The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 109. At Least in Your Eyes….

My ‘Gentle Breeze’ could not seep into the Estate due to Siluene’s Barrier.
So I hadn’t noticed immediately, but if something went wrong, an anomaly would certainly appear in the Barrier.

‘The monsters have decreased dramatically, but the Barrier has grown weaker instead.’

That meant something had happened to Siluene.
From that point on, it was simple. I just needed to use ‘Whirlwind’ to return to her.
Thirty seconds—at most a minute—was sufficient.
Of course, it would consume considerable divine power, but I still had enough reserves to strike down the wicked.

‘Hmm?’

I discovered a strange collar lying on the ground. When I picked it up, an eerie aura emanated from it.

‘A Demon’s Collar.’

I had seen one in my past life.
It belonged to Ropess of the Seven Deadly Sins – Lust. Once worn, the bearer could never disobey the commands of the designated ‘Master’.
They must have intended to control Siluene with this.

‘So Ropess was behind this after all.’

I had made a rough prediction based on the scale of the operation, and it seemed my suspicions were correct.
That man was Ropess’s lackey and the Orphanage Director where Siluene had stayed.
So the current owner of the ‘Demon’s Collar’ was not Ropess, but him.

‘Now I understand roughly how Siluene died in my past life.’

The Orphanage Director must have approached Siluene, claiming that wearing the Demon’s Collar would repel the monsters.
With no other options, Siluene would have willingly put on the Demon’s Collar.
But the Orphanage Director never sent the monsters away, and when Siluene realized this, she must have resisted again.
Of course, the Orphanage Director would have stopped her with the ‘Demon’s Collar’, but as a Holy Maiden, Siluene would have possessed some resistance to demonic artifacts.
Eventually, the Estate and everything in it would have been trampled by the monsters.

‘Summoning monsters is easy in any scenario, but sending them back would have been nearly impossible.’

From the start, Siluene had simply fallen for plausible words.

‘Well, this is merely my conjecture after all.’

Still, the broad strokes should be similar. At this point, it hardly matters anyway.

“Kael Inquisitor…? How did you already get here….”

At his question, I tucked the Demon’s leash into my bosom and replied.

“I’m simply fast. It’s an essential condition for catching fools like you.”
“….”
“So what brings the Orphanage Director here? The child you seek isn’t in this place.”

His brow furrowed.

“Just how much do you know?”
“Well, that you’re Ropess’s lackey, for starters?”
“…!”

His pupils dilated sharply.

“How on earth do you know that man’s name….”

A telling reaction. The mastermind is now confirmed.
Still, it’s understandable he’d be shocked. Even the Theocracy doesn’t know the name, so they merely announced ‘someone’ as the Seven Deadly Sins – Lust.

“Where is Ropess now?”
“Ha, as if I would tell you—”
“Preparing the Auction House?”
“….”

His mouth sealed shut.
Just as I thought. It was fortunate that nothing had changed from my past life.
Or was it fortunate? Honestly, I’m uncertain.
What I know for certain is that when the Auction House opens, Ropess dies by my hand.

“Then you don’t know where he is either.”

In other words, there was no reason to keep that bastard alive.

Whoosh!

I launched myself forward and brought my blade down. Gritting his teeth, he swung his remaining right arm to meet my sword.

Crash!

For a moment, our attacks canceled each other out.
But with only one arm left, he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer—even two arms had been struggling.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

Then his body suddenly swelled up. The blade that had been slowly pushing back suddenly found itself in balance once more.

‘Demonization?’

No, I didn’t sense any demonic energy.
Patches of variegated skin appeared across his body. There was no sign of the ashen hue characteristic of true demonization.

‘He’s grafted monster cells into his own body.’

A method for ordinary people to gain tremendous power in an instant. Though it came with considerable risks.

Boom!

I created distance and observed the situation carefully.
His body had grown considerably larger with the swollen monster cells. I’d thought his sword was oversized, but it must have been sized to match his true form.
This creature was likely the source of the monster wave itself. No wonder it had been difficult to suppress them.

