Irreversible (2)

I glanced at the Archmage. I simply could not make sense of a single word coming out of the Inquisitor's mouth.

But the Archmage wore a grave expression of an entirely different sort—one that said he had no intention of explaining anything to me. I ground my teeth and pressed a hand to my face.

"Do not force me to rediscover that you possess a talent for wasting language."

"You've returned to normal!"

What the hell is she even talking about.

With the hand not covering my face, I rubbed my still-stinging solar plexus.

Honestly, any sense of crisis I had left had completely evaporated because of her. My concept demanded I get angry, but I was so beyond exasperated I couldn't even manage that.

This was just absurd.

"…Um, does it hurt a lot?"

Is that even a question you need to ask…

No. Never mind. They say a stronger pain drowns out a weaker one—and thanks to the ache in my chest, a great deal of my anxiety had already eased.

And that, as far as I was concerned, was a far better state of affairs.

After all—better to keep busy doing something than to freeze in place, swallowed whole by the terror of logging out. It was better for the mind, at least.

"I'm sorry."

I fixed Kimchi Mandu with a look of quiet dismay, then pulled myself together and searched for something to do. Conveniently, I still had a quest.

Whether this was truly the right choice, I couldn't say… but standing still wasn't going to change anything. I wasn't about to just plant myself here until the nutrient pack ran dry.

If nothing else, working a quest would make the time pass.

"Are you leaving?"

"For what purpose does that tongue of yours even exist?"

"Let's go!"

The Inquisitor cheerfully fell in behind me. The Archmage still wore that same grim expression.

And while my attention had been elsewhere, the two of them must have exchanged some words I hadn't caught—because the city guards were now discreetly tagging along as well. Only some of them, but the fact that guards were following at all meant official authority had attached itself to us.

"Demon Knight."

I checked the HP bar slowly climbing back up and picked up my pace. The Archmage, barely matching my stride with his shorter steps, finally opened his mouth.

"Are you truly all right?"

What is it with this guy now. All I'd wanted to do was log out. What kind of misunderstanding were these people cooking up?

If I actually logged out at this rate, would the story spit out some setting about me being consumed by the demon in the meantime?

"Is there truly nothing amiss?"

Fine. I needed to answer something… and since I couldn't say the word "logout" here, I'd have to work with their misunderstanding.

So how should someone react in a situation like this? Someone hypersensitive and irritable, whose trauma had just been prodded—what would that person say?

"Do not concern yourself with me."

I clenched my right arm tight. The Archmage's expression hardened further. The Inquisitor's did much the same.

But where Kimchi Mandu's eyes shone with something like hope—or trust—the Archmage looked as though he were already bracing for me to break.

NPC personality differences, rendered with disgusting accuracy.

"How could I not concern myself? Rather…"

"I said—do not concern yourself with me…!"

Much as I had when the Inquisitor once tried to grab my right arm, I put a razor edge on my reaction.

I chose emotions that matched that earlier moment, too. Self-loathing. Fear. Rage.

"…What you must do is kill demons. And what I must do is also kill demons."

Heh. Fun.

"Does that include you as well?"

But when he came in with a hook like that—

I'd expected it. I'd even led him toward it. Still, I hadn't thought he'd be that blunt about it.

"Of course—"

"What are you saying, Archmage? The Demon Knight would never become a demon."

…What?

"I believe in the Demon Knight. I trust your steadfast reason and your unshakable will. I am certain you are someone who will never fall to a demon."

Uh, yeah. I'm a player, so of course I won't "fall." But what do you even know about me to be this sure?

"So even if you falter, that is fine. I will wait. I will endure. Until you awaken."

…What is wrong with this girl? What did I even do for her to build this much trust on her own? Why are you stacking affinity with me behind my back? It's the story, sure, but isn't this a little much?

What is this??

"…So it was you who had but one eye, not I."

I'm going insane. Not my problem. Not my fault. This is the game company's fault. You people are the ones who forced a story character onto me and then set the affinity values completely wrong!

"Uh, both of my eyes are perfectly fine."

"…Inquisitor, when he says 'one eye' there, he does not literally mean a monocular condition."

"Oh! Is that so?"

…And meanwhile, this one!!

"Ah—please give some warning before you start running!"

"…Have you no consideration at all for an old man?"

