Chapter 55 – Magic Division

There were those who barged into the inquisitor’s office without hesitation.

A group of mages dressed in green robes and an inquisitor.

It was an odd combination.

‘The Magic Division?’

Aria identified the group of mages.

The green robes were the garments worn by the mages who made up the absolute majority of the Magic Division.

Among magic users, they had another name—battle mages—specifically specialized in combat, and another feature besides the green robes was the rune tattoos engraved on their faces or entire bodies.

“What is the meaning of this? Barging in so rudely like this. Besides, why are the mages of the Magic Tower here?”

Instead of the green-robed mages, one of the inquisitors who came along stepped forward.

He was Chief Inquisitor Ed Stout.

“Inquisitor Aria, please cooperate with us for a moment.”

“What is going on? I think I need an explanation.”

“You are currently placed on standby.”

“Excuse me?”

“It is the Director’s order.”

Without pressing further, she could guess the reason.

Having quieted her down, Chief Inquisitor Ed barged straight into Ludrick’s office.

“Inquisitor Ludrick.”

Ludrick looked at the green-robed mages who had arrived outside the inner chamber.

“Why is the Magic Division…”

Chief Inquisitor Ed walked over and stood next to Rashid.

“It is the Director’s order. He told us to detain and investigate all inquisitors belonging to the Inquisition Bureau. It’s a reform of discipline.”

Ludrick scowled at the nonsense.

“Hey, what kind of nonsense is that? There’s no way the Director would give such an order.”

“Ah, it seems the news hasn’t reached you yet. Director Walter was placed on standby as of this morning. Circumstances of contact with heretical forces were detected.”

He knew very well that it was an absurd excuse.

“Is it the order of the Director of Palace Affairs?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Even if nothing else was known, one thing seemed certain.

Which side this man named Ed Stout stood on.

“Then who is the new Director?”

“It is Director Lucian. He is exceptionally close to His Excellency the Director of Palace Affairs, so it seems he was deemed the most suitable figure to reform the discipline of the Inquisition Bureau.”

“Lucian?”

“Watch your mouth. He is the Director now.”

It was a well-known fact to everyone that Lucian was close to the Director of Palace Affairs.

Ludrick smiled bitterly, and Inquisitor Ed shifted his gaze to Rashid.

“Ah, and Inquisitor Rashid.”

When Rashid looked at him, he continued indifferently.

“Like Inquisitor Aria, you have been placed on standby. Step away from your duties immediately and wait for a moment. A special investigation will begin for you soon. Several suspicious points against you have been gathered.”

Rashid scoffed openly at the pathetic words.

Perhaps finding that attitude offensive, he frowned and asked,

“What’s with that expression? Do you find this funny?”

“Since the reason is obvious, how can I not laugh?”

“I am the one in charge of your case. That kind of attitude is not good.”

“Is that so? What if I do not sincerely participate in the investigation?”

Come to think of it, there was no need to remain polite.

No matter what he did anyway, they would frame him with some ridiculous crime.

“What are you going to do about it?”

Faced with his suddenly changed tone,

Ed suppressed his anger inside.

“You’re not going to survive.”

“Weren’t you planning on framing me with charges no matter what anyway?”

“Inquisitor Rashid. You became a Chief Inquisitor by some stroke of luck, and you have become far too arrogant.”

He pointed at him with his index finger.

“I will personally pay special attention to you.”

“Do whatever you want. I won’t care whatever bullshit you pull. It’s obvious anyway.”

“Hmph, follow those mages over there. Your special investigation will start immediately.”

Letting out a short sigh, Ludrick called out to Ed.

“Hey, let me ask just one thing. Is the investigation on us also meant to conciliate us? You aren’t planning to place everyone on standby like Inquisitor Rashid if we don’t adapt to the new regime, are you?”

“Are you asking when you already know? If you want to survive, act like me, or go find the detained Director and plot together. You’ll have to do something.”

“Where is Director Walter now? Is he in the basement?”

“He is imprisoned somewhere else. I cannot tell you the location.”

“Whose order is that? Was that also the order of the Director of Palace Affairs?”

“This is Director Lucian’s order. And all investigations on inquisitors will be conducted in the basement here.”

“I’m sure the inquisitors will cooperate willingly.”

Inquisitor Ed laughed lightly.

“That’s why I brought the mages of the Magic Tower, didn’t I? They wouldn’t cooperate obediently if not for them anyway.”

“Mages… when did the prestige of the Holy Order fall this low?”

“I wouldn’t know. Bringing in the mages was a special order from His Excellency the Director of Palace Affairs.”

* * *

The office of the Director of Palace Affairs.

The Director of Palace Affairs was conversing with a visiting mage commander of the Magic Tower.

Aren Stehlin.

Dressed in a pure white robe, he was a high-ranking official of the Magic Division, and the one currently commanding the entire Magic Division dispatched to the Papal Court.

“We came to support the Papal Court upon the request of Chair Professor Kane. Since when did you know Professor Kane?”

“Ask Professor Kane that directly. It is difficult for me to answer.”

Since their relationship was not that important, Mage Commander Aren brought up another topic.

“I did not expect the Holy Order to reach out to us directly. Isn’t this a place that rejected magic, calling it all the power of demons? Moreover, to think that the proxy of His Holiness the Pope would request it himself.”

