A Red Mist Rising Over the Building.

As the red mist enveloped the entire sky of Londan, all I could feel was a sense of impending doom.

It was only natural to feel that way.

After all, I had just heard, through the words of a ‘dead’ cultist right before my eyes, who was responsible for that red mist.

Even other Foreign Entities shuddered at its infamy.

Even a fragment summoned by Astie possessed the power to overwhelm the Dragon Slayer—to the point that it could erase the inscriptions of the Record Keeper.

And according to the saint, it was a power that had been strengthened by absorbing all the pain inflicted so far.

The Inquisitor had now manifested on this land.

And that Inquisitor was inside that building, having even killed their own follower.

From within the space where the red mist was flowing, a figure slowly began to emerge.

The figure’s skin was so pale that it made my skin crawl just looking at it.

Wearing an extremely revealing scarlet dress, as if flaunting everything, and yet, contrasting all of this was a calm and serene smile.

I could tell.

That woman was the Inquisitor.

“What the...”

The Deputy Commander let out a gasp.

It must have been a horrific sight, something only he could see.

If the Deputy Commander was that startled, I could tell it must have been extremely bad.

“Aaaah! Aaaahhh!”

It happened then.

One of our knights suddenly screamed and collapsed.

“My head, my head! Aaaagh!”

“Hey! Pull yourself together!”

White Mask hurried over to check on him.

However, it wasn’t just him.

“My head feels like it’s going to explode... Ugh!”

“Please, save me. I’ll never live like this again. Please, save me.”

“Oh, such a futile life.”

Every knight who should have been basking in the euphoria of victory began to collapse one by one, just like the knight who had screamed in pain.

“Sir White Mask, the headache...!”

“Muyon! Hold yourself together!”

Even Muyon was not spared from this phenomenon.

Of course.

Aside from the two high-ranking officials with overwhelming mental fortitude due to their extensive combat experience against Foreign Entities, the Hunter, and myself, immune to mental interference thanks to Mode, everyone else was crying out in agony.

What on earth was happening?

“There...!”

The Deputy Commander pointed at something.

Red markings appeared on the heads of the knights.

The symbols looked like the character for 'suffering' (苦) and were being forcibly torn away from the knights crying out in pain.

And it wasn’t just the knights; it seemed these markings were being torn away from people all over Londan.

Was the Inquisitor, even now, tormenting humans to absorb their pain and grow stronger?

“Hunter! Master! We must stop that thing!”

“Damn it!”

The Hunter cursed and raised his shotgun, and simultaneously White Mask swung his sword, while I slashed with the wings of the Dragon Slayer.

It was essentially our strongest attack all at once.

But it didn’t reach.

The power was sufficient.

The thunderous sound was loud enough to shake all of Londan, like a giant boulder falling from a high waterfall.

But the Inquisitor, holding a fan and smiling casually, blocked the attack with ease, her expression as relaxed as ever.

“Even this is blocked?”

I muttered under my breath, and both White Mask and the Hunter began to show signs of urgency.

“Haha, ahaha!”

In stark contrast to us, the Inquisitor laughed loudly, as if watching an amusing play.

The voice of a Foreign Entity causes mental contamination in humans, so the Deputy Commander, White Mask, and the Hunter all covered their ears and crouched down.

“Ugh!”

“...!”

Except for the Deputy Commander, who had strength comparable to that of a knight commander, even White Mask and the Hunter were busy grimacing in pain, struggling to resist.

Perhaps satisfied with this, the Inquisitor stopped laughing and looked down at those writhing in agony.

“Pathetic humans.”

Finally, the Inquisitor spoke.

“There’s always a higher and a lower. Yes, it suits you to be groveling like that.”

After finishing her words, the Inquisitor suddenly jumped into the air and began descending slowly, as if defying the law of gravity.

The Deputy Commander assumed a ready stance, and both White Mask and the Hunter struggled to stand up.

But when the Inquisitor extended her hand toward them...

“Aagh!”

“Ugh...!”

They couldn’t resist.

Even the Deputy Commander was forced to kneel on one knee.

Watching the Inquisitor smile with satisfaction at the sight, I ground my teeth.

Such arrogance.

The Inquisitor must have sensed my gaze because she suddenly turned her head toward me with a curious expression.

Perhaps she found it strange that I was still standing and glaring at her, she tilted her head.

“Oh my, are you really human? Not only do you use our power as if it’s nothing, but you’re still standing after facing me.”

“Shut up!”

I was furious that she was tormenting those precious to me, so I flapped my wings and created a chain of wind blades aimed at the Inquisitor.

But the Inquisitor merely snorted in amusement and exaggeratedly made a disappointed face.

Swoosh, boom, smack!

Once again, my attack was easily blocked.

The Inquisitor extended her hand toward me, just as she had with White Mask and the Hunter.

But I felt nothing.

Super Coward Mode was strong enough to withstand even the Record Keeper’s ‘Scarlet Letters.’

“Hm, strange.”

The Inquisitor seemed to sense something was amiss as well.

Based on my judgment, the Inquisitor’s power was controlling the suffering of her targets.

As long as that was all there was, there was still hope.

Just as I thought that, a powerful force suddenly began pulling at my body.

“Huh?!”

By the time I realized it, my body was already being drawn toward the Inquisitor’s outstretched hand.

Before I could even attempt to resist...

Wham!

“Haaah...!”

The Inquisitor’s fist struck my solar plexus.

The force was so great that it felt like my body would fold in half, and I was flung backward, crashing into a wall.

Thanks to the Dragon Slayer’s power and the strength I had gained from eating the chef’s food, I managed to avoid death.

But I could tell that the Inquisitor had only been holding back to ‘subdue’ me.

“Heh heh, as I thought. You’re helpless against physical force.”

