Chapter 109
[Title: Spooky Spooky, the Cathedral's Current Situation...jpg]
(Meme of an inquisitor kicking a skinny man)
(Meme of an inquisitor grabbing a passerby)
It's a fucking madhouse, yeah.
Adrian itself is under emergency alert right now, so if you live in the capital, don't leave your house.
The cathedral bastards have gone insane and are slashing people up all over the place.
(Meme of a badly scraped knee)
For reference, I almost died too, for fuck's sake.
[Upvotes 5914] [Downvotes 93]
- They're seriously fucking uncivilized, lol.
- Wow, getting out of the Empire was the best fucking decision I ever made.
- But were there always this many inquisitors?
- Glad I got on the Kelierton train early.
ㄴ Is the leader there any good?
ㄴ For real, I'm really tempted to leave the Empire now too.
ㄴ There's a cute queen there who loves canned tuna.
ㄴ Oh.
ㄴ I'm going right now.
The cathedral had begun violently suppressing the protest.
The inquisitors had started dragging people away at random.
The problem was that the cathedral had acted entirely on its own, without permission from the imperial family.
But the imperial family had no choice but to stand by and watch.
- Fuck, what is the emperor doing!!
- Religion's gone completely fucking insane, and he's just sitting there watching, lol.
- But how old is the emperor?
ㄴ Seven years old.
ㄴ ?
Frederick had been driven out, and a new emperor had been appointed.
The problem was that various diseases and the Great War had left no one to succeed him.
After searching through distant branches of the imperial bloodline, they ended up making a seven-year-old the new emperor.
“You really did fail spectacularly at reform.”
Nothing had changed.
Only a few people at the very top of the power structure had lost their heads.
As a result, all that had happened was that the Empire's power had been transferred to the Pope unchanged.
That was why the current imperial family was incapable of stopping this.
[Admin Chat]
FullHPElf: Is it really okay to leave them like this?
The blue mods watching this situation had contacted me as well.
The war was not over yet.
It was only right to stop the indiscriminate killing.
Especially a game of purging heretics like that.
Head Mod*: Hmm...
Head Mod*: It is kind of irritating, yeah.
DiehardVampire: Should I go?
DragonsWillDie: (Dragon emote gasping in surprise)
DragonsWillDie: (Dragon emote trembling)
DragonsWillDie: Stop having weird thoughts!
DragonsWillDie: Head Mod, you needn't use your power yourself. I'll go myself.
The solution was simple.
I could send Felisina and DiehardVampire.
But this time, I couldn't bring myself to do that.
Head Mod*: Nope, don't.
FullHPElf: Why not?
“We have no justification.”
What if I sent a blue mod to intervene in reality and clean up the cathedral?
That would be more than enough reason for it to be considered interference in internal affairs.
Back when Frederick was involved, they had tried to kill me, so I had justification. This time, though, it was a little ambiguous.
“At most, they were just trolling.”
All they had done was swarm into the gallery and try to cause trouble anonymously.
Wasn't that something that happened in the gallery all the time?
If I went in and wiped them out just because I found it distasteful, that could become a problem in its own right.
Even if I was applauded for it now, no one knew how it would be judged in the future.
“Then I'll just make a justification.”
Justification was a matter of how you made it.
If you don't understand, think of the island nation on Earth.
Adrian's people were ultimately gallerybros too.
The death of a gallerybro was the gallery's loss.
Besides, the war was still ongoing.
“How do I make them win without putting weapons in their hands...”
In that case, you just shield them.
[Shop/Shield]
[Riot Shield] - 100p
Boasts outstanding durability and offensive power.
It will prove why the word ‘riot’ was attached to the shield.
You just have to hit them with a shield.
*
“Fuck, are you people even human!”
“You disgusting bastards!”
Flames shot into the sky, and all kinds of curses filled the streets.
It all began with an arrow.
An arrow had suddenly flown out from the cathedral and instantly killed one of the protesters.
