I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God

I had never heard that term, not even in my past life, so I quickly asked, Does the church of darkness even have a vice-cult leader?

Theyre shrouded in a veil of secrecy just like the cult leader, but weve confirmed that such a person does exist.

...Then has it also been confirmed that Evan is the vice-cult leader?

The cult leader is a sacred position in the Church of Darkness. Theres no way someone like a high priest would lie about such a thing. Itd be like if we impersonated a god.

I see...

...But if Evan is the vice-cult leader, then is his father, Doz Helvin, the cult leader?

We dont know anything about young hero Evans birth, and its not important. The trickery of the cult is beyond our understanding.

What do you mean?

Do you know about recessive genes?

Simply put, it is when the ancestor's genes dont show up for many generations. Your father is one of the best examples.

The Lord of Blood and Iron?

The family head shows more of the black fairies characteristics than his siblings.

Now that I thought about it, that did seem to be the case.

The Dark Cult Leader is an ancient monster who has been alive for at least a few hundred years, and no one knows his identity. No one could have guessed that seeds sown by that monster a few hundred years ago would begin to bloom now.

So...

Hundreds of years ago, the man called the Dark Cult Leader might have hidden his identity and formed a relationship with a houses ancestor?

I couldnt help but laugh at that.

Wow. That would shake the bloodline supremacists of the Great Houses.

They dont like to talk about it, but most people are aware of the possibility.

I paused before continuing, Are you going to kill Evan?

Junian looked at me.

I couldnt tell what she was thinking as I looked at her half-closed eyes.

Without the vice-cult leader, the ritual will fail and the demon lord will rip apart the high priest without us having to do anything. It is the only way to salvage this situation.

But if Evan isnt the vice-cult leader...

Are you defending him?

...

No, I do not think that is the case. When I first told you, you werent surprised. Did you suspect it yourself as well?

It might be obvious, but one of the main jobs of a heretic inquisitor was carrying out inquisitions. They didnt just hunt demons; they also had to master psychology.

Of course, unrelated to that, the responsibility will fall entirely on you. The reason I told you this is simple. It wasnt to gain your permissionI was simply checking.

Even so, I think just killing him is too hasty.

Juniang looked at me.

You, how many blessings did you receive?

One.

At that, Juniang seemed to think for a moment.

Hmm. Did you say it was too hasty? That might not be the case, especially for you.

What was she talking about?

At that moment...

I felt something warm around my nose.

...?

When I instinctively wiped it away, I saw blood.

Huh

Then I felt vertigo.

I nearly collapsed, but I held myself up by pushing against the wall.

It appears that it is having an effect. Well, its impressive that you were able to hold on for so long with only one blessing.

What do you...

When the ritual enters the fourth stage, the demonic energy of the demon lord starts to spread out into the surrounding area, and those with low resistancethat is, low demonic resistanceare affected.

...Demonic resistance?

Im talking about blessings, Juniang said as she looked at me. Those with fewer blessings will be the first to die. Youll be among them since you only have one blessing.

Juniang exhaled smoke.

Fuu.

Its simple. If you dont kill, youll be killed instead. Nothing difficult, no?

...Hmm.

Was it really like that?

I felt resistance to Juniangs words.

It wasnt a simple sense of rebellion. It was more like I was missing something.

I waited for my dizziness to settle down a little. Once Id recovered slightly, I said, How much longer will I be alive?

...

At that, Juniang paused and looked at me.

Her expression hadnt changed at all, yet she also looked a little surprised.

...Who knows? Its different for each person, but if your nose is bleeding, youll die within the next six hours.

So I had about a quarter of a day?

I looked at Juniang.

Only a cleric who received a baptism can truly prove their innocence...

In any case, this woman had shared a lot of information with me to make me accept her.

In that sense, I needed to show at least a bit of sincerity as well.

Rook Bednicker has hidden himself within the training camp.

Rook? You mean the captain of the Iron Blood Knight Order?

Yes.

That person has hidden himself within the training camp? And more importantly, how would you

I heard it directly from Sir Asad.

Hmm...

She looked at me with doubt in her eyes.

I had no choice but to raise my middle finger to show her the ring.

Youre not suddenly flipping me off, I presume.

Of course not. Please look at the ring. Its a magic item I received from the family head.

Juniang narrowed her eyes.

A ring... Its definitely not an ordinary item.

Right?

And supporting your words, there is someone that fits.

Someone that fits?

One of the knight instructors showed extraordinary skill. I continued to observe him because I wanted to see his level, but I was never able to catch him.

Who was it?

A knight named Koor.

Koor...

Rook backward...

...That was the fake name hed used?

Is he dead?

You saw the communication crystal as well. The knights went out to patrol before the incident happened. Of course, the high priest said he killed them all... but it might not have been all of them.

What if Captain Rook is still alive and joins the battle?

...

Juniang unexpectedly started to seriously consider the situation.

Against the demon lords retribution, even the Instructor of the Hunt died instantly, unable to react... but the Iron Blood Knight Captain should be able to put up a fight. And if others attack the high priest during the commotion

...

Our chance of success doubles... no, maybe triples. Juniang looked at me as she said, But the odds are still bleak. Killing Evan Helvin is a much simpler method.

When people always walk down the simple path, they are bound to suffer even more later down the line. And were not even completely sure that Evan is the vice-cult leader.

...

Juniang looked at me.

She seemed to be thinking about whether she should just ignore me or try to persuade me.

...Six hours.

Pardon?

Within six hours, prove that Evan is innocent. If you cant, then Ill just kill him.

Honestly, given her position as an instructor, Juniang was giving me a good opportunity with quite a bit of leeway.

I nodded.