“So you were never human at all—just a beast. I should have known.”
“….”

He glared at me, then glanced at his severed arm.

“…It won’t regenerate. What exactly is that sword?”

Normally, a monster’s regenerative power would have regrown the limb.
But thanks to the Demonic Sword Cartanos’s ‘Decay,’ the severed arm would not return.

“Surely not….”

His eyes widened in shock.

“The Demonic Sword Cartanos…?”
“Hoh? You recognize it?”
“A blade we couldn’t find for fifty years, and you possess it? And you—a member of the Theocracy’s clergy at that….”

He could identify it because he worked under Ropess, who dealt in all manner of goods.
It wasn’t surprising, given that he’d experienced the demonic sword’s power firsthand.

“At least in your eyes, I’m evil—so there’s no problem.”
“Ha ha….”

A small chuckle escaped him before he threw his head back and erupted into wild, maniacal laughter.
I blinked and spoke.

“Did you transplant a demon’s brain as well?”
“Ha ha! This is incredible luck….”

His laughter subsided as he fixed his gaze upon me.

“The Barrier Saintess and the Demonic Sword Cartanos in one place…. This is beyond jackpot.”
“Can you obtain them?”
“You’re certainly strong. But just now, you caught me off guard. In raw power, we’re evenly matched.”

He pressed a pouch at his waist against his severed arm and squeezed it tightly.
Dark blue cells oozed between his fingers, then grew into a new arm proportioned to his body.
Normally, such fusion wouldn’t be so easy, but his body was peculiar.

‘Did he carry spare cells in preparation for unforeseen circumstances?’

As he said, our raw power was comparable. I still held the advantage, but that fact remained unchanged.
However, he was laboring under one crucial misconception.

“Evenly matched in power, you say….”

I let out a quiet scoff.

“Perhaps. But those two eyes and that brain belong to you, don’t they?”
“What?”

Only his two arms and two legs had been replaced with demonic cells; the rest remained entirely his own.

“The question is whether you can keep up.”

I lowered my stance deliberately. Black flames rippled across my blade, and wind gathered at the soles of my feet.

“With your tracking vision.”

Boom!

I tore through the air, pulverizing the ground beneath me. In an instant, I had closed the distance and appeared at his side.

Whoosh!

The moment his head turned, his arm—gripping the blade—swung toward me.
Like a foot jerking upward when struck below the knee, his arm reacted before his mind could even process my presence.
It was pure, unthinking reflex.

‘But…’

He was already too late. The margin was infinitesimal, but I was not an opponent careless enough to miss such a thing.

Slice!

His swinging arm flew into the air. Caught by the Demonic Sword, there was no chance of regeneration.

“What—!”

Panicked, he retreated, but I pressed deeper into the assault.

Whoosh!

Then something erupted from below.
While he was pulling back, the demonic leg was aiming for my jaw.
Indeed, the demon was far more intelligent than its host.

Crack!

I tilted my chin up completely. Its foot grazed perilously close to my jaw.
Then, spinning my body in a full rotation, I unleashed my blade. Black flames traced a perfect circle.

Slice!

Its leg was severed clean away. Now it had only one arm and one leg remaining.
I kicked off the ground and surged forward without hesitation.

“Ugh…!”

It seemed to realize that retreating now would spell its doom, so it swung its remaining arm at me with desperation.
A colossal fist descended toward my face.

Whoosh!

But such a predictable attack was child’s play—I dropped my waist sharply and evaded it.
Moving on pure instinct, guided by the demonic cells coursing through me, proved far more dangerous than any conscious strategy.

Slice!

Its remaining arm flew skyward. Yet my blade’s dance was far from finished.

“You chose the wrong head to challenge.”

Slice!

I could have severed its neck then and there, but I graciously took its other leg first.
Now it had neither the means to attack nor the legs to flee.
Limbless and broken, it collapsed to the ground like a helpless infant.

“You… you…!”

