TRSDICI 17

Don’t Do It.

The Bishop of the Divinar Diocese.

Roselle was waiting for news inside the prayer hall of the Diocese Office.

‘At last, I can erase the stain on my life.’

Roselle had hated magic ever since he was young.

His parents, who were Inquisitors, had been killed by a demon that used magic.

Because of that, Roselle also became an Inquisitor to kill demons and reject magic.

‘During that time, I met a married couple researching magic.’

Roselle could not understand them.

Researching magic, the remnants of demons?

Was this not the trickery of heretics trying to aid demons?

‘So, in the name of an Inquisitor, I executed them.’

The couple resisted fiercely, but they could not defeat Roselle, who had already served as an Inquisitor for many years at the time.

Afterward, he reported to the Vatican that he had killed a demon using magic.

To him, mage couples and demons were no different, so he felt no guilt at all.

‘After that incident, I was ordained as a bishop and became the Bishop of the Divinar Diocese.’

For Roselle, it had been a perfect life.

Except for one huge stain.

‘That demon child I failed to catch 15 years ago.’

The mage couple had one daughter.

She had surely inherited demonic talent as well, so he intended to dispose of her too. But because the mage couple stopped him, he could only watch the child escape.

‘I gave up for 15 years, but finally found a clue.’

There had been a barrier inside the mage couple’s house, and recently he realized that a diamond-shaped mana stone necklace was needed to open it.

If he had studied magic, he would have noticed sooner, but there were no magic books available in the Holy Kingdom, so it took him a long time.

‘Afterward, I ordered the Inquisitor Veritus to find a 19-year-old orphan girl wearing a diamond-shaped mana stone necklace.’

That mage couple would definitely have left the key to the barrier for their child.

And surprisingly, Veritus quickly found the girl.

‘To think it was Deacon Bella who visited this time.’

Back then, she had not been wearing the mana stone necklace, so he failed to recognize her.

‘Still, it should be about time for them to return.’

Veritus was someone Roselle had personally watched over and raised for years.

A man who hated magic and possessed great strength.

Since they shared the same nature, Roselle naturally liked him.

‘There’s no way Veritus could fail.’

He was an Inquisitor who had killed countless heretics.

Even if problems arose during this matter, Roselle could silence them with the authority of a bishop.

‘Still, the only variable is Kael, the one beside Bella.’

Kael was the man who had become an Inquisitor during the recent exam.

But Roselle had not yet heard what exactly happened during that exam, so he knew nothing about what kind of person Kael was.

Still, there was no way Kael could match Veritus.

“Y-You cannot suddenly do this!”

Then a commotion came from outside the prayer hall.

“Oh? So this is the place.”

“W-Wait a moment!”

KWAAANG!

The doors of the prayer hall burst open violently.

Then a man slowly walked inside.

His appearance was noble and elegant, yet his eyes were as vicious as a demon’s.

Roselle narrowed his eyes.

“…Inquisitor Kael?”

Kael stopped and grinned.

“You know who I am quite well.”

I looked at Roselle, who stood there blankly.

Behind me, Bella and the other clergy members were staring at me.

“What is the meaning of this violence, Inquisitor Kael?”

Roselle regained his composure and hardened his expression.

“You should know better than anyone, Bishop Roselle. Who do you think ordered the murder of an innocent orphan girl?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Roselle answered without even changing his expression.

“Haha, why pretend not to know? Do you also understand how this would look to others?”

I deliberately raised my voice.

“Then proudly say it! Say that you hated magic, killed an innocent mage couple, and became a bishop because of it!”

The clergy behind me began whispering among themselves.

“Wasn’t that your belief? Or are you ashamed to say it out loud?”

“……”

“If so, then it is not conviction. It is merely your personal desire. A person with true conviction never feels ashamed of their actions.”

Suddenly my head felt hot, and I brushed back my hair.

“I do not care if you hate magic. That can happen.”

“……”

“But you should never have harmed innocent people. Did they show hostility toward you? Did they aim magic at you first?”

“Inquisitor Kael. If you continue accusing me like this—”

“Shut up!!!”

After shouting once, I continued.

“I already heard everything from the men you ordered. I have evidence, witnesses, and motive.”

I raised two fingers.

“From this moment on, I will give you two choices.”

I folded one finger down, leaving only the middle finger raised.

“The first choice is to quietly come with me to the Vatican and be interrogated. Then you will receive punishment according to your crimes.”

Then I pointed the remaining finger at him.

“The second choice is to kill me, the one who knows the truth, and run away. Just like you killed that mage couple.”

“……”

“There will not be a third chance. The only question is whether or not you draw the sword hidden inside your staff.”

Roselle flinched slightly while touching his staff.

The clergy behind us were still whispering nervously.

Roselle stared at me and the others for a long moment before finally sighing deeply.

“You ignorant fools who understand nothing…”

At that moment, his atmosphere completely changed.

“Because of you, everyone here will die. No, that is exactly what will happen. I merely killed a mad Inquisitor who murdered other clergy members.”

He brought out a third choice.