Lets do that. Then I guess finding Knight Captain Rook is our first step?

Sure. If the communication crystals recording is true, then he went to Area A-3. Lets go there first.

Got it.

After the conversation ended, as we were about to leave the room, Juniang suddenly made me an offer.

Luan Bednicker, have you ever thought about becoming a heretic inquisitor?

...This is kind of sudden.

You stood before me during the last lesson as well. Arent you interested in this line of work?

Now that I thought about it, I had done that during the subject selection.

She remembered.

Its not that I dont want to... but why are you giving me the offer?

Were always looking for more people. Wed welcome someone like you.

What do you mean, someone like me?

My mood lightened a little because I thought she saw me in a more favorable light, but then Juniang raised her index finger.

She spun it next to her head in a circular motion...

Someone whos gone insane.

...

Im not joining you.

* * * * *

* * * * *

Juniang said she had something to prepare in her room, so I returned to the first floor by myself.

As soon as I came down, everyone naturally looked at me, and I could tell that these awkward kids hadnt said a single thing to each other since Id left.

Hector asked, Youre here. What did you talk about?

We discussed what we were going to do next.

Couldnt you have had that discussion here with us?

That was true.

Hes sharp.

While I was thinking about how I should respond to him, Sellen thankfully changed the subject.

So? Did you come to a decision?

I think well be able to find someone who can help us, so were going to move toward him first.

Someone who can help us? Who?

Rook Bednicker.

At that, Hector became very surprised.

The knight captain is here? Are you sure?

I dont know. I just heard about it as well.

From who?

The Instructor of Doctrine.

Of course, I was the one who had known about Rook, but I had gotten Juniang to agree to use my story.

Why should I do that?

I think itll be more trustworthy if the source is an instructor instead of me.

Thats true.

Thankfully, Juniang had immediately accepted the plan.

As expected, they didnt doubt my words.

The knight captain is here... With him, the high priest wont be a problem, Hector said.

He was wearing a bright expression I hadnt seen on him in a while, and the others had similar reactions.

The Iron Blood Knight Captain Rooks reputation was greater than Id thought.

And around this time, I glanced at Evan for a moment.

I had been observing him since our first meeting, but I honestly didnt know anything about him.

I didnt know whether he truly had nothing to do with the cult or was just clever enough to hide it well even from me.

Evan, how is your condition?

Evan wore a bitter smile.

Its not bad, but its not good either.

I see. I smirked. Dont overdo it. You look terrible.

Thanks.

Then, I sensed a gaze.

Charon was looking directly at me.

What, I mouthed, but he turned his head away.

What?

***

After the Instructor of Doctrine came down, we immediately headed for Area A-3.

We checked the map and saw that it was rather close to the field.

Of course, since demons were roaming the forest, it took an hour for us to get there when it usually wouldve taken us ten minutes.

...Hm.

I could feel my condition becoming worse and worse as time went on.

Because Id learned the Strongest Fire Technique, my condition was affected by the state of the sun...

I was in a similar state to when Id been stuck inside a sunless cave for a week.

You look terrible.

Even Sellen, rough as she was, was worrying about me, so there was no need to say how I looked.

...Yeah. I think I ate something bad.

Thats true. Theres nothing worse than those energy bars.

I was getting tired, but I could still walk, so I didnt fall behind.

In the end, we arrived at Area A-3.

This...

Hm.

As soon as we arrived, a gathering of knights corpses greeted us.Ra latst chpters on n/v//l(b)i(.)cm

Looking at them closely, they didnt seem too damaged, and they all looked like theyd died from a single hole through their body.

They seemed to have suffered the same fate as the Instructor of the Hunt.

...Lets look around here for a moment. I dont think there are any demons in the area, so spread out and search.

At Juniangs order, we immediately spread out and began our search.

Rustle.

I headed in the 9 oclock direction and quickly found another corpse.

The cold corpse looked similar to the other ones I had seen, but this knight had a hole in his forehead.

I furrowed my brow and imagined that wound in my mind.

Could I block that?

An attack that neither the knights of Bednicker nor the Instructor of the Hunt had been able to block...

Even so, I knew that this was the demon lords divine retribution attack.

Knowing the attack in advance made a difference, so I thought that I might be able to block it...

But since death would greet me if I was wrong, I thought about it more.

I think I might get a sense for it if I see it myself.

I couldnt be certain with just what Id seen through the communication crystal.

After that, I found a few more corpses, but I didnt discover anything new.

Rather, my feeling of uneasiness continued to grow.

Rook didnt die as well, right?

If that wasnt the case...

I stopped and turned around.

Whats up?

Step.

Through the dead grass, Sellen appeared.

Since it was someone I knew, I wasnt startled, but it was still unexpected.

Hadnt she headed off in the complete opposite direction from me?

I have something to ask you.

What is it?

Are you close friends with Evan Helvin?

What?

It was a random question.

As I looked at her with a furrowed brow, Sellen responded, Charon told me.

About what?

What you talked about with the Instructor of Doctrine on the upper floor.

...That guy? Did he overhear us?

I hadnt sensed his presence at all.

Charon said he has the Blessing of Chiroptera.

Chiroptera... Bats?

I recalled that bats had incredible hearing.

Id never expected a blessing like that to exist.

I took note of Sellens expression as I said, What are you trying to say?

Evan Helvin probably is the vice-cult leader. Im almost certain of it.

Almost certain doesnt mean anything.

Sellen had a serious expression on her face.

Nows not the time to joke around. We need to follow the advice of the heretic inquisitor when hunting demons. No, even if that wasnt the case, I agree that we should kill Evan Helvin. So... if you dont want to do it, you dont have to, Sellen said with darkened eyes. I can do it myself.