Chapter 141 – St. John’s Cathedral

Saint John’s Cathedral

Right after leaving the church.

What unfolded before Rashid’s eyes was a bleak city landscape.

Fitting for a world factory and an industrial nation, numerous factories and cottage industries were clustered in the capital of the great nation. Thanks to that, the capital’s sky was never clear for even a day, always submerged under a murky gray sky.

A place where smoke rose endlessly from factory chimneys, and the people on the streets, bound by mandatory discipline under the reign of terror of the ruling power, had lost their vitality.

That place was none other than Archenya, the capital of the great nation.

Rashid looked at the people on the street.

They walked somewhere, exuding a colorless and odorless feeling like machines whose emotions had dried up.

They looked like individual parts making up the city, and in fact, they were.

They could not express their individuality or satisfy their desires, which were limited only to a small privileged class.

If the common people wanted to enjoy them, there was no other way than to jump on the bandwagon of the ruling power and show blind loyalty.

In other words, it meant they had to succeed as soldiers or knights.

‘Every time I come here, I feel this, but it really is a crude and boring country.’

If the Great Balt Nation were to be summarized in a few words, it would be this.

A nation of industry and military, and of metal and control.

The reason this nation had no choice but to become like this was because it grew abnormally solely for survival, resisting the Empire’s ambition for conquest.

‘Is this the place?’

Before he knew it, Rashid had arrived in front of Saint John’s Cathedral.

Finding this place was not that difficult.

He had the experience of visiting it before, but in the first place, Saint John’s Cathedral was the only building in this capital large enough to compare to the royal palace.

‘So it’s the stronghold of the Holy Blood Orthodox Church.’

Since breaking away from the Blood Cross Order located in the Empire, the Holy Blood Orthodox Church claimed that they alone were the correct, “Orthodox” church, integrating several archdioceses to build a massive cathedral in Archenya.

Unlike the centralized Blood Cross Church where a Pope existed.

Among the several archbishops who held equal rights, the first archbishop became the representative of the Holy Blood Orthodox Church here, and they referred to him as the Patriarch, treating him the same as a Pope.

However, in the Great Balt Nation where the Grand King’s power was absolute, the Patriarch’s power could not compare to that of the Pope of the Holy Blood State.

‘In reality, the Patriarch here feels like a subject of the Grand King. Because this is a place that views the religious order merely as a political tool.’

Unlike the Blood Cross Church of the Empire, which sought to stand higher than the Emperor.

The Holy Blood Orthodox Church of the great nation could be said to be an order that had submitted to the ruling power.

‘That is why the power of the order is weak in this nation.’

If one wanted to seize power in the great nation, becoming an executioner knight rather than an inquisitor was the right choice.

‘Is this the entrance?’

Rashid passed by the clerics, who fell flat on their faces just looking at his attire, and stepped inside Saint John’s Cathedral.

Saint John’s Cathedral.

If one looked simply at its size, it could be said to be larger than the Papal Court located in the Holy Blood State, but unlike the Basilica of the Holy Blood State, where various affiliated institutions were scattered independently, the Holy Blood Orthodox Church concentrated all those functions within the cathedral, so the scale of its order could by no means be said to be larger than the Basilica.

‘In the first place, the orthodox order would be us, with the Papal Court and the Pope. If a place like this, which cannot even hold its head high before the Grand King, is the orthodox one, it would be a matter of wailing.’

Walking through the interior authoritatively,

Rashid listened to the words uttered by everyone he passed to find Do-jin.

‘If he is captured, he must be somewhere inside here. Although the cathedral is large, it is not a city-state like the Basilica, so once I know the location, I will find him quickly.’

Inside the cathedral.

An inquisitor whom everyone saw for the first time roamed here and there, but no one suspected him.

This was partly because Rashid’s behavior, acting as an inquisitor, was very natural, but also:

‘They say people stop verifying once there is authority.’

If,

by any chance, there was someone who doubted even a little, Rashid went straight to them and displayed his authority, so the suspicion had no choice but to quickly wither away.

‘However, it really is too large. If I have wandered around this much, I should have grasped the general layout, but I still cannot get a feel for it.’

When he could not get a feel for it even after wandering around for two hours,

Rashid stopped wandering alone and stood in front of a certain knight.

He was a knight belonging to the Holy Blood Orthodox Church, called a Templar.

“You, do you know the structure of this place?”

The Templar showed respect to the inquisitor standing in front of him.

“Yes, I know it as clearly as my own home.”

“I have been dispatched from another diocese, you see. The interior here is not familiar to me.”

“Ah, is that so? Then I shall guide you.”

“What is your name?”

“I am Pablo.”

“Sir Pablo, I shall count on you.”

Pablo lightly scanned Rashid up and down.

His appearance was a spitting image of the inquisitors he knew.

“Um… if it is not rude. May I ask what your name is?”

Rashid told him the false identity he had prepared in advance.

“I am Lycian Borcia. I was dispatched from the Kiliman Archdiocese.”

“Ah, you were an inquisitor of the Borcia family. Actually, I believe there are a few inquisitors from Borcia in our Inquisition Bureau as well.”

The Borcia family.

Among the various families that enjoyed fame in the order, it was the largest in size and had produced many believers, making it a somewhat common family.

It was a family he had naturally selected because its scale was so large that even people of the same family could not recognize each other.

“Would you like to meet the inquisitors of your family first?”

“No need. I can see my family members slowly later. More than that, please guide me.”

