Chapter 130: Inquisitor of Heresy 1

After resting for a while, Woohyuk immediately focused on destroying the sanctuary.

The key was to destroy the witch's chapel, and there weren’t any problems as he had enough firepower.

That may have been the reason why, but there was a lot less loot than expected.

Overall, he couldn’t give this historical ruin a high score.

“Why did Angrboda leave this place unprotected after making it so easy to destroy?”

Leifina asked Woohyuk, watching the black fog gradually disappear in the forest.

“She must have made preparations. The reason this place was empty is probably due to the Creator’s arrangement.”

Baron Elrond's estate was once categorized as a section of Adventurer's Gorge.

In other words, the reward they were to obtain here was already obtained back then.

The monsters that guarded the forest and the chapel would also have scattered around.

“The Creator is truly omnipotent. To think that he can do that.”

"But he is not well known to the people on the Eeth Continent."

If the gods of the heavenly world were comparable to the gods of Greek or Nordic mythology, the Creator was a transcendental entity that would only appear in the Bible.

Therefore, those who were part of monotheistic religions, such as Catholicism, Christianity, and Hinduism, gathered with each other and continued their religious activities in the Eeth Continent.

Of course, most of them were slaughtered by Rosenkreuz, an inquisitor of heretics of the Holy Aperian Empire.

'He must also be a member of Pronoia.'

Pronoia was a group of fanatics with a slightly different objective than the Witch Cult.

Like the Golden Rose Society, it was a secret society that put great importance on the providence of God.

Here, God referred to the God of Light, the first rank god of the heavenly world.

The God of Light, along with the three goddesses of Urdabrunn who governed human fate, was one of the representative gods who did not rebel against the Creator.

“By the way, Lord Asura, won’t Angrboda hold a grudge against you for this incident? I am worried that Lord Asura will become her target of revenge.”

Aris, who stood next to him, spoke as she put her pitch-black scythe away.

Woohyuk turned to her and stroked her head.

“I’ll have to face her anyway, so you don't have to worry about it.”

“I think we should quickly tame the demon kings that you sealed. Although there are only 3 of them, they will be considerably helpful…”

“They need a break. If I try to force them to submit now, it will only backfire. By the way, Aris, what happened to the solution I entrusted you to analyze?”

“Oh, that? I took a look at it with Agnes, but I think it will be difficult to find more information about it since we have no equipment for analysis.”

Aris had a deep knowledge of magic engineering.

Therefore, it was possible to produce a device that could precisely analyze alchemy materials, and she could potentially start doing alchemy herself.

Although she was in the form of a delicate girl, she had lived for thousands of years.

Since she had done a lot of research while assisting Asura by his side, she was several generations ahead compared to the alchemists of the Eeth Continent.

“I’ll build a laboratory in Blackburn once the Dane Kingdom is completely dealt with. I'll assign Lucas, Alphone, and Agnes as your assistants, so try to make it happen as soon as possible.”

“The chimera researcher trapped in the dungeon in Blackburn? I don’t know how helpful he will be since he has only done experiments on living beings before, but I'll try to make good use of him.”

Lucas was essential to strengthen the power of the undead army.

Aris who had created Irene would surely help him a lot.

Since he had made a contract with Woohyuk through Asura's power, there was no chance that he would rebel against him.

When his thoughts were roughly organized, Woohyuk stared at Leifina again.

“Leifina, as I said last time, I will expand your father’s territory by fusing it with the Euler County and the Ben Viscounty, and call it the Ecclet County. Therefore, you are no longer the eldest daughter of a fallen house, nor a noble in name only.”

"Thank you. But I will continue to follow you, My Lord, so there is no need to grant me such a large fief…”

“I will find a suitable person to appoint as the fief deputy.”

“There’s no need to go that far…”

As Leifina couldn’t hide her surprise, the sound of a galloping horse echoed from afar.

Before long, a group of people appeared, and she was startled.

Bailey Schwarz.

There was a familiar old gentleman next to the renown count of the Dane Kingdom.

“Sir, Sir Gustav…”

“I’m glad you’re alright, young lady.”

Gustav had served as the butler of the Ecclet family for a long time.

However, when Leifina and her father fell into the hands of the witch Angrboda, he hid in another territory while preparing for the future.

Woohyuk had known this fact from his past life, so he had sent Bailey to find Gustav.

“I thought you had died, Sir. Even the residents here said they hadn’t seen your face since forever.”

“I have been doing my best to survive day by day, to save Lady Leifina from that hellish place one day.”

Gustav was a man of unparalleled loyalty, which was the reason he had received Leifina's grandfather’s favor in the past.

Therefore it was okay to assume that he would never betray the Ecclet family.

Once the heartwarming reunion ended, Woohyuk received a report from Bailey about the situation.

“Were there any disturbing incidents in your territory?”

“I didn’t hear of anything like that. Everyone was pleased to be liberated from the demons and they welcomed me with open arms.”

The reason he hadn’t used Bailey for this incident was to send him around the land and gain the public’s support.

Leifina planned to stay in her territory with Gustav for the time being.

In the current situation, the establishment of a system of cooperation with internal fiefs and allies was the greatest priority. Conquering other small kingdoms could wait for a while.

'I should visit the Lydia Kingdom using this opportunity.'

In the Lydia Kingdom, there was the black breath of a Hydra, one of the materials for the Seven Colored Rainbow ring.

However, he didn't know its exact location and only had a few clues.

However, with the help of Philip II, it would be possible to obtain it in a short amount of time.

'After that, I'll have to recruit some more vassals.'

