Chapter 148: The Inquisition
-When burned, it’ll be revealed if one is demon or human.
What the hell is this?
The UN staff, including Louise, were horrified.
Burning at the stake! You’re going to burn us!
“You’re a piece of junk!”
But the mechanical spider didn’t even look at them, just barked orders.
-Fetch the fire.
“Yes!”
The villagers rushed to the village and brought back torches. The madness of the roaring flames illuminates everyone.
“Now, wait, wait, wait!”
One of the employees shouts in desperation. In response, Yappy stops with his torch.
-The counterargument?
“Of course there is! What kind of law is this, burning people because they look like they’re possessed by demons!”
Exactly!
It was the irony of the UN inspectors that so few shared this obvious voice of reason.
-That’s the law.
“There’s a fucking law?!”
-The Holy Knights, under the authority of the Tatar, God of the Sun and Judgment, had established the proper “demon hunting laws.”
“Oh, demon hunting laws?”
This was the knowledge Yappy had acquired after entering the Lionheart Gate and stored countless Lionheart books.
-Suspected Demon Followers caught with more than three people will be burned first, regardless of the reason.
What the hell!
Isn’t that the way of the fanatics, straight out of the barbaric Middle Ages!
It’s no coincidence that all the other cruel punishments of the witch hunt era were conjured up in similar fashion.
-This is the correct procedure for testing suspected demon followers. This has been proven by data.
It’s been done, so of course it’s right!
This is what happens when ruthless, inflexible killing machines rule the law! Isn’t the coming law of AI judges actually the wrong choice for humanity?
“What about the believers!”
-Hmm?
Yappy camera eye turned toward them at the sound of someone’s voice.
Her name was Dana, and she was the youngest and most recent member of the Inspectorate staff.
“I, uh, I’m a worshiper of Arianna, Goddess of Light and Justice!”
“You’re bullshitting!”
“Shut up, demon!”
“You’re backed into a corner, you liar!”
“Gee, it’s real!”
-Silence.
Yappy quickly searched his downloaded Lionheart Kingdom Code of Laws to find a case he could apply.
-A believer must be tried according to due process.
“It’s blasphemy!”
-Quietly. It’s not for you to decide.
At that, the UN staffers all came up with the same stunt.
“Well, I’m a believer, too, as of yesterday!”
“Me too!”
“I’ll believe it from now on!”
The townspeople abhorred their false faith with every fiber of their being, but the mechanical Holy Knight was careful to point out that the burden of proof was on the plaintiff.
-I will conduct the trial according to the law. I will be objective and impartial in accordance with established precedent.
Oooh!
Finally, some sense! He could see hope in the faces of the UN staff.
-Light it up.
“What the hell are you asking for?”
-What else are you complaining about?
“No, no, no, the conclusion hasn’t changed! It’s the same thing with the light!”
-Different.
What’s different!
At Louise’s gaze, Yappy crossed it with his cold camera eyes and said again.
-Lack of faith will burn, faithfulness will not. The data proves it.
Ah.
Louise realized that these crazed fanatics… had no intention of sparing them.
-Light it.
“Yes!”
“Heed the words of the Holy Knight!”
“Burn the demons to purify them!”
The villagers were the first to approach Dennis with the torches they had received from Yappy. He screamed and struggled, but it was a futile struggle.
“You’re crazy, you’re crazy!”
Whether Louise liked it or not, the villagers’ torches ignited the firewood.
Flames roared with a crackle and Dennis screamed.
“Kaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…!”
In an instant, Dennis was on fire, his throat screaming.
The scream echoing through the agony of being burned alive was eerily familiar, a scream drawn from the depths of the abyss.
Dennis was burned to a crisp, a testament to the power of fire and the villagers cheered.
“Waaaaaah!”
“The demon is dead!”
“Long live the Yakt Spinner! Long live the Lionheart! Long live the TTG Temple!”
Yappy, who was cheered as his name was called, chuckled and saved. He was a fair and just judge, and continued with the next trial.
-Light the next one.
“”Yes!””
And with that, one by one, the United Nations employees burned to death. Amidst horrific, agonizing screams, not even their ashes remained.
Then it was Louise’s turn.
-Five men left. Advised to hurry.
The end. It’s really over now. As the ground beneath her feet caught fire, she cursed in despair.
“The United Nations won’t let you off the hook! They won’t let you off the hook!”
Leon must be a madman to lead such a barbaric and unscrupulous group of fanatics! The sooner the world realizes who this insane racist is, the better!
“What’s the difference between you and the demon, what’s the difference, you’re all going to die, eh?”
The torch lit firewood roared at Louise’s feet and its firepower was enough to melt a man’s flesh and turn him into ashes but…….
“Why isn’t it burning?”
The black smoke was thick and her whole body was on fire, but she felt hot rather than burned. It was like when she first came to Korea and went to a jjimjilbang as a cultural experience course.
If the jjimjilbang had made her feel hot and steamy, this fire was wrapping her in a warm, soothing embrace.
-Louise Acquitted. Next defendant begins.
Louise watched in horror as one UN employee after another was consumed by the flames. Indeed, some of them were in flames, but the fire had not harmed them!
“What the hell…….”
-Four of the eight defendants dead. As expected.
“As…expected?”
Yakt Spinner brought up a holographic image. It was of Louise at the dinner table on her first day at the TTG Temple.
“When was that…….?”
-Dennis and the three, who had not consumed the meal.
“That, that…….”
As it turns out, from the first day she arrived at the TTG Temple, Louise had been enjoying a luxurious healthy life, eating plenty of blessed crops.
Among them, there were some people who didn’t like the taste of the food and either ordered something else or left.
