This chapter is sponsored by The Bitch in the Fantasy World Patrons:
• [Crusader] The orc warrior 261
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• [Crusader] uxel - $5
This chapter 3/3 for the 4th week of January 2026.
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10:43 p.m.
Branch Chapter Temple building, Blauer'nebel Town.
Vivian was sitting at the lounging area of the Meeting Room assigned to her and Caleb. She sat at one of the one-person sofas while enjoying a glass of wine and some slices of cheese and chocolates.
As for where Caleb was, she ordered him to watch the cooks prepare a meal for them.
She glanced at the clock.
10:43…
It's been more than 30 minutes already…
I specifically told them not to cook a fancy meal…
So why the fuck are they taking so long…?!
She let out a yawn and then took a sip.
I don't feel physically tired…
But mentally, it's a different story…
I just want to sleep right now…
An image of the times she slept on the couch inside her office back at the Third Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint flashed inside her head.
I miss that…
Yeah, the days were slow…
But it was peaceful…
The food also suck there…
But again, the days were peaceful…
She took another sip.
I want to go back there, sleep, and not talk to anyone for days…
An image of Juana crying flashed inside her head.
Right…
There was that issue with Mount Val--…
This time around, an image of Alejandro and Ferdino flashed inside her head, causing an annoyed expression to appear on her face.
"Oh, right…
"Dumb and dumber are also there…
"I totally forgot the reason why I was so eager to take this Field Mission…"
An image of Pen flashed inside her head.
Should I have just taken his advice to just stay low at the Inquisitory Division headquarters…?
But then again, if I'm there, I'll only end up being constantly pestered by him…
Sister, do this...
Sister, do that…
Sister, don't do this…
Sister, don't do that…
Sister, did you know about the history of blah, blah, blah -- I DON'T FUCKING CARE…!
There's also that stupid stalker Blanch…
I really hate that guy…
One of these days I have to get rid of him…
He'll definitely be a thorn in my side…
And for this, what happened today, I sure as hell know he'll be a thorn…
She took a sip.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the entrance door, and Vivian's gaze immediately darted to it.
Is the food finally here…?
Ka-cha.
When the door opened, a lone familiar figure stepped in and immediately made eye contact with her.
Eh…?
He's here…?
It was Pen and he was wearing his usual Inquisitor Full-Mask.
Sip.
Vivian let out a tired and annoyed sigh as she looked away, and then took another sip.
"May I join you, Sister?"
Sip.
"Sure…" she said while still looking away and then took one more sip.
Pen made his way to the lounging area, and then sat at one of the three-person sofas.
"Whatever you want to say or do, I don't want to hear it or entertain it, at least not before I finish eating. I haven't had a proper meal since this morning, I'm hungry, and I'm not in the mood," Vivian said while still not looking at him.
Pen nodded.
"As you wish."
She took a sip but then realized that her glass was empty, so she grabbed the bottle and poured herself another glass.
"If you want to drink, there's probably a glass in the kitchen. You can get it yourself."
Crunch, crunch…
Sip.
She grabbed a piece of chocolate and then tossed it inside her mouth, before taking a sip of her wine.
Pen nodded once again.
"Thank you for the kind offer, but I'm not thirsty at the moment."
After almost a minute of silence, Pen spoke.
"Do you enjoy wine over beer, Sister?"
Vivian slowly glanced at him.
"Why?" she asked with a suspicious tone.
Pen slightly shook his head.
"Nothing much.
"I just figured that since you're here, you would want to try the beer here. According to most people, the Iron Kingdom produces the best beers.
"As for the second, some say it's the Verglas Kingdom, while others say it's the Twin Kingdom.
"But in my opinion, the only thing that makes Verglas beer and wine popular is because of their high alcohol percentage. Just a few drinks is enough to make you drunk.
"Meanwhile, for the Twin Kingdom, I honestly believe that the Luxen Kingdom has better beers compared to the Twin Kingdom.
"But the issue with Luxen beers, it has the reputation of being cheap. The Twin beers, on the other hand, because it comes from the Twin Kingdom, a lot of people would immediately associate it with being 'higher quality'.
"However, when it comes to the best beers, there's no doubt that the Iron Kingdom has best one -- the taste is premium, the alcohol percentage is right in the middle -- not too high, not too low -- the price is reasonable for everyone, and they serve it in giant mugs."
