enmity with them, particularly after that slap before parting.

Kalalin had once mentioned that when you fight with a demon, you are only hostile to that individual demon; but when you attack a demon, you are practically challenging all demons collectively. While this statement could be intentionally spread by demons, as the person involved, he had to be cautious.

"The Second Group Army is the naval force of the demons. Almost all types of demons can be seen in this group army.

They are not only responsible for transporting demonic legions through the Stygian River but are also excellent in both offensive and defensive strategies that rely on the Stygian River." The skeleton continued to share its knowledge with everyone, "Indeed, there are quite a few seducing demons serving as Senior Commanders in this group army, their wings giving them a distinct advantage in traversing the Stygian River."

"I understand," Lancelot nodded. According to Iados's judgment, this army that attacked Oasis Fort was the naval marine corps of the demons. If they could move silently through the Stygian River, then it would explain how the demonic forces could suddenly appear outside of Oasis Fort."