I don't care, Kimchi Mandu! I need to get to the temple and work off this accumulated violence! It's all this damn game's fault!

The Inquisitor quietly watched the back of the one striding ahead of her, as though she could not bear to leave a single corrupted soul loose in the world a moment longer.

In truth, she had not fully understood the Demon Knight's words—the talk of things being impossible, of "logging out."

What she had read, instead, was the clear terror in his ashen face, in the tremor of his lips, in the eyes that had cracked like shattered glass.

But what could possibly frighten someone as steadfast as the Demon Knight? How many things in this world could instill fear in a knight strong enough to cut down even a dragon?

In her mind, there was only one answer. The thing that dwelled in his arm—the thing that could consume the Demon Knight at any moment. The demon in his right arm.

And yet, regrettably, there was nothing she could do for him. She had neither the power to purify the demon that had claimed his arm, nor the strength to aid a soul locked in struggle against it, nor even the eloquence to offer him words of encouragement.

All she possessed was the martial force she had built as an Inquisitor, the undeserved crest of a hero, her Holy Power—and the time she had spent recognizing the Demon Knight's fortitude as a person.

And so she chose to believe.

She decided not to doubt a man who, however rough his power and however poor his manners, devoted himself more nobly than anyone else.

She decided to place her trust in a man more heroic than the chosen hero herself.

Knowing he would never submit to evil, she decided to put her faith in him.

Fortunately, she still had the strength to endure—to hold the line until he came to his senses, even if the Demon Knight were ever consumed by the demon within.

…Because he had first given her a chance to become better, she too could strive to be someone who offered that same chance to others.

Even if she was still far from enough.

With a deep, resonant peal of the temple bells, we arrived. Perhaps because it was daytime, more priests poked their heads out than when we had come at night.

Among them, of course, were those who mistook me for a demon. But before they could start shouting, the priests who already knew my face handled them on their own.

But how was I supposed to root out the traitors now?

"You have come, Envoy…"

While I was still turning the problem over, the Inquisitor drove her mace into the floor. Thud. A heavy resonance rolled through the temple entrance.

Not a trace remained of the blank-faced girl she had been on the way here. Once work began, she became a thoroughly meticulous Inquisitor.

"Assemble every person belonging to this temple in the chapel."

"Pardon?"

"This is an order issued in my capacity as Inquisitor. No absence will be permitted for any reason. You will bring every last one of them."

"Wh-what is this…"

"Archmage, please raise a barrier around the chapel."

"Very well. Leave it to me."

"Thank you."

…Looking at this, the quest might just progress on its own without me. I toyed with the hilt of my longsword.

If there was a job for me here, it would probably be catching anyone who tried to run or resist.

Like that one over there, eyes darting, trying to slip away unnoticed.

"It seems your capacity for understanding language is lacking."

"W-what do you mean…"

"Or do you lack even the faith to question the choice of the gods?"

I had no way of knowing whether this one was a genuine traitor or simply going to warn people he knew.

But something about him left a bad taste in my mouth.

I looked down at the priest, making my voice as chilling as I could manage. Voice acting didn't require much immersion, and my face had been designed to look cold from the start—so intimidation came easy.

"Thank you for your assistance, Demon Knight."

"Do not speak of thanks. I did not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠help you—I merely sought to catch a corrupted one."

And another one trying to sneak off. Got you.

"Why is something like that…"

"He carries a demon within him…"

The priests' eyes turned ugly—resenting the idea of being watched and restricted by someone who bore a demon's power—but I paid them no mind. To my concept, every last one of you is a corrupted heretic. Get it?

"I believe I told you to go inside."

"…!"

Kinda wish I had a surveillance skill. Would stacking Detection help…? Oh, right. Skills. I leveled up.

But even if I put more points into the Detection tree, the range only goes from 20 meters to 30. Might be better to invest in a tracking tree so I can chase down runners.

Honestly, the best option would be Falsehood Perception from the Negotiation tree—but I don't have the skill points for that right now.

Hmm. Life skills actually have some surprisingly useful stuff, don't they? For offense, Breaker and Ground Crash are still enough for now… Wait. The Stinger bug. That was a thing, too.

Ha. This game has a weird number of bugs. The most infuriating one is still on the logout side, though…

I furrowed my brow and freely let the headache show on my face. The fact that I could scowl as much as I wanted without breaking character was rather satisfying.

