Game of Divine Thrones

Chapter 131: Inquisitor of Heresy 2

“…Hm?"

Rosenkreuz, who was moving along the road on horseback, pulled on the reins.

The group of priests next to him asked with a puzzled expression.

“Is something the matter, Lord Rosenkreuz?”

“Someone is spying on us.”

“Are you talking about that group of crows?”

Since a little while ago, there were three-eyed crows circling around their party.

Rosenkreuz nodded.

“It seems like we’re getting closer to the witch’s sanctuary.”

“Should we hunt them? They seem like they’ll disturb us...”

“No, leave them be. I’m not here for them.”

Rosenkreuz was looking for Eteria Rodinus.

The descendants of Avicenna, the great sage who had stolen the Holy Grail and Lemegeton from Solomon's Temple.

Because of them, the seals on Lilith and the 72 Demon Kings were released and they opened their eyes again. The Eeth continent then turned into an eternal battlefield.

…Or so he thought, but he didn’t consider that a bad thing.

Rosenkreuz was only interested in the secret knowledge of Eteria Rodinus.

'First, I have to find at least one member of Eteria Rodinus and make him teach me Rosa Eterna.'

It was the language of the wisemen created using complex codes.

If he learned it, he could always read the S-class magic books in the secret library of the Holy See.

'I heard that they appeared at Port Delphoa in the Izuna Kingdom and headed towards the Dane Kingdom.'

The followers of the God of Light were everywhere in the Eeth continent.

Therefore, no matter how carefully Eteria Rodinus moved, their tracks would be found and followed someday.

Once the location would be revealed, it was only a matter of time to chase them down and capture them.

“They say that the Dane Kingdom was destroyed and that it became part of the Rhine Kingdom’s territory. However, most of the existing nobles are said to be the same as before.”

"I know. The King of Rhine seems to be an excellent individual.”

“According to the rumors, they call him a savior who received the revelation of the God of Death. That's why he can bring back the dead and never dies...”

“There is no human that does not die, Lakius.”

It was against the precepts of the God of Light.

When Rosenkreuz warned him, Lakius hurriedly shut his mouth.

“I, I apologize. That was a blasphemous statement...”

“Of course it is. But do not worry. the God of Light is generous to his own followers.”

However, he was ruthless and merciless against heretics.

Those that were guilty of not acknowledging the absolute superiority of the God of Light amongst the seven gods.

Those that were guilty of believing in transcendental beings other than the seven gods.

Those that were guilty of arbitrarily interpreting or refuting the commandments of the God of Light.

Those heretics shouldn't exist in the first place, and the inquisitors of heresy had to punish them.

“I, I pray for the grace of the God of Light…”

“Do not pray for salvation. The more you execute the pagans and heretics, the closer you will be to Him.”

Rosenkreuz made the sign of the cross. Then all of the priests followed his action with a solemn expression.

“I believe that we will reach the village soon.”

“Very good. We will listen to the witnesses’ testimonies.”

According to the results of their investigations so far, the members of Eteria Rodinus must have been in the Dane Kingdom.

If they couldn't take advantage of this opportunity, it would be difficult to catch them in the future.

Eventually, Rosenkreuz arrived at the village with the priests,

“Our Father in Heaven. May your name be holy, your kingdom flourish, and your will be fulfilled on earth as in heaven.”

“Prithee gift us our daily bread as we forgive those who have wronged us.”

“Prithee forgive our sins, prevent us from falling into temptation, and save us from evil.”

"Amen!"

"Amen!"

They heard the chanting of the Lord's Prayer from a shabby wooden building.

This was definitely heresy to those who believed in the God of Light.

As more and more adventurers appeared, Christianity became one of the biggest troubles of the Holy Empire.

Rosenkreuz frowned and gave orders to the priests who were with him.

“Catch those impure pagans and bring them to me immediately!”

"Understood!"

The priests lifted their maces and entered the wooden building.

Afterwards, there was an outbreak of painful screams.

As time passed, the church members were dragged out like cattle and were forced to kneel before Rosenkreuz.

“The total is thirty-nine, Sir Rosenkreuz.”

“Bring their priest forward.”

Lakius kicked a man holding a crude book in his back. The man groaned and fell face down.

“Is this your scriptures?”

Rosenkreuz lifted the book that was spread open on the floor.

After reading a few pages for a while, he showed signs of anger.

“The content is the same as the version found in the Empire. These cockroaches... There is no end of them.”

The priest began to chant verses of the bible, when

Smash!

A blunt mace fell on his head.

The members of the church screamed in absolute terror as they watched the headless corpse.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

“Sa, save me!”

They couldn’t understand what was happening to them.

The Dane Kingdom was liberated from the demons and they had begun engaging in religious activities with ease. They were told that there were several religions on the continent, but they didn't know they would be suppressed in this way.

“Stop your yapping, you filthy pagans! If you keep talking, I'll have you all burned alive right now!”

When Rosenkreuz shouted in anger, the surroundings became quiet instantly.

The church members instinctively closed their mouths and lowered their heads.

They were trapped by the priests and had no way to escape.

“Tsk tsk, so you do know how to treasure your lives. You are all sinful heretics. But I will give you a chance to repent.”

Rosenkreuz clicked his tongue and unraveled a scroll.

A middle-aged man with red-brown hair wearing a gray robe was drawn on its surface.

