The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 5

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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 5. Smile Again.

“Oh my, welcome, welcome! Ha, coming in like this….”

The Tall Man approached with a cautious gaze. The brutish-looking guards were watching me as well.
This was how they treated rowdy customers—not the eldest son of the Luminara Family.

‘As expected, they don’t recognize me because of this straw hat.’

Outsiders rarely knew my face to begin with. How many would recognize the Baron’s House delinquent?
These fools only recognized my distinctive features, nothing more.
The residents, drunk as they were, hadn’t noticed yet either.
That was good news for me. The operator of the Pleasure District would be here somewhere, but I didn’t know who they were yet.

“Shall I show you around? We have plenty of charming girls.”

When the man smiled again, the others averted their gazes.
Gambling was in full swing at several tables, and some were enjoying themselves with drinks and women.
From their appearance, most of the customers were locals from the area, while the prostitutes and staff seemed to be from elsewhere.
They were draining the residents’ money here, peddling pleasure, and extracting information about the Territory.
The moment I recalled that fact, my head suddenly burned hot.

“Filthy bastards….”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. I’ll move about on my own.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”

The man continued carefully.

“But would you perhaps entrust your sword to us….”
“Why.”
“It’s just that carrying a sword like that might make the other guests uncomfortable. There could be an accident, after all.”

It was a reasonable request, but I was not a reasonable person.

“That’s something you’ll have to figure out yourselves.”
“Pardon?”
“You can’t even handle a single customer, yet you’re running an establishment like this? It’s all gloss and no substance.”
“….”
“Tch, spitting out my dignity in this backwater hole. What a waste of time.”

I spat carelessly onto the floor.

“They say you lose everything at a gambling den, and it seems that’s true. No wonder the elders are never wrong.”

The Brutish Guard rose from his seat. The customers and staff watched me in silence.
I stood motionless, observing their movements.

“Ha! You make a fair point, sir!”

The Guide nodded.

“Indeed, if we couldn’t stop a customer from causing a disturbance, we couldn’t run an establishment like this. But rest assured—our shop has people of considerable skill.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So please, enjoy yourself.”
“Well, it’s a relief to find someone reasonable. I’ll be going then.”

I crossed the First Floor and headed toward the stairs leading up to the Second Floor.

“One moment, please.”

The Guide called me back, and I turned irritably.

“What now?”
“Where are you headed?”
“The Second Floor, you fool! There are women up there, aren’t there?”
“That’s true, but… you cannot enter the Second Floor alone.”
“What about the Third Floor?”
“The Third Floor is completely off-limits.”
“I see.”

He’s laying it all out for me.
The Guide glanced at one of his men.

“I’ll guide you to the second floor.”
“Yes.”

The Brutish Guard who’d been glaring at me since earlier rose from his seat. He was a massive man, his head a full head taller than mine.
I nodded and moved toward the exit.

“Actually, never mind. I don’t think I’ll need a guide anymore.”

Muscle Pig chuckled softly and followed behind me.

“Why do you say that? Why not stay and enjoy yourself?”

I continued walking without responding.

“Are you perhaps frightened? Don’t worry. If our guests behave themselves, we’ll treat them with the utmost kindness.”

I came to a halt before the door. Behind me, Muscle Pig was drawing closer.
I let out a bitter laugh and muttered.

“Vermin.”

In one fluid motion, I drew my blade and spun around, slashing.
A crimson line appeared across Muscle Pig’s neck, and with a wet sound, his head flew through the air.
His headless body collapsed backward.

“….”

As blood and the severed head rolled across the floor, silence descended for a moment.
Then screams erupted, followed by the thunderous sound of chaos.
Armed staff and terrified patrons now stared at me in shock.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Without answering, I tilted my straw hat upward, revealing my entire face.

“Wh—what?”
“That person is….”

I fixed my gaze upon the residents and spoke.

“The residents have all left. If you don’t want to be rummaged through, wait at home. I’ll interrogate you later.”

The terrified residents scurried out through the door behind me like cockroaches fleeing light.
Even as the crowd dispersed, about twenty men remained inside the establishment.
The Guide spoke.