They were the four employees, including Dennis, who are now burned to death.
-Crops imbued with holy power. Deadly to the malignant. They, unable to withstand the flames of Petos.
“God of War and Flame…….”
At those words, Louise realized that the flame that had consumed them was no ordinary flame.
The flames of the God of War would not burn innocent people.
“That, then, doesn’t mean they’re…….”
-Demon followers, the lesser beings who serve the demons just like the serfs.
“The United Nations was infiltrated by demons?”
She couldn’t believe it but with the miracle in front of me, she no longer doubted it.
Of course, it was possible that the TTG Temple had done some magical trick to put on a show that they weren’t the only ones burning… but there was nothing to be gained from that.
“So… you’re letting us go?”
-You’re innocent.
Yappy had the villagers release them and that was the end of it.
* * * *
“You had a rough night.”
“Oh, no.”
The next morning, Louise spoke cautiously in front of Leon.
“So, you say there were demons among the inspectors.”
“I don’t……believe it, they were followers of the demons.”
They were her longtime colleagues in the cause of human rights, and their vile screams sounded eerily like ‘them’.
“Your Majesty, they are in the Queen’s workshop….”
“They were captured at the last Demon Gate by Queen Beatrice as an experiment.”
After the night’s commotion, Louise was led by Yappy to tour Beatrice’s workshop.
He showed her how he burned demons with divine flames and the screams of the souls were strikingly the same.
“…….”
Louise was not such an unrestrained idealist as to demand human rights for demons.
“But, Your Majesty, I must report on these demons when I return.”
“I can see their response. There will be those who say that even demons should be saved, in the name of human rights.”
“……It’s a precious commodity in my world.”
“No, keep an eye on those who say such things, Officer Louise. Humans abhor evil in any world. Those who are tolerant of evil are usually evil people.”
Leon handed her a necklace drenched in water from an auspicious looking goblet.
“I, as a United Nations official, do not accept bribes…….”
“Heaven forbid that you should refuse the king’s gift. Take it, and keep it, for it will serve you well for some time to come.”
Leon gave her not only that, but also many blessed crops, and said to her,
“I know you are a wise woman and know how to use them.”
“……!!”
Louise was dumbfounded as she realized Leon’s intentions.
“Lord Spinner.”
-Hmm?
“My guest is returning home. Would you be willing to escort her?”
-No problem.
Back at the UN headquarters Louise clutched her necklace with trembling hands.
* * * *
Four people had died during the UN Human Rights Commission’s visit to TTG Temple.
The news had outraged not only the South Korean government but also the UN headquarters.
“These barbarians…!”
From the UN Secretary-General to the heads of agencies, to the commander of the UN peacekeeping force.
Each of them, in their own state of emergency, denounced the atrocities of the TTG.
“The ones who died were all demon followers.”
“That doesn’t even make sense! Officer Louise, don’t spread such baseless rumors!”
“We need to rescue the serfs in the TTG Temple right now!”
After being summoned to the top, Louise was reprimanded and made to testify in detail about what had happened.
After a long day of meetings and hearings, it was time to eat.
“Everyone, eat.”
Simple sandwiches were prepared for the long hearing.
When they were distributed to the staff, Louise watched as several employees broke out in a cold sweat and refused to eat.
“I have my own packed lunch…….”
“I don’t have an appetite, so I’ll eat later.”
The refusal gave Louise a sense of déjà vu; that sandwich was made with the “crops” she had brought with her.
“I… I’m, uh, Officer Harrison.”
“Why… Why would you do that, Officer Louise?”
Louise was in agony but then she remembered Leon’s words. If it was true that the United Nations had been overrun by demons, then…….
“Rain, let there be light!”
It was then that Louise’s necklace suddenly emitted a flash of light that enveloped the entire hearing room.
“A flashbang?!”
“Officer Louise, what did you do──!”
The staff covered their eyes, frightened by Louise’s sudden behavior but at that moment, an unbelievable sight appeared before their eyes.
“Aaah!”
“Keeeeeeeeeeee!”
The employees who refused the sandwiches, including Mr. Harrison, screamed in agony as their entire bodies burned.
“Officer Harrison?”
The transformation was swift.
With the blessing of Arianna, the Goddess of Light and Justice, and the light from the necklace immersed in holy water, the hidden evil was revealed.
-Chirp!
-Sizzle!
The creature’s flesh peeled away and bloody wings unfurled.
The vicious teeth, nails, and piercing eyes were not human.
“Ah, a demon?!”
“Kick!”
The demon swung its sharp nails at the first person to react but the demon failed to reach him.
-Whick!
A steel wire swung with the sound of a whip cut through the demon’s body in an instant.
Demon blood splattered everywhere, and their gazes turned to one place in unison.
-Bam!
A minimalist steel knight emerged from Louise’s bag. The Yakt Spinner’s mechanical arm stretched out, steel wires whipping like a whip.
“You bastard!”
“Kill him…!”
It took less than two seconds for the demonic beasts in the hearing room to be slaughtered.
The souls of the dead demons screamed as they were extinguished by the holy power wire.
Demons appeared out of nowhere in the hearing room, and the Knight of Steel slaughtered them. As everyone stood dumbfounded, the Yakt Spinner declared in an inorganic, mechanical voice.
-Operation Demon Slayer has begun.
What began with the Human Rights Violations Inspectorate at the TTG Temple has turned into a full-scale extermination of the demons at the United Nations Headquarters.
The UN Headquarters Demon Outbreak was quickly subdued by Holy Knight Yakt Spinner as 337 demons and their followers were slain.
-The world is coming to an end.
