Chapter 57 – To Seize Control or Not

With the green-robed mages surrounding him,

she continued speaking leisurely.

“The people we find most troublesome in the Holy Order are those like you who hunt demons. There is no denying that the foundation of magic lies in the worship of and contracts with demons. To us, who revere and uphold their power, there is no entity more impure and evil than one who forces the surrender of demons.”

Indeed, unless the Magic Tower was insane, there was no reason to lend their strength to the Holy Order.

Ludrick had already drawn his two guns.

‘Mages and witches… are not my specialty.’

Though he possessed absolute strength when dealing with demons, it was not the same against mages and witches who revered them like pagans.

Especially since that witch was a top executive of the Purgatory Coven.

“We will erase demon hunters like you from the Holy Order as much as possible while pretending to help the Director of Palace Affairs. That is also the reason why we stepped forward to help.”

“Do you think the Holy Order will stay quiet?”

“Normally it would be impossible. It would mean starting a war. But in the current situation, who is to blame? Wasn’t it you guys who summoned us?”

As expected.

The fault lay with the Director of Palace Affairs.

‘What was that mere power worth that he had to unleash poison upon the Holy Order?’

The fight began.

However, Ludrick’s power was no match for hers.

“The world-famous Jaeger family is nothing special either. Then again, you guys are probably only particularly strong against demons.”

With a snap of her fingers, she burned Ludrick’s corpse and departed abruptly.

* * *

The Director of Palace Affairs showed an anxious appearance.

Touching the Inquisition Bureau meant that things could not be undone.

If he succeeded, he would reign as the Holy Order’s undisputed sole power, but if he failed, he could face a backlash and meet the most horrific end in the history of the Holy Order.

Although no evidence of the Pope’s assassination remained, if the Inquisition Bureau made up its mind in the first place, they could manipulate such evidence at will anyway.

Thus, from the very start, this battle was a game of eat or be eaten.

The Director of Palace Affairs, sporting dark circles under his eyes unlike usual, contacted Lucian once again.

After a short dial tone, his voice came through.

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes, are you also alone, Your Excellency?”

“I have temporarily moved the guests from the Magic Tower to the VIP room. How is the work going?”

The same question was being repeated every thirty minutes.

“Except for the escape of the two inquisitors, it seems to be going quite smoothly. There are inquisitors who object, but it is not severe.”

“Time is of the essence. The success or failure of this matter will depend on whether you can seize control of the Inquisition Bureau quickly or not.”

“I am also well aware of that. However… the movements of the mages are suspicious. They seem to be doing something behind my back, but I have absolutely no way of knowing what it is.”

Vane pinched the bridge of his nose.

“They probably have some scheme up their sleeves. Have they ever roamed the heart of the Holy Order so freely like this before?”

“Well… there seems to be little resentment about me becoming the Director, but there appears to be quite a bit of backlash regarding bringing in the Magic Division. This goes not only for the people here, but also for the group of clerics who are clashing with the Magic Division.”

“Do not worry about the Magic Division. Once we seize control of the Inquisition Bureau, I plan to kick them out on our own.”

“They are not guys who would help obediently, what could their scheme be?”

“I have no time to worry about that. Why do you think I brought even them in? It is because seizing control of the Inquisition Bureau is that important.”

Vane continued speaking as if to emphasize.

“At most, it’s today or tomorrow. The battle will be decided there. If we take over the Inquisition Bureau smoothly, it will end there. If not, I guarantee that you and I will not be safe. We were the ones who drew the sword first.”

Suddenly remembering something, Lucian asked,

“Your Excellency, what will you do with the former Director? Are you going to leave him be like this?”

“Killing him would be easy. But that is not the best way. The bond between the Director and the inquisitors is quite strong. If we touch him, the inquisitors who have at least been won over might be greatly shaken. It is important to swallow the Inquisition Bureau whole. Since no one will be able to find the Director anyway, focus on taking control of that side rather than the Director.”

“Yes, I will do so.”

“I will contact you again.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Vane sat down in his seat.

Though it would be decided tomorrow at the latest,

time really was not passing.

To the point where waiting was a torture.

“Gosh…”

At this moment, a call came from the most uncomfortable place.

Vane hesitated before answering the call.

She was someone he had no choice but to answer.

Because if he ignored her and did not answer, they would move.

“Yes, Your Highness. This is the Director of Palace Affairs.”

“Did you deal with the two inquisitors as promised?”