"Is everyone gathered?"

At any rate, the chapel was eventually packed full. Of course, a few had tried to flee along the way, and there had been a search for those who hadn't gotten the word and were still at work.

Without the Inquisitor bringing people in—and the city guards who later arrived as reinforcements—it would have taken even longer.

"There are about seven we still can't reach and are searching for, but otherwise everyone is here."

"Good."

Standing before the statue of the god in the chapel, the Inquisitor slowly released a breath—then drove her shield into the floor.

Her green eyes snapped open, and in that blue-green color there burned a red madness entirely at odds with it.

"By the rights of an Inquisitor, the trial now begins."

…Now I understand why thieves are terrified of heretics' trials. Inquisitors turned vicious when hunting demons, but in front of the corrupted they truly went off the deep end.

"All shall be tested for their sins, and those free of guilt shall be released…"

It's a good thing this world at least has Holy Power, and that demons are a clearly real and present enemy. If it didn't…

Yeah. That would have been a scary game. Well—playing something like that has its own kind of fun, I suppose.

"Those who dared disguise themselves as servants of the gods while committing foul acts shall receive their rightful judgment."

"Wh-what is this…!"

"Silence!"

At the declaration of the heretic's trial, the temple erupted into noise—then fell dead silent as a grave.

"The Inquisitors belonging to this temple will step forward first. It would be wise not to entertain thoughts of slipping out unnoticed."

At her summons, the Inquisitors came forward one by one. Like Kimchi Mandu, each of them gave the impression of being a little short on basic human warmth. In other words: they looked like people who would fail at ordinary social life.

"…Half of those who took part in the interrogation are here."

But the Archmage recognized someone among them. Faces he must have learned during the dawn interrogation.

And that meant—perhaps—that they were among the corrupted.

I ran my hand along the sword hilt as I looked at the new objective added to the quest window. Then I drew the blade. The Archmage glanced at the motion but made no move to stop me. He simply began pre-casting a spell.

"Demonstrate the power of the gods, and prove your piety."

And the instant the Inquisitor spoke those words—

"Damn it!"

Every last one of those the Archmage had indicated charged at her.

"So you reveal your true colors! Defilers!"

Slash!

My blade cut two of them down, while the remaining two's attacks were bound by the Archmage's chains. Crunch! Almost in the same breath, the Inquisitor's mace caved in one of their skulls.

"Aaaaagh!"

"Hhk—!"

"Wh-what—!"

Screams and blood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spilled across the chapel, but the statue of the god remained silent. If anything, the Inquisitor's Holy Power only grew stronger—so much that light seemed to pour from her body itself.

"Seize them!"

A half-step late, the Inquisitors who had not charged her stepped forward. Their maces fell upon the corrupted. In an instant, the last one's limbs were crushed to pulp.

Faint Holy Power flowed through their maces.

"Everyone—quiet."

Drip.

The Inquisitor, her scarlet hair falling like a veil, whispered. Soft as the voice was, it carried with an eerie clarity—and every mouth in the room clamped shut.

"The heretic's trial will continue. Until the innocence of all has been proven."

At this point, though, I found myself briefly wondering what the game was even trying to show me with this scene.

The daily life of zealots? How a fantasy religious tribunal unfolds?

Whatever. I could enjoy most of what a game threw at me, so long as it wasn't deliberately promoting discrimination, hatred, or historical distortion.

What I actually wanted to say was this: why wasn't the player given control of the event? I was the one playing the game—so why was an NPC taking the lead?

If they were going to put something like this in, they should have saved it for when a player chose a priest class. I would have had more fun that way.

That one point was a little disappointing.

Knock, knock.

Then a rapping came from the closed chapel doors. The guard posted there pressed an ear to the wood, then carefully cracked it open.

"H-hey, milord. I made it."

"…?"

Thief—why are you here.

"I said I'd repay the favor, didn't I?"

And in his hands he was holding… some kind of rope?

"The seven who tried to flee the temple. I brought them all. How about it? Still don't need me?"

…Is this for real. One demon contractor I let go just for the roleplay comes back multiplied into seven traitors.

"…No. Now I do."

"Right?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I glared at the escapees trussed up in a line like dried fish on a string.

The counter shot up in an instant. A thoroughly satisfying development.