How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Flame and Shadows (4)

He was right. There was no reason for the kingdom’s soldiers to come to this remote mountain village. But there were plenty of reasons for an Inquisitor to come.

“……!”

The man’s body, unable to even react properly, slowly collapsed. And a beat later, shock and horror dawned on the faces of the men standing around him.

“What is this……!”

“Sh, Shit!”

And as if their shocked screams were a signal, the sound of Jerit and Lephra drawing their swords could be heard.

“It’s time to pay the price for the sweetness the devil gave you.”

At my words, spoken as I looked at them with unwavering eyes, the men finally realized who we were, and fear filled their eyes.

“I, Inquisitor!”

“How did you know……!”

The Inquisitor of Hesterica holds a meaning not much different from a death sentence to those who have been shallowly corrupted.

The terrified men stumbled backward. I gave a wry smile as I watched them, seemingly admitting their guilt.

Sring

“If you have no sin, you have nothing to fear.”

As the hour slowly darkened, the setting sun beyond the horizon reflected off my sword, which had cleanly sliced through the man’s neck, causing it to sparkle.

“Damn it, take up arms!”

“K, Kill them!”

Attacking a member of the church was not a wise decision, but as if knowing that compromise with an Inquisitor was impossible in the first place, the men shouted and drew their weapons.

Among them, a man wielding a large axe shouted at the bandits who were terrified at the sight of him instantly beheading someone.

“It’s do or die! If Sir Balder finds out─”

Swish

A sword pierced through the man’s neck. The large man’s body, unable to finish his sentence, collapsed. I moved my arm to shake off the blood on my sword and looked at them with an indifferent gaze.

I don’t think it would make much difference even if he knew.

It might not be an incredible level of swordsmanship, but it was more than enough to deal with them.

No matter how outnumbered we were, they were just bandits who raided small villages, not properly trained.

Besides, I wasn’t alone now.

Whoosh!

Lephra passed by me in an instant. The two swords she had drawn moved in a blur.

Crack

Two smooth curves were drawn in the air, and red blood splattered. At the same time, three or four men collapsed instantly.

A clear rage was felt in the swords Lephra wielded. It wasn’t just a temporary emotion. To be precise, it was somewhat unfitting for her, who had dealt with all sorts of heretics, to feel this towards mere bandits.

I watched her back for a moment.

The unfamiliar emotions she displayed while cutting down the bandits who burned the village, as well as in Ephesus, where she insisted on joining despite it not being her assigned mission, were probably related to her past, a past I didn’t know.

But instead of expressing my question, I lightly waved my hand.

Clack!

Several arrows fired from the top of the palisade bounced off something in mid-air. At the same time, urgent shouts erupted from the bandits who were reloading their next arrows.

“……Magic!”

“M, Magician!”

Having easily blocked the incoming arrows from above with a simple defensive spell, I slowly raised my head and looked at the bandits aiming at us from atop the palisade.

Occupying a height that a person could not easily climb was quite effective against swordsmen. However, for a magician who had to fight in close quarters, it was like giving away distance.

Flinch. I saw the bandits flinch and step back as if they had been burned when they met my gaze. I raised my hand to give the bandits, who were standing there with their mouths agape in shock, a gift of real flames.

The symbol on my wrist, which absorbed holy power, slowly began to glow.

There was no long chanting, no complex mathematical calculations.

Kamuron’s Bracelet was an artifact that instantly created ultra-high-temperature flames as long as there was energy to infuse it with.

As if to prove it, the moment the symbol flashed, flames began to ignite in the empty air.

High-temperature flames mixed with white.

Whoosh!

The flames that appeared in the air instantly swept over the top of the palisade where the bandits were positioned.

“Ru, Run……!”

“Aagh─”

The ultra-high-temperature flames that swept through before they could even react incinerated even the bandits’ screams.

Fwoosh!

The flames that swept away dozens of bandits in an instant then spread to the palisade and began to burn, creating acrid smoke.

Then, the surroundings, which had been darkening due to the setting sun, brightened. I clenched and unclenched my hand, muttering softly.

“I can see better now.”

“……”

Looking back, I saw Lephra’s face, looking at me with an expression of admiration and a little bit of weariness.

She silently looked back and forth between the three or four bandits who had collapsed in front of her and the flames that had swept away dozens and were now burning the sturdy palisade.

🔹🔹🔹

Most of the structures that made up Cobeln were built of wood, and the fire spread quickly.

The flames blazed in the darkness after sunset, illuminating the surroundings in red. There was no need to ring the alarm bell to alert the villagers that invaders had attacked.

Of course, there were no bandits left in the watchtower on the palisade to alert anyone of the enemy attack.

I quickly moved towards the inner part of the village. The most important thing when dealing with a group like this was to subdue their leader. There was no need to deal with every single bandit one by one.

Faint presences were felt inside the shabby buildings located throughout the village. They were probably people from the surrounding villages who had been dragged here.

“There he is!”

“Kill him!”

Shouts came from afar. The remaining bandits had identified our location and were yelling.

Lephra spoke calmly to me as I glanced back.

“We’ll take care of this. You go and kill him.”

I nodded at her words. If it were just Jerit alone, it might be different, but there was no way she, an experienced Inquisitor, would be pushed back by these bandits. No, it was more likely that a one-sided massacre would unfold.

“Alright.”

I answered briefly and moved forward.

Sir Balder, was it?

It was ridiculous that a guy who lived by plundering villages in this remote mountain region was called a knight, but I didn’t let my guard down.

After all, it was highly likely that he had some connection to a nearby Catacomb.

