Chapter 21

The Demon Hunting Method Of The Regressed Inquisitor 21

Festival of the Dead (2)

No matter how you look at it, it was a struggle.

Lost’s fighting style was an extreme form of a method for the weak to overpower the strong.

‘I have to admit it. That guy is crazy in a good way.’

Titan didn’t see Lost in a favorable light. He only sympathized because Lost had set up a stage that he could be satisfied with. He couldn’t see the opportunistic side of Lost in a good light.

So when Lost said he would fight directly, Titan nodded. In a duel where life and death are at stake, a person’s true nature is revealed.

Look, isn’t it so clear?

Is the sight of a man struggling to win truly pathetic?

No, that fighting spirit should not be ridiculed by anyone.

“At this rate, Mr. Lost will die.”

But Linnea couldn’t see the scene in a good light. No matter how you looked at it, Lost was more injured.

The opponent kept regenerating because he was a demon, but Lost kept attacking without caring for his own wounds.

Knowing that it was meant to corner the other person… it was too much.

The sight of him not even glancing at the undead attacking him felt almost like madness.

“No, that’s an opportunity gained by risking one’s life. That’s the right way to put it.”

“Aren’t you going to help?”

“Why should I? Lost stopped me, saying it was his guest. It’s not something I should interfere with.”

“……”

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you step in yourself? Unless you plan to just hold onto that thing in your pocket.”

“No, I…”

“Hmm.”

Titan sneered at the hesitant Linnea.

In the end, that’s how it is. Linnea is looking for something from Lost, but she is reluctant to reveal anything about herself.

‘What should I do?’

I don’t want Lost to die like this.

I haven’t yet confirmed why only he can’t see the line.

But to ask that, I would need to reveal my own secret.

However, I don’t have the courage to do that. That’s why nothing has changed.

I’m afraid of my secret being discovered.

The fear directed at me that had subtly spread within the mansion comes to mind.

I left the house because I hated it, but what if I face the same result again?

‘What should I do…’

I am disgusted with myself.

But Linnea didn’t move. Just as Titan said. No, she is forcing herself to agree with Titan’s words.

If it really seems like he will die, she would move, but not now.

‘I can still hide it.’

Justifying her decision, Linnea quietly held her breath.

“Huh…?”

Lost, who had been repeatedly attacking while suppressing Mez, suddenly began to vomit black blood.

* * *

It was a sudden event.

And it was also a chronic problem that had always been with him.

The black blood I shed is not from the attack by Mez. Nor is it from the undead he controls.

As an inquisitor, there’s no way I would be infected by the poison of a corpse and spew black blood in such a short time.

This is ‘erosion.’

It’s what I’ve been worried about all along, and it’s also the reason I left the Duke of Foris’ territory and started this journey, knowing that the beast would come.

The poison of the ‘Eroder’ is eating away at my flesh. The mere presence I encountered in my dreams has begun to affect my body.

It’s not even hostility. It just happened because we got entangled.

“Get out of the wayyyyy!!”

But I don’t back down.

Do you think I’d miss this opportunity? I have to make sure to subdue him here and now.

“Ugh!”

I cough up blood. Black blood stains the white priest’s robe.

I came out in a hurry, not having the strength to kill the assailant.

Yes, I’ll admit it. It was greed.

But somehow, I succeeded. I was able to seize the opportunity.

“Die.”

Too much blood has been shed.

The friend I talked with yesterday blocked my way the next day.

In a miserable state, having lost part of his body. Unable to even make a sound.

Even his soul was tainted.

“Die!”

Because of this b*stard.

-Then you might really kill him. Isn’t that against the promise?

Thud!

But then the world shook violently.

At the same time, Mez’s black mist and my holy power began to turn gray as if they were fading.

“……Yes, that’s right.”

“What nonsense……”

Mez, who couldn’t grasp the situation, gritted his teeth and pushed me away.

Finally, he found the power of good to push me away without killing me.

But it was too late.

The situation was already over.

The method to kill Mez was already prepared. From the beginning, it was enough for me to just buy time.

“A contract is a contract. It’s a pity I can’t kill you directly, but…”

In the world dyed gray, the city revealed its shape.

The undead who oppressed me all stiffened and stopped moving.

Mez, who controlled them, froze without doing anything.

Bella kept her promise.

This is the first trial I face directly in this life.

“It’s possible to create the worst outcome for you.”

-You made a good decision. Consideration is a virtue, so surely we won’t meet in a bad way after death.

I step back a little and catch my breath.

Just as I was about to confirm the presence that came to keep the promise.

-Then.

The pressure crushed the surroundings.

No one could move. Neither Mez, who was catching his breath, nor I. Nor the companions who were watching the situation from behind.

-Nice to meet you. My name is Hecate.

What followed was a soft female voice. But an overwhelming presence that could not be resisted.

Naturally, my head was forced down, unable to lift it.

All I could see was the white hair dragging on the ground.

-To the lost children, a path. To those left with regrets, an opportunity.

The eternal being recorded as the third of the ten trials.

＜The Wanderer＞

Necropolis

-Does anyone have any regrets?

The hair dragged on the ground. The owner of Necropolis, who introduced herself as ‘Hecate’, moved.

And the direction was, of course, towards Mez, the elite of Belial’s ‘Sword of Binding’ and also a dark sorcerer.

-What kind of person are you? Won’t you tell me?

An absurdly overwhelming pressure contrary to the gentle voice.

-Is it hard to speak?

Hard to speak? Whose fault is that? Crushing the surroundings with pressure so that no one could open their mouth.

-Then shall we ask those who know you well? Yes, those of my kind.

Even without seeing, I could tell.

