How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Night of the Corpses (1)

A small city in the eastern Ashitan Kingdom.

Wheezing!

A chain, shimmering with a mystical glow, sliced through the air. Its momentum was so fierce that the space where the chain passed momentarily seemed to ripple.

Thwack!

Something, split in half—no, shattered—by the chain, twitched and ceased moving.

Around the man who effortlessly wielded the massive chain, each link as thick as an adult’s forearm, lay a pile of corpses.

Every time the man moved his arm, drawing lines in the air, a fierce wind arose, and in the next moment, countless chunks of flesh piled up around him.

Rather than cutting down his enemies, the scene was more akin to obliterating them.

“……”

It was a spectacle that would make anyone gasp, whether in awe or horror. However, the man who created this scene showed no change in his expression.

“……Hmm.”

After a brief observation of the small hell he had created, he slowly turned around.

“……!”

Behind him, five or six men, who had been standing with their mouths agape, startled and quickly straightened their posture.

These men were clad in light chainmail armor bearing the emblem of a torch.

They were commonly called Esquires, a simpler term than their original, complex name derived from the ancient holy language, meaning the Torch of God.

Flick!

The man lightly flicked his hand, brushing off the remaining flesh from the chain, and slowly opened his mouth as he looked at them.

“I heard that the same phenomenon is occurring in nearby cities.”

At the man’s words, the Esquires of the Holy See replied in disciplined voices.

“Yes, Inquisitor Lebecht-nim! Not only Kerot, but also Dobit and Fernti have declared a state of emergency and requested aid from the Church!”

Hearing this, the Inquisitor, Anton Lebecht, spoke calmly.

“We’ll need additional reinforcements.”

The disaster that had struck the eastern Ashitan Kingdom was not something that could be resolved by a single Inquisitor and a few dozen Esquires.

Clank.

He skillfully retracted the chain and asked the Esquires.

“We need to summon all the Inquisitors nearby. How many Inquisitors are currently stationed in the east?”

“Beheren, Premier, and……”

The Esquire’s words trailed off hesitantly.

“……Kzaksen and Sitdria. These are the cities where Inquisitors are currently carrying out their duties in the east.”

Sweep.

Anton slowly raised his hand.

A low murmur flowed from Anton’s lips.

Flash!

As if in response, a faint halo of light began to gather in his hand.

“Oh……!”

The skillful and clean execution of the holy spell, not easily replicated, drew admiration from the Esquires.

Flutter!

Several birds made of light soared from Anton’s thick hand.

A holy spell to send a short message to someone far away. Although not a combat spell, it was a magic that could reach a considerable distance, so not just anyone could easily cast it.

Despite having just finished a battle and summoning multiple birds simultaneously, Anton’s face showed no signs of fatigue.

“I’ll see you soon.”

A faint smile, rarely seen, graced Anton’s lips as he watched the birds disappear high into the sky, leaving shimmering trails of light.

🔹🔹🔹

“Well, I don’t think we need to see that.”

At my nonchalant remark, Jerit exclaimed in frustration.

“This time it’s real, Inquisitor-nim! Please, just check it once!”

“……”

I let out a small sigh and turned my head. There, Jerit was confidently displaying the faint light emanating from his hand.

It had already been a week.

Since the duel with the witch, he seemed quite impressed and had been pestering me to teach him holy spells. He had been struggling with a single spell I had given him.

“……”

I briefly observed the faintly glowing symbol in Jerit’s hand and then stared directly at his face.

A face full of confidence. A rather triumphant expression, as if asking if this time he had finally cast a proper spell.

With a slightly amused feeling, I personally shattered his expectations.

“It seems the input and output of the circuit are completely reversed. Are you trying to create a ‘Ward Maze’ instead of a ‘Ward Star’?”

“I-Is that not it? It looks similar to what you showed me before……”

“I’d like to express my respect for your creative magic skills, which, after a whole week, haven’t allowed you to master such a basic spell.”

