Chapter 41
Nana and Jose were struck with simultaneous horror and rage at the sight of the old woman’s mangled state.
The unconscious old woman was a wise elder of their tribe who had long served as their advisor.
“What… What is the meaning of this madness?!”
Jose sprang to his feet and glared at the lunatic before him.
“Kuhuhuh… The hearts of heretics are as cold as stone. Not even the stream of grace can seep into them… And so, they must be shattered.”
Her bloodstained clothes and the madness overflowing from her eyes formed a chilling harmony that was unmistakable even at a glance.
“What do you mean we’re heretics? We’re merely a tribe living in harmony with nature! We don’t worship any other god!”
Del Maria, who had been silently staring at the shouting Jose, slowly opened her mouth.
“That is precisely the devil’s trickery.” “How is it heresy or demonic to commune with animals and befriend spirits?!” “Your ignorance is like the abyssal pit that swallows the light of scripture.”
From the tone of her voice, which sounded more like she was delivering a sentence than speaking, Jose realized there was no longer room for dialogue.
“I’ll handle this madwoman. Nana! Get the villagers out of here, now!” “Jose!?” “Go!”
At that moment, a soft glow began to radiate from Del Maria’s body. Then came the onslaught of iron rods.
“Why would Essus bestow radiance on a madwoman like you?!”
No matter how furiously Jose shouted, the light that wrapped around Del Maria only grew fiercer. Enveloping himself in wind, Jose narrowly evaded the swings of her iron rod.
As he stumbled backward while barely avoiding her strikes, he suddenly found himself inside Joanna’s house.
“Ah…!”
Inside were the corpses of the tribe’s children, lying scattered. Jose froze for a moment at the sight, but the iron rod flying toward him snapped him back into motion.
“The words of heretics and monsters are all hollow. Only death proves the truth.”
The pure flame of madness showed no signs of extinguishing—it only blazed hotter.
***
While Jose bought time, Nana gathered the villagers and tried to lead them out of the village.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the nearby city of Stanmore, a unit of soldiers was gathering.
They wore white hoods over their heads and carried a variety of weapons. From the thick scent of blood on them, it was clear those weapons weren’t just for show.
“It’s the Heretic Purging Unit…!”
Though it was late at night, a Stanmore resident let out a scream at the sight of the assembled troops.
The official name, Lance of Purification, had long been forgotten—everywhere, they were known only by their unofficial name: the Heretic Purging Unit. And all the rumors surrounding them stank of blood.
While Inquisitors usually operated alone, they could request assistance from nearby Holy Knights when organization was required.
However, if a major or coordinated heretical threat was discovered, the Inquisitor had the authority to deploy the Heretic Purging Unit at their discretion.
Even the most devout could not help but frown at the ever-present stench of blood that clung to these men.
Even among the clergy, there were those who took issue with the unit’s existence and their methods.
What would become of them in the future remained to be seen, but for now, they still functioned as a Heretic Purging Unit.
“The Enchin Tribe—man, woman, child, or elder—are all vile heretics. The sentence is swift death. The greatest mercy one can grant a heretic is a quick death.”
So said Elmondo, the Purging Unit’s commander. Intense emotions, unspoken and fierce, radiated through his entire being.
And soon after, fifty soldiers from the Heretic Purging Unit, along with Elmondo himself, launched a raid on the Enchin Tribe.
It was a familiar tactic to them.
A small unit executed a rapid, multi-pronged attack, leveraging the element of surprise, supplemented by fire assaults and psychological warfare driven by fear and intimidation. A brutal, fear-focused strategy designed to crush the enemy’s will.
No heretical group had ever mounted proper resistance once subjected to this without prior preparation.
“Kyaaahhh!”
A woman of the Enchin Tribe screamed and struggled as she was dragged out, only for a mace to crush her skull in the next instant.
They made a spectacle of her execution in the open square. The nearby villagers, witnessing the brutal killing, were stricken with terror. Elmondo stifled a smile at their reaction.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a mysterious gust of wind sent a fully armored soldier flying and slamming into a wall.
“Who goes there?!”
Elmondo frowned and turned toward the source of the wind. There stood Nana, her green hair fluttering in the breeze.
“Why are we heretics?!” “There is nothing to hear from the devil’s tongue! Unit 3, secure this area! The rest, crush the vile heretics!”
Elmondo charged ahead, barking orders. Realizing she couldn’t take them all at once, the green-haired woman kicked off the ground and widened the distance.
***
Karl and Isabel were heading toward the Enchin Tribe’s village, led by a local guide.
Being impoverished, the tribe hadn’t lived in Stanmore proper but had instead settled in a small village on the outskirts.
“Do you also believe all heretics must be purged, Sir Isabel?”
“Of course they must be. But the judgment must be made carefully.”
Though she believed in due process, it was clear she wouldn’t grant exceptions when it came to heresy.
