The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 26

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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 26. Don’t I Get to Ask?

Edgar, a member of the Laboratory and Priest of the Chapel, was conducting the service.

“We know not where demons hide, brothers and sisters! They are ever cunning in their deception of mankind, and thus we must remain vigilant!”

Those filling the Chapel nodded at Edgar’s words.

“Moreover, Baron Scalen… no, Mordin has been revealed as a member of the Evil Book Society and has received the judgment of the Goddess! We must now be all the more cautious against the forces of darkness!”

Baron Scalen was an apostle of the Evil Book Society, while I was merely a believer.
But now that he was dead and cast aside, there was no reason to show him deference.
I would simply use him as much as I could.

“May the Goddess’s blessing fall upon you all, brothers and sisters. Let us pray together!”

Edgar clasped his hands and closed his eyes, and many followed suit.

“Great Goddess Ella…”

The prayer continued for some time, and various rituals were performed.
I had been able to receive my priestly ordination through Baron Scalen’s influence, and while serving as the Chapel’s Priest, I had been conducting experiments in the Cathedral Basement.

‘For the past five years, no one has discovered me.’

The Theocracy occasionally searched about looking for the missing, but I had hidden everything so well, and Baron Scalen’s influence allowed me to slip through their investigations.

‘Even when the Theocracy’s people came after Baron Scalen was revealed as a member of the Evil Book Society, they suspected nothing.’

So now I could afford to be bolder.
Until recently, I had conducted my experiments primarily on monsters, but now I intended to collect humans directly for my work.

“Come now! Everyone step forward! These brooches will protect you all from the demons!”

After all the rituals concluded, I began distributing white brooches to the people.

“Thank you, Priest Edgar.”
“Haha, as fellow servants of the Goddess, shouldn’t we help one another and live together in harmony?”

Edgar’s eyes curved with a smile, but his true thoughts were far different.

‘Foolish idiots.’

This was merely an ordinary brooch.
A means to abduct people in the days ahead and evade suspicion.

‘If I continue kidnapping only those who don’t wear the brooch, they’ll truly believe it’s the work of demons.’

Of course, the Theocracy would harbor suspicions about why I suddenly distributed the brooches in the first place.
But as long as they find no evidence despite their repeated searches, no one could accuse Edgar.

‘Manipulation is simple. Seize power and prestige, speak convincingly, and others will believe it as truth.’

Look at those leaving the Chapel, wearing their brooches and smiling.
The trust that comes with the title of priest paralyzes their critical thinking.

“Ah… this is the last one, I’m afraid. Unfortunately, these are all the brooches I’ve prepared today.”

Edgar displayed a box with its bottom visible.
Approximately fifty per day. He controlled the quantity so that not all the residents in the area would wear the brooch.

“Please return tomorrow! Tomorrow, join me in praising the Goddess’s magnificence, and receive a brooch to protect you from demons!”

The people expressed disappointment but reluctantly filed out of the Chapel one by one.

‘Now it’s time to make my move.’

Since I started yesterday, approximately one hundred people now wear the brooch.
I’ll select and abduct test subjects from those who don’t.

‘Adolescents are by far the best choice.’

Their bodies weren’t yet fully developed, making them far more adaptable to demonic energy than adults.
The failure rate remained high, but I could simply abduct more to compensate.
Even if only one in a hundred successfully becomes a demon, the experiment succeeds.

‘Hm?’

That was when I noticed a single man still lingering in the empty chapel.

‘Unable to let go of his attachment to the brooch, I see.’

Edgar sighed and approached him.
The man sat hunched in a chair, his upper body folded forward completely, so only the back of his head and shoulders were visible.

“Brother? I understand your disappointment, but shall we call it a day? We have tomorrow ahead of us.”

He remained silent for a time. Then, suddenly, he spoke.

“Three hours.”
“Pardon?”
“Three hours I’ve endured listening to your drivel, suppressing the murderous intent festering within me.”

