Ch.259Episode 12 – The Strongest Mage in History

“…Most of the students here will become clergy, and while I don’t know how many of you might become exorcist priests, you must understand what demons truly are.

Demon, devil, Satan, jinn, ifrit, evil spirit… there are many terms for malevolent entities.

Fundamentally, all evil beings described in religions share one common trait.

Deception.

Evil entities, and indeed those commonly called villains, are neither special nor unusual beings. Evil certainly exists among those around you, and even among you sitting here. In fact, even I who teach you might harbor evil in some corner of my heart.

Evil is like a poisonous mushroom growing within us.

In places with good ventilation and warm sunlight, mushrooms and mold cannot grow. But in damp, stuffy places without wind or light, fungi spread like a plague.

This is precisely where demons find their opening. The work of evil beings is to mysteriously blind people’s eyes and ears, to deceive them.

It doesn’t matter how kind-hearted or devout a person may be. The moment they make a mistake and open the door of their heart, demons will step through that crack.

If you fail to cultivate your inner self, if you don’t contain the evil thoughts and habits lurking in the corners of your mind, demons will find their way into your heart before you know it.

…Yes.

Like that student over there, the devil enters those bastards who doze off during sacred lectures.

Wake up right now, you worthless son of a bitch!”

-Professor Theodosius, former theological college professor, during his lecture on “The History of Inquisition and Solemn Exorcism”

Episode 12 – The Most Powerful Mage in History

The new year was already just a week away.

The end of the year before a new one is always filled with blessings and expectations—some looking forward to being recognized as proper adults, others seeing it as a potential turning point in life.

However, this year-end was impossible to greet with any warmth.

“Officer, still no progress today?”

“Unfortunately not.”

The North was enduring a colder winter than ever before.

This wasn’t about the temperature dropping due to an unusual cold wave.

“A mage, a soldier, and an inquisitor all in one… quite the versatile bastard, but there’s not a trace of him. Not even a glimpse.”

Since the series of murders, the atmosphere in the North had grown beyond chilly—it had become downright brutal. The Military Command, Church delegates, Magic Tower representatives, and foreign armies were all on high alert, watching each other with suspicious eyes.

“I heard that recently some people from the Inquisition visited the cathedral along with Imperial government mages. Do you know anything about that, Officer?”

“Oh, that? They were just visiting a patient. Nothing special. But where did you hear about that, Administrator?”

“From an acquaintance in the Imperial Magic Department.”

Of course, the biggest problem lay elsewhere.

“Administrator, what’s the current situation with the Magic Tower?”

“Are you referring to the Magic Tower in Nasitasia, or the Magic Tower personnel here in the North?”

“The former.”

Francesca heaved a deep sigh.

“It’s not a good atmosphere.”

*

After Cardinal Archbishop Theodosius and other high-ranking clergy sent letters to the Empire, Kien Empire accepted the proposal for a joint investigation with the Inquisition.

The Grand Duke, a war hero and member of the imperial family, personally sent a letter to Lucia permitting Inquisition forces to be stationed in the North for investigation purposes.

The problem was that from the Magic Tower’s perspective, the presence of Inquisition forces in the North, even for investigation, felt like a significant threat.

“There was a lot of talk from the beginning. The Tower Master and most of the Oracle Committee members opposed the Inquisition’s deployment. After the Grand Duke gave his approval, they changed their stance to respect his decision, and everyone’s keeping quiet like they’ve swallowed honey, but honestly, even the Oracle isn’t happy about the situation.”

Though I wasn’t a mage and didn’t understand the inner workings of the Magic Tower, from Francesca’s account, it seemed there was considerable debate even within the Oracle.

To draw a comparison, it was like Arab nations watching Jews plant their flag in Jerusalem.

In their hearts, they wanted to prevent it by any means necessary, but without any good options, they could only stand by and watch.

I rested my hand on the armrest and muttered.

“That’s why we need to catch this investigator quickly. Nothing good comes from dragging this out.”

“I’ve already given a heads-up to Lord Evangelos.”

Francesca had relayed the news to Evangelos Lysidike, commander of the Magic Battalion.

Since the case involved a necromancer or a warlock, Evangelos promised to help us without asking for anything in return. He would mobilize the Magic Battalion to search for the investigator, while Francesca would cooperate with her own people.

“A necromancer…”

Francesca murmured vaguely.

She sat on the desk, lifted her chin, and stared into empty space.

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe. There hasn’t been an incident caused by necromancers in almost twenty years.”

“Are you familiar with necromancers?”

Francesca placed her hand on a book. A magical tome with geometric patterns. She tapped the thick book as if patting it.

“I’ve never seen one in person, but I’ve read about necromancers in my family’s library. I also brought books about necromancers and warlocks from the Magic Tower.”

Necromancer. Commonly known as a necromancer.

Like all those who toy with human lives, necromancers are unwelcome everywhere. The Inquisition, various national magic departments, and even the Magic Tower itself are hostile toward necromancers.

If they’re lucky, they end up in the “Crystal Prison” managed by the Elemental and Sorcery Faculties of the Magic Tower, trapped alive inside crystals. If unlucky, they’re immediately beheaded and publicly disgraced in the media.

But because they’re so few in number and operate strictly in the shadows, there aren’t many opportunities to actually encounter a necromancer.

Francesca nodded thoughtfully.

“On the surface, necromancers don’t look any different from ordinary mages. If they want to hide their identity, they can do so thoroughly.

