Chapter 109 – Purgatory Madame

The Witch Leader of the Purgatory Coven.

She was a witch of strong character who led all the witches belonging to the Purgatory Coven and held the moniker of Purgatory Madame.

As she led all the witches, her skills were also extraordinary.

She was the only witch who could claim the title of Archmage, comparable to the two High Dharma Officers of the Dharma Mage Division.

She came to visit the Order.

Furthermore, she had come as a special envoy to the Heresy Inquisition Bureau, which could be called the core power of the Order.

Entering the Director’s office, Rashid saw the Director and two witches who were having an audience with the visitor in an atmosphere different from usual.

The Director and the Witch Leader sat facing each other across a table, and near the Witch Leader stood another witch like an aide.

‘It is Jjom-pro.’

The witch Beatrice.

A witch evaluated next to the Witch Leader Helena, she was known to the world as Jjom-pro.

A woman in the top 0.1% of the Magic Tower.

This included everything, from looks to skill.

Why she came to be called Jjom-pro was unknown.

“Rashid Preston. I have arrived at the Director’s summons.”

Holding a long pipe in her mouth, the Purgatory Madame, who was gently emitting tobacco smoke heavily scented with mana, glanced at the newcomer.

She wore an outfit that emphasized sensuality and a somewhat splendid, wide-brimmed hat.

Her face was half-hidden by the lace attached to the hat, and she showed a restrained smile beyond the faint silhouette.

“Is this the inquisitor you spoke of?”

As if dealing with a stone Buddha,

the Director responded in a somewhat businesslike manner, not at all deluded by her appearance.

“He had briefly taken a leave of absence in relation to the professor you mentioned.”

“A leave of absence… How wise.”

As the gazes of the two witches met his, Rashid lightly bowed out of politeness.

The Director called him.

“Come over here and sit.”

Rashid sat next to the Director.

“This is the Witch Leader I mentioned earlier. The master of the Purgatory Coven.”

Rashid looked at the two witches.

The Witch Leader had a splendid appearance but felt difficult to approach, while Beatrice standing beside her was showing a restrained beauty in a suit.

Rashid’s gaze landed on the Witch Leader, who was crossing her legs and holding a long pipe in her mouth.

‘It is the Purgatory Madame.’

He couldn’t say it was his first time seeing her, but

she was one of the Magic Tower people who was harder to meet than expected.

‘The Dharma Mage Division was always the enemy, but the Purgatory Coven always had an ambiguous position.’

Normally,

witches had a worse evaluation than Dharma mages.

Aside from that, surprisingly, the ones he always met as enemies were mostly the Dharma Mage Division.

Witches were also often met as enemies, but surprisingly, there were occasionally witches who felt like allies or neutrals.

This was due to the characteristic of the Dharma Mage Division, where vertical infection was easy.

‘For the Dharma Mage Division, it is over once you control the two High Dharma Officers. On the other hand, because witches are so willful, even if you control the Witch Leader, leadership itself is difficult.’

Thus, Zodiac also gave up on the Purgatory Coven and targeted the Dharma Mage Division, which was easy to infect vertically; as a result, the target Rashid recognized as a definite enemy in every progression was always the Dharma Mage Division.

“You targeted the Magic Tower professor, right? Alone.”

Rashid, just like the Director, dealt with her with a businesslike attitude.

“That man committed an absolutely intolerable blasphemy. I couldn’t leave him alone.”

The Witch Leader smiled faintly.

Even though he was an inquisitor, to think he tried to target a professor whose influence within the Magic Tower was by no means small.

“You are fearless. Knowing who the opponent is.”

“I will take that as a compliment.”

Her eyes grew sharp.

Her glaring gaze deepened, but it was only for a moment.

“Good. I came here because of that man anyway.”

The Director chimed in.

“She asked us to handle that professor. It seems his plan is not welcomed in the Magic Tower either.”

“I knew it would be. Because that plan surely includes the Magic Tower people as well.”

The Witch Leader, who was looking at him closely, asked implicitly.

“Are you the one who leaked Professor Kane’s data? I heard Veronica handed it over to you.”

“Yes, I tipped off the media. I leaked it on purpose.”

“Did you expect even this? Our coming to find you.”

“Slightly.”

The Witch Leader showed a smile.

“Then there is nothing more to talk about. I will fully agree. Please dispose of Professor Kane. I will turn a blind eye to it, especially for this time.”

[Would you like to accept the main quest ‘Witch Leader’s Request’?]

[Upon defeating Professor Kane, rewards will be given.]

[Upon completion, ‘Mana +2’ will be given as a reward.]

The quest popped up.

Even before he accepted, the Director showed an unwelcome expression.

This was the same for Rashid.

“Targeting Professor Kane was what I wanted, but it is hard to see that as the will of the Order.”

Feeling as if he were speaking in his stead,

the Director watched silently without cutting in.

“And you must have committed an act in the past, didn’t you? Have you apologized for that? I clearly remember that people from the Purgatory Coven also appeared, not just the Dharma Mage Division.”

“If it is about that matter, you should ask your Director of Palace Affairs, not us. We only helped a little after hearing the request.”

“What will you do if we refuse that request?”

The Witch Leader’s expression hardened slightly.

On the other hand, Rashid continued speaking without hesitation.

“The Order is not a place that readily listens just because a witch asks. Since when have we had such a warm relationship?”

The Witch Leader showed a bitter smile.

Right, this was the Order.

Since the Director was quiet, the Purgatory Madame focused on Rashid.

