"You're not in Hell right now, tramp." Sir Isaac hisses at the demon as she complains about his comment regarding her dress code. "You're in Revaliir, where the people have at least a modicum of decency. So it matters not that you are all alone down here and usually covered in darkness that no regular light can pierce, you are dressed inappropriately. Shame on you."

"And if you were to dress up like a nun, at least you'd be properly covered, woman!" Sir Isaac says with hateful eyes completely devoid of any leeway. He looks at her exposed ankles and sneers in disgust. "So don't talk to me about the awful conditions of the infernal furnace that your blasphemous kind has to do penance in, you're neither there right now nor deserving any sympathy about the punishments that you called upon yourself."

"And for that matter, you are-" Sir Isaac's moustache furls angrily when he notices that Sir Hiro and the demon aren't listening any more. She had instead began ignoring him, expositing about some stuff regarding Sir Hiro's past. Talking about insects and family ties, it was as if Sir Isaac wasn't even there.

Well, at least it seemed like Sir Hiro wasn't buying into her lies and accepting her offer to commit incest. Which, if a demon offered it, was probably a grave sin. She then moves forward, suddenly revealing the chain that was holding her in place. She tells some story about how she had been chained and bound here. Conjuring up some sob story, she spoke of her centuries of imprisonment and about how Sir Hiro's father had been keeping her company for years. How she had fallen in love with him, how she was saddened by his sudden disappearance. How she was experiencing unknown feelings of loss and grief right now.

Sir Hiro looks doubtful and on the verge of helping the demon. He looks over at Sir Isaac, his words asking about the heart. His eyes asking what he should do.

"Fear not, Sir Isaac. I know exactly what we have to do." Sir Isaac says, smiling while he places his hand on Sir Hiro's shoulder. "You may have gained much power in your few years on this earth, and you have no doubt experienced many adventures. But you clearly lack the theological knowledge that I have."

"Every word that a demon says is lies." Sir Isaac says with a dark expression, staring down Lilith and drawing his sword. "Every fact and rumour that a demon speaks is deceit. Every act that they entice you to commit is a sin upon your eternal soul. There is only one answer when it comes to these foul fiends. It's to grant them death, because they are beyond redemption. Beyond salvation. Beyond even the basic right to live."

Sir Isaac's sword begins to glow with a divine light. "Do not think she is your family. Demons can know things that make their lies sound true. Do not think that she truly feels sadness or grief. A demon has no emotions beyond anger and fear. Do not think that she is truly so silly and unknowing, for there are no demon children. Don't even think that she is truly bound, for that too can be a lie to deceive you. To lure you into a false sense of security and power."

"If you truly listened to her words, you'd know they were all lies. Why would a demon tell you all these personal things about her, all these weaknesses to be exploited? They deceive and abuse one another so often, none would ever behave this vulnerable. Why would she be chained, when a circle of salt is the way that most demons are trapped indefinately? Why would your father care for this woman without converting her, if he truly had some way to purify her into a non-infernal?"

"I'll tell you why, even though there is no need to listen to the words of a demon and argue against them to begin with." Sir Isaac says, the dark gaze in his eyes going full fanatic zealot. "She told you all these personal things about herself, to make you believe that she's a person. She made you believe that she's chained, so that you won't look to the ground and carelessly walk through the circle of salt. Thus releasing her, if she is really bound to begin with. And she told you that she knows your father, that he has some purpose for you, because she knows that those words can move you to do whatever she says."

Sir Isaac walks closer and closer to Lilith, wary of an attack and making sure he wasn't stepping on any line of salt either. "Oh, and I'm pretty sure that demons don't have tear ducts. So there's that, too. Illusions and lies, as all demons are masters of. But her deception won't prevent me from striking her down where she stands."

Sir Isaac stares down Lilith, ready to strike. She prepares her claws and tail, but looks over to Sir Hiro with a pleading look. Sir Isaac knew that it was deception, but also knew that this meant that Sir Hiro was still vulnerable to her words. "She's evil. You best realise this too, Sir Hiro, and not falter to strike down this purest of evil. Don't betray your father's legacy by giving in to evil that speaks his name. At most, you can rip out her heart once she lies dead and try to purify her soul like your father allegedly once did to your mother. Even if the chains and the hint on them are real, that would be the only viable way to redeem a hellspawn."

