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Dinah wore a serious expression as she climbed down the stairs in the main hall of the mansion. Behind her were 3 people: Miguel from the External Unit, Naaman, a retired Priest from the Nummi family, and one of the Guards stationed at the main entrance door. Miguel and Naaman both had the same expression as Dinah, while the Guard had a combination of serious and worried.
As they continued to climb down the stairs, they noticed Vivian casually sitting with her legs crossed at one of the chairs between the edge of the foyer and the main entrance.
When they reached the first floor and headed towards her, they noticed the dead Guard still lying outside of the main entrance on his stomach, causing Dinah and Naaman's expressions to grow even harder, while Miguel maintained the same serious expression.
Vivian slowly turned her head to Dinah and company, got up, and then casually made her way to them as she met them halfway.
Both parties met at the center of the main hall.
"Sister Dinah, Brother Miguel, good morning and may the God of Light always be with you. I am here to talk to Brother Emmanuel," she said with a cool and relaxed tone.
Dinah's eyes glanced at the dead Guard outside once again and then focused on Vivian.
"Sister Inquisitor Monad, what is the meaning of this?"
Vivian placed her right hand on her hip.
"I already told you. I'm here to talk to Brother Emmanuel about the case my Squad and I are currently handling."
"A letter addressed to your Squad, concerning Brother Emmanuel, was sent this morning. Did you receive it?"
Vivian nodded.
"We did."
"Then how do you explain this?"
"Explain?" Vivian said with an amused tone and then dropped her right hand from her hip as she moved closer to Dinah. "Tell me, sister. Are you here to block the ongoing investigation of the Holy Crusade? Or are you here to assist in the ongoing investigation of the Holy Crusade?"
"There is a proper process on how--"
Pah!
Braaag, thud!
Vivian slapped Dinah away with the back of her left hand, sending her flying and crashing against a wall before falling to the floor.
"Heretic," she said with a disgusted tone and then turned to the remaining people.
Everyone was caught off guard and was still processing what had just happened. But eventually, they finally snapped back to their senses; the first one was Miguel, the second was the Guard, and the last one was Naaman.
However, it was Naaman who spoke first.
"How dare you lay a hand on my family?!"
Vivian crossed her arms and raised her chin a bit.
"Are you also planning to block an ongoing investigation of the Holy Crusade?"
"Insolent little girl!"
Miguel stretched out his hand.
"Wait--!!!"
[Halo].
"I command you to surrender and apologize!" Naaman commanded as a golden ring appeared on his back.
The light on Miguel and the Guard's eyes dimmed and they blankly backed away.
Vivian, who was still holding her position, let out a chuckle.
"As expected of a family of heretics."
Naaman's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
"What…?"
Vivian unfolded her arms.
[Enchant Lightning].
Sparks of lightning wrapped around her right fist.
"For blocking an ongoing investigation of the Holy Crusade and using [Halo] on a Holy Crusade officer, I hereby declare that your punishment is… Death."
Miguel and the Guard finally snapped out of the semi-charm effect of the [Halo]. But they were still more or less affected by it.
"Sister Inquisitor, Brother Naaman, please stop this!"
Vooom!
A blurry figure shot through Vivian from her left side, but she easily evaded it and then turned to her right.
"You're finally up. I was wondering what took you so long."
Standing a couple of feet away was Dinah. Her hair and clothes disheveled and covered with debris, and she was looking with Vivian with a murderous glare.
"WHICH FAMILY ARE YOU FROM?!"
"Hmm… Now that I think about it…"
Vivian deactivated her [Enchant Lightning].
[Mana Whip].
A 2-foot-long thin rod made out of blue mana appeared on her right hand.
[Enchant Lightning].
Sparks of lightning wrapped around her Mana Weapon.
Vooom!
As Dinah was still about to cast a spell, Vivian already appeared right in front of her.
Tap.
Psscht!
"Arrrrggghhh…!" Dinah gritted her teeth as her body shook uncontrollably and smoke was coming out of her body due to the tip of Vivian's Mana Weapon touching her chest.
Thud!
