The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 72

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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 72. Welcome.

It took us four days to reach the place where Uncle had fought his final battle.
It was a forest, where the grass and trees varied wildly in size.
The land had been devastated by the battle eleven years ago, then regrown.

‘The combat was so fierce that traces of the battle still remain etched into the ground.’

Originally, I should have examined the sword marks in greater detail more quickly after discovering Uncle’s diary.
But somehow the information leaked to Baron Scalen, and that’s why we’re arriving so late.

“Bella, burn this area.”

Traces of the battle remained prominently on the ground, but various plants had grown over them, obscuring the sword marks.

“Yes, Interrogator!”

Bella scattered flames across the center of the battlefield.
As fire and smoke rose, I scraped the ground with my sword, creating a firebreak to prevent the flames from spreading further.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced—when Uncle took me to observe slash-and-burn farming.

– Slash-and-burn farming reduces the labor needed for land clearing by burning the soil and utilizing the nutrients from the resulting ash. However, it also burns forests, and for various reasons, it’s unsustainable.
– ….
– That’s why we must protect this fertile territory all the more. In a more sustainable way, so the people never go hungry.
– Roasted sweet potatoes would taste wonderful here.
– Ha, if we protect this territory, you can eat sweet potatoes for the rest of your life.
– Yes.

By then, Bella’s flames had already died down.
The area wasn’t large, and few plants had grown densely, so it ended quickly.

Whoosh—

Bella summoned wind, scattering the ash across the ground. We hadn’t come here to create farmland today.
The bare earth now revealed the traces of battle in their entirety.

‘It’s much clearer now. Even after all this time.’

But considering my Uncle’s martial prowess, it was hardly surprising.

‘Yet this tells me nothing. Their attacks are so interwoven, so chaotic, that I cannot discern the pattern.’

「Follow the traces of my blade.」

Words my Uncle had left in his journal.
Of course, distinguishing only my Uncle’s blade marks from this chaos is no difficulty for me now. His swordsmanship lives within my mind.

‘Yet even at a glance, these marks hold little significance. Then perhaps….’

I shifted my gaze. In the distance, another battleground revealed itself.

‘Did they move to converse or seek an opening? But the distance is too great for that. It’s far more logical that my Uncle lured his enemy here.’

I stood at the point where the next traces began. The blade marks were deeper and broader than before.
Moreover, the technique had shifted. Where the earlier marks showed an exchange of blows, now my Uncle’s strikes pressed relentlessly forward against his opponent.
It seemed he was pushing himself.

‘Hmm….’

As I traced those marks, an incongruity suddenly struck me.
Unnecessary strikes were scattered throughout. The Uncle I knew was a man who extracted maximum efficiency from minimal movement.
Yet these marks bore the unmistakable signature of deliberate intent.

‘I see.’

This was the true record my Uncle had left behind.
I continued to follow his blade strikes, and as I traced from the previous marks to the present, a sentence began to form.

‘…There exists a Demon targeting the Family.’

My Uncle’s assault did not cease after that.
Amid the tangled traces of enemy and Uncle, I pursued only his blade marks. It was something I could accomplish now.
Soon the chaotic lines continued, and a new word was carved into the earth.

‘Barsenon.’

That was likely the name of the Demon who had targeted our Family.

‘The reason was….’

That was where the trail abruptly ended.
Puzzled, I surveyed my surroundings. Beyond the bare earth, a familiar tree came into view.
The tree where my Uncle lay dead, coughing blood. By all accounts, the demon’s attack had sent him flying backward.
After all, he was already straining himself to leave those sword marks.

‘Uncle must have exchanged several blows with Barsenon before realizing he couldn’t win.’

That’s why he left those sword marks despite mixing in unnecessary movements.
Even if he focused his attacks and inflicted fatal wounds, demons would regenerate nearly everything as demons do.

‘There must be two reasons why he didn’t record this in his journal.’

