The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 43

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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 43. Let’s Shake Hands.

Marken, regaining his senses, cried out in anguish.

“K-Kill him!”

At his command, the bodyguards who had been watching lowered their stances to rush at me.
Or rather, it appeared that way.

“Uh, u-…?”

They turned tail and fled in all directions.
An entirely rational decision. They must have concluded they couldn’t defeat me on their own.

“Where do you think you’re going! How much money have I given you!”

As he cried out in desperation, his fists trembling, I let out a soft chuckle.

“What good is that? What meaning does a handful of coins hold in the face of death?”
“Y-You…!”
“Of course, the same applies to you.”

When I turned my gaze toward him, he drew a sharp breath.
But since I had no intention of letting the fleeing men escape, I turned my head away for now.

“Hmm.”

They had already grown quite distant. If it took time to catch them, there was a possibility I might lose one.
So I lowered my stance and pressed one foot firmly against the ground.

Whoosh—

I then gathered wind beneath my sole and compressed it like a platform.
As I forcefully suppressed the wind that threatened to burst forth at any moment, my thigh muscles hardened as if they might tear.
Once my preparations were complete, I kicked off the wind platform with tremendous force, and simultaneously released the compressed wind.

‘Gale Burst.’

Crash!

The ground cracked beneath me as my body hurtled swiftly through the air.
I passed through trees that seemed to stretch and bend, a violent wind engulfing my form.
Before long, I reached my enemy. He continued forward, eyes fixed ahead, unaware of my approach.

Slice!

His neck flew upward like a fallen leaf caught in a gust of wind.
Before it could even touch the ground, I pivoted toward another target and kicked off the earth.

Crash!

My body shot forward with the wind.
After passing through several trees, another appeared in my path—his neck fell to my blade just the same.
My sword cut through the Forest like a gale, and my enemies’ necks snapped like thin branches.
Not a single one managed to react to my movements before I’d hunted down every last fugitive.

“How irritating, running about like that. Just come at me directly.”

I burned the blood from my blade with flames and rushed back to where I’d started.
I vanished like the wind and returned like the wind.

“Hmm?”

But perhaps the wind had been too fierce—the pig that had been there was gone.

‘It should be too heavy to be blown away by wind….’

With that thought, I glanced around briefly, but finding nothing nearby, I turned to the huddled children.

“Has anyone seen the bad pig?”

The children shrank back and pointed in unison toward one direction.
I walked slowly toward that spot.
It couldn’t have gone far. That creature was heavier than most, unable to let go of anything it grasped.

“Hide well, hide well. Your hair is showing.”

I said it because I could actually see him.
Hair and a belly slightly protruding from behind a tree. I walked past as if nothing was there, then slowly turned my head.
My gaze met eyes filled with fear. I bared my fangs like a wolf that had found its prey.

“Found you.”
“H-hiii…!!”

He flinched in terror and collapsed to the ground.

“P-please spare me! I’ll give you any amount of money!”

Now that I thought about it, in my past life he’d said something similar before dying.

– W-what exactly is your purpose that a monster like you would target me! If it’s money, I’ll give you as much as you want! Or do you need this holy relic?

Marken, true to his merchant nature, reduced everything to money.
Back then and afterward, he died by my hand, but unlike my past life, this hadn’t happened yet in this one.
I crouched down to meet his gaze and asked.

“Do you really think money solves everything?”
“You Heresy Inquisitors wouldn’t understand, but that’s how the world works! Before mountains of money, loyalty and the value of life become trivial!”
“Hmm.”
“I-I’ll let you touch wealth beyond your wildest dreams! So take my hand!”

Marken extended a trembling hand toward me.
I hesitated for a moment, then reached toward his hand. His expression brightened as if he’d known I would.

“W-well done thinking… Gaaahhh!!”

I bent his index finger backward.
He screamed in agony and tried to pull his hand away, but I held it firmly in place.

“If you had built your fortune honestly, you would never have met me.”
“G-guh…”
“But you crossed the line as a human being.”
“Gaaahhh!”

This time I made his middle finger meet the back of his hand.

“Can you buy your life from me right now?”
“….”
“No matter how much you bring and shove in front of my eyes, it’s impossible. Does life truly pale before so much money?”
“….”
“You won’t answer.”

Next, I snapped his ring finger, drawing a scream as his reply.

“And I earn money far better than you think. There are plenty of bastards like you in this world.”
“…g-gah, so in the end, you’re just like me.”
“Wow, you really only say things that deserve a beating.”

