Chapter 962 – 962. Rainbow Fruit
We left the castle to find and kill the lord.
I didn’t know the lord’s location, but Coleman did. I heard that he had captured and interrogated a heretic among the servants in the castle.
They were the butler and some other lackeys. There were about ten of them, and after interrogation, they found out that the lord was in a residence on the back mountain of the city.
A crowd of about 50 people walked proudly through the city streets. The eyes of the townspeople naturally turned to us.
“Wait.”
Coleman, who was leading the way, stopped. All 50 people stopped at the same time. The paladins, used to this kind of thing, acted quickly. They grabbed the man Coleman was pointing at.
“I sense the presence of heresy in you.”
“No! I’m not a heretic!”
“We’ll see when we check. Strip him.”
The paladins stripped the man of his clothes.
I swallowed a hollow laugh. Even so, can you just grab a passerby in broad daylight and strip them naked in the street?
I looked around. Everyone was just watching as if it were natural.
‘I guess it’s okay. Inquisitors… they have insane power….’
The man, forcibly stripped naked, suddenly screamed.
“There’s a filthy mark under your left armpit. Die, heretic.”
Coleman’s holy mace dealt with another heretic. The paladins set fire to the heretic’s corpse and burned it.
“Let’s go.”
With that small incident over, we moved again. The knights and soldiers seemed a little intimidated by Coleman’s behavior.
I approached Coleman.
“How did you know that guy was a heretic? Do you have some special ability?”
Coleman’s eyes turned to me. He seemed to be friendly towards me for some reason.
“I don’t have such a convenient ability. If I had to say, it’s experience. After finding and killing heretics for so long, I get a feeling that’s hard to explain.”
“That’s amazing.”
“It’s often convenient.”
After that, we killed four more heretics in the city and went outside the city.
“Sir Coleman, are you going to kill the Baroness?”
“I don’t know yet. It depends on what kind of heretic the lord is. If he’s a priest-level or higher… then we’ll have to kill his whole family. There might be seeds of evil planted. Judging by your expression, you don’t want that.”
“I can’t let the Baroness die.”
“So, you’re going to stop me? Anyone who stops an Inquisitor is a heretic. Are you a heretic?”
“Sir Coleman, I am the Baroness’s sword. All my actions are the Baroness’s will.”
“……Continue.”
“I will kill the heretic lord. But it won’t be me who kills the heretic.”
“It will be the Baroness who kills him. That’s not wrong. All the credit for killing heretics goes to the Goddess… If you play an active role, the Baroness won’t be branded as a heretic.”
“Thank you.”
On the way to the back mountain, we found a village.
“…The stench of heresy is strong here.”
Coleman didn’t pass by the village. The symbols of the evil god Brahmasen were hidden here and there in the village, and the villagers had traces of the evil god on their bodies.
“In the name of Baroness Revillidy, I command you. Kill them all.”
He gave the order to the knights and soldiers. They wielded their swords and spears, looking uncomfortable at the villagers who had not yet turned into monsters.
“There’s a baby here!”
A soldier shouted and brought a baby.
“You didn’t understand my order properly. Was ‘kill them all’ such a difficult order?”
“Sir, Sir Eugene! Kuaaaak!”
I directly cut down the soldier and the baby.
“It’s a baby born in a heretical village. Of course, this baby is also a heretic. Anyone who shows mercy to a heretic is also a heretic.”
I pointed to the baby’s sole. There was a mark of heresy engraved on it. The knights and soldiers looked at me with eyes mixed with fear, not respect.
“Impressive. You’re definitely the right person to become an Inquisitor.”
Coleman approached. He was recommending me for the position of Inquisitor. If this wasn’t a dungeon, I would have accepted it right away. I’ve seen the enormous power of an Inquisitor, so it would be foolish to refuse.
“I am the Baroness’s sword.”
“There’s no reason you can’t become the Goddess’s sword as well. Burn the village and the corpses, and let’s go into the back mountain.”
“It will be night soon, will that be okay?”
“Heretics must be eliminated from this world as soon as possible.”
We climbed the dark mountain path, relying on torches.
We found a strange cave. It was a cave that reeked of blood and had the sounds of beasts.
“It’s an artificial cave. They made an altar. The stench of the evil god is piercing my nose. It’s impossible with the power of an ordinary heretical priest. Is there a Black Priest?”
Coleman’s face, which had been calm even when massacring the villagers, was now stiff.
“What’s a Black Priest?”
“They are those who commit evil deeds after receiving the revelations of an evil god. They are much stronger than ordinary priests. Above all, Black Priests use evil spells and magic. Check your equipment before going in. You can lose your life in an instant.”
Everyone began to check their equipment.
Jo Woo-saeng approached me.
“Mr. Sung Eugene. This might be really dangerous. Coleman, that guy, even though he has a bad personality, doesn’t talk nonsense. We might die here.”
“I don’t have a good feeling either.”
“Let’s just give up here.”
Jo Woo-saeng said.
“Isn’t it a waste to have come this far?”
“It is a waste. But life is the most important thing. You’re strangely negative. Were you serious about being loyal to the Baroness?”
“Do you think I would be?”
“…After seeing the scene earlier, it doesn’t seem like it. Anyway, let’s stop here.”
“I’m going to continue. When else will I get to experience something like this?”
The image of Baroness Revillidy flashed in my mind. Her soft, supple vagina fascinated me. Even if it’s meaningless, I can’t just throw away a vagina I like.
“You can only experience things if you’re alive. It’s not worth risking your life. I’m going to stop here.”
