Chapter 15

The Demon Hunting Method Of The Regressed Inquisitor 15

Age of Forest (1)

What should I do? This is not an existence I can handle alone.

Should I use the ＜Fragments of Morpheus’ Dream＞? If I use it, I can avoid the worst-case scenario.

“……”

No, there must be a better way.

Using it should be the last resort when there’s no other option.

Even if I use it, escaping from here would be the limit.

The cost would be too high compared to what I would gain.

So, what should I do?

The Dark King, Belial, has been lurking beneath the surface of the Empire.

He made the Empire the most powerful nation and also corrupted it.

He made human malice boil over.

So, where would be the best place to do such things?

Right at the heart of power.

Belial is the head of the Hope Duke family, one of the two great ducal families supporting the Empire. That’s why I can’t bring him to the surface right now.

Who would believe me if I said that the Duke of the Empire is a demon?

And even if I had a chance to verify it through holy magic, it’s uncertain whether it would work on him.

“Hey, young man. Why are you silent?”

I don’t think I can defeat Belial.

He is a monster who drove the world to the brink of destruction. Even the Saint couldn’t do anything about him, so how could I, with no foundation, defeat him now?

It’s an impossible task.

Isn’t that the purpose of this journey in the first place?

To make the impossible possible, a lot of preliminary work will be needed.

So, I must turn my eyes away from the opportunity that has come before me now.

“You.”

Belial’s face breaks into a smile, perhaps starting to suspect the brief moment I was searching for a method.

“Know.”

The wise appearance is gone, leaving only the form of a terrible demon.

“Me.”

A red light glimmers in his eyes.

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The corners of his mouth stretch grotesquely as if they would tear apart.

It’s already too late. He has confirmed that I know who he is.

It is impossible to deceive him by denying it here.

“……I was wondering if I should pretend to know you.”

“Pretend to know? Who am I?”

In that case, I should proceed on the premise that I know him here.

“Aren’t you the head of the Hope Duchy, Duke Walsres Hope?”

“……”

Not the demon himself, but the shell he presents socially.

There might be people who know the head of the Hope Duchy. Of course, it would be impossible for someone from the completely unrelated Foris territory to recognize him.

But what if the person who recognized him was an inquisitor? Those who travel around collecting information to hunt down demons?

Of course, if the other party is the one producing demons, it is natural for them to dislike an inquisitor like me. They would want to kill me immediately.

But……

“I see, it was a mischievous question of mine. I asked a pointless question without knowing your consideration, please pretend you don’t know me.”

He is not yet certain that I have recognized him.

Touching me in such a situation would only confirm his suspicion.

If he were the type to act without considering the consequences, the world would have already reached its end.

He is strong, cunning, and meticulous. That is why he succeeded.

Attacking me here simply because of suspicion could lead to other inquisitors catching his trail.

He would not ignore that possibility.

“Understood, Duke Hope. I didn’t see anyone here today. Just as you didn’t see what happened here today.”

“Hehehe… Yes, do so.”

The King of Darkness, Belial.

No, Duke Walsres Hope accepted my proposal with satisfaction and left, passing by me.

Only then did I turn my head in the direction he came from.

“You b*stard……”

In the direction Walsres Hope came from, the Ryan Barony was visible.

Another of his invisible beasts had been revealed.

I felt quite disgusted.

*     *      *

“Ah… Ugh!”

Linnea was lifting the collapsing wall with her eyes tightly shut.

After defeating the Baroness and rescuing the children who had been captured for human trafficking, they were in the midst of escaping to a place where the aftermath of the battle wouldn’t reach.

It was then that Titan’s furious blow shattered Tros Ryan and brought down the mansion.

Naturally, Linnea, who had been wandering inside, couldn’t avoid being caught in the violence.

“I’m, I’m okay! I’ll hold on here, so you all just…”

Linnea held onto the falling debris of the building, protecting the children.

Beastmen have stronger bodies than humans. However, since Linnea hadn’t been training regularly, there wasn’t much of a difference.

“We’ll help you!”

“Yeah! We can help too!”

While Linnea was struggling, the children ran to her side and started holding up the debris together.

“No, instead of that, please get out quickly!”

Of course, considering that Linnea’s goal was to buy time until the children escaped, not to lift the debris, it was a hindrance.

If they didn’t escape, Linnea would have to keep holding on.

Rumble!

Linnea’s desperate voice was drowned out by the children’s shouts and the sound of the building collapsing, and communication was subtly failing.

She felt the debris she was holding onto lift up.

“Oh, Mr. Titan, thank you…”

“No, no need to thank me. If anything, I should be thanking you. You caused quite a show in my territory.”

“…”

“Thanks to you, I wasn’t bored.”

Hearing the response, Linnea realized that it wasn’t Titan.

There was no one lifting the debris. The debris was floating on its own, and an old man with a staff was standing in front of her.

And the moment she realized that the voice was one she had heard in front of the castle walls.

Linnea’s face turned pale.

“D-Duke Foris?”

“Yes, Linnea Spirine, daughter of the Count. Were you upset that I just passed by you back then? So you decided to stage a protest like this?”

“N-No, that’s not it!”

According to Lost’s plan, the appearance of Age Foris was also predicted.

But even if it was predicted, facing such a monster in real-time was mentally exhausting.

“In that case, how about you stop that brat outside? Before I kill him.”

“Yes! I’ll do it!”

Linnea hurriedly ran at the gaze of Age Foris, which did not allow for any rebuttal. More than bandits, more than orcs, Age Foris was scarier.

Because he was truly an absolute strongman who possessed both power and authority.

“Hmm.”