“Then where should I guide you first? The interior of the cathedral is so wide that there are occasionally those who say they still do not know their way around.”

There was no need to rush and cause suspicion.

“Let’s just start slowly with the surroundings.”

“Then I will show you the location of the Inquisition Bureau first.”

“You only need to show me up to the entrance there.”

He had to avoid confronting the inquisitors as much as possible.

Since the number of inquisitors was greater than in the Blood Cross Church,

even if confronting them would not immediately expose his identity, it was a matter of course that the risk would increase.

“Please follow me.”

Thus, the tour began.

As if he had come for sightseeing,

Rashid moved around, being introduced to various parts of the cathedral according to his guidance.

“This is the nave. It is a space mainly used when there is a mass or official assembly. Because of its large size, if an outsider enters, they stand out immediately.”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking,

executioner knights were seen barging into the nave without hesitation.

They acted roughly as if they had entered their own home, and upon spotting Rashid, who was dressed as an inquisitor, they immediately gestured to him.

“Oh, fortunately, there is an inquisitor over there. Inquisitor, come this way.”

What arrogance and rudeness to call an inquisitor with a flick of the finger.

In the Basilica, it was a situation where their wrists would have been broken, but as the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

This was the Holy Blood Orthodox Church, where the power of the order was weaker than the ruling power.

Rashid went and stood before them without saying much.

“Did you call?”

“Inquisitor. It is a very urgent matter. Guide us to the Patriarch.”

He looked around neurotically, then grumbled with a heavily frowning face.

“No matter how many times I come here, I cannot find my way. Building it unnecessarily large.”

Rashid pondered for a moment.

He was not an inquisitor of this place, and furthermore, if he guided them to the Patriarch, he might face unexpected danger.

He was talking about the worst-case scenario where his false identity would be exposed.

“What are you doing? I said there is no time to dawdle.”

However, if he refused here, they would certainly take issue with it.

Therefore, Rashid, who had no choice but to comply, looked for the man nearby.

“Sir Pablo. Please.”

“Yes, please follow me. I will guide you.”

He had only wanted to look around the interior a bit, but

due to the group of executioner knights he met out of nowhere, he was suddenly about to meet the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, who was the equivalent of the Pope of the Blood Cross Church.

‘This is incredibly troublesome. I cannot even suppress them with my title.’

In the worst-case scenario,

there was a possibility that his identity would be discovered and he would have to flee on the spot,

but somehow, it felt like the likelihood of that was rather low.

‘Unless he is the head of the Inquisition Bureau, just because he is the Patriarch does not mean he knows all the faces of the inquisitors.’

Even he himself did not know all the faces of the inquisitors in the Inquisition Bureau.

Let alone an outsider, it would be even more so.

‘I just need to avoid making mistakes when I get there.’

Keeping pace with the executioner knights, Rashid casually asked the one who appeared to be their leader.

“By the way, what is the matter? I am curious why you are suddenly looking for His Holiness the Patriarch.”

“There was an accident. It seems things went wrong while Her Highness was contracting with a devil. Right now, the royal castle is in an uproar.”

“Did such a thing happen?”

As a matter of formality,

Pablo guided the executioner knights to the audience anteroom, which could be considered right in front of the Patriarch’s private space.

It was a clear demonstration of the power of the great nation’s ruling authority.

Rashid, who had followed the executioner knights in a daze, was soon able to unexpectedly meet the Patriarch, who had rushed over in a hurry.

When the Patriarch arrived, the leader of the executioner knights stepped forward and showed respect.

“Your Holiness, I have run here despite my rudeness because of an urgent matter.”

If you knew it was rude, you should have come more politely.

Although those words rose up to his throat,

the Patriarch, who yielded to the power of the knight order, responded with as much sincerity as possible.

“What is the matter all of a sudden? To visit like this without any word.”

“We need the exorcism forces of the order. It seems Her Highness Garcia met with a mishap while contracting with a devil.”

“Her Highness?”

“Yes, the contract seems to have gone awry, and she is currently causing a riot inside the royal castle, threatening to kill everyone. We barely managed to suppress her, but it seems the matter will only be resolved once we drive out the devil possessing Her Highness.”

“If that is the case, you should have looked for an inquisitor first, not me.”

Subsequently, everyone’s gaze turned to Rashid.

“Inquisitor, quickly lead them and find an inquisitor capable of exorcism. Her Highness is in danger.”

His hesitation was brief.

If he stood by here, he would end up confronting multiple inquisitors.

This was a problem.

“I can do that. There is no need to look for another inquisitor.”

“You?”

The Patriarch expressed doubt.

“Exorcising devils should be impossible unless one is an inquisitor of the Jaeger family?”

Although the number of inquisitors was large,

there was no way the Patriarch would be ignorant of the only inquisitors capable of exorcising devils.

“From what I know, I heard that only Orthodox Inquisitor Jason of the Jaeger family can receive the surrender of devils. If so, are you a newly entered inquisitor of the Jaeger family?”

“That is not the case, but my mother is from a branch of the Jaeger family.”

“Ah, is that so? In that case, you too must be able to receive the surrender of devils.”

“Yes, it is entirely possible. I have already received their surrender a few times.”

“Oh, what a treasure. What is your name?”

“I am Lycian Borcia.”

Rashid did not forget to add these words as well.

“I am a new inquisitor. Therefore, you may not know of me.”

There was no need to question further.

“Inquisitor Lycian. Go quickly and save Her Highness. From now on, whether Her Highness lives or dies depends on you.”