Uncle probably knew only that a demon was targeting the Luminara Family at first.
Only after encountering the creature did he gather various pieces of information, which he then left as sword marks.

‘But he didn’t record all those facts in his journal.’

Uncle had always understood me well, knowing we shared similar temperaments.
He likely worried that I would burn with vengeful desire toward Barsenon.

「Of course, without reaching a realm similar to mine, even this record would be meaningless.」

That’s probably why he left such a message.
Hoping I wouldn’t grasp the truth until I grew strong enough to read his sword marks.
When I learned that Uncle had been killed by the demon, I left home for a month, determined to slay that creature.
But finding nothing of consequence, I returned.

– Kael. If your brother had done the same, that demon would have fallen right there. So let it go.

Hearing Father’s sorrowful words, I set aside thoughts of Uncle and moved on.
But now I know the truth. The demon that killed Uncle is still alive.

‘Yet why hasn’t Barsenon come for us since then? According to Uncle’s words, the creature should have targeted our family?’

There could be only one answer. The demon had exhausted too much demonic energy in the battle with Uncle, weakening its power.
Just as human muscles don’t recover once they’ve necrosed, demons couldn’t reverse the damage from recklessly expending their demonic energy.

‘Barsenon, huh….’

I recalled a conversation I’d had with Ludian in my previous life.

– The Saint of Foresight before Sena was devoured by a demon. Its name was Barsenon. It’s currently known as the Great Demon of Godslaying, and we haven’t managed to eliminate it yet.
– ….
– For some reason, it evaded our pursuit quite skillfully. Since Barsenon is a demon that aspires to become a Demon God itself, we need to bring it down quickly.

I never encountered Barsenon even once until I met the Demon God.
Yet that Barsenon had targeted our Luminara Family….

‘It’s no wonder I didn’t know until now. In my previous life, the Luminara Family was already annihilated, and I wandered across the Continent.’

Then what was Barsenon’s reason for targeting our Family?

‘Could it be… that by devouring the Saint of Foresight, it saw a certain future? A future where the Luminara Family posed a threat to it?’

I couldn’t be certain, but if so, most things made sense.
Barsenon evading Ludian’s pursuit so well, such a powerful Barsenon deliberately targeting our Family, and Baron Scalen possessing this letter.

‘Likely, after killing my Uncle, Barsenon sought out Baron Scalen and shared its blood with him. Their interests must have aligned perfectly.’

I suspected Baron Scalen joined the Evil Book Society precisely to achieve his and Barsenon’s objectives.
Barsenon didn’t revere the Demon God—it sought to become a new god itself.
Among demons, just as with humans, some worshipped gods while others did not.

‘That’s why it didn’t reveal the future it saw to the Evil Book Society.’

Had that fact been known, the Evil Book Society would have tried to exploit Barsenon for its ability to see the future.
The relationship between the Evil Book Society and demons was far more intricate than one might assume.

‘Of course, I still can’t be certain of the exact reasons. It’s merely speculation on my part.’

But if Barsenon is targeting our Family, it will eventually appear before me.
In my previous life, I somehow survived, but this time things won’t go as you wish.
Even if it weren’t targeting our Family, I had reason enough to strike it down—for killing my Uncle.

‘However, I have no intention of waiting for it to appear.’

I prefer to strike first at the solar plexus before I’m struck.
He can see the future, but I already knew his future and past.

‘These people won’t let me live in peace.’

Well, what can I do? I’ll simply meet their expectations.

“Bella!”
“Yes, Interrogator!”
“We have somewhere to go. Follow me.”
“Yes, sir!”

There was a matter I’d planned to resolve in a few months, but it seemed better to visit now.

* * *

Rainward Territory.
Earl Rainward stood beside a man, gazing at the verdant expanse spreading across a small field.

“Remarkable! It truly grows as swiftly as you claimed. And this soil can hardly be called fertile.”

At Earl Rainward’s words, Rorik laughed and bowed respectfully.

