How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 164

Chapter 164: City and Flame (2)

The western edge of the continent. In the middle of the vast cursed land.

The air near the mountain, standing alone in the barren land, was sultry. No, it would be sultry.

Kwaang.

Broken outer wall. After finishing all the business on the top floor and coming outside, I took a deep breath.

As confirmed upon arriving near here, the territory of the Radechione Catacomb was not a very pleasant environment.

But now, after spending a considerable amount of time inside the top floor, filled with the High Priest’s blazing greatsword and lava ponds, and coming outside, even this sweltering air felt refreshing to me.

The top of the mountain, boasting a tremendous height, yet feeling rather low due to the lack of lush trees or bushes. I and Anton, floating in the air, quickly surveyed the surroundings.

The vibration of the air was felt even though our feet weren’t touching the ground. It wasn’t difficult to know that the eruption of lava was not far off.

Whooong.

I calmly manipulated the magical power surrounding my body, which was soaring in the air, adjusting my direction.

There are quite a few types of holy magic that have the effect of levitating the body. Of course, not all of them were simple spells, but they weren’t too difficult for Anton and me.

Having each levitated in our own way, breaking through the ceiling above and quickly escaping outside, the two of us began to distance ourselves from the shaking mountain without hesitation.

I could feel a considerable amount of holy power being consumed in real-time due to the quite unstable distorted magical power and wind nearby, but since most of the power used while dealing with High Priest Jurutreu was demonic energy, I had enough power left to maintain the spell.

“Do you have enough power left?!”

Anton’s shout came at the right time.

His voice, shouting while looking at me, levitating just like I was, clearly pierced through the wind.

“Plenty!”

I shouted back to him. Rather, he was the one who should be more worried. He would have consumed a tremendous amount of power in the process of dealing with the overwhelming number of magical beasts and Flame Sorcerers.

This was evident from the fact that, among the hundred veteran Inquisitors dispatched with him, none except Anton had managed to reach the top of the mountain, breaking through the countless enemies.

But Anton Lebecht was levitating his body without any particular difficulty.

He truly lived up to the title of Chief Inquisitor.

I turned my head forward and continued moving. The cool sensation of the outside air was only momentary.

The lava flowing from various parts of the mountain and the acrid gray smoke erupting from the cracks stimulated my nose.

The mountain, which had been surrounded by solid rock, was glowing red hot. I manipulated my magical power and shouted loudly.

“We need to descend!”

Whooong.

Anton also seemed to have quickly assessed the situation, adjusting his direction diagonally as soon as I finished speaking.

And not long after, the sound of an explosion erupted.

Kwaaang!

The solid rock layer covering the top of the mountain flew off entirely, and a huge flame burst out.

Thanks to our swift movement, we were already at a considerable distance from the mountain, but the heat was still hot enough to make my face flush.

The upper level, where we had just fought the High Priest and destroyed the Great Demon’s statue, and the lower level, where fierce battles between the two forces would have taken place, would already be filled with hot lava and flames.

Radechione’s volcano, fiercely spewing out a massive flame as if it were its last breath.

“……!”

Above our heads, as we descended and moved diagonally, we could see huge fireballs shooting out as if being launched.

Whooong.

The fiery masses heated the air above and blazed across the sky.

Tadak. Anton and I, who had somehow set foot on solid ground, looked in the direction of those disastrous sparks with hardened faces.

The direction where the sun rises.

As if possessed by a precise will, the fireballs were all heading east. Their destination was obvious without the need for complex calculations.

“……Towards Hesterica. Those damned heretics refuse to repent until the very end.”

Anton Lebecht muttered fiercely, his face somewhat pale, his fists clenched.

I turned my gaze away from the countless fireballs that streaked across the sky, dyeing the surroundings red, and looked towards a group in the distance.

Knight Nasser and the elite troops of Hesterica. They all seemed to be alright.

Of course, the lava that flowed out from the mountain, where the explosion was forcibly concentrated upwards due to magic, didn’t travel very far. But the key was that he didn’t hesitate at all after receiving my signal, which was given almost immediately after the High Priest’s final grand spell began.

It was fortunate. Tens of thousands of innocent soldiers could have perished within the collapsing volcano of Radechione.

“……”

However, Anton Lebecht, the Chief Inquisitor of Hesterica, didn’t seem to feel any particular emotion about the fact that tens of thousands of lives had been saved.

He, who had been gazing eastward with blazing eyes, filled with an intense emotion that was not inferior to the flames erupting fiercely above the mountain, slowly turned his gaze towards me.

It was already too late to outrun the fireballs that were streaking across the sky at tremendous speed.

Furthermore, the enemy, who could have been the target of the advance, or the object of their frustration, had already burned their own lives and thrown their last gambit.