"I see," Vivian said.
"Back when I still young, I had this group of friends, every time we were done with our Holy Crusade Contract, we would gather at Holy City and spend one or two weeks together drinking non-stop, visiting every pub and tavern at the city, and sharing stories.
"There were also times that we would go to the other kingdoms. But our best location was always the Holy City.
"I believe I was 26 or 27 when things started to change. At least for me, I could no longer do 6 months of Holy Crusade, 3 months of training, 2 months of study, and 1 month of vacation per year. There were times that I had no choice but to be in the Holy Crusade for 18 months straight.
"And even if we weren't busy with our own careers, our responsibilities also changed -- managing family businesses, married life, and many more.
"On top of that, a few of us passed away.
"So before we even realized it, too many things had already changed that we couldn't do the things we used to do anymore. Even if it we forced it, we couldn't.
"There are even times I find myself wondering if those memories even existed or if they were just dreams. But whenever I bumped into one of them or passed by those places we used to visit, I know they're real. However, that feeling is still always there, and then it makes me feel like I'm just recalling someone else's memory."
Vivian's eyes turned to slits.
"Where is Brother Caleb?"
"Sister, did you know that you could've easily solved this problem here without shedding a single drop of blood?
"I gave you many documents and shared with you many insights about the Golden Families and the Factions:
"There is only one Golden Family in the Iron Chapter Temple, the Dis'cus family.
"The Dis'cus family is part of the Lance Faction.
"Among all of the Factions, there's a reason why the Lance Faction is the richest Faction, because it is the most profit-driven for the benefit of the Temple of Priests.
"And because of all of that, most of the Priest families here in the Iron Chapter Temple share that same mindset.
"With that knowledge, you could have easily manipulated the Priest families in this Town by telling them what profits they would obtain if they worked with you.
"One simple method is this:
"First is to revoke the Building Permit and the Business Permits of Tierkunst, and then have the Priests and Priestesses here help you confiscate all of the items within the property, including the ones at the auction, under the suspicion of heresy.
"After that, you will have the Priest families here help you move all of the confiscated items to a couple of secret locations for examination, and then also have them help you examine them.
"During the examination, there will be illegal or heretical ones among the confiscated items. You then will use those illegal and heretical items to blackmail the Blauer'nebel family.
"After you're done with your investigation here, naturally, you will have to return the legal items to the rightful owners. But for the illegal and heretical ones, no one, not even the Blauer'nebel and the Rosa'nebel, or even the entire Marquis Faction, would dare to ask them back, unless they want to be labeled as heretics and face the entire wrath of the Temple of Priests. So what you're going to do, you're going to send half of it to the Temple of Priests Palace, and the other half will be 'temporarily' left in the care of the Priest families here under the reason of 'they're too dangerous to be transported to the Holy Palace at the moment and will need special escorts'.
"That is just one of the many simple and easy methods you could've used to the Priest families here."
"So you want me to become a thief?" Vivian asked.
"I prefer to call it working together against a common enemy. As a matter of fact, you're also laying a future trap on the Priest families here.
"After all, I never said you're going to 'gift' half of the confiscated illegal and heretical items to them, I said 'temporarily' leave it in their care.
"So whether they will choose to send all of the remaining confiscated items to the Temple of Priests Palace or not after you're done with your investigation here, that's their decision. And if they don't, which I certainly know they won't, you can use that against them in the future."
Vivian gritted her teeth and was about to retort with:
What if they still refuse?
What if there were no illegal and heretical items?
Even if all of that worked, how come no one taught me you can do that, even at the Training Course?
And did you forget that YOU are the one who cornered and forced ME, a rookie Inquisitor, to be thrown into high-profile Field Missions?
But in the end, she decided not to.
This old fucking bastard…!
"Brother, I forbid anyone to harm Brother Caleb. As long as I'm breathing, no one is allowed to harm him. I don't care who they are, they could be the Light Saint, a King, an Emperor, his own family, they will answer to me, and I will kill whoever gets in my way. And just to make sure, I will ask a monthly response from him in person."
"You wish to start another war, Sister?"
"I never start wars, I only give the appropriate response. But if anyone wants to start a war with me, fine, I honestly don't mind killing all of them with True Death. And to make it really entertaining, I'll kill their friends and family first, young and old, before I kill them, just so I can deliver the message that no one in this world is allowed to mess with me."