He had barely pacified the knighthood.

Would there be any good in telling her the truth?

“Yes, we have detained them for now. The promise with Your Highness will surely be kept.”

“Do not forget. His Majesty personally interfering with the knighthood’s affairs is not to help you. It is to re-establish the fallen authority of the Imperial Family. Due to the measures previously taken by the Holy Order, I also agreed to kill the two inquisitors as you said, and this is a measure that must be executed.”

“Yes, that’s right. Do not worry too much. The promise will surely be kept.”

“Do not disappoint His Majesty. His Majesty aside, I will not let it slide.”

The call ended.

It was a mess in all directions.

‘Why did they have to lose those two guys?’

Sitting on pins and needles was also because the two inquisitors, who should have been dealt with first, had escaped.

‘I cannot just stay like this.’

The Director of Palace Affairs immediately headed to the VIP room.

Because he had to find the two inquisitors even if he had to grill the Mage Commander.

What kind of scheme they had was none of his business, but since he planned to kick them out soon anyway, he had to suck out as much sweet juice as possible.

* * *

Red roses were in full bloom in the garden of the Imperial Palace. The petals sparkled like gems, and a delicate scent rode the wind, permeating deep into the palace.

The Imperial Princess, who had blood-red hair and scarlet eyes, looked at the human woman sitting across from her at a marble table.

It was highly unusual for her, who considered herself the noblest in the world, to sit across from a mere human woman, but she was looking at her opponent with great interest.

“You say the Director of Palace Affairs will fail?”

“Yes, he will fail.”

She was an interesting woman who spoke as if she knew the events of the future.

The Imperial Princess, who had been skeptical, also seemed to believe her to some extent now that the world was flowing as she had said.

“Is there a reason? I just spoke with him on the phone, and his voice didn’t seem to indicate any problems.”

“First of all, Saintess Mariel is absent. And the timing of the Director of Palace Affairs stepping forward to take control of the Holy Order is too early. Then one cannot help but think someone intentionally moved it forward, and if so, what the Director of Palace Affairs has done will also fail. Because it was not the original timing.”

“Who moved it forward?”

Rina Spiegel.

She wore a faint smile.

“Perhaps a player?”

“A player?”

“There is no one who can do that except a player.”

“A player…”

As rose petals scattered in the wind, the Imperial Princess raised her glass and smiled.

“Amusing. To think that the existence called a disaster is changing the world like this.”

Near them was Ryden, escorting them as a knight of the Imperial Guard.

Glancing at Ryden, Rina brought up a topic to the Imperial Princess.

“Your Highness, you must be careful of Kaiser right now rather than the Holy Order’s affairs.”

“Kaiser?”

At the mention of that name, Ryden cast his gaze toward them.

He also seemed to know about that name.

The Imperial Princess’s question followed.

“Isn’t that man… merely the representative of a single political party? You want me to guard against him?”

“Yes, he is the one who will be the greatest threat to Your Highness and His Majesty. I haven’t mentioned it to you until now, but he is also a player.”

“Kaiser is a player…”

“Yes, before long, His Majesty will make a certain decision.”

A bloody purge.

She was also preparing for that event.

“Although I cannot tell you in advance what kind of event it is, Your Highness and Kaiser will clash head-on due to it.”

She did not forget to add these words either.

“One of you will absolutely die there. So it is correct to guard against Kaiser first.”

* * *

Vrooooom!

On the road toward the capital, Arcadia.

A magitech bike was speeding along, emitting a roaring sound.

“Daddy! It’s a cleric!”

How many times had he heard that story?

The father of the child holding the steering wheel chuckled, then suddenly wore a serious expression.

‘I heard the Holy Order has been turned upside down…’

Before long, a cleric dismounted at the reached destination.

It was Carl.

Perhaps because it was not a very unfamiliar place, he went to the location where the group of cleric leaders was without much difficulty.

Due to the incident caused by the Director of Palace Affairs today, the atmosphere there was sunk in quite a heavy mood.

“I am Carl Setier, a cleric. Are you the leaders of the Basilica clerics here?”

The clerics, who had been sitting around a table sharing a serious conversation, all cast their gaze toward him at once.

“How did you get in here? I thought we ordered not to let just anyone in?”

“You don’t look like a Basilica cleric. Where did you come from?”

“Who are you?”

Carl addressed them, who were full of wariness.

“I am currently executing a mission under the Inquisitor’s orders.”

“An inquisitor?”

