The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 35

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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 35. There Were No Major Problems.

Grass dimmed his gaze as he spoke.

“You certainly seem eager to hasten your own demise.”
“Is that so? Have you already forgotten what it cost you the last time you wagged that tongue of yours?”

I glanced at his severed wrist.

“If you wish, I can refresh your memory. Come closer.”

He gnashed his teeth, but rather than step forward, he retreated behind his subordinates and issued a command.

“Kill them. Leave not a shred of flesh behind.”
“Yes, sir!”

They hurled glass vials at us in unison. The vials shattered mid-air with a sharp crack, releasing a violet mist that billowed outward.
Arturo cried out, shielding his nose and mouth with his arm.

“It’s a lung-clinging poison! Do not inhale it!”

That was practically impossible. The toxic vapor from all directions was closing in on us relentlessly.
But there was a way.

Whoosh!

I traced a crescent arc with my blade, and flames erupted outward, incinerating all the approaching poison. The toxin from the opposite side was neutralized by Bella’s magic.

Whistle!

But they had anticipated even this much—daggers flew through the dispersing poison and flames.
I deflected them with my sword, Bella erected a barrier, and Arturo twisted his body to evade.
As the assault momentarily subsided, Arturo handed a small pill to both Bella and me.

“Take this. Most of the poisons they use will be ineffective for a time.”

Arturo must have researched the Viper Family’s poison in order to annihilate them entirely.
So consuming this would prove useful when fighting those bastards.
But just before, Arturo had tried to feed me a sedative when we first met.

“Well… if it bothers you, you can just throw it away.”

Arturo seemed to sense my hesitation and added those words.
I briefly recalled Arturo’s entire life across both my past and present existence. If the glimpses he had shown me were not lies….

Gulp—

I swallowed the pill.
Upon seeing this, Bella also consumed the pill, and Arturo’s eyes widened momentarily.

‘So it’s not actually poison after all.’

It was not a judgment driven by emotion.
If Bella and I collapsed, Arturo would die too—there was no way he would commit such a foolish act.
I gazed at those watching us.

“From this moment forward, I shall interrogate the Viper Family under the authority of the Heresy Inquisitor. Does anyone object?”
“….”
“No objections? Then so be it. The interrogation is now concluded, and I shall dispense punishment accordingly.”

Their expressions grew grim. Bella asked.

“Inquisitor, shall I sing a hymn?”
“What a terrifying suggestion….”
“Pardon?”
“No, I request a requiem instead.”
“Yes!”

In that same instant, I pushed off the ground and lunged toward them.
Against those who rushed at me like bats, I wove a pattern of sword strikes to carve a path forward, then charged toward Grass who stood behind them.
Reaching him amidst the spray of blood, I brought my blade down in a great arc.

Whoosh!

Grass widened the distance to evade, and I pursued him without giving an inch.
Grass was too busy parrying my sword strikes with the dagger clutched in one hand.
Though he managed to hold his ground with just one arm, his body accumulated wounds and he couldn’t land a single proper attack.
After all, what made a viper truly terrifying wasn’t its fangs—it was the venom that flowed from them.

Screeeech!

That’s when he thrust the dagger deep toward me. He’d realized he was being pushed back.

Slash! Spray!

The attack was so reckless that I could have severed his arm, but his dagger grazed my shoulder.
I kicked him in the abdomen and sent him flying, and he crashed down like a legless centipede.

“Hahahaha!”

The dying man burst into hysterical laughter.

“You should have dodged! The moment you get cut, it’s over!”

He stared at my wounded shoulder.

“Your shoulder will rot and fester! That poison will spread to your heart!”

A thin line of violet liquid clung to the shallow wound. I was about to address the poison when—

‘Hmm?’

But I felt nothing amiss.
It was only slightly stinging; there was no dramatic effect as he’d promised.

“Wh-what…?”

His pupils dilated as he too sensed something was wrong.
It seemed the antidote Arturo had given me was working. It wasn’t for nothing that I’d single-handedly annihilated the Viper Family in my past life.
Poison bombs alone wouldn’t have been enough to kill them all.

‘Well, as long as I’m not ingesting the poison, I can handle this much on my own.’

I ignited a small flame upon the wound, burning away the poison.
Surely I hadn’t come to this place teeming with vipers and centipedes without any forethought.
I approached Grass and extended my hand.

