The Demon Hunting Method of the Regressed Inquisitor

Encounter

Crack! Crack-crack!

Burke’s sword ground against mine as if it were a saw blade.

The sword itself is nothing special.

It’s just that the magic Burke wields holds such power.

However, the sword given to me by my master doesn’t get scratched by such power.

I confirmed it in the battle with the bandits, but it is indeed an extraordinary sword.

“Ahhh!!”

Burke seemed to be screaming.

Yes, he must be feeling wronged, in pain.

So, cry as much as you want and scream as much as you want.

Burke has no special talent.

He probably knows that he can’t beat me.

Yes, he just has the power of magic added to the effort he has accumulated over five years.

I could kill Burke right now if I wanted to.

But I can at least keep him company until he vents all his last resentment.

It was his life. It ended up like this in someone else’s hands.

Then at least he should be given the chance to show what he has worked for so far.

“I will remember clearly that you existed.”

Swords clash. Burke, who was rolling on the ground, throws dirt.

I brush off the flying dagger with my sleeve. I dodge the kick that comes up from below.

The more he fought, the calmer he became, and accordingly, the proportion of magic he used decreased.

“Sob…”

He no longer vented his resentment and just calmly accepted the result he had to face.

“Sob, sob.”

There was no anger, only sadness.

Little by little, it showed what kind of life Burke had lived, through his actions and skills.

And so, the tears Burke shed flowed quietly and calmly.

And when he finally mustered all his strength and cut my waist.

He finally came to a stop.

Only then did he understand that all those struggles were the path Burke Ryan had taken to survive.

Crackle!

He refined the divine power that had been subtly flowing all along into a form.

What he borrowed was the lightning of Jupiter, the god of the sky, who is equivalent to the chief god in the pantheon.

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

The lightning that had accompanied my final moments manifested in the form of a spear.

Life returned to Burke’s eyes, which had been almost in a trance.

Burke bowed his head as if resigned.

“Promise.”

“Yes.”

“Keep the promise!!”

“I swear in the name of all the gods in the pantheon. I will ensure your sister lives a normal life.”

The greatest vow I could make. Burke would understand what it means for a priest like me to swear in the name of a god.

“……Thank you.”

Perhaps he had finally decided to accept his death, as Burke bowed his head without further resistance.

He must have hoped that the promise with me would be kept. That’s why he was trying to please me, even bowing his head to someone he had only known for a week.

“Please take care of my sister…….”

Boom!!

At the same time as that vow, a thunderous roar echoed.

The lightning of Jupiter left my hand and pierced Burke’s heart.

The lightning lodged in his heart spread throughout Burke’s body.

Demons do not die easily from anything other than divine power. The power called magic constantly regenerates the body.

Therefore, other than purification through divine power, the only way to deal with them is to kill them repeatedly, causing pain until they can no longer regenerate.

So I ended it in one blow. To shorten his suffering, I used my strongest card to cut off his breath.

“Claire…….”

“…….”

“I’m sorry…… for being a fool…….”

It must have been a pain that felt like his body was burning. Yet, instead of a scream, he left an apology for his sister.

“You’ve done well.”

All I can do for him is hope that his soul can be forgiven by the gods.

“Burke.”

When was it?

The last promise I made with him, which had been festering in my heart, comes to mind.

Burke was realizing that he was gradually changing.

He noticed that he was starting to harbor murderous intent towards Claire.

-■■■. You have to kill me.

So he told me. He asked me to kill him. He left such words to me, someone he could call a friend.

But at the moment when it had to be done.

When Burke started rampaging in the middle of the village, I ran away instead of killing him.

I later heard what happened to Burke. Surrounded by numerous hunters and priests, he was stabbed to death by countless spears and swords.

Claire, Burke’s younger sister, was also there. She watched as Burke died.

Her brother, who loved her, tried to kill her.

In the end, surrounded by numerous hunters, he was killed.

It shouldn’t have been like that. I should have killed Burke as promised.

I shouldn’t have let Claire see such a horrible sight. I shouldn’t have let her go through such a terrible experience.

Yes, so now…

“This time, I kept my promise.”

I don’t know if my words reached him. His body had already started to scatter into dust.

It’s truly a cruel thing.