He slowly lifted his head. His sclera were bloodshot, veins bulging crimson across the whites of his eyes.
The face of a man who had endured severe torture.

“Now only you and I remain in this place. Tell me—what reason do I have to let you live?”
“What do you—”

Edgar’s words trailed off. Only then could he see the man’s attire clearly.
Black priestly robes and a scabbard gripped in his hand.

“A Heretic Inquisitor…?”

Only they wore priestly vestments while carrying weapons.
The Heretic Inquisitor asked.

“So, your answer?”

* * *

While he stood dazed, Bella entered from outside.

“Interrogator, the sun is setting and there are no people around.”
“Well done. Wait here for a moment.”
“Yes.”

Bella stepped back and retrieved a pen and notebook. I turned my gaze back to him.

“Listen. I’m asking you. You were spouting off so freely to the believers earlier, so why has the cat suddenly got your tongue?”

He swallowed hard and forced a smile.

“Ha ha… Interrogator, why are you suddenly treating me this way?”
“You know better than anyone why.”

I continued speaking with superhuman patience. My “assessment” was not yet complete.

“I don’t sense any particular power from the brooch, so why did you distribute it?”
“The demon I witnessed dislikes white brooches. It mistakes them for objects imbued with holy power.”

Of course, he had prepared an excuse of this caliber.
It was a plausible explanation, but it didn’t fool me.

“Heh heh…”

I let out a low chuckle and pointed at him.

“No, you distributed the brooches so you could abduct those who didn’t wear them, and remove yourself from suspicion.”
“….”
“After that, you planned to transform humans and monsters into demons in the laboratory beneath this Cathedral.”

His eyes twitched slightly.
The reason I hadn’t slit his throat immediately was partly to let the residents escape, but the greatest reason was to locate their laboratory.

‘I cannot afford to act rashly and miss the biggest prize.’

In truth, I am marveling at my own patience.
Perhaps I am no longer the “Wrath” of the Seven Deadly Sins, but the “Patience” of the Seven Great Virtues?

‘Today, at least, I lack nothing.’

I nodded and rose from my seat.
By fortunate timing, I had already completed my reconnaissance of the Laboratory’s layout through Fair Wind. The sealed entrance meant the process would inevitably consume time.

“You wouldn’t happen to know Grol, would you? That grateful bastard who helped me recover my money and granted me power.”
“….”
“That’s why I even gave him snacks, but the ungrateful wretch tried to bite me. I despise those who forget kindness, so I had no choice but to kill him.”

At my words, the stiffened man stumbled backward.

“…What are you?”

I didn’t answer, instead fixing my gaze upon his shoulder blade.
A crimson thread materialized there, gradually thickening before my eyes.

Splurt!

A human arm erupted into the air.
My black-sheathed blade had already been drawn.

“Aaaahhhhh!”

He shrieked. Like water poured upon boiling magma.
It evaporated instantly.

“Will severing your neck quell this rage? Probably not. But I cannot simply leave you as you are….”

I planted my blade into the ground and approached him barehanded.

“I think beating you to death would be most appropriate.”
“Wait, please…!”

He stretched out his remaining hand, but my fist was already swinging toward his face.

Crack!

With a satisfying impact, his body launched through the air.
He crashed to the ground tumbling, one side of his face completely caved in.

“W-wait! I’ll tell you the location of the Laboratory!”
“I don’t need it.”

I seized the bastard by the collar and drove my fist down.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

With each blow, his nasal bone shattered, his cheekbones caved in, and blood sprayed into the air.
By the time I came to my senses, his face was no longer recognizable.
I released my grip on his collar as though discarding trash and moved forward, drawing my blade with a fist stained crimson.

“Interrogator, I will stand guard to ensure no one else intrudes!”

Someone spoke, but I did not answer—only moved.
I slashed at the small statue of the Goddess placed within the Chapel with my sword several times.
As I pushed away the remaining base of the statue, a door revealed itself on the floor.
It seemed the statue was originally moved by some mechanism, but that was no concern of mine.

