Hero’s Downfall Report

20 – Report on the Fall of Purity (7)

The man introduced himself as “High Inquisitor Haspel, Father.” Befitting of his high position, he brought four carriages. Two of them carried ceremonial tools, one carried the captives, and the other one was his own.

As the men in red robes unique to the Inquisition busily moved their luggage, Haspel called Cain and Lily to his carriage in the open field. The fact that he ordered the sentinels to keep everyone away was a bonus.

“I heard you are Agent Cain of the Imperial Security Bureau and Agent Lily. I’m not sure if it’s true.”

Cain nodded. The middle-aged man wore as many colorful decorations as his beard and wrinkles. A tribute to the passing years. Among them was a white cross drawn on a red ribbon, a symbol of being a member of the Crusade formed to defeat the Demon King.

“I heard about your exploits yesterday through a letter. You provided valuable information. I was deeply impressed, especially by your way of dealing with patients. I think you can use the same method with the Abbot Arius.”

In other words, the church did not find out a single piece of information from the ‘Temperance’ that was attacked six months ago. Haspel tapped his forehead.

“I don’t know if you heard, but His Holiness the Pope is preparing a ceremony for the seven heroes. But let’s talk frankly. It’s just a pretty wrapping paper; in reality, it’s a comprehensive re-investigation of what they have been doing. There is no sanctuary, no jurisdiction, and no limitations. Everything is legal and done under the blessing of His Holiness.”

“Father Haspel, how much does the church know about this matter?”

Haspel couldn’t easily answer. Rather than hesitating to answer, he seemed like someone who knew too much and was struggling to decide where to start. Eventually, he slapped his seat with the palm of his hand.

“Let’s start with the Knights of Purity. In conclusion, I came to investigate whether the victims and Archbishop William were touched by the devil. It’s also the reason for preparing the ceremony.”

“Like a purification ritual?” Lily asked, and Haspel tilted his head.

“Kuma’s ritual is performed when it is certain that the spirit is in the grasp of the demon. It is as meaningless as giving cold medicine to a patient who is not sick. Instead, it is a blessing ritual that hopes for the grace to embrace the soul and body. It is a ritual to drive out evil and strengthen the power of good. We see these pitiful ones being tormented by the devil.”

“Do you perform the ritual yourself?”

“It sounds strange that an inquisitor would bestow a blessing,” Haspel smiled at Cain’s question.

“Of course, I perform it myself. The Order of Mercy will prepare for any contingency, and you will be present as witnesses of the Empire. The reason you are here is for that.”

“It’s hard to believe,” Cain spread his hands. “You are having this secretive conversation just because I was selected as a witness? Father, we don’t have time. Let’s get to the point.”

“In a hurry, are we? In a hurry!” Haspel chuckled, rubbing his hands.

“Very well. Let’s do that. But before we move on, how much do you know about the inquisitor? I need to know how much you know so that I can speak comfortably.”

“He is the world’s leading expert in mediation and the pride of the Order of Firefighters.”

Lily looked at Cain with incredulous eyes. She was even more surprised to see Haspel laughing heartily. She managed to compose herself again with an expression that seemed to say, “I knew it.”

“You know well. It’s an easy story. The reason I brought up the inquisitor’s story is because of Sir William’s purity. You may or may not know, but this hero’s background is quite unusual…”

Sir William of Purity. His real name is William Chester, the fourth son of the Earl of Chester.

The Chester earldom was not only poor but also suffered from famine. The Earl of Chester had borrowed money from the Order of Mercy, but when the loan became due, he couldn’t repay it.

So, the Order demanded one of two things: either find a way to gather the money and repay it, or offer a person as payment. The idea of repaying with a person meant that one member of the family would join the Order.

And the one chosen was William Chester. Being the fourth son, he was far from the line of succession, and he was also young

“What is the ‘miracle’ that the Holy Knight can perform?”

“It is the power to defeat demons, wizards, and witches. It contains the ability to overcome supernatural beings. It has no effect on innocent and devout individuals, but it reacts only to the minions of evil and demons.”

Cain noticed the High Inquisitor’s lips curling. It seemed like something was bothering him.

“Even the Pure William could perform miracles. That’s why he was chosen as one of the seven warriors who defeated the Demon King. He was said to be able to perform powerful miracles.”

“That’s right. It was a tragedy.”

“A tragedy, you say?”

Father Haspel nodded.

“Agent Cain, please forgive the metaphor. People in this world, each have their own vessel. But some people receive so much grace that their vessels overflow. The grace that cannot be fully contained becomes a curse that devours the person… That’s what happened to the Pure William.”

“What exactly happened?”

The story that Haspel told was horrifying.

The Pope’s Knights are knights, but they are classified as clergy. To put it simply, they are fighting clerics, soldiers of the faith.

And Pure William, too, is a Holy Knight of the Mercy Order who defeated the Demon King and one of the seven heroes honored with the Sword of Devotion, but his essence is that of a clergyman. He was supposed to follow the virtues of a clergyman.

However, the rumors and accusations did not stop wherever he went.