With that, Sir Isaac screams and charges forward to slay the demon.

HIro felt dazed, confused, uncertain what to do.  This woman could be his aunt.  She was a demon, but his mother was once a demon.  Hiro thought he had no family left, could this demon be his sole remaining family tie?  Could some of her blood be in his veins?  However, it seemed Sir Isaac wasn't having any of it.  He spoke with conviction, with absolute certainty that Hiro was being tricked by this demon.  He would've know if he was being tricked, right?

"She has to be telling the truth, it makes sense!  She's my aunt!  My family!  The only . . . family I have left . . . I lost my mother, my father, my grandparents, I have no one left.  But here's Auntie Lilith!"  Hiro looked at Sir Isaac pleadingly.  "Don't try to kill her!  She hasn't hurt anyone!"  But Isaac, he was determined to put an end to it.  He charged at Lilith, who turned to see her attacker preparing an attack.

"Help me, Nephew, he's going to kill me.  The bonds, the chains are preventing me from moving about, help me Hiro!" she pleaded with him to help her, tears staining her eyes.  She was helpless.  Hiro had to do something.  He found himself in front of Lilith in a flash, a quick teleport with a puff of smoke, Hiro moved to intercept the sword that Sir Isaac had drawn on his aunt.  In a flash, Isaac swung.  HIro wasn't sure what happened, he couldn't bring himself to draw his own blade, but he moved to grab Isaac's sword arm, and he felt a warm, hard, searing pain against his face.  It was almost if, by purpose or by accident, the flat of a holy sword struck him across the face, knocking him to the side.  The world went blurry, Hiro hit the ground, dazed and confused, blood leaking down his nose across his face.  He couldn't really see through the tears blurring his vision.  There was a feminine scream and it was over.

The demon, Lilith was laying on the ground, mortally wounded.  The power that was affecting Hiro's mind started to dissipate,  His father wouldn't have left this demon chained up, if he was visiting her.  It didn't make sense.  If she was friendly, his father would've freed her through magic or brute strength.  But this WAS a demon, demons could love, but they were manipulative.  His mother was a reformed demon though, who was purified into a fire elemental.  Seraphia had to have a mother somewhere, but he knew nothing about her family.

"I-I'm sorry.  I used you.  I-I manipulated you, Hiro, I read your mind, and tried to give you what you wanted.  But I can't be your aunt.  This man saw through my tricks.  I . . . really was trapped down here, by an angel who punished me to not leave this hole.  For an eternity . . . I was hoping . . . someone would . . . free me.  At least now . . . I'm . . . free . . ." Lilith coughed up blood, her demonic aura was gone, whatever charm magic she used on Hiro was dispelled.  She burned up into naught but ash.

"Uuugh, my face.  My . . . heart.  I just really wanted . . . my family back," Hiro tried to wipe away some of the tears and blood that was on his face.  There was a mixture of physical and emotional pain flowing through his body.  "Sir Isaac, ever had something you wanted, something you truly desired deep in your heart, and to have that piece of happiness torn away from you violently, to never be regained again?"

A podium stood beyond where Lilith was located, protected by a sacred circle made of salt and magic runes on the ground.  Laying on top of the podium was the Relic from DaeLuin.  The Relic his father guided young Hiro to.  It was an crimson, amber-like gemstone with a colorful feather contained inside of it.  One would recognize the feather to be from a a legendary Phoenix.  It was sitting there, on top of the podium, for anyone who could get past all those traps, and monsters to take, provided they weren't devoured or killed by the demon that lived down here; the now dead demon.

"She has to be telling the truth, it makes sense! She's my aunt! My family! The only . . . family I have left . . . I lost my mother, my father, my grandparents, I have no one left. But here's Auntie Lilith! Don't try to kill her! She hasn't hurt anyone!" 

