Chapter 70

“Did you see it?”

“That kid standing in front of the burning pile of corpses? Didn’t even blink.”

“…Even adults would struggle with that sight. Phew, I agree that the selection process for Inquisition Judges should be strict, but moments like this make me question it.”

“I think I understand how you feel.”

“Maybe we’re not raising a hammer to crush heretics, but a blade that might stab us instead.”

*

070

The Decisive Heart (Part 1)

*

=Welcome, my friend.=

Far, near, standing, running. All the laws of reality are decreed by Ailim. To Laube, who mocks and defiles that authority, they mean nothing.

Of course, altering reality comes at a cost, but so what? It’s not her burden to bear. Louis dragged Joseph, who was flailing, and tossed him outside the rift.

Joseph’s body, caught between reality and unreality, leaped across the vast space and manifested not in the Reformatory but in the heretic’s domain. The moment his furry feet touched the ground—

Pop! Pop! Pop! The heads of the Young Heretics bowing before the rift exploded in succession. The two heretics standing side by side didn’t even blink as they were drenched in blood.

The blood on their bodies vanished so quickly it was hard to believe it was mere evaporation. As if their entire bodies were sucking it in.

=Grrr…=

=Stop pretending to be a beast. We both know what’s what.=

=…Is this your base?=

Louis clicked his insect-like jaws in affirmation. Droplets of venom fell to the ground, but the blackened, dead earth showed no change. It had already been irreversibly tainted by the same poison.

Who would believe that this place was once a quaint, beautiful countryside village? The god does not forget, so Louis could still vividly recall the scenery.

The village where a tributary of the Nern River, called the Lifeline, flowed. The shade of a zelkova tree by the riverbank was perfect for lying down, and when summer came, roses bloomed everywhere, spreading a tangy fragrance. The colorful rooftops looked like a toy puzzle from above.

But when he looked down again, the dream overlaying his vision faded, and reality took its place. A black, rotting river of dark red flowed, carrying the corpses of fish and human heads floating together.

The summer roses, once coyly lifting their petals, now exuded a sickeningly sweet scent. When twisted flies landed on their stamens, the buds closed with a disgusting *gulp*. A throat that shouldn’t exist in plants gulped. The ancient tree, once gently watching over children, now grotesquely twisted, with gallows hanging from every branch. Instead of fruit, screaming corpses swayed in the wind.

=Beautiful, isn’t it?=

=……=

The bad taste reached its peak in the space where Louis resided.

The small, humble hut where ‘he’ once stayed was gone, replaced by a massive mansion built by Young Heretics. It resembled the mansion Louis himself had burned down, but modified to match Laube’s aesthetic, a form that would disgust any human.

And right in front of it, amidst all the twisted and corrupted scenery, was the only intact thing: a small chapel. Not ornate, but clean and seemingly newly built, with a clock tower to complete the basic structure.

The Inquisition Temple had left it behind. To suppress the miasma that had already ravaged Yefrinse. Though it was more symbolic than practical, the chapel, having never received a single worshipper, failed to fulfill its purpose.

=What bad taste, really.=

=Hahaha! Aren’t you looking forward to when the Inquisition Judge arrives?=

The small chapel’s power couldn’t hold back the heretic’s influence that blanketed the area. Though the building could easily be destroyed or corrupted, Louis deliberately left the Inquisition Temple’s mark on Yefrinse untouched.

Instead, he built his mansion right behind the chapel. The mansion’s roof rose higher than the chapel’s clock tower, and no matter the sun’s position, its shadow always fell over the chapel.

Thus, the space meant to preach Ailim’s greatness never received Ailim’s light. It remained shrouded in darkness, silently watching over what it couldn’t save—until the dawn descended to the earth.

=Let’s go.=

The malicious architectural design ensured that the only way into Laube’s mansion was through the chapel. Following Louis, Joseph felt his fur bristling. Though the emperor’s bloodline preserved his mind, he was no longer human.

A clear heretic. The faint light’s power rejected him. Louis, walking ahead, laughed as if it were a tantrum and entered the mansion through the chapel.