“Have I ever told you about my experience in the East Continent?”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Over there, rivers of blood still flow just for believing in a different god. But the people there work, eat, and live just like we do.”
“Are you defending them?”
“Not at all. I doubt there’s anyone on this continent who’s lost as much to those bastards as I have.”
Isabel fell silent.
She too had sensed that, when it came to heresy, the Church’s authority wasn’t as ironclad as it claimed to be.
While the Unified Emperor was tying the continent into one great political body, the Church had secured its place as the sole—and only—faith, sometimes at the Emperor’s side, sometimes behind him.
Blood had been spilled in the process. Screams had echoed. Isabel knew this well.
“Sir Thomas says the problem lies with certain Inquisitors. But I disagree. I think we need a fundamental solution.”
“….”
Isabel remained silent. It was something she was aware of, at least in part. But as a member of the Church, dealing with heretical policies was beyond her authority.
As their fragmented conversation continued, they reached the outskirts of the Enchin Tribe’s village.
They saw smoke rising—and heard the screams.
“This is far enough. Your guidance ends here.”
With that, Karl kicked his horse into motion, and Isabel followed.
By the time they arrived, a massacre had already taken place. Dozens had been killed—or left near death.
Just then, someone dragged a man across the ground and threw him like baggage into the cluster of captured Enchin villagers.
Thud.
The man didn’t even flinch. He lay sprawled where he landed. The woman who had thrown him was drenched in blood, clutching an iron rod in each hand, eyes closed in solemn prayer.
“This foolish servant carries out the holy task of purification upon this earth.”
Her entire body was soaked in blood, but her eyes glinted ominously.
“…A lunatic.”
That was Karl’s terse assessment of the woman praying amid the sea of blood and corpses.
“…This is…”
Isabel’s eyes went wide with disbelief. Then she clenched her teeth in fury.
Karl, who had seen even worse, wasn’t shocked—but he was curious about what Isabel was thinking.
“This indiscriminate slaughter is not something a Church Inquisitor should ever carry out, Lady Del Maria!”
Isabel strode forward and stood before Del Maria.
“What brings the Blind Star of Wisdom to such a place?”
Del Maria smiled, red and radiant.
“Just happened to be passing by.”
Their gazes clashed fiercely.
“This falls within the Inquisitor’s authority. The Lord of Stanmore also consented. Nothing is out of order.”
“You mean he approved of this massacre?!”
“Massacre? Please mind your words, Lady Isabel. This is purification.”
Isabel’s brow twitched ever so slightly.
“Force is only permitted when heresy is cross-verified, and resistance is both organized and deadly.”
“These foul heretics resisted with lethal force, killing ten and wounding five of the Lance of Purification. That justifies our actions, doesn’t it?”
“Wasn’t it you, Lady Del Maria, who launched the surprise attack?”
“Why would you think such a thing?”
Del Maria laughed. Though the two clashed, the one in charge here was not Isabel, but Del Maria.
Just then, a member of the Purging Unit was flung into the air and crashed to the ground. There stood a woman with green hair blowing in the wind.
“Jose!”
She screamed when she saw the man collapsed on the ground.
“You monsters! You call it divine to kill innocent people like this?!”
Her bloodshot eyes blazed with fury.
But the Purging Unit and Del Maria only stared at her impassively.
“So you don’t even hide it anymore. Every word from your mouth is the unholy screech of a devil.”
Del Maria immediately lunged at Nana, iron rods in hand.
Nana looked like she could barely stand. Her breath was ragged, and her hands were trembling.
Everyone braced for the moment when blood and brain matter would fly again—
SPLAT!
With a heavy impact, Del Maria was flung like a puppet with its strings cut. She tumbled several times before barely rising to her feet.
“…!”
As she looked up with a twisted expression, she saw a man in a Lance of Purification uniform—his mask removed—standing before her.
“This is truly the devil’s den…!”
“….”
The masked man said nothing, but Del Maria charged again, her body cloaked in strange light.
He barely dodged her rod and countered with a kick. His armored foot struck Del Maria right under the jaw.
Her teeth shattered and flew through the air. People gasped as she lost consciousness in an instant.
The masked man hoisted two villagers onto his back, and at the same time, several Druids resisting inside the village freed the bound villagers and led them away.
“….”
Isabel remained rooted to the spot.
***
“Jose! Jose! Wake up! Jose!”
Having escaped the village, Karl removed his mask and found a safe place to settle.
Nana clutched the fallen man—Jose—in her arms, crying.
“Nana…”
Jose barely regained consciousness—but he clearly wouldn’t last long.
“Take care of Selly…”
With those final words, Jose’s head slumped to the side.
“We have to move. They'll come after us.”
At Karl’s words, Nana nodded.
Karl slung Jose’s corpse over his shoulder, gathered the remaining wounded, and began moving toward a hiding place.
Nana clenched her teeth as she followed behind Karl, her gaze fixed on his back.