The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 203 Ancient Secrets

Deciphering text wasn't a difficult task; as a scholar researching the lower planes, Kalalin's backpack always contained a very practical magic scroll—"Comprehend Languages." This level 1 spell could last for an hour and allowed its recipient to understand any spoken language or any written text. However, it was only limited to the literal meaning, and the spell was incapable of decrypting secret codes or secret texts.

Since it was merely a level 1 magic and possessed no ability to cause harm, many adventurers didn't even know of its existence.

"What do these symbols mean?" Lancelot asked curiously, his Spiritual Sense hinting that there was something very dangerous behind this rock wall, but the sensing was not very clear through the thick soil.

"It seems to say that this place is the final resting place of a powerful Demon Lord." Kalalin showed a puzzled expression, "This is... a graveyard? Aren't demons immortal and undying? How could there be a graveyard?"

"Not all demons are immortal and undying," the skull-shaped encyclopedia spoke up, "There's one kind that isn't."

"Really?" Doubts came from the only demon in the team, "As far as I know, all demons are killed, there has never been a case of one dying from old age..."

"You Tanari indeed do not," Cromwell bumped his smooth forehead against that string of Runes, "But the creators of these writings, the Obyrith, were different."

"Obyrith? This is the tomb of an ancient Lord of Obyrith?" The scholar's eyes were full of a thirst for knowledge, "Weren't they defeated by the invading Aira Celestials armies and their former slaves, the Tanari demons, subsequently fading into obscurity?"

"When they had just been driven out from the Plains of the Abyss, they didn't feel that their race' end was near. Many powerful Lords of Obyrith hid in deeper planes, waiting for the opportunity to strike back," Cromwell thoroughly enjoyed showing off his knowledge in front of everyone, "But later on, changes within the Bottomless Abyss itself directly led to the decline of the Obyrith demon race."

"Changes within the Abyss itself?" Elothysia was also very curious about this, "I've never heard of such things before..."

"After all, that is history from countless centuries ago; it's normal for you not to know..." The skull chuckled, "By the way, how old are you?"

The Succubus's face darkened, grabbed the skull as if to throw it down the cliff, and Lancelot had no intention of stopping her—sometimes the skull indeed had too malicious a mouth.

"Ah! I'm wrong, I'm wrong!" The skull shouted in panic. Its floating ability was very odd; it could only hover about five or six feet off the ground as if there was an invisible body beneath it, but in reality, it didn't have the ability to fly.

Naturally, Elothysia wouldn't really go through with that action. She released the skull back, saying in a feigned angry tone:

"Keep talking!"

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"Hehehe, just kidding," Cromwell replied with a smile, "There's not much to it really, after the Aira invasion, the energy within the Abyss itself changed. The Obyriths first discovered that no new kin were being promoted, then they were horrified to find that their physical bodies began to weaken, something that maintained their 'Transcendent' essence had changed. At the same time, the strength of the Tanari rapidly increased, with Lord Level powerhouses emerging continuously, and the overall strength of the race expanding rapidly, that's the true reason you could leap to become the ruling race of the Abyss."

"So is this the tomb that the once Lords of Obyrith had built in advance when they sensed their imminent demise?" Kalalin asked curiously, "But aren't ancient Obyrith Lords like Pazuzu, the Wind Demon King, and Cang Ye, the Mother of Demons, still alive and well?"

"Just look at what Pazuzu looks like now; apart from that eagle-like hooked beak and a pair of bird claws on his feet, the Wind Demon King is essentially a winged human male. And Cang Ye is the same, her figure is quite tempting, that is if you ignore her face." The skeletal figure, taking advantage of the fact that Lord Level demons cannot enter the Great Abyss, audaciously commented on the big shots of this plane.

"Humanoid appearance is a trait of the Tanari demon race, right?" Kalalin was a bit clearer about Cromwell's meaning, "Are you saying that these features hint at the reason they have continued to exist until today?"

"Exactly, these old monsters undertook some kind of unknown magical ritual, which allowed them to regain the 'acknowledgment' of Abyss power. The Tanari traits are merely by-products of this act. Fundamentally, they are no longer pure Obyrith." The skeletal head shook as it spoke, "Of course, there are those who refused to change, such as the giant octopus residing in the Shadow Sea, and that big worm which was one of the first to carry the title of Demon Prince. But they each have their own special reasons for being alive to this day, and there's no doubt that the life form of the Obyrith race has been abandoned by the will of the Abyss."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rumbling vibration suddenly came from under everyone's feet. Lancelot's face changed, and he quickly warned:

"Be careful!"

The entire earth seemed to rotate at once, the process came abruptly and ended just as swiftly. A few seconds later, the ground had stilled again. But now, the dirt path under their feet was tilted about twenty degrees towards the cliffside; those walking on it had to always pay attention, to avoid slipping and falling off.

"I think you might have spoken too much truth." Kalalin complained to the skeletal head, still unsettled, "This is a warning from the will of the Abyss."

"Nonsense, such phenomena are common in the Great Abyss..." The skeletal figure tried to argue back, but his tone was clearly weaker than before.

"Hey! What's that over there?"

Koula suddenly spoke, pointing to a crack in the rock wall beside them, which was wide enough for a person. The cold wind blowing out from within indicated that there was a large space behind it.

"Oh? This is most likely the entrance to the tomb, opened by the tumult just now, isn't it?" The dwarf seemed very excited, "What do you say, Lancelot? Shall we go in and explore?"

The Human Knight looked skeptically at the crack; its appearance might be a little too convenient, right?

With this thought, he took out the magic wands given by the abyssal fox-headed demon and handed them to Kalalin, telling the Scholar:

"Take a look at these wands, would you? If there's nothing wrong with them, then let's see if what we're looking for is inside."

"I also suspected that there was something wrong with the stuff that fox gave, let me have a look..." Kalalin pulled out a monocle and clipped it to his eye socket, scrutinizing the intricate engravings on the magic wand.