episode_0100

“Huh…Huhuh…Huhuh…“

” Merciful Mother, save us. Merciful Mother, lead us not into temptation…“

“Ahh!!! I’m excommunicated…I…I’m excommunicated!!!!“

Azur’s office is very noisy.

From afar, the cries of the church members following her reached her ears.

bang….!

I pulled back the door and went inside.

Then the church members who were lying face down on the floor turned to me with bright expressions.

“Interrogator…The Interrogator has arrived…!“

“Ugh… I was really wrong… Please… be kind… just this once…!“

“Kids, everyone calm down… Now take a deep breath… Where is Azur now? “

I gently pulled them apart and asked them a question,

Then, the church members quickly led me and led me into the office.

“Ugh…Interrogator…“

Azur was sitting on a chair and hugging his knees.

His face was already covered in tears, and he was holding a pitch black envelope.

When he looked at me, his face turned pale, half with relief and half with fear.

“I was wrong…please…just look at it…just once…“

“Give it to me.“

I unfolded the black paper in her hand.

As I saw on the other side of the screen, the Inquisitor’s handwriting clearly matched my memory.

‘Damn…it seems like things are really messed up…’

Azur grabbed my knees and clung to me as if pleading,

He cried bitterly and rubbed his wet face against the leg of my pants.

“I know very well that I am a bad executive…I also saw the interrogator break Sister Xiao with his hand…! Have I become useless? Sisters Xiao and Natasha are stronger than me…and have more experience…but there’s no reason to suddenly shake it off like this…! Ah… Or yesterday, I imagined the interrogator and did something dirty to myself…“

“Azur.“

I gently grabbed her and helped her up.

“Gather church members. I have something to say.“

“…Ugh…yes…“

Azur sniffed and walked out of the office.

One by one, the believers gathered in front of me with tears in their eyes like her.

I backed away and lowered my head solemnly.

‘…here…maybe it’s good…’

“Ugh…black…“

“Sniff…“

They were rubbing their hands together like children who had committed a mistake.

I was calmly calculating with my eyes closed.

Should I act like an inquisitor again and lie to them to rescind the excommunication?

Or should we tell the truth here and give them freedom?

It was difficult to determine which of the two would produce better results.

Both had their own pros and cons, and assessing the consequences of other things that would be linked to that choice was a task that required countless calculations.

Trash…Trudge…

Taking the final step, I finally came to a conclusion.

‘In reality, the Inquisitor may not exist, and the high priest may simply be a fictional being created to scare the officials and church members. But…it may actually exist, so here…’

I cleared my throat and cleared my throat.

‘It would be more beneficial to tell the truth. ‘Lies… are sure to get discovered someday.’

“I have something to tell you from now on. And I want you to pay attention and listen to what I say.“

“Yes…!“

The believers all looked up at me with expressions full of anticipation.

As if the words I will speak from now on will be their salvation,

Or that everything that had happened so far was a test, and that a reward would await those who proved faithful.

Or maybe it was just a tender heart that hoped it was just a hidden camera.

“…That’s right. I’m not the person you think I am. Not a heresy inquisitor or even a member of the church“

Unfortunately, their expectations were completely shattered by my words.

“It’s true that you were excommunicated. But I don’t know whether it was really written by an inquisitor or a high priest.“

“But I can say this one thing for sure. Because you followed me, you are safe from the cult, and together with me, you have cleaned out the garbage people who should not exist in the world.“

“Sim… civil servant… don’t lie…! You’re joking too harshly…!“

Azur shook his head vigorously and approached me.

But she quickly closed her mouth and returned to her seat so that I could continue speaking.

“There is nothing wrong with you. I have read all of your records that Azur gave me, and I remember them all in my head. We are all just wanderers who have been abandoned by society and have lost their way.“

“I also know that I was ripped off by scammers and ended up in unbearable debt, or that I experienced something so tragic that it caused me to develop a terrible distrust of people, and that I was abused so severely by my family and school that I grew up in poverty.“

I raised my hands as if to sway the crowd,

They all looked at me with tears in their eyes.