In addition to those who were already following him, he needed talented geniuses such as Hans, the King of Cooking, and Dexter, the Runesmith.

Those two somewhere around the Lydia Kingdom, so he planned to take some time to find them.

Woohyuk had the confidence to easily bring Hans, the King of Cooking, over to his side.

‘Afterwards, I’ll return to the Dane Kingdom and attack the Talis Kingdom in the south-west.'

The reason he wouldn’t attack the Norton or Enoa Kingdoms, in the northwest and north respectfully, was because they weren’t a threat.

He had stolen the necromancer class from Logan in the Norton Kingdom, and Hong Yuri had become the Blood Witch instead of Alice in the Enoa Kingdom.

However, Ivanov of the Talis Kingdom still had the Red Dragon Carnelian like the past.

As Aleister of the imaginary world had warned him, he had to hit Ivanov first.

As Woohyuk prepared his future plans, Silvator arrived and ran towards Woohyuk.

“Ma, Master! There’s trouble!”

“What is it, Silvator?”

“The Inquisitor of the Holy Aperian Empire... is coming this way from the Izuna Kingdom!”

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Alphone’s complexion became pale, and she opened her mouth as she shivered.

“Rosenkreuz… Why did he come all this way…?”

He would definitely recognize those who worked for the witch Angrboda. If she encountered the inquisitor of heretics, she would be in trouble.

The Holy Aperian Empire was supporting him.

If a criminal accused of heresy were to escape, the knights of the seven heavenly virtues and high-ranking priests would be dispatched.

‘Is he looking for Eteria Rodinus?'

In this situation, there was a strong possibility that Rosenkreuz was a member of Pronoia.

So, if Woohyuk were to get in trouble with him, he would have a setback in his future plans.

Woohyuk worried for a moment and then spoke to Silvator, who was restless.

“Silvator, keep an eye on Rosenkreuz's movements with the three-eyed crows. Report to me immediately if something happens.”

“Un, understood. Please leave it to me.”

Silvator bowed to him.

When he disappeared into the woods, Woohyuk turned to the rest of the party.

“It’s time to prepare the stage for the play.”

“The stage? Lord Asura, I am not good at acting.”

“You are a demon, so you mustn’t appear on the stage, Aris.”

Rosenkreuz, the inquisitor of heretics, couldn't be fooled by simple tricks.

Therefore, all the actors had to be humans and their acting skills had to be excellent enough that the inquisitor wouldn’t have even a sliver of doubt.

At Woohyuk's words, Leifina looked troubled.

“Wha, what role will I have to play…?”

“You just need to take care of the territory as planned. I just need someone to pretend to be the King of Rhines.”

“Someone to imitate Lord Asura? Hmm… It shouldn't be difficult as long as he stays certainly silent, but how about using my abilities to split your soul for a while? That would be more convenient...”

“Soul fragments are unstable, so mistakes could easily be made. So let's play it in a safer way.”

“But is there someone who is trustworthy and capable of imitating you skillfully enough? I can’t think of anyone right now.”

Woohyuk's vassals were generally inflexible and clumsy when lying.

A typical example was Lee Jaesung or Maximus, the governor of the Dane Kingdom

Sieg wasn’t suited as well, while Hong Yuri, who was quick on the update, did not meet the standards as she was the Blood Queen.

When Aris expressed her anxious feelings, Woohyuk reassured her.

"Don’t worry. There is someone suitable for this job.”

“Who is it? Agnes is very curious.”

“Monster tamer Choi Kayoon. She is talented in acting.”

This fact was proven during the incident with the Shadow Killer in the Izuna Kingdom.

Originally, Choi Kayoon Choi dreamt of becoming an actress in musicals, and she had attended a theater school until high school.

The reason for stopping was due to her family’s poor financial conditions.

Therefore, Woohyuk thought that if he lent her his Jester’s mask, she would fulfill this job safely.

However, the only variable was her androphobia.

“I worry about whether she will do a good job, Lord Asura. When I was in Floren, I observed her and her mental state was a little unstable, probably because of her bad experiences with men...”

“Everyone has traumas, Aris. The question is how to overcome it.”

Choi Kayoon had enough potential and willpower.

Otherwise, he would not have brought her with him to the Rhine Kingdom.

Woohyuk’s mindset was to trust his vassals once he had accepted them as one of his own.

“If Lord Asura is willing to go this far, I shall comply. Despite my appearance, I am an obedient girl...”

“Aris.”

“…Yes?"

“Using the word ‘girl’ is going a bit too far, don’t you think? You've lived for at least thousands of years, so you're probably one of the oldest amongst demons.”

“Boo… You’re being unfair... I’m not that old if you don’t count the time I spent hibernating...”

Aris was crying and clinging to Woohyuk.

Alphone, who had been watching them, spoke.

“She is correct. Her soul is colorful and gorgeous like the soul of a young woman, so it's clear that her mental age is still young.”

Alphone had experienced social life in the handicrafts guild before. That's why she knew what to say during situations like this and who to support.

Woohyuk was impressed with her.

“You must’ve been popular amongst the guild members in the past, seeing how good you are at choosing the right words.”

“Hehe. I just...”

“But how old are you? I heard that you were cursed by the God of Death when you were young, and that you had to make a stuffed doll once per day so that you don’t rejuvenate even further.”

“Oh, I'm 530 years old this year. Younger than you thought, right? Petos is also about seven hundred years old.”

The atmosphere immediately went silent.

Woohyuk shook his head as if he had nothing else to say.

“You also shouldn’t act in a cutesy manner from now on.”

"Yes…”

Alphone buried her face in the stuffed pink rabbit she was holding with a depressed look.