The Paladin in the Abyss

"Something happened in Twin Bridges Town."

There was something peculiar in the voice of the Death Lord, and Lancelot stood under the long-unseen sunlight but felt as if he were in an ice cellar. He reached into his collar and pulled out the necklace he was wearing, the pendant at the end was the amulet with the Twin Bridges Town emblem—once activated, the magic on the amulet would instantly transport him back to Tijana's side, his lover's side.

But at this moment, Lancelot clearly sensed that the amulet had changed. The original amulet had a kind of solid magical bond, but now that bond was as fragile as a spider's silk, gently drifting in the invisible ethereal wind, like seaweed in water.

"Lancelot, what's wrong?"

Alamir walked up to Lancelot and asked him softly. The rest of the companions also gathered around, everyone had noticed the human knight's anomaly, after all, he was always the most unflappable and composed in the team, but now Lancelot's expression was like a winter stone, cold and hard, anyone could see something was wrong.

"Hold on to me." Lancelot didn't explain much, he just spoke in a deep voice, "We're going back to Twin Bridges Town."

The partners exchanged a few puzzled glances but trusted the human knight enough to follow his lead without asking anything, while Cranvo stood quietly aside, maintaining a kind of professional silence.

Tijana...

Lancelot softly called his lover's name, but couldn't help some stray thoughts from turning in his mind—does it seem like every time he comes back from an adventure, something bad happens in Twin Bridges Town?

After he repeated this three times, the magic on the amulet was finally activated, but the pulling force was too weak to transport everyone into the Stellar Realm for teleportation. Suddenly, a palm-sized spatial rift appeared in the air before Lancelot, and an object flew out from it, heading straight for the human knight who had created this rift.

Lancelot quickly raised his arm and caught the flying object, and upon closer inspection found he was holding a handkerchief with a familiar scent, the very one Tijana had created as an entrance to a demi-plane. At the same time, an urgent voice echoed in Lancelot's mind:

'Go to the Dwarf Temple, my love, please…'

The transmission ended abruptly, leaving only an unsettling silence. He slowly raised his head, staring intently at Cranvo who pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes bloodshot.

"What happened?" Lancelot asked in a hoarse voice, which sent chills down the spine of his companions, "I want to know every detail..."

"I cannot reveal the memories of the deceased." The Death Lord replied in a tone devoid of any emotion but added, "It's the rule."

"I understand." Lancelot nodded stiffly, "Then, is there anything you can tell me, great Death Lord?"

"...About three days ago, a massive, unprecedented demon army attacked Twin Bridges Town. They flew black banners with a six-fingered hand sign, led by Graz'zt himself." Cranvo answered blandly, "Twin Bridges Town has fallen, and her master... was killed on the spot in a battle with the enemy commander. There are many witnesses."

Although he had roughly guessed it, Lancelot was still shocked by this news. Tijana? Killed? How is this possible? She was one of the strongest warriors he had ever seen, surpassing ordinary human limits in terms of movement technique, not to mention that Tijana was also a high-rank magician and could perfectly combine melee and casting. Although Graz'zt, as one of the three sovereigns of the Abyss, undoubtedly outmatched the Succubus Lord, Lancelot believed that even if Tijana couldn't win, she could definitely escape, why would she be killed directly in battle?

To others, the human knight seemed to stagger back two steps as if punched hard in the face. He quickly turned his face to an unoccupied direction, tipped his head back slightly, and said nothing.

"Um, Lord Death Lord..." Bruto rubbed his nose, hesitantly looking at Cranvo, "Will our big sis... go to you after she dies?"

"Tijana is a succubus, a type of Tanari demon race, a planar being." Kalalin, worried that the deity might be angered by the young dwarf's somewhat dull question, answered first, "Only mortal souls go to the Domain of the Vague after death, and the destination of planar beings after death... depends on the rules of the plane itself. Generally speaking, when a planar being dies in a non-native plane, its 'essence' will return to its native plane for rebirth, like the three major demon races; or integrate with the plane itself, like the three major celestial races. However, if a planar being is killed in its native plane, it is truly dead, unless..."

"The demon amulet, right?" Bruto clapped his hands, "I remember you mentioned before, demon lords can extract a small part of their essence and make an amulet, so when they are killed in the Abyss, they can resurrect using the amulet. Hey! Lancelot, don't worry, Tijana must have prepared such an amulet in advance, maybe by the time we return to Twin Bridges Town, big sis would have already resurrected waiting for you..."

"...She's already gone, I can feel it."

A deep and hoarse voice drifted from Lancelot's back, the emotions it carried were so intense that everyone present felt an overwhelming sorrow. After saying this, Lancelot lightly shook his head and then turned around, his expression showing no sign of anomaly.

"But I will find out what really happened." He announced to the mortals and gods present, "And do whatever it takes to resurrect her, no matter how difficult it is or how much it costs."

"Dangerous statement." Cranvo commented, "I know many tragedies that began with similar words; some costs are unbearable."

"Thank you for the warning, great Death Lord."

"Lancelot..." The young dwarf looked at his human partner sympathetically, "Shall we... depart then?"

"Yes, after we've completed all tasks here." Lancelot turned again to Cranvo, "Great Death Lord, you also promised us another reward before, a magical mask that can help us conceal our identities, it will be very helpful for our upcoming mission."

"Ah, of course, you have fulfilled all my requests..."

Cranvo extended his palm, in which six ordinary gold coins appeared out of thin air, but soon, the coins began to melt and transform. In just a few moments, each coin turned into a thin mask, which, with a gentle wave from the deity, flew into the hands of the companions—including the old dwarf Barrend, everyone received one.

"Go say farewell to those friends." Cranvo said with a tone full of implication, "Perhaps the next time we meet, it will be in my hall... Return in an hour, and I will have the Raven Queen teleport you back to the Abyss."