Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Heresy Inquisition
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Awe.
A status ailment inflicted by blessed weapons and holy spells.
Its effect was a single line, unlike other ailments cluttered with endless explanations: "Greatly reduces all damage dealt by the target for the duration."
Just reading that far, the "greatly reduces damage dealt" part might not hit home, so most would shrug it off as a mildly annoying debuff.
But simple is best, and that holds true anywhere, anytime.
Even in vanilla, it was a filthy 40% reduction, but in the modded version, it went further to a whopping 90%. Practically no damage got through at all.
Physical attacks, magic attacks, even fellow holy attacks—it didn't matter. True to its name, it reduced all outgoing damage.
What made it even more vicious was that this damage reduction applied as the final multiplier after all other calculations, slashing 90% no matter how much you stacked buffs to inflate your damage.
The real kicker? Players had almost no way to properly exploit this cheat of a debuff.
Sure, all blessed weapons and holy spells filled the Awe gauge. But it drained so fast it was useless.
Even with the fastest-attacking dagger, by the time you landed one normal hit and waited out the slight backswing for the next, the gauge was already halved.
And to top it off, this Awe penalty applied only to players. The other enemies using holy power stacked their gauges just fine.
'They know players could steamroll the game if they spammed Awe around.'
Then why even include it?
Just to piss off the ones on the receiving end?
At least in the modded version, any holy attack killed you outright before the debuff could apply, so as long as you dodged a few patterns, you never had to deal with it.
Whether you could call that a blessing in disguise was debatable.
"What... how..."
Lize muttered in utter confusion, oblivious to the mechanics. Erika, poised beside me to parry the battle nun's attack, looked equally stunned.
Stella replied with a radiant smile.
"The gods protect me. Did you really think a heretic serving mere demons could lay a finger on me? You're not just stupid—you're hopelessly dim."
The game system labeled it "Awe," so players called it that, but in-game NPCs described the phenomenon as a miracle from the gods.
Well, since it stemmed from holy power, calling it a divine miracle wasn't entirely wrong.
Stella set her flanged mace on the ground and seized Lize's left wrist. With a flex of strength, she began slowly pulling the arm outward. The distance between dagger and throat grew.
The knight captain, dozens of times stronger than a normal human, was effortlessly overpowering her in an arm-wrestle. Lize's arm trembled violently in contrast to Stella's relaxed expression.
Next, the right wrist stabbing at her throat was pushed back. With both wrists gripped, Lize twisted desperately to break free, but Stella didn't budge an inch.
"Futile struggling."
Stella spun half a turn, still holding the arms. Lize's legs flew into the air. Halfway through the rotation, Stella twisted again.
Lize's toes pointed skyward before slamming straight down.
"Sis!"
Erika's desperate cry rang out as Lize's body crashed into the dirt. A thud echoed, dust billowing up. It was that grab pattern the heresy inquisitor occasionally pulled in boss fights.
"Cough, hack!"
Lize, who had landed on her back, coughed in agony. Stella's grip hadn't loosened, leaving her unable to do anything but cough.
Truth be told, if Lize hadn't been hit by Awe—or if she'd known about it from the start—she never would've been overpowered like that.
She panicked when her attacks didn't land, letting the ambush through.
"Erika."
I called out softly to Erika, who was a heartbeat from charging with a ferocious scowl, her blade wreathed in flames. She froze and turned to me.
"Just listen. That blonde isn't protected by some miracle—it's the light you two just got bathed in. It debuffed you, that's why your attacks aren't working."
Erika's eyes widened at the truth. Probably never crossed her mind.
"So you're the same. You both got hit by that white light. Attacking her now is pointless—it won't land."
"...Then what do we do?"
"I'll handle it."
'*Not like I have a plan.'*
I'd told Erika I'd step up, but honestly, I had no sharp ideas.
This was uncharted territory—I'd never encountered it in the game, and I didn't know a surefire way to turn the tables.
Not content with branding me a heretic for using a demon on the lord, the inquisitor had come straight from the Holy Kingdom. Who could've seen that coming?
'*This won't derail the main story, will it?*
Minor details could deviate a bit. But messing up the main plot? Absolutely not.
"Urk!"
"Sis?!"
