Chapter 13

12. Make way, sheep of the Temple of the Gods!

[Run away, you vermin! I prefer hunting!]

“Then this will be something new, huh?”

Fernandez dodged Demidraco’s thick arm and burrowed into his chest. The creature’s yellow eyes widened.

-Petrification technique. Be careful…

“I know, I know!”

Fernandez avoided the creature’s gaze and brushed past its side. It was an unimaginably swift dodge. While Demidraco was momentarily disoriented, he plunged a dagger into the back of its neck.

“Tsk!”

[Grrroooar!]

-Slash!

The dagger got stuck between the scales, refusing to come loose. The blade was deeply embedded in the thick spine of the demon. Fernandez shook his wrist and stepped back.

[You vermin!]

Fernandez picked up an arrow that had fallen to the ground and snapped it. He clenched the arrowhead between his fingers and charged at the creature.

[Inoooom!]

-Petrification!

“Shh!”

Fernandez’s arm began to harden. Forcing his tingling elbow to twist, he swung his fist directly into the creature’s face.

-Wham!

[Grrroooar!]

The arrowhead pierced deep into the creature’s eye. Demidraco staggered back, faltering. Fernandez pressed deeper, swinging his intact left arm.

-Crash!

“Is this how you die?!”

-This is fun.

Demidraco’s elongated, tough lizard head splattered green blood as it flailed around. Fernandez kept swinging his hardened right and left arms without stopping.

[W-wait! S-stop!]

-Crash!!

Demidraco’s gaping mouth was crushed by a rock-like fist. No matter how tough a demon’s hide was, a young specimen like this was nothing but tender flesh compared to a fist baptized by Diemonica.

[Who are you?!]

“Do you need to know?”

-Crash!

With a swollen, bleeding face, Demidraco trembled and retreated. Its endurance was astonishing. Fernandez felt his knuckles throbbing.

For an ordinary person, their head would have exploded before taking three hits. Just by mastering basic combat and survival skills, this miraculous body was capable of such output.

For the first time, Fernandez felt grateful for being Diemonica as he burrowed into Demidraco’s chest.

[Oh, don’t come!]

“Got it!”

Fernandez moved behind Demidraco and firmly gripped the dagger embedded in its neck. With his half-petrified left arm, he tightly held the hilt and twisted it, pulling it out.

[Grrraaaah!]

-Slash!

Thick green blood gushed out. Fernandez, drenched in green blood, shook the dagger clean. Demidraco was panting, collapsing to the ground.

-Wham!

[Grrrugh!]

“So, demon. How old are you?”

[I-I’ve lived for 150 years. A mere human like you couldn’t even dream of such a time…]

“Still a kid, huh.”

-Crunch!

[Grrraaaah!]

Fernandez stabbed the dagger into Demidraco’s chest. The short blade scraped against the creature’s sternum, making a strange sound. Demidraco convulsed and fell.

Fernandez placed his foot on the hilt of the dagger embedded in the demon’s chest. The demon twitched, frothing at the mouth.

“Send my regards to Sadarkelisa.”

[…Huh?]

“Tell her I’ll be coming soon!”

Stomping on the dagger in Demidraco’s chest, Fernandez laughed heartily. He felt like a true martial artist! He knew the sensation of trampling the weak.

‘Even if it’s a young specimen, it’s still a demon. This is impressive.’

Demidraco convulsed for a moment, then gradually faded as blood gushed out. Phase out. It was the reverse summoning of demons with fatal wounds. The creature seeped back into the sixth abyss of Hell.

Fernandez chuckled and sat down. Fatigue washed over his entire body. It was due to the tension of battle and the lingering effects of Hellish magic.

“This is more exhausting than walking for three days and nights.”

-Of course, you just took down a demon.

“Now you get it? This choice is useful too.”

-If you were a mage, you’d have torn it to shreds in the blink of an eye.

“At this age?”

-…

Well, Fernandez was currently in the body of a 16-year-old boy. If he had single-handedly defeated a demon from Hell at this age, it was no different from the growth of a legendary hero.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

He had no idea what Zephis had done at the baron’s house to make demons pop out. But seeing such a young specimen appear, it didn’t seem like a big threat.

The scary thing about Heretics was their persistence, will, and strong influence in official settings. But Diemonica was the Inquisition Office’s secret weapon, with no official influence.

Religiosa Diemonica had only one strength.

Power.

If it were Zephis, the veteran among veterans with the longest career in Diemonica, he wouldn’t struggle against a young demon like this.

Then Fernandez had other things to do.

*

Gloridaine was a large city, and like most large cities, it had a well-developed sewer system. The sewers, as old as the city itself, were intricately tangled, and no one paid them any mind.

Except for demon cults.

In one of the toxic gas-filled, filthy sewer tunnels, men in long robes had gathered.

“Another one’s dead? That monster knight?”

“No, it’s his squire… I think.”

“Crazy, where the hell did those bastards come from?”

“Maybe they’re from a knight order?”

“Why would a knight order suddenly come after us? We haven’t done anything yet. You, what did you do?”

“Just killed some slaves…?”

As the men murmured, staring at the crystal sphere, the blood-red runes covering the sewer walls flashed.

[Enough. Stop it, you incompetent fools.]

“Eek!”

A sharp voice, like the hissing of hundreds of snakes, filled the sewers, evoking instinctive disgust.

[It’s the Inquisition Officers.]

“Y-yes? But they’re dead!”

[Where would an Inquisition Officer lose to such a fool…]





“Was it just me? I heard rumors. Stories about humans who don’t even seem human.”

