An Inquisitor in a Certain Village – 1

    The sun shone through the intricate golden stained glass. Everywhere the brilliant sunlight touched was dyed the same color. It was the sacred color of God.

    Inside the room bathed in gold, a woman with bright blonde hair like the blazing sun and green eyes looked down from the highest step of the stairs, a faint smile gracing her lips.

    At the end of her gaze was another woman with bright blonde hair and green eyes. As their eyes met, a beaming smile was returned. The hair color and eye color of the two women were completely identical.

    However, their appearances were not identical.

    The woman looking down from the stairs had abundant blonde hair that seemed more than enough to cover her entire body, but the woman looking up from below had short hair that reached her collarbone.

    The woman looking down from the stairs resembled a symbol of benevolent motherhood, while the woman looking up from below appeared very gentle but full of mischief.

    The only things identical were the color of their hair and the color of their pupils.

    “What did you call me for, His Holiness the Pope?”

    The woman on the stairs was the Pope, and the woman below was the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor looked up at the stairs with her usual beaming smile.

    “The time of purification has come. O Inquisitor.”

    “Oh my. Has it already been that long? I thought I received a report recently that traces of demons were found and that further investigation would be conducted.”

    The Inquisitor’s eyes widened. Her expression was genuinely one of surprise. The Pope slowly nodded, indicating affirmation.

    The phrase, “the time of purification,” had a clear meaning.

    It meant that traces of demons had been discovered. Therefore, those connected to demons must be dealt with, no matter what methods were employed or what sacrifices were made.

    In other words, it was the opening of a Holy War.

    “I understand. How many Battle Nuns should I mobilize?”

    “Do as the Inquisitor wishes.”

    “Then I’ll take them all. That’s fine, isn’t it?”

    “Yes. You may do so.”

    As soon as the Pope’s permission was granted, the Inquisitor hummed a tune, lightly bowed her head in respect, and picked up the weapon she had placed beside her.

    It was a flail with a mace head much larger than her own head. The mace head of the flail had wickedly shaped spikes protruding from it. It was a weapon that sent shivers down one’s spine just by looking at it.

    The Inquisitor lightly picked up the flail, which was nearly twice the size of her head, as if it were a bag, and slung it over one shoulder.

    “There is one more thing I must impress upon you, O Inquisitor.”

    “Huh? What is it this time?”

    The woman, who had slung the flail over her right shoulder and was about to leave, stopped in her tracks.

    “A revelation has descended that the man I spoke of before can also be found on this expedition.”

    “Wow! Really?”

    Her grass-green pupils sparkled. They were filled with the same curiosity as a child who had found a favorite toy.

    “Yes. That’s right.”

    In response, another pair of green eyes smiled.

    “Where can I find him? Is it the village we’re heading to now?”

    “That, I do not know. However.”

    The Pope clasped her hands in front of her chest.

    “God will guide you.”

    A small village on the outskirts of the empire was enjoying its peaceful daily life.

    The occasional monsters that wandered in were only at a level that the residents could repel without casualties by working together, and even when outsiders occasionally visited, they would simply find lodging and food before leaving immediately.

    As long as they diligently paid taxes to the empire, a normal and peaceful daily life would continue without any problems. The villagers thought such a routine would last forever.

    That is, until an innumerable horde of monsters suddenly stormed in.

    “Aargh! Help me!”

    “Come with me!”

    The peaceful village instantly turned into chaos.

    Flames erupted throughout the village, no one knew who lit the first spark, and screams of people being torn apart alive by monsters filled the air. The metallic smell of blood stung their noses.

    James, who had been reduced to frantically fleeing with only his life, without even time to gather his belongings, was also one of the ordinary residents who had lived peacefully in this village.

    “Uwaaaaaaaah!”

    James ran and ran.

    Even when he heard pleas for help from around him, even when he heard mournful wails witnessing the disaster that had struck the village, he ignored them all and frantically fled to save himself.

    It was a situation where preserving his own life was overwhelming enough. He had no time to care about others.

    The entire village was a fiery pit, swarming with monsters. James spotted a monster devouring a human on the main road ahead, then frantically looked around and darted into the alley right next to him.

    And then, he froze, unable to even scream.

    Inside the alley, a man was flailing his limbs, his intestines being eaten by a wolf-like monster. He seemed to still be alive, but it was futile.

    The alley was drenched in red blood, as if there had been several other victims besides that man. Realizing this, James was grateful to himself for not screaming. Thanks to that, the monster hadn’t noticed him.

    He just needed to turn around and get out. James slowly backed away, silently praying and praying that the monster wouldn’t raise its head. His trembling legs made his speed woefully slow.

    Just a little more. Just a few more steps-

    -CRUNCH!

    As soon as James’s foot stepped on and broke a charred wooden plank, he instinctively knew something was wrong and froze in place.

    The monster, which had been burying its snout in the now lifeless man’s corpse and devouring his insides, lifted its head. A growl, ‘Grrr,’ came from its maw.

    *Thump*, his legs gave out. His whole body trembled like an aspen leaf. Just a few more steps would have been enough. If he had gone just a little further, he could have gotten out of here.

    Whether it judged fresh human flesh to be better than a corpse, or simply to hunt a living human, the monster began to slowly walk towards James, trampling and crushing the corpse.

