Chapter 40

In the pool of blood, the dark elf and the assassin twitched, their eyes wide open in death. In a corner not far away, the main character, succubus, sat on the ground, gasping for breath.

Behind her, a pile of tattered wings lay scattered. That was the result of the assassin's last desperate counterattack. As he shouted, "If I die, none of you will live either!" he pulled a small sphere from his pocket. Immediately, the sphere exploded with a loud "boom," tearing the nearest dark elf to shreds.

The succubus was relatively far away at the time. Sensing something was wrong, she desperately tried to escape and spread her wings to protect herself. This allowed her to survive the explosion, unlike the dark elf, who was reduced to pieces.

Although she survived, the succubus was still seriously injured.

Unable to contain her frustration, she shouted, "Referee?! Didn't you say no magical items were allowed?! What was that just now?!"

Although it was just a routine complaint, to her surprise, a voice actually responded to her question.

"The behavior of contestant number 2796 indeed violated the gladiatorial rules. According to the rules, the contestant's gladiator status will be revoked, and they will be executed."

"But he's already dead! What's the point of execution?!" the succubus exclaimed, taken aback.

"Contestant number 2796 is confirmed to be dead. That is correct," the mechanical voice replied.

"So what?!"

"So, please ignore this and continue the match."

"Hey!"

The succubus was angry for a moment, then suddenly remembered something—this arena was indeed covered by a large-scale anti-magic barrier. So the assassin's last counterattack should not have worked. But the magical alchemical bomb still exploded!

Thinking about this, the succubus immediately reached for her dimensional bag—sure enough, it wouldn't open.

"Damn! I must have been set up. They really want me dead!" the succubus thought, gritting her teeth. "It must be because of my outstanding performance in the gladiatorial matches. That pretty-boy vampire couldn't handle me, so he decided to play dirty. Luckily, I dodged in time."

The succubus thought this with a very dark mind. She felt as if she were standing on the moral high ground, as if a voice in her ear was saying, "Due to your actions, your alignment has shifted 10,000 points towards good" (though this was just her hallucination).

At this moment, she completely forgot how she had ruthlessly set traps for the assassin and the dark elf—no problem, no problem at all. Killing such scum would only make her alignment shift towards justice, at most towards chaos. This would make her the chaotic good character she always boasted about being.

Thus, the chaotic good succubus slightly cleaned her wings, gritting her teeth and pulling out the small fragments embedded in them.

At this moment, the second-to-last barrier disappeared. Only the final barrier remained, dividing the contestants into two sides. This meant it was now the quarterfinals.

"Really, I can't dawdle anymore," the succubus said as she stood up. There were still a few fragments in the edges of her wings, but now was not the time to leisurely clean her wounds.

The succubus stood up, stretched her arms and legs, and immediately entered a state of readiness.

Although it wasn't the pretty-boy vampire, even a toe could tell that anyone who made it to the semifinals was a formidable opponent. A single mistake could lead to a disastrous outcome. The succubus remained on high alert, looking around but seeing nothing that looked like a target.

"Did he use stealth? Is he a powerful rogue? But I have a constant True Seeing spell. No demon, ghost, or monster can escape my keen eyes! Oh oh oh oh oh! Come out!"

The succubus stood on one leg, shading her eyes with her hand, and thought to herself, "If only I had a staff, it would be better." She resolved to get the "weapon" formed by the power of the Abyss from the Yggdrasill merchant at all costs.

She maintained this pose for about three minutes but found nothing...

"That's strange... Could this magical barrier also nullify constant spells? That would be a bit unscientific, I mean, unmagical," the succubus muttered as she began to search.

The arena was manageable in the 1/16th round, but the 1/4th round was a bit larger, and the 1/2th round was even larger.

This vast arena, with its pitch-black sky and the chaotic scene of scattered bodies, felt more like a terrifying otherworld. The succubus bet that even without any setup, this place could be used as a background for a very scary horror game. However, for a battle-hardened, thick-skinned, and mentally sharp character like her, it wasn't scary at all... As for those who might be scared, they probably wouldn't make it here.

"Is it like this, Sir Paladin?"

The succubus said this as she squatted down.

