How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Night of the Corpses (2)

It’s the first time I’ve seen her since the last exam in the basement where we caught the Black Mages. I nodded while looking at her.

“Ah, Daena. It’s been a while.”

As I greeted her casually, the person standing next to Daena skillfully spun their sword halfway and sheathed it. Then, looking back and forth between Daena and me, he asked.

“What, you two know each other? Same class?”

This one is also an Inquisitor. Judging by the energy he exudes and his appearance that suggests considerable experience, he is likely Daena’s mentor.

Even if you pass the final exam and officially become an Inquisitor, it’s quite dangerous to wander around places where evil lurks alone.

This is especially true for those who, like Inquisitors, deliberately seek out dangerous places.

Therefore, it is common for newly appointed Inquisitors to work with experienced Inquisitors, usually for a year at the shortest, and several years at the longest.

Just like I was instructed to move with Inquisitor Lephra when I headed to Mount Pehern for my first mission.

Of course, thanks to me completing the mission perfectly alone, I received an evaluation from the Church that I was skilled enough to carry out missions alone…

“…Hm?”

He looked at me with a puzzled expression for a moment, realizing that Jerit was not an Inquisitor. He seemed to be wondering why Jerit, who was Daena’s classmate and just appointed as an Inquisitor, was traveling alone without a mentor.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to explain that I had already received permission from the Church…

“Ah! You must be the Luciel I’ve heard so much about!”

The man, who had been staring at me, shouted as if in delight.

“…Do you know me?”

I looked at him with a slightly uneasy expression.

Has word of what happened at Mount Pehern spread so far that even an Inquisitor I’ve never seen in Hesterica knows me? That quickly?

“Haha, of course. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Rumors sure travel fast. I’m not too keen on this.

“Daena wouldn’t stop chattering about you. It was almost enough to give me an earache.”

…Fortunately, it seems the news hasn’t spread from Hesterica.

“Th-That’s not true.”

Jerit seemed to gasp slightly as he saw the thick mace in Daena’s hand, who turned her head away in embarrassment.

The man smiled slightly at Daena and limped down the remaining steps. His gait was a little unnatural, as if one of his legs wasn’t quite right.

I smiled and shook the man’s outstretched hand. He grinned, revealing his teeth, and introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you, Inquisitor Luciel. I’m Hanek.”

🔹🔹🔹

Like Jerit and me, Hanek and Daena were also on their way to the capital of the Ashitan Kingdom after receiving Anton’s request for support.

“We don’t know the details either. We just received Chief Inquisitor Lebecht-nim’s message to come to the kingdom’s capital.”

“I see.”

It seems the short message delivered to everyone through the divine spell was the same.

“Based on what we know so far, it’s reasonable to assume that the dead are attacking the cities. And in considerable numbers.”

Inquisitor Hanek nodded at my words. If it were against a small number of powerful enemies, Inquisitor Anton Lebecht wouldn’t have randomly summoned Inquisitors.

And if you add the refugees’ testimonies, the prediction itself wasn’t that difficult.

The enemy is probably not a small number of powerful beings, but a large number of weak ones.

Of course, what I care about is not just the disaster that has struck the Ashitan Kingdom, but the cause of it.

If this situation is truly related to the Caridad Catacomb, they wouldn’t just be aiming to cause chaos in the kingdom.

“…Then, that means a large number of corpses have risen, enough to threaten the capital of the kingdom.”

Daena’s words were laced with worry.

“Don’t worry too much, friends. We are those who walk in the light of God, are we not? God will protect us.”

Hanek clapped his hands and spoke, as if trying to lighten the somewhat gloomy atmosphere.

His words didn’t really offer any practical comfort to me, but the encouragement from the veteran Inquisitor seemed to be quite helpful to Jerit and Daena.

As the sun set, we roughly cleaned the floor of the abandoned old cabin and prepared a simple dinner so we could leave as soon as the sun rose.

“Oh! This is delicious!”

Hanek exclaimed with wide eyes after tasting the stew made with salty dried meat, grain flour brought from Sitdria, and pieces of soft white bread.

“This friend has no talent for cooking. Haha!”

“…It’s better than Inquisitor Hanek-nim’s.”

Ignoring Daena’s disgruntled words, Hanek looked at Jerit and me and said with a chuckle,

“It seems meeting you on this boring journey was a blessing from God.”

I smiled slightly at him.

“Yes. I hope so too.”

🔹🔹🔹

As I felt from last night’s conversation, Hanek, unlike most Inquisitors, had a rather cheerful personality. And in my experience, and from the perspective of heretics, a cheerful Inquisitor was likely to be more dangerous.

In other words, they could smile and still cut down and burn countless heretics.

But now, with no reason to be wary of the Inquisitor, he was quite a good conversationalist.

“—So, I believe it’s better to sprinkle lime powder to accelerate the decomposition of the corpse. Or bury them upside down. It’s a pretty effective preventative method.”

“Upside down?”

“Yes. Because in the disorienting underground, they instinctively struggle to move upwards towards their head.”

“Hmm.”

“One of the main reasons people who are buried in an avalanche freeze to death if they can’t escape quickly is because they can’t immediately figure out which way is up. The same principle applies underground.”

He frowned with a serious expression at my words.

“That makes sense. I’ve considered that too, but it bothers me a little that burying a corpse upside down, with their head pointing downwards, is mainly a method used by heretics to desecrate the dead.”

“But isn’t its effectiveness certain?”