As expected, he was even more of a fanatic than I imagined.

I spoke to the people behind me.

“Step back. I believe you understand the situation well enough now.”

The clergy immediately retreated in shock.

Only Bella remained behind me.

“Inquisitor, should I sing a hymn?”

For a moment I was startled, but I calmly answered:

“Don’t do it.”

“Yes.”

I glanced at Bella and asked:

“How do you want to deal with him?”

On the way here, I had explained everything to Bella.

It should have been shocking, yet she listened quietly the entire time.

Bella’s eyes darkened deeply.

They were no longer her usual bright eyes.

They were the cold eyes of a witch.

“I want to kill him.”

Her voice spread through the room like cold air.

Even though I had never met the Witch in my previous life, for a brief moment I could imagine her icy appearance.

“You remember how I said the only things I remembered from childhood were fire and a rainbow?”

“Yes.”

“Now that I heard the story, I finally remember. That ‘fire’ was the memory of him fighting my parents. Back then, all I could do was run away.”

Bella clenched both fists tightly.

“So this time, I want to kill him with my own hands. The one who killed my parents that day.”

Bella glared at Roselle with eyes filled with darkness.

Watching her, I suddenly imagined a future.

A future where Bella became a mage, killed Roselle, destroyed the Divinar Diocese Office—

and eventually became the Witch of Envy, drowning in hell.

“But how can I kill him? I’m not strong enough.”

Bella forced a smile and scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“No, it’s possible. Do you know when most mages first awaken their magic?”

“When?”

“It happens when—”

“Inquisitor, behind you!”

Roselle had already approached and swung his sword down at me.

But I already knew he was there, so I turned and blocked it with the flat of my blade.

Then I continued speaking calmly.

“It happens when they truly feel they need it. For you, remembering the magic from your memories should be enough.”

“T-This doesn’t seem like the time to be explaining things!”

“Still, I will not force you. Choosing your future is not my role.”

I pushed Roselle away with a strong swing of my sword.

The moment he landed, I shot forward and unleashed a series of slashes.

A fierce exchange instantly followed.

He definitely was not weak.

Roselle was around the same level as the bean bug I fought earlier.

“Why can’t you understand?!”

Roselle ground his teeth as he swung his sword wildly.

“Magic destroys everything! Bonds, lives, everything! That demon child will someday become a great evil that burns down the Holy Kingdom!”

He was not entirely wrong.

Bella truly would become the terrifying Witch of Envy in the future.

But he was the one who would turn Bella into a witch.

If not for him, Bella would probably have lived kindly and peacefully.

‘Then what about now?’

Now that the source of her hatred was being cut away—

Could someone like Bella, or even me, walk toward the light?

Could people who were once evil ever be praised by others?

‘I don’t know.’

I let the thoughts fade away with a bitter smile.

In the end, I would simply live according to my own conviction.

“A demon only gave birth to another demon! What’s wrong with killing them?!”

He kept shouting nonsense.

Just as I was about to respond—

“Shut up!!”

It was not my voice.

It was Bella’s.

“Shut up, you bastard!!”

Bella tightly shut her eyes and stretched both hands forward.

At that moment, an enormous amount of mana began surging upward.

‘Oh…’

Sensing danger, I quickly retreated away from Roselle.

But the idiot turned toward defenseless Bella instead.

“Die!”

TAAT!

Roselle charged toward Bella.

The tip of his sword aimed directly for her heart.

But strangely enough—

he looked like a moth flying straight into a giant flame.

SSSSSSSH!

Massive mana erupted from Bella.

It spread wildly in every direction before finally gathering into a tiny red point at her fingertips.

And then—

KWAAAAAAANG!!

With a deafening explosion, flames burst forward like a giant fist.

Roselle panicked and tried to retreat, but the fire swallowed him whole.

The flames continued shooting through the air and even blasted apart the wall of the prayer hall.

‘I expected it, but this is beyond imagination.’

That was the true nature of mages.

An overwhelming destructive force impossible to match with ordinary swordsmanship.

Of course, Bella’s talent was far beyond that of normal mages.

Still—

“…I almost died.”

Roselle survived even that attack.

His skin was burned red, and half his hair had burned away, but he could still move.

“So you truly are a demon child. This time, I won’t let you escape.”

Roselle, now looking monstrous, slowly walked forward.

Panicking, Bella tried gathering mana once more.

“…Eh?”

But suddenly her body tilted backward weakly.

She had released too much mana at once.

Honestly, the fact that she cornered Roselle with magic she had used for the first time was already absurd.

Before her head hit the ground, I caught her.

Bella spoke tearfully.

“I failed….”

“It’s fine. You made your own choice.”

“But…”

“Act like a deacon. Catching heretics is originally my role.”

I gently lowered Bella onto the floor.

Then I looked at Roselle as he approached.

Roselle roared angrily.

“Move aside! If you protect that demon child, then you too—!”

My body shot forward like an arrow.

Roselle widened his eyes and tried to swing his sword, but Bella’s magic had already dealt him a fatal wound.

