The Paladin in the Abyss

As Mohoi continuously called out Olul's name, the pond in front of him gradually began to freeze until it finally turned into a block of ice emitting a supernatural chill. The priest stood up, his face filled with fervor.

"Are you starting now?" Bruto asked curiously, looking at the purple-skinned Tiflin.

"First, I must demonstrate my resolve to the Goddess..." Mohoi turned around, facing the mirror-like ice block, then untied the beast-skin apron around his waist, revealing his bare buttocks.

"What are you doing?" the Dwarf exclaimed, almost dropping his jaw, "Wait, wait, don't turn around!"

"A true believer feels the power of the Goddess with joy, not pain, but pleasure," Mohoi turned his head toward the Dwarf and grinned, then spread his arms wide and fell forward, landing like a 'T' on the ice. (Note 1)

"Uh...ah..." the Dwarf involuntarily turned his head away, "Just looking hurts..."

"Olul is no kind deity. She loves to spread pain, torment, and despair to instill fear, just like the winter cold," the old Reap crouched on the ground, watching with interest as the Tiflin lay on the ice, while explaining to the Dwarf, "It is said that this Goddess resides in a palace resembling an upside-down iceberg with a honeycomb-like room where each cell has a mirror of ice, through which Olul can see any place with frozen water in the Multiverse..."

"You're saying... the Goddess Mohoi worships can see his..." Bruto swallowed, "front?"

"That's the idea."

"Then... shouldn't we... stand a bit farther away?" the Dwarf slowly backed away, "You know, when gods get angry, it's terrifying..."

"Agreed," Reap jumped up decisively and ran backward, "I think behind Lancelot is a good spot..."

After a while, the expected explosion of divine power didn't occur. Mohoi stood up again, his eyes tightly closed, his body enveloped in ice, as if wearing a suit of armor made of ice blocks. Thankfully, it also covered some critical parts that others preferred not to see.

"I must say, your way of praying is rather unique..." Bruto came out from behind Lancelot as everything seemed normal, and greeted him in a relaxed tone, "So, are you ready to unleash a blizzard?"

"Something seems off," the Dwarf suddenly heard Lancelot's voice, as if whispering in his ear, "Step back, keep quiet..."

Lancelot's warning made Bruto also notice the anomaly. The surroundings became very cold—after all, this was the mouth of a volcano. Even though Lancelot's peculiar array had drawn away much of the heat, it had only become slightly more bearable before, but now his breath started to show as white mist; moreover, Mohoi wasn't exactly 'standing' on the ground, but about half a foot above the ground, practically floating in the air.

The purple-skinned Tiflin suddenly opened his eyes, and everyone was immediately struck by the intense iciness in his gaze, hardly noticing how Mohoi's body transformed from that of an almost naked purple Tiflin into a beautiful humanoid female form, completely composed of blue ice.

"O... Olul..."

The Werewolf shivered as he uttered the name of the deity who had suddenly descended upon the place. The intense pressure almost forced him and Bruto to the ground, but they still propped themselves up on their elbows, refusing to show complete submission to the Goddess of Ice, and the big black horse, which had been summoned earlier, had unsummoned itself and returned to its original plane.

The only one who seemed unaffected was Lancelot, who was still sitting cross-legged in the same spot, maintaining the operation of the Array beneath him, but his eyes were fixed on the ground in front of him, appearing reluctant to confront.

The woman formed from ice floated in front of him like a ghost and said in an icy, piercing voice:

"Did you help this fool?"

"Yes, he wanted to create a blizzard as a demonstration of your power," Lancelot replied, keeping his head down, "but he has never succeeded, and I needed something from him... from your power, so I decided to help him fulfill his wish."

The Goddess of Ice nodded, turning away from the Human Knight. She walked to the edge of the cliff, facing the endless thick fog below, and raised her hands. A strange sound emitted from her, sounding both like the harsh cold winds of a winter night and like a million mouths praying aloud simultaneously.

A powerful force gathered in the goddess's hands, which then transformed into two bright blue Magic Spheres, plunging into the roiling sea of fog. The fog 'froze' at a visible speed, then a frenzied strong wind lifted it high into the air, turning it into large swaths of snowflakes, falling like raindrops, turning everything on the ground pure white.

Although it was night, the abnormal weather phenomenon could be seen from a great distance. In Twin Bridges Town, most residents possessed excellent night vision, and they watched the southern Shattered Mountain Range with an almost stupefied expression, shocked and puzzled that a well-known active volcano there could be covered with snow.

The lord of this town experienced something entirely different. Tijana's figure appeared at the highest tower of the castle, her eyebrows tightly knit as she stared at the summit of Fourth Peak.

"Lady Tijana, what is the matter?" the voice of the Succubus Maid Letisha resonated behind her, "This aura... could it be that a True God has descended?"

"Of course not, a True God wouldn't dare to come to the Abyss; it must just be an avatar," Tijana shook her beautiful head, "Strange, why would a god be interested in such a forsaken place, and create such a blizzard..."

Suddenly, Tijana's expression changed; she realized that she might have introduced Olul's priest to a particularly troublesome man. She pulled out a diamond necklace, the very gift Lancelot had given her when they first met, which she had turned into a special magical item. As long as Lancelot carried the Twin Bridges Town Emblem she had given him, either of them could establish a mental connection with a simple gesture.

'Lancelot, where are you?'

'Shattered Mountain Range, Fourth Peak, you needn't come over...'

Before he could finish speaking, Tijana had already cast Teleportation Magic, appearing directly in front of Lancelot.

'Thank you.'

Without turning back, Tijana knew, when facing a ruthless goddess, it was best not to show any fondness for anything, as it would only ignite the other's desire to destroy.

"Great frost maiden 'Olul,' welcome to the Abyss." Although Tijana's hands were empty, her eyes sparkled with the red glow representing the flow of Magic Power, "I am Tigana, the lord of the town below. May I ask what brings you here?"