It stared up at me, terror etched across its face.

“What exactly are you?! How did you defeat me so easily…!”
“Don’t be mistaken.”

I drove the Demonic Sword Cartanos into the floor and approached him.

“You never faced a true opponent from the start.”

Then, straddling his chest, I clenched my fist and brought it down against his face.
I didn’t activate ‘Wrath’. If I did, he would die far too easily.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With each punch, blood sprayed and teeth scattered across the ground.

“Wait… please…”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

I had no mercy in my heart for the pleas of a villain, so I continued driving my fists down relentlessly.
When one of his cheekbones caved in, I paused my fist in mid-air and asked.

“How many… no, how many dozens of children did you sell?”

He opened his mouth with difficulty, his face stained with blood and bruises.

“Please… spare me…”

I twisted my lips into a sneer and replied.

“Beg it of them instead.”

Then I began driving my clenched fist down with full force once more.
With each successive blow, his face lost more of its shape, and blood occasionally splattered across mine.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A worthless creature who wore the mask of an Orphanage Director and sold children.
Those children had been filled with hope, dreaming of adoption, and this beast had trampled that hope without mercy.
Did this monster even comprehend the suffering those children endured?
No. Surely not—otherwise he wouldn’t have committed such atrocities.
So I hoped he would come to understand it himself, at least a grain’s worth. This agony of suffocation, this slow death as breath is strangled away.

Whoosh!

Wrath coiled around my fist—not the flames born from the Demonic Sword, but something far more crimson.
The creature’s breath had already ceased long ago, broken by relentless punishment.

Crash!

I shattered the ground along with its skull. All that remained of it now was a scattered corpse.
I ignited the flames in my palm to incinerate the blood, then wiped the gore from my face using scraps of its own clothing.
Rising to my feet, I sheathed my blade.

“….”

Siluene gazed at me quietly, her expression somewhat dazed.

“Was that excessive?”

Siluene finally regained her composure and shook her head.

“No. I simply couldn’t breathe for a moment from the aura emanating from you, Interrogator. And truthfully, I found it quite satisfying.”

For a Holy Maiden, she lacked piety.
Though I suppose for her, that creature was nothing more than refuse.

“I see.”

I lifted my gaze to the sky. Siluene’s Barrier had already dissipated.

“Is it over?”
“Yes. Once Voltein’s breath ceased, several demons retreated. The remaining ones were dealt with by the others.”
“I see.”

So Voltein himself was the source of the demon wave.
I withdrew the demon’s leash from my bosom and clasped my hands together in prayer.

‘Goddess, all walk bound by their own leashes. Some by greed or the past, others by anxiety about what is to come….’

“….”

‘May everyone be freed from this collar.’

A soft rustling sound.

Demonic energy leaked from the Demon’s collar, beginning to purify into pristine white light. Soon it surged toward me.
Not as much as when I consecrated a Demon, but a modest amount of holy power nonetheless.
Had this not been a powerful Demon’s relic, I could have broken the curse this way.
The Demon’s collar appeared formidable at first glance, but it was ultimately an unremarkable artifact—far less impressive than it seemed.
To consecrate the Demonic Sword Cartanos, I would likely need to shatter it at least in half.

‘Though I have no intention of doing so.’

Flames erupted.

I ignited the remaining traces of the collar, reducing them to ash.
Siluene asked me a question.

“By the way… is the name of the Seven Deadly Sins – Lust truly Ropess?”

Indeed, she had heard the conversation from moments before.

“It is.”
“How did you…?”
“There are ways to know such things. Could you keep this a secret?”
“I can, but why? This information would surely help us apprehend him.”

It was merely a name, yet it would undoubtedly advance the investigation.
Which is precisely why I cannot reveal it.

“He rarely shows himself. But if he learns his tail has been caught, he will burrow far deeper into hiding.”

If things proceed as they did in my past life, Ropess will appear at the Auction House he hosts.
But if variables arise, everything could unravel.
That is why I wait for that day alone. My anger is best kept in reserve until then.