“Choose. Will you take my hand and make peace, or do you wish to fight further?”

But he did not take my hand. More precisely, he had no hand left to take it with.

“Tsk, how unreasonable. I’m the one extending my hand first….”

After standing there stupidly for a moment, Grass’s face flushed red and blue as he raised his upper body and spoke sharply.

“You wretched cur─!”

Thud!

I drove my blade into his chest and pinned him back to the ground.

“An ungrateful wretch goes first. Your father will follow soon after.”
“…Cough.”

He tried to speak but blood gushed from his mouth, and his pupils dilated as his head lolled to the side.
Looking around, the rabble had been dealt with as well. Blood dripped steadily from the dagger in Arturo’s hand.

“Now only you remain.”

I approached Ravenna, the sole surviving child of the Viper Family, my blade extended toward her.
Her eyes wide with fear and panic, she retreated backward, widening the distance between us.

“Wait.”

Then Arturo spoke.

“Please wait a moment.”

But I was never one to listen to others, so I went ahead and seized Ravenna’s throat with my hand, lifting her high into the air.
In that position, I asked Arturo.

“What is it?”
“Can’t we spare her life?”
“Why? Have you fallen for this woman?”

Arturo’s appearance was deceptive—he was likely still in his late twenties.
So it was understandable that he might take an interest in her, who appeared to be close to his age.

“It seems your momentary feelings outweigh your hatred for the Viper Family.”
“…That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”

Arturo hesitated briefly before explaining.

“Previously, when she purchased something from my shop, I shared some medicinal herbs with her.”
“In other words, you fell for her at first sight. Have you already forgotten about the girl who was by your side?”
“That’s not what I mean….”
“Damn it, you spineless fool. A man who turns his head with every passing breeze. A fool who eats poison without knowing it.”

Arturo sighed heavily at my harsh words and offered an excuse.

“It’s not that. After escaping the slums, that was the first time I received kindness from someone. In this territory, she was the only person who showed interest in a stranger unrelated to her.”
“Yet you were planning to kill this woman as well.”
“According to the original plan, that’s probably what would have happened. I simply gained a choice because of you. Of course, that choice isn’t mine to make.”

In my previous life, Ravenna likely perished in the poison bomb blast. I hadn’t heard the name Viper since then.
But the significance lay in the fact that Arturo, who had killed her before, now wished to save her.

“Gasp, gasp….”

Ravenna clung to my arm with all her might, desperate to survive.
Come to think of it, Ravenna hadn’t participated in this battle at all—she had only agonized from a distance.
Perhaps when she tried to speak to me before entering the mansion, it was to urge us to flee.
I loosened my grip, and Ravenna collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily.

“Do you want to live?”

At my question, Ravenna looked up at me with eyes somewhat bloodshot.

“Yes….”
“Why?”
“Because it’s unfair.”
“That makes no sense. The ones who should feel wronged are those who became materials for Indok, not you.”
“I…!”

Ravenna’s voice rose before she could help herself, but she lowered it and continued.

“I didn’t participate in that experiment.”
“But you stood by and watched.”
“Yes. That’s why it feels unfair. If I’d known things would turn out like this, I should have resisted my brother and father more.”

Though if she had, the Viper Family Head wouldn’t have let her live.
I paused for a moment before speaking.

“For now, I’ll let you live. In exchange, you’ll become the Viper Family Head and govern this territory from here on.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Transform this place into a territory where people can actually live with dignity.”

This estate wasn’t far from Luminara Territory, so I could gain considerable advantages by keeping her alive and indebted to me.

“But won’t I lose my title if word of this gets out?”

At Ravenna’s question, I smiled and turned to look at Bella Deacon.

“Bella Deacon, what happened here today?”
“Pardon? I’m not entirely sure….”

No matter how I thought about it, keeping one Deacon around seemed like a good decision. Such a faithless Deacon was rare indeed.

“Right. There was merely a minor succession dispute. Nothing of significance.”
“…What.”

Ravenna’s mouth fell open slightly as she witnessed the brazen cover-up unfold before her eyes.
I spoke to her.

“It’s your responsibility to ensure there are no more victims from Indok. If nothing changes from before, I will come for you again.”
“….”
“Can you do it?”

Ravenna nodded with resolute determination in her eyes.

“Yes.”
“Good. Then from now on, I’ll be killing your father. Are you alright with that?”