My wind-covered blade brushed past his neck.

“Disappear.”

I stared into his eyes as his body lifted into the air.

“And stop talking.”

His head fell to the ground and rolled like a ball.

His lips moved weakly, but no words came out before life faded from his eyes.

Behind me, Bella asked quietly:

“Is he dead…?”

“Even demons die.”

“I see…. You really are strong.”

“He was already dying.”

“Hehe, still.”

I snorted and walked over to Bella.

“Can you stand?”

“Yes, just a moment….”

Bella trembled while trying to get up—

then collapsed flat onto the floor again.

“I can’t….”

“You’ve exhausted your mana. It seems learning mana control will take some time.”

“I see….”

“Still, if you sing while your mana is exhausted like this, people will only hear your real voice.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. So if you want, you can sing.”

“Ah….”

Bella let out a quiet sigh.

Then after thinking for a moment, she shook her head.

“For some reason, I don’t feel like singing today.”

In my previous life, it was said that the Witch always sang after killing clergy members.

Songs filled only with envy toward others and despair toward herself.

But the current Bella did not sing, even after avenging her parents.

Was this a change?

Or merely a difference in mood?

I could not know.

Still, perhaps many things truly were changing because of the path my sword had taken.

“But as a deacon, shouldn’t I still sing?”

After thinking briefly, I answered:

“No, it’s fine. We’ll just say the deacon was injured and unable to sing. Besides, there’s nobody here to hear it anyway.”

“But you’re here, Inquisitor.”

“I will have plenty of chances later. Sing when you truly want to. I’ll decide after considering both the condition of my ears and your mana.”

“Yes, Inquisitor.”

Bella grinned.

At that exact moment—

KUGUGUGU—

the ceiling of the prayer hall collapsed.

But honestly, it barely mattered anymore.

Bella’s magic had already blown most of it apart.

“Inquisitor, sorry, but could you carry me? I seriously can’t move.”

Bella’s flames still burned throughout the prayer hall.

In fact, the fire was spreading closer and closer toward us.

‘Hmm… now that I think about it…’

It was exactly the same as my previous life.

Bella destroying the Divinar Diocese Office.

The only difference was that this time, I personally witnessed it—

not as the Sword Demon, but as an Inquisitor.

“…Inquisitor?”

Then that meant the misunderstanding surrounding the Divinar Diocese incident was resolved.

Baron Scalen was also dealt with properly.

Which meant—

Rudian would have no reason to chase me like in my previous life.

“In-Inquisitor…? I think we really need to leave now…!”

“……”

“U-Uh… the flames are getting closer!!”

As the flames approached, I suddenly raised both arms high into the air.

“Freedom!!”

“Eh?! This isn’t freedom, we’re trapped in a fire!!”

“Hooray!”

“WAAAAH! I-Inquisitor!!”

Well, Bella aside—

it seemed I had successfully changed the future where Rudian chased after me.

Fortunately, I regained my senses before it was too late and carried Bella out on my back.

We left the aftermath and the bean bug’s deacon to the clergy and headed toward the orphanage.

The bean bug’s deacon would be escorted to the Vatican.

“But what do we do now?”

Bella asked from my back.

“We killed a bishop and destroyed the Divinar Diocese Office.”

“Don’t worry. We merely fulfilled the role of Inquisitors. Nobody will arrest us.”

“Ahh!”

By the time we continued walking, we had already arrived at the orphanage.

Dominica, who had been waiting at the entrance, hurried toward us.

“You’re safe, Inquisitor! Is Miss Bella alright?”

“She’s fine. She simply exhausted her mana.”

“I see….”

Dominica sighed deeply in relief and bowed her head.

“Thank you for helping us. I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t been here, Inquisitor Kael.”

That was true.

If I had not been there—

if I had noticed things even slightly later—

then tonight, it would not have been the Diocese Office burning.

It would have been this orphanage.

“But Miss Bella….”

Dominica looked at the shell on my back.

“Yes, Director?”

“Do you perhaps wish to visit the place where your parents once lived?”

Bella glanced at me carefully.

“Why are you looking at me? Do whatever you want.”

“Thank you, Inquisitor.”

Bella nodded and looked at Dominica.

“I want to see it.”

Dominica smiled bitterly.

“Understood. Then let’s sleep first, and I’ll guide you there tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow…?”

“Yes. Both of you must be tired.”

“Ah….”

Bella looked disappointed.

Without saying anything, I lowered my shell.

“If you’re that disappointed, crawl there yourself. Maybe becoming a real turtle wouldn’t be so bad.”

Bella collapsed weakly onto the floor, sweating nervously.

“Sorry, Inquisitor. I’ll sleep first.”

“Good. Then crawl to the church.”

“Eh? Seriously?”

“Yes. Seriously.”

Yawning, I started walking toward the church.

Several children stood gathered in front of it, staring at us.

I pointed at Bella.

“Go bring the turtle.”

“Waaah! Bella Turtle!”

“I’ll grab the right arm!”

I smirked and entered the church.

“Wake me up if bad people come.”

(To be continued)