Auntie Lilith? Sir Isaac almost took his eyes off the demon to look at Sir Hiro when the lad said this, using such a pet name for someone that he had known for barely five minutes was strange even for a deceived or possibly even dominated mind. But he kept his eyes on the demon, knowing that her tail could lash out and kill him with a single strike if he'd be caught unaware. "She hasn't hurt anyone? You're dilusional! Wake up boy, you're literally standing ankle-deep in the skeletons of her victims!"

Sir Isaac charges at the foul demon, who's using her last few moments before combat to weave her web of deceptions tighter around Sir Hiro. But it would be too late. There was no way that even someone like Sir Hiro could stop Sir Isaac from att-

With a puff of smoke, Sir Hiro was suddenly in front of him. He didn't draw his sword, which meant that he hadn't been enthralled to such a degree that he was now the demon's puppet, but he was still a liability at this point. Sir Hiro's arms rise, trying to grab Sir Isaac's arms and probably wrestle him to the ground. This was bad, the demon could probably strike and kill them both with her spear tail if Sir Hiro would create such an easy to exploit opening.

"Damn it, boy! For such a formidable knight, you sure are mentally vulnerable! I apologise for the headache, but I have to do this." Sir Isaac says. Or rather, it was probably an incoherent blur of half-spoken words, considering what little time there was between Sir Hiro's appearance and Sir Isaac's strike.

Sir Isaac places his thumb on the guard of his blade and turned it ninety degrees, changing a lethal strike into a blunt attack mid-swing. It was quite a useful trick to have if you had to determine whether to slay your foe or spare them in a matter of seconds, and one that Sir Isaac had used once or twice before. It prevented him from having to stop his swing awkwardly and regaining his footing and stance, and thus preventing the opponent from throwing in a free attack before facing off in a straightforward duel.

Unfortunately, the destiny of his swing wasn't as easily changed as the lethality of it. The sword strike aimed for the demon's neck struck Sir Hiro flat in the side of his face, easily knocking out the powerful phoenix knight. It sure was a good thing that that attack hadn't struck him with the sharp side of the sword, it might've sliced off his forehead whole.

Sir Hiro falls to the side like a sack of potatoes and Sir Isaac once again faces the hellspawn. She seems shocked that her enthralled minion didn't last that long, but then bares her fangs and prepares her claws and tail.

"You're about to see why bikini armour is completely worthless in true battle, wench!" Sir Isaac says. "Your shameless femininity won't make my sword stray!"

"You're still going on about that? Just let it go, already!"

Sir Isaac screams and charges forwards while the demon prepares her claws for a defensive counter-strike. Just before Sir Isaac is about to attack, he strafes to the side and runs past Lilith. Her tail pierces through the air pointlessly, and she has to quickly block a weak and glancing but present sword strike to the side with her claws. She sneers when the sword slides over her talons and carves a bit into the flesh of her fingers, little more than a scratch but still a nuisance.

Sir Isaac quickly turns around to face the demon again, who also turns to him with a wry smile. She licks the blood from her fingers, and then prepares her claws for another attack again.

"Haha! You fool, you're in my domain now! If you would've stayed where Hiro is and abused the length of the chains, you might've actually stood a chance against me!"

Sir Isaac doesn't respond, instead he weighs his options. She was still going on about the chains, even advertising the advantage that they would've given him. It only convinced Sir Isaac further that they were but mere illusions, a deception to give any opponent a false sense of security. One that could be janked away at any moment, and specifically at the moment that they'd rely on the advantage the most. No, he was probably a lot safer here, where the whole layer of deception that she was putting on was no longer in play.

She seemed to be rather straightforward, fortunately. She had her claws and tail as her main weapons, perhaps also some magic, and her teeth and feet as secondary weapons. Her first attack was rather predictable, pulling a feint with her claws and then attacking with her barbed tail. It was obvious that she'd do that the moment that she prepared her claws. Her tail had a greater reach and more piercing power, so it was a more effective weapon for someone chained (or pretending to be chained) when attacking someone just beyond their reach.

He couldn't be sure that her next attack would be as predictable. Perhaps she had already figured out his tactical insight and would now be acting upon it, or perhaps she was none the wiser. And of course, every degree of savviness in between.