Even as I spoke, I wondered what kind of question that was. Didn’t it sound as though I were some sort of villain?

‘Ah, well, I was originally a villain anyway.’

I quickly came to that realization and dismissed the thought.

“That is….”

Ravenna bit her lip firmly and clenched her fists with fierce intensity. Her nails dug into her skin, drawing thin rivulets of blood.
No matter how much of a villain the Viper Family Head might be, he was still the father who gave her life.
Even if parents commit terrible acts against their children or others, children are bound to love their parents.
While parents who lived without children might not consider their offspring the entirety of their existence, for a child, parents are their entire world from the moment of birth.
To kill such a parent was no different than shattering her world.

“…Yes.”

Yet Ravenna accepted the destruction of her world.

“If there’s no other way to stop Father.”

Whether this was for the sake of others or herself remained unclear, but regardless, it was never an easy choice.
Of course, I would have done as I pleased without her permission either….

“I see.”

I nodded in acknowledgment.

“Then now, to search for that bastard….”

That was when it happened.

“So the little rats have come looking.”

A cool tone accompanied a presence that vanished in an instant.
That presence materialized before Bella and unleashed a crescent-moon-curved greatsword.
I darted away and parried the attack with my blade.

Clang!

Two swords collided with a violent screech of friction.
The Male Inquisitor refused to yield, but when Bella began preparing magic behind him, he clicked his tongue and increased the distance between us.

“Bella, are you alright?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, Interrogator.”

Bella swallowed her tension at how swiftly everything had unfolded.
Only then did I properly examine the Male Inquisitor.
His body was massive and muscular, with violet-hued long hair growing wild and unkempt.

‘With that build, he closed the distance so effectively before I even sensed him. Truly a master of assassination.’

This was Baron Viper himself—Orpen Viper.
A man who began as a mercenary, earned recognition for his deeds, and seized the rank of baron through sheer martial prowess alone.

‘Indeed, as Arturo now, using a poison bomb to kill him would have been the optimal choice.’

I spoke.

“What took you so long? Your son’s been entertaining me all by himself.”

Orpen glanced at Grass sprawled across the floor. Despite his own son’s death, his gaze remained utterly unmoved.
Orpen fixed his stare upon me.

“Are you the Heretic Inquisitor?”
“What else do I look like, you fool?”
“A mayfly with no regard for life.”

I let out a soft laugh and replied.

“Life is always precious. Those used in your experiments felt the same way, didn’t they?”
“….”

Orpen’s eyes narrowed to slits. Behind him, Ravenna cried out.

“Father! Stop this at once! How much longer will you grow stronger by taking human lives?”

Orpen’s gaze shifted toward Ravenna.

“Ravenna. You survived.”
“….”
“I’ll seize that wretch by the ankle. Use that moment to drive your dagger into his back. He’s no trivial opponent, it seems.”

When her words fell on deaf ears, Ravenna opened her mouth again, exasperation written across her face.

“Fath─.”
“Ravenna!!!”

Orpen’s sharp rebuke reverberated across the area, and Ravenna flinched.

“Since when have you dared contradict me? Draw your dagger at once.”

As Ravenna hesitated, Orpen pressed her further.

“Now.”

Ravenna swallowed hard, then finally unsheathed the dagger from her belt. Her hands trembled visibly as she gripped it.
The blade seemed heavier to her than it had ever been.

“….”

Ravenna’s gaze found me, but I simply watched in silence. If she still intended to live as a puppet in Orpen’s world, I would not hesitate to slit her throat.
If she still intended to live as a puppet in Orpen’s world, I would not hesitate to slit her throat.

Shhk─

Ravenna raised her dagger and assumed her stance. I clenched my grip on my sword with fierce intensity.

“Good. At last….”

It was the moment Orpen opened his mouth.

Shing!

The dagger Ravenna hurled sliced through the air. It wasn’t aimed at me.
The blade streaked past my side and shot toward Orpen.
Caught off guard, Orpen twisted his head just in time to dodge, and the dagger grazed his hair before embedding itself in the wall.
Orpen let out a bewildered sound.

“What the—?”

Ravenna’s shoulders and eyes trembled violently, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just done.
But then she clenched her fists, squeezed her eyes shut, and screamed at the man who had been her entire world.

“You bastard! You goddamn monster!!!”

Witnessing such a monumental betrayal unfold right before my eyes, I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp of admiration.

“Wow….”

(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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