In the direction Hecate was facing, there would surely be the undead summoned by Mez. The ＜Wanderers＞ of Necropolis, undead with free will.

To them, the undead are people, and the necromancers who kill and enslave the will of those undead are nothing short of slave traders.

-Hmm, I see. Aha?

Nothing could be heard except her voice.

But I could tell she was conversing with the undead.

At that moment, a chilling sensation wrapped around my entire body.

-Oh dear, it seems he wasn’t a very good person. Hehehe.

I could vividly imagine Mez trembling. After all, the opponent was a being on the same level as Belial.

It was a ‘trial.’

-What should we do? Yes, what should we do? Yes, that sounds good. Ah! That doesn’t seem like a bad idea either.

Whether she was talking to herself or still conversing with the undead, her voice sounded somehow joyful.

Only then did I realize. The opponent was deliberately instilling fear. She was clearly planning to give Mez the most miserable death.

I felt oddly pleased. When the saintess warned me to be cautious of trials in my dreams, it felt cautious, but now I felt it was a good idea to have brought her in.

-Using his soul as firewood for 500 years might be a good start.

Perhaps because she lived an immortal life, her sense of scale was different.

-There are many things we can do, and many things we want to do.

“Ugh… aaah!!”

Crack! Snap!

The sound of a neck being pulled out alive. Without twisting, just pulling the opponent upwards while pressing down.

-So let’s think about it together? We have plenty of time.

At the end of the sound of something tearing, Mez’s scream, which had been mingling with the wailing, abruptly stopped.

Black blood flowed across the floor, soaking and sticking to the white priest’s robe.

-You can all lift your heads now. The scary nightmare is over.

With those words, the oppressive feeling that had been weighing down my body disappeared.

Coughing sounds came from all around, as if people had just emerged from water.

“……”

I too lifted my head and looked in the direction where Mez was.

A white beauty with a soft voice stood holding Mez’s roughly torn neck.

I don’t know. I can’t even guess what kind of being she is.

There is no terrible aura of death that should emanate from an undead.

It’s like not feeling the magic from Belial.

If you look at her physical body, she seems like a zombie or ghoul, and if you look at her transparent skin, she seems like a ghost or banshee.

But she is not such a lowly being.

The only high-ranking undead I know of is a lich.

But if you ask if the being in front of me is a lich, I can only say no.

There was a bigger clue to infer her species.

But should I say it?

Just mentioning it feels like committing a sin.

But in the end, I had to voice my question.

“…An angel?”

In the place where death is most rampant in the world, there was the form of an angel.

* * *

“I’m sorry, but this is all I have to offer to the guests.”

“…You should indeed be sorry. Is this what you call hospitality?”

“Haha.”

Smack!

I hit the back of Titan’s head, who was being too honest.

“If you’re a person, shouldn’t you have some sense of shame?”

This guy is so tall that even when he’s sitting, I have to jump to hit him.

Titan glares at me discontentedly, but what do I care.

Fortunately, Hecate left without saying much, otherwise, I would have faced a trial head-on.

There should be a limit to being fearless. How can he be so confident after seeing that nightmare?

“But look, Lost. He served this for us to drink.”

Of course, as Hecate said, there was nothing to serve. It’s water, but it’s rotten water. It seemed like a provocation, but it probably wasn’t intended that way.

Isn’t he undead? They live without eating food, so there wouldn’t be anything for human guests.

“Titan, this is also training. This may just look like rotten water. But think about it. Even when you haven’t had water for days and are dying of thirst, would this still be just rotten water?”

“Easy for you to say, Lost. Before I break that smart head of yours.”

“Everything depends on one’s mindset. The important thing is not what was served, but the intention to serve something even in such a state.”

“Intention?”

“Yes, I think we received the intention of the person who tried to serve us.”

“Hmm…”

Titan finally nods. It seems he has understood.

He purifies the rotten water in our cups with holy magic.

Titan no longer says anything and quenches his thirst with the water.

And then.

– Haha, it was a joke. This is the real one. Herbal tea… But what are you doing now?

Smack!

This time, I got hit on the back of my head by Titan.

For a moment, I feel dizzy.

But unlike Titan, I did not glare at him.

It was my own fault.

– Thanks to you, we were able to free many people. If something like this happens again, please contact us.

“We don’t have a means of contact.”

– Shall I attach a ghost to you?

“No, thank you.”

I am a priest.

To withstand my holy power, an ordinary ghost wouldn’t suffice.

I would inevitably have to attach a powerful spirit…

I have no intention of carrying around something so dreadful. I am not crazy like Age Foris.

– By the way, it’s surprising. To be associated with so many trials.

“…You managed to recognize that. Do you have special eyes?”

– Is there anything to recognize? It’s right in front of my eyes.

Hecate smiles and points to my blood-stained robe.

– ＜The Corruptor＞. You have faced a truly dreadful person. I met him once in my lifetime. He was full of murderous intent.

Then she points to my head and says.

– ＜The Dreamer＞. It seems you had to cling to dreams.

I have lost my name.

But there were several opportunities before I lost my name.

Perhaps the first thing I lost wasn’t my name.

I don’t even remember what I lost now.

Facing countless trials while losing so many things, it was because the dreams they showed were sweet.

It couldn’t be a more cruel trial.

-And…

This time, she points to Mez’s neck, which was placed like an ornament on the table.

-The ＜One Who Is Everywhere＞.

As expected.

Melis, who is presumed to have lived an immeasurable life, knows Belial.

As she said, I faced three trials in a short time.

I survived well.

-And right there.

Hecate points to herself and grins. It’s clearly a beautiful smile.

-Oh my… Have you lost your mind over this beautiful appearance?

It somehow left a bad impression.