The Paladin in the Abyss

Chapter 206 Local Bully

As he uttered the last word, a huge black shadow had already appeared directly above the Eye Demon, diving swiftly toward the portal guardian.

Lancelot gathered some True Qi to enhance his vision and carefully observed the formidable creature that was making him so nervous. It was as large as the Flame Demon and Demon Refinement, its body glossy black, topped with a beast-like head of porcupine-like black bristles, and behind it spread a pair of striking blood-red, back-to-front wings.

But the most memorable part was its body: on either side of its humanoid torso grew four burly arms, each clutching a battle axe; and where its belly should have been, from the chest down to the groin, was a gaping maw, with a pair of demonic antlers stretching out from the waist, constituting an extremely bizarre demon figure.

"That is... the Guardian of the Gate!"

The Succubus behind let out a startled scream, obviously recognizing the creature that had suddenly appeared, but the memories from the Elf Priest in Lancelot's mind were activated. In the ancient memories of the Elves, this four-armed demon commanded a staggering demon legion that flooded over the Elves' defenses like a tide.

The ancient Elves called it the Legion Demon, a general of demons far stronger and more commanding than the Six-Armed Serpent Demon. In their memories, these demons always had a large number of lesser demons following, yet for some unknown reason, the Legion Demon before them was alone.

The Eye Demon only spotted the rapidly approaching threat a few seconds later than Lancelot and the others. At the sight of the adversary, its body, which had been slightly reddened with pleasure, instantly turned ashen, resembling a lump of overcooked rotten meat.

All of its auxiliary eyes were shooting beams of eye rays at the Legion Demon, while its body began floating towards the portal. However, the demon in the dive suddenly started rotating its body rapidly, dodging most of the rays, and the few that did hit it had no effect, as if merely tickling, provoking a triumphant roar from the demon.

The Eye Demon's floating movement was far too slow, and when it was still thirty to forty feet from the portal, the Legion Demon had already pounced on it, resembling a large cat leaping at a ball of yarn. The demon's body, impelled by tremendous momentum, pinned the Eye Demon to the ground, while its four arms chopped left and right, quickly severing all the latter's tentacles.

"No one! Is allowed! To guard! The portal!"

With each swing of its axe, the Legion Demon shouted a word in the rough Abyssal language, as if enraged by the other's actions.

Its final blow struck the Eye Demon's tightly closed main eyelid, the most resilient part of its body, and the battle axe actually became stuck.

The Legion Demon let out an angry roar, discarded the axe in its hands, then plunged its four claws into the slit of the eyelid and, with two arms lifting and two pushing down, gruesomely pried the Eye Demon's massive main eye wide open.

"I said! No blocking! The door!"

The gaping maw on the Legion Demon's belly yelled at the terrified single eye. It then thrust its hips forward and the bloodied mouth, filled with dagger-like sharp teeth, bit into the eyeball of the main eye.

The Eye Demon let out a piercing scream, its agony nearly driving the onlookers insane, yet only serving to excite the demons further. And what followed was even bloodier: the Legion Demon pushed the Eye Demon's body outward with its four arms, its abdominal mouth acting like pincers, directly pulling out an eyeball larger than Bruto's.

The wailing of the Eye Demon abruptly stopped, as if a rest symbol suddenly appeared in a score. Its spherical body rolled aside, a gaping bloody hole at its center, with a thigh-thick optic nerve sticking out, the end of which was being slowly consumed by the Legion Demon.

The moment the Legion Demon bit into the main eye, Bruto had already turned away from the sight because it was too unbearable, Alamir and Elothysia had long since turned their backs, while Lancelot stood there like an iceberg, watching the scene with a cold face.

If he had to face this terrifying enemy later, then he must now take in every detail. But without the Ice Heart Technique working furiously, he would not have been able to witness such madness directly.

Soon, the four-armed demon had swallowed the giant eyeball completely, then it seemed to hear something, abruptly turning its head in a certain direction.

Not towards Lancelot's side.

The Legion Demon let out an angry roar, picked up the battle axe that it had thrown on the ground, jumped into the void below, and flew away just like that.

"Whew, that guy doesn't seem to have an appetite for us," Bruto cautiously peeked his head over the cliff edge to look down, "Smart choice, our Dwarf flesh stinks and is tough, really nasty to eat."

"Stones from a cesspit fit that description as well," Cromwell retorted sharply.

"Elothysia, did you just call it the Guardian of the Portal?" Lancelot asked the Succubus Paladin. That terrifying presence had disappeared from his Spirit Perception; the gap between their strengths was too great for the other to bother ambushing them.

"Yes, its renown is widespread throughout the Abyss," the Succubus nodded in confirmation, "It's said that since ancient times, it's been patrolling the Great Abyss incessantly, attacking anyone trying to guard the Portal."

"So that's the Guardian of the Portal?" Scholar seemed quite excited, "I've heard about it and always found it to be an intriguing entity, but most of what's known about it is hearsay, seldom any firsthand accounts..."

"I don't like any creature with more than one mouth," said Koula with a pallid face, "Isn't it said that any Lord Level demon cannot enter the Great Abyss? How can such a terrifying creature exist?"

"One theory is that it grew to its current strength within the Great Abyss and has never left," Kalalin explained to everyone, "In ancient times, following the chaos, Obyrith tried to make all the Lords of Obyrith submit, and those who refused were cast into the Great Abyss. There were no restrictions in the Great Abyss back then; anyone could enter, and the Guardian of the Portal is believed to have been born within the Abyss during that time."

"I can offer some additional information on this," Cromwell cleared his throat, "According to a Tanari historian, it once visited the Guardian of the Portal, and the Four-Armed Demon claimed it received an order to guard the Great Abyss from an Obyrith Lord named Asma. Asma has long since faded into the annals of history, but the Guardian of the Portal doesn't think that has anything to do with continuing its mission." Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire