The Demon Hunting Method of the Regressed Inquisitor

My ■■■ (8)

Kurud, who was drifting in the magical storm, saw it. He saw Anne’s new form, which he could not approach and could only watch, shake violently once.

A streak of light, a gunshot, and splattering red blood.

The storm subsides.

‘Opportunity…’

If he missed this opportunity now, there would be no next time. There might be limits to the scroll, but before that, Kurud was more likely to be the first to fall.

Kurud immediately raised his spear horizontally and ran.

All the techniques he used were already known to Anne.

He had boasted about learning such techniques. He thought she, as his sponsor, had the right to know.

With techniques whose characteristics and weaknesses he had already revealed, he could not defeat Anne.

Then he would seize this miracle. Whether it was coincidence or someone’s intervention, it didn’t matter. For now, just.

“Stronger than the me you know.”

He had to show a stronger self.

Anne, who had been staggering, regained her posture. The book that had lost its light began to emit colorful lights again.

Magic poured down.

Crude low-level magic and dangerous high-level magic intersected.

He pushed away the incoming giant ice chunk with his spear. The gray aura spun, enhancing its power.

While he briefly glanced at the 5-circle magic he had completely pushed aside, lightning struck right in front of him.

Pazuzuzuk!!

While he deflected the attack, lightning struck, aiming for that gap.

It was a technique with a large movement from the beginning.

Anne knew that too, so she responded perfectly.

Knowing that would happen, Kurud gave one hand.

As if dragon scales covered the hand not holding the spear, the lightning burned it all away.

He retrieved his charred hand and grabbed the spear shaft again. It was still possible.

Bang!

He slashed the spear down, scraping the ground.

He mixed aura with the water pooled on the ground and sent it flying towards the opponent.

As expected, a wall sprang up from the ground to block it.

He had been watching. He had definitely been watching. Anne was watching Kurud.

His efforts, achievements, and growth.

“Watch closely, Aunt Anne.”

Kurud had already reached the level of a master. It was difficult to become stronger than this. Even if it were possible, it would be a very small step.

Yes, just like when he first picked up the spear, his skills would not increase exponentially anymore.

But he had to do it.

Because Kurud had to protect Rubia. That was his duty and his wish.

Bang!

He thrust his spear with all his might. Nothing had changed from before.

Anne already knew how to counter all of Kurud’s techniques.

Whirr!

But Kurud’s attack did not end with just one strike. The next technique followed seamlessly, like water flowing.

As if dancing.

Like a dragon wrapped in water. Kurud’s spear unleashed an endless stream of techniques.

The aura he harbored was consumed at an absurd rate. There was no hesitation.

Unless it was a technique he had never shown before, unless he showed a stronger self than before.

Anne could not be stopped.

“This technique, you created it.”

There was a time when he had gone to the sea. It was a place Anne had taken him to.

It was a miracle that he, an orphan, could go so far.

Kurud remembered that journey, the vast seascape.

More water than the daily downpours in Rubia, reflecting the rare sunlight and sparkling.

He had seen a whale.

That too was something Anne had shown him. She had broadened his world, showing him that such gigantic beings existed.

Tap.

The spear that had been moving brilliantly to block Anne’s magic came to a halt.

The moment the spear stopped, it seemed as if the pouring rain also stopped.

He saw the sea. He saw the whale. He saw the vast world.

In that sight, Kurud found the resolve to fight against the world.

This was Kurud’s grand imagination, drawn solely from his mind, to hunt the great sea monster.

Ziiiiing───

The magical onslaught that had been pouring down like a storm stops, accompanied by a ringing in the ears. Kurud, who had been standing still with his spear extended, bites his lip.

“How is it, amazing, isn’t it?”

“Ahahaha! Yes! It’s amazing!”

Anne laughed.

Even though she was coughing up blood and dying from Kurud’s skill, which far exceeded her expectations, she laughed brightly.

“Anne, old lady, I was raised by you.”

“Yes, my judgment was not wrong. You have grown magnificently!”

“I’m telling you, who exceeded your expectations. What you were trying to do was wrong, and I stopped it.”

“Yes, if the result is like this, then this is the right picture.”

Kurud sat down in front of Anne, who was struggling to kneel.

If you ask if he is sad, of course he is.