Pen made no reaction.
A suffocating murderous intent began to radiate from Vivian.
"I'll ask you once again, Brother. Where is Brother Caleb?"
"He has been arrested and moved to another location."
"Do you even know what these people did to Brother Caleb and me?"
"I've heard enough from Brother Caleb."
"I'll give you people 10 minutes," she said and then leaned forward. "You're a seasoned Inquisitor, right? Then look into my eyes if I'm lying, BROTHER. The strength I've shown in the last few weeks is only 20% and yet I've already caused so much death and destruction. Can you imagine what's going to happen if I decide to unleash 100% of my strength on the world?"
Pen didn't react, but he recalled what Blanch told him. He also recalled what Vivian told him about what would happen if she can't eat an animal or monster with a Magic Art Affinity -- basically, according to her, all of the powers she's trying to keep within her will burst out of her and then destroy everything around her if she can't constantly eat an animal or monster with a Magic Art Affinity.
"I want 3 things, Brother:
"1, release Brother Caleb.
"2, I WANT A FUCKING MEAL RIGHT NOW! AND MAKE SURE IT'S FUCKING CLEAN, NO ONE SPITTING ON IT OR TAMPERING IT!"
She let out a long sigh to calm herself, and then cleared her throat.
"And number 3, everyone that's with you here right now will be under me."
Ba-craaack!
She slammed her fist on the coffee table with the wine glass on her hand, splitting the stable, shattering the glass, and spilling the wine all over.
"I want you to capture everyone who conspired against me!"
She leaned back on her chair and crossed her legs.
"10 minutes, or half of the entire Northern Continent will be destroyed."
"Sister, I have come here to offer you a deal," Pen said.
Vivian didn't say anything.
"A Wave happened at Gru'n Town at around 8:00 p.m. and it was summoned by Lord Fasner. And in order to get you out of this mess, you will be helping in preventing the Wave --"
Vivian let out a bored yawn.
"Much better. After I kill everyone here, I'll go to Gru'n Town and kill anyone trying to prevent the Wave, just to make it more fun."
"Sister, do you even remember our deal? While I'm doing everything in my power to fulfill my end of the bargain, you, on the other hand, are not only not fulfilling your end of the bargain, but are also deliberately undermining everything I'm doing."
"9 minutes left," she said with a smile.
"10 minutes is simply impossible. I will need 1 hour at the very least."
"Time is ticking, Brother. Are you sure you have time discussing this topic with me?"
He got up from his seat.
"I'll be back."
Vooom!
He turned into a blur.
***
Vooom!
Pen stepped outside the main entrance of the Temple of Priests public building.
[Rune - Vision].
He activated a Magic Item and searched for a person through the thick fog.
Vooom!
About half a mile away, he appeared in front of 2 people who were both wearing a full set of Crusader Armor and standing in the middle of the dark, quiet and foggy street.
The street was eerily quiet, because everyone within a 2-mile radius from the Branch Chapter Temple compound was evacuated, leaving only Vivian, Pen and a Platoon of Crusaders.
"Brother Chapter Master Abiel," Pen called out.
"So the negotiations have failed," Abiel said with a Holisian accent and then turned to his companion. "Brother High Captain Silmi --"
Pen quickly stretched out his hand.
"Wait! I have spoken to her, and she has offered to peacefully surrender as long as we grant her her requests."
Abiel stared at Pen with a cold gaze through the slits of his helmet.
"We had an agreement. If you couldn't convince her to surrender right away, then we have no choice but to forcefully arrest her," he said and then returned his gaze to Silmi. "Brother High Captain, send out the signal."
Silmi pulled out a cylinder that was about 6 inches long.
"Brother High Captain Silmi, don't do it.
"I've already told you both that she is capable of wiping out an entire Aristocratic Noble family all by herself. And so far, she has destroyed the Halb'hund family just last week, and now the Blauer'nebel and the Rosa'nebel family.
"Look, she has given me her word that she will peacefully surrender as long as we meet 3 of her requests: she wants Brother Caleb to be released, she wants food, and she wants to meet with us. And she gave us 10 minutes to decide.
"Brothers, I swear to the God of Light that I personally know her. I shouldn't be telling all of you this, but she is actually a future Light Saint candidate. Not only we will not survive, but a lot of innocent people -- from this Town to the entire kingdom -- will suffer an unnecessary True Death.