When Vivian pulled her mana weapon away, Dinah immediately dropped to the floor, already long dead with most of her clothes burned and in tatters, her body toasted to brown, and the smell of steak permeating the air.
"So that's what happens if you don't apply any physical force."
[Blessing].
Red light enveloped Naaman's body.
[Mana Axe].
A giant two-handed long axe made out of blue mana appeared on his hand.
Voo-chaaak!
Naaman wasn't yet done preparing when Vivian appeared in front of him and stabbed him face with her left hand that was covered with a [Mana Fist].
Slurp!
Thud!
When the spells on Naaman's body disappeared, Vivian pulled her hand from his face and his body quickly fell to the ground.
"Idiot. Why are you just standing and casting spells even though you know I'm way stronger than you?"
She studied her [Mana Fist] that was covered in blood and some brain matter. The appearance of her mana weapon was only a human fist made out of blue mana overlapping over her actual gloved hand.
"Will it work?"
She deactivated it and all that was left was a clean and pristine white glove.
"Oh, so that works. However…" she said and then looked down at her clothes. "I still splattered with bloodstains on my clothes. Well, to be fair, the only reason I even chose to only wear white was because I wasn't expecting any fight to happen during my time here. Funny how life works."
Miguel and the Guard stared at Vivian in horror. The Guard in particular, without being aware of it, already took 2 steps back.
Vivian turned to them.
"The both of you."
She focused on Miguel.
"Tell the people in this mansion that my only purpose here is to talk to Brother Emmanuel. Anyone who tries to stop me, I will kill and arrest them from blocking an ongoing investigation of the Holy Crusade concerning the True Death Murder Case of Sister Bithiah."
She turned to the Guard.
"And you, take me to where Brother Emmanuel is. I only wish to talk to him. Unless, of course, he resists," she said and then smiled. "But it's not like he can do anything now, can he?"
***
Emmanuel lay on a large bed inside a dimly lit room. Slightly facing to the side, his golden hair partly covers the side of his eyes, while the soft and silky white blanket covered his feet and up to his bare chest.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door, but he ignored it. Truth be told, it was a habit he developed throughout the years. When he was still young and weak, whenever someone with strange desires would secretly come to him while he was asleep, if he woke up, that person would be aggressive and a fight would break out. But as he got older and slightly stronger, although he could now more or less defend himself, he has chosen not to wake because it's only during those moments when someone comes to him and has no idea he was actually awake, they would show their true colors and intentions.
Ka-cha!
The door opened and he heard footsteps slowly approaching him.
He recognized the footsteps, the soft tapping of the soles on the carpeted floor was familiar.
Myra. One of the maids working in the mansion and assigned to him.
However, there was something strange: Her footsteps seemed hasty.
"H-Honored Priest Emmanuel…?"
He could hear the fear in her voice. And the fear was not out of admiration or intimidation, but something akin to danger.
"H-Honored Priest Emmanuel, please wake up…"
There were only a handful of times when Myra was this forceful. One of those times was when people from the Orion Kingdom came to the mansion and demanded to interview him as one of the suspects of a True Death murder case. However, even compared to that, Myra's voice seemed too afraid.
As Emmanuel slowly opened his eyes, he saw Myra's hand about to reach out to him. Something Myra would never ever do. He also saw her face that was painted in fear.
Pop, pop, pop…
Emmanuel turned to the opposite direction as he stretched his body for a moment, letting out popping sounds from his joints.
"What is it, Myra...? It's still too early…"
Myra swallowed.
"H-Honored Priest Emmanuel, a guest is waiting for you outside the bedroom…"
The word 'bedroom' immediately caught Emmanuel's attention. Instead of saying 'room', she said 'bedroom'. He slowly got up and rubbed his eyes.
"Please open the curtains and tell the guest I'll be there in a minute…" he said as he continued to rub his eyes.
"Honored Priest, you have to step outside right away…"
Emmanuel stopped rubbing his eyes and then turned to her with a serious expression.
***
When Emmanuel stepped outside of his room wearing nothing but a pair of white house sandals, black pajamas and a white silk robe, his gaze immediately fell on the person sitting at one of the three-person sofas in the lounging area. The person only spared him a quick glance before returning their attention to the giant paint plastered on the wall.