“The church tempted you by whispering to you like the devil, and pushed you to commit bad things without hesitation. He forced you to hold a sword when you had nowhere to run, and forced you to follow the order and script of the church, saying it was in your mother’s name. Just like the medieval church sold tickets to heaven for money. “

“But I am different. If you didn’t want to, I excluded you from field missions, and since you trusted and followed Azur and me, I carefully rewarded you accordingly, unlike the church.“

The believers all shed tears and nodded.

They were involved in various frauds and crimes and took out hundreds of billions of private loans.

I can contact them secretly and cancel their debt for them, or

All the illegal loan sharks, along with Natsuki and Mikoto, were being immersed in the depths of the West Sea.

The one who showed absolute obedience and loyalty to Azur and me was,

In addition to trust in the denomination, there was also the personal impact of the hand of salvation I extended.

‘It doesn’t matter because the church changed everything in the first place and made us use private loans and then returned it.’

The same was true of Surt’s father’s gambling debt.

The cultists could smell the scent of those who had nowhere to go,

Because there was a shortage of teachers, they began to drag ordinary people into the abyss.

“I feel guilty about deceiving you by pretending to be an inquisitor. But you are no longer slaves to the cult. Now I am freer than anyone else and have the opportunity to start a new life.“

I raised my fist and spoke confidently.

“You can hate me as much as you want and throw stones at me. But think carefully. Should I crawl back under those cults right now and become a slave and commit a crime, or…“

“Will you enjoy the freedom you have achieved and live a free life from now on?“

Buzz, buzz…

The church members’ eyes were shaking like a flock of wandering sheep.

They all began talking to church members who had shared their ups and downs.

Azur looked at me with empty eyes.

Like a betrayed puppy.

It was a sad expression that made me feel sad.

“So far…everything…has been a lie…? I… was loyal… but you’re saying that I, as an executive,… destroyed the church with my own hands…?“

“…Unfortunately, that’s right.“

“Ah…I might be happy now…I…now…“

“Azur.“

I slowly approached her and held her hand.

Azur’s hands were already pale and as cold as ice,

I warmly touched his hand and began to comfort him.

“All the things we killed there were animals disguised as humans. You also read, what kind of atrocities they committed, and how they were eating away at society by proudly invoking the name of the religious denomination.“

“But…I…“

“There was a guy who hit and killed someone while drunk driving and then walked around leisurely, and there were legal professionals who tried to cover up the crime by pretending not to have seen it. There were even idiots who committed terrible things with young children.“

“…“

“Azur.“

I stroked her head and smiled brightly.

“I will bear the penalty for the sins you and your believers have committed. You didn’t do anything wrong, I did everything I told you to do, you just became a weapon and followed my orders.“

“Interrogator…“

“So don’t feel any guilt. Whenever bad things come to mind, blame yourself and live a normal life from now on. As a hunter, as a level 4 hunter, let’s faithfully fulfill gate requests and live in peace with our church members.“

I patted her shoulder.

“I’m sorry for lying to you all this time. But…if I hadn’t done this, I would have died by your hands that day.“

“In that cave, with your skills, you would have cut off my head in one fell swoop.“

“Then…he would have continued to commit numerous evil deeds as an official of the church, and in the end, as an outcast of the church, he would have faced the fate of becoming a living sacrifice to summon a monster.“

Azur’s bright blue eyes stared at me.

“Trust me, in the church’s script…your fate was written like that.“

“…too much…“

So she said nothing.

Raise your hand and say…

match—-!

“Really….it’s too much!!!!”

“…”

Of course, I was able to avoid her hand by dodging my body.

But I deliberately closed my eyes and gave Azur my cheek.

“It’s okay. It’s all my fault. You…you didn’t do anything wrong.”

I turned my head and offered my other cheek to her.

“If this will ease your mind, you can hit me as much as you want.”

“Why…Why…Ugh…I don’t know…I really…I really don’t know…”

Azur looked at me with tears in his eyes.

Then he turned his head, quickly ran towards the entrance, and disappeared.

“…”

“Interrogation… No, Han Seo-jin.”

The believers all knelt before me and bowed their heads.

“We…we are equally embarrassed, but…”

“I think we know that you have guided us so far and helped us with your sincerity and not with lies.”

“Kids…”

One by one, the believers gathered around me and held my hand,

He nodded and looked at me with a determined expression.

“This life you saved us. I will cherish it.”

“Thank you for paying off my debt…now the loan sharks don’t come after me…so…thank you so much…”

“Although you may not be a real Inquisitor…to us, you are the best Inquisitor.”

