Ch.88Combat Pilgrim (3)

The cultists, who can be called enemies of the pantheon, “Order,” and indeed the entire world.

These beings, often compared to cockroaches due to their elusive nature and ability to expand their influence, aren’t treated as public enemies simply because they kill people and perform human sacrifices.

While such actions are certainly evil enough to condemn cultists to the lowest social standing, the true reason they’re treated as absolute evil exists elsewhere.

The scale of disasters cultists can cause extends far beyond the “trivial” deaths of a few people—they are, in the truest sense, “dimensional invaders” who threaten the very existence of the world.

The undead of the Necromancy Council claim to “liberate” all sentient beings from spiritual existence by transforming them into undead.

The demons of the infernal realm, desiring to place this world in their or their masters’ grasp, send their armies to the mortal realm by cultivating followers and contractors.

The Outer Gods, dimensional entities from beyond, each have different standards and purposes, but the very act of extending their influence into another dimension is crime enough.

These three great evils, representative of cultists, are beings who seek to manipulate not just humanity but the world itself according to their will.

Because cultists attempt to encroach upon the mortal realm through completely unpredictable methods, they are deemed permanent enemies in all civilized societies of the material world and defined as absolute evil.

From beggars in slums to monarchs wielding secular power in lofty palaces, no one is completely immune to their corruption.

A beggar in the slums might contact an Outer God of “Revolution” while lamenting his fate. A nobleman’s body, having reached unbearable levels of lust after contacting “Lust,” might decompose, becoming the foundation for the arrival of infernal armies.

An ordinary wizard in a magic tower might accidentally mispronounce a spell and become addicted to necromancy, or even a country’s monarch might fall into corruption and act as a cultist.

Thus, “corruption” is a contamination that infiltrates the mortal realm regardless of circumstance, defiling the innocent. However, this doesn’t mean the mortal realm has no means to counter it.

There is the celestial pantheon that protects mortals from the armies of evil out of love for them.

There are priests who spread divine power borrowed from the pantheon’s gods on earth, and even “demigods” who remain rooted in the mortal realm.

But these forces are inevitably insufficient to prevent all existing corruption, which is why some humans who borrow such power feel the need to use extreme methods….

These are the Inquisitors. A special kind of priest who has contributed more than anyone else to uncovering the vanguard of cultist armies that have infiltrated the mortal realm.

Perhaps this is because the position of Inquisitor itself was certainly created at the suggestion of Cronima, the War God, a well-known hardliner among the lofty pantheon’s deities.

The qualities required of an Inquisitor go beyond mere strictness to the point of depriving one of basic human rights, but in return, the power and authority they can wield is nothing short of tremendous.

Just from what is known, they have unlimited summary execution rights within the pantheon’s domain and are seemingly immune to any secular power or legal punishment—an incredible level of authority.

The former means they could shoot and kill the Holy Empire’s emperor on suspicion of being a cultist without any legal issues, while the latter means the Holy Empire cannot punish the Inquisitor for any reason.

Additionally, Inquisitors are beings whose very souls have already been surrendered to the pantheon’s gods.

Therefore, while possessing overwhelming abilities without ever falling to corruption, these rights, which could easily be abused, have never been wielded in vain by “official” Inquisitors.

…Yes. Only by “official” Inquisitors.

Given the immense authority granted to Inquisitors, it’s human nature to desire such power for oneself.

Consequently, this world is filled with countless fake Inquisitors who impersonate the name….

[Listen! I am an Inquisitor of the pantheon! I have come here sensing signs of heresy! If you are truly innocent, open your doors and welcome us!]

‘…Isn’t this a fake?’

In this sense, I thought it highly likely that the Inquisitor who appeared at our pioneer village leading battle pilgrims was an impostor.

I could cite many reasons, such as awkward movements or the trembling in his voice, but I’d rather point to a different reason.

Namely, he didn’t present his “proof” while declaring himself an Inquisitor.

※ ※ ※

In truth, unsurprisingly, the number of fools who coveted an Inquisitor’s rights and impersonated them was disgustingly high.

Even though they would undoubtedly have to pay for their sins in the domain of the pantheon god they served after death, unless they became cultists, they still made foolish moves based on the fact that consequences wouldn’t be immediate and on vain delusions.

Therefore, as the number of such impostors increased, along with the rising number of victims, the pantheon, and by extension its gods, issued “proof” to minimize damage from such impersonations.

This “proof,” imbued with divine power, clearly imprints in one’s mind that the bearer is an “Inquisitor” just by looking at it. It’s so difficult to forge that it’s said if someone could forge it, they’d be at least a demigod-level cultist, making it stranger not to be defeated by them.

Of course, that thick-headed fake Inquisitor either didn’t know about this “proof,” or even if he did, he couldn’t know exactly what role it played.

Particularly, Inquisitor impersonators are so numerous they appear at every opportunity, and a large proportion of their victims are lords or nobles.

And because my father was well aware of this, he also taught me how to classify such impostors….

By these standards, that man is undoubtedly a typical con artist.

There’s not even the slightest possibility he’s an Inquisitor. If he were real and intended to conceal his identity, he wouldn’t have come forward so openly but would have disguised himself as a wanderer and secretly entered the village.

“…You’ve arrived, Miss Joanna.”

“Yes. …He’s a fake. That’s not the proper Inquisitor format. And Inquisitors cannot bear symbols of specific denominations.”

With the testimony of Priest Joanna, who was initially called to stop the battle pilgrims, added as the finishing touch, I unhesitatingly and resolutely shouted toward them….

[—Silence! You impostor! How dare you impersonate the sacred position bestowed by the celestial gods!!]

The content was to bring out the fanatic self sleeping within me, and through it, sincerely denounce that man to control those fanatic mobs (battle pilgrims).

[….Impersonation? Impersonation?! What insolent nonsense! You heretical unbeliever—]

[—You’re the heretic! Declaring yourself an Inquisitor without “proof”! You’ve announced your own sin, heretic!]

While arguing, I also began preparing several measures.

Obviously, no matter what I say here and now, there’s virtually no chance these battle pilgrims will suddenly change their minds and support me.

Logically speaking, if those fanatic mobs who have believed that fake to be a real Inquisitor until now change their minds over a few words, that would be the real heresy.

Therefore, my behavior was merely to plant even the slightest doubt in their minds, and to maximize this effect, I had Priest Joanna make a declaration.

[Battle pilgrims! I am a priest of the Healing Temple serving Debona! That man is not a real Inquisitor!]

While declaring this using the unique divine magic called ‘Outcry,’ she also emits sacred energy through the mace raised above her head to amplify their doubts.

“…W-what?”

“Huh…?”

“Is, is this a trick?!!”

“Inquisitor!”

“Inquisitor, please answer us!!!”

In this atmosphere where dozens of people were waiting only for that one person’s answer, the self-proclaimed Inquisitor had only one choice—to declare battle.

[That! That heretic is deceiving the priest! Righteous battle pilgrims! Take up your weapons! It’s time to punish the heretics! Let’s rescue the priest!]

And this approach was certainly useful for unifying the wavering public sentiment.

“””””””””UOOOOOOOOOH—!!!”””””””””

With roars erupting, the battle pilgrims, ready for “martyrdom,” all shouted and screamed, displaying hostility toward us.

….They seemed not to have expected, even in the slightest, that an Inquisitor would use expressions like “priest” in their speech.