Chương 36: The Inquisitor

Helen hid her sigh of relief when she saw that Jonny was victorious. If he had failed, she would have never forgiven herself. The assassins had already been inside the orphanage when the children were brought inside. She should have noticed them right then. If this was fifty years ago, she would have, but decades running a peaceful orphanage had dulled her instincts.

The hypersensitivity to human mana she had developed over the years as a battlefield medic was now mostly used to monitor the children, rather than watch for threats. After all, what threats were there out here? In all her time here, only once had a magic beast ever come near the orphanage, and it was taken care of without causing any lasting damage. And yet, because of her complacency, not only was Jonny's life in danger, but so were the lives of everyone in the building.

And she couldn't even do anything about it. When she got back to her office, the woman was already waiting there. She was dressed in black and wearing a mask, and before Helen could react, she closed the door and summoned a fireball in her palm, threatening to send it through the wall to the classroom if Helen made any moves. As far as Helen could tell, the other mage was only 3rd layer, and while Helen was no warrior, she was a 4th layer veteran of the Demon War.

Even in spite of her age, she was reasonably confident that in an ordinary battle, she would be able to win. But stopping the fireball from detonating before anyone could get hurt? Not a chance. She had to admit it was a brilliant plan. At only 3rd layer, this assassin was far from the cream of the crop, but they were strong enough to take on anyone here other than Igrette or Helen. Drawing out Igrette with the wolves, and trapping Helen here left them more or less free to go after their target.

Had everything gone correctly, Jonny would have died within a minute, and they could have slipped out of the house and been gone before Igrette returned. They had just failed to account for Jonny. And now that Helen knew Jonny was safe, her anxiety lessened, and she began to think more critically about the situation. Why would someone want Jonny dead? Who had hired these people? Did someone know that Jonny was a Visionary and wanted to take him out? But why?

"What are you looking at?" Helen averted her gaze from the masked woman. She had briefly considered trying to ask directly, but now was not the time to grow bold. The lives of the children were still at risk. Until Igrette returned, she would just have to sit and wait. And she did not have to wait long. Only a few seconds later, she sensed two powerful presences enter the orphanage's yard, and walk through the door. The assassin mage felt it too a moment later, and stiffened.

Without hesitation, she reabsorbed the mana in the fireball, fell to her knees, and raised her hands over her head, just in time for Igrette to barge in.

"I surrender!" said the mage loudly. Igrette continued forward, grabbing the woman by the neck and slamming her into the ground so hard she shattered the floorboards.

"Who hired you?!" she demanded.

"I don't know," said the mage.

"Ugh!" Igrette placed her hand on the woman's temple and used a more violent version of Helen's sedation technique to put her to sleep.

"Helen, what's going on?"

"Assassins came for Jonny," said Helen.

"It's already over. They're upstairs. And who is this?" Helen eyed the armored man. She recognized the insignia on his chest, and the armor style of the inquisitors, but she had no idea what one of them was doing here.

"High Inquisitor Ivan Drachman," said the man, his gruff voice tinny beneath his helmet.

"What is a High Inquisitor doing here?"

"What is a High Inquisitor ever doing outside the church?"

"There are no demons here."

"I am here under orders from the pope. There is a demon here."

"We can deal with this later," said Igrette.

"He helped stop the winter wolves, and is here to help. Where is Jonny?" Helen had a bad feeling about Ivan, and didn't want to let it drop so easily, but something in Igrette's eyes told her that going further would be a bad idea. Besides, Jonny was currently injured, Marianne was freaking out, and Eliza was still unconscious in the attic.

"Upstairs," she said.

"Fourth floor." Igrette grabbed the unconscious assassin from the ground, slung her over her shoulder like a sack of flour, and the three of them turned to head upstairs. When they reached the top of the staircase and emerged into the hall, they found Marianne hugging Jonny tightly and crying on his shoulder while Jonny stared blankly at the corpse on the ground. Helen surged forward and knelt down beside them, reaching out to place a hand on Jonny's shoulder.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that all his injuries were superficial, and began mending the cuts on his body, while simultaneously soothing Marianne.

"Shhhh," she said.

"It's alright. You're alright."

"I'm sorry!" Marianne wailed.

"I didn't– I never– He said he was just gonna kidnap him! He said gonna kill Eliza! And I thought– I thought if I helped him– then when Igrette got back– But then–""It's alright," said Helen as she finished healing Jonny, and pulled Marianne closer.

"Calm down. Everything's alright now. It's over." At that moment, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she heard the sound of steel sliding across steel behind her. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Igrette," she heard Ivan's voice say in an eerily soft tone.

"What do you think you're doing right now?" The air in the room seemed to grow ten degrees colder as Helen turned her head to see Igrette pointing her sword at Ivan's chin. Ivan had not moved a muscle, and Helen had not sensed anything, but she knew Igrette would not have done something like this without good reason.

"I was about to ask you the same," said Igrette, her voice just as soft as his.

"Igrette, you are currently pointing your blade at a high inquisitor," said Ivan.

"Are you a heretic?"

"You were preparing to attack," she said.

"The only ones present in this room are three nuns and a child. Are you certain it is not you who are a heretic?"

"I see no child here. Only a demon."

"Unless I am mistaken, I believe I am the one who is half-blind. So why are you the one who cannot see what is in front of you?"