If he would have to guess, she would charge and use her tail to force him to block it with his sword. If he wouldn't or couldn't, the barb would pierce through his shoulder or chest and greatly disable his fighting abilities. It would be all but a decided battle from that point on, one she'd win by means of atrophy even if she wouldn't win quickly. But if he would block her tail, the rest of his body would be wide open to her claws. The disadvantage of someone with one weapon fighting against a being utilising three simultaneously.

But, that's why humans had trickery.

Lilith charges forwards, and Sir Isaac prepares his sword.

MOUSTACHE FLASH!!!

The entire cave lights up as Sir Isaac's moustache turns into a solar flare. Lilith screams and quickly covers her eyes. Her tail strike goes wild and her claw charge is broken off. She quickly defends for an attack, but Sir Isaac wasn't foolish enough to use such a straightforward attack. He was just as blinded by the flash as her, despite closing his eyes in time, and his sword couldn't strike with great accuracy in these conditions. Rather, he would have to use his knowledge of where she was in a different manner.

As the world turns a blinding white, Sir Isaac quickly rushes past Lilith's right flank. Being armoured, no cunning foe would expect him to utilise mobility over defensibility. And being right-handed, Lilith would reflexibly use that hand to shield her eyes from the light first and foremost. Now being behind her, Sir Isaac grabs the chain and twirls it.

Lilith screams and tries to turn around in time when she feels what Sir Isaac is trying to do, but it's in vain. The chain is already wrapped around her tail when she realises what he's trying to do, and with one armoured boot firmly planting itself on the chain and the ground, the tail was bound. With the barbed end flapping around helplessly, it was no longer a threat. With his left hand, Sir Isaac grabs the chain near the collar and thus forcibly keeps Lilith in place and preventing her from turning around.

Whether the chain was an illusion or not, this wouldn't be.

With a single thrust, Sir Isaac pierces his shining holy sword through the demon's back. Her skin turns black around the consecrated metal, burning and melting. The sword sticks out of her chest at the front, piercing through her kidney and lung. Then, Sir Isaac twists the blade and turns the strike into an inevitably lethal wound. With her tail bound, there was nothing she could do to counter-attack him in her final moments.

"And that's why you should wear armour that properly covers all of your vitals, demonspawn!"

Lilith falls to the ground, coughing up blood. Nearby, Sir Hiro stirs awake. He had only been out for a couple of seconds, but it had fortunately been enough to end this. Who knows what else the demon could've tried doing with his vulnerable mind, had she been given the chance?

With her last breath, she apologises to Sir Hiro. Sir Isaac immediately starts studying their surroundings, wary that her death might be a deception or ruse of some sort. Perhaps she wasn't alone, or not dying at all. But he saw no other hellspawn in the cave. Which didn't mean that this wasn't some kind of ruse, of course. She then turned to ashes, which Sir Isaac also found very suspicious. Teleportation, perhaps? She left her bikini armour, so she'd probably return even more indecent next time she's appear. Which was to say, naked.

Jup, she was naked. But she was also a demon, so Sir Isaac couldn't be chivalrous or decent with her. Especially considering that Sir Hiro was about to regain full awareness and thus sight. Sir Isaac quickly takes care of the issue and binds her by means of superheated sand and an ingenious material-to-metal contraption that allowed for water-tight sealing. Holding the bound succubus behind his back to hide her from Sir Hiro's view, he then listens to the lad.

"Uuugh, my face. My . . . heart. I just really wanted . . . my family back. Sir Isaac, ever had something you wanted, something you truly desired deep in your heart, and to have that piece of happiness torn away from you violently, to never be regained again?"

Sir Isaac felt sorry for the young lad, but knew that he had done the right thing. "I know what it's like to want something. To feel like you've lost something that you shouldn't have lost, or too soon? But to get it back by unnatural means, by making deals with demons to retrieve it, that is not the way. You would only get a shadow of what you desired, twisted and corrupted. And in the end, you'd wish you never would've gotten anything to begin with. As is the way with any demon's gift."