The inquisitors soon rushed out and began killing people indiscriminately.
But despite their overwhelming numerical advantage, the crowd could do nothing but helplessly retreat.
- Aren't those market weapons?
ㄴ The hypocrisy is fucking hilarious, lol.
ㄴ But were there really always this many inquisitors? Something's weird.
It was because the inquisitors were carrying market equipment.
Thick steel armor made by the market.
Even market-made axes with sharp edges and an impressive level of craftsmanship.
“All heretics deserve to die.”
The quality of market weapons was something the medieval Empire could never surpass.
Let alone farmers' pitchforks and assorted blades, which had no chance against them.
- Adrian's Current Situation...jpg
- Inquisitors dragging people away...jpg
- Fuckfuckfuck, these bastards seem insane. They just broke my leg too.
The crowd posted about it on the gallery in real time, but the inquisitors didn't care in the slightest.
As though they had no reason to avoid being seen.
No, they even looked like they were enjoying it.
They covered their entire bodies in thick white cloth and began using violence without restraint.
“Aah!”
“Mom!”
In the streets that had become a madhouse, even a woman who had merely been passing by was not spared.
The woman had twisted her ankle and fallen while trying to flee with her child in her arms.
The problem was that the inquisitor who had spotted her was striding toward her.
“Ah, ah...”
The woman's face grew deathly pale as the white-clad inquisitor approached.
An expression intoxicated by excitement.
Even the blood on his clothes.
He looked less like an inquisitor than a demon enthralled by the situation.
“I wasn't part of the protest!”
The woman cried out desperately.
She pleaded with the inquisitor who stood over her, gripping a razor-sharp sword.
“I-I was just passing by with my daughter...!”
“Shut up.”
The inquisitor muttered with a smile on his bloodshot face.
“T-then at least spare my daughter!”
“Tell your excuses to God.”
“Ah, aah.”
Looking into those madness-filled eyes, the woman realized it.
They had been targeting her and her daughter from the very beginning.
To the inquisitor, it didn't matter whether the mother and daughter were members of the protest.
Under the pretext of purging heresy, he swung a market-made axe violently toward the woman's neck.
.
.
-Thud!
And then a strange sound rang out.
“...Huh?”
It wasn't the sensation of cutting through a person.
It was as if he had struck a boulder, and the resulting tingling spread from his arm throughout his body.
When the inquisitor lowered his gaze in confusion, there was a... thing in front of the trembling mother and daughter.
A thing...
“A-a rock?”
No, it wasn't a rock.
Something as massive as a boulder slowly rose to its feet and straightened its shoulders.
It soon stood a full head taller than the inquisitor.
It was just as the inquisitor's eyes followed him upward toward the sky.
“Children born from a mistake.”
A pressure that weighed down his entire body.
A huge man wearing a crow mask, his bulk blocking out the sun behind him, was looking down at the inquisitor.
“Do you like the feeling of impact?”
“G-gallery doctor?”
The gallery doctor, dressed entirely in a black coat, spoke to the stammering inquisitor.
“Always be grateful.”
At the end of those words, the letters ‘POLICE’ flew into the inquisitor's entire field of vision.
-Krrack!
The gallery doctor had arrived on the scene with a riot shield.
*
[Title: Lol, the Gallery Doctor Has Logged In...jpg]
(Meme of hulking gallery doctors hitting people with shields)
Ah, lol, he's hitting them with a shield.
[Upvotes 9999+] [Downvotes 92]
- Kya, lol. I knew we could trust you.
- (Startled farmer cat emote with its mouth agape)
- Destroying the inquisitors who create patients.
ㄴ A true doctor...
Only market-made gear can defeat market-made gear.
That's why I prepared one for you.
A riot shield for you.
Thick steel shields might be effective, but not many people could use them.
But riot shields were different.