He didn’t realize it. Anne’s fanatical side, even though they had been together for such a long time, he didn’t know.

How unreliable he was.

The being she raised with money, time, and manpower, had such an empty head.

“Still, I saved face. The things Anne gave me created this result. I’m glad I could stop it. Before the old lady did something terrible, I repaid her kindness.”

“Puahahahaha! This ungrateful brat, putting a hole in the sponsor’s belly and then talking so well!”

Contrary to her words, Anne laughed as if she was genuinely happy.

Anne said. She raised a person, not a slave.

If so, she could naturally accept this result as well.

Rather, the fact that he stopped it like this could be said to have met Anne’s expectations.

“Don’t get taken advantage of anywhere.”

“Don’t worry, I overturned what almost got taken advantage of just now.”

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

Anne was not kind, so she hoped there would be more people like that.

Because she aimed for such a world.

So this result is just another conclusion of that effort.

She was wrong, and Kurud was right.

“You have grown wonderfully.”

She could do anything if it was her mentor’s command.

Her teacher would know. This result was also one of the ideal scenes she wanted.

Therefore, there were no regrets. Anne could die with a smile.

“Anne, you are a madwoman.”

Kurud sighed alone as he watched Anne.

But in the end, he too could smile like Anne.

“But you are still my mentor. Thank you for everything, Anne.”

To Kurud, she was a teacher, a parent, and a partner.

Even if she had gone a little mad and made wrong judgments, all those relationships didn’t disappear in an instant.

“The sun has risen.”

Kurud looked up at the sky.

There, a sky he had never seen in Rubia unfolded.

“The sun has risen in this city too.”

The sky was beautiful.

At least Anne died looking at such a sky instead of dull clouds.

“Ah, really.”

But unfortunately.

There was nothing to cover Kurud’s eyes as usual.

* * *

Lost might not have underestimated Belial, but Belial was more persistent than he thought.

He doesn’t miss opportunities. Even if he had shaken off the pursuit once, he couldn’t stop that persistence.

“Huh…”

Belial finally uncovered Lost’s trail. He examined all possibilities. Coincidence was excluded from the beginning.

Everything was meticulously examined under the assumption that it was inevitable.

This is the result.

He personally went to the dangerous territory of the ＜Eroding One＞.

With the results obtained, he narrowed down the assumptions to one and derived the answer.

It was the correct answer.

The opponent was in Rubia.

It was a truth that was revealed just when the final confirmation process remained after deriving the correct answer.

“Damn apostle of the god. Are you stepping on this land again!”

The city where it rains 365 days a year, Rubia.

The sky cast its shadow over the city. How could one deny such a miracle?

It is a miracle of God. Divinity itself residing in the flesh of humans.

Those called the apostles of God have constantly hindered Belial.

The most notable among them is the angel Hecate. She was an irritating presence both in life and in death.

Many other apostles have also thwarted Belial’s plans.

That’s why he came this far. Hiding in the shadows, he had been holding his breath to devise a perfect plan that could succeed even if they interfered.

But at this timing, seeing the appearance of an apostle as if they knew everything, he couldn’t help but be furious.

“Ha…!”

Belial let out a hollow laugh.

Anger surged to the top of his head, but he soon managed to calm down.

Among the apostles he had met so far, this one was the most irritating, but he had luckily caught an early opportunity.

If it were now, he could handle it easily. It seemed that the apostle had not been awakened for long, so if he stepped in himself, there would be no problem.

Yes, this was rather an opportunity.

An opportunity to eliminate the most fatal variable that could hinder his plan.

“Come out.”

Belial coldly commanded as the shadows rippled.

Someone was watching him.

Daring to watch him. Not many could do such a thing, let alone attempt it.

“It’s been a while.”

“…”

Belial inhaled sharply as he watched the figure that appeared belatedly.

There weren’t many who could track him, but the one who appeared now was completely unexpected.

“Belial.”

“Ravenna… How could you…?”

One of the only two remaining of their kind in this world. One of them.

‘The Demon of Sorrow’ Ravenna.

A woman with the appearance of a scholar.

Her black hair and eyes seemed to melt the night itself.

“Why are you here? You shouldn’t be. Didn’t you say you would just breathe and do nothing? Why? Have you changed your mind now?”

