The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 113

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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 113. What Are You Saying?

Gregory strolled through the Plaza.
Though the sun was beginning to set, the residents were making various preparations to welcome the new year.

“Good evening, Bishop Gregory.”
“If you don’t mind, would you care to try this?”

The residents greeted him. To them, Gregory was a devout and incorruptible clergyman.

“Bishop Gregory, you’ve been inspecting the area quite frequently lately.”
“You must be checking to ensure the festival preparations are going well.”

Gregory’s recent wanderings through the Plaza had two reasons.
First, now that he was no longer Cardinal, his duties had been reduced by more than half, leaving him with little to do.
And the most important reason was that by positioning himself where crowds gathered, he could spread awareness of magic’s wickedness far more effectively among the populace.
Since there was no one in this Diocese capable of confronting the Wol Young Order, if he remained only at the Diocese Office, perhaps only he and the stationed Knights would perish.

‘I do feel sorry for the residents.’

There was guilt in drawing in those who knew nothing of his true intentions.

‘But this is certainly a necessary task.’

Those who worship the Goddess must never embrace magic.
Not merely because demons wield it.
Magic is a power that presumes to rival the Goddess’s authority.
It is something impossible for humans by nature, yet through this wicked sorcery, they counterfeit miracles.

‘The Goddess would never overlook such arrogance.’

Though the Zarkan Empire, which has embraced magic, prospers now, when their hubris reaches the heavens, it will crumble in an instant.
Indeed, is the Zarkan Empire not already plagued by civil wars among the nobility driven by greed, and the emergence of wicked factions?
All of it is the price for presuming to rival the Goddess’s power.

‘The Theocracy must not suffer the same fate.’

This was a necessary sacrifice for that great cause.
After all, these were all followers of the Ella Faith. If they were to become martyrs for the Goddess and the future of the Theocracy, they would rejoice in Heaven.

‘Now that I think about it, that day was also in the midst of festival preparations.’

I lifted my head and gazed at the night sky, which had grown dark without my notice.
The laughter of children running and playing. The chatter of merchants bustling about. Faces brimming with anticipation for the coming new year.
Gregory’s wife and daughter were equally excited.
What should we eat? Where should we go when the new year arrives? Spending time with family at home wouldn’t be so bad either….
An utterly ordinary, mundane day.
But then, a Little Child pointed at the sky and spoke.

– The sun.

“The sun.”

A colossal sun blazed in the night sky, consuming both darkness and moonlight.
It was the same now.
Compared to Barsenon’s magic back then, it was insignificant, yet a massive sphere of flame still hung suspended in the night sky.

“….”

The residents stood dazed by the sudden light.
They had never witnessed magic before. They would simply think some strange phenomenon was occurring.
But Gregory understood immediately what it was.

‘They’ve come!’

It was the magic of the Wol Young Order.

Rummmmmmmble—

With a deafening roar, the sun suspended high in the sky began to descend slowly toward the Plaza.
As the heat drew closer, the residents finally came to their senses and fled, screaming in terror.
But Gregory simply spread both arms wide, his face radiant with joy.

‘Come, my death!’

And behold! The terrible spectacle wrought by magic!
When that falls, this entire region will surely become a sea of fire, and countless lives will perish.
Those who lose their loved ones will despair, and they will rage against the magic and the mage that have turned this place into hell.

‘And those who survive will follow in my footsteps.’

There are none here capable of stopping that.
How could anyone protect others from such a colossal spell?
To throw oneself into it would only result in becoming a moth drawn to flame, falling away to nothing.
…Yes, that is what I believed.

Whoosh!

Someone launches skyward toward the descending sun. Cloaked entirely in robes, they grip something in their hand.

‘…A sword?’

It was a black blade, impossibly thin compared to the sun’s immense size.
Black flames begin to coil around it—an eerie aura that feels both profane and sacred.

‘They think they can stop the spell with merely that?’

It was madness. The desire to save the people had driven them to reckless audacity.
Yet against the descending calamity, they swung their blade nonetheless.

Boom!

As the two flames collided, a deafening roar shook the heavens.
The impact halted the sun’s descent momentarily. But that was not all that astounded.

Whoosh!

Black flames radiating from the blade swiftly envelop the sun.
The sun, now transformed to black, loses its form and begins to twist and contort….

Boom!

It erupted outward.
The contained heat scattered skyward, and crimson sparks fell like snow, fluttering gently downward.
Yet even those sparks were blocked by a translucent barrier, never reaching the plaza.
He had truly stopped it. The calamity that man’s magic would have become.

‘Such a man existed in this Diocese…?’

Under normal circumstances, it would have been cause for celebration, but not now.
That man had shattered my plan to bury the perception of magic in a single stroke.