"Retirement has made you soft to be fooled so easily."

"Living like a dog has made you forget what it means to be human."

"Better a dog than a consort of a demon."

"…Helen, take Marianne and go downstairs."

"But–""Now." Helen knew better than to argue any further. A high inquisitor would be a bare minimum of fifth layer. And with the way Igrette was treating him, Helen knew he must be sixth, the same as her. If this turned into a full-fledged battle, not a single piece of the orphanage would be left standing, and no one inside would survive. Helen only hoped that Igrette had a plan for telling her and Marianne to leave.

"Jonny–""Leave him," said Igrette.

"Ivan won't let you leave with him. I will handle things here. Just go downstairs and stay with the other children. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen here."

"…Alright. Marianne, let's go."

"Wh– What–? But–!" Marianne didn't move, and from the way her whole body was trembling, Helen knew she wasn't going to be able to. She placed her hands on the girl's temples, and gently pushed her mana inside, and a moment later, Marianne fell unconscious. Helen was old, and not what she once was, but she was still more than strong enough to carry the poor girl out of the room and down the stairs.

She spared one final glance back at Igrette, who still had yet to look away from Ivan, and then looked at Jonny, who seemed utterly lost. Lord help them. Jonny had yet to finish processing the fact that he had killed someone. He wasn't sure how he felt. He did not feel much remorse, as the man had been trying to kill him, but seeing the other man's lifeless form on the ground, he felt a strange pit in his stomach.

The sensation of snapping a neck with his own hands wouldn't disappear, and even as Igrette and the armored man were at a standstill, the moment kept replaying in his head over and over again. It was only when Helen and Marianne left that was able to push that thought aside as he realized exactly how bad his situation was. A demon? Me?

"What now?" asked the armored man.

"I sincerely hope you sent them away so that they would not have to witness the exorcism."

"You will not be performing any exorcisms here today."

"It is beginning to look like I will be performing an execution as well."

"Jonny is no demon. He is–""A Visionary? Yes, I'm sure that's what he told you."

"That is not what he told me. That is what he is."

"The pope told me that the demon would pose as a Visionary."

"The pope told you personally?"

"The pope is too important a man to waste time on my lowly self, but the letter about the mission I received contained his seal and his mana signature. It was real." Igrette did not speak for a few seconds, Jonny thought he saw an almost imperceptible quiver in the tip of her sword.

"I challenge you to a Holy Duel," she finally said. Despite the helmet covering his face, Jonny could tell that the armored man—Ivan—was taken aback. It was clear that the term "Holy Duel" had some kind of important meaning that went over Jonny's head. It was obvious what it would be in practice, though.

"You would invoke a Holy Duel to protect a demon?" he asked.

"I do not believe that Jonny is a demon," Igrette replied.

"You doubt the words of the pope?"

"I do."

"Then you are indeed a heretic."

"Only if I'm wrong. And only the Lord will be the judge of that."

"…If that is what you wish." Finally, Igrette lowered her sword. Jonny tensed when she did, but Ivan did not make a move. He just crossed his arms over his chest as Igrette turned her back to him, and walked over to Jonny. Before Jonny knew it, he was being lifted off the ground, wrapped up in her arms.

"It will be alright," she whispered in his ear before turning back to face Ivan.

"Come. This is no place for a duel." The armored man nodded, then followed them back down the stairs. Sitting in Igrette's arms, Jonny had a clear view behind him, and with every step they took, he half-expected to see Ivan lunging toward him to finish him off, but it never happened. They reached the bottom floor and found Helen waiting there, wringing her hands.

"There is a mage out in the snow," said Igrette before Helen could say anything.

"She was working with the assassins, driving the wolves toward the town. I cut off her arms and legs, but she is still alive, and can be questioned later."

"Where are you going?" asked Helen.

"A Holy Duel." Helen's eyes widened, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish. Igrette did not wait for her to recover her wits, and resumed her march toward the back door and out into the cool winter air. The three walked silently out of the fence gate and into the woods. Not a word was spoken as they walked further than Jonny had ever been in the woods, and then kept going. Igrette seemed to be in no hurry, and although Jonny knew Ivan couldn't be enjoying the wait, he never voiced any displeasure.

He simply waited patiently for the entire hour their journey took until they reached a large, circular valley where not a single tree grew. Jonny looked around, surprised that such a place could exist out here, and noticed that around the edge of the valley, there were a few broken, ancient stones. More ruins? An amphitheater?

"We will fight here," said Igrette, setting Jonny down.

"Jonny, stay here. Don't bother trying to run. It's no use. I'll come get you when I'm done."

"If you choose to stay and face your death with bravery, I will make it swift and painless," said Ivan. That's fucking terrifying. Jonny was half tempted to run anyway, but he knew that if even Igrette was on edge here, and she said he couldn't run, he was going to trust that. She'll win, though… Right? He watched the two walk down into the center of the valley, leaving trails in the snow behind them. When they reached the bottom, they took up positions twenty feet apart and drew their weapons.

Both closed their eyes and bowed their heads in silent prayer for a few seconds before looking back up.

"May the Lord have mercy on your misguided soul," said Ivan. He spoke normally, but for some reason, Jonny could hear him clearly, even from all the way at the edge.

"And yours," replied Igrette. Then, the duel began.