All that remained for us was to slowly return to Hesterica, which had achieved its original goal but had suffered considerable damage from the enemy’s attacks, with heavy steps.

“……”

Swoosh. Anton, who had been silent for a while, reached into his pocket.

Soon, he pulled out a small necklace. It was a holy relic with an unusual power.

“It’s the’Stairway of Azriel’.”

He held the small necklace, made of sparkling small jewel grains, in his hand and spoke to me.

“……Ah.”

I looked at him.

I knew roughly about the information on the higher-ranked holy relics kept by the Church. I had studied additional holy relics while staying at the Inquisition after becoming an Inquisitor.

If it was the Stairway of Azriel, it was a holy relic with a considerably useful function.

So he had it. Well, it makes sense. The Chief Inquisitor has to travel all over the continent and get involved in many things.

The function of the Stairway of Azriel was simple.

It allowed instant travel to a pre-designated location, regardless of distance.

Of course, there were a few limitations. The fact that the number of locations that could be pre-designated was limited to a few. And that only a devout believer with considerably strong holy power could use it.

I didn’t have to ask to know what the registered locations were. They were probably the Church’s key locations.

“……”

I quietly stared at the small necklace he had taken out.

But if I was right, he wasn’t the one who should be using this necklace right now.

There could only be one reason why he had taken out the holy relic while looking at me in this situation.

Sure enough, his thick hand slowly extended towards me.

“Take it.”

I noticed that Anton’s hand, as he offered it to me, was trembling slightly. Of course, it wasn’t out of emotional turmoil.

He, who would burn farmers even remotely related to heresy alive without batting an eye, was as resolute a figure as Chairman Markel Pavlino.

“It seems you’re the only one who can use this right now.”

It was simply a tremor from having exhausted himself to the point of being unable to use this holy relic. It seemed he had consumed more power than expected while dealing with the enemies of Radechione.

“……”

I accepted it without hesitation.

There was no reason to refuse. No, it was rather a great opportunity for me.

An opportunity to add the perfect finishing touch to the situation I had created.

“The Necklace of Saint Azriel has been used as a symbol of the Chief Inquisitor since ancient times.”

Anton’s calm voice reached me as I took the necklace.

“I believe you understand what this signifies.”

That meant he trusted me that much. I nodded.

Of course, he wouldn’t expect me to be able to stop the countless fireballs hurtling towards the city alone.

He would probably think it was enough to just provide a little help, or to convey hope by informing them that the already fallen enemies were making their last desperate attempt and that the mostly unharmed soldiers were returning quickly.

“……”

I quietly looked down at the holy relic in my hand.

But what I would do upon arriving in the chaotic Hesterica was not just that.

“It won’t lead directly to the Inquisition.”

He continued speaking slowly, as if to convey a few precautions.

As expected. I had a small smile on my lips.

He was the one who, when I first visited Hesterica, guided me through a hidden, complicated passage instead of the main entrance, adhering to the old-fashioned rule that an Inquisitor shouldn’t take the easy path.

Naturally, the location connected to this place wouldn’t be inside the Inquisition either.

But in this situation, the Chief Inquisitor’s adherence to that rule was actually helpful. I didn’t know for sure, but the main locations in the city would be in a very chaotic state. It would be better to move to a remote, less populated place to carry out my purpose.

“Don’t worry.”

I said, slowly infusing power into the holy relic in my hand.

Swoosh. The light emanating from Azriel’s Necklace began to form the shape of a staircase.

At the top of the short staircase, made of a few steps, was a door filled with light.

“Go.”

Anton nodded and calmly uttered, seeing me activate the holy relic properly by infusing it with holy power. I left those words behind and stepped onto the staircase of light.

Although I didn’t say it out loud, the Inquisitor who would be watching me didn’t need to worry.

The Chief Inquisitor and the former Black Mage.

Despite being on opposite sides, our goal of ushering in a better era was the same.

Of course, he wouldn’t be able to imagine what would happen in Hesterica, where I would return, in the process.

Hwaak.

As I stepped upwards, a white halo of light soon engulfed my body.

🔹🔹🔹

As expected of a top-grade holy relic, there were no side effects from Azriel’s Necklace.

There was no dizziness that might occur from traveling a long distance in an instant, nor any flinching from the sudden change in the space where I had been standing.

Swoosh. The halo of light disappeared. I slowly looked around.

Hesterica. The City of the Shining Sun lived up to its name.

Suddenly, a memory from the past came to mind.

Before I awoke in the unfamiliar graveyard. The last time I saw this city.

‘It was burning.’

Just like now.

The slight difference would be that, unlike then, the flames burning this place now were not created by me.

Well, to be fair, my actions played a significant role in the flames of Radechione reaching this place.

“……”

There was no reason to hesitate. Not then, not now.

Stepping onto the solid ground, I moved towards the burning city without hesitation. Just like five hundred years ago.

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