Chapter 142 – Exorcism

Exorcism

On the way to the royal castle with the executioner knights.

Rashid was currently on his way to save a royal descendant who had been driven to the brink of death due to a failed contract with a devil.

Princess Garcia.

If asked whether he knew anything about her,

Rashid would have flatly answered no.

That was how unfamiliar a figure she was.

‘The fact that I do not know of her at all must mean she died prematurely in this manner. Even if she does not die here, she is someone who would have died anyway.’

There was a very unique culture of royal succession in this country.

It was a struggle for the throne recognized by everyone, called the Iron Crown Succession Battle.

It was their own unique succession culture where anyone with the blood of the Grand King could participate in the Iron Crown Succession Battle, and the survivor who won would also decide the treatment of the remaining royal descendants who did not participate in the battle.

‘Usually, they kill them all.’

The next Grand King Rashid remembered was the crown prince, named Slain.

Although a stunningly handsome man, he was a person with a highly impressive scar crossing horizontally over his face, evaluated as having inherited the qualities of the tyrannical Grand King just as they were.

‘If the current nemesis of Kaiser is General Leon Stout, he is someone who would be about the next nemesis.’

He was the figure who would ascend to the throne as the next Grand King of the great nation after killing all the royal descendants, whether they had participated in the Iron Crown Succession Battle or not.

Of course, it was no secret that he even killed his father, the Grand King, in the process.

‘So in truth, there is no meaning in going to save her like this.’

Since she would die by Slain’s hand anyway.

Even so, following them was a choice he had no option but to make, but he also hoped for some luck in his own way.

‘If I am lucky enough to meet someone from the Palace Court in the royal castle, perhaps I can resolve this matter more easily than now.’

As seen at Saint John’s Cathedral,

the power of the order was not very strong in this country.

It was a world where the ruling authority monopolized everything, and at the center were the Grand King and his direct organizations, the Palace Court and the Executioner Knight Order.

‘If asked who is stronger between the Palace Court and the Executioner Knight Order, one could say the Palace Court is slightly stronger. Since uncovering the corruption of the executioner knights is also the Palace Court’s job.’

On the road to the royal castle by vehicle,

Rashid tried talking to the executioner knight sitting next to him.

“By the way, what kind of person is Her Highness Princess Garcia?”

He had a reasonable excuse for not knowing much about her here.

“As you know, there are more than just one or two royal descendants, are there not?”

The royal family had a tradition of having many children generation after generation, and the Iron Crown Succession ceremony, where only one survived, was a ritual to filter out the most outstanding among those many descendants.

Thus, there was nothing particularly awkward about Rashid’s current question.

“She is the apple of His Majesty the Grand King’s eye in his own way. She is the princess who is evaluated as having the most comparable talent to His Highness Slain. However, she is still young. She is only fourteen years old.”

Fourteen years old.

A very young age.

To think she tried to contract with a devil at that age.

It was a point that once again showed the grueling struggle for royal succession.

‘Is it for the Iron Crown Succession Battle? To think she tried to contract with a devil at that age, her courage is commendable.’

“Is it not too early? Even people of the Magic Tower rarely contract with devils at that age.”

The executioner knight riding next to Rashid did not seem to think much of it.

“What else can she do? The Iron Crown Succession Battle is coming up soon. If she does not do at least that, she will eventually die by His Highness Slain’s hand.”

“That is true.”

“But she was too greedy. Even if her talent was sufficient, she took the devil too lightly.”

A contract with a devil was:

like being born anew.

There were various benefits such as portals, but it was also because one’s magic power would be greatly amplified, making them absurdly strong.

‘The current Grand King as well, and Crown Prince Slain in the end, were both those who contracted with devils. Just like those Magic Tower bastards.’

The executioner knight asked casually.

“Inquisitor, what do you think is the reason the contract went wrong?”

“Several speculations are possible, but the person concerned would know most accurately. After all, we do not know the contents of the contract with the devil at all, do we?”

Rashid was not ignorant of exorcism at all.