“Don’t tell me you’re the eldest son of the Luminara Family?”
“About time you recognized me.”
“Coming here alone—you’ve lost your mind.”
“My mind left long ago.”

I pointed at the men.

“But you lot aren’t in your right minds either. Who gave you permission to conduct business in someone else’s territory? Do you wish to ascend to the Goddess’s side?”

At my words, the men burst into laughter as if amused by my absurdity.

“Why laugh? Are you pleased I’ve come of my own accord? Let’s laugh together.”
“Well, sure.”
“In fact, I’m pleased as well. In this life, I can kill you all with my own hands.”

I infused holy power into my blade. The pristine, luminous energy surged violently, transforming into a razor-sharp wind that coiled around the sword’s edge.
The men’s expressions hardened instantly at the sight.

“Still amused, are we?”

I sneered at the statues they’d become.

“Go ahead and laugh again, you bastards.”

* * *

Silence settled over the establishment. Now I could see these men were not ones given to laughter.
The Guide spoke.

“Don’t worry about the aftermath—just kill them. The scouts watching him have gone silent. He’s not someone you can capture alive.”

It seemed word of my escape had already reached this place.

‘So that Guide is their leader.’

I’d sensed as much from the moment I first entered the establishment.
The calluses on his hands and the faint aura of killing intent he carried couldn’t be hidden from me.

“Come at me. But whoever attacks first will have his neck severed like that Muscle Pig. Well, who wants to go first?”
“….”

They swallowed hard, exchanging nervous glances with one another.
The Guide spoke up.

“How did you find this place? Did those men watching you burn it down?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t lie. Those men don’t know this location.”

I nodded.

“Then someone else must have told you.”
“…The residents probably didn’t report it to the lord.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because they know what happens if they get caught.”
“Hmm, I see. Understood.”

In that instant, I pushed off the ground and swung my blade at one of the men standing dumbly nearby.
My sword, wrapped in sharp wind, severed his neck in a single stroke.
I flicked the blood from my blade and glared at the rest.

“Just come at me all at once.”

The moment I finished speaking, the headless body collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
Seeing this, they furrowed their brows and rushed at me in unison.
I opened my mouth slightly as the swarm of locusts descended upon me.

“Hah… insects.”

One of the locusts before me brought down an axe.
I deflected it with my blade and, recovering my sword, split his body open.
Crimson fluid erupted in a spray, and when it fell, another locust’s eye appeared.

‘So many, so very many.’

I pierced, slashed, and sent the locusts flying with my blade wreathed in whirlwind.
Occasionally, countless swarms of locusts descended upon my Estate, devouring the crops.
When that happened, the Estate’s finances would plummet catastrophically, and back then, we lacked the power to stop such swarms.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

But this massive locust swarm was something my blade alone could handle with ease.
As I wove my sword strikes, the locusts fell without so much as a struggle.

“Damn!”

Only then did a few of the locusts, finally comprehending the situation, attempt to flee.
If I let them escape, they would surely lay eggs and assault my Estate again, so I pursued and slew them without mercy.

‘This year will be bountiful.’

Watching the locusts fall, I found myself smiling without thought.
With a good harvest, I could beg snacks from the villagers, and the scarecrow could wear a fine straw hat.
But the locusts’ resistance proved far more formidable than anticipated.

Whoosh!

A scythe slashed past my neck as if to sever it.
Sensing a power unlike the other locusts, I didn’t deflect it—I blocked it with my blade.

Clang!

Simultaneously, another scythe flew at me, forcing me to leap backward.
A tall locust wielding two scythes.
I took my stance, facing the creature.

“Come then, Locust King.”
“What nonsense is this.”

Looking more carefully, the creature was the Guide.
I nodded and corrected myself.

“Come here, mantis pretending to be a grasshopper.”
“…I’ve heard you’re mad, but you’re worse than I imagined.”

He merely sighed, not rushing to attack.
Blood and corpses were scattered across the floor. Only the Guide and I remained standing in this place.

