The Devil of the Wasteland, Part 4
Though it left a somewhat sour taste in his mouth, Wilhelm's well-meaning but blunt remarks had somehow managed to pull them through the crisis.
"Hmm." Yohan watched the Inquisitor, who finally seemed to have dropped her suspicions, and let out a quiet sigh of relief in his mind. If I keep acting like a kicked dog here, she'll just start doubting me again. He felt the urgent need to keep the conversation flowing.
"Since you're poking around so much, I'm getting a bit curious myself. What exactly are these 'traces of heresy' you keep talking about?"
"Curious, are you?" the Inquisitor asked back when Yohan pressed her. Yohan gave a firm nod.
"I think I've earned the right to hear it, considering I went along with your unreasonable demands," Wilhelm chimed in to back Yohan up.
"I mean, it's not like you have to tell us. Maybe it's the kind of dangerous information that outsiders shouldn't even know about." Yohan threw in a bluff, pretending to take a step back.
At that, the Inquisitor looked back and forth between the two men before nodding with a solemn expression. "Fine. I'll tell you what is permissible for ordinary citizens to know."
—I, too, was harboring quite a bit of curiosity, so this is rather splendid.
The moment the Inquisitor finished speaking, the Goddess's voice echoed in Yohan's mind. As a divine being herself, she seemed to have a natural curiosity regarding matters of religious organizations.
"Do you believe in the existence of demons?"
While they waited quietly to hear what she had to say, the Inquisitor suddenly dropped a bombshell. Do you believe in demons? Was that really something a member of the clergy should be asking so bluntly? For a moment, Yohan felt as if he had been struck on the back of the head with a hammer.
"That depends on how you define a 'demon' exactly," Wilhelm replied nonchalantly, in stark contrast to the visibly flustered Yohan.
"Familiars controlled by certain tribes, spirits, and all kinds of spells cast by magic-users... From an ordinary person's perspective, there's no shortage of things in this world that could literally be called demonic."
This sheriff... judging by how he usually acts, I thought his skull was packed with nothing but muscle, but he actually has an intellectual side? Yohan stared at Wilhelm with newfound admiration. Noticing his gaze, Wilhelm glared back as if to say, What are you looking at, punk?
"A sharp observation. The demons I am referring to are eternal entities that exist solely to harm humans and other living creatures."
The demons the Inquisitor described matched the entities Yohan had heard about from the Goddess. Thinking of the Big Boss and the demon that had possessed him, Yohan nodded without realizing it.
"What is it? Have you heard of them before?"
"Ah, well, yeah. I've wandered around quite a bit, so I've picked up a thing or two here and there."
"Then this will be easier to explain. Demons are, fundamentally, beings from an outer world, not the land we inhabit."
The Inquisitor went on to explain the Central Church's doctrine regarding demons to everyone seated. However, since Yohan and Falco already knew all of this, only Wilhelm and Billy were actually paying close attention to her words.
"Therefore, we must destroy the physical bodies or objects serving as their hosts, and at the same time, eradicate the heretical cults that worship them. Only then can we escape their influence."
The Inquisitor paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone else. "So, make sure none of you get lured in by suspicious religious groups. I say this not merely because the laws of the Central Church forbid it, but for your own safety."
Yohan finally understood why the Inquisitor was so willing to share such complex information. By explaining the dangers of demons and heretical cults, she was raising awareness among ordinary people. Of course, this could backfire by making people curious about heresy... but in that case, her mindset was probably just to hunt them down and crush them anyway.
"At any rate, those demons who have set foot in our world reside in certain places. And among them, some have even banded together to form groups."
The conversation was growing increasingly serious. By this point, even Yohan, who possessed some prior knowledge, couldn't help but feel intrigued.
"A group of demons..."
"Yes. They call themselves 'Pandemonium'."
The moment the word 'Pandemonium' left the Inquisitor's mouth, Yohan felt a hot surge of emotion welling up from the depths of his chest. A human who had met a dying goddess stripped of her very name and returned to life. A goddess traveling alongside that human. And Pandemonium, the coalition of demons that this goddess and her Apostle would face.
"Urgh—"
His blood was boiling. Yes! This was exactly what fantasy was all about! Yohan let out an involuntary groan.
"Is something wrong?" the Inquisitor asked, catching his expression. Yohan quickly waved his hand dismissively.
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about what a dangerous place the world is."
"Yes. You are quite right."
The Inquisitor nodded at Yohan's response. "For a very long time, our Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has been working to eradicate heretical cults while keeping a close eye on the movements of Pandemonium."
A battle between clergy and demons that had lasted for hundreds, if not thousands, of years? Swallowing a gasp, Yohan clenched his fists without realizing it.
"So, have you literally been fighting ten thousand demons for over a thousand years?" asked Billy, who had been quietly listening the entire time. Billy's question hit the nail on the head, addressing exactly what Yohan had been wondering.