    James struggled to back away. But with his legs giving out and his arms barely able to move due to fear, there was no way he could create distance.

    “Hiiik! Hiiiiiiik!”

    The monster prepared to pounce on the human, who was letting out strange screams. James squeezed his eyes shut as he saw the beast open its maw wide and leap.

    -THWACK!

    “……?”

    Thwack? It was a sound that shouldn’t have been heard. James slowly opened his eyes. There was something large right in front of him. Dumbfounded, he shifted his gaze a little further.

    Only then could he confirm the identity of the large object blocking his path. It was a shield. And an enormous one at that, large enough to completely cover an adult man’s body with room to spare.

    Someone pushed James aside and stepped forward. It was a woman holding a flail in one hand and a shield larger than her own body in the other. Long blonde hair reached her waist, and her eyes were green.

    Her attire looked incredibly sacred.

    There was more exposed skin than covered, a garter belt was worn on her thigh, and the private parts between her legs were covered by a single wide piece of cloth that stretched down almost to the ground.

    The cloth covering her private parts was embroidered with strange golden characters in rows. They were characters he had never seen before.

    Her sides and thighs were completely open, barely connected under her armpits, and it seemed her attire didn’t even intend to properly cover her chest.

    Only two triangular pieces of cloth, hanging from her shoulders, covered her chest. Even those seemed as if they would expose her chest completely if the wind blew or if she moved vigorously.

    That sacred attire, which seemed to emanate God’s blessing. James had heard of women dressed like that before.

    The Battle Nuns of the Holy Nation of Raphaela.

    And specifically, Battle Nuns directly under the Inquisitor.

    Even though he had been on the verge of death just moments before, James instinctively bowed his head as soon as he saw the nun. The clothes before his eyes overflowed with such sacred energy.

    Of course, it also had something to do with the Inquisitor and her direct Battle Nuns having a notorious reputation in many ways.

    The Battle Nun didn’t even glance at James, instead provoking the monster by thumping her shield with the flail. The monster let out a savage roar, “Kwaaak!”, and lunged at the nun.

    -WHAM!

    What could barely be called a battle, a unilateral death sentence, occurred in a very short moment. The monster’s maw, which had lunged as if to chew and swallow everything it touched, couldn’t even reach the nun’s neck.

    Because its head was crushed by the flail before that could happen.

    The Battle Nun, who had casually burst the monster’s head, emotionlessly raised her arm and struck down two more times. The corpse quickly turned into a bloody pulp. Blood dripped from the flail, its task completed.

    James’s pants became wet as he watched the entire gruesome scene. A hiccup, ‘Hikkup,’ escaped him. The Battle Nun, who had cleanly finished the coup de grâce, straightened her back.

    Her green pupils turned towards James, who was sprawled on the ground. As her gaze met him, he felt his senses snap back to attention.

    “Thank you for saving- *Gasp*?!”

    Before James could even offer his thanks, the Battle Nun, with an expressionless face, slung her flail at her waist, grabbed James by the back of his neck, and dragged him out of the alley.

    It was a movement devoid of mercy, as if dealing with an animal.

    But James, without the slightest thought of resisting, didn’t even dare to make a sound and surrendered his body to her rough handling. Resistance? Complaint? How could such things even be possible?

    How far was he dragged in that state? James, thrown to the ground, let out an unseemly yelp, ‘Ke-ek.’ He spat out the dirt that had filled his mouth and looked around.

    Around him were familiar faces. They were the villagers, survivors of this chaos.

    Every single one of them had a bewildered expression. The feeling that they had no idea why they were gathered here, or what was about to happen, was clearly evident.

    “Is that person the last one?”

    A clear voice rang out.

    It was such a clear and beautiful voice that the bewildered people, who had been looking only at each other, simultaneously turned their heads towards where the voice had come from.

    “That’s right, Inquisitor Stella-nim.”

    “Good. Prepare yourselves.”

    But somehow, the atmosphere was strange. The Battle Nuns were surrounding the survivors in a circle, forming a perimeter. Not just one or two, but all of them gathered here.

    Once the impenetrable encirclement was complete, the woman called Inquisitor Stella stepped forward. Like all the other Battle Nuns gathered here, she was a woman with blonde hair and green eyes.

    “Now, everyone. You are the lucky ones who survived the monster attack. The rest either died or were torn apart. Although you’ve lost all your possessions, isn’t it enough that you survived?”

    *Clap*, Stella clapped her hands. In response, her chest swayed from side to side. Her attire was even more revealing than the Battle Nuns’. The exposure level was incredibly high.

    It was a sacred garment, holiness itself, worthy enough for an Inquisitor to wear. It seemed demons would be purified and vanish just by looking at it.

    Perhaps because of her attire, her impression was also very gentle and kind. Her tone was soft, and a beaming smile floated on her lips.

    She was completely different from the Battle Nuns, who seemed like golems, utterly devoid of emotion.

    “While I’d like nothing more than to return right away, before that, you all need to have your purity verified. Your purity, to see if your eyes haven’t been clouded by those things. Oh, don’t worry too much. It’ll be over quickly.”

    Purity? The survivors tilted their heads. James was no different. Purity, what on earth did they need to prove?

    “Iris.”

    “Yes, Inquisitor-nim.”

    Iris, the Battle Nun who had dragged James here, stood demurely beside Stella.

    “Proceed.”

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