The Paladin in the Abyss

Alamir cast a spell to enhance everyone's life force, which would last for eight hours, presumably enough to complete their adventure, but it could only affect three people at a time. Elothysia indicated that she could also cast this spell, but after discussion, they decided it was best for the priest to use it, saving the precious spell slots of the Succubus Paladin for unleashing Evilbane Slash.

The group also drank the Antitoxin Potion and Courage Potion prepared by Koula. The former was already standard fare for expeditions, while the latter was for potential encounters with Obyrith Demons—their forms were so twisted that any mortal who gazed directly at an Obyrith Demon had to endure a test of will, and failure could result in consequences ranging from temporary mental disarray to permanent madness.

Koula and Kalalin, who lacked Dark Vision, also drank Night Vision Potions, allowing them to see in the dark, though they couldn't distinguish colors and could only perceive images in grayscale. Bruto drank one as well, and for a simple reason—the bubbly liquid tasted refreshingly minty, much like beer, which the Dwarf greatly enjoyed.

Aside from the Succubus and the skeleton, the rest entered Lancelot's Dimensional Bag, which made Little Esha somewhat embarrassed. In a way, this was akin to running into a young girl's boudoir, where the battered little chest was her 'bridal bed.'

Of course, before entering, everyone handed over any containers with Dimensional Bag capabilities to Lancelot. One dimensional space couldn't overlap with another, or it would tear a rift that could suck in nearby objects and throw everyone randomly into some corner of the Stellar Realm.

Relying on the effect of his Transforming Ring, Lancelot once again arrived at the cave's mouth with the phantasmal rock wall. He exchanged a glance with Elothysia, and both drew their weapons and slowly descended into the cave.

It quickly grew darker around them, but the darkness inside wasn't absolute. There were luminescent fungi on the rocky walls; however, the light they emitted seemed visually twisted, only shining towards the depths of the cave, making it pitch black from the outside.

After descending about thirty feet, Lancelot stepped onto level ground. He removed his Transforming Ring and pulled his companions out of the Dimensional Bag one by one.

"Ho, it's quite spacious in here." Bruto was the first to emerge, surveying his surroundings to find himself in a large pit with a wide corridor ahead. "This definitely isn't a mine shaft; no mine entrance is vertical..."

"It's most likely the last abode of some Obyrith Demon Lord," Kalalin also assessed the environment. "I don't see the corpse of that Dark Guardian, nor anything resembling the spherical object that is the Eye of Sarezdon..."

"I'm afraid we must search inside for answers," Lancelot pointed towards the depths of the corridor. "For most of my life, the dead didn't move on their own. Let's hope we don't encounter anything worse than Enrique's corpse..."

The group cautiously explored down the corridor, with Alamir holding his glowing Hardhead Hammer high, but the dense darkness seemed capable of suppressing the light, growing dim after just fifteen feet.

Enhanced by the power of his True Qi, Lancelot could see his surroundings clearly. It was evidently a man-made place, with even stone tiles on the floor; however, the construction was quite rough. Judging by the degree of erosion, this place must have been here for a long time, but that did not prove that the entrance they came through hadn't appeared recently.

The walls on both sides were covered with crude, primitive graffiti, each featuring a giant oval in the center surrounded by various cryptic and misshapen patterns. Naturally, this drew the Scholar's interest, but no matter how he tried to interpret them, he couldn't extract any useful information. To Lancelot, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing—at least Kalalin wasn't showing signs of mental derangement.

After walking for about ten minutes, Lancelot suddenly raised his arm, and the group had become quite familiar with the Human Knight's warnings, almost instinctively drawing their weapons and quickly forming a battle formation.

Moments later, several twisted figures came into their view. At first glance, it seemed to be seven or eight Flomos, but a closer look revealed some unsettling abnormalities:

For one, these Flomos were 'walking' towards them, which was the first time Lancelot had seen these demons travel more than ten feet on foot; moreover, they had extra organs on their bodies, such as arms growing out of their stomachs, mouths on their chests; even the filthy wings on their backs had obviously changed, some half still like their original feathers, the lower half turned into the leather wings of a Succubus; others had completely transformed into things like tentacles or claws.

"By Moradin's beard!" Bruto exclaimed, "What in the world are these things?!"

These demons indeed looked disgusting, but they were clearly not just shambling corpses. Upon hearing Bruto's cry, they squawked in a vulture-like shrill voice:

"Invaders! There are invaders!"

"Ahhh! Fresh flesh!"

"Quick, grab them! Our master will be pleased!"

Bruto didn't hesitate to hurl his hammer, knocking the loudest one to the ground.

"You guys could swagger about in the sky, but now it's my turn to vent!"

While the Dwarf was still shouting, Lancelot had already charged forward rapidly, the silver glint of his blade shining as he cleaved the approaching claws and the body behind them into pieces. He didn't even use the Qingyuan Sword Technique, relying solely on his physical strength and Frostslash, which was forged from cold iron and had a restraining effect on demons, to make a mess of these Flomos.

Elothysia was also ready for battle, but after observing for a moment, she determined Lancelot and the others did not need support. So she stayed vigilant in her original position, ensuring that the Spellcasters behind her were not subjected to any unexpected attacks.

Scholars and Priests worked together to provide firepower support with Magic and Divine Arts for their companions engaged in close combat. Alamir used the Holy Fire Technique, which called forth intense heat and light that could easily inflict severe damage on any Fiend; Kalalin, on the other hand, held a Magic Wand topped with an ice crystal, a magical item he'd crafted himself, capable of shooting a blue-white ray at the target.

Perhaps due to the demons' resistance to cold, the ray's damage was somewhat inferior to the Priest's Divine Arts, but the enemies hit by him were noticeably slower, and their teammates could more easily deal with the slowed enemies.