Lize floated into the air before crashing beside Erika with a splat. Stella had hurled her our way. Erika scrambled to her side.
I'd wondered why she botched the landing, but Lize looked shell-shocked. That last exchange must've rattled her bad.
Erika struggled to help her up. The battle nuns, maces and shields in hand, closed in steadily.
'*Can I slip this without fighting?*
With my Vitality Enhancement rune equipped, if it were just me surrounded, I'd roll to one side, avoiding the encirclement while scouting an escape.*
But now I had to protect Claudia, Lize, and Erika. Abandoning them to save myself? Never crossed my mind.
So, best to find a non-violent way out.
I recalled what I knew about heresy inquisitors. Surprisingly, I stayed calm—thanks to one ace up my sleeve.
My Holy Power stat, maxed at 10. In Stella's heresy check, I was zero-risk of flagging as a heretic.
'*The problem is if she skips the check and declares me one outright.*
Then it'd be a straight fight with no alternatives.
'*Guess I'll try.*
After a few mental simulations, I stepped forward, shielding Lize and Erika.
Behind me, a startled Lize tried to rise but got held back by Erika. I'd tipped Erika off earlier, so she'd figure I had something in mind.
"Why step up? Even heretics care for their comrades or something? Urk, disgusting."
Stella mimed a gag. Her face, though, beamed with that same cheerful smile. Detached from her words, she looked incredibly kind.
"I'll say it again: we're not heretics. Definitely not demon worshippers. You're the only one mistaken, so just leave."
"Mistaken? Me?"
Stella gripped the handle of her mace, half-buried like an anchor. It grated as she yanked it free bit by bit.
"Who dares spout such brazen lies?"
The battle nuns tightened the circle.
Some had reached Claudia's side. She tried lifting her greatsword but dropped her trembling arms with a ragged breath, not even reaching the hilt.
Lize and Erika froze too. A mace hovered threateningly near Claudia's head—the message was clear.
"Just one question. If we surrender here, what happens?"
"Surrender? Ah, finally grasping your place? Obviously, we'll verify your purity, confirm you're heretics, and torture you until you repent."
Stella beamed.
Good enough. "Verify purity" meant the heresy check. At least I wouldn't die without one.
"Yeah? Got it. We surrender."
"Delta?!"
"Delta?!"
I dropped my bloodied sword and declared it crisply. Stunned, Lize and Erika called my name. I looked at them reassuringly.
Reading my eyes, they quieted down.
"Given up? Fine by me. No need to waste energy—saves us all trouble. Move in, everyone. Be cautious; devil worship could be anywhere."
Battle nuns grabbed my arms, forcing me to my knees with brute strength. My arms wouldn't budge—who knew they were that strong?
Lize and Erika got disarmed and surrounded, while Claudia just got one guard nun. Guess I'm the ringleader.
"Iris."
"Yes, Inquisitor."
Stella, smug as ever, beckoned someone. Iris, the battle nun called, approached demurely. Blonde with green eyes, like Stella.
Not that it meant much—all battle nuns were.
Even in this tense spot, head ripe for a mace smash, I stayed composed. The purity check—heresy scan—wouldn't kill me.
Another rough hand forced my head up. I stared up at Iris like a supplicant. Her nun habit covered less than it hid.
No effort to conceal underboob or sideboob, and the garter belt? Pointless. Armpits, inner thighs, even ass cheek—all on display.
Weirder still: her exposure was less than Stella's. Did the Holy Kingdom demand higher ranks strip more?
"Begin."
At Stella's order, Iris unhesitatingly placed her latex-gloved hand on her breast cover. Her other hand went to the scrap barely hiding her crotch.
'*...What?*
The sudden strip show left me baffled. Iris, stripping earnestly, looked dead serious.
She undid her habit's flaps, lifting the breast cover slowly. A pink nipple peeked out gradually.
I was confused. Truly. Was this really how they checked for heresy? Why?
Ignoring me, Iris yanked the breast cover up and tore off the crotch flap. Bare breasts and her intimate area sprawled right in my face, utterly exposed.
Silence fell.
Stella, who ordered it. Iris, who did it. Me, watching it. Everyone here froze in stunned idiocy.
"...Huh?"
Stella's dumbstruck voice shattered the quiet.