The Demon Hunting Method of the Regressed Inquisitor

Curtain

Belial, who had come to the Foris Duchy, had two purposes.

One as Belial, and one as Walsres Hope.

“Hmm…”

But the first purpose was clear even without reaching the destination.

The Ryan Barony was a place to cultivate demons. They would instill despair and darkness into the hearts of kidnapped children, turning them into demons.

The more they hated the world, the more they would obediently throw the human world into chaos without any special orders.

There is no better breeding ground.

But it was obvious what had happened just by looking.

The Ryan Barony’s mansion had collapsed, and the jar of solitude they were creating inside had also shattered.

The baroness had crawled to Belial’s feet, her body torn to shreds, and Belial personally commended her efforts and put her at ease.

Now, only the tasks as Walsres Hope remained.

“How dare you come here…?”

“Don’t be so petty. Haven’t we been friends for 50 years? I saw it on my way here, and it’s quite a splendid estate.”

“Coming from someone who’s been eyeing that estate, your words carry a different weight.”

“Ha ha ha.”

Walsres Hope visited the mansion of Agee Foris.

It wasn’t an official visit. He had no right to complain if he was kicked out as an uninvited guest.

After all, he had barged in without any prior notice.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah, you’re so stingy for someone growing old with me. Would it hurt to offer me a cup of tea?”

“Aha, I see. You’ve come to test my patience.”

Agee Foris immediately swung his staff and sent magic flying towards Walsres Hope.

Colorful magic poured down on Walsres Hope.

Walsres Hope stood still and dealt with it.

Shadows moved as if they were alive, blocking Agee Foris’s magic.

It wasn’t magic or aura, but a different kind of power.

Such abilities actually existed and were widespread in the world.

Thus, the world temporarily named this power as a unique ability.

‘Was it called Linea Spirine?’

The power possessed by the count’s daughter, who dismembered the baroness, was the same.

A unique ability that no one else could replicate.

Of course, the abilities varied and weren’t always broad, but…

‘That’s why it’s easy to disguise.’

Even if he deceived others by calling Belial’s power a unique ability, no one could doubt it. As long as they didn’t feel the magic, who could prove it?

Meanwhile, Agee Foris’s magic continued.

Seeing Walsres Hope block it effortlessly, he seemed furious to the core.

“…Damn unique ability! How can the world be so unfair!”

“Ha ha ha ha!”

Walsres Hope laughed heartily. Though human, he was someone who could stand against him.

Of course, excluding direct combat.

Agee Foris’s value came from his political position and power.

“Stop it.”

“Tsk…”

Aegis Foris finally withdrew the magic he had been pouring out.

He knew that unless he unleashed a grand spell to kill, it was a meaningless war of attrition.

He just didn’t like the fact that someone had intruded into his territory without permission.

“Go ahead, speak.”

“Our era is coming to an end.”

No. While it might be so for Walsres Hope, for Belial, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was approaching.

“The time to entrust it to the next generation is drawing near. Don’t you think so?”

Aegis Foris remained silent.

He thought so too. That’s why he was gradually passing on the succession to his son.

But he didn’t want to say “yes” to Walsres Hope’s words.

Walsres Hope sneered inwardly at such an obvious display.

“There are troublemakers in the family. You, and me. Isn’t that so?”

“If you think you can speak ill of my granddaughter, I assure you, I will use all my power, influence, and money to destroy the House of Hope.”

“That’s a chilling statement. Don’t worry. I just brought a proposal that would benefit both of us. A marriage between your family’s youngest and my family’s youngest.”

No matter how precious his granddaughter was, Aegis Foris did not reject it outright.

No, he couldn’t.

Though he was angry, Walsres Hope’s words were not wrong.

Aegis Foris had solidified the succession with his son, but the next step was the problem.

Even though she was his daughter, as long as she shared the same blood, family strife was inevitable. In that case, could the youngest and weakest, Siris Foris, endure it?

No, she absolutely couldn’t.

That’s why she had to be sent out of the house someday.