"What you're about to do isn't the way, Brothers, especially when she has offered conditions to peacefully surrender.
"And right now, we also have to help the people dealing with the Wave at Gru'n Town. This isn't the time to be fighting among ourselves."
"Then what would be the point of us coming here, Brother Chapter Master?" Silmi interjected with a Heisenian accent.
Abiel turned to Silmi who still had the Flare on his hand and was ready to light the signal at any moment.
Pen also looked at Silmi.
"Answer me this, Brother High Captain, can you or any of you here take on an Aristocratic Noble family by yourself? I know all of you had your doubts when you heard the story of how she took on the Halb'hund family and destroyed their castle all by herself. And yet here we all are, witnessing the same thing she did to the Halb'hund family. There's a reason why she's a Light Saint candidate and all of us here are not."
"That still doesn't mean she has the right to commit all this massacre," Silmi retorted.
"All 3 of us heard what Brother High Lieutenant Caleb and the rest said: She committed all of this, because she wanted find Brother Inquisitor and Brother Captain Kian as soon as possible."
"And this is what you call finding them as soon as possible? The actual culprit was under your nose all along," Silmi retorted once again.
"The Squad at Gru'n Town was a team effort, not an Inquisitory Division Squad."
"Your Division was the one leading it."
"Brother High Captain, if we're going to count whose leading and who has more failures, then wouldn't the ongoing crisis at the Great Plains of Stanza that your Division is leading and has yet to solve be the greatest failure of all? How many powerful and talented people have died from that? How many families are threatening to pull their young family members from the Holy Crusade because of that? And despite all of that, you people still have nothing tangible to show, not even a single shadow."
Chud!
Silmi gritted his teeth, rushed over to Pen, and then grabbed his collar.
"Hei-I hei-dare hei-you hei-to hei-say hei-that hei-one hei-more hei-time!"
"Both of you, that's enough! And stand down, Brother High Captain!" Abiel said.
Pen was calm and collected.
Silmi, on the other hand, was radiating with so much rage that he wanted to rip Pen apart with his bare hands. Pen could even hear his teeth gnashing together.
The subject that Pen brought up was actually very touchy for Silmi because he lost 2 family members there.
The first one was a cousin assigned to the Second Stanza Western Barracks and lost his life back in Octus when that Barracks got attacked.
And the second one was a cousin who was one of the people that went to Mount Vald'mir to hunt down the demon.
And not only family members, but he also lost a couple of friends that he fought, bled and drank with throughout his career as a Crusader.
Silmi let go of Pen's collar and took a step back.
Abiel's gaze continued to linger between Pen and Silmi for a couple of more seconds before he finally settled on one of the buildings of the Branch Chapter Temple compound.
As one of the Chapter Masters of the Infantry Division, Abiel had accumulated a lot of battle experience. He was in his late 40s, he had 4 Magic Art Affinities, and he was part of one of the Golden Families, the Lu'x family to be specific.
At first, he was confident that he could still handle the supposedly powerful Inquisitor called Monad. After all, his Lore Magic, [Ring of Light], was not only perfect for capturing enemies, but all familial Lore Magic of the Golden Families is based on the target's morality and its Magic Force is 3 Grades higher than the caster. However, after hearing that she was a Light Saint candidate, that's when he started to feel some hesitation, because there might be a chance his Lore Magic won't work against her.
Furthermore, there was also the issue with the Wave at Gru'n Town. At the moment, the people dealing with the crisis there are the Priests and Priestesses of the Branch Chapter Temple there, a single Platoon from the Crusaders, 10 members from the Holy Palace, and some of the ruling Aristocratic Nobles, Knights, Mercenaries and Adventurers. Although dealing with Demons was a headache, the biggest hurdle was dismantling or sealing the portal, because only a select few knew how due to the knowledge being strictly prohibited. After all, if a person knew how to dismantle a portal, then they would also know how to summon one, which could cause unimaginable damages throughout the Northern Continent.
"Release Brother High Lieutenant Caleb," Abiel said to Silmi and then focused on Pen. "But if I sense anything odd, I'm firing a Flare myself."
Pen nodded.
"Thank you, Brother Chapter Master. But we only have 5 minutes left from the 10 minutes she has given us. We can postpone her second request, the food. But for her first and third request, let's fulfill it right away."