“Leaving the Order aside, wasn’t it what you wanted?”

“As I said, what I want and what the Order wants are separate matters.”

“Then, what about you?”

“I also need the consent of the Order.”

“It doesn’t look that way, though.”

“Then, let’s do this.”

What was he trying to say?

“I heard that in the past, when the Magic Tower people helped the Director of Palace Affairs, there was something they wanted. Well, since the Magic Tower is not a charity, they naturally had something they wanted.”

“It is the same for us. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Only then did the Witch Leader, realizing his intention, deeply inhale the pipe tobacco smoke.

And a considerable silence flowed between them until she exhaled it.

“Let’s hear it.”

Rashid thought about what he could extract from this matter.

There were quite many things, but it was too much to be greedy.

Because they would withdraw their help if the demands were too excessive.

‘This level is just right.’

“I heard there is a jar containing evil spirits. There is something called the Soul-Sealing Jar, right?”

At the unexpected words, the Witch Leader and Beatrice, who followed her, exchanged glances.

“Why that?”

“Exorcising evil spirits is also the work of the Order. It seems you have collected a lot of them with irreverent intentions. Our Order will take it.”

The reason he wanted the evil spirit jar was simple.

Armor Lucifer was a mana armor that became stronger the more souls it absorbed.

In other words, the Soul-Sealing Jar had its purpose in reinforcing his mana armor.

‘If the mana amplification rate increases, it would be similar to feeling like obtaining additional mana stats.’

Besides,

‘The Soul-Sealing Jar is not an item of such great significance. This level of demand will be the most appropriate. They would feel antipathy toward anything else.’

The two witches still had expressions of disbelief, and this was the same for the Director.

“What are you going to use that for?”

To the Director’s question, Rashid gave a plain answer.

“It is exactly as I said. The purpose is to exorcise evil spirits. And as mentioned earlier, it is a jar where witches have continuously gathered evil spirits with irreverent intentions. Since we don’t know how it might deteriorate later, we are blocking it in advance.”

The amount of evil spirits they had gathered in their spare time so far was quite non-negligible.

Thus there was some regret, but it was not a major problem.

Since they could just gather evil spirits again.

“To think you would want such a thing…”

Rashid did not think the Purgatory Coven would refuse.

Because he thought it was the most appropriate demand.

The Witch Leader gave a look to Beatrice, who had followed her.

It was an expression asking for her opinion.

“Would there be any problem? We can just collect evil spirits again.”

“Even if we collected them half-heartedly, we’ve gathered them for decades, though?”

Although a few more words were exchanged after that,

as expected, since its importance was low, she did not seem to worry that much.

“If you dispose of Professor Kane, we will hand over the Soul-Sealing Jar. However, it is on the condition that the Order helps. If we resolve it by ourselves, it will be as if this talk never happened.”

At the same time, the previously proposed quest details were revised and popped up again.

[Would you like to accept the main quest ‘Witch Leader’s Request’?]

[Upon defeating Professor Kane, rewards will be given.]

[Upon completion, ‘Soul-Sealing Jar’ and ‘Mana +2’ will be given as rewards.]

[You have accepted the quest.]

‘It has to be at least this much.’

“If you even give me the Soul-Sealing Jar, I have no reason to refuse.”

The Director also did not seem to mind much.

Because he had planned to handle the matter of helping the Magic Tower within the line of sending only ‘him’ anyway.

Therefore, if he agreed, that was all there was to it.

“Is there anything else to talk about?”

When the Witch Leader asked, Rashid spoke to her, thinking of the future.

“I need an assistant to help with the matter of Kane. As you know, because I am an Order person, there are various difficulties in moving around the Magic Tower.”

“Then we will assign one of our people to you. That will be convenient in many ways.”

The Witch Leader asked Beatrice.

“Is there a child to assign?”

“There are many children playing around, but because he is an inquisitor, everyone will be reluctant.”

“Indeed.”

There was no need to listen.

“Please assign Veronica.”

In any case, a witch he knew was more comfortable than a new witch.

Beatrice bent down and whispered softly to the Witch Leader.

“She clearly told me she hated it.”

“Why did she say she hated it?”

“She just hates it. She asked me to tell you that under no circumstances should she be designated.”

No matter how small the voice was,

it was completely heard by Rashid’s ears, which possessed extraordinary sensory stats.

‘I roughly know the reason. If things go slightly wrong, she will become a handmaiden to an archdemon, so there’s no way she would like it.’

“I dislike other witches. Let’s go with her.”

There was a reasonable reason for this in its own right.

‘There is nothing harder than building a bond with a witch.’

Although the risk of betrayal was low because the Witch Leader intervened,

she was a witch nonetheless.

Building a new bond with a new witch was not a very good choice.

‘If the maximum affinity is 10, at least 1 must have been reached. Then a witch with at least 1 is better.’

The Witch Leader accepted Beatrice’s opinion and added,

“Why not go with another child? She might not be of much help.”

“Whether she is of help or not is for me to judge.”

After a brief contemplation, the Witch Leader reluctantly agreed.

“If you want it that much, I will assign her. However, she might want something.”

This was the reason why Zodiac gave up on the Purgatory Coven.

Like this, witches were ones who wouldn’t just obey blindly even at the Witch Leader’s words.

Rashid showed a light smile.

There was nothing wrong with her words, but

there was something she did not say.

That was that it would be similar for everyone else, even if it weren’t Veronica.

In other words, anyone would want something from him.

Because there was probably no crazy witch in this world who wanted to be with an inquisitor.