“Ah, I understand.”
“And I would appreciate it if you kept the existence of this Demonic Sword secret as well.”
“Yes, I shall.”

She accepted it far more easily than I had anticipated. She was likely attributing it to compensation for my assistance.

“However… would it be permissible to ask you one thing?”
“Of course.”
“How is it that you know of matters concerning my orphanage?”

I learned that from Marie.
All I had known was that the Barrier Saintess would die today at the hands of the monster wave.

‘Now I can tell her.’

The monster wave had ended, and I had already apprehended the culprit targeting Siluene.
All that remained was cleanup.

“A woman named Marie informed me.”

Her body stiffened at those words, and only after a considerable pause did her response tumble out.

“…Pardon?”
“I met her in this territory today. She spoke of various matters, saying you were in danger.”
“B-but Marie is dead, or so I was told…”
“She’s alive. Assuming what I saw was truly Marie.”
“That… that can’t be…”

Siluene’s hands trembled violently, her breathing grew ragged, and her holy power destabilized.
She resembled a bomb on the verge of detonation at the slightest provocation.

‘…This is more serious than I anticipated. And I’ve only told her about Marie’s survival.’

It was hardly surprising.
Regardless of the truth, Marie remained in Siluene’s eyes merely a child who had betrayed her trust.
Had I revealed this before matters concluded, it would have created a significant complication.

‘Should I withdraw here?’

No—having begun, I must see this through to its end. The truth must be known, even if Siluene wishes otherwise.
And this is also a promise I made to Marie. She too desired to clear up the misunderstanding.
Thus, I continued.

“Marie knew the truth about the Orphanage. That’s why she wanted to be adopted in your place.”
“Stop…! Please stop…!”

She cowered, covering both ears as if refusing to hear another word.
The distance between us was roughly five paces. Perhaps this was the closest she could ever bring herself to stand near another person.
Yet I took another step forward and spoke.

“I don’t know what Marie said to you, but it wasn’t her true heart. She did all of it to protect you.”
“Stop…!”

Another step.

“She willingly accepted that danger for you. The danger of becoming a plaything for those vile creatures.”
“Please stop…!”

One final step.

“She has never betrayed you. Not once. Even now, she still lingers at your side….”
“Stop iiiiit!!!!!”

Crash!

As she cried out sharply, a blinding light erupted from the shield-shaped stigma on her body.

Boom!

Layers upon layers of barriers materialized around her. I hastily retreated before the rapidly approaching barriers.

“….”

Before my eyes now stood a hemispherical barrier, intricately woven.
Though the barrier was translucent, the countless overlapping layers rendered Siluene’s form invisible.
It was a barrier to protect herself from the outside world.
I gently tapped the barrier as one might knock on a door.

‘Formidable.’

Even after expending such power, she could still manifest barriers of this caliber?
Though previously she needed to use her stigma across the entire Barony, now she only had to protect herself.

‘Leaving things as they are could be one approach.’

If I never encounter Marie, she could continue living as the Barrier Saintess as she does now, even if she never becomes Siluene.

‘But then, when similar dangers arise again, I won’t be able to respond.’

I no longer know her future because she was originally destined to die here today.
So I must extract her from this place to protect her. And I must make her confront the truth.
So that she can live not as a mere Barrier Saintess, but as a complete Siluene.

‘No, this is mere hypocrisy.’

And nothing but my own selfish desire.
If the Barrier Saintess remains intact, not only The Continent but my own nest will become safer as well.
And so….

Shing—

I drew my blade.

Whoooosh—

Black flames ignited along the sword’s edge. The flames of ‘Corruption’ contained within the Demonic Sword Cartanos.
It matters not if this is hypocrisy or mere selfishness.
I was never a righteous being to begin with. My true nature was that of the Sword Demon, once called the greatest villain.
So I will gladly approach her. I will force myself closer to her and attempt to persuade her once more.
If there exists an answer at the tip of this blade….

CRASH!

There was no reason for me to hesitate.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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