The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 197 Hall of Contention

However, they weren't there to dig up any truths today—the more you know about such matters, the worse it is, no matter what plane of existence you are on. After showing the Golden Badge provided by Pakos again, the Maizeros Demon Guard at the pedestal base allowed everyone to pass and directed them to ascend the stairs to a place called the Hall of Contention.

Each level of the Skeleton Tower may differ slightly in size but its structure is completely identical—it's roughly what a vertebrae bone would look like if hollowed out. For countless centuries, various Demons have occupied it, and each level has been decorated to its master's liking, though interrogation rooms and cells are the most common.

As the party ascended from one floor to the next, the stench of blood and flesh never dissipated from the air, and sharp yet brief screams emanated from behind some tightly shut doors on occasion.

The one who reacted most violently to this was Elothysia. Although she had never set foot inside the Skeleton Tower, this place was still enough to trigger many of her memories. In those memories, she was not the victim but the tormentor, and it was this fact that made her feel even worse.

Although not as proficient and efficient as the Demons, the Demons' creativity in torture is unrivaled by any other race.

When the Demon Lord captured a mortal hero, he would first use abilities to peer into the victim's memories, then have his Succubi take on the appearance of the captive's lover, tricking the hero into believing their beloved had been captured while trying to rescue them, followed by torturing the lover before their eyes. In some cases, the pain inflicted in such a manner even surpassed that of torturing the prisoner directly.

Alternatively, they would use magic to create an Illusionary Realm where the prisoner believed their lover had successfully rescued them. After a confounded celebration, the Succubi would only need a few days to give birth to a multitude of children. When the cruel truth was revealed to the prisoner, the Demons would laugh wildly as they consumed the prisoner's crying children one by one, a scene capable of shattering any creature's soul.

Each time she recalled these scenes, Elothysia would be engulfed in intense shame, remorse, and fury, gasping for breath as if drowning.

Lancelot noticed the Succubus Paladin's distress and also faintly guessed the reasons behind it. So he quickened his pace, pulling along the Scholar, who would have gladly studied each piece of the floor had he the chance, to quickly reach the place the Guards had directed them to.

This place called the Hall of Contention resembled a council hall, with a high platform on one side, and on the other three sides, there were stepped seats, which at this moment were filled with individuals looking much like those accompanying Lancelot. Some showed indifference to the arrivals of the Human Knight and his party, but some began whispering secretly among themselves.

"Is it this fellow that looks like a tin can?"

"Look closely... that's Mithril..."

"Pretty wealthy, huh..."

"Heard he brought in at least two dozen werewolf corpses."

"Looks like the guards of the Spray Plains will be having that for the next week..."

Lancelot's keen hearing easily picked up these conversations. He furrowed his brow but there wasn't much he could do. In this city, it was nothing unusual for brawls to break out, armed or otherwise, in any tavern or inn, save for the Tears of Lazaka. Surely more than a couple of eyes had seen the pile of corpses stacked like a low wall around him, and by now many would undoubtedly have been keeping a watchful eye on him in the shadows.

The mercenaries seemed to be waiting for something, so Lancelot and his companions also took their place in an open space. Many malicious gazes surreptitiously watched them, but the Human Knight met them one by one with a sharp glance, unequivocally conveying a 'I've spotted you' message, causing all those who thought they were concealed to guiltily withdraw their stares.

After about an hour of waiting, during which new mercenaries kept arriving and soon filled up all the seats in the hall, it became a tense situation. Among the mercenaries, there were those prone to petty theft or who were extremely arrogant, and most of them only knew how to resolve any conflict with violence.

Lancelot estimated that in no more than five minutes, the floor of the hall would be sprinkled with fresh blood, so he silently drew his Giant Sword Glacier.

When the exaggeratedly large sword made its appearance, everyone's attention was drawn to it. Lancelot casually placed it on the ground, and as the sword touched down, it emitted a deep thunderous roar, a sound more persuasive than any words, sufficient to make any troublemaker think thrice before acting.

But should chaos truly erupt, no one would probably care about the intimidating power of the sword.

Luckily, the arrival of three figures descending from the upper steps returned calm to the hall. Lancelot looked up and saw a well-dressed male blonde Elf, a scantily clad female Demon with dark red skin, and a beetle-shaped Demon with huge ramming horns standing on the high platform.

Murmurs spread through the crowd once again, and Lancelot knew that these individuals on the platform were probably 'The Great Arbiter' Satugura, 'Shapeshifter' Lady Akama, and 'Piercer' Dugba.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Satugura, welcome to the Hall of Contention," the blonde Elf began, his voice exceptionally authoritative, "You must have all heard about the theft of the Eye of Sarezdon. The significance of this item to our city is obvious, and I need to retrieve it."

"You make it sound so easy, fox. What's the reward?"

"Yeah, yeah, we don't work for free!"

"Who doesn't know that it's a Divine Artifact? If the reward isn't satisfying, even if I find it, I won't give it to you! My treasury is still lacking a Divine Artifact level collectible..."

"That item is useless to you. It provides no power and has no magic effects. None of you here, including the three of us, possess the Bloodline Power required to use it," said the Elf, his expression turning sour after being called a fox, but he controlled his anger, "Only some... special beings can use this item to draw maps that are critical to trade activities."

"Maybe some Abyssal Lord is interested in that thing," someone shouted from the crowd, "Lord Wu'an is always generous to those who help him."

"Right! Having real-time access to the location of these Portals, one could mobilize legions through the Great Abyss for surprise attacks..."

"Mekanshut might soon have to move into the Silver Palace…"

"SILENCE!!!!"

A roar erupted, and the huge beetle on the platform spoke up, its voice as grating as fingernails scraping across metal.

Everyone covered their ears in agony, and the demand of the Lord of Withering was thus met.