Thud—

He descended gently to the ground.
Gregory, along with the fleeing residents, stopped in their tracks and stared at him.

“This won’t be necessary anymore.”

As he cast off his robe and let it fall to the ground, his true form was revealed.
A black priestly vestment that emanated nobility. Black hair swaying in the wind.
…A familiar silhouette. The one who had confined me within the Diocese Office.

“Kael Inquisitor…?”

At that call, he turned around. It was truly Kael.
Kael strode toward the dazed Gregory and seized the back of his head with one hand, dragging him close.

“Snap out of it, Bishop Gregory.”

He brought his face near. Their firm foreheads collided with a soft thud.
He laughed darkly.

“You must not die in this place.”

The madness gleaming in his eyes made Gregory swallow hard involuntarily.

* * *

“How did Kael Inquisitor come to be here….”

When he came to his senses, he addressed me with formal respect. I was no longer a mere Heretic Inquisitor, after all.

“There is only one reason I have come to this place. To root out the heretics threatening it.”

As I released him and offered a faint smile, his pupils trembled violently.
The moment Bella and I arrived at the Diocese, we began circling Gregory. The Wol Young Order’s true target was Gregory, after all.

‘That suspicion proved accurate.’

The Wol Young Order likely deemed this moment—when he moved without escort—far more advantageous than when he was stationed at the Diocese Office surrounded by Knights.
Even within the Wol Young Order, there were those who cared nothing for dragging innocents into their schemes.

“A Heretic Inquisitor…?”

I lifted my head at that voice. Three figures stood atop a rather tall building, looking down at me.

“How did you find this place….”
“Do you require an answer?”

One of them widened his eyes in shock.

“Could it be… you knew of our attack and waited here in advance…?”

They could draw no other conclusion. I had appeared as though I had anticipated them.

“Well, let’s say that’s the case.”
“Indeed… A Cardinal who has survived this long is no mere fool. To hide among the citizens and lure us into complacency…. Did you have such confidence that I could stop you regardless?”
“Well, Bishop Gregory does place particular trust in me.”

I turned to Gregory and gave a thumbs up.

“Bishop Gregory, leave this to me. I will personally drive these vermin out.”
“….”

Gregory’s eyes went wide with bewilderment. He clearly had no idea I would appear.

A sharp sound cut through the air!

I kicked off the ground and shot up toward the building rooftop where they were.
They retreated without attacking recklessly. After all, I had blocked their magic.
One of them spoke.

“Are you the Kael Inquisitor? Your appearance suggests it, and the way you blocked the shockwave with magic—it looks like you travel with a Mage Deacon.”
“Oh, so you recognize me?”

It seemed Bella and I had become famous figures now.
With numerous achievements and close ties to magic—something the Theocracy viewed with suspicion—it wasn’t surprising.

‘Still, three Mages… If we fight by conventional means, this won’t be simple.’

Unlike Knights, Mages could coordinate without overlapping movements, making cooperation far easier.
And below us were residents. Bella would protect them, but there was still a possibility they could be caught in the crossfire.

‘The outcome won’t change, but the process will be somewhat troublesome.’

As I was contemplating how to handle this, one of them spoke again.

“I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you?”
“Why are you protecting that man along with the residents? Don’t you know how he treats magic?”

They knew I was favorable enough toward magic to distribute magical artifacts throughout my Estate.
So it made sense they’d be confused that I was shielding Gregory, whose nature was completely opposite to mine.

“Do I need a reason to save someone?”

Of course, by “someone,” I meant the residents, not Gregory.
He bit his lip.

“To be honest, we don’t want to fight you. You’re different from the other rigid-minded clergy.”
“Is that so? Actually, I share similar views with you.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”

I nodded.

“If we fight here now, many residents will die or be injured. You may not care much as long as Gregory falls, but surely you don’t want to massacre indiscriminately.”
“Well… that’s true.”
“So withdraw today. I won’t pursue you either.”

At that, they cast suspicious glances and asked.

“Weren’t you among the residents to capture us? Now you claim to worry about residents being hurt?”

Fair point—that’s how it must have looked to them.
The truth was I had simply appeared on my own, and they couldn’t have known that.

“I originally intended to fight. But I didn’t expect you to be this strong. Even I can’t guarantee I could protect everyone against three Mages.”
“Hmm….”

Their individual power wasn’t particularly formidable.
But the three of them combined were equivalent to fighting a Mage capable of dual casting.
The fireball they’d unleashed just moments ago had been manifested by all three working together.
The one who had been contemplating nodded.

“Fine. We’ll withdraw here too. We might be able to bring you down, but there’s no point taking unnecessary risks.”

