The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 30

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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 30. Then What Is It?

Clang!

Enoch snapped to attention only when the blade loomed directly before him, hastily deploying a barrier.
Just as I was about to shatter that barrier with overwhelming force—

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Shards of ice, sharp as awls, materialized from the void and rained down upon me.
A dual casting—two spells woven simultaneously.
Without prior knowledge of a mage’s arsenal, such an attack is unavoidable; even with forewarning, the velocity makes evasion treacherous.

Whoosh!

But I had grown accustomed to battling mages long ago, so I widened the distance and slipped clear.

“It’s cold. Don’t use that again.”
“Shut up!”

Icicles materialized in the air once more, densely clustered.
They surged forward like arrows, and I spiraled around him in evasion.

“There’s one talent I’ve never been able to mimic all this time!”

I confirmed it while dodging the ice magic.

“Your face?”
“I said shut it!”

The icicles came at me with renewed ferocity.
Their power intensified, yet gaps remained between them—openings I exploited to advance swiftly.
The icicles whistled past my crown, and I closed the distance to Enoch.

Whoooosh!

But before I could reach him, flames erupted directly in my path, forcing me to leap backward.

“Hot, cold, hot, cold…. At this rate, I’ll catch a cold.”
“….”

Approaching a mage capable of double casting is never easy.
Normally, unless I created an opening, such battles stretched into prolonged wars of attrition until the mage’s mana was completely depleted.

“Are you insane?”
“Can’t you see? The talent he couldn’t replicate must have been his eyes.”
“…That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”

Enoch sighed and answered.

“It’s the talent of a Knight. I’ve encountered many Knights throughout my life, but none of them ever improved their skill with the sword or other weapons to match his level.”

That makes sense. His physique was lean and didn’t suit swordplay.
Of course, physique doesn’t absolutely determine talent with the sword, but typically Muscle Pigs wielded blades well.

“So I killed every Knight who drew a blade before me. I made sure no one who wielded the sword better than me ever crossed my sight.”

A thick, palpable killing intent emanated from his mana.

“And the same applies to you.”

I let out a soft chuckle.

“Now I see it—your eyes are indeed twisted.”
“What?”
“You don’t see what you possess. Your gaze is always fixed on what you lack.”

I pointed at his chest.

“You already possess a mage’s talent that others could never achieve even with a lifetime of effort. That alone should be enough to be grateful for, yet what more do you want?”
“….”
“Even if you had possessed a Knight’s talent, you would never have been satisfied. Why? Because after swordplay, you would have desired holy power, authority, honor. With that long hair, you hide what you have and always covet what belongs to others.”

Enoch’s hands trembled violently as he cried out.

“You dare speak with such arrogance when you possess so much?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that you possess a magical talent far superior to anything I could ever have.”
“….”
“However, I at least do not dwell on what I cannot obtain. I simply sharpen the blade that has been placed in my hands.”

I fixed my gaze upon Enoch.

“That alone is enough to bring you down.”

At that moment, Ulric emerged from beside Enoch and brought his twin axes—brimming with azure mana—crashing down.
He had pierced through Enoch’s subordinates and appeared at precisely the right moment.

“Pathetic!”

Enoch deployed a barrier to block the twin axes, then released a torrent of flame magic to drive Ulric back.

“Gah!”

Ulric crossed his axes to neutralize the inferno, but he could not fully dissipate its force and was sent flying backward.
From the start, Ulric was no match for Enoch. In my previous life, I could only kill Enoch because Sebastian had sacrificed his life for that moment.
Yet the opening he created, however small, was of some use to me.

Whoosh!

I closed the distance between myself and Enoch with blinding speed.
It was a straightforward charge—exactly the kind of prey a mage would relish.

“Fool!”

Enoch’s colossal inferno consumed my entire field of vision.
The flames were too vast to parry with my blade; I had to evade and escape the range of this attack.
But I did not stop. I drove my feet into the ground.

