The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 756 - 686: The Devotee

"You sound like a true commander of Demons right now," Alamir said somewhat speechlessly as he looked around the ring of flames surrounding them, "Seriously, I’ve always thought there was something wrong with your obsession with the Fireball Technique..."

Despite the jesting, the Scholar’s fire truly had an excellent effect. They were in an open area among the woods, so there was no need to worry about the flames spreading toward them, and the firelight not only scattered the shadows but also left the Undead hounds with nowhere to hide. Moreover, it dissuaded those creatures accustomed to the dark from turning back and escaping into the sea of fire, driving them all into a panic.

Seeing that the enemy was fully revealed, Lancelot let out a roar like an enraged lion and charged fiercely into the crowd of enemies. Three hand-and-a-half swords, two feints and one real, spun around him in a whirl, while his opponents shattered like pottery upon impact. Utilizing the Human Knight’s astounding momentum, his allies also erupted into action, cooperating seamlessly. It took less than a minute to slay the remaining twenty or so shadow hounds.

In the end, Kalalin summoned a ghostly hand that glowed faintly and gathered all the chunks of corpses together, then threw another fireball to ignite the still twitching chunks of flesh.

"Speaking of which, have you guys noticed?" Bruto shifted his gaze away from the pile of fire, "Apart from Lancelot, it seems like little Isha scored the highest..."

"Eh? Really?" The young girl, who had been staring blankly at the flames, was startled, "Me?"

"I noticed it too," Alamir nodded affirmatively, "For Bruto and me to take down an enemy, we would have to smash them to pieces completely, whereas you just have to inflict a generally lethal wound, and the enemy would lie there motionless. Weren’t there several nearly intact bodies just now? All those were your doing..."

"Is that so..." Little Isha scratched her head, her face suddenly revealing a look of realization, "I get it! It must be because of the King of the Dead’s judgment on me, right? ’Any creature killed by her shall not be transformed into Undead by any means.’ That’s what the King of the Dead said, didn’t he? Does it mean that the corpses of any creatures killed by me would be immune to the control of undead energy? So that’s why we had that situation just now?"

"Wait, is that the correct interpretation of that sentence?" Alamir looked completely bewildered, "Isn’t that a bit... preposterous?"

"Uh, I think it’s alright..." Little Isha, somewhat puzzled, turned her head to look at Lancelot, "Isn’t the effect just preventing me from creating new Vampires? And Brother Alamir can also destroy Undead by channelling Divine Power."

"It’s not the same," the Elf Priest shook his head repeatedly, "Firstly, I can only use that power twice a day, and then I must rest to recover; secondly, even though I can affect multiple targets, it’s guaranteed to work only on low-level Undead such as skeletons, zombies, and ghouls. If it’s used against higher-level Undead, especially intelligent Undead, the success rate plummets and it might not work at all. But just now... did you miss even once?"

"...No," Little Isha pondered for a moment and eventually shook her head, "But I won’t make a rash move at an inappropriate time..."

"Damn it, Kalalin, look at this, she’s the true Chosen One," Alamir rolled his eyes, "I think little Isha’s ability must have some limitations, otherwise even legendary liches would have to tread lightly around her. If they got stabbed by her sword by accident, they’d have to report to the Crystal Spire to the King of the Dead in the next second..."

"Now that you mention it, that really seems to be the case. If every time her Lethal Strike also carried the effect of destroying Undead, she would definitely be the bane of Undead creatures," the Scholar looked at the little vampire up and down with amazement, "Maybe you really are Cranvo’s Chosen One!"

"What exactly does ’Chosen’ mean?" Lancelot couldn’t resist asking, "I’ve also heard you and Alamir mention terms like ’Silverfire’ and ’Chosen of Mistrala’ before..."

"As the literal meaning suggests, a Chosen is someone personally selected by a deity to execute the deity’s will on Earth," Alamir explained to his companions, "I know this sounds a bit like our priests, but a Chosen doesn’t need to have the profession of a priest. They can be warriors, wizards, rangers, or any other class. Chosen are usually bestowed with a certain Divine Power, such as the famed Silverfire, which is a gift given by the Goddess of Magic to Her own Chosen..."

"Is that what Mistrala gave to Kalalin before?"

"Yes," the Scholar lifted his chin proudly, but his expression quickly turned solemn, "Don’t get me wrong, that bit of Silverfire mainly allows me to possess normal spellcasting abilities, at most it can only be considered the favor of a deity, far from the standard of a Chosen. You should know that the power of a Chosen can be comparable to that of a Demigod, their relationship with the main deity is like the moon to the sun, while followers can at most be compared to the stars in the sky..."

"Do you remember, after Cranvo issued the judgement, there were indeed some holy specks of light that flew into little Esha’s body?" Lancelot recalled with narrowed eyes, "But the term He used at that time was... ’transformation’?"

"Right, considering Cranvo’s attitude towards Undead after taking office, it’s understandable that He would play word games," Alamir nodded his head, looking at little Esha with some curiosity, "Speaking of which, when the King of the Dead had you step forward, what happened then?"

"Well... First, a lot of images flashed through those mirrors at an extremely fast pace, all moments that were important in my life," little Esha’s voice grew inadvertently softer, "After that the King of the Dead asked me a few questions, which I answered truthfully... You can’t lie under those circumstances. Finally, He also spoke to me about the doctrine He advocates, and then you all reappeared."

"Doctrine?" the Elf Priest turned his head and exchanged looks with his companions, "What was it exactly, do you remember?"

"Death is also a part of life’s circle, it’s not an end, but another beginning; it’s not punishment, but an inevitable part of life that is indispensable. Helping those who are about to die, allowing them to die with dignity; opposing views that extend life through unnatural means—like becoming Undead. We must respect the deceased, for it is their achievements that have made the world more prosperous, and to forget them is to forget the meaning of the living’s endeavors..."

The little Vampire spoke the doctrine fluently, leaving her companions exchanging looks—finally, it was Lancelot who carefully broke the silence:

"So, do you think what He said makes sense?"

"Makes a lot of sense," the little girl nodded affirmatively, "But I want to explain to Him that becoming a Vampire wasn’t my choice, nor did I wish to extend my life by it, it’s just that I later found this body to be very helpful to everyone in battle..."

"You can explain it to Him," Alamir patted the little girl’s shoulder meaningfully, "Find a quiet moment, call upon the King of the Dead’s revered name, and then say what you want to say. He may not respond, but He can certainly hear your prayers..."