Her opponent was indeed found, but calling this dying paladin an "opponent" was a bit of a stretch.

However, in this area, the only living being besides the succubus was him.

"Cough, cough... Truly... unfortunate," the slightly older paladin glanced at the succubus and said. His tone was filled with regret, but no fear of death.

"You... are a paladin of Tyr. Let me tell you, Sir. In the Abyss, your one-armed god can't retrieve your soul. If you want to enter the paradise, forget it. And as a lawful good character, you can't be converted into a demon. You should know your ultimate fate, right?"

The succubus crossed her legs and sat in front of the paladin, chatting with him.

"Hehehe... I know," the paladin managed a difficult smile. There was a large hole in his chest, not hitting his heart but damaging his lungs. Combined with numerous other injuries, he was spitting out blood as he lay there. The succubus was surprised he was still alive.

So, out of curiosity and to rest and recover, the succubus decided to let him die naturally and not kill him.

"Then, do you have no regrets?" the succubus asked, curious about the paladin's calm demeanor. "What did Tyr offer you that made you fight so hard?"

"... Nothing," the paladin replied. "I didn't come here for any reward."

"Then why? To eliminate evil? For self-training? Or another mission?" the succubus continued.

"... None of those," the paladin shook his head, then seeing the succubus's puzzled face, he smiled contentedly and answered, "I am not loyal to Tyr. I became his paladin because his ideals align with mine. It wasn't Tyr who chose me, but I who chose Tyr. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Can't tell, Sir. Do you think you are equal to a god? Or are you using your god?" the succubus asked.

"Neither," the paladin said. "In terms of rank, the god is higher than me. We are not equal. But here," he pointed to his heart, "we are equal. I respect and love him because of his ideals, not his status... Perhaps as you say... I am a proud person... My colleagues, my mentors, and my friends... all say the same."

At this, the paladin's face showed a self-mocking smile. "I know this must be boring for you, demon. According to what I know, your kind thinks..."

"It's not like that, I can understand," the succubus nodded. "This is what you call mental or spiritual strength. Sir, you are a very independent person. Unlike those who blindly follow the doctrines of their gods... Yes, not because you believe in the teachings, but because the teachings happen to align with your beliefs. It sounds cool."

"Cool...? Demon, do you really understand?" the paladin asked, testing her.

"Of course," the succubus said solemnly. "Although it's a bit different, my beliefs are somewhat similar to yours."

"Then, what are your beliefs?" the paladin asked curiously.

"I am not a lolicon, but the people I like happen to be lolis," the succubus replied.

"..." The paladin was taken aback, then laughed, coughing as he did. After a while, he recovered, but this laughter also drained his last bit of strength. "I never thought... before I die, I would meet such an interesting person... to be killed by a demon's joke... this death... is really... funny..."

As he said this, his eyes began to glaze over. The succubus knew he was in the final moments.

"Hey, hey, hey—don't die, Sir—my stamina—I mean, you haven't answered my question yet—why did you come to the Abyss? And why did you participate in this match?"

"Ah—ah..." The paladin opened his mouth, trying to say something, but only blood came out. The succubus's words gave him a brief moment of clarity. He used this strength to reach out and touch his chest. The succubus immediately became cautious, fearing he might pull out something to take her down with him.

However, he only pulled out a medallion. He weakly gestured for the succubus to take it, but his arm fell limp halfway.

"A memento," the succubus murmured, taking the medallion from the paladin's hand. "A final request? A memento? Sir, you died before finishing your sentence. This is really difficult... Do you want me to do something? Or do you want me to keep this as a memento..."

"Well, since you're not speaking, I'll assume the last option. We had a good connection, Sir, ahahaha, I'll keep this as a memento. Rest in peace, rest in peace. I'll remember you... probably."

After saying this, the succubus examined the medallion and found an inscription on the back: "John... John Smith? Such a common name. But it doesn't matter... Maybe I can trade it for something with that merchant. So, goodbye, Sir."

The succubus waved to the dead paladin, who was likely still in a state of unrest, put away the medallion, and walked towards the center of the arena. There, the final magical barrier had disappeared. The final match, against the pretty-boy vampire, was about to begin.

---

Page Break

---

Page Break