His room consisted of mainly 6 areas -- his bedroom that a smaller room that acted as his closet, a bathroom and toilet room, a study room, a Magic Art training room, the lounging area, and a balcony to drink tea or eat breakfast whenever the weather was perfect.
"Sister Inquisitor Monad, this is quite a surprise," he said and smiled as he headed over to the lounging area to join her.
He also noticed that the usual people or things were not around.
When it came to the people, Brother Miguel, Guard Jabal and Guard Kedar who was assigned to guard him, Butler Elnaam, and Lasha, his other maid, were nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, when it came to things, no breakfast was served.
As for Myra, she remained inside the bedroom and was cleaning it.
Emmanuel finally reached the lounging area and sat at one of the one-person sofas.
"What pleasure do I owe this visit? And please do forgive my appearance. I just woke up and I honestly wasn't expecting you to be my guest. My maid only informed me that a special guest was waiting for me outside my bedroom and that it was urgent."
Vivian was still looking at the giant painting on the wall.
"I'll get straight to the point. Who was the Sister you were with in front of Malia's Restaurant on the night Brother Jeremiah confronted you?"
Emmanuel blinked a few times.
"A Sister I was with in front of Malia's Restaurant? I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Vivian's head slowly turned to him. And it was this time Emmanuel noticed a few tiny red stains on her white clothes, particularly on the chest area of her tight and fitting turtleneck short dress, and on the upper left side of her cloak.
"On the night of Septus 20, around 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., in front of Malia's Restaurant, Brother Jeremiah confronted you about your relationship with Sister Bithiah. A witness claimed that you were with a tall and beautiful White Cloak Priestess with gray hair, around her mid-20s, and from the Verglas Chapter Temple."
"I'm very sorry, but I don't recall any such memory."
"Are you sure? Because I really hate it when people lie to me."
"I swear to the God of Light."
"How's your suicide going?"
A confused expression flashed on Emmanuel's face.
"I beg your pardon?"
Vivian rolled her eyes behind her mask.
"What is wrong with people today? Why do I have to constantly repeat myself? I asked you how's your suicide going."
Emmanuel suddenly remembered something and the light in his eyes flickered for a moment.
"As you can see, I'm barely holding my sanity while being attacked on all sides."
"You have True Light, True Ice, True Dark and False Lightning, correct?"
"Yes."
"And on your last Holy Crusade, during the registration, your Physical and Magic Force was what?"
Emmanuel took a momentarily paused before answering.
"It was Adamantite-Rainbow Steel."
"And your current Physical and Magic Force now?"
"It has risen quite a bit."
"Which is?"
"My Physical Force is still the same, but my Magic Force is already above Spirit Steel."
"How?"
"A lot of training."
"Do you mind if we check it?"
"Is this part of the investigation, Sister Inquisitor?"
"Yes."
"Then I would like to only speak or demonstrate anything with my Defense Councilor present."
"Why?"
"It's my right, is it not?"
"I'm simply asking about your Physical and Magic Force, brother. Unless there's something you're trying to hide?"
Emmanuel got up from his seat.
"Forgive me, sister, but I must go about my day. And if you wish to continue this conversation of ours, may it be with the sufficient people and things present."
"Are you kicking me out?"
Emmanuel shook his head.
"I would never. I'm simply excusing myself from the current situation we are in, so that I can go about my day. Unless you suspect me of something and must arrest me?"
Vivian got up from her seat.
"Let me tell you a little secret, brother. We're having High Brother Reuel give us the records of all of the people who came and left She'kel Village this year. Meanwhile, Brother Inquisitor Wind is currently interviewing the people from Malia's Restaurant."
Emmanuel let out a bright smile.
"I'm sure you will find that I'm telling the truth," he said then gave an elegant bow. "Please excuse me, Sister Inquisitor. And may you have a pleasant day."
Braaang!
A door suddenly swung open. It was Leah and she was glaring at Vivian with pure murderous intent.
"YOU MURDERING BITCH…!!!"
Voo-chud!