“All of them. Every single one of them was related to something s*xual. I thought it was a conspiracy. There were also insults that made no sense, but there were also many things whose veracity was uncertain. But it is true that there were many who wanted to bring William down.”

“It’s incomprehensible. Are they talking about a hero?”

“A hero can withstand a great storm, but not the aftermath. There is no one who can withstand it.” The High Inquisitor sighed sadly.

“As I said before, to become a Holy Knight, one must be able to perform ‘miracles’. One must know how to use miracles as weapons. It is an honorable task for oneself, and promotion is guaranteed. But because it is considered almost innate rather than achieved through effort…”

Haspel trailed off. Lilly completed his sentence.

“He must have received a lot of jealousy.”

“That’s right. Agent Lilly. Pure William thought he could perform miracles powerful enough to defeat the Demon King. But he didn’t know how to bear the weight of the shadow cast by brilliant glory. That’s why he moved to the Inquisition Office… It’s not a common practice. If we were to compare it using your metaphor, it would be like transferring someone from the Security Bureau to the Treasury Department just because they are both imperial civil servants.”

Cain and Lily both wore a troubled expression simultaneously. Of all things, to compare it to a treasury! However, there was some truth to what was being said.

William felt almost demoted.

“Even after coming to the Inquisition, the investigations never ceased. In fact, they became even more intense. The Inquisitor isn’t some fearsome person who burns people like firewood. Rather, their main duty is theological debates with heretics who interpret faith and scripture to suit their own desires.

Catching witches and sorcerers is also part of the job, but there are far more requests for confirmation after capturing them. Among 10,000 people, 9,999 are neither sorcerers nor witches.”

“Then who are they?”

“They are people who have been accused of colluding with sorcerers and witches. Not by anyone else, but by members of their own community.”

That’s why the Inquisitor is called a mediator and a firefighter. They shed light on misunderstandings and conflicts among people that secular power cannot, and put an end to private trials.

“It’s ridiculous. People who don’t want to repay their debts resort to deception, those with malicious intent retaliate after being embarrassed, and those who are simply unattractive get beaten up by the townspeople out of disgust, eventually becoming half-burned on the stake… It doesn’t matter if they are men or women.

They just don’t like them for no reason, so they label them as ‘sorcerers’ and ‘witches.’ It’s sickening. There are no sorcerers or witches anywhere. There are only people tearing each other apart, calling each other sorcerers and witches, and that, in fact, is the devil’s scheme.”

Devil. Cain frowned at the taste of the word. He could catch criminals, but capturing a devil was not his area of expertise. That’s why this conversation felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.

“Agent Cain. Agent Lily. That’s how the devil works. The devil never acts openly. As soon as people see the devil, they all rush to the temples and churches.

All the devil does is whisper, ‘There are evil beings like sorcerers and witches in the world, maybe even your neighbor.’ The rest is done by the people themselves. They starve, beat, cut, and burn without any evidence or reason.

They are not qualified for that. They are not judges. They just wear the mask of justice, using the name of God, and rampage as they please. That’s what the devil wants. To make them believe they are righteous and justify harming others without bounds.”

There was a knock outside the carriage. It was a signal that the preparations were complete. Haspel cleared his throat.

“Anyway, I’ve been talking for too long. What I wanted to say is that the chaste Bishop William became an Inquisitor and actively interacted with other nobles and commoners. Rumors that were hard to believe spread among them. The most prominent one being that he engaged in s*xual torture.

Since the rumors grew too loud, he was transferred to the diocese. When one becomes a bishop, they usually associate more with nobles, and nobles wouldn’t engage in such baseless accusations.”

“But it didn’t go well, did it?”

“No, it didn’t.” Father Haspel took out a piece of paper. It was an elegantly written denunciation and testament. Before he could finish reading the contents, he put the paper back into the road.

“It’s a denunciation by Countess Lorentz and accuses Bishop William of having… a physical relationship. It describes how the bishop mocked her and then had intercourse outside the church. It happened a few days ago. There are over a hundred of these denunciations. There might even be thousands if we count the ones that were destroyed. Because of this, even the most devout are starting to doubt.”

“So that’s why you’re performing the ritual?”

“So.” Haspel leaned back in his seat. “To think that someone who has already suffered such terrible damage would be subjected to such a cruel plan. It can only be seen as a devil tormenting them. So, the purpose is to cleanse and bless the heavy burden carried by the pitiful hero.”

There was a knock again. The sound of voices could be heard.

“The commander of the Southern Region of the Order of Mercy Knights has arrived.”

“Commander Marco? Already? He came quickly.” Haspel opened the carriage door with excitement.

“Good. We can save time. Just relax… well, it’s a bit funny to say relax, but just think of it as attending mass once. Just sit quietly and observe the ritual, that’s all. It’s just an ordinary mass, what could go wrong?”

“Of course, nothing could go wrong.”

Cain smiled softly. They headed towards the cathedral where the patients were waiting. It wasn’t a ritual of exorcism, just a simple blessing. Cain thought it would be a rather boring mass.