“How many residents did you kill?”
“Why should I tell you that?”
“I’m an armed customer in this establishment, and you’re the Guide. Does that answer suffice?”

The Guide narrowed his eyes before speaking.

“Four or five—I can’t quite remember.”
“What did you do with the bodies?”
“Burned them.”
“Did they have family?”
“They were a whole family. One of them tried to sneak toward the Mansion at dawn, so I made an example of all of them.”

The residents had witnessed it, so they couldn’t have spread word of this place.
Even if someone came to patrol, everyone would have kept silent about the Pleasure District.
Father had probably only heard rumors that such establishments existed throughout the Territory, nothing more.
My curiosity was satisfied, but my resentment remained unresolved.

“Do you have any intention of repenting?”
“Will you spare me if I repent?”
“No—repent and then die.”
“What’s the difference?”
“My feelings differ. Perhaps your genuine apology might change the hearts of others.”

The Guide nodded.

“I’ll repent.”
“Good choice.”

I approached him with my blade held at an angle.
He stumbled backward in panic.

“Why won’t you come closer?”
“If you wish to atone, shouldn’t you go to the Underworld first? The ones you killed are there.”
“….”
“They’re waiting for you. You’ll apologize to them, then depart for Hell while they ascend to Heaven. Who knows? Perhaps the Goddess and they will have a change of heart, and you too might find your way to Heaven—or perhaps not.”

I wrapped a sharp wind around my blade.

“Well, I’m curious how it’ll turn out. Do write a letter when you reach the Underworld.”
“…You bastard!”

As he charged forward, I seized the chair beside me and hurled it at him.

Crack!

The moment he slashed through the chair, I materialized before him and swung Ecstasy’s Blade.
Caught off guard, he attempted to block with his scythe, but my blade had already pierced through with devastating speed.
I deftly aimed for his wrist and sent it flying skyward.

“Aaaaagh! My hand!”

He collapsed to the ground, his arms dangling uselessly at the wrists.
He wasn’t weak—in fact, within this Estate, there was no one else capable of facing him.
The only reason I surpassed him was because I’d witnessed Aren’s Sparrow Swordsmanship and obtained Ecstasy’s Blade.

“Wait, please!”

He looked up at me with eyes filled with agony.

“I can tell you the locations of the other establishments in the Estate!”
“There’s no need. Once this core place is gone, the rest will crumble on its own. I’ll dismantle what remains at my leisure.”
“Then why did we even establish such a place….”
“Enough. I already know. And besides….”

I stood before him and raised my blade.

“I don’t wish to see your face any longer.”

The blade cut through with brutal finality.
His eyes widened as his head vanished in a spray of blood. Moments later, only the sound of something falling to the floor echoed through the silence.

“….”

Fresh blood stained the ground at my feet, and the bodies of the guards lay scattered haphazardly across the floor.
Standing in the center of it all, I drove my sword into the ground, closed my eyes, and pressed my palms together.

‘Goddess Ella, it seems you were short on hands, so I’ve sent some men your way. A blessing of holy power will suffice as thanks.’

Warm holy power began to flow into me gradually. The Goddess was moved by my sincerity.
As the incoming holy power diminished, I ceased my prayer.
Then I rummaged through the Guide’s belongings and retrieved a pouch containing gold coins.

‘This is mine.’

A sort of compensation for my labor.
I set the blood-stained straw hat on the table.

‘Since I’ve earned the money, I’ll need to buy a new one.’

After that, I gathered my thoughts.

‘The Guide is likely just the leader of these men, not the operator. The actual operator wouldn’t show their face so openly.’

Of course, they could simply be careless fools. But if I know Baron Scalen, he wouldn’t place someone like that in charge of operations.

‘Well, I’ll find out soon enough by going up.’

I headed toward the staircase leading upward.
Since the Third Floor was off-limits, there was certainly something more to discover.
Either the wealth accumulated from running the Pleasure District, or the true operator.

‘If I get caught, I’m dead….’

Gripping my sword, I ascended the stairs.

(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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