“Uh, what should I do, Lady Sadarkelisa…?”

A red light flashed like lightning.

[They are still far from discovering this place. Mobilize the human army. Guard this place! And hurry with the ritual. We still lack hearts.]

“Yes, yes!”

[Those who opposed me, they were not the first. And they will not be the last. Summon me. Quickly!]

The men in robes scattered in surprise. Soon, the light filling the underground sewers gradually faded.

-Drip.

Blood from the human corpse hanging on the pole dripped into the large brass bowl on the altar. As the bowl filled, the light illuminating the altar grew stronger.

[It won’t be long now… This body will rise again and bring destruction to this world.]

Lizards and snakes hissed and scattered in all directions.

*

“Demon summoning? What kind of demon summoning is this? Do you know how many sacrifices are needed to summon a proper demon?”

“Uh, well, I was shocked too! As a good citizen of this city, how could I believe that there are people actually trying to do such things!!”

Fernandez lifted the man, who had been beaten to a pulp, with one arm and shook him, deep in thought.

“Was there a Miao woman? Around twenty years old? I heard she had blue fur and green eyes.”

“Uh… uh… You like hairy women? Among the dancers I have, there are some amazing ones…”

-Whack!

“Ugh! Th-there were about three!!!”

Fernandez tapped the man’s bulging belly. The man’s pants got wet as his belly jiggled. Fernandez frowned and sat the man back down.

“Hey, try walking.”

“Yes, yes, sir!”

The innkeeper, missing a finger, trembled as he equipped Fernandez with armor and weapons. Every time Fernandez twitched a muscle, the innkeeper shivered.

“Damn it. Trying to pull something again?”

“S-sorry, sir!”

Fernandez had cut off the innkeeper’s finger as soon as he arrived at the [Galloping Hoof] Inn.

It wasn’t because he was a bloodthirsty madman, but because his luggage and weapons had disappeared from his room.

The finely crafted weapons had been sold for a hefty price. And the innkeeper probably wanted to pay for the humiliation he had endured that evening.

Instead of taking his life, Fernandez decided to take his belongings and the man’s index finger.

As he slung the large two-handed sword on his back, its weight felt reassuring. He knew nothing about proper swordsmanship, but the art of weaponry was about overcoming strength with skill.

‘With Diemonica’s output, I don’t need much finesse anyway.’

He counted the daggers in his shoulder bag. Then, a loud clatter of footsteps was heard outside.

-Crash!

“Huh?”

“Oh, Baltazar. Any success?”

“Some, but what have you been up to, Sir Arkangelo?”

“Just slaying some demons.”

Zephis appeared, covered in green and red blood, kicking the door open. A tremendous noise was heard outside. It sounded like at least thirty people.

“Did you bring a lot of tails?”

“Cut them down, but there were still many.”

“Planning to kill them all?”

“Do you think I’m some blood-crazed demon worshipper? Most of them don’t even know about heretical beliefs, let alone demons.”

Zephis crossed the room, taking out a shield and mace from his luggage. The thick steel mace glowed ominously. He looked at the beaten man and asked.

“Who’s that?”

“Ah, introduce yourself, Jason.”

“Eek! H-hello!!!”

“A new friend?”

“He would have been a great friend if he weren’t a demon worshipper.”

Hearing that, Zephis approached Jason with the mace on his shoulder. Jason trembled as he looked at Zephis.

“What did you find out?”

“Cult of Dremdrizad. They buy slaves or kidnap the homeless to use as sacrifices. Sir Carterio seems to have fallen to them.”

“Location?”

“I was thinking of checking out Baron Sebastian’s mansion, but…”

“No need.”

Zephis chuckled. The sound of soldiers coming up from the first floor of the inn was heard.

“Baron Sebastian didn’t know much. He didn’t say much before he died.”

“Jason, my friend. Do you know anything useful? Should we say goodbye now?”

“P-please! Spare me! Please! I know! I know!!”

“Right? You know?”

As Fernandez placed a dagger on Jason’s thigh and slowly dragged it, Jason trembled and shouted.

“Underground! They’re doing something underground!”

“Of course, the underground cult is underground. Where underground?”

“Market center!! Th-thirty blocks! The fourth house in the alley, open the door, and there’s a path straight to the sewers!”

“You sure know how to complicate things.”

Fernandez stood up and looked at Zephis. Zephis chuckled.

“Maybe you should have gone with Heretica instead of Diemonica.”

“Huh? Can you say that now?”

“No point hiding it anymore, Brother Baltazar. We Diemonica aren’t the type to work in the shadows.”

-Crash!

Zephis suddenly threw the mace at the door. The wooden door of the inn room shattered, and the city guard behind it was hit and fell back.

“I’ll hold them off. See you underground.”

“Yes, Brother Arkangelo.”

“Glory to Vaitas. Brother Baltazar. Go!”

“Glory.”

Fernandez jumped out the window. The city center was burning. The city was in chaos, as if urban warfare had broken out. It wasn’t the kind of chaos one person could cause.

‘What the hell did you do, Zephis!’

Fernandez chuckled as he looked at the crowd running towards him from afar.

“Inquisition Officer Baltazar! Make way, sheep of the Temple of the Gods!”

He had always wanted to say this if he became an Inquisition Officer. Whether they were Diemonica or Heretica, they always said something like this in moments like these.

-A bit embarrassing.

‘Why, it’s a kind of tradition.’

Fernandez looked at the man on horseback glaring at him among the guards. He looked like a noble. And he smelled familiar.

The smell of a demon.