I bent his pinky finger to silence him.

“What do you mean the same? You earn money by sacrificing the innocent, while I recover money from the wicked.”
“At the cost of someone’s life, just like you….”
“This bastard, now that there aren’t many fingers left to break, he’s really going at it.”

I snapped his last remaining thumb beautifully and released his hand.

“I need money so I won’t fall victim to bastards like you. Either way, even without money, you would have died by my hand.”

In my past life, I disposed of this man and left with only enough food money.
But now I’m not alone, so I couldn’t allow a situation where others would fall into danger simply because I lacked funds.

“In that sense, where did you hide the money?”
“….”
“Remember that the fingers on your other hand are still intact.”
“…Under the floor of my Office.”
“I see.”

I nodded.

“Then impersonating the Archbishop was your doing as well?”
“….”
“You have five left, so take your time answering.”
“Yes.”
“Good. It’s so much better when you answer like this.”

I extended my hand toward the man.

“Then let’s shake hands one last time.”

Marken swallowed hard and reached out his hand as if grasping at the last strand of a rope.
As I clasped his hand, I spoke my final words.

“Don’t go gently.”

Then I sent flames flowing into him.

“Ugh, aaahhh!!”

The flames spread across his body, burning rapidly from his sleeves upward.
I watched until the fire consumed his entire form, then released my grip and rose to my feet.

“….”

Even as his piercing screams tore through the Forest, I felt an inexplicable sense of peace and closed my eyes.
The same person’s cries, yet how pleasant they could sound depending on his actions and words.
It was something I already knew well, but I realized it anew once more.
As I breathed in the unfamiliar scent of the Forest, the heat and screams gradually subsided.
I opened my eyes quietly.

“Roasted pig… the beasts will enjoy this.”

I was indeed a man considerate enough to think of the beasts.
I turned and made my way back to where the children were.
The children trembled with their hands over their ears. The sight they witnessed today could only have been deeply traumatic for them.

“You have two choices before you.”

The children slowly lifted their heads and looked up at me.

“The first is to go to the Diocese Office and leave your fate in their hands. The second is to enter the Orphanage I know of. I cannot say which will be the better life.”

There were too many of them to bring to the Mansion. Father would readily agree, but I couldn’t turn the Mansion into an Orphanage.
At best, Rak and Rami were the limit.

“Hmm….”

They exchanged glances, deliberating among themselves, until one child finally spoke up.

“I-I want the second option!”
“I see. What about the rest of you?”
“M-me too…!”
“The second one for me as well!”

I nodded in acknowledgment.

“Very well then. I’m more at ease with that arrangement myself.”

Bella’s Orphanage was expanding its facilities and providing support, so there would be no shortage of resources.

“In exchange, grow up properly. If you become wicked children, I’ll come back here to punish you with this blade.”

As I subtly raised my sword to show them, the children huddled together and nodded quietly, trembling slightly.
Having already witnessed the precedent I set, these children would have no choice but to grow up virtuous.
In this way, I had saved the lives of several more people.

“But why are there so many troublemakers interfering….”

I exhaled a deep sigh. Then, wrapping flames around my blade, I brushed past the children.
What came into view was a sinister-looking One-Eyed Man.

Clang!

His twin axes clashed violently against my sword.
A blue light rippled across the axes. He was someone who knew how to wield mana properly.
That meant he was at least as skilled as I was, having reached the realm of ecstasy.

Boom!

I drove my blade forward with force, and he used the recoil to retreat. He spoke.

“I came because I heard a commotion, but I didn’t expect something like this to be happening. It’s strange—you never came back even as time passed.”

He glared at me.

“Who the hell are you? Were you following us?”
“Hmm, didn’t Ropess mention it? I’m taking charge of this operation.”
“…What?”

The man’s single eye widened.
Ropess of the Seven Deadly Sins – Lust. A beast of a man who gathered all manner of illicit goods, including humans, and put them up for auction.
But as it stood, few knew Ropess’s name.
The Theocracy merely suspected some entity was operating in the shadows and had branded him with the notorious title of Seven Deadly Sins – Lust.
That’s why he couldn’t help but be flustered.

“…You’re lying. He would never do such a thing.”
“Haven’t you heard the saying about stepping on your own axe? That’s exactly your situation right now.”

The man paused to think, then countered.

“If you really came on his orders, you wouldn’t eliminate the supply source like this.”

I let out a small admiration at that.