"Ask yourself, Sir Hiro. Would your father really have wanted you to release a demon upon this world and risk the lives and happiness of so many others, just so that you could have family again? Do you really want to hear of your mother as she was before her purification, to taint your memories of her with the dark period before she met your father?"

"That there is your father's legacy, Sir Hiro." Sir Isaac says, nodding at the gemstone on the pedestral nearby. "That there is the path he wishes you to take, the memory of him that he wishes you to have."

Pretty sure that there was nothing else in the cave but them, Sir Isaac leaves the podium to Sir Hiro and instead turns his attention to the chains that once bound the demon. Seems like they weren't illusions after all. Not that it changed anything, the demon that they bound was pure evil and her imprisonment was nothing but a good thing. But the fact that he could hold on to these ethereal bindings did support the fact that they were truly divine. They seemed to only be physical to the touch of those holy like him, and untouchable to anyone else. And thus unbreakable. An efficient way to bind a demon, certainly.

A lot more efficient than a jar. But those were worries for later. Sir Isaac quickly pokes a few holes in the lid and puts the pocket succubus in a jar into his backpack before Sir Hiro would catch a glimpse of her. Small or not, it wouldn't be healthy for the young lad's mental health if he'd have her around.

"Not a word out of you, wench, or I'll find some wasps to keep you company in there." Sir Isaac whispers at the mini Lilith. "And I'll find a fairy nest to purchase some clothes for you later. Just, try to be less nude for now."

Pretending to be doing something useful, he looks back at the chains. Sir Isaac rubs his finger over the carving of the heart, and then over the chains themselves. The heart was carved by someone else, someone human, but the chains were made by an angel. Her essence was still on them. They'd be useful, and a fair treasure for his efforts in this adventure. Once he found a way to dislodge them from their ankering, of course. Not as pretty as the gemstone, but that price was for Sir Hiro to claim.

Thankfully, Hiro's splitting headache and the sore face was the result of being mentally dominated, and smacked by the flat side of a holy sword.  Even if he hadn't been knocked unconscious, it was likely the holy energy of the sword that impacted him dispelled the domination/charm the demon had placed on the Phoenix Knight.  He listened to what Sir Isaac said to him, that his father wouldn't want him to release a dangerous demon like that into the world.

"You're right, I'm sorry I tried to attack you, I was being controlled, I wasn't strong enough to resist her power.  She preyed on my weakness, my thoughts of losing my parents.  I'll try to be more careful next time."  Hiro sighed, then an amusing thought came to his mind.  He laughed a bit.  "At least I didn't try to lay with her.  That . . . would've been even worse than what just happened.  Was bad enough to think she was my Aunt, but even worse to be seduced.  Bloody demons.  I have to get stronger to resist mental charms.  Are you sure you're not a Paladin?  You called yourself a knight, but you've got the honor, the holy powers that Paladins are known for.  They can resist powerful charms, illusions, and evil magic, especially the stronger they get.  Instead of a spellsword, maybe that is your true calling?"

Hiro took a few moments to compose himself, unaware of Sir Isaac finding the demon, and placing her in a jar.  He was focused on the shining phoenix feather contained in a jewel.  He did hear the chains rattling that had once bound the demon Lilith.  "If there's any other treasure, like the angelic chains, or maybe that bikini armor she left behind, take it and do what you will with it.  Any other loot you find, keep it, sell it, benefit from it.  As my thanks for helping me so much, and being a good friend."  Hiro smiled, and moved toward the podium, hesitating a bit, before reaching out towards the gem.  The gem seemed to react to his hand approaching it, glowing more intensely and brightly the closer his hand moved to it.

"I don't know if it's actually spellsword relic, it's a gem with a phoenix feather in it.  I sense fire . . . and wind, maybe a bit of holy energy in it too.  It's not made of metal.  I don't think this'll be good to integrate into my planned weapon, but it's something else that's very powerful.  It's just radiating strong magical energy."  Hiro finally laid a hand on the gem.  A blinding pure light radiated from the relic, along with pure magical flames.  Hiro recoiled his eyes until the light died down a bit, the gem having turned into a fiery orb of energy that started surrounding the young Phoenix Knight.  His armor started to glow as it was surrounded by powerful flames.  Another flash of blinding flames came from Hiro himself.