Jo Woo-saeng took out a red ball of thread from his pocket. Jo Woo-saeng poured mana into the thread. The thread began to glow and then burn. Jo Woo-saeng continued to hold the thread in his hand as if his hand wasn’t hot at all. Soon, a warm light appeared around his body.
“Do you have anything to say before I go out? I’ll pass it on.”
“No. I don’t.”
“Let’s have a meal sometime.”
“Sure.”
We exchanged a promise that would never be kept. Jo Woo-saeng disappeared without a trace.
“Are you ready? Now we go into their lair.”
“Sir Coleman, doesn’t it seem like one of the paladins is missing?”
“Sir, what nonsense are you talking about?”
“…I’m sorry. Everyone’s here.”
Coleman didn’t remember Jo Woo-saeng at all. For him, Jo Woo-saeng had never existed in the first place.
We entered the cave with torches. The mana was heavy. The more we walked, the more it felt like we were being pulled into a sticky swamp.
“…There are four monsters ahead.”
“It’s dark, so I can’t see them. You have pretty good eyes.”
“They’re… defending!”
The monsters shot bone spikes. Coleman and I easily deflected them by imbuing our weapons with sword energy and holy power. The knights were also skilled, so they were safe from the ambush thanks to my warning.
The problem was the soldiers. The monsters’ bone spikes pierced through the soldiers’ pathetic shields and armor. Three soldiers died instantly from the first ambush.
“Annoying bastards.”
Coleman clicked his tongue and jumped forward. The light from his holy mace illuminated the surroundings.
“I’ll help too!”
I also jumped forward. My goal was to gain merit, so I had to be proactive.
The monster that was shooting bone spikes jumped up and stuck to the ceiling when I got close, then fell towards me again.
I used the momentary. The monster’s fall slowed down.
“Die, monster!”
My sword pierced its heart faster than the monster’s claws. The monster slumped. I couldn’t just stand still after killing one monster. The monster right next to me was aiming for my life. I drew my sword and struck the monster’s neck. The headless monster’s body continued to move. I cut the monster’s body in half along with its heart.
“Impressive skill.”
“I’m the one who’s impressed. Sir Coleman, you completely shattered the monsters’ heads. But do you not have to remove their hearts?”
“I have the Goddess’s protection.”
He held up his holy, glowing mace. The holy power seemed to be blocking the monsters’ regeneration.
We went inside. The monsters’ attacks continued. Soldiers died, and even some of the knights were killed.
I felt a sense of déjà vu. The monsters I knew weren’t this good at using the darkness to ambush us.
“Sir Coleman, something’s wrong with the monsters.”
“Is it because they seem intelligent?”
“Yes. The monsters I know are dumber.”
“They’ve been trained. A Black Priest can train ordinary monsters. In the worst case, they can train them in the thousands.”
“That’s like an army.”
“You’re right. That’s why we must eliminate the Black Priest.”
We reached the end of the cave.
In the center was an altar, and around it were numerous human corpses scattered. There was dust on the corpses, but there was no smell of decay.
“Damn it…. They performed a ritual.”
Coleman’s shoulders slumped. A shadow of despair appeared on his face, which had seemed as solid as a rock.
“Sir Coleman, what is a ritual?”
I approached him and asked. Coleman, who had been blank, suddenly came to his senses.
“…It’s human sacrifice. They offer humans to the evil god and receive the evil god’s power. Or something else… But….”
Coleman looked around.
“It’s a little different from the rituals I know. Usually, in human sacrifices, they put people on the altar and cut them open alive to take out their hearts. But these corpses don’t have any wounds on their bodies.”
“Isn’t it just a different kind of human sacrifice?”
“Maybe it’s not human sacrifice at all. One thing is certain….”
He turned around. His eyes were looking out of the cave.
“The lord, that heretic, isn’t here. This is the worst. Maybe the city is already…. We’re going back to the city right now. Everyone, be prepared to die.”
•••
When we arrived at the city, we were horrified.
The city was on fire. Red flames soared into the sky from all over the city.
The screams of people flowed out of the city. There were many people gathered at the city entrance, but they were blocked by an invisible wall and couldn’t get out of the city.
“…Evil has swallowed the city.”
Coleman, who had lamented while looking at the city, then ordered the paladin.
“You, return to the Order. And tell them. Evil has broken out in Revillidy. At the very least, the Holy Knights must be dispatched to suppress the evil.”
“I will follow your orders, Sir Coleman. What are you going to do?”
“An Inquisitor does not retreat in the face of heresy. It is my job to eliminate heretics.”
He seemed to have already made up his mind to die. Not today, but long ago.
Coleman also spoke to me, the knight, and the soldiers.
“You guys, run away too. This place is already hell. I won’t tell you to sacrifice yourselves with me. Those who must live must live.”
The knights and soldiers looked at the city.
Burning flames, humans trying to escape. Monsters eating humans. This place was already hell.
“I, I don’t want to die.”
“I’m not going to do anything crazy.”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
The knights and soldiers ran away. Coleman watched them leave as if it were natural, then asked me.
“Aren’t you running away?”
“Didn’t I tell you before? I am the Baroness’s sword. How can a sword run away?”
“Can’t you see that burning castle over there? Face reality. The Baroness is probably dead.”
“Isn’t the lord the one who did this?”
“Do you think heretics have any affection for their families? They eat their families, offer them as human sacrifices…. That’s what heretics are.”
“Then I have to go even more. I have to avenge the Baroness.”
I was speaking calmly, but I was on the verge of losing it.
‘How dare you touch my woman? I’ll kill them all.’