“Practically speaking, there is no force within the Holy Order that can keep the inquisitors in check. If we must bring one in from the outside, what place would be more reliable than the Magic Tower’s Magic Division?”

“Wouldn’t this normally cause gossip? Is it really alright to summon us?”

“Haha, do not worry. Right now, there is no one who can say anything to me. Nothing will happen until the next Pope is elected.”

Aren narrowed the space between his brows.

“I heard… you are not on good terms with the knight commander here. Is Rosenkreuz just staying quiet?”

Vane’s lips curved in a long grin.

“You do not have to worry about the knighthood. The knighthood will absolutely not step forward in this matter.”

“Strange. I heard that you are not on good terms with the knight commander either, so is there a reason?”

“Even if they are vampires belonging to the Holy Order, they are loyal to the Imperial Family. They will never go against the will of the Imperial Family.”

“The Imperial Family… did they also intervene?”

All of this was the power of Lazarus.

Vane harbored a sense of satisfaction.

‘The world is mine. Once the Inquisition Bureau is cleaned up, this Holy Order will be mine.’

Contrary to Vane’s thoughts,

the Magic Tower had its own ideas.

Mage Commander Aren held out a small box to him.

Inside, there was a bracelet embedded with a mana stone.

“What is this?”

“Aren’t you a precious person? It is an artifact we specially crafted. It protects the wearer with a powerful magic formula. Since it is powered by the force of the mana stone, you do not need to learn magic separately.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

“Even if our mages cannot intervene in times of emergency, we must protect you, Director of Palace Affairs.”

The Heresy Inquisition Bureau was mostly the place that controlled demons and their power.

In particular, the blood of the Jaeger family was absolute.

The place housing that grim reaper was temporarily paralyzed.

This was a good opportunity.

Hiding his expression, Mage Commander Aren sneered inwardly.

‘There is no such thing as a free lunch. To think we would take over the Holy Order in this way.’

* * *

Rashid and Aria were locked up together in the Inquisition Bureau’s underground confinement facility.

Dragged down by the mages, she looked down at the restraints on her wrists.

It was a device that restricted mana power, used by mages to detain or suppress magic users.

She tried to break it with brute force, but it was useless.

“It won’t break. If I keep doing this, my wrist might break.”

“Don’t push yourself. The restraints were developed for that purpose.”

On the other hand, Rashid had broken them without much difficulty.

To be precise, he had equipped his mana armor with the power of the Click and destroyed them in an instant.

With physical strength, of course.

“Chief Inquisitor, are you just going to let them do this to you?”

“No way. I just let them capture me earlier because there were too many enemies to deal with.”

Rashid, who had completely broken his restraints, stepped up to the iron bars after unequipping his mana armor.

He read the presence around him with superhuman senses.

Fortunately, very few people were guarding the confinement facility.

The rest of them were busy rummaging through the entire Inquisition Bureau.

‘If we are to escape, it is now.’

Mages were deployed throughout the entire Inquisition Bureau.

Battle mages were not easy opponents.

Because they were killing machines specialized in magic.

“More importantly, what is the knighthood doing? My brother is running amok like that, yet they are just staying quiet without helping the Inquisition Bureau.”

“The knighthood probably won’t move. The commander won’t step forward either.”

“What? No way. My brother and the knight commander are not on good terms, so why is the knight commander staying quiet?”

“Because they must have received a call from the Imperial Family.”

They were incomprehensible words.

“From the Imperial Family?”

“It’s a characteristic of vampires. They never disobey the Emperor’s command. It’s like a brand engraved in their blood.”

“But why would the Imperial Family…”

“I plan to get out now, what about you?”

“What are you talking about? Do you think you can get out of here while wearing this strange thing?”

Subsequently, with the sound of the iron bars breaking, Rashid walked out.

Standing in his Black Claw armor, he looked around.

Nearby were the clerics and mages who had been on guard duty.

The clerics, watching his reaction, hesitated, but the mages did not.

As they attempted to attack by drawing magic formulas in the air, Rashid suppressed them in an instant.

Mana armor was the pinnacle of martial arts.

Even against mages, the power of mana armor was effective.

“How did you break this? Are you a monster?”

Standing in front of the iron bars, she asked while showing the restraints on her wrists.

“You just have to break them well.”

“This iron lump? Without mana?”

“Step aside.”

As she stepped aside, Rashid, wearing his mana armor, shattered the iron bars in an instant.

He then broke her restraints as well.

‘How did he break this? I absolutely cannot understand.’

She had been completely restrained.

To the point where there was nothing she could do.

Despite her questions, Rashid remained silent.

“You won’t explain, I see.”

She also equipped her mana armor.

There were clerics around, but they still did not step forward.

“What are you going to do now? Leaving like this isn’t going to solve everything, is it?”

“I will go find the detained Director first.”

The reason he specifically sought him out.

‘To deal even with the mages, the power of the archdemon is essential.’

Not only did the Director of Palace Affairs cooperate with the Magic Tower, which was a taboo, but he even brought in the mages.

Under such circumstances, would there be any problem with him using the power of the archdemon?

It was all-or-nothing anyway.

‘I should wear it openly now. If I just get his permission, there will be nothing holding me back.’

She grabbed a halberd from the armory, and Rashid held his sword as the two of them headed up from the confinement facility.

There were clerics frozen like statues along the way, but they absolutely did not step forward and simply stood by.

It was a dereliction of duty.