Chapter 100

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Episode 100 (100/227)

Episode 100: The Best Defense (4)

Kuuuung!

A massive corpse collapsed, spurting fountains of blood.

The corpse spread out reeking on the ground, and Ail, who had been riding it, lightly hopped off.

In Ail’s hand was the severed head he’d torn from the corpse, which he tossed aside with a deep scowl.

“Hmph, they weren’t kidding about this being dangerous.”

Ail muttered as he let out a sigh.

Beyond the stockade, the Misty Plains were teeming with all kinds of dangerous monsters.

Creatures that hadn’t shown up during the village defense were now lurking everywhere, making even properly organized parties extremely hazardous.

Though fortunately, this was still before the undead had fully mobilized, making things somewhat more manageable.

Periodically, monster numbers in the plains surged, with the undead masses eventually descending upon Tulli Village.

Ail needed to resolve as much as possible within the given timeframe and retreat before it was too late.

Getting caught in the middle of one of those monster waves would be fatal, no matter how skilled he was.

‘This is too rushed to be doing recon here… but there’s no way I can turn back now that I’ve come this far.’

Ail had received a direct solo mission from an Executioner of the Church, and for the sake of tracking the Heretics, he was willing to accept this level of risk.

Especially since this also overlapped with a Kingdom Investigation Team’s request, giving him a rare chance to clear two quests simultaneously – an opportunity he absolutely couldn’t miss.

Rustle!

Ail quickly searched the dead monster’s body for items before standing up.

There was no time to carefully dissect corpses right now.

‘If I didn’t have this map, how would I ever find a hidden dungeon in a place like this…’

Ail checked his unfolded map while navigating.

The deeper he went into the central area, the thicker the fog became, obscuring even a few feet ahead.

Searching this place blindly would be practically impossible, and even with his detailed map showing specific locations, it was proving quite challenging.

The only silver lining to this thick fog was that even the undead had trouble detecting his presence.

Grrrr!

Monster sounds echoed from all directions, yet thanks to the fog, they remained unaware of Ail’s presence despite the open plain.

Moving silently, Ail stealthily eliminated any creatures that got too close.

Though with limited visibility, sometimes the undead would spot him first, leading to intense battles.

After quickly dispatching such enemies, Ail would slip back into the fog to evade others drawn by the noise.

Repeating this process several times…

“Certainly should be this position… right?”

As Ail compared his movements to the map, he muttered in confusion.

He’d successfully reached the coordinates indicated, yet nothing appeared in sight.

While the fog certainly restricted visibility, that alone couldn’t explain this.

This was a barren plain with barely a tree in sight, leaving little room for error.

All he could perceive were distant monster cries, the thick foggy sky, and the ground beneath his feet.

“Then it must be underground.”

Ail immediately crouched down and began digging through the dirt.

He had little reason to doubt the accuracy of his map.

Having already reassessed Sebera’s tendencies through previous quests, and knowing Bloody Hands had no incentive to deceive their client, he trusted the information.

Organizations in the back alleys maintained surprisingly sensitive reputations. If the data was truly unreliable, they wouldn’t have accepted the Church’s commission in the first place.

“This is…”

As Ail swept away the top layer of soil, stone paving emerged underneath.

Stone paving clearly indicated artificial construction.

“There must be Heretics hiding below, along with the cause of this whole situation.”

Realizing this crucial clue, Ail understood why other users’ investigations had stalled.

Without this map, discovering this location amidst such extreme search conditions would have been impossible.

He was even curious how Bloody Hands had uncovered this place.

Considering how quickly they provided information after accepting the job, it was likely they’d already known about this location shortly after the incident began.

Now the question was how to handle this clue.

It was certain something was hidden below, but no entrance was immediately apparent.

“There must be some kind of activation mechanism somewhere.”

Fully crouching down, Ail began thoroughly examining the surrounding floor.

Sometimes brute force searching was necessary.

* * *

Ail descended the staircase, torch in hand.