"No, that's not the case," the Inquisitor corrected, shattering Billy's assumption. "The name 'Pandemonium' is merely self-proclaimed. In reality, there are only about ten members. And it has been barely two hundred years since they began active operations."
"..."
Silence fell over the room at her reply. Give me back my anticipation! Yohan wanted to jump out of his seat and demand a refund on his excitement.
"They don't even live up to the name Pandemonium, and they've only been notorious for about two hundred years..."
"It does sound a bit underwhelming," Falco and Billy murmured, seemingly sharing Yohan's disappointment.
"Even so, the fact that they are dangerous remains unchanged. Demons are entities capable of driving nearby people to madness with nothing more than an object imbued with their evil energy."
The man-eating Troll Village Yohan had dealt with was a prime example. Because of that, Yohan couldn't simply let the Inquisitor's words go in one ear and out the other.
"Well, now that all my questions have been answered..." It's about time to get out of here. Yohan spoke up with that thought in mind.
"No. The conversation isn't over yet."
"What?"
But the Inquisitor, who had been quiet, stopped him. Yohan froze in an awkward half-sitting, half-standing posture.
"Since you've heard my story, it's only fair that you share yours now, don't you think?"
"My story?"
"Yes. I want to hear the details about those man-eating trolls you defeated. Including the location of their village." The Inquisitor's expression as she spoke was sharper than ever.
It was a checkmate. Just when he thought he had successfully changed the subject, the Inquisitor proved to be far more tenacious than Yohan had anticipated.
"Come on, it's not even that important of a story."
"The sheriff cooperated with my demands. That is why I willingly shared my information with you. So it is only right that you return the favor, is it not?" The Inquisitor spoke with flawless logic. Yohan had no room left to wiggle out of it.
"I suppose so. Fine, what do you want to know?" Yohan sighed, plonking his rear back down onto the chair.
"Didn't I tell you before? I am tracking 'traces of heresy'."
"Ah."
In short, she was asking if they had found any signs of heretical worship or demonolatry while fighting the man-eating trolls.
"If it's that..." How could I not know? He had literally found an object imbued with demonic energy and destroyed it on the spot. He felt his mouth go dry with tension.
"When we entered the village, there were tortured corpses and skeletons scattered all over the place," Falco spoke up, breaking her silence while Yohan was still agonizing over how to respond.
"Since they are man-eaters, finding skeletons scattered around shouldn't be particularly surprising, should it?" the Inquisitor questioned Falco's answer. Falco shook her head. "No, it was different. Right?" She then passed the baton to Billy.
"She's right. While the villagers did eat humans originally, they never threw the victims' bones onto the streets, nor did they capture living people to torture them to death and hang their corpses up." Fortunately, Billy seemed to have caught onto Yohan's intentions and naturally kept the explanation going.
"Exactly. They were bad guys to begin with, but when we got there, things were in a far more horrific state than before."
"I see." Perhaps satisfied with the trio's answers, the Inquisitor nodded repeatedly, a peculiar look on her face.
"As I mentioned earlier, demons are born from the collective unconsciousness of humanity. And if there was a tribe of trolls that had been devouring humans over a long period, as you've testified, it wouldn't be surprising if a demon was born among them."
—This one makes the same deduction as I did. Though, unfortunately, she is incorrect this time.
This also aligned with the Goddess's previous speculation. Yohan silently marveled at the surprisingly vast knowledge of his somewhat scatterbrained Goddess.
"Or perhaps a demon from Pandemonium paid them a visit while they were active." That's the correct answer. Yohan and Falco briefly exchanged glances.
"Very well. This has been highly informative. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Oh, don't mention it. I should be the one thanking you for the interesting story." Yohan replied with a casual shrug. At that moment, he thought he saw a brief, fleeting smile cross the Inquisitor's face.
With those final words, the Inquisitor stood up from her seat. Setting aside the unsightly display she had put on back in Balifield, she seemed to be fundamentally diligent when it came to her work.
"Are you heading out to investigate right away?" Yohan asked as she made her way toward the exit of the office. The Inquisitor paused and locked eyes with him.
"No."
"Huh?" Her immediate denial left Yohan, as well as everyone else, tilting their heads in confusion.
The Inquisitor suddenly tapped her neck with her index finger. "Work is work, but this is this."
"Ah." So raising her blood alcohol level takes priority over work. Yohan shook his head inwardly.
"Therefore... there is one last thing you all must do."
"Again?" They had already told her just about everything. What more did she want? Yohan let out a heavy sigh.
"Circumstantially, there is a very high probability that the three of you encountered a demon, or at least trolls influenced by one."
"And... what about it?"
"Simply coming into contact with a demon can have a malevolent effect on a human. It is possible that one of you has already been possessed."
Well, someone is technically possessing me, but it's definitely not a demon. Yohan sneered inwardly.
"I, Agnes, Heresy Inquisitor of the Central Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, do hereby declare..."
"In the name of His Holiness the Pope, I shall now examine you for any traces of heretical corruption."