Chapter 18
Serigel City Hall had descended into chaos.
The red demonic energy drawn out by the warlock Weber had the power to make people feel an instinctive fear.
That is, unless one was sufficiently trained like a knight.
“Ugh, Aaaack!”
“It's a warlock!”
“Everyone, get out! Quickly!”
The people who were working were fleeing like a receding tide.
Some were lucky enough to escape the City Hall, but some couldn't.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Why are you blocking the way……!”
The front group stopped in their tracks.
They turned around with vacant, dazed eyes and completely blocked the entrance so that no one could get out.
It wasn't just them.
The demonic energy of [Domination] was gradually spreading around.
The expressions of the people who had been clamoring to be let out began to go blank one by one.
“What will you do now? Righteous knight.”
The warlock Weber smiled slyly and looked at Reinhardt.
A wall of humans surrounded him. If he swung his sword, innocent citizens would surely be caught up in it.
“Your justice will not be realized unless you harm them. Will you cut them down? Those who are under my control without even knowing it?”
“You, wicked, bastard…….”
His words came out strangely.
His body wanted to jump in at once, but Reinhardt was enduring the impulse with superhuman mental strength.
He couldn't move now.
Even though his expression was hideously distorted, the veins on his fists were bulging, and he was grinding his teeth ferociously, Reinhardt still couldn't move.
‘Not yet. I need to be sure. In a way that minimizes casualties.’
The moment he lost his grip on reason, Reinhardt would enter a sort of ‘auto-battle’ state.
It meant that he would focus only on the goal of defeating the warlock and would not pay any attention to external factors.
“You have an expression like a demon. Very interesting. Now, choose. Will you cut me down along with them, or will you watch me get away unscathed?”
Weber smiled triumphantly. It was the expression of someone who was confident that they had control of the situation.
“If you choose the latter, I will release the [Domination]. After I have left this shabby city.”
It was actually natural for Weber to be confident.
No matter how justified he was with the reason of a warlock, if he harmed dozens of innocent citizens, Reinhardt's name would surely fall to the bottom.
At least for now.
The Archdemon had not yet descended, people were peaceful, and most had not realized how terrible a threat warlocks were.
‘It seems possible if I can find the right angle.’
Reinhardt thought carefully.
His physical abilities had increased explosively.
To the point where he could cut him down in an instant and get away if he just got close to him.
And the moment he was defeated, the magic of [Domination] would be released. It meant the situation would be over at that moment.
“You're thinking too deeply. Shall I help you with your choice a little?”
Snap.
Weber snapped his fingers.
The red demonic energy flickered, and people began to approach Reinhardt with slow steps.
It was a sight like a zombie horde. The way they staggered towards him was quite daunting.
‘In this state, they'll cut me down the moment they touch me.’
The result was obvious without even looking.
They were being controlled by a warlock, and Reinhardt's body would have recognized them as enemies to be defeated.
There wasn't much time.
If he didn't want to be called something like the Butcher of Serigel, he had to find a way.
“Peep!”
Just then, at the cry of Bitdori, Reinhardt shifted his trembling gaze to the side.
Right next to Weber's head.
Floating in the air, Bitdori was swinging its short arms.
It was like watching a boxer warming up his shoulders before a match.
‘Can it do that?’
He had already confirmed Bitdori's destructive power long ago.
The problem was the red demonic energy currently wrapped around Weber.
That demonic energy had the power to protect the user. It was like a kind of shield that was tricky to peel off.
Ready to pounce at any moment, Reinhardt focused on Bitdori.
And then.
Baaaaaam! Crash-bang!
A loud noise echoed inside the City Hall.
Desks and chairs were sent flying everywhere, and dozens of documents flew through the air.
Weber, who flew like a kite with a broken string, only stopped limply after hitting the wall hard.
Reinhardt was already moving.
Thud.
With each kick of the ground, the distance narrowed in an instant.
Weber, who had been lording it over from a distance, was now right in front of him.
Shing.
The sword was drawn.
Under the magic lamp of the City Hall office, the glinting sword light left a long trajectory over the warlock.
“Cough……!”
His eyes, which had been closed as if he had fainted, flew wide open. Looking down at his bloodshot eyes, Reinhardt muttered.
“Does the warning sink in a little now? Hmm?”
“……Knight.”
Weber said, spitting blood. His voice was half mixed with air.
“I curse you. You will surely fall to hell. With me, having your soul torn apart by demons…… Grrr.”
“You're talking shit.”
Reinhardt shut the warlock's mouth. After convulsing and spitting out bloody foam, he completely stopped moving.
[You have executed the warlock.]
[The effect of ‘Justice’ has been strengthened by your righteous choice.]
*Stat increase per stack +4
[You regain your composure.]
Along with the message that followed, Reinhardt realized that the sense of crisis that had been tensing his whole body had disappeared.
There was no pressure to move either.
The explosive power that had been overflowing also vanished.
The current Reinhardt was at the level of an extra knight with utterly ordinary stats.
‘As expected, a warlock is worth a whole 4 points.’
Until yesterday, he was at a level where he would barely get 1 point even if he caught a dozen criminals and threw them in jail.
As he was a person related to demons, both the difficulty and the reward were quite substantial, as expected.
The reward wasn't just that.
[The Fading Light recovers its strength…….]
Fading Light.