The Inquisitor sneered as she walked toward me.

“What the hell are you doing...?!”

The Inquisitor didn’t answer.

“I find you a bit interesting.”

Then, without warning, she grabbed my chin and pulled my face up to hers.

She turned my head this way and that, examining my face before smiling brightly—oddly out of place with the atmosphere.

“You’re pretty handsome, and it seems you understand my words too?”

“...”

“No answer? How shy.”

Madness.

She was clearly enjoying this twisted situation.

“So, how long do you plan on hiding?”

As she said this, the Inquisitor suddenly extended her hand toward my chest.

I wasn’t sure what she was doing, but...

“Ugh, ugh...!”

Lia, who had been in my pocket, was being pulled toward the Inquisitor.

I didn’t know what she intended to do, but I knew one thing for certain—I couldn’t let Lia fall into the Inquisitor’s hands.

I gripped Lia with both hands and hid her completely.

As a result, my arm was being pulled toward the Inquisitor.

But I resisted with all my strength.

I squeezed every muscle in my body to endure.

There was no way I was going to let Lia be taken by this thing.

“Oh my, do you think it’s worth resisting?”

Maybe it wasn’t.

But I was going to do everything I could.

In this life, I wasn’t going to lose anything precious again.

As if acknowledging my determination...

Suddenly, the red mist that had covered the area began to be sucked into something.

It was the furnace.

The furnace was burning with stronger flames than ever before, drawing in and incinerating the red mist.

Thanks to it, Londan was gradually being purified.

The Inquisitor looked disappointed at the sight.

“Oh dear, I guess I’ll have to end my reconnaissance here.”

Reconnaissance?

All this madness was just a reconnaissance?

The Inquisitor retracted her hand.

As a result, I, who had been pulling back with all my strength, fell backward.

“Pfft, how cute, even at the end.”

I felt an overwhelming sense of disgust—worse than when Nutrice had dealt with me.

Unlike Nutrice, this Foreign Entity exuded pure ‘malice.’

“I’ll let you go this time. Consider it a parting gift for providing me with such a delightful pet. Even though I’m pretty upset that you sided with the humans, I can’t deny we share similar tastes.”

The Inquisitor said this and stared at the furnace intently.

A sense of dread washed over me.

“In exactly 14 days, at this time, I will return to destroy you. I’m eager to wipe out your colony as quickly as possible.”

The term 'colony.'

To the Foreign Entities, humanity was nothing more than a collective of living creatures.

Red smoke began to swirl around the Inquisitor.

Just as she had said, she was preparing to leave for now.

But the Inquisitor’s gaze never left the furnace.

“Hm.”

And my sense of foreboding was correct.

“I don’t like that woman.”

The Inquisitor’s hand reached toward the furnace, and the roof shattered as something was drawn out.

It was the princess.

“Ugh...!”

“A pitiful half-being, not blessed by either humans or Foreign Entities. How tragic.”

The Inquisitor feigned a sad expression, her lips curling downward, before smiling in pure delight.

“I’ll end your suffering here. Then you won’t have to endure it any longer.”

“No!”

The distance to the princess was far.

But the Inquisitor had already dropped her from a great height.

“Then, goodbye.”

I didn’t have time to pay attention to the Inquisitor’s parting words as she vanished.

I quickly placed Lia down and spread my Dragon wings, flying toward the princess with all my might.

“Princess!!!”

Fortunately, thanks to my speed, I closed the gap and barely managed to catch her.

I exhaled heavily and looked down at the princess, who still had her eyes tightly shut in my arms.

Realizing that she was safe, she slowly opened her eyes.

“Tanten...?”

“Princess, I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“I-I... Could you... put me down...?”

The princess, flustered, stammered, but after meeting my gaze, she fell silent.

For some reason, tears were flowing from her eyes.

Fortunately, the princess wasn’t injured.

At first, her cheeks were red, and she couldn’t even look at me, so I wondered what was going on. But she quickly ran off, saying, “I’m fine, go check on Tanten first!”—leaving me with no choice but to let her go.

Once things had settled down, the Deputy Commander and White Mask immediately began making rounds across Londan.

Thankfully, there were no casualties.

The problem was that some people had suffered such severe mental damage that they were now in a state worse than death.

I also rushed to the building from which the Inquisitor had emerged.

All the cultists believed to have summoned the Inquisitor were lying dead.

The Hunter, who had come along with me, let out a deep sigh—indicating the scene must have been gruesome.

Among the fallen, Astie was the only one still breathing, though unconscious. I hurriedly brought her back and laid her down on a bed.

Thankfully, it seemed nothing too serious had happened, but the situation still struck me hard.

I had been so intoxicated with the idea of growing stronger, thinking I had accomplished something.

But when was the last time I had felt so powerless?

I looked at Astie, lying in the bed.

As I stroked her hair, all I could feel was guilt.

If I had been just a little stronger, maybe Astie and Lia wouldn’t have suffered.

“Tanten.”

I heard Lia’s voice.

She had begun speaking after I picked up the minor Foreign Entities in the jar.

“Sad...?”

“I’m not sad. Just... powerless.”

“Mother... scary...”

I tried to soothe Lia by patting her head.

But unlike usual, when she would melt into my touch, today she was trembling all over.

...

I could feel the presence of the Foreign Entities.

Had they come now, after the gardener’s departure?

It seemed they wanted to say something, but they kept quiet, perhaps sensing my mood.

Is there no solution?

Is this the end?

As I was thinking that, I suddenly heard the sound of something scraping against stone.

I managed to move my neck and look in the direction of the sound, and despite my state, I was utterly shocked.

There were inscriptions being etched.

And what was written was truly astounding.

“I’ll be waiting for you at the entrance to Londan.”

The Record Keeper.

The Record Keeper was waiting for me.