Creak—

I opened the door and descended the stairs leading to the Underground Laboratory. The stairwell was dark, and I found that most agreeable.
After descending a short distance, I encountered a thick door at the foot of the stairs.
It likely required a key.
I transformed my vocal cords and knocked upon the door forcefully.

“It’s me! Open the door!”

From my mouth came the voice of the man I had just killed.
After hearing someone’s voice for an extended period, there was no need to directly analyze their vocal structure.

Grind—

After a brief wait, the door opened. Someone inside spoke.

“What? Knocking on the door all of a sudden?”

I slipped through the widening gap of the door.
Upon entering, the man inside widened his eyes in shock at the sight of me.

“You, you what…!”

His words never reached their end. The moment his form became visible, I swung my blade.
I walked on without witnessing the aftermath, hearing only the delayed sound of something falling.

Thump, thump—

Only the soft echo of footsteps reverberated through the dark corridor.
I saw containers holding severed monster parts and occasionally human limbs, while several rooms contained entire monsters suspended within translucent green cylinders.

“Hmm, I don’t recall inviting guests.”

Then a gaunt middle-aged man emerged from ahead.

“A Heretic Inquisitor? How did you discover this place?”

Demonic energy emanated from the creature resembling a grasshopper. He must have infused his own body with it.
Which meant he was the one in charge here.
I’d already sensed as much through Favorable Wind.

“No, given the circumstances, that hardly matters now.”

Grasshopper fixed his gaze upon me.

“Leave if you wish to live. I have no desire to lose my research results to combat either.”
“….”
“Instead, I’ll depart within half a day. Surely you find that reasonable?”

At Grasshopper’s absurd proposition, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why should I show mercy to you?”
“What?”

Ignoring his question, I closed my eyes briefly. A memory from my past life suddenly surfaced.

“….”

When Baron Scalen destroyed my family.
I never found my sibling’s body, though I assumed it had burned away somewhere in the flames.
But two years later, when I encountered the demon that had toppled the Zarkan Empire, I realized my assumption had been wrong.

— …Aren?

That demon was none other than Aren, wearing the form of a demon.
After the family was destroyed, Aren must have been dragged here and transformed.
Enduring unimaginable agony through the mutation, unable even to take his own life….

‘I didn’t know it then, but the demon that rampaged through this village was probably Aren as well.’

The villagers had testified that the creature was too human-like to be called a true demon.

“Born human, dying as a demon.”

A cruel fate, not just for the clergy, but for ordinary humans as well.
The Evil Book Society had forced that vile destiny upon Aren.
My teeth ground together, my head burning white-hot, every cell screaming as though it would burst apart.

‘Does this rage stem from the past?’

Perhaps most of it does.
But as I learned when I obtained the Sword of Rapture, emotions born from past-life memories cannot elevate my cultivation.

‘Then is this rage merely because I’m drowning in those memories?’

No. That is certainly not it.
Even if I were seeing this for the first time, I would feel the same emotion now.
The only difference would be in its magnitude.

Whoosh—

As I released the emotions I had briefly suppressed, the wind coiling around my blade began to transform into flame.
It spread uncontrollably, and crimson fire consumed my sword.

“You….”

At the sound of Grasshopper’s voice, I opened my eyes. He remained wary of me.

“You and all your research materials will burn to ash here.”

A seething voice escaped between my lips.

“That is the most rational choice.”

Grasshopper’s mouth twisted into a sneer.

“Who gave you that authority?”

I gripped the flame-wreathed blade with both hands and lowered my stance.
If Grasshopper proved troublesome, burning the very grassland where he hid was not an unappealing option.

“I decided it myself.”

The blade sang through the air with a piercing shriek.

I swung the sword with devastating force. Flames burning with fury erupted from the blade, illuminating the darkness and scattering in all directions.

The inferno roared to life.

The hellfire consumed the containers holding fragments of demons and humans, the research materials, and Grasshopper in succession.
My vision was already stained crimson by the dancing flames.

(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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