When the light died down, Hiro stared at himself.  Something felt different about the armor he was wearing.  He felt a bit of a weight on his back.  His armor seemed renewed in appearance, shiny and glowing, Crimson and Gold.  A pair of similarly colored feathery wings could be seen from his armor's back.

"Oh my, oh my . . . GOODNESS.  Are these Phoenix Wings?!  Is this what my father wanted me to have?  I remember he once had a set of armor that had wings like this . . . it all makes sense now.  Like, really making sense.  When I was ready, he had to have wanted me to have a set of armor like this.  Father, I'll do you proud," Hiro wiped a couple tears from his eye, and focused magic into the armor's wings, allowing them to stretch and flex.  He found himself hovering in the air, propelled by the magic power of the phoenix winged armor he now donned.  "By Angela's Grace, I'm flying!  I can fly!  Gonna take some getting used to and practice!  But this is AMAZING!"  He was elated as he kinda slowly fluttered about the room, practicing getting used to flying with this magic pair of wings.

Sir Hiro looked at him with clearer eyes, and spoke words that were once again filled with sense.

"Ah, don't beat yourself up over it. Demons are known for beguiling you with their words, it's not as if they are only somewhat talented in that regard. They are the masters in it, the ones who invented the whole concept of deceit probably. Greater men than you have fallen to their words for less noble reasons, Sir Hiro." Sir Isaac says, and then chuckles. "Yes, it was kind of silly that she would try to both convince you of blood ties AND seduce you, but that's demons for you. They're so deprived that they cannot even recognise common decency any more, let alone act accordingly."

The next thing he said though silenced Sir Isaac. A paladin?

Sir Isaac looks down, lost in thought and thoughtfully twisting his moustache. It was true that all of his light magic was the kind of magic that clerics and paladins could cast, and that he couldn't even read arcana. Or comprehend the basics of simple magical cantrips. Or had some kind of connection to a powerful patron to draw power from. And he wasn't affected by the demon's domination, it was like she never even bothered. Sir Isaac had heard of paladins being mentally indominable (Read: really stubborn), perhaps that was a literal power of them?

Could he really be a paladin without knowing it? But paladins were soldiers of the gods, men that vanquished evil for the pantheon. People with unyielding morality that strived to improve the world and protect the innocent. He did have the makings of one, but did he really already have the power despite not knowing it? If it was like that, the answer to obtaining more power was childishly simple: He needed a holy symbol. Not some ancient treasure or powerful magical relic, but a simple trice-consecrated slab of metal in the right shape. Without a symbol to conduct one's power through, a paladin was nothing but a shiny fighter.

"I see. I had never even considered it, Sir Hiro. I guess that you are wiser than me in that regard, to have noticed it so quickly." Sir Isaac says.

After he bound the pocket succubus in the mighty jar while Sir Hiro climbed the platform, Sir Isaac looks around. The bikini armour, loot? Sir Isaac sneers, the thing was oozing with both an evil infernal miasma and a much more ordinary stench. This chained demon living in a pile of bones clearly hadn't heard of doing laundry before. No, Sir Isaac had no interest in that thing, regardless of how sturdy the strange bones might be. The next tomb raiders could have it, if there would ever be any. Her tail might've made good weapon material, if it hadn't turned to ash upon her 'death'. Sir Isaac pokes through the pile of ashes with his sword, but doesn't find anything else of interest either.

The cave suddenly lights up brightly as Sir Hiro grabs the gem. Combining with and attuning to Sir Hiro's power, it merged into his armour somehow and gave him burning wings. Sir Isaac smiles at the sight of the young lad flying around with his newfound wings, behaving ten years younger than he really was. Sir Isaac nods approvingly, knowing that this was no bad development. Wings were good, as all moustache-shaped items were.

Confident that Sir Hiro would be okay, Sir Isaac returns his attention to the chains. He follows them back to where they were ankered into the floor, and studies the big slab of metal. It was very sturdy and reinforced, to ensure that the demon couldn't have pulled herself loose with any amount of force. But there was a simple release handle to the side, which any good person could've used to couple the chains loose with. Sir Isaac uncouples it and begins to roll the chain up.