He had tried various professions in the past, and among them, the profession of an exorcist certainly existed.

“Do you think it is possible to save Her Highness? Usually, if something goes wrong while contracting with a devil… do they not almost all die?”

Despite the executioner knight’s worried question,

Rashid responded calmly.

“Just because a contract with a devil went wrong does not mean everyone dies. If we can take action quickly, we can drive out the devil plaguing Her Highness and save her.”

“I only hope we are not too late. We went straight to the order as soon as the incident occurred.”

They arrived at the royal castle.

Rashid went straight to where Princess Garcia was, under their guidance.

How far inside did they go?

In the place suspected to be where she was,

the murmuring of the royal castle people and the spiteful cries of a princess were heard.

“I will kill you. I will kill you. I will kill you all!”

The princess, who was barely restrained with her limbs tied to the bed, twisted her body bizarrely and soon reached her hands toward the air, making a motion as if trying to grab and kill something.

It looked as if she was exerting all her energy to grab and kill the devil tormenting her.

“I will kill you!”

The palace maids watching this were terrified, and the elderly servants and escort knights were only stamping their feet, not knowing what to do.

“The inquisitor has arrived. Everyone, please make way.”

The people of the royal castle, who were only taking up space needlessly, cleared the way, and Rashid passed by them to stand in front of the princess, who was screaming with veins bulging on her neck.

Her clothes, smeared with blood and sweat, were damp, and her long white hair was also disheveled.

“Her condition is quite serious.”

Before subduing the devil,

Rashid looked around.

Even those high-and-mighty executioner knights were looking at him as if serving their master in this place.

Rashid, who enjoyed that leisure for a brief moment, instructed the people around him.

“Bring as many full-length mirrors as possible. To drive the bastard out of this place, it needs a place to flee.”

Soon, the room was filled with full-length mirrors.

Once the mirrors were prepared, Rashid gave additional instructions.

“Please leave only the minimum number of people and have everyone else step outside. Since I might commit a discourtesy to Her Highness during the process of subduing the devil, I would be grateful if only those who do not mind this remain, and the rest step outside.”

Afterward, in the room where only the maid and the elderly servant remained,

Rashid looked down at the princess, who had become calm, unlike before.

‘It seems the bastard also knows I have arrived.’

The devil trying to dominate her seemed to have felt it too.

The energy of the Jaeger family.

‘Well, I am indeed the designated counter against devils.’

Moreover, he was someone who even made archdevils cry.

So there was no need to even discuss the lesser devils beneath them.

“I will finish this quickly.”

Rashid grabbed her forehead and channeled his magic power into it.

Reacting to this, her eyes snapped open wide, and she twisted her body violently.

Then she screamed at Rashid as if to devour him.

“Get him away! Get that person away right now!”

The startled maids and servants tried to move, but

Rashid, blocking them with a gesture, said,

“It is the devil’s pathetic struggle. It is nonsense spoken by the devil, not Her Highness, so do not be shaken at all.”

The princess, who spewed all kinds of curses at Rashid for a while, began to grow quiet again.

As Rashid’s magic power, which had permeated her interior, formed the shape of a massive cross, the devil, stimulated by this, began to struggle to survive.

As if trying to escape from her body, her abdomen convulsed violently from the inside.

“It will pop out soon. Do not panic even if the devil is reflected in the mirrors.”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking,

the convulsing abdomen quieted down, and soon the image of the devil appeared in the full-length mirrors arranged around.

Sensing this, Rashid’s and the devil’s eyes met.

The corners of Rashid’s mouth curved slightly.

‘Hello there.’

The devil, appearing extremely terrified of Rashid, fled as far as it could inside the mirror, but Rashid was not one to just leave it be.

The power of his will enveloped the surrounding full-length mirrors, and as Rashid exerted force, they all crumpled and shattered with a loud crash.

Thanks to this, the devil who had fled inside the mirror also met a pathetic end.

“It is all over.”

The princess, having barely escaped the devil’s torment, fell fast asleep as if nothing had happened.