And she had to be provided with a strong backing that no one would dare to touch.

“As you know, our family’s eldest is quite hopeless.”

“……”

The situation was the opposite with the House of Hope. It was an open secret among the nobles that the youngest was better than the eldest, who was no better than a scoundrel.

Walsres Hope seemed to have decided to support the youngest.

“Your bloodline, huh.”

Aegis Foris muttered, not hiding his contemptuous gaze.

However, even so, Walsres Hope did not erase his smile.

He knows.

“Judge rationally.”

In the end, Agee Foris has no choice but to accept this marriage proposal.

*     *      *

Around the time he was chased out of the mansion.

Walsres Hope was seen entering the mansion of the Foris Duke family. What on earth is he up to?

I want to investigate, but trying to deceive Walsres Hope’s eyes…

No matter how much I think about it, it’s dangerous.

“First, pack your things.”

We must leave this territory as soon as possible. If time passes, the beast that Walsres Hope has stationed will move. At least, we must leave before him to complete our preparations.

I’m curious about the conversation between Walsres Hope and Agee Foris, but that can be investigated later through Shade.

No, in the first place, since it’s a matter involving two dukes, it won’t be hidden for long.

Seeing him move so openly means that Walsres Hope also moved as a duke, not a demon.

“I’m still not satisfied! I haven’t seen that guy’s full strength yet!”

When Linea nodded and entered the inn. As expected, it was Titan who reacted fiercely.

This guy seems to have regrets about the fight with Allen Wise, the master of the hunter guild, who tried to stop him at the mansion of Baron Ryan.

He must have been looking forward to a rematch.

“Titan, listen carefully. Allen Wise’s skills are much stronger than you imagine. At least, that’s how I see it.”

“Then even more so!”

“Are you going to end this rare opportunity by rolling on the ground like a dog?”

Allen Wise may seem like an ordinary middle manager troubled by problems from above and below, but he is an exceptional talent beyond imagination.

In the first place, the Wise Count family is a prestigious knight family, unlike the Ryan Baron family.

It’s even a count family, so what does it mean for such a family to have made a name for themselves as knights?

Why did Burke choose to become a hunter among all the things he could do?

He attached himself to someone incomparably stronger than his father.

Yes, it was both a twisted rebellious spirit and the safest strategy.

“He is the master of the hunter guild. And even though he has recently shown unfortunate appearances, the weight of that position is never light. He constantly has to prove his qualifications.”

“…Keep talking.”

“In the first place, while I was in the underground prison, there’s no way I wouldn’t have challenged Allen Wise to a duel, right?”

“Yes.”

“And the result?”

“He refused. He made an excuse that he was busy with work. So, I decided to wait until he couldn’t make any more excuses.”

Titan is not a fool.

He may be illiterate and lack common sense, but he can think.

That must have been the best method he could come up with after thinking it through.

For someone who knows nothing, it’s not a bad method. It’s certainly effective.

The royalty is waiting for the duel, taking their time.

Just watching that would make Allen Wise feel uneasy.

In the end, he would think, ‘It’s better to just have the duel.’

He must have aimed for that.

But…

“That method takes too long. Did you leave the country just to duel with Allen Wise?”

“……”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? It’s a position where you have to constantly prove your worth.”

“Yes.”

“That means there’s a stage you can’t avoid, even if you don’t like it.”

Once you become a guild master, is that the end? No matter which guild it is, you have to periodically prove that you are worthy of being the master.

How?

“By the challenges from other hunters aiming for the master’s position.”

In actual combat.

“Hmm…”

“It’s a stage you can’t avoid, even if you want to. You need to leave here for that stage.”

Only then does Titan’s mood improve.

He’s really a troublesome guy to deal with. But with this, it became possible to drag him to another land.

“That stage is held in the imperial capital, Koinur. Exactly one year from now. Are you going to play around until then?”

“No, that’s impossible.”

“Then you need to build up skills that even Allen Wise can’t underestimate, right?”

“I admit it. Lost. I’ll let myself be fooled by your cunning tongue again.”