Widening the search to the entire hall, Sir Isaac begins the long and tedious task of sifting through everything. There was some simple stuff stewn across the room, some possessions of the many skeletons that hadn't deteriorated yet littered the place. Silver coins and ingots, leather strips, silk, ectoplasm, some dryad bark, a small pouch of emeralds, a studded armour that was beyond repair but with salvageable thin slabs of lacriamium in it, a few good dragons scales from a molded sheet that was once an impressive dragon leather jacket and a wyvern heart. [The possible materials to find in the Anscense ruins.] Sir Isaac collected them and shared the loot evenly with Sir Hiro.

"Well, I suppose that concludes our business here?" Sir Isaac says to Sir Hiro. "You can fly out of here, I suppose, but please don't burn the rope on your way back up. I kind of need that to get out of this gloomy place."

"Oh, and one more question, completely unrelated to anything that happened here. How DID your father purify the soul of your mother? Of a demon?"

Sir Isaac's words were comforting, and helped him with coping with what he did.  It wasn't his fault.  The demon dominated him with her magic, unless he had a way to defend himself from it, or resist it, it was out of his control.  He didn't know if that demon really was a lonely person, or just a crazy, evil nutjob.  Maybe she was both, but he pushed it out of his head.

"I try to look for the good in people, whether it's a demon or a normal person, like an elf or human.  Maybe that's what got me.  My father taught me that.  It's something he believed in.  Good could be found anywhere, and there are more good people than bad."  He shrugged it off, he just had to get stronger and learn to resist mental domination is all.

His words seemed to strike a cord within Sir Isaac.  He went silent as he thought about it.  Hiro really thought Sir Isaac had the makings of a paladin, he had the righteous attitude, the holy magic, the mental fortitude, the charisma.  He just had to figure out what he was missing.  Whether he needed like a cross, or the faith of a specific deity or something.  He was praying to all the Gods when he was summoning power to his sword.

"Maybe I'm just a bit observant about people and magic in general," Hiro shrugged.  "But I think you've got it in you to be an incredible Paladin.  You were able to resist that Demon's charm, when I didn't even notice it'd happened to me."

Hiro was now flying about the room, feeling the power this winged armor had given him.  One couldn't blame him for acting so happy.  Flight like a bird was something men had dreamed about since the dawn of time.  It was the power of freedom.  The power to take to the sky.  He had now acquired that power.  He was overjoyed.

He landed back on the ground onto his feet.  Sir Isaac suggested it was time to leave and go their own separate ways.  He accepted the loot that Sir Isaac generously split with him.

"I suppose it does, mean that.  Seems we've looted this place thoroughly, got what we came here for.  Of course I'll be careful, and not sever your way out of here."  Hiro laughed.  "How did my Father purify my mother's soul?  Well, in the world we came from my Father was known as the Avatar of Fire.  He was the Fire deity for the time.  He would always say it was the power of love that allowed him to do it.  It was his love for her, and the divine magic he possessed that did it," Hiro gave a warm smile.  "Thank you, thank you for your help.  I'm sure we'll meet again.  If you need any assistance in the future, be sure to contact me, or we'll run into each other somehow."

Hiro bowed, spread his wings, and took flight, flying through the hole they entered through.  Soon, Hiro was flying through the night sky, feeling the wind against his face.  It was liberating.  He could be seen flying away with a fiery glow across the sky.

Sir Isaac looked at Sir Hiro as he flew up out of the cavern. "That lad has a bright and prosperous future ahead of him."

"And a nice pair of buns behind him."

Sir Isaac looked at his left shoulder, where Lilith was sitting. Completely unashamed of her nudity and licking her lips hungrily as she looks at the young knight fly away, she seems to disregard Sir Isaac as anything but a recipient of her words. "I wouldn't have minded nibbling on those, because I've been starving for ages."

"Have some shame, wench." Sir Isaac said, his good mood immediately ruined. "And didn't I lock you up?"

