The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 25

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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 25. What Is Anger?

Benedick woke early in the morning, as he always did.
His wife slept peacefully beside him, while morning sunlight streamed through the window.

“How peaceful….”

Though problems still plagued the Territory, his heart had grown somewhat lighter since Kael returned from his pilgrimage—the greatest source of his worry.
Kael becoming a Heretic Inquisitor was certainly surprising, but judging from his recent actions, it didn’t seem entirely unfavorable.

‘He’s using that power for the sake of others, after all.’

But was he truly using it for others’ sake, or for his own?

‘In any case….’

Everything seemed to be flowing in the right direction.
If only it could remain peaceful like this. If I’m being greedy, I’d wish for my family and the residents to live a bit more happily.

– Move that over there! Careful, handle it gently!

Just then, a commotion echoed from outside. Lillian stirred awake.

“What is all this noise…?”
“Ah, you’re up?”
“Yes….”
“I’m not sure either. I should go take a look.”

When they descended to the Garden, the sight before them left them speechless.
Servants moving treasures. The quantity was clearly extraordinary.

“Ah, you’re awake. Master, Baroness.”

Sriben, who was directing the servants, approached them.

“W-what on earth are all of these?”
“Ah, did I not mention yesterday that Young Master Kael went out to earn money?”
“You did.”

Benedick had shown suspicion when Kael skipped meals and vanished without warning, and Sriben had answered him thus.

“This is the result, sir.”
“No, but even so, this is too much….”

Gold. Gold. Gold.
The light reflecting off the garden in the sunlight was so brilliant it nearly blinded the eyes.
Just then, as Kael approached, Benedick opened his mouth.

“Kael, did you truly bring all of this?”
“Yes. It was quite troublesome moving it by carriage.”
“But where on earth did you obtain such a sum? Surely you didn’t do anything improper?”
“Father.”

I placed my hand over my chest and smiled faintly.

“I am now a Heretic Inquisitor. One who serves the Goddess. I swear by my honor that this wealth brings no harm to others.”
“Hmm….”

It seemed Kael had no intention of explaining further.

“Lillian, perhaps you could say something to Kael….”
“Kael! Are you hurt anywhere?”

At that moment, Lillian rushed out and examined Kael’s condition.

“L-Lillian?”

Lillian shot Benedick a sharp glare.

“Husband! Why must you dampen our son’s spirits! If he’s earned money, you should praise him, not interrogate him!”
“W-what?”

As Benedick stood bewildered, Lillian turned her head.

“Kael, have you eaten?”
“No, I’m a bit hungry.”
“Oh my, that won’t do. Come inside and eat with me.”
“Yes, Mother.”

Kael and Lillian Luminara disappeared into the mansion. Benedick remained frozen in place like a statue.

‘Corrupted! They’ve been corrupted!’

Surely Lillian Luminara wasn’t unaware of the estate’s dire condition?
She must have witnessed the residents struggling, seen Benedick sighing in his office?
Lillian Luminara had accepted it. That reality and ideals were not the same.

‘How can this be? A devout Ella Faith family?’

As Benedick wrestled with his inner turmoil, Aren approached from the side.

“Don’t worry, Father.”
“Aren….”
“My brother would never bring shame upon our family. Even if some details seem questionable, nothing will go wrong.”
“I suppose you’re right….”

Benedick exhaled deeply and gazed up at the azure sky.

‘Goddess, is this truly acceptable?’

Naturally, the Goddess offered no answer.

* * *

‘With this, I won’t have to worry about money for a while….’

I slept and then sat on my bed, organizing my thoughts about what lay ahead.

‘There are plenty of people I need to kill. The Evil Book Society, the Seven Deadly Sins, and more….’

But to deal with more enemies more efficiently, I needed to elevate my own cultivation first.
The Sword of Joy alone could handle most opponents, but the world was vast, and there were those stronger than I was now.

‘At the very least, I need to reach the realm of Wrath to feel assured.’

