Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 151

151. Relic

“This is the last one.”

Whoosh!

Fierce flames engulfed the rows of pyres.

The screams of the Water Church followers, bound and captured by Aile, echoed.

The Black Wolf guild members who fought alongside him were still not used to it, their faces pale.

[An Heretic has been executed!]

[An Heretic has been executed!]

.

.

.

But they were not mere competitors, but heretics.

They were the ones who plunged the entire region into chaos with their unprovoked attacks, so there was no need to hesitate.

Aile first searched the corpses of the heretics hanging from the trees, looting items.

“I’m starting to get scared of myself for becoming so desensitized to this sight.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The party members calmly watched the burning believers.

Alisa and Rhoden, and even Lia, who was temporarily away, seemed to have become somewhat accustomed to his execution of justice.

“Well, we’ve managed to defend this base without much trouble. The long battle is almost over… To be honest, I didn’t think we could turn this situation around.”

Rhoden said leisurely.

The defense of this World Event, which had been fraught with difficulties, was successfully carried out, and the situation had already been reversed, with the clear in sight.

It was becoming a foregone conclusion that they would receive defense rewards as long as there were no major incidents.

“It’s all thanks to Aile. Who knew you’d suddenly turn the Blood Alliance guild to our side.”

“No, I just encouraged them a little from the side.”

Thud!

Aile, having finished looting the items, stepped down to the ground.

There was one corpse hanging a little high, which gave him some trouble.

“Besides, the situation isn’t completely over yet.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Rhoden nodded in agreement.

There was a big difference between ‘almost over’ and ‘completely over’.

Everyone standing here knew that well.

At that moment, Lia, who had logged into War Lord a little earlier, rushed towards them.

“You’re back so soon.”

“Haa, sorry for the interruption. I had to feed my cat…”

“Weren’t you just out smoking?”

“That’s not funny at all.”

Lia retorted sullenly.

Having been constantly teased by Rhoden while hunting in Eltris, she had become somewhat accustomed to responding.

“The situation has ended without any problems anyway, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Lia smiled in relief at Aile’s words.

“Oh, right, Lia. I’m out of poison, so could you cook for me again?”

“Poison… Don’t you think I’m going to fail too easily?”

“Well…”

Rhoden looked away, trailing off.

Lia, who had a truly cursed touch, had attempted to cook four times while traveling with them in Eltris.

And the results were all the same.

She had created a deadly poison with all sorts of fatal side effects.

“Okay, just you wait. I’m going to make it this time. A dish so delicious that you won’t even notice if one of you dies!”

“The expression ‘dies’ is very gruesome.”

Alisa, who had seen her cooking with Rhoden, said in a low voice.

Fortunately, Lia didn’t seem to hear her, and she began preparing the dish with energetic movements.

“I’ll help you from the side.”

Her intention was a great dish, but in the end, it was just her making poison, so Rhoden also helped her prepare from the side.

“As expected… the choice of ingredients is unusual from the start.”

Just looking at the ingredients Lia was taking out, he could tell how terrible the recipe would be.

Her innate cooking sense could not be confined to the realm of common sense.

Of course, he wanted the most potent poison possible, so the recipe would follow Lia’s, the master of poison, wishes.

While they were engrossed in cooking with different goals, Aile had a separate conversation with Alisa.

“Things are definitely going well enough that we can say it’s completely tilted now. But… are you feeling it too, Alisa?”

“You mean the Water Church holding out?”

“Yes.”

Aile nodded.

This World Event was practically over.

But even so, the church was still not giving up, and he couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t back down.

“There’s definitely something strange. From the church’s point of view, retreating now would be the only way to minimize losses, but they still show no signs of retreating. But they don’t seem to be showing any other tricks, and continuing this meaningless war of attrition is hard to explain even with the importance of the World Event.”

And that wasn’t all.

If you consider the concept of the ‘influence’ of divinity, which she doesn’t yet know, the story becomes even more incomprehensible.

If they gave up now and returned, they would be able to recover some of the influence they had poured into launching the World Event.

‘If this move fails, they’ll be so badly damaged that they won’t be able to make a proper move for a while, so what are they thinking?’

If it were Ru, she would not give up on her intentions once she had decided, even if everyone was annihilated, for the sake of justification and belief.

She, with the name of ‘justice’, was a divinity who had to do so.

But Bahamut was not such a divinity.

A god of destruction who moves only for his own benefit, without any stubbornness or warmth.

Even his faithful followers could be used, and the epithet ‘tyrant of the river’ was not created in vain.

‘Besides, when he appeared in front of me…’

The Bahamut who appeared before him was overly confident.

That his vassals would come to the ground, and that even the other divinities who were watching him would be useless.

It could simply be Bahamut’s boastful pride, but there was one more strange thing to dismiss it as such.

[Under the command of Archbishop ‘Melia’, all believers who have received the will of God gather.]

‘The message that was output when the World Event was first created… But the NPC named Melia has never been seen.’

If she was an archbishop, she would be the highest-ranking official corresponding to the executioner of the Church of Light [likely a high-ranking inquisitor or enforcer].

