WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 139: Inquisitor Falkenstein (2)
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A man who said he had come from the Vatican.
In other words, a naked middle-aged man with his upper body covered in Latin tattoos and blood-soaked hands said,
"I'm Father Jevanstein Konrad Falkenstein. Please call me Falkenstein."
His Korean was fluent.
Was Korean practically the common language in this line of work?
Our pastors had really made a name for themselves.
"I'm Baek Yohan. Um... You came from the Vatican?"
The priest gave me a friendly smile.
"Yes, I work for the Vatican Special Affairs Bureau."
A priest dispatched from the Vatican Special Affairs Bureau.
I had encountered the Templar Order before, so it was not entirely unfamiliar.
More importantly, he did not smell bad.
At least that probably meant he had nothing to do with demons.
"I didn't receive any notice from Pastor Park. Didn't you contact him?"
When it came to Christian forces in Korea, Gangnam Holy Temple Church felt like the group in charge and the representative.
Leaving aside cults like the Great Unification Church, the Catholic Church, which was not particularly powerful in Korea, had left exorcism entirely in Holy Temple Church's hands.
If the Vatican Special Affairs Bureau had dispatched someone, he should have contacted Pastor Park.
"Ah, I was operating in secret, so I could not contact Holy Temple Church directly."
"...I see?"
"I shall formally introduce myself later."
The priest smiled and began putting on his pants.
Yeah, I was grateful that he had finally decided to put on pants.
"By the way, Brother, what brings you all the way here?"
"The Association asked me to catch demon worshippers."
"Oh? You came to do admirable work."
Thwack!
"Argh!"
Still smiling, the priest smacked the man tied up nearby.
That crisp slap from a palm as big as a pot lid was clearly not his first time.
"Because of filthy scum like this, precious people have to work so hard. Ptui!"
"People?"
"How could they not be precious when an angel and the person chosen by that angel are together?"
"You can see Gari?"
"I was also born with innate spiritual sight."
Oh, so he was born with spiritual abilities.
They said it was a rare ability. What a coincidence.
"Please wait a moment. I was in the middle of interrogating this devil's lackey."
"Eek! P-please stop..."
The priest forced open the middle-aged man's mouth and shoved his fingers inside.
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmmph!!"
Crack!
With a horrifying sound, a white row of teeth came away in the priest's grip.
"Ugh..."
"Interrogation requires an expert's knowledge and experience."
With a yank, the priest pulled out a silver nail lodged beneath one of the man's fingernails.
"If you overdo it, they can die from excessive bleeding or shock."
Why was he explaining that while looking at me?
A glance showed he had already tortured the man plenty under the name of interrogation.
Silver nails had been driven beneath his fingernails, into the backs of his hands, and around his ankles. Several of his teeth had already been pulled.
He had apparently been punched many times too. The man had been beaten into a bloody pulp.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Father Falkenstein continued.
"The spawn of evil are stubborn creatures. They are not people whose mouths can be opened with ordinary methods."
He was not wrong.
A normal person would never think of offering human beings to demons as sacrifices.
There was a reason souls became corrupted enough to stink after making a contract with a demon.
It was more heinous than murder.
"Ah, was this unpleasant for a young brother to watch?"
"It isn't pleasant to watch. Even less so when a clergyman is doing it."
"Ha ha, that is quite regrettable..."
"But it still has to be done. The bad guy is someone else."
The priest's expression paused.
"Are you all right with this? He was tortured like this."
"Uh... Doesn't our work involve bending the law a little sometimes? We're dealing with shit-stinking bastards like these. We can't use only normal methods."
"Oh..."
For some reason, the priest grinned as though deeply moved, then suddenly punched the middle-aged man.
"Ah! Aaaah!"
The man's nose broke. Tears streamed down his face as he struggled, but with nails through his hands and feet, he could not even wipe away his nosebleed.
"Why did you hit him?"
"Fucking bastards need a beating even when there is no reason. That is the principle shared by me and my sworn friend."
His friend sounded like quite a character too.
I was letting it slide because he had introduced himself as a priest and did not smell at all, but he was one terrifying priest.
"Since you are not offended either... you have the makings."
The makings for what?
The priest soon grabbed the captive demon worshipper by the hair and asked,
"Speak, lackey of evil. Why did you infiltrate this land?"
"Urk! Ngh! Hehehehe!"
The man who had been writhing in pain began laughing as though he had lost his mind.
With a spiteful smile, he cried out,
"You know nothing! Nothing of the great work being accomplished in this land! He whispered to us! The ruin that shall descend upon this land..."
Thwack!
The priest's fist shut him up.
"I think he was about to say something."
"It is only a curse from Satan's mouth. The ones who act this grave usually know very little."
Father Falkenstein clicked his tongue, calling him a dud.
"Still, shouldn't we find out what he knows?"
"I have interrogated him quite thoroughly, and he has not spoken. He may truly know nothing... Well. Do you have a method, Brother?"
"I do. Mountain Lord."
【Understood, my lord.】
In an instant, the Mountain Lord transformed into a huge great tiger.
The bound man gaped at the great tiger before him, but his head was soon sent flying by the Mountain Lord's front paw.
"...Was that seriously a kitty punch?"
"My lord, if you call that a kitty punch, is that not rather pitiful for the dead man?"
Anyway.
The Mountain Lord understood my intention and immediately drew the dead man's soul out as a Chang-gwi.
【Ugh... H-how did this happen? I definitely died.】
"Yeah, you're a Chang-gwi now."
【I-impossible! A mere tiger is stealing my soul while ignoring my contract with a demon?!】
【I am no mere tiger. I am a sacred Mountain Lord anointed by my lord.】
"You're a holy tiger, you punk."
The Mountain Lord frowned at Kohaku's words.
