< 158. Dispatch Mission Report, Special Operation Proposal >
*
Beorn was sipping tea and organizing the table. A monk must always be tidy, and Beorn was a true believer who upheld the virtues of a monk to the core.
Outside the window, the voices of the Inquisition Officers training echoed. Mostly the voices of the Diemonica. They were screaming bizarrely while lifting barbells.
Beorn let out a short sigh and closed the window. Then, someone knocked on the office door.
“Who is it?”
“Zephis Siravast, Monastery Head.”
“Oh, come in.”
-Creak.
The door opened, and a burly middle-aged man stepped inside. Zephis walked confidently without hesitation and stood in front of Beorn. He then swallowed his words for a moment.
“What is it?”
“A report has arrived.”
“Which brother’s report? Let’s see, the brother who is currently on a mission… where is he…?”
“It’s Brother Fernandez’s report.”
“Hmm.”
Beorn carefully set down the teacup and pushed it to a safe distance. Even if startled, it was far enough not to break the teacup. Only after confirming its safety did Beorn receive the report.
The report, wrapped in thin leather, bore Fernandez’s wax seal. As he peeled off the wax and untied the string, Beorn gestured for Zephis to take a seat opposite him.
“Whenever this brother sends something, I get scared first.”
“Me too.”
“But it’s also exciting. Alright, let’s take a look.”
*
[Dispatch Mission Report: Ice Fishing]
Operation Area: North Sea, Guimerin Fleet.
Operation Overview: Identify and thwart the plans of the Malerun Royal Palace located in the North Sea. Defeat the Malerun Royal Palace.
Operation Progress:
1) During the voyage, an ambush by the Franzrit Bloodline occurred. Repelled.
2) Sporadic battles with the Franzrit Bloodline, repelled.
3) Richter van Franzrit utilized the wrecked flagship of the Guimerin Royal Palace to initiate a large-scale battle. Repelled.
4) Encountered the Malerun King’s flagship during the battle. Battle continued.
5) Conducted a solo infiltration operation on the Malerun King’s flagship. Successful.
6) Malerun King, assassinated.
7) Secured safe maritime area in the North Sea, reaffirmed the peace treaty with Queen Leia Pin Guimerin.
Operation Task Force Team:
1) Diemonica, Fernandez Sernerd – Survived
2) Torchman, Kirhas Hearttaker – Survived
3) Torchman, Abel – Survived
We shall burn demons, heretics, and witches.
Operation Leader: Fernandez Sernerd.
*
The report was very short and concise. Beorn finally relaxed and felt a great sense of satisfaction. Yes, of course. This is how a report should be. How long has it been since a report ended so smoothly without any special twists?
“Very good. And as expected, excellent. Repelling both Franzrit and Malerun… Yes, splendid.”
As he finished speaking, Zephis remained silent, just staring at Beorn. He was hesitating. Beorn felt a subtle, very subtle unease and adjusted his monocle.
“Why are you silent?”
“…Of course, it’s a great achievement. And it’s also something unbelievable for one person to accomplish.”
“Well, this time our Saint Brother didn’t act alone, did he? The North Sea’s finest Golden Fleet was with him.”
“That’s true. But still…”
Zephis reluctantly pulled out another document and handed it over. The seal on the document had been broken. The torn seal was also Fernandez’s.
“Two copies arrived, so I read one first.”
“Well, managing Diemonica is your job, isn’t it? That’s understandable.”
Why would he write two reports? Beorn slightly frowned as he removed the leather cover. He soon realized that this was not a report but a proposal, and that the next operation was already underway without approval.
It was entirely possible based on the field agent’s judgment and discretion. The post-approval system made the Inquisition Office a more flexible organization. However, sensing a hint of unease in Zephis’s expression, Beorn turned the first page of the proposal.
*
[Attention, Urgent Order No. 221. Access to this document is restricted to Level 1 Archbishop or higher.]
[Operation Proposal: Mountain Walk]
Operation Area: Northern Hazard Palen.
Operation Overview: Investigate and eradicate the source of a demon incident in the North.
1) It has been confirmed that the Malerun King had contact with Northerners and formed a secret pact.
2) Intelligence confirms that Northerners hunt demi-gods and anti-gods in the Material World. (Attachment 1, Field Agent Additional Report)
3) Successfully recruited a Northerner who had contact with the Malerun King.
4) Identified the civil war situation within the North. Detected signs of demon worshippers sacrificing divine beings behind the scenes.
5) The mastermind behind the demon worshippers. Suspected to be the Great Demon, Sadarkelisa. (Attachment 2, Field Agent’s Opinion on Northern Superstitions)
6) Based on the field agent’s judgment, time is of the essence…
Classified as an urgent matter. Proposal for a preemptive strike operation sent.
7) All field agents dispatched to the northern inland.
Voice symbols: omitted.
We shall burn the demons, the heretics, and the witches.