“Impressive deductive reasoning. Are you perhaps a Heretic Inquisitor?”
“…”
“No, that can’t be it. I’m actually the Heretic Inquisitor.”

I never intended to deceive him genuinely. I was merely trying to provoke him.

“You bastard…”

And that plan succeeded spectacularly.
The man exhaled deeply to calm himself, then spoke.

“If you’ve seen enough, leave. There’s nothing good about clashing with a madman.”

This was quite a fresh reaction. As if he were graciously letting me go?

“Why do you dance around it? Are you afraid I’ll kill you?”

At my mockery, the man ground his teeth and spat out words.

“You’re quite composed. You have children to protect, and you just finished a battle.”
“Well, living righteously has its rewards—even the One-Eyed Man shows consideration. I’m grateful, but I’ll have to decline.”

The man with veins bulging across his forehead wrapped his twin axes in azure mana.

“So you’re determined to do this.”
“Taking this long to understand? Is half your brain missing too?”

He charged forward like a wild boar.
The twin axes, shimmering with blue light, came crashing down, and I intercepted them by laying my blade horizontally.

Crash!

Beyond the blade, I felt his monstrous strength.
I’d encountered him before in my previous life, even before capturing Marken, so his power didn’t surprise me.
I remembered fighting him back then with only the Realm of Ecstasy achieved, risking my life to win.

‘But circumstances are vastly different now.’

I deliberately didn’t deflect his blow—instead, I poured strength into my blade. The man who’d thrown his full weight into the attack suddenly found himself being pushed back.

“What—!”

Unable to overcome the powerful recoil, he was sent flying and landed off-balance.
I seized the opening and rushed forward with Gale Thrust, moving with blinding speed.

Clang!

Unlike his predecessors, he reacted swiftly, crossing his axes to block, but he couldn’t withstand the full force of my strike.

Bang! Bang!

I unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks, and he, having lost the initiative, scrambled to defend.
Yet he couldn’t prevent the lacerations that bloomed across his body.

Whoosh!

Then he barely regained his footing and brought one axe down in a heavy arc.
I twisted my body lightly to evade, then swung my blade at him.

Whoosh!

But at that moment, another axe came hurtling toward my neck.
I had no choice but to abandon my attack and deflect the axe with the flat of my blade.
In that opening, he created distance and reset his stance.

“Indeed….”

I spoke.

“So even with one eye, you wield two axes.”
“Shut that mouth of yours!!”

He snapped reflexively.
After breathing heavily and roughly for a moment, he soon steadied his breathing and calmed himself. He’d judged that losing his composure would serve no purpose. Truly, a man of considerable experience.
He figured there’s no point in getting excited. He’s certainly someone with a lot of experience.

“That’s why you must have realized just now that you have little chance of beating me.”

I watched intently to see what he would do next.
I watched carefully to see how that bastard would come out.

Whoosh.

Did he truly think I would fall for something so transparent?
Do you really think I’d fall for something like that?

That’s not it.

He snarled, gripping the axe suffused with azure mana.
The bastard gripped an axe brimming with blue magical power and let out a roar.

“….”
“From that moment on, you’ve already lost the initiative.”
From that moment on, you had already lost the upper hand.

Then he immediately turned and fled.
Then he immediately turned around and fled.

Screeeeeech!

An axe hurtling toward the children, and the man rapidly distancing himself from me.
He was forcing me to choose.
Protect the children and let him escape, or sacrifice them to capture him.
A cunning stratagem exploiting our differing priorities for the children—but my choice had already been made.

Whoosh!

I stamped my foot hard and launched myself forward.

“…?”

Sensing some presence, the man glanced back. I was already at his heels.

“Are you insane?!!”

He clearly hadn’t expected me to make such a decision.
I stole a glance toward where the axe was heading.
The axe flew swiftly through the air, and the children, unable to track its movement, could only blink helplessly.
If it continued unimpeded, the mana-infused axe would obliterate them.
But….

Clang!

The axe, poised to wreak carnage, collided with empty air and ricocheted away.
A translucent barrier shimmered into existence around the children.

“M-Magic?”

I smirked and closed in, bringing my blade down in a vicious arc.
The man snapped to attention and swung his remaining axe, but one side of his defense was fatally exposed.

Slash!

His arm severed cleanly.
He gasped softly, swung the axe again to force me back, then created distance between us.
I addressed the man, blood dripping steadily from his shoulder.

“Now you have one eye, one arm, and one axe.”
“….”

He offered no response. There was nothing to say—it was the truth.

(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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