Leah turned to a blur as she lunged over at Vivian. But instead of Vivian getting tackled to the ground and being mangled by Leah, Vivian was holding Leah by the neck tightly with her right hand, preventing her from breathing, while her left hand held her right wrist, almost crushing it.
"Did you forget what I told you last time?"
Chud, riiiip…!
"AAAAHHH…!!!" The sound of skin, muscles and bone tearing echoed throughout the room as Vivian grabbed Leah's right shoulder, dug her fingers into her flesh, and then ripped her right arm away.
"MOTHER…!!!" Emmanuel shouted as he rushed forward.
[Enchant Dark].
A dark and sinister aura appeared on his right fist.
Voo-woo!
Vivian spun in a blur and then threw Leah towards Emmanuel.
Thud!
Voo-chaaak!
As Emmanuel caught his mother on his arms, Vivian appeared behind him and then stabbed her right hand wrapped with [Mana Fist] through Emmanuel and Leah's chest.
Slurrrp…!
Vivian pulled back her hand and a disgusted expression flashed across her face behind her mask.
Now I'm really dirty…
Although her hand was covered with [Mana Fist], protecting it from the blood, her wrist and almost all the way up her elbow were covered in blood.
But I'm also getting hungry…
[Greater Heal].
A golden light enveloped Leah's body. The hole on her chest not only healed, but her right arm also grew back.
[Greater Heal].
A golden light enveloped Emmanuel's body. The hold on his chest was healed.
Vivian rolled her eyes.
[Enchant Lightning].
Sparks of lightning appeared on her right hand.
Chu-psscht!
She touched Emmanuel on the back of his neck, who was still holding Leah, and both mother and son were electrified.
[Blessing].
[Mana Dual Daggers].
[Enchant Dark].
Leah, who turned out to be immune to Lightning spells, casted a Class Magic spell, Physical Art skill and Magic Art spell as she pushed Emmanuel away and then rushed towards Vivian.
Pah!
Thud, thud, thud, bam!
Vivian countered by delivering a swift kick to Leah's head, blowing her head completely off while the rest of the body rolled on the floor like a rag doll before crashing into a wall.
"Ugh...! Now it's my boots…!"
Vivian looked around her surroundings.
This is seriously getting really messy…
Can't these people just stop and cooperate…?
And cooperate honestly…
Vivian heard a couple of footsteps coming from outside the door.
Great…
What's next…?
A group of people arrived: Wind, Reuel, Nathan, Marcus, Dinah and Janis.
Everyone's eyes widened when they saw Emmanuel's toasted body and Leah's headless body.
Vivian's eyes turned slits behind her mask.
"Brother Inquisitor Wind, High Brother Reuel, why are you both here?"
"Sister Inquisitor Wind, I command you to surrender!" Reuel ordered.
"Oh? What's this? You're also here to block an ongoing investigation of the Holy Crusade? Why am I not even surprised?" she said and then spread her arms. "Come, let me show all of you much of a low-life insect heretics you people truly are."
"Sister, stop this!" Wind said and then had a moment of hesitation. "You leave me no choice...!"
[Ring of Light].
A glowing golden ring appeared around Vivian, shocking everyone because it was the Lore Magic of the L'ux family.
A confused expression appeared on Vivian's face.
What's going...?
I don't feel anything...
She stared at the ring around her and tried touching it. But the moment her finger touched it, the whole ring crumbled to pieces and then disappeared before even touching the floor, leaving everyone also shocked.
For Vivian to be completely unaffected by the Lore Magic of the Golden Families, there were only 2 reasons:
• The target is a morally good person
• The target's Magic Force is 3 Grades higher compared to the caster's Magic Force.
Vivian returned her focus to Wind.
"I don't know what spell that was, but I'm truly disappointed in you, brother. You not only ignored my order, but you also attacked me."
She focused on the others.
"What about you people? I do not wish to fight. However, I will kill and arrest whoever tries to stop me from doing my job as an Inquisitor."
"You call this a 'job of an Inquisitor'?!" Dinah roared.
Nathan stretched his left hand in front of Dinah.
"Sister Dinah, we let you accompany us because you agreed that you would stay low. If you can't do that, I will arrest you myself, even if it means I will have to put you down myself."