Operation leaders: Diemonica, Fernandez Sernerd.
*
Beorn silently put down the report and cleaned his monocle. After a brief silence, Beorn sighed deeply and picked up his teacup. It had gone cold.
“Killed the Elven King, stopped a high-ranking vampire, and then suddenly headed north?”
“…Yes.”
“Huh, the north. Ha. Hoo… Hazart Palen. Brother Zephis, do you know anything about the north?”
“Not more than others.”
“Most people don’t.”
Beorn finished cleaning his glasses and put them in the drawer. He sipped his tea while gazing out the window at the falling snow.
“The north, where arable land is limited, and most seasons are either cold or barren. The people there struggle with poverty, hunger, and rage. With scarce food, all clans turn their blades toward each other, growling.”
Beorn’s gaze was fixed on a distant place. Not the snow-covered Dragonspine Mountains, but beyond. Yet, the scenery wasn’t much different.
A vast mountain range densely covered with coniferous forests, where ice trolls, frost giants, and even darker, more sinister creatures roam in the untamed lands.
Before the Celestial War, it was a thriving ancient nation, not far behind the civilized societies of the continent. Now, it lies buried under the snow and mountains.
Legend has it that the humans there are not ‘humans.’ They are a race descended from giants who degenerated during the Celestial War. Outwardly, they are no different, and their organs and forms are the same, but they believed otherwise.
Compared to the ‘southerners,’ as they call the humans of the continent, their size and strength were indeed remarkable. Though not comparable to the blessed Diemonica, each individual of their race possessed strength surpassing that of ordinary people.
“Hazart Palan, meaning the village of the Palendar clan. When I was there, the Palendar clan was a highly prosperous one. A place with capable leaders and fierce tribal warriors.”
Beorn Shieldbane. Or Beorn the Shieldbreaker, as he was called in his younger days. Beorn pulled out the attached documents from the report and spoke.
“Northern superstitions. I don’t consider them mere superstitions. The gods the northerners believe in are quite different from our southern church’s religion, but they speak of real gods. The Northern Temple of the Gods. A temple for warriors. And this ‘Great Demon’ our ‘saintly’ brother uncovered…”
Handing the document about the World Serpent myth to Zephis, Beorn looked at him with deep eyes.
“I, too, thought it was just an old fairy tale. When the world ends, or as they say, when ‘Ragnarok’ descends. The World Serpent rises, the sun and moon are torn apart, the gods fall, and the world freezes or burns.”
“Abbot.”
“Yes. Our role is not to analyze myths. That’s the job of other priests in the church. Our duty is the eradication of heresy.”
-Thud.
Beorn slammed the documents on the table. He glared at Zephis with fiery eyes.
“The stirring of a Great Demon? Good. Ragnarok? Interesting. Zephis Sirahdast. Do you believe in the northern legends?”
“Our Lord is only one. Vaitas alone.”
“Our only light is faith, our only path is conviction.”
Zephis slowly rose from his seat. Beorn nodded, looking into his eyes.
“Go. With the most outstanding brothers, and as quickly as possible. Assist Brother Fernandez. Destroy the Great Demon and prove that the ‘end’ the northerners speak of is nothing but their fairy tale.”
“Macto.”
“Macto superlaudo. Brother.”
Beorn watched Zephis leave, deep in thought. The Great Demon of the wilderness had died, and life had taken root in that land.
This was an achievement impossible even during the Celestial War. The death of a Great Demon. And its aftermath. The Great Wilderness was no longer a wasteland. It was becoming a land where forests grew and springs flowed.
Toward the reclaimed fertile land, no one knows when war might break out again. Sultans, emperors. Humans are greedy creatures.
But they are ‘humans.’ And no matter how massive or terrible the war, it is a war of ‘humans.’
If we can cut down the demons rooted in the material world, and their foolish minions one by one, and finally defeat the Great Demons to bring peace…
No matter how tragic the events, if they are the sins of humans, and the evil deeds humans have committed themselves, Beorn would gladly accept them.
The Inquisition Office only points its blade at demons. The tragedies of civilized society are not their concern. Unless demons are involved.
The material world, this world, belongs only to humans. Beorn put down his teacup and pulled out a new sheet of paper. There was still a regular report to be sent to the Papacy.
We shall burn the heretics, the witches, and the demons. If beneath the ashes, human civilization, human tragedy and comedy, an era purely of humans can arise. Beyond the notions of good and evil, if it can belong solely to humans.
Clerics do not beg for miracles. Instead, they only pray to God. Beorn, too, paused his writing and took the rosary in his hand.
“If another Great Demon falls, and the world takes one more step toward peace.”
No matter the sacrifice. Even if it means offering my own life, I would gladly do so. Perhaps it was hearing about the homeland. Beorn rolled the rosary with a somewhat sentimental expression.
*
At the same time Beorn was praying, in the fjord harbor of Hazart Palen. Leia’s Flagship was attempting to dock.
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