Chapter 79

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Episode 79 (79/227)

Episode 79: Madness meets madness (Part 2)

Until now, Ail had been playing Warode without once visiting the Church since starting the game, except for when he first began.

He hadn’t bothered to establish any connections with his affiliated church and hadn’t even considered taking on quests.

Most players with faith usually hoped to form close ties with a church instead of joining large guilds, but Ail had made an entirely different choice.

The reason for this was simple.

For a player with nothing to build relationships with the church from the start, they’d have to help with all sorts of menial tasks and gradually increase their favor. Naturally, Ail didn’t have time for that and needed another way.

There were two main methods to start interacting with the church without wasting time.

First, accumulating enough contribution points.

By actively participating and amassing over 10,000 contribution points, one could skip ahead in the process and be recognized as having contributed sufficiently to the church. This would allow seamless continuation of all church activities, including quest acceptance, without wasting time – something Ail had planned from the beginning.

With the successful resolution of the Village of Doom dungeon, Ail’s accumulated contribution points had already surpassed 8,000, meaning it wouldn’t be long before reaching the target.

However, there was another reason Ail’s visit to the church was expedited.

It was due to the second method – obtaining a church-related quest from outside sources. While progressing through the White Forest quest line, Ail discovered a connection between the opposing faction and demon worshippers, leading to the exposure of the Village of Doom dungeon trap. This naturally transitioned him into the Blood Twilight pursuit quest.

But as Ail entered the Heretical Interrogation Office with excitement, he started feeling uneasy.

He already knew the Light Church followers weren’t exactly sane, and he had prepared himself accordingly.

Honestly though, these guys were crazier than he imagined.

‘Thankfully, I wasn’t dragged here against my will…’

Ail looked at Arileen, the female inquisitor walking ahead of him.

When he first met her at the entrance to the Heretical Interrogation Office, he thought she was just another regular patrolling inquisitor.

Turns out she was actually the head of the entire Esmaier region’s Heretical Interrogation Office.

Warode had 15 regions in total, including the capital, each with its own Heretical Interrogation Office operated by the church’s inquisitors.

Naturally, the most outstanding and devout inquisitor in each region was appointed as the office representative. From her friendly smile alone, Ail could easily guess her capabilities and ruthlessness.

Who knows how many heretics had burned under her hands? The number was probably impossible for her to count herself.

And that wasn’t all about her identity.

Though he didn’t recognize her face initially, learning her name Arileen and her position as the Esmaier Heretical Interrogation Office head revealed something significant.

She was one of the five “Executioners of Lu” across the continent.

‘Never would’ve guessed that the NPC I randomly met at the entrance would be one of the church’s executioners.’

The most powerful institution within the Light Church was undoubtedly the Heretical Interrogation Office, composed entirely of specialized classes.

Always at the forefront of combating heresy, this group of warriors with unwavering faith in the Goddess was naturally formidable.

And the highest-ranking position among these inquisitors was the “Executor.”

They truly held the most influence within the church.

‘One of the top five strongest in the entire Light Church… If only I had recognized her name sooner.’

Not just influence – while NPCs in the Light Church were notoriously unstable, they were also known for having the highest average power levels.

Executors represented the church’s strongest members, all being high-level named NPCs around level 200.

While Sebera and Alunde he encountered earlier were regional named NPCs, Arileen and other executors were major figures across the entire continent.

‘Normally, they’re always out in the field, so it’s rare to find them in the office… Guess I got lucky.’

Given the situation where he needed to keep his identity as Lu’s Apostle hidden, Ail hadn’t expected to meet Executor Arileen during his visit to the Heretical Interrogation Office.

But thanks to good timing, he ended up meeting her unexpectedly, presenting an unforeseen opportunity.

Click!

“I assume I know why you’ve come to our Heretical Interrogation Office, Brother. And I also have a favor to ask related to that.”

Entering the empty office, Arileen got straight to the point.

Just as she anticipated Ail’s purpose, Ail could easily predict what she was about to say.

‘It must be the follow-up quest regarding the Blood Twilight cult.’

It was obvious that the Light Church, which detested heresy, wouldn’t let demon worshippers go unchecked.

Inquisitors, along with priests and paladins, had always been working hard to exterminate such groups, and the pursuit was still ongoing.

Ail had already succeeded in attacking their base, destroying their altar and minions, making enemies with the Greed Demon Benaron.

Considering this situation, the first quest the Heretical Interrogation Office would assign him would naturally be related to dealing with those cultists.

“I’m willing to help with anything I can.”