That even a demon cannot leave his body in this world…

“Is this why it’s called a trial?”

Because it can be so empty for those who are watching.

*     *      *

When Lost gave Burke peace as a human,

“Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Bang!

Titan was fighting a bloody battle with Tros Ryan.

Tros Ryan was receiving his immense power with just a sword.

Titan was not inferior to Tros Ryan in any aspect.

Not in strength, skill, or even speed.

But he was pushed back. Tros Ryan, imbued with the power of aura, could easily overturn the differences in strength and speed.

A power that defies common sense.

“Impressive!”

Titan looked at the blue aura at the tip of Tros Ryan’s sword as if he had an epiphany.

‘Is this something Father can handle…!’

At the same time, Titan shuddered.

Craig was stronger than him. Even without using aura, he was a formidable opponent who could overpower him.

But the fact that Craig could also handle aura felt like an insurmountable wall, and it sparked his competitive spirit.

“So, I still don’t qualify.”

Craig had never shown his aura in his battles with Titan. He never needed to.

You don’t use a cow-killing knife to kill a chicken. Titan was still far from being able to see Craig’s aura.

“No matter what kind of person you are, I must thank you for this encounter.”

A being stronger than himself, who could handle aura. There was much to learn from fighting such an opponent.

Regardless of the fact that he was a villain, it was undeniable that he had taught him a lot.

“Hmm!”

Bang!

Titan’s hammer fell onto Tros Ryan’s sword.

The sword, imbued with aura, remained intact even after receiving the hammer’s blow.

Tros Ryan, who must have felt the weight, stood firm.

‘I’m…’

But Tros Ryan couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Clang!

This time, Titan deflected the spear thrust at him to the side. He broke into a cold sweat at the sharpness that seemed to cut through him, and immediately took advantage of the gap to leave a scratch on Titan’s body.

The battle situation clearly favored Tros Ryan. Titan wielded a weapon centered on weight, but he couldn’t fully exert his strength.

On the other hand, Tros Ryan was using a unified swordsmanship, stabbing through the gaps.

But there were no fatal wounds. The first attack was always Titan’s.

‘I’m falling behind in skill?’

In strength and speed, he was superior.

But Titan’s exquisite attack made it difficult to take advantage of it.

“To think that I would lose to such a barbarian!!”

Titan’s weapon was originally the type that crushed with strength and weight. Naturally, there was nothing special in terms of skill.

Even so, the fact that he was falling behind meant there was a significant difference between the two.

Tros Ryan was a knight of considerable level, but he did not rely on aura. His essence was, after all, a swordsman.

If his swordsmanship was crude, even if he could use aura, it would be like a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck.

But at this moment, his pride began to crack.

Someone stronger than himself? Sure, it could happen.

But not the being in front of him.

That such a dull-witted barbarian could be better than him was unacceptable.

He had invested his entire life.

He had devoted his life to the sword, and as a result, he had achieved his current status.

“Ridiculous.”

Whack!

Titan’s blow, which had been failing to land a valid hit, finally struck. In an instant, Tros Ryan staggered greatly from the punch swung without the hammer.

“Ugh.”

It was just a punch thrown as if to tap.

It didn’t even seem to have proper strength, let alone aura.

But even so, Tros Ryan felt his consciousness fly away for a moment. No technique or aura was needed.

Titan’s body was already sufficiently perfected.

“This is…”

He was struck by such a simple blow.

It was a humiliating experience. But more than that, what filled Tros Ryan’s heart was jealousy.

“Isn’t this unfair…”

Muscles that were hard to cut even with a sword imbued with aura.

Skills superior to his own.

And above all, a perfected body. No, something beyond that.

It made everything he had built up through effort seem futile.

He was angry that just being born an orc allowed him to have such a perfected body.

“I…! I have spent my entire life to reach this level!”

The aura on Tros Ryan’s sword blazed like fire.

He unleashed the power he had accumulated over his lifetime in the form of rage.

“Someone like you!!”

Tros Ryan bent his body deeply, holding the sword with both hands.

Then, like a lion targeting its prey, he charged.

Slash!

A deep wound, different from any before, was carved into Titan’s flesh.

