Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Red-Eyed High Elf (1)
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Sudden visitors had me rushing out of the bathroom.
I didn't sense any particular hostility, but it didn't feel like a casual visit either.
Well, I had a pretty good guess who it was.
One familiar presence, and two that weren't.
Plus, those two had levels way above anyone I'd met so far, and they gave off an unpleasant aura.
-Creak!
"Who is it?"
Still, ignoring them would just make things messy, so I went out to meet them.
When I opened the door, there was that adventurer swordsman named Rain, along with the two masked Heresy Inquisitors who'd come looking for me yesterday.
"Ah, Lady Cyan! Good morning—"
The swordsman was the first to greet me, while the Inquisitors hung back, watching from behind...
But mid-sentence, the swordsman suddenly froze.
Yeah, you know... his face went completely pale, and he just stopped moving, locked in place like that.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
I even waved my hand in front of his face, but there was zero reaction.
'?'
Come to think of it, the Inquisitors behind him had all turned their heads away too.
"Ahem..."
Like they'd just seen something they shouldn't have.
Calling someone out first thing in the morning and then everyone ignoring me like this was starting to piss me off a little, but I decided to figure out why first.
-Thud!
Then came the sound of frantic footsteps from behind.
It was Louis, rushing over with a bathrobe in hand, his face beet red for some reason.
Running in that robe, did he not realize his thighs and chest were flashing with every step?
With guests here, that was hardly polite—
"Gaaah! Lady Cyan! Clothes! Put on some clothes before you come out...!"
"Hm?"
Only then did I look down at myself after hearing Louis.
My gaze dropped to my bare chest, completely exposed without my usual clothes.
In other words, I'd come out to greet them wrapped in nothing but a thin towel.
'Ah.'
Since taking this body, my senses had dulled a bit.
Because of that, I often forgot little things like getting dressed. Now I got why the Inquisitors had turned away—they even the supposedly ruthless Heresy Inquisitors hesitated at the sight of a woman's naked body.
'My mistake.'
I quickly draped the robe Louis brought over myself and stepped back out.
"Let's talk inside anyway. Standing around out here is silly."
I'd known they'd show up eventually, so it wasn't a huge surprise.
They were a bit earlier than expected, but no real issue...
'Huh, why isn't this guy moving?'
Weirdly, the swordsman still wasn't budging.
Even the Inquisitors—who I assumed brought him—looked a little flustered.
"Are you alright? Adventurer, if you're not feeling well, you can head back now—"
One of the Inquisitors, sensing something off, grabbed the swordsman's shoulder.
-Thump!
But the guy just toppled straight to the floor.
In the exact same pose he'd frozen in.
Now that I looked closer, his eyes weren't blinking, not a finger twitched—he really looked petrified.
...Wait, is this guy dead?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 1.
After carrying the unconscious Rain—who'd passed out with his eyes open—back to the guild, Cyan emerged and headed off somewhere with the Inquisitors.
And wherever Cyan went, eyes followed.
A strikingly beautiful High Elf with pale skin, trailed by those creepy masked figures—it naturally drew attention.
Yet no one dared whisper about it.
Those masked ones were the Heresy Inquisitors, merciless enough to execute anyone tied to demons on the spot.
No one with any regard for their life would even utter their name lightly.
One careless word, and if they got flagged, it was game over.
-Clack.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ~Neutral Stage~ Asral City Shopping District In a quiet cafe tucked away from the crowds, Cyan found a sparsely populated shop and settled in to talk.
"So, what exactly did you come for?"
Cyan asked from her chair.
Standing before her were the two Heresy Inquisitors.
Their robes shrouded their forms, faces hidden behind masks etched with unknown symbols—shady figures indeed.
Soon, the taller man spoke up.
"Do you know that a demon has appeared?"
"I saw it. I was right there."
As expected, the Heresy Inquisitors were asking about the demon's existence.
Demons—the mightiest of the demonkin in the demon realm.
They were said to command hordes of demonic beasts, and rumors swirled that they were locked in a civil war back home due to some 'rebellion' in the demon realm.
'Yep, coming with that story.'
It was Novel Online's early storyline.
Before the max level expansion—back before the Transcendent Delatros fell. An old tale from the past.
Essentially beta-test filler story, so few in-game even knew it.
Cyan had played back then, so she remembered it vividly.
"Then you must know that demon is tied to the 'Demon King' as well."
"Any demon showing up in the human realm has to be linked to the Demon King. Why else would one set foot in a world like this?"
"Exactly. As expected of a 6-star adventurer—you know your stuff. Then you know the Demon King's forces are expanding from the old dwarf territories as a foothold."
Cyan's eyes narrowed at that.
'They've already dug into who I am.'
A high-ranking demon had descended to the human realm, proclaiming himself 'Demon King' and seizing the dwarves' lands.
That's why dwarf treasures forged by their king were flooding the markets now. The dwarf kingdom had fought hard with their advanced 'magitech,' but...
They fell to the overpowered demons in the end.
Now the dwarves were refugees.
"So, what's your point with me? You didn't come just to rehash ancient history."
"...Fair enough. Let's get to it."
But these Inquisitors' intent wasn't some stale old tale.
Cyan had clocked that ages ago.
"The demon that appeared in the northern forest—did you take it down?"
What the unpleasant mask wanted was to ID who'd slain such a powerful demon.
That's why they'd come to her.