"You did put me in a jar, yes. You know that a simple knock spell can open those, right? What pitiful creature can't cast something like that?" She says with a devious smile, only for her expression to turn positively sour when she looks at Sir Isaac. "Not unlike this thing. Why did it have to be you out of all people to open the link?"

Lilith jingles the ethereal chains, calling attention to her still having the collar around her neck. The chains got larger and larger the further away they got from her, but Sir Isaac could tell that they were slowly shrinking. "Yeah, that's the thing about angels. They are really thorough when they do something. If there's only one way to release me, then they make sure that there really is but one way. Neither death nor righteous power will suffice as an alternative. That kid's father was wise enough to see through it. Wise enough not to open the chains and place the curse upon himself. Funny that, angels. Devious creatures, who've fooled you lot into believing that they are the utmost good of the universe. Yet, here I've been, trapped in a cave knee-deep in my own waste and victims. Some ultimate good. Hiro's father was wise enough to see through that too, and this whole angels and demons schtick. Seems like he taught his son the right thing too, only for you to corrupt his mind with angel propaganda."

The ethereal chains suddenly animate and the end flies into Sir Isaac's glove, seemingly incorporeal to the leather. Sir Isaac feels a sharp sensation around his finger, which dulls as the chains grow smaller and eventually become thin from end to end. As he takes off his glove he sees a strangely shimmering ring around his finger, which seems to tighten around his hand so fast that it cannot be removed.

"Shame that it wasn't Hiro who got the curse of lugging me around, I wouldn't have minded that. Unlike present company."

"If it is my duty to carry this burden of great evil and prevent it from doing any foul deeds, fiend, then I shall take it upon myself willingly. This only ensures that you won't elude me and escape. I thank the heavens for that."

"Thank the heavens? Didn't you hear me just now? They're not the good guys you think they are."

"I heard you. But I know that all your words are lies, wench."

"Pfft! Seriously, from all the people. Like, I'd literally prefer to be carried around by anyone else from this tomb over you. Even that guy over there, who was just the biggest creep. Or that guy, who was cursed with the muskiest body odor I've ever smelled. Hell, even that guy there, and he just wouldn't shut up. At all. But I'd prefer even him over the likes of you."

"Now that I believe."

"That said, I especially would've liked Hiro to have taken me. If you know what I mean. Yes, that way and the literal way. I bet he would've figured out how to release me from this curse, eventually. And he was weak enough to be enthralled, unlike his father. I would've had a lot of fun with him while rampaging through these lands. Burning some villages, which would've been child's play to him. Maybe have my little pawn become the new god of fire? He certainly has the lineage for it. Oh, I would've made him burn the holy mountain and melted down the golden gates for me, and he would've dragged that whore who locked me in these chains through the streets by her hair! See how she likes indefinite imprisonment!"

"Alright, that's enough out of you."

Sir Isaac grabs Lilith's legs and twirls the ethereal chains around them, wrapping the loudly protesting succubus into a package and tying a knot at the end to keep her chained up. As she's cursing him with a language so foul that many a curse words weren't even known to humanity, he grabs an empty coin pouch and puts her in it. She struggles as he squeezes her all the way in there and then ties the pouch to close as tightly as he can.

"You son of a whore! You know I'll get out of here eventually!"

"I know. But not any time soon. Hopefully I'll be able to find a fairy by then, so that I may buy you some proper clothes." Sir Isaac says, walking back to the rope. He was already feeling tired just thinking of having to haul himself and his heavy armour up. Having some wings himself certainly would've been a blessing right now.

Sir Isaac looks at his hand and the ring that now adorned it. There was a small heart-shaped ruby where the chains linked to it, a ruby that seemed to pulse with a dim glow. As he gazes into that red heartbeat, Sir Isaac remembered Sir Hiro's words. "The power of love and divine magic, huh? I have neither to spare for this creature, but I know someone that does. At least, if she wasn't lying about why she was locked up in here. Seems like as good a quest as any to begin my carreer as paladin with."

Sir Isaac looks at the pouch that was now dangling from his wrist from an invisible chain, and the little succubus inside it. "Because even if she doesn't deserve redemption, it's my duty to grant it to her if it can be done. If not for her, for the angel who still loves her."