“Did I not tell you that you could harvest within a month? The vitality is exceptional—it thrives in any season and provides abundant sustenance.”

Rorik plucked a crop from the field. He brushed the apricot-colored tuber clean and handed it to Earl Rainward.

“Would you care to taste it, my lord?”

Earl Rainward gestured to his servant, who accepted the tuber and began eating it instead.
Earl Rainward inquired.

“Well?”
“It tastes like something between a potato and a sweet potato. It would be even more delicious steamed, I imagine.”
“Any adverse effects?”
“It’s difficult to say without further observation, but there appear to be no significant issues at present. In fact, it’s quite filling, and strangely, it leaves one feeling remarkably at peace.”
“Is that so….”

If Rorik sows this crop, even the infertile lands of Rainward Territory could yield rapid harvests.
The lives of the inhabitants would improve, and with proper cultivation, the Family’s reputation could soar to new heights.
This crop grows faster than others and is less susceptible to environmental conditions, so it will bring tremendous change to the Theocracy’s staple crops.

“What is this crop called?”
“Since it’s a newly developed strain, there’s no official name yet….”

Rorik gazed toward Earl Rainward.

“‘Galma’. That is what I call it.”
“I see. I’ll observe the condition of a servant who consumes Galma for two weeks, then provide compensation befitting its value. What do you desire?”
“I leave that to your discretion, my lord. With Galma alone, people’s lives can flourish—how could I ask for more?”
“Heh heh…. A rare sage in these times.”
“However….”

Rorik continued cautiously.

“Could you distribute Galma to Luminara Territory?”
“That’s not impossible, but why specifically Luminara?”
“I heard they possess a weather-prediction magical artifact there. If Galma were cultivated in such a place, wouldn’t it spread far more widely throughout the Theocracy?”
“Indeed, I’m curious about that myself. Luminara Territory is well-suited for crop cultivation.”

The fact that Luminara Territory employs magical artifacts is already widely known throughout the Theocracy.
Magic and magical artifacts are sensitive matters in the Theocracy, after all.

“But why don’t you go there yourself instead of asking me? Wouldn’t it have been better to go there from the start rather than here?”
“That place is currently under the intense scrutiny of the Papal See. A commoner like myself could face trouble if unnecessarily entangled with it, so I’m asking you, my lord.”
“Hmm, I understand. I shall do so.”
“Thank you, my lord.”

Then a servant rushed forward in haste.

“M-my lord!”
“…What is the matter so suddenly?”

Earl Rainward’s brow furrowed at the servant’s anxious expression.

“A Heresy Inquisitor has arrived here just now! And they say it’s the Kael Inquisitor!”
“What, what?”

Earl Rainward’s eyes clouded with bewilderment.

‘The Kael Inquisitor—the one who vanquished Envy of the Seven Deadly Sins and subjugated Gluttony, one of the Five Great Calamities?’

Why would such a capable man suddenly appear without warning?
Could it be about the taxes I underpaid to the Theocracy? I may have reported slightly lower measurements, but I’ve paid the correct tax rate, haven’t I?
Besides, isn’t that standard practice among all nobility?

‘K-Kael Inquisitor? At such an inopportune moment?’

Rorik was equally flustered, perhaps even more tense than Earl Rainward himself.
Earl Rainward quickly composed himself.

“T-Tell him to wait a moment!”
“B-But….”
“Say I’m busy! We can entertain him in the Annex Building, can’t we?”
“Ah, no, that’s already….”

It was then.

“A pleasure to meet you.”

A soft, measured voice flowed into their ears.
A man in a black priest’s cassock approached with dignified bearing.
A sword hung at his waist, and a beautiful woman with a large satchel followed beside him with a soft jingling sound.
The man halted at a respectful distance and smiled with refined grace.

“I am Kael Inquisitor.”

Earl Rainward and Rorik swallowed hard in unison.
Neither could help but tense, ignorant of why the Heresy Inquisitor had come.

(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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