“Anyone who knows anything about this guy, raise your hand quietly.”

The man drawn on the scroll was a member of Eteria Rodinus.

While everyone stared attentively, a blonde woman raised her hand.

“Oho, so we do have a witness. Tell us what you know.”

“He came to this village a week ago and asked about the witch. So I told him that she had run away, so he asked for the direction she went.”

"The direction? Was he chasing the witch?”

“Yes, he said that the witch was in possession of an important object. I don't know the details... And I haven't met him since then.”

When the blonde woman finished speaking, this time a black-haired young man behind her raised his hand.

Rosenkreuz scanned the man’s appearance and spoke again.

“What do you know?”

“The man went to the northern kingdom of Norton after getting information that the witch was there.”

"Information? Who did he get it from?”

“A woman of the Witch Cult hiding in the woods came here looking for something to eat. She began creating a commotion, but that man appeared and defeated her with magic. At that time, he also got information about the witch.”

“Did you witness it yourself?”

"Yeah. At the time, I was held hostage by the girl from the witch cult.”

"Hmm…”

Rosenkreuz was in deep thoughts.

He had come all this way by overcoming all the hardships, but now he had to go to the Norton Kingdom, where snow layered the ground.

However it didn't seem like the villagers were lying.

As he tried to speak again, the sound of a horse galloping echoed in the distance.

A cavalry with the flag of the Rhine Kingdom Army appeared out of nowhere.

Rosenkreuz welcomed them as he kept his guard up.

“Nice to meet you. I am Rosenkreuz, the inquisitor of heresy of the Holy Aperian Empire. I'm currently punishing these heretics.”

“…I see. We were searching the nearby areas to clean up the remnants of the Witch Cult.”

“Where is the King of Rhine? I wish to meet him personally since I’ve come all the way here.”

Despite being a king, a king of a small kingdom couldn’t treat the empire's inquisitor of heresy carelessly.

Therefore, even though Rosenkreuz was doing lse-majest, the Rhine Kingdom Army couldn't refute him.

The priests also knew that fact, so they didn’t hesitate to show their arrogance.

“His Majesty will arrive here soon.”

"What? He is coming here?”

“Yes, he is currently touring the lands of the newly occupied Dane Kingdom.”

"Hmm… It definitely is a good idea to improve his popularity amongst the kingdom’s citizens. That’s perfect. Then we’ll wait for him here.”

News that the newly risen King of Rhine had conquered the Dane Kingdom, which had fallen into the hands of the demons, had already reached the Holy Aperian Empire's Imperial Palace and the Holy See.

Therefore, Emperor Tiberius and Pope Ignatius were also curious about his identity.

Rosenkreuz was also curious about this king.

'He is the heroic king who defeated Demon King Dantalion and the Witch of Sloth.'

Things would become complicated if he would turn out to be a heretic.

It is necessary to eradicate the roots of heresy in advance before they could impact the world.

If he turned out to be a faithful believer of the God of Light, he obviously thought of actively supporting the king.

As Rosenkreuz continued criticizing the church members, a brilliant procession appeared in the distance.

The King of Rhine's visit to this area had begun.

'Is he Chun Woohyuk?'

A young man with black hair wearing a silver plate armor.

His appearance was as young as the rumors depicted.

However, Rosenkreuz did not sense evil energy from him as some of the priests had said.

'As I thought, rumors are just rumors.'

Since the Rhine Kingdom was in a corner of the continent, far away from the empire, the story could have been distorted.

Rosenkreuz greeted Woohyuk with a somewhat relieved look.

“You must’ve had a lot of trouble fighting the group of evil beings, Your Majesty King of Rhine.”

“Compared to Lord Rosenkreuz’s ordeals, it was but a small disturbance. In any case, welcome to my kingdom.”

Woohyuk treated Rosenkreuz with a polite attitude.

Rosenkreuz laughed loudly as the king’s attitude had pleased him.

"Hahaha! You are too humble. You are still the first hero to seal a Demon King ever since the War of Gods and Demons.”

“It would have been impossible without the protection of the God of Light. I am just an ordinary secular monarch.”

“Even an earthly lord can become his apostle if he receives the god’s revelation, as long as he isn’t stained with the dirty and ugly beliefs of heretics.”

Rosenkreuz's gaze turned to the captured church members.

Woohyuk nodded as if he understood his intention.

“The only way a pagan is forgiven of his sins is to be burned alive. Please exact punishment without minding me.”

“Then, I won’t hold back”

Rosenkreuz had the priests prepare the stakes and oil.

The blond woman and the black-haired young man writhed and cried out in despair.

“You, you said you’d give us a chance to repent!”

“Yes, we said everything we knew!”

They didn't know they would die like this.

Rosenkreuz looked at them and snorted.

“A true believer of the God of Light never compromises with paganism. So there is no need for me to keep my promise.”

“You motherfucker!”

“Go to hell!”

Every member of the church hurled curses at the inquisitor.

Soon enough, they were all tied to burning stakes and were swallowed up by flames.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

“Please save me, Lord!”

The screams echoed throughout the sky.

It was a sight that a normal person could not watch with his eyes open.

Rosenkreuz laughed like a madman as he smelled the scent of burning flesh.

“Kuhahaha! Hahahahahaha!”

Burning heretics was the most enjoyable activity for him.