Of course, in the case of the Water Church, the number of appointed personnel was greater at twelve, and there was a big difference from the executioners at the pinnacle of the Church of Light, where each member was famous for being strong.

But even so, it was still a very strong force, and if she had gone to the battlefield, she would have been a powerful variable.

But the archbishop who was mobilized for this World Event has never appeared even once.

“Maybe they have something up their sleeve…”

Caw! Caw!

At that moment, a crow flew through the trees and landed on Aile’s arm.

“This is…?”

“That guy sent it.”

Aile said, looking at the symbol drawn on the crow’s side.

The symbol of the Shadow Church, meaning it was a crow sent by Neshua.

As a silent believer, he couldn’t speak, so even if he added him as a friend, he couldn’t use the messenger.

The method through the mailbox also had location restrictions, so he used the most convenient messenger crow to convey his message.

Swoosh!

As Aile took out the letter attached to its leg, it scattered like a phantom and disappeared into the shadows.

It was a one-time magic crow purchased from the contribution store.

‘It’s not a big deal, but it’s an urgent message to convey even at the cost of contribution points… He said he had something to find out separately, so did he find something?’

Aile unfolded the letter he sent.

* * *

Banan Fortress.

It was one of the Black Wolf Guild’s territories that was targeted in this World Event.

It had excellent defense facilities and a considerable number of troops stationed there at the time, so it seemed that this place, at least, would not collapse, even if other territories did.

But for some reason, Bahamut’s believers targeted this base instead of other bases, even at the cost of excessive damage.

Banan Fortress, which was attacked so intensively, was eventually the first to fall before all other bases.

The fortress, which had been burned to the ground, ended up as a ruin with nothing left.

“There’s something here, right?”

「Yes.」

Aile and Neshua were walking through the burned fortress.

The base, which had already gone down the path of destruction, was not even at a level where it could be restored, and it became a place where no one had any reason to visit.

But Neshua sent word that Bahamut’s aim was right here, and Aile rushed over without hesitation.

“But why did you specifically ask me to come alone?”

「Follow me.」

Neshua, who had scribbled on the parchment, went ahead.

He headed through the chaotic ruins to a deeply dug pit in the center of the fortress.

There were plenty of similar pits in the ruined fortress, and it was a pit that looked completely unremarkable on the surface.

But Neshua jumped straight in and went down.

Thud!

In front of Aile, who followed down, was an entrance of unknown origin.

But it was impossible to know what kind of passage it was just by looking at its appearance, and he tried to step inside.

Crack!

Aile, who was bounced back by a powerful barrier, stepped back.

「It’s no use, even most dispel items didn’t work.」

“Then what are you going to do?”

At Aile’s question, Neshua readily took out an item.

‘Grace of the Shadow’.

It was a top-tier item that allowed you to pass through without being caught by the barrier.

It was also a considerable high-priced contribution item that could only be obtained from the Shadow Church to which Neshua belonged.

But he was holding not one, but two items.

“Why this…?”

「Two is better than one.」

He answered simply and threw the item to Aile.

Based on his long experience, Neshua, who sensed that it would not be easy alone, chose to accompany Aile.

Aile, who accepted it in a daze, used the item following Neshua.

Whoosh!

As he stretched his foot forward, he passed through a translucent membrane and safely passed through.

The solid barrier that blocked the entrance could not stop them.

“This is…”

Aile’s expectations, who had imagined a terrifying dungeon, were completely off.

Inside the barrier was a sanctuary filled with sacred energy.

It wasn’t very large and looked old, but the structure and decoration were all amazing.

Even Neshua, who had found this place first, was surprised.

「Amazing.」

This was by no means a hastily constructed facility that could be created roughly after destroying the fortress.

It was a place that had existed for a very long time.

‘There’s never been any mention of a place like this.’

In any information site, there was no clue that there would be such a sanctuary in Banan Fortress, let alone a fabricated rumor.

But before the answer came from Aile’s head, who was lost in thought.

As he walked through the passage of the sanctuary, he heard the voice of a woman chanting prayers nearby.

“…Seek the old blood. Spew out the red blood and accept the old blood. In the fear you feel, there is a desperate hope shining.”

Aile and Neshua followed the sound and entered the room.

The one they encountered there was Archbishop Melia.

Wearing a white hood, she was kneeling and praying with her long hair down.

Her appearance, with her hands clasped earnestly and her head bowed to the floor, was like looking at a fanatical believer.

“Embrace a new birth in pain. This will quench the eternal thirst for God.”

Thud!

Blood dripped from Melia’s body as she recited the prayer.

The floor, already soaked with red blood, was widely stained, and it was hard to believe that the amount of blood came from one person.

“Your death will not be mourned. Die in glory and gain true life.”

Whoosh!

An ominous energy flowing from somewhere enveloped Melia.

Her body began to twist violently and change.

The bones of her body were breaking and her flesh was swelling, and a chilling cracking sound filled the room.

Kuaaaaa!

A scream filled the sanctuary’s room.

The giant beast that had transformed slowly raised its massive body.

A name shining in a dark gray light.

It was neither an elite monster nor an epic boss monster.

[A vassal of the divinity, ‘Bahamut’, has descended!]