Whoosh!

Running with the shouts behind me at my back, I soon slowed down. I realized there was no need to worry about him possibly escaping.

Bang!

The door of a building that seemed to have been built with some care was smashed, and a large figure walked out.

A man clad in thick plate armor and wielding a large spear. He was probably Balder.

Judging by the glint in his eyes as he glared at me through the dark red helmet, he seemed to have a rough understanding of the current situation. Well, it would be stranger if he didn’t know, with the flames engulfing the entire palisade.

I quietly watched the man who walked out after smashing the door of his own house. He had quite a unique habit of going out.

“It would be better not to have a door at all if you’re going to do that.”

The man’s response to my casual greeting was quite passionate.

Whizz!

The spear that left his hand flew towards my head in an instant with a chilling whistling sound.

It was a somewhat refreshing reaction compared to the small fry I had dealt with so far, attacking me with a surprise attack right away without yelling about where I came from or calling me an arrogant bastard who didn’t know his place.

Crack!

However, the large spear that closed the distance of more than ten meters in an instant and flew precisely towards the space between my eyebrows failed to achieve its goal and stopped in mid-air.

Not bad.

Although the defensive spell wasn’t broken, I felt a quite heavy impact. It seemed the title of knight wasn’t entirely false.

But that was the extent of my impression. He was a guy who hid in this countryside and lived by plundering villages. All I was wary of was the trace of the Catacomb that might be connected to him.

“……!”

The man’s body flinched slightly as he saw the spear he had thrown with all his might stop in mid-air. He probably hadn’t expected me, holding a sword, to block his attack so easily using magic.

But as if he had quite a bit of actual combat experience, he immediately drew the thick sword hanging from his waist.

An ominous energy emanated from the thick sword, which had reddish marks here and there, indicating it wasn’t an ordinary weapon.

But of course, I didn’t leisurely wait for him to draw his sword and take his stance.

Flash!

The very next moment after the man’s spear was blocked in mid-air. Seven spears made of light appeared in the air.

Holy Spell, Sericria’s Spear.

Perhaps due to the influence of receiving holy power from the Saintess, they appeared much clearer and thicker than before.

Whizz!

Amidst the faint light created by the flames burning from the high palisade at the entrance of the village far away, the seven spears, shining brightly in the darkness, rushed towards the knight clad in plate armor.

“Aaagh!”

The man’s response to my attack was quite crude.

With a glint in his eyes, he roared and swung his thick sword, which was surrounded by a red aura. He seemed to trust his own resilience, the durability of his thick plate armor, and the ominous power contained in his sword.

Of course, it was the most effective response he could make against an attack that came flying at him from all angles without giving him a chance to dodge.

Kaboom!

With a loud explosive sound, the man’s body, caught in the explosion, disappeared into the darkness for a moment. If it were an ordinary person, their body would have been shattered without a trace.

But instead of standing still and waiting for the dust to settle, I quickly rushed towards the spot where the man had been standing.

Blocking the spear and immediately firing the Spear of Light, followed by a charge. It was a smooth, flowing chain of attacks.

Whoosh!

A body strengthened by holy power.

I could see the thick plate armor, made of solid iron that would be too heavy for an ordinary person to even lift, was terribly dented in places.

Seeing that he was able to withstand seven spears, each with enough physical force to easily pierce a wild boar, and still stand, I could understand why the bandits trusted him so implicitly.

But the very next moment. In the blink of an eye, I approached him and swung my sword without hesitation at the knight faintly visible in the dust.

The gap between the armor and the helmet. My sword sharply pierced the man’s unprotected neck.

Crack

I felt the heavy sensation of breaking bone in my hand.

“Gah─!”

The man’s breath was cut off the moment my sword sliced through his neck.

A clean strike that ended the battle without giving him a chance to counterattack. It happened in less than three minutes after the battle began.

It was a fighting style that someone old-fashioned might criticize as cowardly, but I didn’t care much.

This wasn’t a dignified duel to evaluate each other’s skills. There was no reason for me to cross swords with a guy who called himself a knight, regardless of his swordsmanship.

Of course, he was the one who initiated the surprise attack in the first place.

Flick

I lightly swung my arm to shake off the blood from my sword. Behind it, I could see the knight’s body slowly beginning to collapse. No, to be precise, his body started to collapse and then stopped abruptly.

“Ah.”

As expected, this wasn’t the end.

Gurgle.

Along with the sound of boiling blood, the beheaded knight’s body slowly began to move. At the same time, an ominous energy began to well up and flow out from something visible through the gaps in the dented armor.

Crackle.

Unable to withstand the swelling of his body, the armor cracked. His head was regenerating, fueled by the welling black energy.

The knight’s body, which had been collapsing, staggered and regained its balance.

“Khehehe……!”

A triumphant laugh.

The man’s words flowed out from his head, which looked like a cross between a human and a reptile, hissing.

“You insignificant bug, begging won’t do you any good……!”

I quietly watched the man, who was babbling nonsense after getting back on his feet like a cockroach.

I’m not sure who the bug is.

A slight puzzlement appeared on the man’s face as he noticed my gaze, which was calm and composed, without a hint of shock, fear, or even the slightest bit of bewilderment.

“……?”

I watched the man, who had fully regenerated his body, and slowly nodded.

Modesta Catacomb. The connection here was with those snake-like creatures.

I slowly opened my mouth towards the man, who was now openly exuding a wicked demonic energy as if he had nothing to hide.

“You should have just died quietly.”

“……!”

At the same time, a flame, bearing a clear white color, blazed dazzlingly from my hand.

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