They had come prepared to die, but they surely never imagined I would be here.
To them, I was a formidable warrior with countless achievements to my name.

“A wise decision.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s go together just to that point. You might break your word, after all. I won’t follow beyond that.”
“Hmm, how far exactly?”

The moment they turned to look at where I was pointing.

Whoosh!

I rolled my feet and charged forward at tremendous speed. They jumped in alarm, sensing my presence, and spun around.

“You bastard…!!”

The one in the back reacted, throwing up a barrier around the target of my blade.

A sharp metallic ring echoed through the air.

But my sword’s edge shattered the hastily erected barrier and drove straight into one of their chests.

A wet, sickening sound.

The blade pierced through their heart. I had no time to savor the sight of blood spilling from their mouth.

Flames erupted toward me in a roaring inferno.

Another one had responded with swift precision. I wrenched my sword free and retreated slightly, then kicked off the ground the instant the flames passed.
As I swung my blade at the one who cast the fire magic, another threw up a protective barrier.
As I swung my sword at the one who fired the flame spell, another one cast a shield around him.

Wow!

But this was merely an imitation.
But it was nothing more than an imitation of that.

The one who had already cast the defensive spell could only widen their eyes in shock, while the one they had protected was still preparing their offensive magic—unable to respond.

Black flames carved a diagonal arc through the air.
Fresh blood sprayed from their chest, and they fell backward.

An explosion detonated behind me.

The last remaining one had unleashed their magic.

But I had already leaped back, and the blast never reached me.

“….”

Thwack!

But because I hastily stepped back and avoided it, even that failed to reach me.

“….”

Silence descended upon the area. The survivor stood in a daze.
In an instant, two Mages had lost their lives. But unlike them, I remained unscathed, without a single wound.

“Ha ha….”

The one who had witnessed the spectacle laughed hollowly and collapsed to his knees. He was the one who had continued conversing with me.

“To deceive us in such a manner…. What cunning treachery.”
“No, I merely repaid what was done to me. You attacked first, after all.”
“Ha ha, I suppose so….”

He murmured with his head bowed.

“Remarkable. Truly remarkable. I’ve never heard of combat waged in such a manner. And the power to back up such a strategy…. Even if we had fought conventionally, the outcome would not have changed….”

Of course he had never witnessed it. All those who had seen my way of fighting were dead.

Thud, thud—

I approached him. Even as I drew near, he made no attempt to counterattack.
Standing before him, I asked.

“Do you believe this way is righteous?”

In my past life, these men had slaughtered many inhabitants. Had I not existed, things would likely be no different now.
When the three of them united, they were far from weak. Had I not exploited their vulnerabilities, even I would have required time to defeat them.

“I don’t know if it’s righteous. We simply act out of vengeance against the Theocracy and the conviction that it cannot be left as it is. Though unlike us, there are those with unwavering beliefs.”
“I see.”

I had witnessed it myself several times. There were those who genuinely wished to transform the Theocracy, though their methods differed from mine.
I gazed suddenly at the night sky. The bitter cold of December was beginning to blow.

“I will transform this Theocracy henceforth. Because I believe that is righteous.”
“I believe that conviction of yours is righteous too. At least, unlike mine.”

I looked into his eyes and asked.

“How old are you?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Shut up and just answer. Before I beat it out of you.”
“…Twenty-nine.”
“Do you intend to reach your thirties?”

Only a few days remained until the new year.
He let out a hollow chuckle, as if his strength had drained away.

“Let that slide for me. It would be troublesome if I aged beyond those wretches.”
“I see.”

I gripped my sword tightly. In the next instant, a long black line carved through the empty air.

A sharp whistle cut through the silence.

Something flew upward, and his body crumpled forward onto the ground.
I glanced at the corpse before sheathing my blade and leaping down to the floor.
The residents had all evacuated, and no one remained in sight.
The festive decorations they had prepared stood untouched and pristine. To any observer, nothing had occurred here at all.

“Ah, Kael Inquisitor…!”

Gregory approached me then.

“Thank goodness you’re unharmed. Thanks to you, we survived. We nearly lost not just myself but many of the residents as well.”

Gregory clearly intended to brush past this matter as if he knew nothing of what had transpired.
He would believe there was no evidence that he had allowed the Wol Young Order’s attack to proceed unchecked.
But knowing his true nature as I did, I could not let such insolence stand.

A sharp crack echoed through the air.

I struck his cheek with a backhanded blow. Stunned, he cupped his stinging face and turned to look at me.

“What is the meaning of this…?”

To that, I spoke coldly.

“What are you babbling about, you fool?”

If you thought I would end it with merely this, you were sorely mistaken.

(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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