102 – My Wife is the Devil (9)
The Telmere Church’s [Code of Conduct during Infiltration Investigation and Demonic Sacrifice Activities] Largely consists of three types.
First.
From interrogator trainees to top heresy interrogators. All heresy inquisitors of the church, regardless of rank, must act as a team of two or as a team of three including a priest.
Second.
If the location of your partner cannot be determined due to an unforeseen emergency, leave the operation site immediately (return to the pre-determined safety point).
Third.
If you are unable to leave the operation location, change your priority goal to survival rather than demon extinguishment.
In some ways, this is an overly cautious rule.
There is neither bravery nor madness in the code of conduct of the Inquisitors, who are often imaged in the world as fearless, crazy fanatics.
Honestly, it’s not much different from the rules of back alley thugs like there’s no business in Daguri or if you mess up, just run away.
In fact, interrogators who were very proud of their skills often acted alone, ignoring the so-called ‘fearful’ religious order’s code of conduct.
‘It’s okay, it’s okay. I have been worshiping demons for 10 years. How can two people go out to catch a snail? ‘It’s enough for me alone.’
Of course, all the Heretic Questioners who went around saying things like this have long since become cold corpses.
Statistically, the highest ranking last words among veteran Heresy Questioners is ‘I alone am enough.’
The denomination did not create such an excessive code of conduct for no reason.
Too much or too little is not a phrase that is used when dealing with the devil.
-Please, please! Please don’t kill me. Julius! Oh, no. Please…Don’t kill me.
“I don’t like it.”
-Well, don’t do that. Please have mercy just once.
“I don’t like it.”
-How dare this bastard! Do you know who I am! I am the eighteenth high-ranking devil. Flesh Sculptor Mashahahaha-
Just right.
-Quaaa!
“…… Whether it’s a flesh sculptor or Marsha Hill. “That’s none of my business.”
However, just as there are always exceptions to every rule, there were some Inquisitors who completely ignored the rules of conduct containing the wisdom of good men and still survived.
A demonic nightmare that would make any low-level demon foam at the mouth and collapse at the mere mention of its name.
Bone crusher.
Julius Tapnel was the main character.
He has been working as a Heresy Inquisitor for 10 years so far and has violated safety rules a total of 749 times, setting a new record of safety insensitivity that no one can match even in the 500-year history of the Telmere Church.
And yet, the reason why he is still alive in good physical and limb… Well, what can I say? There is probably no one in the world who does not know the reason.
Except for one pitiful high-ranking demon who has been sleeping for 500 years and doesn’t know much about the world.
***
Chi Ik──
“…… Hmm, I’m in a bit of trouble.”
The windows in the hallway are all covered with bizarre portraits, giving off a dark and eerie atmosphere in the middle of the hallway of the Spiral Palace.
Julius, the proud holder of the Telmere Church’s new safety insensitivity record, was currently experiencing an unusual feeling of embarrassment.
“…… “Cecil has disappeared.”
A corner of the field of vision.
Julius muttered quietly as he looked at the ‘insignificant’ high-ranking demon whose soul had been burned and was incapable of recovery.
Next to her, just a few tens of minutes ago, her eyes were fluttering and she said, ‘It doesn’t matter if she’s a young woman or an old woman. Cecile, who was sniffing and making strange noises such as ‘I need to find out where everyone is!’, Was nowhere to be seen.
Like a miracle.
No, something quite unusual happened to Julius and his wife, who had been sticking together for almost no time since their reunion, which was a miracle in itself.
“…… I just looked away for a moment and it disappeared before my eyes. “It seems that the magic of the devil called Arnhill was much more powerful than I thought.”
Julius sighed deeply as he examined the traces of the 18th high-ranking demon, “Flesh Sculptor Marshahill,” Whose body was now completely burned, with only the grotesquely gigantic right hand barely maintaining its original shape.
And then he slowly walked towards the place where the high-ranking demon burned to death. Even if it was nothing special, I wanted to find at least one clue.
Well, even if there was a clue at the point where everything was burned, it would have been burned.
Two-duk─ Two-duk─
From above his head as he searched for clues about Erman, an eerie sound that was extremely ominous was heard.
It was the sound of bright red flesh writhing and moving and colliding with each other.
“… ….”
Hmm. As expected, there are no clues or anything. I’m in real trouble.
Even though he knew it would be of no use, Julius glanced at the place where the high-ranking devil had been a few more times and shook his head as if he was troubled.
Why on earth did he become separated from Cecil and find himself rummaging through the corpse of a demon in the middle of this lonely, uninhabited hallway?
To put it bluntly, Julius was now a lost child.
Really. Shamefully.
‘Julius! From here on, you can never be distracted. Understand?’
‘…… ‘Do you think I am such a child?’
‘But Julius. Julius sometimes does strange things-‘
‘Uh huh. ‘Didn’t I say it was okay?’
About an hour ago from now.
After successfully infiltrating into the Spiral Palace, Julius and Cecil walked in pursuit of Erman’s energy spreading throughout the palace.
In the meantime.
‘…Sa, please save me….’
‘Hmm? Cecil. Stop for a moment. Is someone here calling for help…?
Julius, who was momentarily distracted by the fearful man’s rescue call coming from beyond the wall, ended up losing Cecil due to Arnhill’s magic that was triggered at the right time to randomly mix up the space.
The man who was pounding on the wall asking for help was also nowhere to be seen, as if he had flown off somewhere else.
‘…… It’s a big deal. I lost Cecil.’
Actually, strictly speaking, rather than Julius losing Cecil, it was Cecil losing Julius, but Julius decided to choose the former.
The role of finding a lost child is usually the role of the person who paid attention.