It was definitely the phrase he had seen when Bitdori appeared.
At the additional message that popped up, Reinhardt quickly turned his gaze.
Bitdori was wildly swinging its short hands in the air as if it was very excited.
A faint light flickered around Bitdori, appearing and disappearing repeatedly.
“……”
Reinhardt felt a sense of crisis.
The way it kept sparkling, its ability to find warlocks, and even the characteristic of exerting monstrous strength only when facing them.
This was definitely a characteristic of the Spirit of Light.
‘And the way it stripped off the shield.’
Bitdori had stripped off the shield made of red demonic energy.
According to the game's setting, unless one was a priest, only the Knight of Light Reinhardt could do such a thing easily.
‘The Spirit of Light? That thing?’
It was good that he had solved the problem, but he couldn't help but feel his heart grow heavy.
For some reason, it felt like he was being unwittingly sucked into the main story he had been trying so hard to avoid.
“Ughhh…….”
“A warlock! No, the knight!”
“My head feels like it's going to split…….”
The people who had fallen all over the place were waking up.
Except for some who had hit their heads while falling, everyone was fine without a single injury.
“I can't move! My body won't listen to me!”
“I-I can't breathe!”
However, many were suffering from the side effects of the Black Magic.
They were typical symptoms like not being able to move properly, having difficulty breathing, or feeling a terrible headache.
These symptoms could also only be cured by a priest.
Or, if the Knight of Light Reinhardt stepped in himself.
‘It's still sparkling.’
Reinhardt looked at Bitdori with a reluctant expression, then called it over and placed it on his shoulder.
The intermittently sparkling light transferred to Reinhardt.
In other words, from the moment the little fellow sat on his shoulder, Reinhardt also had something like a sparkling outline.
‘I'm sparkling too.’
His head ached. It wasn't the aftermath of the Black Magic.
With a troubled sigh, Reinhardt approached the suffering citizens.
***
The rumor spread like wildfire.
So much so that even Knight Evangeline and Inquisitor Bardo, who had just set foot in the city, heard the news that a warlock had appeared.
“Let's hurry! To the City Hall!”
Bardo rode his horse roughly and galloped off. Citizens screamed and parted to the left and right to make way.
Evangeline also spurred her horse on without stopping him.
The appearance of a warlock was a major event.
It meant that as a member of Paganoa, it had to be prioritized over any other task.
“This is perfect! Since Sir Reinhardt is there, we can handle it together!”
“You haven't confirmed it yet!”
“Nonsense! Doesn't it already feel ridiculously coincidental? It should be a familiar situation for you too, Dame!”
The two exchanged opinions while riding their horses frantically.
The main principle was clear.
Warlocks and their minions must be executed without exception.
However, there were differences in their thoughts on other aspects.
“But……!”
“Let's go first! It won't be too late to discuss after we've gone and confirmed it!”
Since it wasn't wrong, Evangeline also closed her mouth.
And the place they arrived at was chaotic.
The City Hall Guard, the knight orders rooted throughout Serigel, and the priests of each order had all swarmed in, creating a bustling scene.
“Excuse me! Inquisitor Bardo of Paganoa requests your understanding!”
The crowd split in half at the resounding shout.
The name of an Inquisitor of Paganoa had that much power.
Ordinary people who knew nothing might not, but knights and priests would naturally respect the authority that came with the name.
“Let's go up!”
The two ran up the high stairs.
They saw fallen people everywhere. Priests were clinging to them and treating them, but the suffering did not seem to be easily relieved.
“It's Agrio-s.”
Inquisitor Bardo realized the identity of the Black Magic as soon as he saw it.
They were the ones considered the most wicked even within Paganoa.
If it were a case of someone who spouted destructive magic, they could just physically chop off their head, but the warlocks of Agrio-s never revealed their true forms.
“It seems Sir Reinhardt was also brainwashed. I can't explain the strange power he was said to have used, but Black Magic is inherently like that.”
This time, Evangeline could not refute.
From the moment the name Agrio-s was mentioned, Bardo's claim had become a sufficiently reasonable judgment.
There was power in Bardo's steps. Evangeline suppressed her regret and followed behind.
Remnants of red demonic energy were visible everywhere.
It was a trace that could inflict mental damage just by touching it if one's resistance was insufficient.
“That's the place. It's unlikely we'll find any survivors.”
After pushing through the gradually thickening demonic energy, Bardo muttered with a frown.
Evangeline nodded. At this level of demonic energy residue, an ordinary person would not be able to withstand it.
Even if they survived, they would have to suffer for the rest of their lives due to the aftereffects.
However.
At the place they finally arrived at.
“……No?”
Inquisitor Bardo's mouth dropped open at the unbelievable sight.
Those who were complaining of pain were lying on the floor, twisting their bodies.
Towards them, who were groaning, the knight approached. He was definitely emitting a faint light.
The knight stretched out his index finger. The tip of it lightly touched the victim's forehead.
Peace came. The innocent citizen closed their eyes comfortably and breathed evenly, as if they had never been in pain.
“What in the world is this…….”
Bardo muttered to himself without realizing.
At the sign of his presence, the knight slowly turned his gaze.
Their eyes met, and Bardo let out a gasp.
A sense of divinity was even felt in the knight's calm gaze.
As if he were a high-ranking priest who had devoted his entire life to the holy orders.