Age Foris, who had driven Linnea out of the mansion, swung his staff.

Then, the collapsing building and the falling debris all stopped in mid-air, and silence ensued.

“Ha ha, this is… Baron Ryan has quite a lot of dependents.”

Zap!

The staff that Age Foris held began to flicker blue.

The staff, made of ivory, started to turn blue from the tip, and began to emit a menacing aura as if it were a knight’s aura.

“There are so many. To think they dared to deceive my eyes in my own territory, it’s so absurd that I can’t even speak.”

Authority was damaged.

This is the result of taking his eyes off because he thought no one would dare to challenge him.

“Do we need an example?”

Perhaps an example was needed to show that no one could dare to act recklessly in his territory.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Age Foris noticed a particularly calm child among the other children.

A girl with impressive white hair and red eyes.

For a moment, he thought she might be a demon, but Age Foris shook his head. Eye color is just one characteristic.

And that characteristic does not only appear in demons.

Age Foris was not so foolish as to make such generalizations.

But…

“Kid, what’s your name?”

“…Claire Ryan.”

The moment the white-haired girl, Claire Ryan, revealed her name, Age Foris burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha ha! Even though this body is old and dying, it seems my intuition is not completely dead.”

Tap, tap.

Age Foris approached Claire Ryan, leaning on his staff.

Each time, the debris that had been scattered neatly moved to the side as if opening a path.

The skill that held the entire building and each piece of debris together, and the additional magic on top of that.

Just from that, Claire Ryan realized that Age Foris’s power was beyond what could be seen.

“Lady Claire Ryan.”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of what?”

“Didn’t I make it clear?”

Agee Foris asked, locking eyes with the girl whose pupils appeared unusually murky.

“I need an example.”

“You intend to kill me.”

“And if I do? Do you feel a bit scared now?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve been living without being able to die.”

Bang!

Agee Foris struck the ground with his cane just as he had approached Claire, but the result was different.

The ground, struck by Agee Foris’s cane, couldn’t withstand the intense wave of mana and cracked.

“What are you doing in front of a child? Don’t you feel ashamed to show this to others, Duke Foris?”

“Who are you!”

Crash!!

Agee Foris hurled all the debris he had suspended in the air towards the direction of the voice.

“Oh dear, you’re quite spry.”

As Rost, who had narrowly dodged the debris, shrugged his shoulders, Agee Foris asked with a calm expression.

“Name.”

“Nice to meet you, Duke Agee Foris. I am Rost.”

“A pseudonym, huh, brat. Is there any reason you can’t be honest in front of me?”

“What do I have to fear to be dishonest with you, Duke? The only thing I’m not honest about is the gaze of the gods who are always looking down on us.”

Agee Foris’s gaze finally reached Rost’s mask.

On his forehead was engraved the inverted cross, the symbol of the Inquisitor.

“Damn heretic.”

Caught up in dirty business. Agee Foris sighed sincerely. It was a sight to behold.

“You will be punished by heaven.”

“Seeing you all walking around unscathed despite committing such heinous acts, it seems that the so-called god is not to be trusted.”

“Well, it’s not really important that the Duke is an atheist.”

“Tsk.”

Age Foris clicked his tongue at Rost’s leisurely response.

From one to ten, they are a bunch that he doesn’t like. Even a mere knight is loyal to his lord, but these inquisitors tolerate insults to the god they serve.

“Please don’t harm that child.”

“…Damn brat, what do you take me for?”

Age Foris grabbed Claire’s shoulder and pulled her towards him. He never intended to kill her in the first place.

He believes in setting an example, but harming the innocent goes against his principles.

“Do you see? She’s nothing but skin and bones. And a child who doesn’t even know what death is, being indifferent to it more than the elderly.”

If Claire Ryan had been living in luxury as the wealth of the Ryan Barony, it would be one thing, but knowing she was treated so poorly makes it even worse.

“Did you really think I would execute such an obviously innocent child?”

Age Foris was more outraged than ever. It was an even stronger reaction than when he guessed what Baron Ryan had done.

It angers him that Baron Ryan was secretly up to no good.

The fact that it happened in his own territory, tarnishing his reputation, is also infuriating.

But more than that, he cannot forgive being doubted.

“Brat, there’s only one reason I’m keeping you alive. It doesn’t matter what affiliation you have, what status you hold, or how much wealth you possess.”

Crack!

With Age Foris’s momentum, the mansion, which had been sustained by magic, floated into the air in an instant.

The building, lifted into the air without leaving a single piece of debris, seemed to compress and then turned into a massive rock.

“I know you were pulling the strings behind that foolish Titan prince. I also know you used the innocent daughter of the Spirine family to confront me first to avoid trouble!”

“She didn’t seem that innocent to me.”

“Shut up!”

Age Foris had already completed the puzzle in his mind.

And he doesn’t care what elements are in the completed puzzle.

He doesn’t care that they didn’t follow the rules while in his territory, or that they tried to cover things up using the Titan prince’s status.

“The only reason you’re alive is because what you did was something I should have done. Because it was the right thing to do!”

Boom!

The rock that had been floating in the air slammed down next to Rost.

It meant that he was upholding the meaning of his words.

Though he was fuming inside, he wouldn’t kill Rost as he had said.

It was an expression of that.

“But kid, don’t think you can challenge my authority and get away with it.”

Crack!

When Agee Foris swung his staff again, this time, the earth rose from the ground and wrapped around Rost. However, Rost accepted the restraints calmly without any resistance.

“I will interrogate you.”

“Do as you please.”

“Kids these days don’t know fear.”

This one and that one.

He was so angry at the face that didn’t look like a child’s.