Chapter 426: Winner And Loser (2)
‘Is it my first time coming here?’
As far as I could remember, it was. Places like interrogation rooms ran by heretic inquisitors honestly didn’t exactly suit people like me. It felt like going into a dungeon.
Of course, there would be no accidents, but I was slowly becoming mentally nervous. It was only normal that I would feel that way.
Screams and groans were echoing all over the place. There was even a guy begging to be killed, forcing me to flinch unconsciously. I was a coward, after all.
I didn’t know what the hell was going on to make him plead for death to come, but I could picture what had happened to him without having to be there.
‘What are they doing to the prisoners?’
The Benignore Church had always operated a heresy interrogation room.
But I couldn’t confidently say that it wasn’t operated in the way I thought of.
Pope Basel’s rise had led to a rise in the heretic interrogators’ positions in the church, and that situation had coincided with the great revival.
All religions had heretic interrogators and demon hunters, but the units of the Benignore Church had grown in size beyond my imagination.
That was why I had to be curious.
I had to know whether the factory that extracted those negative feelings contributed to the bankruptcy of Benignore.
‘It’s theoretically possible.’
Its chances of happening couldn’t possibly be ruled out.
As a devout Benignore believer and a true ally of Pope Basel, I was a bit reluctant to say this, but the place truly only suited demons.
Although there was light behind the darkness, it was far from being a facility that should be operated in the name of light. If such a place was devouring Benignore’s divinity, it made sense that she would go bankrupt.
Although she earned a lot, she was also being taxed highly at the same time.
“It’ll be hard for the ones above.”
“What did you say, Honorary Cardinal?”
“It’s nothing, Director of Inquisition Helena.”
“…”
“…”
“Er, Honorary Cardinal. If you feel uncomfortable in this place, I can call the Demon Summoner to meet with you somewhere else instead…”
“No. Helena. Honestly, it doesn’t feel pleasant, but I know to some extent that a place like this is needed. It’s more important than how it’s making me feel. It’s something that no one wants to take charge of. You can be proud of yourself. This is not something dirty. It’s more sacred than anything else.”
“…”
“Benignore would definitely be delighted to see this sight. Haha.”
Of course, Goddess Benignore would have frowned and cried for us to stop this nonsense. However, I couldn’t just say that.
It could be bad news for Benignore, but this kind of place was a necessary evil.
I, too, wanted to reduce the size in order to increase the amount of divinity that went to Benignore, but it simply wasn’t possible.
Even if Benignore had gotten contaminated and her body was rotting, this place must continue to operate.
At this, I saw Helena’s face slowly loosening up as if she liked my opinion. Honestly, it was a bit scary to be alone with her, but she seemed to be in a good mood after hearing that the gods were indeed watching over her.
She quietly bowed and spoke to me.
“Honorary Cardinal.”
“Yes, Helena.”
“Er… I was thinking of holding a prayer meeting with Archbishop Jaina…”
“If you invite me, of course, I’ll go. It may be a little difficult right now, but a prayer meeting with the Director of Inquisition Helena and Archbishop Jaina would be a great joy for me. I’d love to participate.”
“…”
“I think… I can go in alone from here.”
“Will you really be okay?”
“Of course.”
“If you say so. If anything happens…”
“I know.”
As I looked at her slowing moving away after bowing, it really seemed that she was in a good mood. I had met her a lot since then, but this was the first time we had talked this much.
Although her personality was the opposite of Archbishop Jaina, the two had such great chemistry. Regardless, her role ended there.
Mine was just about to start.
“Is it around here?”
I mumbled and took a seat at the door. I didn’t even have to ask, myself.
It looked like he was receiving special care compared to the other prisoners. Seeing how there were barriers made out of divine power blocking my way, I felt like I had gotten in the right way.
When I quietly injected my divine power, the barriers cleared away.
After performing a similar action a few times, I finally opened the large iron gate and entered the door. The interior came into my view instantaneously.
“I’m… not…”
“…”
“I said… I am not a demon summoner.”
“…”
‘So pitiful.’
Watching him unable even raise his head was quite spectacular.
His whole body was wounded, and his feet and hands were bound by chains made of legendary-grade metal.
As if that was not enough, he was hung on something like a cross, and there were a lot of tools on one side of the cell. I didn’t know how those were used, but I couldn’t bear to look at them due to their bizarre shapes.
It felt horrendous, just thinking about it. Surprisingly, he had the mental strength to maintain his sanity despite going through such harsh torture.
If it were me, the moment the chains were attached to my arm, I would’ve said anything to be freed again.
The mental power was deserving of the masked trash that turned an entire era into hell.
Even Kim Hyunsung suffered from the guy in the past.
“I am not a demon summoner. I am Jin Qing of the Republic…”
I couldn’t begin to imagine how wrongly accused he must be feeling for him to continue murmuring while half unconscious. It looked like he had mistaken me for a heretic interrogator.