Wind, Reuel, Marcus, Janis and Dinah's eyes widened.
"You…?" Dinah said.
"High Brother…?" Reuel said.
Nathan returned his attention to Vivian.
"Sister Inquisitor Monad, if what you said is true, then feel free to do your job. I will even assist you if you want."
"Really now?"
"I swear to the God of Light."
Vivian studied Nathan's face for a moment.
"I'm already done here and I was going to leave, but these people won't stop pestering me. Anyhow, what I want is 2 things:
"First - Give me a list of the people who entered and left She'kel Village for this year. I'm looking for a woman who's tall, about 5'10-ish with or without heels, beautiful, a White Cloak, gray hair, and from the Verglas Chapter Temple.
"Second - Have all the employees, including the owner, of Malia's Restaurant come to me. I want to interview them about the woman I'm looking for.
"I want all of these as soon as possible or at least today."
"Consider it done," Nathan said.
"And if you can't provide these things?"
"It will happen."
"Can you actually?"
"I swear to the God of Light. I'll even step down as a Gray Cloak and then retire if I can't."
"And how does that help me?"
"I have dedicated my entire life to being a Priest. The last thing I want is to throw it away."
Vivian harrumphed.
"We shall see. So am I allowed to pass or are you people still going to block the entrance and then attack me?"
Nathan turned to Wind, Reuel, Marcus, Dinah and Janis.
"All of you, move," he said as he stepped away.
Wind, Reuel, Marcus, Dinah and Janis looked at each other before moving away.
Vivian started walking. And when she passed by Nathan, she spoke.
"I will be expecting what you said, High Brother."
When Vivian was already out of their sight, everyone turned to him.
"High Brother, what was the meaning of that?" Reuel asked.
"My grandfather once told me a story when I was still young. The worst time in the history of the Temple of Priests is always around or during the Light Saint elections, because that's when the secret or hidden god-like Brothers and Sisters would start to appear.
"Also, if any of you hadn't noticed, not only was she a cold-blooded killer, but she was also full of confidence that she could kill us all. I felt no hint of fear, anger, remorse or hesitation from her despite all of us gathered around her, all I felt was annoyance. That's something that can't be easily faked."
Nathan had 4 True Magic Art Affinities, his Physical and Magic Force was around 330 points, he was in his mid-50s, and he retired from the Holy Crusade, particularly from the Infantry Division, at 30 years old, so it has been quite a while. However, at that moment, when they were talking to Vivian, all of his muscle memory from his Holy Crusade days came rushing at him like a heavy wave, which awakened his survival and fighting instincts that had lain dormant for a long time.
Meanwhile, the rest, Reuel and Dinah were from the Exploratory Division, Marcus and Janis were from the Air, and Wind was from the Inquisitory.
"What about the people she murdered?! Are you saying we should just turn a blind eye to that?!" Dinah said.
Nathan turned to her.
"Hence why I said I felt no hint of fear, anger, remorse or hesitation from her, only annoyance."
He turned to the rest.
"If you people don't believe me, go stop her and arrest her yourselves. But there's one piece of advice I'll give to all of you and you should take to heart:
"Make sure you defeat her quickly and swiftly, because you will be dealing with such a big mess if you can't. People like her, once they get angry or serious, they won't hesitate to fight with underhanded tactics, truly underhanded tactics, honor and the DG International Laws be damned. The entire She'kel Village could be thrown into complete chaos, and it still won't move her heart, all for the sake of winning or getting what she wants.
"That is the kind of opponent you will be facing."
He began walking away.
"Where are you going?" Reuel asked.
"To deliver my promises to that Inquisitor."
Reuel, Marcus and Dinah turned to Wind and Janis.
Out of everyone, apart from Wind, only Reuel was from a Golden Family. And in the hierarchy of the Golden Families, the L'ux family was the oldest family and the direct descendants of the first Priest, the first Light Saint, and the founder of the Temple of Priests, N'eua. Meanwhile, the Has'tam family was the second oldest.
"Brother Inquisitor Wind, I have several questions for you and your Squad," Reuel said.
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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