The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 382 - 396 Three Heads

Chapter 382: Chapter 396 Three Heads

Following the path he had discerned through Spiritual Sight earlier, Lancelot took a wide detour to avoid three aimlessly wandering Aberrant Demons and arrived at a staircase spiraling downward. He already knew that beneath the staircase was a narrow chamber, and the sewer outlet that connected to the interior of the interrogation room was inside.

Of course, there was also an Abyssal Hound he must deal with, a trouble neither too big nor too small. But now that he had come so close, and the demonic hound was still utterly unaware, this trouble was already more than halfway resolved.

“Are you afraid of dogs?” Lancelot asked the skull atop his waist through their mind connection.

“…For reasons I don’t even know myself, yes,” the skull’s voice came after a delay, “I guess I had some unpleasant experiences with these creatures in the past, but I can’t remember them now.”

“But the emotion of fear remained, didn’t it?” Lancelot gently stroked the forehead of the skull at his waist, “In a moment, I’ll subdue that demon hound and you will finish it off, confronting your fear head-on. How does that sound?”

“It sounds terrible, but if it’s necessary, I’ll do it,” Clone Well replied sulkily, “Why do I feel like you are very practiced at this gesture? No wonder my forehead is getting so polished…”

...

“Well, because when you’re positioned on the belt, it’s where the hand naturally falls, and it indeed feels nice to the touch,” Lancelot said somewhat sheepishly, “Don’t worry, your whole body is so hard, what can it do to you? It’s said that the best way to overcome fear is to face it. Maybe a little stimulation, and you might even remember something.”

“We need to talk about my memory, after everything is over…” the skull’s voice sounded hesitant, “But let’s first deal with the problem at hand. Are you sure you can fully control that dog? Remember, it has three heads…”

“How will we know if we don’t try?”

As Lancelot responded, his left hand completed the Seal Gesture. True Yuan flowed through specific pathways within his body and then congregated on his hand, activated by the special Dharma Seal, creating a Soundproof Barrier out of thin air that covered a large area around them.

The Soundproof Barrier emitted a greenish light, easily noticeable, but perhaps due to the presence of the demon hound, there were no other Demon Guards nearby, allowing Lancelot to use this Divine Skill with confidence.

Of course, creatures inside the Soundproof Barrier could sense something was amiss. In the chamber below, furious barking erupted immediately as if a cat had invaded a dog’s lair. The Abyssal Hound, with its three heads barking in unison, created an exceptionally loud commotion; if it weren’t for the Soundproof Barrier, perhaps half the castle would have heard it by now.

As Lancelot released the Soundproof Barrier with the Seal Gesture on his left hand, his right was meanwhile fashioning another spell. Suddenly, thick vines extended from the walls, floor, and ceiling of the chamber, moving like tentacles in the confined space and quickly finding the Abyssal Hound, entangling it tightly.

The demonic hound’s three heads tried to bite at the vines, but they wrapped around its throat like nooses, stuffing themselves into its wide-open mouth and effectively silencing the beast by blocking its throat.

Lancelot, maintaining the Seal Gesture, walked into the underground chamber with composure.

A multitude of thick and vibrant vines had completely subdued their target: a Cerberus-like beast the size of a bull. The demonized beast’s eyes burned with a mad hatred, and, even in such a state, it struggled to curl the muscles at the edges of its lips, baring its teeth at the Human Knight.

Lancelot turned his head to look towards the corner of the room, where he saw a rectangular hollow in the wall, with the beast’s feed trough below it. He noticed the peculiar semi-transparent cicada wings unique to the Aira, along with slender palms, and the long ears characteristic of Elves.

The beast noted the Human Knight’s gaze, and with all its might, allowed a small gap to open between the jaws of its middle head, spitting out a slender finger from within.

Lancelot did not even glance at the finger on the ground, his expressionless face fixed on the three-headed Abyss hound. This beast seemed somewhat disappointed by Lancelot’s lack of reaction, but the madness in its eyes did not diminish one bit.

In the silence, Clone Well flew down from Lancelot’s waistband by itself, floated in front of the beast, then, opening its mouth, a sharp Bone Spur shot out from the skull’s mouth, piercing directly through the brain of the beast’s leftmost head. The beast, in agony, struggled violently, but Lancelot, wordlessly, increased the flow of True Yuan to his right hand’s spell, making the thick vines as hard as iron.

The skull leisurely flew in front of the middle head and repeated the same action. Although the massive beast kept struggling even after each of its heads boasted a fist-sized hole, the vastness of its Life Force was evident, yet as blood continually flowed from the three holes onto the ground, its struggles grew weaker, and death inexorably occupied the sinner of a creature’s body.

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“You don’t seem to be too scared,” Lancelot said, moving his hands that had been holding the Dharma Seal, addressing the skull. Once the beast died, he had withdrawn the glowing Soundproof Barrier to avoid being discovered by Demons who might pass by by chance, “Remember anything?”

“Of course I’m not scared. With those vines of yours, a three-year-old could finish it off,” the skull replied while flying closer to inspect the terrible beast. One of the heads suddenly twitched, startling it severely and causing it to jerk backward, only to realize it was just the unconscious twitching of a corpse. It continued somewhat embarrassedly, “No new memories have surfaced. I guess dogs that I had unpleasant experiences with before didn’t have so many heads…”

“Well, we’ll try with other breeds when we have the chance,” Lancelot shrugged, “Did you find an answer to my earlier question? About a type of demon with a long tail and massive bat wings?”

“Among the High Rank Demons, only the Soul Judgment Demon, Wolf Serpent Demon, and Six-Armed Serpent Demon have tails, but the tail of the Soul Judgment Demon is a cow’s tail, not long, and the Wolf Serpent Demon has a furry wolf tail behind its ass. As for the tail of the Serpent Demon, well, I’m sure you wouldn’t confuse extra arms for wings,” the skull explained.

“Only High Rank Demons?” Lancelot picked up on the specific range in Clone Well’s speech, “What about Middle Rank demons then?”

“Everyone knows that the Abyss is full of all kinds of monsters, and more stable forms are just more common. It’s not unusual to have some mutated organs,” the skull gave Lancelot a roll of the eyes, “Aside from the tail, the one that best fits your description is the Tyrant Demon, I guess that’s it.”