Hearing my words, Jerit looked down at the strange, faintly glowing shape in his hand and made a dejected face.

It was more surprising that he thought it was correct.

“……”

Looking at the disheartened Jerit, I raised my hand.

Flash!

Formation, activation, and manifestation of the spell.

The spell that Jerit had been struggling with for hours instantly formed and shone brightly from my hand.

“Wow……”

The shape of a star, brilliantly shining in the air, connected by simple lines. Seeing this, Jerit gasped in admiration.

Snap.

I snapped my fingers, and the star shimmering in the air slowly melted away.

Traces of the spell, falling like rustling leaves from the slowly moving horse. The shimmering particles of light gently settled on the ground, seemingly unaffected by the wind.

“……”

Jerit clicked his tongue in disappointment as he watched the magic completely disappear.

“Now, you wouldn’t say it’s similar, would you?”

He looked down at his hand, sighed deeply, and then cautiously asked me.

“……How long do I have to practice to perfectly cast a spell?”

“Hmm.”

I pondered his question for a moment.

He wasn’t completely without talent. If he were, I wouldn’t have even attempted to teach him, even the most basic magic.

I glanced at him, then turned my head and said curtly.

“Until you get it right.”

🔹🔹🔹

A week later.

Unfortunately for Jerit, and as I expected, we reached the border of the Ashitan Kingdom before he could create a perfect Ward Star.

Seeing the small wooden structure located beyond the shallow stream that formed the border, Jerit muttered softly.

“……This certainly doesn’t seem like a normal situation.”

The outpost, which should have been guarded by soldiers, was deserted. Even if there was no need to guard the other side, there should always be someone guarding the border.

However, as if indirectly explaining the current situation of the kingdom, there wasn’t a single person in the building before us.

“Perhaps we should have traveled through another kingdom bordering the Ashitan Kingdom. They might have more detailed information.”

Jerit’s words made sense.

The area near the Pilgrim’s Road, represented by the free city of Sitdria, was a place without a clear ruler. Of course, strictly speaking, it was under the influence of the Church, but there was no one who actually resided there and controlled the region.

Therefore, the places we had passed through on our way here were essentially no man’s land. As if to prove this, we had encountered almost no one while passing through desolate fields and small forests.

“That would have delayed us. Our priority is to reach the kingdom’s capital quickly.”

The one who summoned us—no, the one who requested our help—was none other than Chief Inquisitor Anton Lebecht.

It certainly wouldn’t be a simple matter. Given his personality, he wouldn’t have called us if it were something he could handle alone.

Jerit, with a slightly worried expression about what might be happening in the Ashitan Kingdom’s capital, nodded.

“The capital of the Ashitan Kingdom, Luoisen, is located along the eastern coast, so if we go straight in this direction, we should reach it.”

The weather had turned quite chilly. We rode our horses eastward, facing the slightly cold wind.

After traveling for about two hours.

“Ah, excuse me!”

Jerit and I stopped after spotting a group of people heading west, seemingly in the direction we had come from.

“……”

Men riding large black horses, a rare sight in the desolate fields. We could see a slight sense of relief on the faces of the people as they saw Jerit and me approaching them.

Relief at encountering armed individuals in a deserted field.

‘I understand.’

In my experience, this meant one of two things.

Either they were confident we wouldn’t harm them, or.

‘Relief at simply encountering other living people.’

Jerit, dressed in a manner that made him appear more like a farmer—or rather, a refugee—raised his hands to show he had no intention of attacking and asked in a friendly tone.

“May I ask you a few questions?”

Unlike the generally authoritative Esquires of the Holy See, Jerit’s demeanor was quite effective in reassuring the people.

In response to Jerit’s question about what was happening in the Ashitan Kingdom, the answer he received was something I had already anticipated to some extent.

“Corpses?”

Jerit tilted his head. The explanation was that they were fleeing their village, which had been suddenly attacked by corpses.

The information was somewhat fragmented, so Jerit asked various questions, but they didn’t know much more since they had hastily escaped from a small rural village, not a major city.

