208. The Situation in the Secular Kingdom
To summarize, the first thought Fernandez had upon seeing Fabiano’s appearance was, “This is too much.”
Too much. Fabiano, at least for now, was cautiously withholding judgment, but he wasn’t a clueless fool. Therefore, his actions had an exaggerated quality to them.
Suddenly appearing, smashing tiles everywhere, loudly shouting “Brother!” and rushing in, acting overly emotional… All the ceremonial gestures, like celebrating the return of a comrade from war, were over the top.
But the moment Fernandez heard that this was Zephis’s order to act as loudly as possible, he understood Zephis’s intentions—and by extension, Beorn’s behind him.
So he shouted, as authoritatively as possible.
“Make way, sheep of the Temple of the Gods!!”
Roughly translated, it meant…
‘I am an Inquisition Officer performing holy duties, a high-ranking cleric with extraterritorial rights.’
This was directed at Sigard’s enforcement team.
‘Hey, Vicente. We know each other, right? Let’s talk later, slowly.’
This was aimed at the Dane Inner Circle.
‘For any inquiries, please contact the Inquisition Office. Or try to take me on by force right now.’
This was for the various intelligence agencies, slightly intimidated by Fabiano’s show of force.
And finally.
‘I haven’t fallen. I’ll return after completing the operation.’
This was for Zephis and the other Inquisition Officers who were probably watching this situation from somewhere.
A single sentence carrying multiple intentions. For Fernandez, this was a basic skill. And then he turned his head toward where the Inquisition Office would be.
‘I’ve bought us some time.’
Zephis chuckled as he watched the scene. It wasn’t the kind of scheming one would expect from someone not even twenty years old. Of course, even if he were older, it wouldn’t be an easy feat to pull off.
“Can you guess what that means, brothers?”
“Impressive.”
Brother Enmagika nodded in admiration. Act as loudly as possible. The message Zephis had conveyed through Fabiano was to divert all attention from various nations and factions to himself.
The Vatican of Vaitas, which had suddenly fallen silent after the declaration of the Holy War, was now losing trust and reputation in the international community in direct proportion to time.
The attention of all factions was focused on the northern sea routes. The background of the Holy War was the detection of large-scale demonic activity in the north.
Therefore, at this very moment, every port along the northern trade routes was under the world’s scrutiny. In fact, the intelligence agencies’ focus was likely converging here, especially after Guimerin’s artillery fire.
Thus, in a situation where secrecy was no longer possible, they needed time to play political tricks on the Vatican and the Monastery Head. To allow the panicked leadership to calm down.
So, ‘Act as loudly as possible. And confuse the intelligence agencies.’
Whatever it took, draw attention and buy time. For the Inquisition Officers assembling task forces to hunt demons, this was a familiar kind of order.
As loudly as possible.
And so, Fernandez, upon returning from a long journey, with no prior information, did just that.
At least at this point, if he could display such judgment, it couldn’t be said that he was clearly showing signs of corruption. And an Inquisition Officer who hasn’t fallen is still their ‘brother,’ no matter the situation.
“Execute the operation. Protect our brother.”
“Protect our brother!”
At Zephis’s gesture, the Heretics lurking in the city rushed out.
With all eyes on him, Fernandez slowly placed one hand on the sword hilt and pulled out a rosary with the other. The rosary, engraved with the symbol of Vaitas, dangled with a clinking sound.
“Wait a moment, Inquisition Officer Arcangelo. You’ll need to give me some time.”
“Your affiliation?”
“Patrick, from the 3rd Enforcement Division under the Phaeirn Royal Intelligence Department.”
Merlin Port was a city of the Phaeirn Royal Family, and the Royal Intelligence Department was one of the royal family’s most powerful trump cards. Fernandez could sense the tension in this professional assassin’s body.
“At this point, less than a year since the heresy incident within the royal family… Are you saying you’ll escort the Inquisition Officer?”
Then, a low voice echoed from the rooftop of the nearby unloading dock. Fernandez perked up and looked for a familiar face. It was Zephis. The seasoned giant Diemonica glared at Patrick with a rumbling voice.
Patrick flinched and looked around. One, two. Before he knew it, five Inquisition Officers had appeared on the rooftops, alleys, and under the walls, surrounding them.
“…The royal family won’t forget this.”
“If we are guilty, we will be judged before the Lord.”
“How arrogant! It was only two weeks ago that the secular royal family requested troops! And now, after causing political waves with the Church’s authority, you’re saying you’ll withdraw? Is that all?”
“Is that all?”
-BOOM!
Zephis leaped down, smashing tiles just as Fabiano had. Fernandez flicked away a couple of tiles flying toward him and thought.
‘He’s overdoing it.’
-It’s an over-the-top situation. Fittingly so.
Zephis was someone who extremely disliked revealing himself publicly. In fact, all Inquisition Officers, except for the Diemonica, despised exposing their identities to secular society.
The Diemonica, after all, were special forces dispatched only to regions where secular society had collapsed, and they had no thoughts of their own… Zephis, in his position of controlling them, had learned to think and act like a Heretic.
For him to move so aggressively like this meant the situation was more serious than expected. Zephis strode over and stood in front of Patrick.
A long shadow fell over Patrick. Due to the Diemonica’s massive frame, as he stood tall and looked down, only cold blue eyes gleamed in the backlight.
“Judicial authority of the Inquisition.”
“What…?”
At Zephis’s words, the Inquisition Officers surrounding them chanted.
“Before the Inquisition, we possess judicial authority over our verdicts and executions, which is not hindered by the laws of secular kingdoms.”
“Authority for immediate execution of heretics.”
“Once a verdict of heresy is confirmed, the accused has no right to appeal, and this verdict is not hindered by the status or laws of secular kingdoms.”
“Authority to requisition military forces for exorcism.”
“In situations of heresy trials, detention, interrogation, and arrest, the responsible Inquisition Officer has the authority to requisition military forces from secular kingdoms, which is not hindered by their laws.”
“Authority to act as a proxy for Church sacraments.”
“The responsible Inquisition Officer holds authority equivalent to a bishop of the Church of the Temple of the Gods during operations and heresy trials, with the power to administer all levels of sacraments.”
Zephis slowly clasped Patrick’s shoulder as he finished speaking. Patrick flinched under the strong grip of that large hand.
“You’ll regret this. Not just Phaeirn, but all the kingdoms will question this incident…”
“By the authority guaranteed by the Temple of the Gods, we will now conduct a heresy trial and purification sacrament for our brother. This takes precedence over any other situation, as per the will of the Monastery Head and His Holiness the Pope. Be silent.”
Patrick bit his lip.