With that absurd cutting power, red blood burst out, and Titan’s body began to stagger for a moment.

“I did it… I did it!”

As Tros Ryan shouted in triumph, Titan ran his fingers over his wound.

He seemed unimpressed.

“Is that your full strength?”

“……”

“Is that what you wanted? Is that the power you poured your entire life into?”

Titan’s gaze at Tros Ryan was cold. It even seemed disappointed.

“For such a trivial amount of power, for inflicting such a minor wound.”

Crack!

Titan clenched his fist, abandoning his weapon. A menacing aura began to flow from his tightly clenched fist.

“Did you trade humans like commodities?”

Tros Ryan made money through human trafficking.

He used that money to grow his family and his power.

For armor to protect his body, for a sword that could cut down any opponent.

For such things, he bought and sold people.

To Titan, these were incomprehensible acts. No, he didn’t even want to understand.

“What did you gain from that power? Is wounding me your badge of honor? Did you commit such horrific acts just to be satisfied with this?”

“You, who had everything from the beginning, wouldn’t understand!”

The opponent didn’t know. He didn’t know how desperate he had been. He had never had such worries.

Tros Ryan shouted in frustration. He knew that no logic could be embedded in his words, so he just shouted.

“No, no one has everything from the beginning.”

Titan’s words were calm beyond measure.

Tros Ryan could only watch in silence as Titan’s actions continued.

“I was just a powerless kid when I was young too.”

Kwa-dudududuk!!

Titan’s foot stretched forward and fixed itself to the ground.

“Everyone starts that way.”

Then, after pulling his fist back, he rotated his ankle, waist, and shoulder simultaneously as he threw his punch.

In a stance that was the very epitome of pouring all his strength into it.

“The starting point wouldn’t have been much different. What differed was how one responded to the desperation they faced.”

Tukwang!!

An absurdly loud noise echoed.

“Just that mindset.”

Finally, everything that had been blocking Titan’s path disappeared.

“Desperation isn’t something only you feel.”

*     *      *

By the time Burke’s body had completely turned to dust and vanished,

I was watching the mansion of Baron Ryan collapse.

Seeing that absurd sight, I knew the outcome was already decided.

It’s obvious who did it.

That phenomenon couldn’t have been caused by just swinging a sword a few times.

“……By now, Duke Foris should be arriving.”

Probably, the master of the hunter guild associated with Burke, Allen Wise, would be accompanying him.

Since the great mage himself was stepping in, there shouldn’t be any problems, but there’s the matter of social reputation.

With this, the stage was set for Titan to fight Allen Wise as he desired. Whether he could do it after fighting Tros Ryan, I didn’t know.

Anyway, given Titan’s status, it would just be an event match.

“Then, it’s about time……”

It’s time to reopen the path that was blocked to corner Burke.

Originally, not many people walked the alley leading to Baron Ryan’s mansion, but leaving it like this would be a nuisance.

“……”

I touched the ice wall I had created.

Just that touch made the ice wall start to disappear into light.

It was borrowed at the cost of divine power.

Just returning it.

The moment the ice wall completely collapsed and the path opened.

“What……?”

An old man with a strange smile appeared before my eyes.

I was aghast at the sight.

It felt as if the world had turned gray and crumbled, and at the same time, it was like experiencing a terrible nightmare.

“Thanks to you, I saw something interesting. Sorry for peeking, young man.”

“…….”

A hunched old man. He looked like a sage and a demon at the same time.

I can’t forget it. How could I forget that appearance?

“Hmm? Young man, why are you standing there blankly? Is something wrong?”

Turning a person into a demon and ultimately making that being a demon tribe is what demons do. They are increasing their kin in that way.

“Why are you trembling like that? Is it because of the cold? Or are you terrified? Of whom? For what reason?”

Then there must be the first being who created that demon.

There is an existence that humans must fear the most.

The ten trials designated by humanity. Tasks that must be overcome someday.

The being located at the final chapter of that list.

“You seem to know who I am.”

＜The One Who Is Everywhere＞

Malice

“Answer me.”

That unidentified trial was also called this in the future I knew.

“You know me.”

The King of Darkness, ‘Belial.’

“Isn’t that right?”

Coincidentally, the being right in front of my eyes was ‘him.’