“You’re heading to the capital?”

One of the refugees cautiously asked Jerit after hearing our destination.

“I hope there’s no trouble in the capital as well. My relatives live there……”

The man’s face was etched with anxiety and worry as he asked in a slightly apprehensive tone.

“Hey, come on. Even if things are bad, do you think the capital, Luoisen, would be the same as a small village in the countryside? There are countless soldiers and even the kingdom’s knights there.”

“I-Is that so?”

I observed the refugees for a moment.

According to common sense, the man was right. How could mere corpses pose a threat to a large city with high walls and knights?

“……”

I briefly looked up at the sky. The weather was quite chilly as autumn was nearing its end.

Instead of reassuring the man by agreeing with him, I silently urged my horse forward without a word.

Following the message Anton had sent, I was heading to the kingdom’s capital, Luoisen.

And as always, where an Inquisitor goes, evil lurks.

🔹🔹🔹

Since it would take a few more days to reach the kingdom’s capital, Jerit and I looked for a suitable place to spend the night.

Although camping outside wouldn’t be a big problem since winter hadn’t arrived yet, we were fortunate enough to find a small abandoned building in the field.

It was a small wooden structure that seemed to have been used as a temporary shelter for farmers or hunters.

“Are they talking about monsters like zombies or ghouls?”

Jerit asked as he tied his horse to a pillar of the building with a long rope.

“Of course, they’re deadly to ordinary farmers, but…… they wouldn’t summon Inquisitors just for that.”

“Well.”

There are many types of corpses, or monsters resembling them. Perhaps, with the passage of time, a new kind of black magic had been developed.

Like the traces of the Caridad Catacomb’s research I had discovered in Browell village, where they had been artificially creating half-demons.

‘Perhaps……’

The underground altar of the Caridad Catacomb was also located in the eastern part of the continent.

Both Browell village, where I had defeated the Mongma, and the Ashitan Kingdom were located in the northeastern part of the continent.

Didn’t a group of Esquires heading towards the Ashitan Kingdom pass near Browell village without stopping by?

And the underground areas of the northeastern part of the continent, along the coast, were their territory. I wondered if this incident might also be related to them.

‘It would be best to go and see for myself.’

I organized my thoughts and pushed open the door of the old building.

Creak.

The interior was dark.

I stepped inside and immediately stopped. I had sensed something.

“Yawn.”

Jerit followed, opening the old wooden door and entering the building. He was about to unpack his bag, seemingly preparing for dinner.

Sweep.

I silently stopped him and pointed upwards without making a sound.

‘There’s someone upstairs.’

A faint presence I had sensed.

Understanding my gesture, Jerit made a nervous expression and mouthed the words.

‘C-Could they be the corpses those refugees mentioned?’

I signaled him to stay put, then closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to identify the faint presence I felt from above.

“……”

Tension, breathing, vigilance.

After a minute, which might have felt long to some, I slowly opened my eyes and looked at Jerit.

“No, fortunately, it doesn’t seem like it.”

“……!”

Jerit’s eyes widened in surprise at my sudden outburst.

Ignoring him as he still looked nervous and fidgeted, I calmly started walking.

Creak.

“Greetings, I am Inquisitor Luciel.”

As I climbed the creaking wooden stairs towards the dark upper floor, my sudden greeting was met with the sound of someone gasping for breath.

A sigh of relief followed, along with a voice.

“Damn it. I thought you were a corpse.”

“……Who are you?”

A man and a woman’s voice. One of them was familiar.

Creak.

Finally, two figures descended the creaking wooden stairs, their swords lowered. A man in his thirties, unfamiliar to me. And a familiar figure, who looked to be around my age.

“Whew……”

They were wearing black cloaks bearing the symbol of the Inquisitor. Recognizing this, a sigh of relief escaped Jerit’s lips as well.

As both sides felt relieved.

The female Inquisitor, who had followed the man down the creaking wooden stairs, spoke in a voice tinged with surprise.

“……Luciel?”

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