Belial spat out his cold anger in a soft voice.

They were kin. In this desolate world, they were among the few beings he could rely on. Yet, Belial could not bring himself to like the other two.

“Didn’t we agree? To hide away in a secluded place. To just breathe and slowly die!”

“Belial, do you still hate humans?”

“How could I not?”

The Melis were also gods.

But they were beings born not from pure emotions or faith, but from negative emotions and madness.

Isn’t that also the essence of humanity?

Wasn’t it humans themselves who created them?

So why do they side with the gods and call them demons?

The Melis were defined as evil gods, and in the end, they were regarded as beings lower than their original status as demons.

Because they lost the war.

Belial could not accept it. He wanted to overturn the result of that war.

That’s why he hated humans and wanted to destroy this world.

Yes, that’s why…

“Why should we disappear because of their arbitrary reasons? I can’t accept it. What should disappear are those filthy beings who created us and then treated us as unclean.”

“That’s because humans are weak. Please understand them. They are just afraid because they are weak. We won’t disappear.”

“Ravenna, as I’ve said many times, I can’t think like you. We are fundamentally different. How could I love them? Didn’t you also say that you respect me for who I am?”

That’s why Ravenna and the other Melis accepted defeat. They decided to conform.

They said they would quietly settle in a secluded corner where no human eyes could reach.

They did not support Belial in his attempt to seize another opportunity.

It didn’t matter. They could do that.

But at least, if that was the case, they shouldn’t interfere with him.

If they respected him but couldn’t follow him, they should at least stay still.

“Step aside, Ravenna. You don’t deserve to be here. You and I can never truly understand each other.”

“No, Belial. This time, you step aside.”

“Didn’t you understand what I said? I didn’t speak that difficultly, did I? I told you to get lost. Unless you want to wage war against me!”

“……”

Ravenna tightly closed her eyes.

Belial’s anger was like the sorrow and lamentation he poured out.

That grief was the reason Ravenna couldn’t help but respect him.

“I said I wanted to live among people. You said you understood my intention.”

“Indeed.”

“After hearing that, you created the minions and mocked me.”

“It was a good method. But how is that mockery? It’s a compromise. As you said, I could have killed all the humans, but instead, I live among them.”

It was Belial’s way of leaving a trace of the people he wanted to eradicate.

It was his own form of consideration.

“I didn’t think so. Belial, what you did was just killing people in a different way. You took away their will.”

“……”

“If there’s even a shred of remorse left, please step back.”

Ravenna bowed her head.

Belial couldn’t unconditionally condemn her as he watched.

Yes, a shred of remorse.

It wasn’t entirely absent. Listening to Ravenna’s dreams, he had implemented that vision in a different way, making them his pawns.

Even if he didn’t intend to mock, he did use Ravenna’s dreams.

“Why go to such lengths?”

“A child who is like my own is there. So please.”

“……”

Belial fiddled with the handle of his cane, contemplating.

Is this really the right thing to do?

He was willing to do anything for his plan. But why did he want to accomplish that plan?

It was both revenge and salvation.

It was a pilgrimage for his kin who had vanished in vain.

He reached a conclusion.

“Just this once, I’ll turn a blind eye. But if I see it again… even your request won’t be enough to stop me.”

If he refused this request, all his future actions would be meaningless.

Belial stared blankly at the being that drove away the dark clouds and covered the sky, then turned away.

The shadows were deepening.

“Sigh…”

Ravenna sighed in relief as she watched Belial disappear with the shadows.

Thank goodness. He let it go.

Even while thinking that, Ravenna looked at the brightening sky in the distance and the boy beneath it.

“You’re doing well.”

The boy she raised.

He had overcome the trials that came his way admirably, very admirably.

How could she not be proud?

That kind being who was living the life she had taught him.

Ravenna’s black pupils took on a reddish hue under the bright light.

She was Melis.

A being who had accepted malice and fallen, yet still loved humans.

Through that malice, through that love, she raised a child.

Yes, that child indeed.

“My…”

So dearly beloved.

“Lost.”

She murmured the name, savoring it, a name she should not have known in her current state.

Though the vast sky was spread out far away, for some reason, a thick fog surrounded her, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

That fog, so thick that she couldn’t see an inch ahead, strangely seemed to show a ‘dream.’