Silmi raised an eyebrow behind his helmet.
"5 minutes? Even if she's a Light Saint candidate, such de--"
Abiel gave him a death stare, causing Silmi to immediately stop talking.
Vooom!
Pen, on the other hand, saluted, and then left.
"Do you have anything else to add, Brother High Captain?" Abiel asked.
"Nothing, Brother Chapter Master," Silmi said.
Vooom!
He saluted and then left as well.
***
Somewhere in Blauer'nebel Town.
Caleb was inside a small and single hotel room. He was sitting at a bed and staring at the floor with a dejected look on his face.
His armor and Magic Items were confiscated earlier, and he was now wearing a plain white sweatshirt, brown pants, and a pair of normal black boots.
He wasn't in handcuffs and he didn't have a Magic Item collar around his neck that would eat away his mana. However, there were Knights standing outside the door, making sure he won't escape.
He could easily defeat the Knights outside the door and then escape. But even if he did, he knew it would be pointless.
He covered his face with his hands.
"Did I make the right decision…?"
He clasped his hands together and formed a fist, pressed his forehead against it, and then closed his eyes.
"I am the sword and shield of the Holy Crusade…
"Please grant me strength and wisdom, God of Light…
"I am the sword and shield of the Holy Crusade…
"Please grant me strength and wisdom, God of Light…"
Ka-cha!
The door opened and a person donned in a full set of the Crusader Armor entered.
"Brother High Lieutenant Caleb, you are being summoned by Brother Chapter Master Abiel. Hurry up and follow me back to the Branch Chapter Temple compound," Silmi said before quickly turning and walking away.
Caleb quickly stood up and saluted.
"Yes, Brother High Captain!" he said and then rushed over to Silmi.
***
Branch Chapter Temple building.
Vivian was still in the Meeting Room and sitting at the lounging area with the broken coffee table, shattered wine bottle, glass and plates, and messy food in front of her.
She glanced at the clock.
10:53 p.m.
Time's up…
Pop, pop, pop…!
She got up from her seat and stretched her body.
I really can't expect anything good from these lower lifeform insects…
She began heading over to the door.
I wonder…
How will they attack me this time…?
Will they also have Lore Items like the Blauer'nebel family…?
Ka-cha!
The door opened and it was Pen, causing her to stop on her tracks.
Oh…?
He's here…?
I wonder what he's going to do now…
"Sister, Brother Chapter Master Abiel has agreed to most of your demands and he's currently on his way to bring over Brother Caleb here and discuss what we're all going to do with the Wave at Gru'n Town. As for your food request, there was a bit of a delay."
Brother Chapter Master…?
Should I start killing…?
I mean…
I did say 10 minutes…
"Just him?"
And will I get a Lore Title if I kill or eat a Chapter Master…?
Pen nodded.
"You, me, Brother Chapter Master Abiel and Brother High Lieutenant Caleb. Were you expecting somebody else?"
"How many Crusaders have come here to arrest me?"
"A Platoon."
"I wish to meet all of them outside of the building, but keep the mounts of the Air Division away. I don't want to see even a glimpse of those ugly and smelly monsters --"
I have killed enough powerful and highly-organized humans to know that they will definitely have flying mounts…
"-- If I don't see them, no deal. Oh no, wait. If they at least release Brother Caleb, I will only kill them without True Death. But if they also refuse to release Brother Caleb, I will kill everyone with True Death."
"Wait here for a moment. I need to have a word with them. I want to make sure everyone is on the same page."
Vivian's eyes turned to slits.
"Why? Are they going to attack me if I step out?"
"No, but I wish to conduct this negotiation without any complications and misunderstandings."
This old bastard is slipping…
Wait…!
Does this mean I'm improving in spotting lies…?
Or am I just being extra paranoid from all the killings and violations I've done in the past few hours…?
She shook her head mentally.
Better safe than sorry…
"Make it quick."
Vooom!
As Pen turned away and left in a blur, Vivian stared at his disappearing figure with a disgusted expression.
This guy is a Chapter Master of the Inquisitory Division…
But he's running errands like an errand boy…
Is he that afraid of the Chapter Masters from other Divisions…?
This is so fucking embarrassing…!
I seriously need to fix the image and reputation of Inquisitors…!
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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