I didn’t know how I’d say hello.
After checking his body’s condition with my Mind’s Eyes, I was able to release the hanging guy while nodding confidently. I thought he would stand firmly, but he weakly collapsed to the floor with a thudding sound.
‘He can’t even talk?’
If he couldn’t, my visit would become a whole lot more annoying. However, as soon I began to speak, I could see that he was looking at me.
“It’s… definitely been a long time.”
I used a friendly tone, as if I was meeting a nostalgic lover. Although I did my best to negotiate somehow, the masked trash hadn’t abandoned his old personality. The wrath in his expression was unmistakable.
“You…”
“Never in my wildest dreams would have I thought I would meet you again in this way. Why don’t you sit down first? You probably haven’t eaten yet, so I brought water and some food to fill your stomach. It’s very difficult to smuggle these in here without the knowledge of the heretic inquisitors. Hahaha.”
“You…”
“If you look at me like that, I’ll get uncomfortable.”
“You. You! Lee Kiyoooouuuunng!”
“What, what! Come on!”
That’s why they said ‘never to bite the hand that fed you.’
Looking at him running towards me, hitting all the food I’ve prepared with all my heart in the process, he looked like the starving demon from the tutorial dungeon.
It was the face of a criminal who knew no grace.
“Son of a bitch! I will kill you!!!”
I didn’t know how he still had so much strength, but it was a spectacle to watch him standing up firmly with both legs as he threw punches at me.
Of course, there’s no way a guy who, not only in appearance but also in stats, had degenerated down to an anglerfish could hurt me.
I wanted to treat him like a gentleman, but the potential violence inherent in such a sudden attack was revealed.
I launched a body blow on his left side after avoiding his right hook, which he swung slowly like a turtle. Although magic was not activated as my courtesy for the weak, Jin Qing’s body shook tremendously.
“Gasp!”
I felt like I had become trash, but I couldn’t help but feel the power I hadn’t felt in a long time.
I landed a kick like a gust of wind as he swung his left hand again.
Although there was no force, the way Jin Qing immediately hit the wall was terrible.
‘Am I… surprisingly good at fighting?’
I clenched my fists for no reason.
However, when I looked at him sitting on the floor and vomiting blood, I realized that it wasn’t a well-earned victory.
Unable to get rid of his anger, he continued to rush at me with a loud voice. This time, however, he didn’t come swinging his fist like before.
“I’ll kill you… I’ll kill yooouu! Cough.”
“Hey. Why do you keep saying that you’ll kill me, Jin Qing?”
“Lee Kiyoung, son of a bitch! Lee Kiyoung, you son of a biiitch…”
“I’m here to have a conversation with you, Jin. I didn’t come to provoke you. The fight just now was a force majeure. I don’t have a hobby of beating up people who can’t walk properly, so please understand my side using a broad mind. And… you seem to have hurt your intestines a little. I will use divine power on you enough to communicate properly and for it not to be painful. If I heal you too much, you will charge at me again. I don’t like violence, so let’s talk it out.”
“You… you!”
“It makes me feel worse to see how resentful you are, Jin Qing. Of course, I understand why, but weren’t we in a situation where we had no other choice? In the first place, it was you and the Republic that started the war. We simply took the victory in response. Right now, we can continue hurting each other, but since the winners and losers have already been decided, the losers should just applaud the winners.”
“This motherfucker… How dare you say that? I will surely kill you. If not in this life, then in the next. Even if I die, I’ll curse you…”
“What’s the use of cursing me after you die? I came here to have a conversation in the first place. Why don’t you sit down? I didn’t come to talk about something useless. It could be something useful for you, too.”
“The conversation…”
“Yes. I mean, it would be fun to do things like talking about the old days after so long. Isn’t talking about past fights a way to get acquainted? Honestly, dealing with you was really hard. There were times when I wanted to run away. I don’t know what you might be thinking, but it was a great match.”
“Shut up.”
“It was a bit vague… to say that it was a match. I hope you won’t do anything as stupid as saying you won’t talk to a scammer. I have made you a demon summoner, but haven’t you made me a trash bastard who started the war? If I had been defeated, I would have been tortured here as a war criminal. Let’s just try to understand each other.”
“…”
“…”
“Isn’t it funny that you’re feeling wronged? Please calm down a little. Only then can we have a proper conversation.”
I was right. If Jin Qing had defeated me, I would be looking just like him.
The war criminal Lee Kiyoung, who had confused the continent and threw it into chaos, should’ve had his head chopped off in a guillotine.
I didn’t know if he agreed with what I said, but the Demon Summoner Masked Trash Jin Qing quietly began to look at me.
It felt like he had organized his thoughts to some extent. After a moment, he stirred.
“…”
“…”
“What do you want?”
He seemed to have calmed down. He didn’t look as disgraceful as he was a couple of moments ago.
He looked confident, displaying the same highest villainous mentality from the first round.
“I want you to testify.”
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