Boom—boom—boom—boom!!!

The inferno scattered in all directions before me.
A broad back stood before the flames.
Sebastian had appeared and was now blocking Enoch’s magic with his shield.

“Go now…!”

The moment Sebastian shouted, I was already launching skyward, using his sturdy shoulders as a springboard.
Perhaps I was the first person to ever use one of the Twelve Holy Knights as a stepping stone?
Regardless, thanks to that, I soared upward like a bird and easily reached Enoch.

“I told you to stop playing with fire.”

The wind swirling around my blade dissipated, and flames erupted instead. I brought down my sword of wrath upon Enoch without hesitation.

“Why won’t you listen!”

Clang!

But as one of the Seven Deadly Sins who had survived this long, he reacted instantly, deploying a barrier to defend himself.

Crackle—crackle—crackle!

However, there was no way a hastily conjured barrier could fully withstand my blade.
As cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier, I saw Enoch’s expression twist in agony beyond it.
In that instant, his world crumbled beneath my sword.

Shhwaaaack!

My blade pierced through the barrier and came down diagonally across Enoch’s upper body. Blood sprayed upward alongside strands of severed hair.

“Damn…it….”

Enoch coughed up blood and staggered backward before collapsing to the ground.
Only then did I extinguish the flames wreathing my blade. Yet the heat from both Enoch’s magic and my fire still lingered in the air around us.
So finishing him before that heat dissipated was no different from keeping my word.

“I’m a man who keeps his promises.”

I spoke deliberately, ensuring Sebastian could hear me.
But the response came not from him, but from Enoch sprawled across the floor.

“Coward…. Relying on the help of others….”

A scoff escaped me before I could help it.

“Why walk a difficult path? If there’s something I can use, I use it.”
“If only I had people like that….”

I tilted my head.

“Didn’t you kill all the talented ones? The Knight, the mercenaries, the painter. Did you perhaps hit your head just now? Should I call a doctor?”
“Shut up….”

But I was not one to shut up when told to shut up.

“And even if I were alone, the result wouldn’t have changed. It would have just taken longer to cut you down.”
“….”
“When someone speaks, you answer. Do you have no mouth? Or is blood blocking your throat? Or are you about to die? Is your mind growing hazy?”

Then Sebastian approached and spoke quietly.

“He’s dead.”

The light had already faded from Enoch’s eyes.
I nodded.

“I see.”

Today too, I had killed a man with words. Words were such a terrifying weapon.

“When someone speaks, you listen to the end. Truly a cowardly wretch. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Indeed. But that’s precisely why he was one of the Seven Deadly Sins.”
“Indeed, the Seven Deadly Sins are not for just anyone. Truly the pinnacle of cowardice, the darkness of the world, no different from a fool met on the roadside.”

For the record, I wasn’t talking about myself. I was now a diligent Heresy Inquisitor, not the wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Sebastian let out a quiet laugh.

“In any case, I am grateful to you, Kael Inquisitor. Had we attempted the subjugation alone, we might have sacrificed many and still failed to deal with Enoch.”

Sebastian gazed at the shield, its patterns warped and distorted from melting in the intense heat and then solidifying.
It was only natural—even with holy power reinforcing the shield, it had taken the magic of one of the Seven Deadly Sins head-on.

“Even without me, they would have found a way to kill it. Though everyone here would have become martyrs in the process.”

Today, I did not slay Envy of the Seven Deadly Sins. I saved those who were meant to die.

“Haha, thank you for seeing it that way. Truthfully, I feel as though I did very little this time.”
“Your faith in my words was more than enough.”

I understand the limits of my own strength, but Sebastian knows little of me.
Yet he believed in a stranger he had just met and risked his life. That was no simple feat.

‘Are all Holy Knights like Ludian and Sebastian—so unwavering in their faith?’

Truly, they are easy prey for deception.

“I see.”

Sebastian nodded and spoke with gravity.