“That’s why I usually recommend burying them slightly at an angle. Not completely upside down, as you said. Just a small angle downwards is enough to cause disorientation.”

“Slightly at an angle.”

Hanek grinned and replied to my words.

“But the most certain method is to burn them completely. I don’t think there will be any disagreement on this.”

Jerit, who had been listening to our conversation, muttered with a tired expression.

“…What an enlightening conversation.”

A faint light emanated from the hand of the boy, who shook his head. It seemed he was still practicing the magic I had taught him.

Hanek glanced at the faint light emanating from Jerit’s hand and asked with a tilt of his head.

“Are you practicing the ‘Ward Star’ spell right now? You don’t seem familiar with divine spells……”

“Ah, yes. I didn’t learn magic when I was training at the Holy See. Inquisitor Luciel-nim said he would teach me basic divine spells…”

Hanek tilted his head again at Jerit’s embarrassed reply.

“Basic? A divine spell of that level would be difficult for a beginner. Even though the Ward Star seems simple, it’s quite difficult.”

“….?”

Jerit, hearing Hanek’s words, stared blankly at him for a moment, then slowly turned his head towards me.

“…..”

“…..”

A brief silence. I looked at him and replied calmly.

“He’s right.”

“Inquisitor-nim!”

I chuckled at Jerit’s indignant cry.

Five hundred years ago, black mages or reckless mages who would have lined up for miles, twice the length of the Pilgrim’s Road, just to receive a small teaching from me.

I turned my head slightly, and Daena, who had been listening to the conversation, was looking at me with sparkling eyes. Her eyes, which had witnessed a glimpse of my skills before, were filled with anticipation.

Pretending not to see her gaze, I turned my head forward and heard Hanek’s voice.

“To teach someone, you need to have a perfect understanding. Especially if it’s magic.”

“It’s just one of the few spells I know. I’m not yet skilled enough to properly teach anyone.”

He smiled at my words.

“You seem to have achieved quite a lot despite your young age. In many ways.”

The words of the veteran Inquisitor. I didn’t answer, just gave a faint smile.

🔹🔹🔹

We rode for a full day before finally arriving within sight of Luoisen, the capital of the Ashitan Kingdom.

It might have felt a little late for the people in the capital, who were clearly in an emergency, but if it weren’t for the well-bred black horse of the Inquisitor, it would probably have taken a few more days.

“There it is.”

Hanek muttered, looking at the fortress visible ahead. Smoke rising from afar made it clear that the situation was not normal.

“…I hardly see any corpses.”

Daena said, looking around. Her delicate hands twitched as if ready to draw the mace on her back at any moment.

“Y-Yes. You’re right.”

Jerit looked out at the field with an anxious expression at her words.

We already knew to some extent that the Ashitan Kingdom was under a large-scale corpse attack. But the wide plains outside the fortress showed no sign of the corpses that would have put the city in danger.

Whether they were lying down or standing around.

Of course, the field wasn’t completely normal as usual. Severely damaged corpses could be seen here and there. As Daena said, it was by no means enough to threaten a large city, though.

“Hmm.”

I bent down slightly and examined a nearby corpse for a moment.

“We’ll see the details when we get to the city. Let’s hurry.”

Hanek glanced at us and said firmly.

Soon, the four horses started running towards the large city. As we sped up, the salty sea breeze blew on our faces.

It wasn’t long before we reached the entrance of Luoisen, which was built along the eastern coast.

The main gate of the castle, visible ahead, which we reached after crossing the field, could be considered the only entrance to Luoisen.

Of course, the back of the castle was open to the sea, but it wasn’t easy for ships to approach due to the many reefs.

Therefore, it could be considered a structure specialized for defense, even if it wasn’t a natural fortress located on a steep slope.

Rumble.

The first thing we felt as we slowed down and stopped was the smell.

A smell similar to burning meat or squid, but a little disgusting and instinctively repulsive.

“Inquisitor Luciel-nim, this is…”

“Yes, Jerit. This place doesn’t have purification facilities like the Magic Tower in Sitdria.”

All four of us, slowly approaching the gate on horseback, knew what this smell was. Jerit silently made the sign of the cross.

Creak.

As if they had been watching our approach, the large gates slowly began to open without us shouting.

As the thick iron gates slowly opened, what appeared were people who looked like soldiers of the kingdom.

They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw us in black cloaks and Jerit in his thin chainmail armor bearing the emblem of the Holy See.

“Oh my God!”

“Finally…!”

Some soldiers collapsed, seemingly relieved, while others…

“I know this is a rude question, but are there no others?”

“…Only four?”

The soldier’s words might have sounded a little rude, but Hanek grinned and replied.

“With heretics active all over the continent, the Holy See is far and the number of priests is small. But don’t worry, the Inquisitors have arrived.”

Rumble.

After confirming that we had all entered, the soldier could be seen trying to close the gate again.

Jerit looked at the soldier with an anxious expression, heading towards the pulley connected to the gate, and asked with a puzzled look.

“There don’t seem to be any significant evil forces in the outer plains. Is there a reason why you’re closing the gates in such a hurry?”

It was the knight, who seemed to be in command here, who answered Jerit’s question. He reached for the large pulley connected to the gate and said.

“I apologize, but Priest-nim, we are not guarding against enemies entering. If the enemies outside were targeting us, we wouldn’t have opened the gates so carelessly now.”

The knight, looking at the inner castle, the inner and main palace where an ominous energy could be faintly felt, continued with a hardened expression.

“The reason we close the gates is not to prevent the enemy from entering, but to prevent them from leaving.”

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