The Mountain Lord did not seem to like the phrase "holy tiger" because it sounded cheap.
"All right. Make him confess every last detail."
All right, time for a true confession.
* * *
Jevanstein Konrad Falkenstein.
A Paladin of the age and an Inquisitor, he was famous for the brutality of his methods.
The Vatican Special Affairs Bureau might have been founded to deal with monsters and demons, but modern humans still operated it.
Modern society came with many constraints, including human rights, morality, national borders, and local laws. One could not simply act freely.
That was why Falkenstein, who did not care what means he used, was considered an oddity.
He knew he was not normal.
Jesus had taught forgiveness and love, but Falkenstein had no forgiveness in him.
Because of his cruel methods, Inquisitors were ostracized within the Vatican Special Affairs Bureau.
「They are quite rigid on that side too. I cannot say they are wrong, though.」
「...Does Pastor Kim also think I am wrong?」
「Who? You, Father?」
What had Pastor Kim said when they first worked together hunting demon worshippers?
「They have always said that the cure for a mad dog is a club. Jesus can handle forgiveness, so we should love our neighbors.」
「Pastor, if you love them, why are you beating them with a club?」
「Only our neighbors.」
「...God have mercy.」
From that day onward, Pastor Kim became Falkenstein's sworn friend.
The two had enjoyed themselves.
They hunted vampires, beat down werewolves, and shared their expertise whenever they interrogated demon worshippers.
But that was only a memory now.
After Pastor Kim died, Falkenstein lost the person who understood him and had to return to being an oddity.
Yes, those had been good days.
What more could a man ask for after finding one sworn friend in his life?
When he returned to the secular world once more, Falkenstein had looked forward to meeting Yohan.
The one with an angel at his side.
The Solomon of this age, sealing countless demons.
When he learned that Yohan too belonged to Holy Temple Church, it almost felt like fate.
But what if he was weak?
What if he held 21st-century sensibilities about punishing and killing evil?
Someone soft and weak could not truly carry out judgment.
When Falkenstein happened upon Yohan, he had deliberately acted cruelly and watched Yohan's reaction.
Fortunately, Yohan had not been offended.
He had not felt sick to his stomach, nor frowned and turned away.
As though it were simply something that had to be done, Yohan had calmly ordered his servant to turn the evil spawn into a Chang-gwi.
【It does not seem there is any more information to extract, my lord.】
"He really didn't know anything."
After turning him into a Chang-gwi and forcing him to tell the truth to his master, the Mountain Lord tore the man's soul apart.
The one who had sold his soul to a demon had been subjugated as a Chang-gwi and freed. He would probably fall into Hell.
"Shall we return together? Where are you staying?"
"Of course, I must greet Pastor Park. But before that... I should finish some cleanup."
"Cleanup?"
"Yes. There are still many to deal with."
Falkenstein led Yohan downstairs.
There, a nun who had been waiting greeted him.
"Sir Falkenstein."
"Sister Johanna. Are the sinners being properly managed?"
"Yes. And... it is a pleasure to meet you, Brother Yohan."
"Uh... You all already know me?"
"We were briefed beforehand."
Sister Johanna led the two of them over and opened a basement door.
Inside were scores of naked demon worshippers.
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!"
"Mmph! Mmmph!! Mmmmh!!"
"Wow..."
Yohan recoiled in alarm.
More precisely, he was startled by the stale stench, but Falkenstein wondered if Yohan had been frightened.
This would not be a pleasant sight for a young man.
"They are demon worshippers. Fools who call themselves disciples of a wizard."
"Yeah..."
Yohan frowned, and Falkenstein became concerned.
Many people could somehow manage to kill one person, but panicked when there were many.
They could kill in battle, yet refuse to massacre prisoners.
But that would not do.
The spawn of evil had to be thoroughly eradicated.
Falkenstein wanted Yohan to possess that kind of strength and resolve.
"How are you planning to clean this up?"
"We must kill them."
"...!"
The bound demon worshippers' eyes flew wide open.
Among them was one whose gag seemed to have come loose, and he shouted,
"S-s-save me! I will repent! I will repent! I will believe in Jesus and convert..."
"Silence, you spawn of Satan!!"
Disgusted by that wicked mouth, Falkenstein kicked the demon worshipper in the chest.
"Do not lightly speak His name with that filthy mouth! It is not a name your evil tongues can contain."
But his gaze was fixed on Yohan.
"P-please spare me! Conversion! I will convert, please!!"
Did the demon worshipper think Yohan had unusual authority over the decision?
Or did he think the young man would be softer than the Western Inquisitor?
The demon worshipper expected a sliver of mercy from Yohan, while Falkenstein worried that Yohan might show weakness.
But as if betraying both their expectations and concerns, Yohan covered his nose and frowned.
As though he were looking at something filthy and foul-smelling.
"No, man. You stink too much."
Such utter contempt.
Such a resolute attitude toward evil.
The peak came when it was time to clean up the evil spawn being disposed of.
"How are you going to handle all these bodies?"
"We must bury them. Would you like to leave first? We should remain to clean up."
"Come on. Why should such esteemed people work that hard? Gari, take out some holy water."
Then the angel went Ptooey! and spat out a chest.
It was full of plastic bottles of water, and Yohan opened one and began pouring it over a body.
"Ghk! Ghhhk! Ghhhhk?!"
"Hey! This bastard was playing dead!"
"He wasn't properly finished off. I shall take care of it...!?"
Falkenstein saw it.
The demon worshipper's entire body melted like a lump of gelatin merely upon touching the water.
"Good grief... Why pretend to be dead and die painfully... Well, that is your fate, you know?"
"Lord..."
Here, in this Far Eastern land.
I have found the successor to my sworn friend.
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