Only the neckline of her chest, exposed between the folds of her clothes with a few top buttons undone, left a trace as if telling of the violent event that had just occurred.

For her young age, her development was not bad, but no one paid any attention to that.

Rashid spoke to the onlookers.

“When Her Highness the Princess wakes up, please make sure to pass on these words. Contracting with a devil must always be done with caution. This time, she survived with my help, but there likely will not be a next time. Even then, it would be fortunate if I am around, but if not, perhaps…”

Rashid did not bother to finish his sentence.

Because even without him speaking, everyone looked like they understood.

“I heard Her Highness the Princess is in danger! Where is she? Where is Her Highness?”

Suddenly, another inquisitor barged into the place where they were.

He was a real inquisitor of the Holy Blood Orthodox Church, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

‘Oh dear.’

Although Rashid was inwardly flustered to have unexpectedly run into another inquisitor, he did not show it at all and spoke to him.

“You have arrived.”

The arriving inquisitor asked with confusion.

“You are…”

Who?

* * *

After resolving the princess’s matter,

on the way back to the Holy Blood Orthodox Church.

Rashid was returning to the Inquisition Bureau in the other inquisitor’s private vehicle.

‘What a relief. That he did not doubt me much.’

He himself did not know all the inquisitors in the Inquisition Bureau either.

Let alone the Holy Blood Orthodox Church, which was said to have more inquisitors than the Inquisition Bureau of the Basilica, would it be any different?

The inquisitor, who did not particularly doubt Rashid’s identity, casually spoke to him.

“A dispatched inquisitor, you say?”

“Yes, I was dispatched from the Kiliman Diocese. As you know, do inquisitors from other dioceses not get dispatched here every year? I am one of those inquisitors.”

And this was also possible because Rashid grasped the structure of the inquisitors of the Holy Blood Orthodox Church here to some extent.

“I see. I was a bit flustered because an inquisitor I had never seen before had arrived before me. It was also the first time I saw your face.”

Since the level of his suspicion was low,

Rashid planned to make up a suitable excuse without pushing too hard.

“Do we not move back and forth all the time? Besides that, since it has not been long since I was appointed as an inquisitor, my face might be unfamiliar.”

“I heard His Holiness the Patriarch sent you?”

“Yes.”

Meeting the Patriarch was proving to be of subtle help.

Even he, who was slightly suspicious at first, was completely silenced by the mention of the Patriarch sending him and fell in line.

“More than that, I was surprised to find there is another inquisitor who can receive the surrender of devils besides myself. Are you also of the Jaeger family?”

“No. However, my mother was of a branch of the Jaeger family.”

“Ah, so that is how it is. Well, just because it is a branch family does not mean the power would be weak. Blood is blood.”

“Although I am from the Borcia family, my exorcism power does not fall behind that of a Jaeger family inquisitor at all. It is a point of pride of mine as well.”

“What a relief. It has been very difficult, feeling as though I am handling all exorcism-related matters alone. Hearing that there is a dispatched inquisitor like you is a great comfort.”

He gave Rashid a look with a pleased smile.

“Oh, I have been late in introducing myself. I am Inquisitor Jason. Unlike you, I am an Orthodox Inquisitor who always stays in the Inquisition Bureau.”

Unlike the Blood Cross Church,

the inquisitors in this order were operated in the form of Orthodox Inquisitors and Dispatched Inquisitors.

“Are you an inquisitor of the Jaeger family?”

“That is correct. I am a Jaeger.”

In that case, his name must be Jason Jaeger.

Rashid could vaguely recall him from his memory.

“I know that inquisitors of the Jaeger family are extremely rare, so it is an honor to meet you.”

“Not at all. I, too, am honored to meet an inquisitor like myself.”

Pondering something for a moment, Inquisitor Jason made a tentative suggestion to him.

“Your exorcism power seems to have been sufficiently verified by what I saw earlier. Do you happen to… have a pre-reserved spot? If not, how about coming to my office?”