[Title: Legendary Riot Shield Effect Meme.jpg]
(Meme of an ordinary commoner blocking a steel sword with a riot shield)
Holy shit, lol, that's fucking sturdy.
I laughed in disbelief even after blocking it myself.
[Upvotes 102] [Downvotes 9]
- Seriously, it's fucking light and transparent, so you can see everything you're doing, lol.
- This riot shield is ridiculously OP.
- Didn't everyone get one supply per person?
- Yeah, the Head Mod just handed out several hundred.
A shield that allowed clear visibility.
It was even astonishingly light.
And it had reliable defensive performance, too.
- Louis) W-wait, you're deploying troops! This is interference in internal affairs! Withdraw them immediately!
As expected, the cathedral played the interference-in-internal-affairs card.
The only problem with that statement was this.
- Head Mod*) Where are the troops?
ㄴ Ah, lol. He means ‘doctors,’ lol.
ㄴ And this is just a shield, lol.
ㄴ Fucking lol.
ㄴ He brought out two ultimate moves at once, ah, lol.
A justification was all that mattered.
That wasn't troops entering without permission and interfering in internal affairs.
It was merely ‘doctors’ rushing into the scene without ‘weapons’ to protect lives bestowed by heaven.
[Title: Lol, Look at Them Run...jpg]
(Meme of a gallery doctor flexing his muscles)
(Meme of someone beating people with a shield without killing them)
(Meme of terrified inquisitors fleeing in panic)
Humanity's strongest vs. humanity's strongest trash.
Is it you again, Goat?
[Upvotes 9999+] [Downvotes 89]
- Excellent doc) Always be grateful.
ㄴ Kyakyakya!!!!!
ㄴ Damn, it's the Head Mod again. I have no choice but to worship...
ㄴ Head Mod? It was merely the doctor's independent action.
- Fuck, what kind of pose is that? Lol.
ㄴ That is seriously fucking scary, lol.
ㄴ If you don't run after seeing that, someone needs to check whether you're bleeding, seriously.
The gallery doctor was like a baseball stadium camera.
Whenever an inquisitor appeared, he grabbed them and made them kiss the shield.
After flattening 3D into 2D, he struck a pose, and the inquisitors fled in panic.
Especially since an unjustified game of purging heretics was bound to become an internal problem eventually.
[Title: Fuck, Is This What I Became a Knight For]
(Meme of a cathedral knight certification)
First, I verify myself.
I'm a gallerybro who took the exams for years and became a cathedral knight...
I was seriously fucking happy when I first became a knight.
It felt like my efforts had finally been recognized, and like I had become an honorable person...
Anyway, I was happier than I could express in words.
But what I do is act as the religious leader's lackey and beat up the people.
Fuck, I should've applied to be a gallery doctor.
And the pay is fucking garbage.
I feel so deprived. This job is such fucking bullshit I can't do it anymore.
[Upvotes 502] [Downvotes 42]
- You've finally opened your eyes.
- You picked the wrong side so fucking badly.
- Yeah~ Who held a knife to your throat and forced you to become a cathedral knight? Lol.
The cracks had begun to spread inside the cathedral as well.
While reading the cathedral knights' posts about regretting their choices, I suddenly had a question.
“Come to think of it, I didn't see any cathedral knights during the violent crackdown.”
The cathedral's main forces were broadly divided into cathedral knights and inquisitors.
Yet during the violent crackdown, only inquisitors had been spotted.
When I played the footage again, it was clear.
The cathedral knights had only hesitated or looked flustered; they hadn't killed anyone.
The ones running wild with delight were almost all inquisitors.
“Something's off.”
There was something I didn't know.
Once that thought crossed my mind, I gathered the memes and began analyzing their IPs one by one.
No matter how well they covered their faces or hid themselves, no gallerybro was truly beyond the sky's reach.
[This post was written from this IP.]
“Well, look at this.”
The longer the tail, the easier it is to catch someone by it.
In the end, I uncovered the truth the cathedral had been hiding.