Inside was a hell worse than outside. In one room, Young Heretics lay stacked like objects, eyes closed. In another, dolls stuffed with tendons, flesh, and organs instead of straw. The study was filled with books bound in human skin and written in blood-red ink.

Louis proudly showed off his ‘achievements’ to his companion. Amidst scenes that would drive any human mad, the wolf’s maw opened indifferently.

=Not bad.=

=Haha, right? Well, those are just for fun, so play with them however you like…=

At the end of the room, in the most secluded place—where ‘Louis’ would have stayed in Deen’s mansion.

Louis grinned and flung open the door. The stench of blood and rot was everywhere, but the smell in this room was slightly different. Still foul, but fresher—no, more alive.

Vibrant.

=…These are my prized toys, so don’t touch them.=

Inside the room were living people. Not corpses, not Young Heretics. Though dirty, they were alive. When the door opened, they flinched and glared with hatred.

But they made no move beyond rolling their eyes. Were they afraid of Louis and Joseph’s grotesque forms? Their gazes, filled with malice, showed nothing else. Clearly alive, breathing, hearts beating—yet like statues made of flesh and blood, they only rolled their eyes in ridiculous poses.

Louis laughed, circling the humans mimicking statues.

=What’s this? They just look like ordinary humans.=

=Are you, in your highness, worried about your subjects?=

=No.=

The beast spoke with neither cruel enthusiasm nor pity. Utterly indifferent.

=They don’t seem worth it.=

=Ha, ahahahaha! Right, absolutely right! Our dear Joseph Laube, you’re spot on! Yeah, they’re not worth the effort.=

=Then?=

Could it be believed? The face of a worm, without lips, eyelids, or nostrils, could express such clear emotion.

=Because they tormented ‘me.’=

Louis had turned Deen to ashes but fled to Yefrinse instead of settling there. He had ongoing work, and being too close to the Inquisition Temple was a burden.

But of course, he didn’t come empty-handed. The mansion’s servants, the swollen ranks of Young Heretics. And those they neither killed nor revived, left completely intact. Who among heretics had ever received such VIP treatment?

This merciful treatment continued even after arriving in Yefrinse, the heretic’s stronghold. Unlike other heretics who died or became Young Heretics, these ones survived. Though whether the survivors would consider it ‘luck’ was another matter.

=They threw stones and filth at ‘me’ when I walked by.=

The devil’s scales are not as fair as a god’s. The weights of sin are absurdly distorted, tipping and balancing at whim.

=Isn’t that enough reason to send them to hell?=

Well, hell isn’t mine anyway. So shouldn’t I make them suffer as much as possible before sending them there? Chuckling, Louis pushed one of the statue-like humans.

Naturally, the person barely balancing fell. Anger and hatred flashed in the victim’s eyes, now filled with shock and fear. They mouthed something, but no pleas or cries escaped.

The man, with arms raised as if cheering, fell with a thud. Yet, bizarrely, his arms remained raised. His body, having lost balance, fell to the floor.

And without support, his arms still stretched toward the sky, his head still moving.

Louis laughed madly at the farce.

=Ha! Hahaha! It’s just so funny. Isn’t it?=

But Joseph didn’t laugh. Though they were both heretics, both ‘Laube,’ they were not the same. Despite his beastly appearance, his thoughts were ice-cold. Perhaps it was the lingering power of his bloodline.

=This is strange.=

=…What? Still not rid of your human tendencies?=

=That’s what I wanted to say.=

Joseph, who had been hunched to enter the mansion, straightened his back. Strength isn’t always proportional to size, but his bulk was more than enough to intimidate.

=Who’s the one still clinging to useless memories of being human?=

=What are you trying to say?=

The next moment, Joseph took a step toward Louis. The beast’s forepaw stepped on the floor, crushing the victim’s body beneath. Organs and heart shattered. As the body lost life, the detached head and arms, once fixed in place, went limp.

The force deceiving the world faded, and delayed death arrived. The silently screaming head closed its eyes, and the limp arms hung down. Joseph didn’t stop, wildly swinging his arms to sweep away the ‘statues.’

=You dare…!=

Amid the storm of flying flesh, the towering beast roared.

=Get a grip. Why waste time tormenting these worthless things?=