Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 180

180. The Silent War (4)

“Cassano!”

At Mute’s call, the man turned around.

The man, wearing a purple robe like her, appeared very young but was actually an elderly archmage over 80 years old.

He was the leader of the secret society, a skilled individual who had regained his youth after dabbling in forbidden magic.

He was a famous figure among heretic mages and a strong pillar supporting the society.

“I thought I told you I’d be in the northeast for a while.”

Cassano reacted, seemingly surprised by Mute’s appearance.

But only for a moment.

He quickly understood the situation.

“So, it was a doppelganger again.”

“That’s not important right now. We’ve lost contact with Jaeger.”

Mute said, narrowing her brows.

After the society released the ancient spirits in the northeast, a massive crackdown was launched against them, and their contact magic was a prime target.

They could no longer freely use contact magic as before.

Because of her unique abilities, she sometimes served as a source of information between executives, depending on the situation.

But because of that, contact had been lost with Jaeger, who had gone to snatch the princess.

“Lost contact… then where is Princess Seia?”

“She hasn’t been seen since she left the palace last time.”

“Then it seems the operation was successful.”

“Hey, don’t jump to conclusions so easily. If Jaeger is caught, we’ll be in trouble too.”

“No, he’s not the type to be easily caught.”

Cassano said confidently.

He wasn’t so careless as to fall for clumsy tricks, and he wouldn’t push forward with a plan if something went wrong.

Even with the Light Church [Celestial Church] swarming every city with their eyes wide open, he simply hadn’t found a suitable way to contact them yet.

Above all, he had the special ability to assess an opponent’s strength in advance, so there was nothing to worry about.

“More than that, I’m most concerned about the guild.”

“Are you still talking about that?”

Mute reacted indifferently.

The target Cassano suspected was Apollion, one of the Six Great Guilds.

It was the first of the Six Great Guilds to side with the prince and bolster his strength, reversing the unfavorable situation at once.

They were closely cooperating with the society, but Cassano, who had met and talked with their guild leader, Kruger, several times, still couldn’t shake his suspicions.

“I’ve been watching him because you keep saying that, but I haven’t seen anything suspicious.”

Mute, who had been on the front lines and worked with Apollion on various tasks, couldn’t sense anything amiss.

But Cassano just shook his head.

“That’s because you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“What? Do you think I’m as clueless as Montagne or Fuse?”

“No, it’s because they’re meticulous.”

He had been running the secret society for a long time, working with many forces and betraying each other.

But the guys he was facing now felt completely different from any other organization he had dealt with so far.

Especially the man called the guild leader, ‘Kruger,’ was even more so.

Kwang!

At that moment, a loud explosion was heard from above the ceiling.

It was a deafening noise, and a heavy vibration shook the ground.

“It’s an attack!”

Whiririk!

The walls of the building collapsed, and raging flames surged in.

This was the society’s headquarters.

Among the many bases the society had across the continent, it was the largest, and even Cassano, the leader, was there.

And that place was suddenly attacked.

“Jaeger has been defeated.”

Cassano and Mute’s expressions twisted at the same time.

This headquarters was not a place that could be found by chance, and the only one who could have leaked this information was Jaeger.

“Ugh…!”

“Hurry, put out the fire!”

The society members who were attacked tried to extinguish the flames with magic, but it was useless.

What stood before them was the unquenchable white sacred fire.

Because it had been generously fueled with holy water, it couldn’t be easily extinguished by ordinary means, and the number of victims only increased as they were engulfed in the rapidly spreading flames.

Whoosh!

And through the fierce flames, intruders were rushing in unharmed.

They were inquisitors from the Light Church [Celestial Church] who were not affected by the sacred fire at all.

“The Light Church [Celestial Church]… how did they…!”

Clang!

The inquisitors, raising their sacred fire swords, cut down the society members who stood in their way as they advanced.

Words were unnecessary for heretics.

All escape routes were blocked, and it was difficult for the mages to resist properly because of the terrible flames.

The plan was to capture everyone without allowing a single escapee.

Kwaddeudeuk!

Cassano’s magic activated, and the shaking floor rose up.

The rising floor surged at a very high speed, as if a landslide had occurred, trying to bury the inquisitors in the corridor at once.

Kugugugung!

But just before Cassano’s magic swallowed them.

The man who intervened in the middle spread a barrier of divine power, blocking all attacks.

Executioner Pedro.

Known for his strict personality even within the church, he was a clearly named NPC-level powerhouse even when considering the entire continent, befitting his title as an executioner.

