Chapter 11
The nameless chapel, tucked away on the outskirts of the Starting Floor. The peaceful silence was shattered by the untimely sound of marching boots.
Dozens of Inquisitors came storming in, moving in perfect formation like the cogs of a single machine.
For Zion, who had left her suckers…… no, workers to handle the job and was enjoying some leisure, it was a bolt from the blue.
‘What’s that?’
But the uninvited guests showed no intention of answering her question. They simply held formation and glared at her coldly.
Amid the sea of Inquisitors clad in razor-sharp steel, a man indifferently took in the chapel before him.
“A chapel built on stone, with wood carved and raised up. Indeed…… it certainly deserves to be called an ‘idol.’”
Crackle.
With a sizzling sound, sparks flew. One by one, the torches held by the Inquisitors caught fire.
The flames began to burn fiercely. Soon, savage shouts tore from their mouths, ripping through the silence.
“The flames of purification for the heretics!!”
“Save their souls through burning at the stake!”
“Calm yourselves, brothers. Should we not give even a lost lamb the chance to repent?”
‘They’re acting like they’re in some movie.’
At this unexpected show of mercy, the Inquisitors tilted their heads in confusion, but none dared to object.
Once his brothers had expressed their obedience through silence, Victor slowly turned his head and fixed his gaze on Zion.
Of course, Zion had no intention of taking kindly to people barging in out of nowhere and making a grand show of repentance and salvation.
“What brings you here?”
“Before that, let me ask you something. Are you the one called the Saintess of Beginnings?”
“I am called that, yes.”
“I’ll be brief. Kneel now, sincerely repent, and join the Church. If you do, I’ll spare your life.”
‘What is that lunatic talking about?’
She’d expected the Church to put pressure on her over Rin…… but there were limits.
This was beyond sticking their nose into someone else’s business—it was a bandit trying to make off with the entire ancestral offering table.
They were the ones who’d refused to treat Rin, and now they had the gall to make a scene…… There was a limit to how shameless anyone could be.
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“I can’t help wondering whether a Church that ignores suffering lost lambs and does nothing but persecute them could truly have anything called ‘the will of God.’”
Zion had not the slightest interest in God’s will, but she couldn’t exactly be honest about what she was really thinking.
So she gave an answer dressed up in a plausible veneer of holy goodwill. Unexpectedly, Victor was left speechless.
Considering the Church’s recent actions, her words certainly struck home. But his faith wasn’t so easily shaken.
“You refuse to repent? You truly are a heretic through and through.”
“The flames of purification for the heretics!!”
“Brothers, burn everything the heretics—”
“I was wondering where that smell of metal was coming from…… You’re the Church’s hounds, aren’t you?”
At the growl in the man’s voice, Victor’s face filled with shock. Why was that man here?!
Beast ears jutted up through his black hair. The red glint beneath them pierced Victor like an arrow.
As if the Inquisitors’ intimidating presence meant nothing to him, the boy casually walked toward Victor.
“What business does a pack of hounds have coming all the way here?”
At that sharp roar, Victor felt cold sweat trickle down his spine.
‘Iron Fist Leon……!! Why is the 48th-ranked High Ranker and administrator of the 34th floor here……?!’
Administrators normally didn’t leave their posts. They never knew when an enemy guild or an unranked adventurer might attack.
Moreover, the 34th floor Leon managed was a resource-rich jungle, a region that rival guilds were constantly eyeing.
It was absurd for him to be here on the Starting Floor when he could hardly afford to leave his post. And more importantly……
‘What in the world is that corn in his hand?!’
“Oh my, it looks like a beast recognized its own kind and came out to greet it.”
“If you want to die, just say so.”
‘Even Divine Archer Elena, the administrator of the 33rd floor?!’
Victor nearly felt his legs give out. There wasn’t just one administrator here, but two.
The other Inquisitors who recognized them also began to visibly waver. They were High Rankers, after all.
Yet Victor somehow managed to grab hold of his fading consciousness again. If it was to punish heresy, he could at least risk his life……!!