By offering Grol to the Goddess, I had acquired the physical capabilities necessary to reach the realm of Wrath.
Now, all that remained was for my mind to be consumed by fury.

‘In truth, this is no concern.’

I have always lived in the company of anger.
It was no accident that I bore the mantle of Wrath among the Seven Deadly Sins in my past life.

‘However, mere shallow anger will not suffice.’

The fury must crash down like a tidal wave, leaving me helpless before it.
In my past life, I had obtained the Sword of Wrath upon witnessing children sold into slavery at an auction house of Lust, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Of course, I harbored no intention of deliberately manufacturing or pursuing such circumstances.
I am no hound chasing after rage, and to do so would only lead to my own ruin.

‘Wrath arrives of its own accord. Even without my desire for it.’

Until that moment came, I resolved to maintain peace of mind.

Knock, knock—

– Brother, it’s Aren. If you’re awake, shall we dine together? Rak and Rami are also looking forward to your arrival.

For now, it was enough to savor the small joys that came my way.

“I’ll be there.”

* * *

In an underground laboratory beneath the Ella Theocracy.
Within a cylindrical vessel filled with green liquid lay a monster, surrounded by countless vials of chemicals and severed body parts.

“Molt, who departed with Grol, has not returned.”

Two men conversed within that damp laboratory.

“He wasn’t devoured, was he? Grol was never a perfect specimen to begin with.”
“That’s right. We could barely control him.”
“Still, there’s no way he’d be accidentally eaten.”

At that moment, the Tall Man entered the laboratory.

“Welcome, Korent!”

It was Korent, the laboratory director of this place.

“Most likely, Baron Scalen—or rather, the Mordin Apostle—was intercepted by someone while attempting to recover his hidden assets.”
“Would such a person have been nearby? Even if Grol wasn’t a perfect specimen, that was merely a matter of control. His combat prowess was more than sufficient….”

Grol was an experimental subject comparable to the Evil Book Society’s apostles.
So how could anyone in the vicinity of Scalen Territory be strong enough to defeat such a being?

“I don’t know the details. But the fact that he still hasn’t returned means someone definitely got to him. There’s no way that obsessed maniac would have fled with the money.”
“That’s true.”
“Tsk, I was planning to buy some humans from the black market with that money.”

They preferred conducting experiments on humans whenever possible.
Their goal was to transform humans into demons without consuming demon blood.

“Our plans have been severely disrupted. The Mordin Apostle was supposed to supply us with many humans soon, but he’s dead, and we couldn’t even recover his assets.”
“You said it was definitely Kael Luminara who killed the Apostle, right?”
“Yes. The eldest son of the Luminara Family that the Mordin Apostle originally targeted.”
“Is he really that strong?”
“There isn’t much information available, so I’m not certain of his exact capabilities. But judging from his track record so far, he’s definitely formidable.”

Korent ground his teeth together.

“When all is said and done, it’s all because of that bastard. If I ever meet him, I’ll kill him without fail.”

The man, who had been swallowing dryly under the chilling murderous intent, asked a question.

“Korent, what will you do now?”
“Since all our planned operations have fallen apart, we’ll have to resort to other methods.”

Korent looked up at the ceiling.

“They draw in humans. Our Mordin Apostle instructed us to avoid drawing attention, but now there’s no helping it.”

Korent chuckled and left the laboratory.

“And who would listen to the words of someone too weak to survive?”

* * *

I spent one night at the mansion before mounting my horse once more to ride out and slaughter the heretics.
Upon arriving at a village within Scalen Territory, I walked the streets alongside Bella.

“What is wrath?”
“Pardon?”
“It is the sensation of one’s head burning hot, of something threatening to burst forth from within the chest.”

Bella, recognizing that I was spouting nonsense to myself again, fixed her gaze straight ahead.

“Then when do I experience wrath?”
“….”
“Precisely when I hear Bella’s singing.”
“Ugh!”
“Yet even that falls short of true fury. Such profound anger rarely graces a person.”