Above all, he was completely compatible with mages.

His main mission was to hunt down and capture impure witches and mages, and he specialized in abilities that neutralized various magics.

He was a natural enemy to Cassano, an elemental mage.

No matter how much he was the leader of the society, the executioner was the highest-ranking member of the church chosen by divinity, and with the compatibility twisted, there was no way to turn the situation around.

Clang!

“Keuk…!”

Pedro’s sword, which had deflected the forbidden magic that flew in succession, pierced Cassano’s abdomen.

Thanks to accurately stabbing a vital point, his health rapidly decreased, and his eyes slowly closed.

But at that moment, a light of pure white healing magic enveloped Cassano, pulling him back from death.

“It’s not time yet.”

Kwaddeudeuk!

Pedro, gripping his neck, said fiercely.

Faced with an unexpected surprise attack, an inferior force, and even the leader being helplessly defeated, most of the remaining society members lost their lives while resisting in vain, or were captured with their arms and legs lost.

Heretic mages who had chosen the path of forbidden magic often harbored strong venom [resentment].

But some of them begged for their lives.

The inquisitors, armed with true madness, were not opponents that they could dare to handle with the venom [resentment] they possessed.

“S-Save me.”

A society member bleeding from his forehead grabbed Pedro’s knee and clung to him.

But Pedro merely looked down at the man with the mark of a heretic stamped on his head with a cold gaze.

“Forgiving heretics is only up to God’s will. All I have to do is send you to God’s side.”

Clang!

The society member’s head flew off before he could even scream.

The time for repentance that heretics could have was only allowed in front of the goddess.

At that time, the heretic mages who had been subdued and dragged from the other side were brought before him one by one.

They were either incapacitated or had surrendered because there was no hope.

“Executioner, what should we do with these men…?”

“Kill them all.”

Pedro’s answer was simple as always.

“You son of a bitch… don’t think this is the end…!”

Among the mages who were helplessly captured, there were those who defiantly raised their heads.

But Pedro trampled on their heads, forcing them to bow down.

“Nothing but obedience is needed in the attitude towards God. If you don’t want to be blinded by the light, bow your head and tremble in fear.”

Thud!

The heads of the society members were cut off one by one.

“Punishment for evil is the pillar that supports the world. Light the flames for our mission! Let the screams of the sinners reach Him!”

The flames and screams filled the society’s headquarters.

In the glistening eyes of the executioner, only the white flames that swallowed everything flickered.

* * *

[Quest Completed!]

[Acquired a large amount of experience!]

[Acquired reward items!]

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.

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A large reward came in as the royal family’s quest was cleared.

‘So, it seems that side was finished well.’

Eile smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the messages that popped up.

He had successfully extracted information from Jaeger, who was now a corpse, and he was able to obtain it before the society noticed anything strange.

Thanks to the know-how he had accumulated by dealing with quite a few heretics, he was able to get answers quickly.

‘Well, the executioner stepped in himself…’

The information he obtained was immediately passed on to the Inquisition, and Pedro, one of the five executioners besides him, personally stepped in to wipe out the bastards’ headquarters.

Since he, who was strong against mages, was nearby, a more secretive and faster movement was possible.

‘The society will be greatly weakened for the time being with this blow.’

They had only completely burned down the bastards’ headquarters, but they had not completely destroyed their forces.

Although Pedro had captured Cassano, the executives who had been scattered were still intact.

But the blow inflicted this time was very great.

They destroyed the numerous spirit stones placed in the society’s headquarters and returned all the earth’s magic that the bastards had collected from each region.

They will come back again, but it was certain that at least the bastards’ activities would be severely disrupted.

‘Besides, the reward is amazing, as befits a royal family’s quest.’

Eile raised the corners of his mouth as he checked his inventory.

The item he received from the royal family as a reward for this quest was a Skill Book of Radiant Black Light.

It was an item that had been kept in the royal palace’s archives, and he was given several volumes, not just one.

Thanks to the radiant modifier attached to the black skill book, he was highly likely to obtain a top-tier skill.

He had almost relieved his worries about skills for the time being.

Even with the skill book he received as an advance payment from the fight with the society’s executive, he had obtained the unique-grade skill, Divine Explosion, and there was no room for doubt.

‘But it’s not over yet.’

The incident of attacking this society was merely a prelude, and he still had the real main subject left.

[Conversation request from ‘Karin’ has arrived! (Y/N)]