‘Wait, if I play this right, I can get someone else to do the dirty work without lifting a finger.’
At first, Zion had planned to deal with them herself. But now that her suckers…… no, workers had arrived at the chapel……
Was there any need for her to go to the trouble of doing it herself? Unfortunately, Zion was a step ahead of Victor.
“Would you happen to need more corn?”
At those words, the eyes of both High Rankers lit up.
◇
Inquisitors.
The reason many adventurers avoided them wasn’t just their blind and bothersome faith.
Their strength, honed through brutal training by the Church’s Rankers and backed by specialized weapons, was not to be underestimated.
[Below the 40th floor, Inquisitors can take down bosses and Nameds without much trouble. They’re not a force you can afford to underestimate.]
‘Wow……’
Recalling the advice Ifrit had given her a few days ago, Zion slowly raised her head.
The very Inquisitors Ifrit had emphatically warned her not to underestimate were now screaming as they flew through the air.
Of course, Zion herself was the one who’d put them in that state…… but she hadn’t expected them to be so completely outmatched.
‘Even if they’re High Rankers, I never expected them to toy with their opponents so one-sidedly……’
The only thing Zion had asked of them was this: drive every last Inquisitor out of the chapel without killing them.
It wasn’t that she was a pacifist or anything; cleaning up blood and entrails would be a pain.
Even with that condition, Leon and Elena were rampaging around like fish in water.
“Aaaagh!!”
“Hold still, or you’ll break a bone.”
“How barbaric. Still, I’m much better than that, aren’t I?”
“What good is shooting arrows at armor—Guh?!”
“You really are a joker.”
The Inquisitors had made a grand entrance in their armor, but they were all driven out in less than five minutes.
Even then, they were only still alive because Zion had told them not to kill anyone. Otherwise, their heads would have rolled long ago.
Having dispatched the Inquisitors like trash in no time, Leon and Elena immediately hurried back over to Zion.
“That takes care of them.”
“That should be enough, right?”
“Y-yes, of course. You’ve saved me.”
“Ahem! Um…… if you don’t mind……”
“I’d like to have the reward you promised now.”
There was no doubt these High Rankers were crazy about corn. Even if it was a quest……
It couldn’t have been easy to get rid of dozens of Inquisitors just for a few ears of corn.
In any case, a promise was a promise, so Zion had been about to hand over the corn—until an uninvited guest barged in.
“Zion!!!”
“Big Sis! Are you all right?!”
“Ifrit? Rin? I thought you were busy today……”
“That’s not the issue!”
“You’re the only reason the Inquisitors would come all the way to the Starting Floor, Big Sis! But now that I look, they aren’t the only ones here, are they?”
Apparently, the Inquisitors had been foolish enough to attack Ifrit and Rin, too. Were they brave, or just stupid?
But the moment the two of them returned to the chapel after repelling the attack, the whole place fell silent as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over it.
Even Leon and Elena, who’d been playing with the Inquisitors like toys, stared at them with stiff expressions.
“Mad Flame and Sword Dragon. I’ve heard about you, but……”
“I didn’t know a beast had come to the Starting Floor. If I had, I’d have burned you right away.”
“Try it if you can, Mad Flame.”
“Hehe, look who it is. The young dragon who got too big for her britches and learned the hard way.”
“Auntie.”
“……Okay, that’s a death sentence.”
Ifrit’s eyes were full of contempt, but Leon was openly provoking her as if he found it amusing.
The tension between Elena and Rin was no less intense. Perhaps because they were both High Rankers, they seemed to know each other.
The problem was that they didn’t seem to get along. Like fire and oil, they were ready to ignite the moment they met.
“Wait!”
Of course Zion wasn’t going to just stand by and watch. If it had only been the Inquisitors, that would’ve been one thing.
If four High Rankers collided all at once, this tiny chapel would be blown away in no time.
She had to stop that, no matter what. With all the High Rankers’ gazes focused on her, Zion spoke without thinking.
“Would you all like to have dinner together?”