But rather than suddenly having a necromancer or warlock appear in the North, it’s more convincing that the Inquisition is desperately trying to avoid responsibility. Above all, there’s no clear evidence.

Neither the Church, the Empire, nor the Magic Tower shared information from the beginning. That’s why rumors started spreading. Like now.”

“They controlled it to avoid unnecessary confusion. Well, it’s true there’s no physical evidence.”

“That’s why the Magic Tower people protested. Normally I wouldn’t have believed it either, but…”

Francesca’s gaze slowly turned toward me.

“…after seeing flesh rotting on a living person, whether it’s a necromancer or a warlock, I can’t help but believe it.”

I carefully looked at the wound on my chest.

“Is there no way to treat this?”

“I’ve contacted some acquaintances in the Alchemy Faculty and received a few potions that are supposed to be effective. But I’m not sure if they’ll work.”

Francesca had provided me with various potions over the past few days. However, none of them had been able to heal the decaying wound.

“If it were an elixir, it might work…”

“Isn’t that a discontinued potion? I believe the formula itself has been lost.”

“It existed but became legendary. How nice would it be if they had kept the formula safely in a vault?”

After making this joke, Francesca turned her gaze away. Her eyes, tinged with fatigue, looked toward the curtains covering the window.

“Though your wounds are serious enough… I’m most concerned about ‘those things.'”

Francesca carefully pulled back the curtain. Peering through a gap just wide enough to show half her face, she immediately frowned.

-Caw. Caw…!

The sound of crows came from outside the window. Amidst the flapping of wings, occasional cries mixed in.

Francesca closed the curtain and stepped back from the window.

She flipped through the magical tome with geometric patterns, and after turning pages for a while, she ran her hand through her hair in frustration. Her silk-like hair flowed like a wave following her gesture, then fell onto her shoulders.

“Well, the crows don’t matter much… But while investigating the necromancer and warlock you mentioned, I found something curious.”

“What is it?”

“The necromancer.”

Francesca suddenly tilted her head.

“There’s not much information about warlocks since it’s related to religion, but the Magic Tower has plenty of data on necromancers. However, as you mentioned, there are no cases of necromancers disguising themselves as clergy who handle divine power—not just among necromancers but among all dark mages.”

“Well, maybe they used some kind of brainwashing? Or took measures to make it appear as divine power.”

“To figure that out, we’d need to collect either magical or divine energy…”

“……”

Suddenly, I remembered the amulet. The amulet that had contained the investigator’s divine power. Although only an archmage could detect the divine power stored in the amulet, the bastard eventually noticed and managed to destroy it.

“…Damn it.”

After muttering a short curse, I refocused on Francesca’s words. She was sitting on the desk, tapping a geometric-patterned book with her quill pen.

“Even if we accept the possibility of brainwashing or something similar, this seems completely different from incidents caused by necromancers in the past. Necromancers would typically kidnap a few people in rural areas for human sacrifice or experiments. They almost never operated so openly.”

“They’re few in number to begin with, and since they only operate in the shadows, they rarely cause major incidents.”

“That’s why it’s strange.”

Francesca looked up at me.

“Why would those who have been hiding in the shadows suddenly appear in the North and cause trouble? What are they after?”

“……”

“Well, I’ll continue investigating, but please be careful. Don’t get hurt any more than you already are.”

I nodded.

*

Apart from the joint investigation and intelligence gathering, Francesca promised to help track down the investigator. I don’t know about the Magic Tower people, but for the time being, the Magic Battalion and several mages will operate under Francesca’s control.

I used my information network to track the investigator’s movements.

Through internal documents from the Imperial Magic Department-Church Inquisition joint investigation team, I identified the locations of several villages the suspect likely visited. Like the village I visited with Priestess Rebecca and other inquisitors, these villages were located far from urban areas.

However, by the time the Magic Department mages and Inquisition clergy visited these villages, the situation had already deteriorated significantly.

Like the village where Lucia and I discovered the undead, all the villages the investigator presumably visited were completely emptied. The Military Command estimated that approximately 300 to 500 citizens were missing.

The joint investigation team attempted to collect and analyze traces of divine power left in buildings to identify and gather concrete evidence, but the amount of residual divine power was too minimal to yield significant results.

Eventually, I decided to share some of my information about the investigator with the joint investigation team.

I had no formal investigative authority anyway, and I just wanted someone to find and arrest the bastard as quickly as possible.

Of course, it was impossible for me, disguised as a diplomat, to directly provide information to the joint investigation team. I might end up arrested for espionage before the investigator was caught.

So I provided information to the joint investigation team indirectly.

“Please accept this, Your Eminence.”

“What is this…?”

I handed documents containing the investigator’s personal information to Cardinal Archbishop Theodosius, who managed the northern diocese.

The Cardinal Archbishop had previously served as an exorcist priest in the Inquisition but had not been involved in intelligence work. Since he and I were connected through Lucia, I judged him to be somewhat trustworthy.

It also helped that, according to Director Pedro’s assessment, considerable time had passed since the Cardinal Archbishop retired from the Inquisition, and as an exorcist priest, he had been far removed from foreign intelligence or counterespionage investigations.

“Hmm… Records about a missing monk-priest. Could this person be who I think it is?”

“If Your Eminence is thinking of the person everyone is looking for, then yes, that’s correct.”

“…What would you like me to do, brother?”

“Please help ensure these documents reach the joint investigation team securely.”

And so, several pieces of information about the investigator were safely delivered to the joint investigation team.

But what I hadn’t anticipated…

Was that the information would pass through the hands of an unexpected person first.