“What’s so cunning about it?”

There is nothing that brat can’t do when he helps. Does he know that I’m dedicating part of my plan for him? This will cost him dearly.

I will make sure to push him to the forefront in the decisive battle with Belial.

“Then go to the inn and pack your things. Is there anything else you need to pack?”

“I have a rose pot.”

“What a refined hobby you have.”

“I think so too.”

It doesn’t suit you at all.

What can I say to an idiot who doesn’t even understand sarcasm?

As the argument with Titan ended and he finally crawled into the inn.

“Haha, it seems you somehow persuaded Mr. Titan.”

“You have less luggage than I thought?”

“Yes, well… I was planning to buy what I needed after settling down.”

“Settling down, huh.”

You, who were planning to settle in the Duke of Foris’ territory, why are you now setting out on a journey without any hesitation?

It’s frustrating because I can’t ask this outright.

Even if I said it, wouldn’t it be enough if you just denied it?

I’m the only one who remembers her settling down here.

“This is…”

I remember the moment Linea Spirine took her own life. No, it’s misleading to say it was the moment she took her own life.

I was the first to discover her body, and by then, her flesh had already grown cold.

She slaughtered bandits and settled in a place where people knew about it. She could have left at any time, but she stayed.

“I might have made a mistake.”

Linea Spirine probably longed for a bond with others.

The reason she couldn’t leave this place despite being despised by people.

The reason she, who could have packed her bags and set out on a journey at any time, was held back in the Duke of Foris’ territory.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have interfered.”

“What?”

“I’m talking about the bandit incident.”

Because I was the one who approached her as a friend, even after seeing her ferocious side.

“I think there might have been a better way.”

I killed her.

Because I was her confidant, she tried to endure.

Unable to endure, she hanged herself.

It’s an ironic thing.

If I hadn’t intervened in the battle with the bandits, I might have felt a deeper bond with her at this very moment of her departure.

If I had acknowledged the side of her she had hidden and gone on a journey together, we might have been able to trust each other more.

What I did might not have been the best, but only the second best.

“I’m grateful, though? Because it seems like it will be fun. Hehe.”

“Yeah…”

Only I know this.

Linea Spirine will have to constantly act like an ordinary girl in front of me. Knowing that fact, I can’t help but think that way.

But she might be right. What I thought was the second best might have been the best for her.

“I hope you have a pleasant journey.”

* * *

Linea Spirine’s world is stained red. Nail marks, knife marks. It’s stained with red dots and lines.

Living in such a terrible world is nothing short of torture for her.

How could it not be terrible?

She harbors a power that makes it impossible to see people as people.

The supernatural ability she possesses has constantly tormented her mind.

She sees lines that disassemble people.

Doesn’t that mean she sees people as mere meat?

To refute such doubts, Linea Spirine became a good child.

Kind to everyone, gentle to everyone, never angry, always trying to understand others…

Such a seemingly drawn good child.

‘Huh…?’

That’s why it was sudden.

A young man with striking white hair and golden eyes, still showing signs of youth.

He seemed somewhat trained, but still looked weak compared to the knights in the family.

-Um…

-Is there a problem?

“Ah, well, you see…”

I spoke without thinking.

I had intended to quietly crouch in the shadows, unnoticed by anyone, but I ended up speaking first.

“If you’re thinking of taking the carriage, I think it’s best to reconsider…”

It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have said that. Now it seemed like I had been watching him.

If he thought I was suspicious and decided to keep his distance, it would be a disaster.

“Th-there’s a scary person causing a fuss about wanting to ride the carriage. So the coachman is insisting that the next trip is in three days… If you go now, things might get complicated…”

Linnea stammered, making excuses to the young man.

But it was a valid concern.

There were no red marks on the young man in front of me.

So I couldn’t let him go.

If it meant that, I could pretend to be a good child as much as needed.

I could sacrifice a lot.

‘Yes, only Mr. Lost.’

He seemed to be protected by some unknown, immense power.

Among the meat stained with red lines and dots in the slaughterhouse, he was the only…

Human.