Julius could never admit that he had become a lost child.
‘…… ‘This is a bit difficult.’
Julius, who lost Cecil in an instant, suddenly felt anxious and frowned.
My wife, who was more precious to me than myself, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
I felt like I wanted to find Cecil right now and turn the entire palace upside down.
However, within the complex maze-like palace where spaces are randomly mixed.
Without any remnants of demonic magic, there was no way he could properly find Cecil, so Julius decided to continue with his original plan, which was simple: ‘Find Ehrman and Arnhill.’
‘…… If it were a head-to-head fight, I’d at least go through the wall. ‘Infiltration doesn’t suit your constitution.’
Actually, everyone who knows it knows this, but aside from being good at tracking, Julius would sometimes do erratic things like wandering down roads he knew.
As short as one month. This is why it took as many as three months to reach Kente Village, which can be reached in two months at the most.
Of course, it is a weakness that is not often highlighted because Kryle, who is very good at finding the way, is by his side or Cecil is clinging to his back, but in these special situations, Julius’s only weakness is ‘unexpected’ pathfinding. It was a perfect weakness to cause.
It is not for nothing that the safety rule of not acting alone was violated 749 times.
Of course, from the perspective of devils and heretics, the only difference is whether they die early or late.
‘Before anything happens to Cecil, we will resolve the situation itself.’
Julius, who had been staring into the empty space as if Cecile might appear at any moment, gathered his thoughts as he nodded.
Rather than wasting time looking for the missing Cecil, he decided to quickly negotiate with Erman. Thinking about the fallen saint was still confusing in his mind, but for now, Julius continued to walk aimlessly.
Because of his noble appearance and terrible love for Cecil, people often mistakenly thought that Julius was a thoughtful and calm man, but in reality, he was neither a deep thinker nor a calm person.
If we were to be honest, he was a man with a temper similar to that of fire. He was a man who used his fists rather than his words when solving a case.
He pretended to be more rational than anyone else, but in fact, he was a more emotional person than anyone else.
‘… ….’
Tap-tap─ Ttuk-buk─
Wandering aimlessly through the corridors of the palace, chasing the vague reverberations of saints and high-ranking demons.
He encountered a high-ranking demon who called himself Flesh Piece. After an intense(?) Battle that lasted several seconds, we ended up in the middle of the hallway without even the slightest clue.
“…… From here on, the reverberation is also faint. “I wish Cecil had been with me.”
Has it become stronger in response to the power of the high-ranking devil? Julius looked around his surroundings, holding onto the strangely uncontrollable “Gold” In his heart, then roughly stroked his bangs while chewing his lower lip.
Up until now, I had been following the lingering scent of the saint wafting from various corners of the hallway, that is, the scent of the flame in his heart, but from now on, even that trace was blurry.
It was like being shipwrecked in the open sea.
‘Should I call Nerondir… No. ‘Not yet.’
A situation where you have completely lost your clues.
As a last resort, he thought about summoning the Holy Sword, who was currently disturbing Arnhill’s senses with Lionel Tarr outside the palace, but he immediately dismissed it as a ridiculous idea and shook his head.
If you have a holy sword that has all kinds of powers thanks to the love of God, you will be able to easily escape from the current situation, which is like wandering in the open sea.
In fact, among the powers possessed by the Holy Sword, there is the power of “Guide” That helps you find the right path.
However, if Nerondir is summoned now, Julius’ location will be immediately revealed to Erman and Arnhil.
They were holding all of the countless people in Darkana, the capital of Lyriam, hostage, and being discovered that they had trespassed into the palace without permission was not a very pleasant situation, even for the world’s strongest man.
Of course, if Cecil’s life was in danger, he would be willing to sacrifice the entire capital to summon the holy sword, but since Cecil’s life is not in immediate danger as he has almost the same level of power as Julius without the holy sword, it would not be possible to do so. There was no need to do it.
“…… “This place is more troublesome than I thought.”
What should I do with this? Should I just keep moving forward? Or should I look for another passage?
Looking at the bright red corridor that was just a straight line with no end in sight, Julius fell into deep thought.
The tracking technique, which was considered a skill, lost its power in front of the spiral palace that formed a nearly infinite maze.
The ‘armed force’ that I normally used could not be used hastily because there were hostages.
The Holy Sword, which is the last resort, cannot be summoned because it is not yet time.
It is truly a desperate situation for which the word ‘everywhere’ is just right.
That was the moment when Julius was pondering whether he should at least find her and join her by smelling her like Cecil did.
Caw─ Caw─
“…… Hmm?”
From the other side of the hallway, which stretched out infinitely in a straight line and showed only darkness, the chirping of an incredibly trustworthy crow began to echo somewhere.
“…… “This sound.”
Definitely Cecil’s familiar.
Julius unconsciously turned his head towards the place where he heard a very familiar chirping.
-Caw! Caw!
A moment passes when only the chirping of crows rings out. Eventually, what emerged from the darkness was an artistic creature with a perfect combination of pitch-black magical energy and a bit of divine power.
-Caw! Caw!
“…… Her. Nice to see you here. “It’s a shame to say something like this to a familiar, though.”
-Kak! Kak!
From Noble mtl dot com
The jackdaw that flew towards Julius, flapping its small wings vigorously, was none other than a black crow.
A jackdaw-type familiar created by Cecil Lionelta.
Commonly known as Parachute Corps Commander Kamangi.
-Kak! Caw! Caw!
“It’s noisy. “Either speak or keep your mouth shut.”
-… ….
I will guide you through the final story of a man named Julius Tapnel as a top heresy interrogator.
It was the moment when the guide appeared.