True to expectations, activating the concealed mechanism on the differently patterned floor panel revealed a passage downward.

Judging by the existence of this sophisticated device, this wasn’t an ordinary dungeon.

Though covered in moss, suggesting considerable age, the placement of occasional torches confirmed this as a man-made underground facility.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Ail entered the large door at the apparent entrance and moved inside.

Heretics would be here somewhere, though their exact schemes remained unknown.

He needed to track them down as quickly as possible.

However, as Ail walked down the long corridor, he stopped abruptly.

Noticing distinctive patterns on both walls.

“This symbol again…”

A blackened crescent moon identical to what he’d seen on Mute.

Clearly marking the Heretics’ presence, and judging by the aged appearance matching the walls, whoever created this place was evident.

But that wasn’t all.

The walls were densely covered in various writings and images, with a large purple snake motif painted on the opposite wall.

Ail recognized exactly what that symbol represented.

The god of knowledge and void skies, Renox.

While not directly associated with forbidden magic, Renox encouraged exploration, making him popular among heretical mages.

His third epithet being “Void” was another reason for their devotion.

Long ago, void-related forbidden magics existed as important factions, though all such practices are said to have disappeared entirely in modern times.

“I’m getting a rough idea of what this place was used for.”

Carefully inspecting the walls, Ail pondered.

Rather than originally belonging to Renox or his church, it seemed more likely this facility was specifically constructed for the Heretics’ use.

Whether it was once a hiding place during evasion or an abandoned laboratory was unclear, but it had definitely been vacant for a very long time before being reoccupied.

However…

Kwaang!

A tremendous explosion shattered the wall Ail had been examining.

Debris flew everywhere as a massive hammer came hurtling toward him, too sudden for Ail to react.

Bam!

Smacked by the heavy weapon, Ail went flying across the room before tumbling on the ground.

The impact was intensely shocking.

But lying around after a surprise attack wasn’t an option.

“Guh…”

Quickly pushing himself up, Ail wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

An alarming amount of health had drained from just that one hit.

“What kind of rat thought he could sneak in? Just some dumb adventurer?”

Through the broken wall emerged a burly muscular man.

The gruff-voiced Sledge held an enormous hammer in both hands.

“What connection do you have to the Heretics?”

“What? How do you know about us?”

To Ail’s question, Sledge responded with surprising sharpness.

Already unapproachable-looking, his face furrowed even further.

But Ail simply replied with disbelief.

“Our? Ha, stop playing strange tricks.”

“Shut up! Confess before I crush your skull! What do you know about the Heretics? How did you find this place?”

Sledge intensified his threatening aura.

This made Ail, who had been half-doubtful, notice something odd.

The Heretics were supposed to be an exclusive group only accessible to those who dabbled in forbidden “magic.”

Yet the man before him, judging by appearance and attire, clearly resembled a barbarian warrior.

Still, he referred to the Heretics as “us” quite naturally.

As Ail’s surprised gaze scanned Sledge up and down, he noticed the Heretic emblem on the armor he wore.

“Wait, seriously… Are you a mage?”

“Of course! This powerful physique of mine is true magic! You stick-wielders wouldn’t understand!”

At the mention of magic, Sledge began wildly gesturing and shouting.

‘So he uses some kind of physical enhancement magic…’

Ail broke out in cold sweat.

While jokes about stat-misallocating user mages circulated, this guy was deliberately pursuing that path.

It was the first time he’d encountered such a case in Warode, famous for its diverse class and skill options.

But recovering from his shock, Ail raised his sword.

“Let’s get this started then. We have much to discuss.”

“Dare you think you can capture me…? Or worse, actually believe you’ll drag me in for questioning?”

Sledge mocked him contemptuously.

But Ail merely shrugged, expecting this reaction.

Everyone thinks that until they experience it firsthand.

“Yeah, keep thinking that. I’ll personally escort you to the Heretical Interrogation Office.”