“But I did not believe in you thoughtlessly. I believed after witnessing the Kael Inquisitor’s Achievement.”
“Well, if that’s what you prefer.”
“Haha. Thank you.”

Sebastian chuckled lightly, then glanced at my sword.

“That is to remain a secret from the others, yes?”

He was likely referring to my possession of holy power.

“For now, yes.”
“Hmm, I suspect I know the reason without you needing to explain.”

As one of the Twelve Holy Knights, Sebastian would naturally be familiar with the scriptures.

“Then I too shall hold my tongue on this matter. In truth, His Holiness the Pope and the Cardinals commanded me to observe the Kael Inquisitor during the subjugation. If this displeases you, I offer my apologies.”

I already knew as much. Cardinal Barun had informed me.
That is why I had been more careful with my words and actions than usual.

‘Hmm, was I careful enough?’

That seemed to be the case.
But it wasn’t my concern. After all, I had accomplishments that no one could dismiss.

“It’s fine. I’m accustomed to such petty gazes clinging to me.”
“Haha….”

Sebastian laughed awkwardly.

“But you won’t be able to hide it forever. Even if there aren’t many who would recognize it, there will certainly be some.”
“I’m aware. When the time comes, I’ll reveal it naturally.”
“I see.”

Sebastian regarded me with sincere eyes.

“For now, I’ll speak well of you to those people. From what I witnessed, you are a talent who would bring great benefit to the Religious Kingdom, not harm.”
“I would appreciate that.”

At that moment, Ulric approached with his subordinates.

“I’m relieved to see that both of you are unharmed.”

I responded.

“You survived taking that spell directly.”
“Perhaps because you were being considered, its power wasn’t as strong. Of course, if I hadn’t blocked it, it would have been dangerous….”

Ulric’s manner of speech and his gaze toward me had changed from before.

“Are there any dead?”
“Thanks to Deacon Bella assisting my men, there are only wounded, no casualties. She even gave me salve.”

Shallow burn marks on the backs of Ulric’s hands were smeared with salve.
Ulric cleared his throat awkwardly, then bowed deeply.

“I thank the Kael Inquisitor and Deacon Bella. And I apologize for my previous rudeness. I owe my life to you.”

Ulric’s subordinates behind him offered their respects in kind.
Ulric must have been displeased as well. If it were just himself, it would be one thing, but this time the lives of his men hung in the balance.
But that was Ulric’s affair, and my feelings were separate.

“Merely words?”
“Of course not.”

Ulric lifted his gaze to study my blade.

“It seems your sword cannot withstand your flames. Among our Mercenary Group’s arsenal, there is one blade that would suit you well. No one else could wield it, so we’ve kept it stored in the Warehouse.”
“Are you dumping your inventory on me?”
“I’m not so petty. That sword was forged by a master craftsman. It simply doesn’t suit anyone else. Once you see it yourself, you’ll understand what I mean.”

Ulric could not match Enoch, but he was still a mercenary who would not disgrace himself anywhere.
Hearing him speak so highly of it, it must be a sword worth considering.

“I forgive you.”

So I am a materialistic man. Perhaps forgiveness itself stems from understanding rooted in material gain.

“Ha, I’m relieved you’ve forgiven me. A weight off my shoulders.”
“Don’t let it drop yet. My emotions are rather volatile.”
“Then I won’t relax my guard until that time comes.”

Ulric’s demeanor was quite confident. That made me look forward to it.
Sebastian spoke.

“Then let’s begin by confiscating Enoch’s assets. Separate from the completion fee for the request, the Papal See has agreed to provide additional bonuses based on recovered spoils.”
“Understood, Holy Knight Sebastian.”

They dispersed in all directions and began searching through the Collapsed Building.
I moved as well.

“Deacon Bella, come with me.”
“Yes, Interrogator!”

The bonuses are one thing, but we need to secure our own share. After all, I did most of the work—that’s only fair.
Yes, absolutely.

(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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