Normally they would have trembled at that single word, but not now.

With the Inquisition Bureau itself under attack by the Director of Palace Affairs, it was obvious that the inquisitors themselves would have split into two factions.

They were not the type of people to make political judgments and bear those risks.

“We are sorry, but at this point in time, that title is not a free-pass word.”

“If it is a request to help one side, we politely decline. We do not judge anything. We just watch.”

Carl also understood their lukewarm reaction, but this was a mission that had to be completed.

“The one I serve is Rashid Preston. A former Honorary Cleric and currently a Chief Inquisitor of the Heresy Inquisition Bureau. Will you still turn away even so?”

Had it been other inquisitors, it might be different.

But they were not ignorant of Rashid.

Because he was already a legend.

“You are executing his mission?”

“I heard he was placed on standby because of the Director of Palace Affairs?”

“What is the mission?”

Those who had not even been interested began to show curiosity.

“The Inquisitor is searching for the former Director. I believe you guys would know well enough?”

The curiosity was only brief.

Because guilt could be attached depending on their answer, the atmosphere grew cold, and one of them spoke.

“That is difficult to answer. Hey, do you even know what bounty is placed on the head of that inquisitor you serve? You probably don’t know, but the Director of Palace Affairs has promised the position of Honorary Cleric.”

As if it was not a false story, everyone had the same look and the same atmosphere.

“He said he would grant the position of Honorary Cleric to the cleric who contributes greatly to capturing that inquisitor. Under such circumstances, can we help that inquisitor?”

To think such a thing was offered.

Carl thought about this and that, but soon sorted out his thoughts and spoke again.

“What kind of position is an Honorary Cleric? Was it just a seat where anyone could sit? An Honorary Cleric is a position that you and I look up to the most in the world. Lion and Rashid were both excellent Honorary Clerics. But is that position promised by the Director of Palace Affairs truly honorable? If you sell out a former Honorary Cleric to sit in that position, would anyone respect you?”

It was a remark that hit the nail on the head.

Because everyone had such thoughts, they had only shown interest but could not step forward easily.

“If not, say something. Let me hear it.”

One of the cleric leaders, sighing, added,

“Fine, you are right about that. That’s why everyone is keeping quiet. But you know we cannot step forward recklessly, right? The Director of Palace Affairs is fighting in earnest now. For now, the momentum has swung toward the Director of Palace Affairs. Seeing that there is no particular reaction from the Inquisition Bureau, they might just accept it as it is. The Director of Palace Affairs won.”

Carl shook his head.

“We don’t know that yet. If the former Director is released and returns to the Inquisition Bureau, no one knows what will happen. Will the inquisitors follow the new Director who was suddenly dropped in like a parachute, or will they turn back to the Director they followed before?”

“Even if that’s so, the right to appoint the Director currently belongs to the Director of Palace Affairs. His Holiness the Pope is not here, is he?”

“It is the Inquisition Bureau. They can frame the Director of Palace Affairs with the crime of sacrilegious usurpation and assassination.”

At Carl’s words, the agitation among the clerics intensified.

“Meaning, whether there is evidence of him assassinating His Holiness or not, that doesn’t matter. The inquisitors will create the evidence themselves anyway.”

Several among the leaders began to nod their heads.

They seemed to agree.

“The Inquisitor I serve knows that, which is why he is searching for the former Director. They must find the former Director so that the momentum tilted toward the Director of Palace Affairs can swing back to the other side.”

Seeing their agitation,

Carl threw in his final words for persuasion.

“Since when did the Magic Tower bastards roam the Papal Court as if it were their own home? The Director of Palace Affairs is that kind of person. To him, seizing his own power is more important than the Holy Order’s prestige. Do you want such a person to stand at the peak of the Holy Order? Or is the former system we believed in and protected better?”

One of the clerics who had been deeply contemplating rose from his seat, having apparently made a decision.

“I will tell you the location of the detained former Director. Instead, can I meet the Inquisitor?”

“Meet the Inquisitor? Is there a reason?”

“We are clerics anyway. We are in a position to hear orders, not to instruct anyone. Though not everyone here might do so, at least I plan to move according to the orders of the one who was a former Honorary Cleric and is now a Chief Inquisitor. And while we’re at it, I believe that he also would definitely not look kindly upon the current situation where the mages are running rampant.”

The remaining cleric leaders, who had not agreed with his words, also rose from their seats.

“I will join as well.”

“Me too.”