The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 620 - 644: Devilspawn and Tiflin

Chapter 620: Chapter 644: Devilspawn and Tiflin

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“Your sister Tijana is only looking out for you,” Lancelot said as he pinched the little girl’s face. “And what’s so fun about fighting? It’s just two groups of people killing each other. Compared to adventuring, it’s nothing. This ancient vampire can reportedly move freely even under the blazing sun, completely unaffected. You should quickly learn how they do it, then you won’t miss any important battles in the future.”

“Whooo…”

“Hmm, very obedient! Any other questions?”

“I have one,” Bruto raised his hand. “I don’t have any experience joining the military, so don’t mind me… Under whose command will we fight? What’s the plan, and how long will it likely last? How are logistics and supplies arranged? What should we bring?”

“All I know is that the commander of this mercenary corps is Solheim, you remember her, right?”

“Of course, she was my first customer and paid very ‘promptly’.”

“Tijana told me to report directly to her after we’ve eaten. As for the other questions, I’m not sure either, but the army will probably take another two or three days to assemble completely, which should be enough time for us to prepare,” Lancelot said as he picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. “By the way, put on your armor and bring all your equipment before heading out. A makeshift army gathered for the sake of money…”

“Understood,” Bruto nodded. “I will hang up all the spikes.”

——————-

An hour later.

Lancelot and two companions stood in front of the Mercenary Hall, too stunned by the scene in front of them to speak. The building, originally arena-shaped, had completely transformed, with three additional floors appearing seemingly out of nowhere on the open arch ceiling, rising over fifty feet high. It no longer looked like a place that provided intermediary services for mercenaries, filled with bargaining and shouting, but rather like a barracks where every crack in the brick oozed a deadly seriousness.

“Hmm, feels a bit familiar,” Lancelot said, turning his head slightly towards his companions. “Let’s go.”

“I don’t like how this place looks now at all,” Bruto shrank his neck, “and I’m sure it doesn’t like me either.”

“Don’t be nervous, Dwarf,” Lancelot stepped towards the main entrance. “As long as you have the right mindset, there’s nothing to fear here.”

“What does the right mindset mean?”

“If a brick bothers you…” Lancelot raised his hand and patted a passing stone column, “just break it with a hammer.”

Although most mercenaries should not have woken up from last night’s hangover yet, the number of people entering and leaving the building was already quite high. Lancelot had stayed in Twin Bridges Town long enough to tell from the expressions on people’s faces whether they were newcomers. Among them, the most common were various Devilspawn—the offspring of Fiends and mortals.

It is well known that Succubi and lust demons, both Demons and Fiends respectively, are capable of pregnancy, but any Fiend powerful enough to perform Transfiguration could impregnate a mortal woman with their child. Don’t take this as the beginning of some romantic story; the truth is much crueler, as childbirth itself is a highly risky affair, not to mention giving birth to a creature naturally equipped with wings, antlers, and a tail.

In those most terrifying stories, there are even records of fetuses clawing their way out of their mother’s abdomen and being born directly, and such children invariably became major villains causing havoc, eventually defeated by heroes filled with a sense of justice, thus perfectly ending the story.

However, Lancelot could easily point out the irrationality of these stories—any villain with demonic lineage who ultimately followed an evil path seemed to fit this template, as if all bad guys came into this world inherently evil. However, having been in the Abyss for so long, especially in a town where a Lord was a Succubus, he had learned quite a bit about the offspring of Fiends.

First, if a Succubus gives birth to a girl, she will still be a Succubus (though she will inherit some traits from her father, such as eye color); if a boy is born, he will be a Devilspawn, or in the terminology of the lower planes, a Cambion. Moreover, all children born from Fiends and mortal women, whether male or female, will also be Devilspawn.

Despite closely resembling their demonic kin, Devilspawn are still mortals, meaning they age, die, and their souls go to the Domain of the Vague for judgment. If they have done nothing wrong, they might be accepted by a Divine Power and enjoy eternal peace, but such cases are very rare; most Devilspawn spend their lives striving to become true Fiends, ensuring even in death they achieve their desires.

Being mortals, they can still reproduce normally if they can find a suitable partner—however, this is not easy and often involves lies, coercion, betrayal, and death. When someone’s demonic ancestry is diluted to a certain extent, they are considered a Tiflin.

As for how diluted it has to be, of course, there are no standards, but generally speaking, it’s usually beyond five generations. A Tiflin and a normal person no longer have much difference in physical fitness, except for the oddly shaped antlers on their heads, unusually sharp canine teeth, and tails dragging behind them.

Tiflins hardly have their communities, often existing on the fringes of human societies on a small scale. It’s not hard to imagine how much trouble their peculiarities could bring them, though it’s not always violent. Children raised in such harsh environments naturally find it difficult to become honest businessmen or loving philanthropists; most Tiflins end up as swindlers, thieves, or even killers. This is not to absolve them—villains are villains and deserve punishment—but is becoming a villain really their own fault?

These were the questions running through Lancelot’s mind as he walked into the Mercenary Hall, as at least half of these new faces were Tiflins. Just a casual glance was enough to confirm they were no good folk, but normal people don’t become Blood War Mercenaries, let alone serve the side of the Fiends.

The two sides of the Blood War are always recruiting more mercenaries, but if given a choice, working for Demons is often the ‘safer’ option, as Demons obey contracts, and as long as you truly don’t die on the battlefield, you usually get paid. The only problem is, there’s always this fine print in the contracts provided by Demons—once you accept the advance payment, the hired must provide the service stipulated in the contract, and the contract does not cease with the hiree’s death.

This means that when you die, you still owe a debt to the Demon, and the dead have nothing to offer in repayment… except for one thing:

Your own soul.