I smiled and patted their shoulders.

“Brother Seojin Han, whenever you wish, I will take your orders as I have always done.”

“Okay… everyone, get some rest. You’ve worked hard so far.”

“Yes…! Thank you, Seojin Han…!”

“Don’t get into trouble in the future and live happily. Got it?”

After sending them off with a hug one by one,

I slowly turned around and walked towards the cathedral.

It seems like my heart has become slightly tainted with a sense of guilt and guilt,

My heart, which has already become completely black,

It was damaged to the point where it could no longer be restored.

—–

“Brother, turn your head.“

“Ahh…it hurts…it hurts…“

Marie was disinfecting my swollen cheeks with an alcohol swab.

“You’ve been treated badly… I’ll apply some red medicine after disinfection is over.“

“There is no need to do this. Just a healing skill…“

“Uh huh…! I told you that if you continue to use magical power, the glitch error will get worse… And even if I use the skill, I don’t know what side effects will occur… “

Marie smiled as she slowly applied the red medicine to my cheek.

“Wow…I didn’t know my hands would get this numb.“

“Ahaha…Sister Azur also has the same personality. You may have a more limited personality than Sister Natasha, but that doesn’t mean you can let down your guard.“

“Ha…I feel bad. Was it too severe?“

She slowly stood up and placed gauze on my cheek.

He smiled kindly and patted my head.

“The truth is harsh, but lies are sweet.“

“But you can’t always cover up the truth with lies. Sweet things eventually rot, and once a lie is told, it snowballs and becomes uncontrollable.“

“…I guess so.“

“Still, I’m glad that other believers quickly accepted. Everyone will go back to their respective places and start looking for a new job.“

“Because everyone was nice. I hope it doesn’t cause an accident.“

Marie took the blood pack and began to carefully place it into my vein.

Now, the blood was being exchanged skillfully, perhaps because they were used to it.

She held her paws together as if praying and smiled at me.

“Don’t worry, Sister Azur is a strong person. I’m sure you can overcome it. And…Sister Azur personally has a crush on you.“

“I hope so…Oh, do you know anything about the identity of the heretic inquisitor?“

“Hmm… Wait a minute, I’m sure it’s a book that was brought out by the church some time ago…“

Weee—weee—!

At that moment, the phone vibrated violently.

Azur’s name was on the screen,

I quickly answered the phone.

“Hello? Azur?“

“Qu… Sim… Civil servant… “

“Azur…?“

On the other end of the phone, I could hear her gasping for breath.

Kaan—!

Quad deud deuk…!

This was followed by the strong metallic sound of blades clashing together.

“Run away…! She…you…! Phew…!“

“Azur..! Azur…! Damn it…!“

I took out the blood pack and adjusted my gloves.

Then he shouted urgently at Marie, who was approaching at a brisk pace.

“Mari!!!! When Azur comes, prepare a healing spell!!!!“

“Yes…? Now… just a moment…! There is still blood exchange…!“

‘A diagonal slash towards the upper right, followed by a blade aimed at the lower ankle…!’

I closed my eyes and concentrated with all my mind, peeking into the future,

Just—!

Finally, I snapped my fingers and my vision changed in an instant.

Kang—!

Kagagak—!

“Pfft…!“

I was able to block all attacks in time,

There stood a figure holding both a staff and a sword.

A bizarre shape with numerous tentacles sticking out from pitch black robes.

And each tentacle has yellow eyes,

Hundreds of eyes were staring at me as if scanning me at the same time.

“Damn…“

“Ah, it’s finally here. A person impersonating an inquisitor.“

Crunch…Wood clunk…

The unidentified place trembled with pitch black light, like the stomach of an ancient monster.

The Inquisitor looked at me without moving anything.

“I guess you were looking for me all this time.”

“Well, I knew that if I stir-fried Azur like this, you would show up.”

“…Did you intentionally give me an opportunity to contact you…”

“Of course, I didn’t know that she would have such a bond with you that she would leave a warning even in such a situation.”

bang—-!

As she struck down the staff, hundreds of tentacles stretched out from her body at once.

A black halo and a huge burning staff were shining in the darkness.

“…Then let’s start in earnest now.“

“…“

“Interrogation for heresy.”