I continued my rambling.

“So from whence came my primordial wrath?”
“….”
“From those bastards of the Evil Book Society.”

At the thought of them, something began to roil deep within my chest.
There were many who deserved death, but first I would stop their vile work.
Their abominable experiments on humans.

“So they’re hiding here, then?”
“Indeed. Vermin naturally prefer dark, damp places. And since the leadership of this territory was a rotted husk, the insects had no choice but to swarm.”

I surveyed my surroundings.
The villagers continued their lives as usual, laughing and chattering despite their lord’s disappearance, though a faint unease gleamed unmistakably in their eyes.

‘Most of the villagers here will be dead within a month.’

A demon had suddenly appeared and swept through this place.
At the time, Baron Scalen claimed it was the work of the group that had annihilated the Luminara Family, but I knew the truth.
It was an experimental subject of the Evil Book Society that had ravaged this village.

‘Then there must be a laboratory here where that experimental subject was created.’

The problem was that I didn’t know the exact location of the laboratory.
I needed to take revenge on those who had hurt our Grol, yet the situation was frustratingly unclear.

‘But since the incident will occur a month from now, there will surely be signs to follow.’

As I moved about, observing the situation carefully, something caught my eye.

‘Hmm?’

I noticed several people wearing identical brooches, regardless of gender or age.
Curious, I approached a little child and asked.

“Little one.”
“Yes?”
“What is that brooch?”
“Oh, this?”

The child held up a small white brooch pinned to their chest.

“They say if you wear this, demons won’t abduct you. And if you don’t have this brooch, demons might take you away.”

Yet I felt no mystical power from it. And it made no sense that so many of these brooches would be circulating.

“Who told you such nonsense?”
“Oh… it’s not nonsense. The Priest told us. He even distributed these for free.”

I narrowed my brow.

“A Priest? Are you certain he holds the rank of Priest?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Hmm…”

In my previous life, the Luminara Family was annihilated, and I occasionally hid within Scalen Territory, yet I recall no such incident ever occurring.
Which meant that the future had shifted because of my intervention—a strong possibility that this event was born from my actions.

‘Judging by how freely he distributed them, he doesn’t seem like a simple con artist….’

Such a bizarre occurrence unfolds just before the incident is set to happen?

‘Something reeks.’

I deliberated slowly.
Why specifically claim that wearing the brooch would prevent abduction by demons? What benefit did he gain from that?

‘Is he simply a deranged Priest?’

No—the timing and motive were far too suspicious for that.
The Evil Book Society preferred conducting experiments on humans rather than beasts.
And here, just before the incident unfolds, brooches are distributed exclusively to humans.

‘Wait….’

A thought struck me like lightning.

‘Could it be to abduct the humans who don’t wear the brooch?’

If so, even when residents vanished, he could incite panic by blaming demons.
That would elevate trust in the Priest, and he would naturally slip from the suspect list.

‘No physical evidence—only circumstantial suspicion.’

Yet a Heretic Inquisitor could investigate heresy charges based on suspicion alone.

‘Either way, it’s one of two possibilities.’

Either a delusional fool drowning in delusion, or a member of the Evil Book Society concealing dark intentions.
But watching my inner antenna for detecting villainy vibrate, the latter seemed far more likely.
I asked the Little Child whom Bella had given food to.

“Little Child, where is that wretched Priest?”
“Oh, he’s at the Chapel over there. He’ll be distributing the brooches there too.”

I gazed toward where the Little Child pointed. There stood a small Chapel, with villagers lingering nearby.
Shadows, after all, were cast where light shone brightest.

‘Found it.’

I smiled wickedly and began walking.

“Bella, Deacon—follow me.”
“Yes! Little Child, thank you!”

Bella offered her gratitude to the Little Child who had helped us, but I had no need for such pleasantries.
I was a man who preferred to speak through steel rather than words.

(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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