From guild intel, this city had a top-tier 6-star adventurer—and a High Elf on par with Crisheon's Sage.
In their eyes, Cyan was prime suspect.
Put simply, the Heresy Inquisitors had come to interrogate the red-eyed High Elf, Cyan.
"No, I've got nothing to do with it."
"But you took the dungeon subjugation quest for that forest and were on-site, weren't you?"
"That wasn't me. Other adventurers were short-handed, so I just filled the headcount."
"We heard there was an incident, and you saved them."
"I showed up late on my own. I just happened to spot the demon then."
"And that timing lines up perfectly with its appearance—doesn't it?"
A back-and-forth with zero give.
Cyan stuck to her guns: clueless, uninvolved.
The Inquisitors spoke like they'd already convicted her of the kill.
Their verbal joust was dead even.
"Demons are sin incarnate just by existing. Their breath alone is poison that steals lives. In the brief minutes it was sighted, the forest's ecosystem and even civilians took heavy casualties."
"That's a shame. Aren't you Sacred Church folks supposed to prevent that?"
"No helping it. Sacred Church members need imperial permission to even set foot in the Ires Empire."
Sacred Church.
Ironically at odds with the so-called Holy Empire of Ires.
Reason? The 'Transcendent' they revered differed from the empire's.
The Church worshipped Space's Transcendent 'Cresia'.
The Empire bowed to Life's Transcendent 'Delatros'.
Opposing patrons made them enemies. Scale-wise, the empire dwarfed the Church as a mere sect, so they couldn't act freely.
Not that they were militarily outmatched.
"So we went through channels and arrived... but the demon was gone, its presence vanished."
"Huh. Maybe it retreated to the demon realm, or some other adventurer got it."
"Unlikely. If it were something mere adventurers could handle, we wouldn't have mobilized."
"Forgot I'm one of those 'mere adventurers'? Sounds like you're saying I took it down."
"Indeed. A High Elf like you? Perfectly capable. No need to hide it—just come with us briefly."
-Clack.
Then an Inquisitor pulled out a scroll.
A teleport scroll, likely keyed to their Church temple.
'If they try using that, I'll warp to Louis and bail.'
The temple was a sanctuary under Space's Transcendent's blessing, barring demons.
Demons entering would dissolve on the spot.
That's why demon players in Novel Online couldn't approach Transcendent temples.
"Plus, slaying a demon earns you huge rewards from our Church—and the Ires Empire. No need to be modest."
Hidden by the mask, but the Inquisitor seemed to smirk.
He skipped how they'd verify the kill method, or scan if she was demonic too.
Not lies, just selective truth.
In case their subject was the demon.
Demons were vicious, even killing their own—Demon King's forces included.
The Church knew demons could shapeshift.
These Inquisitors had even considered Cyan might be a demon who'd slain a real High Elf and donned her skin.
High Elves wielded vast mana and potent magic—perfect disguise for a demon in hiding.
"I see. Too bad you got the wrong person."
"...Is that so? Pity. If you say no, we won't press."
But Cyan held firm: nope.
-Click!
The Inquisitor judged further questioning a waste, stood, declared the interrogation over, paid for the tea, and locked the shop door.
"What the hell is this?"
Cyan glared daggers.
"We're not asking anymore. Never said the interrogation was over. Circumstances point to no one else capable of slaying a demon but you... High Elf. Or should I say, demon."
-Crackle!
White aura leaked from the Inquisitor—holy power.
Deadly to demons, crafted by Life's Transcendent to shield the human realm from the demon world.
'Not just any Heresy Inquisitor. This one's stronger.'
Cyan felt a slight sting.
Now she noticed: his mask bore odder markings than the standard ones she knew.
'Then it's him.'
If her guess was right, this was a 'Heresy Judge'.
Judges led Inquisitor squads, deemed human realm's strongest alongside their four peers.
-Ires Empire's Swordmaster.
-Crisheon Kingdom's Sage.
-Grendel Mountains' War God.
-Sacred Church's Heresy Judge.
'NPCs you must meet for ultimate job advancements...'
⚔ STATUS ⚔ [Heresy Judge – Lv.500(★)] 'Level 500 like in the game—pre-expansion max.'
Pure stats might even rival hers.
Even with her dual-class edge, the Heresy Judge was holy power's pinnacle—a demon's hard counter.
"...?"
Yet Cyan showed no real reaction.
She casually sipped her tea.
The Judge looked puzzled.
"...What are you doing?"
"Do whatever. I didn't kill the demon. My answer won't change no matter what you pull."
Cyan gazed out the window, utterly disinterested.
Clear signal: she was done with him.
-Crackle! Zap!
Her nonchalance enraged the Judge.
How could she lie so brazenly? Even a vile demon showing such contempt felt like an insult.
"Pathetic..."
With that, searing holy power filled the shop.
Cyan ignored it.
The Judge's patience snapped. He drew his sword and charged at her with overwhelming force.
"How long will you keep up the lies? You killed the demon—that's the truth. Hiding it proves you're one too—"
And—
"Kyaaah!"
"?!"
-Boom!
His blade a hair from striking Cyan, a sudden scream from outside halted him.
Simple reason.
The moment the screams hit, a familiar 'demonic aura'—supposedly gone—wafted in.
"D-Demon! A demon appeared...!"
"...What?"
Shouts of another demon sighting followed.
"Wh-What the hell?!"
The flustered Judge, amid the growing screams.
Watching it all, Cyan just smiled quietly.