The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 697 - 721: Coin-Operated Self-Service Machine (For Fiends Use)

Chapter 697 -721: Coin-Operated Self-Service Machine (For Fiends Use)

As Tijana’s last word was spoken, the gelled substance enveloping the demon refinement burst forth a blinding light. Within a few breaths, the light vanished, and in its place stood a crystal cube more than five feet tall. Through the translucent material, one could clearly see the High-Rank Demon’s folded body, with both head and buttocks exposed, conveniently positioned for use.

Around the demon’s head on the surface of the crystal were inscribed a circle of words in Abyssal, which were the very threats it had once made against the Succubus Lord; above there was a small crack, seemingly just the right size to fit a gold coin, also inscribed in Abyssal: “Two gold coins per use.” A similar setup surrounded its buttocks, the price being exactly what Tijana had initially demanded.

‘Tijana!’ Although the demon refinement couldn’t speak through vocal cords, it could still communicate with those around via telepathy, ‘Release me! At once! I command you!’

“That tone sounds much more normal; your sobbing pleas from before almost made me feel pity,” the Succubus Lord said casually as she approached the demon, tapping lightly on its head twice, immediately silencing the annoying voice from everyone’s consciousness, “I am quite merciful, you know. If you can earn twenty gold coins a day, you’ll gain your freedom in just five hundred short years…”

Having spoken, she pulled out two gold coins and slipped them into the crack on the surface of the crystal cube. Due to some magic, the demon’s mouth was forced open to its maximum, revealing bloodied gums lined with sharp, venomous teeth.

“Tijana…” Lancelot approached the Succubus Lord’s side, unable to help but speak softly, “Are you going to…”

“What are you thinking? I don’t have any tools to commit a crime,” the Succubus Lord rolled her eyes at him and reached into the demon’s mouth, “Refining a demon’s poison teeth can fetch a good price, I need to recoup some costs first.”

“Oh, okay then.” Lancelot scratched his head awkwardly, “Please, continue…”

“You’re just too adorable!” Tijana couldn’t help laughing, then suddenly turned serious, “Lift your visor, let me check your injuries…”

“Really, there’s…”

Lancelot couldn’t finish his sentence because the moment his face was exposed, the Succubus Lord sealed his mouth with her red lips.

“Yiheihei!” Tijana let out a low chuckle, “Fooled you!”

Lancelot felt his face growing hot. He quickly scanned the surroundings, noticing everyone was pretending to look elsewhere. Thus, he steeled himself, touched the Succubus Lord’s lips lightly like a dragonfly skimming water, then immediately lowered his visor again.

“What was that, a counterattack?”

Lancelot refused to answer, retreating to the side feeling somewhat embarrassed. Tijana giggled and returned to her task, using her pincer-like claws to extract sharp fangs one by one from the demon’s mouth. In just a short while, there were no sharp objects left in the High-Rank Demon’s mouth, though the deep purple saliva clearly still contained potent venom, not suitable for contact with any part of the body unless one was immune to toxins.

Unfortunately for the demon, the three major Fiend races of the lower plane: Bartez, Tanari, and Yugros, all possessed immunity to poison states and toxin damage. A voluptuous six-armed Serpent Demon swam over, its chest still heaving from a recently concluded fierce battle, yet a strange smile graced its face.

“We can’t waste the money already spent; that’s something you always say,” Madam Viska spoke in her usual haughty tone, “Why not invite me this time, Tijana?”

“And I’ll come from behind,” Bessiah’s raspy voice arose on the other end, “It’s more formal that way.”

“Suit yourselves,” Tijana responded as she retracted her fangs and stepped back, “But does it have to be now? There will be plenty of opportunities to have fun later…”

“It’s more thrilling in such a setting,” the Succubi curled themselves up, stuffing their tail ends into the body of the Abyssal Demon Refinement, the Succubus Lord turned awkwardly, meeting Lancelot’s gaze straight on.

“This guy… Do you plan to keep him in Twin Bridges Town? Isn’t that a bit too conspicuous?”

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“Well…” At these words, Tijana showed a troubled expression, but eventually nodded, “You’re right, it’s not suitable, although it would definitely become a landmark tourist attraction. I plan to cast a permanent random teleportation technique, so it will automatically teleport to another place every now and then… but of course, still within the Abyssal Plane.”

“…And the Gold Coins that were stuffed inside?”

“Of course, they will return to my treasury,” the Succubus Lord said with an expression that suggested it was only natural, “Aren’t you supposed to go and disrupt the protective array of the Volcano Fortress? Get going then, the terrain here is good, with me guarding this place, even if the demons discover a battle, they won’t be able to break in anytime soon.”

“Okay,” Lancelot nodded, “I’ll act swiftly.”

“Be safe,” Tijana waved nonchalantly, “Come back soon.”

The Human Knight didn’t waste words; he gestured to his companions, and once again they gathered together. They squeezed through the crowd of Spectating Berserk Demons and approached the massive stone throne. Lancelot took out a black emblem, the size of a round shield, from the Dimensional Bag and embedded it into a perfectly sized hole at the back of the throne, then twisted it counterclockwise.

A deep rumbling sound followed, and the floor behind the throne began to split to the left and right, revealing a pitch-black entrance with downward stairs. The companions exchanged glances and formed back into their battle formation, stepping down the stairs toward their ultimate destination for this journey.

Of course, a certain someone with considerably shorter legs had to jump.

As they descended, the surroundings became completely devoid of light sources. Even though all companions had vision in the dark, a bit of illumination would help them better observe the ground beneath them. The Elf Priest lifted his Hammer of Dissolution, a Magic Weapon that emitted a soft golden glow, allowing everyone to see the surrounding environment clearly.

The style of this secret passage was completely different from the one they had entered earlier; the apparent difference was its much more spacious layout, and except for the stone material of the floor, the walls on both sides and the ceiling were all crystallized dirt, seemingly formed by a fire-spouting sandworm burrowing through the mountain.

As the party continued downwards, many rooms appeared on both sides, all of them with iron bars on the outside, but the prisoners once held there had long since turned into bone piles; the shape of their skeletons made it hard to imagine what sort of creatures they once were, and the iron bars meant to hold them had corroded so badly that they could be easily pulled apart with a light tug.

“Should we search this area?” Bruto suggested enthusiastically, “Maybe we’ll find some good stuff…”