“Thank you. Have you heard of the abandoned temple in the southwest Lakport region?”

“The abandoned temple…”

Ail paused, recalling his memory.

The abandoned temple had become a new hunting ground for level 34 characters just a week ago.

It wasn’t that a new terrain suddenly appeared out of nowhere – originally, it was a restricted area designated by the kingdom where players couldn’t enter.

However, a week ago, the restrictions were suddenly lifted, and numerous fanatics started appearing around the temple.

What was originally an overlooked abandoned temple gained popularity among players due to the large number of monster spawns and decent rewards, becoming a well-known hunting spot.

But there was an important point.

Those fanatics were none other than Benaron’s followers, the Blood Twilight Cult.

“Of course, I’m aware. It’s been about a week since Benaron’s fanatics appeared at the temple. I was actually wondering why the church hasn’t taken action yet.”

“We haven’t been idle. In fact, it was us who discovered that they were hiding beneath the temple.”

Arileen showed some documents with red seals from under her desk.

These were reports from investigators about the abandoned temple and the restricted zone designation.

“It wasn’t a coincidence that demon worshippers were hiding within the kingdom’s restricted zone. Proper management should have detected their presence. We investigated suspicious areas in the southwestern region, uncovered corrupt kingdom officials aiding the Twilight Cult, and brought them to justice. There was some friction with the royal family during the process, but that’s not important.”

Arileen continued calmly.

Though she didn’t elaborate, it was likely they stormed in without warning, captured the official, and publicly burned him in the town square.

Naturally, the kingdom would react against the church’s radical actions.

But since the official was indeed connected to a demon-worshipping group, the kingdom couldn’t really argue much about it.

‘Actually, this kind of behavior from the Light Church isn’t unusual…’

Even though he belonged to the organization, Ail found their handling of situations rather lacking in tact.

Suppressing his inner thoughts, Ail slowly spoke.

“Then, is there a reason you haven’t eliminated them immediately?”

“This isn’t the only base of the Twilight Cult we’ve uncovered. We’ve secretly located dozens of their hideouts and plan to strike simultaneously to prevent them from scattering. Currently, adventurers are suppressing their activities at the abandoned temple after the restricted zone was lifted, but that won’t last much longer.”

“…Looks like the entire hunting spot will vanish soon.”

When the Heretical Interrogation Office gets involved, it means they intend to completely eradicate everything in the area.

Players who settled in the abandoned temple thinking it was just a good new hunting spot will soon discover its sudden disappearance.

“But before launching the full assault, we’ve confirmed that a massive facility is hidden underground. Given the dark magical circle we’ve seen, it seems they’re planning something. Entering recklessly might result in heavy casualties.”

“So you want me to investigate what they’re plotting?”

“Exactly. As much as I’d like to go myself, recent increased activity from evil forces has left us short-handed. Since you’ve proven capable of defeating Benaron’s minions, you should be able to handle this.”

Arileen expressed her trust in him.

She clearly valued his solo defeat of a demon’s minion highly.

In truth, defeating a demon’s minion was an accomplishment recognized throughout the church.

While there were variations depending on the individual, they were all difficult opponents regardless of level.

The Malgoros Ail faced was weakened because the summoning ritual was interrupted.

If it had proceeded normally with all the required sacrifices, Ail would have struggled to defeat it alone.

“There are likely many fanatics hiding inside. Since we haven’t fully assessed their strength yet, you don’t need to push yourself too hard. Just investigating the magic circle will suffice. And… here’s a minimal safety measure.”

Clunk!

After rummaging through her pocket, Arileen took out a black orb and placed it in Ail’s palm.

An object she personally retrieved from deep within an underground prison. The strange sphere felt surprisingly heavy for its size and emitted unsettling whispers while holding it, making Ail instinctively frown.

This bizarre item made him feel uneasy just by holding it.

“What is this?”

“A magic power crystal extracted from a Twilight Cult’s black magician. It’s been slightly modified with holy magic. Its similar magical properties to their circle will protect you.”

“Did they willingly hand over their magic power?”

Demon-worshipping followers were famously fearless of death and pain.

The Twilight Cult fanatics Ail encountered earlier proved this by throwing themselves like moths to a flame to protect their officer.

Black magicians, being higher-ranking members, would never cooperate easily with such requests.

But reality was the opposite.

“They eagerly volunteered to give us their magic power, but we refused. There was a risk they might use subtle tricks during the process.”

“Then how…”

“Hmm, this extraction method used at the interrogation office is quite experimental, so it’s hard to describe precisely. To put it simply, we basically crushed their souls together with the magic.”