Inquisitory Division

Aurgus 24, 3023 A.M., day of Thura, 07:01 a.m.

Vivian returned at the headquarters of the Inquisitory Division and was walking down the streets, on her way to the Tailoring Shop.

Everyone she passed by couldn't help but turn and look at her that some couldn't help but stop. The reason behind that was because her entire body was painted with blood and monster guts the she was even emitting a foul smell. Had it not been for the smell and the brown-colored sun symbol on her forehead, everyone would've thought that she was a Red Cloak.

Thank God it's open…!

Vivian saw the shop from a distance and quickened her pace.

How come the shops here open quickly while back at the compound in Luxen City it opens late…?

Seriously, what lazy people…!

***

Inside the Tailoring Shop.

A masked woman was busy arranging things because she just opened when she heard footsteps entering her shop.

Given that she was in a secret base of the Temple of Priests and only a handful of trusted outsiders were allowed to be here which also gave her secret benefits, even though she was still busy preparing to open her shop, she was mindful to never be disrespectful.

As soon as she turned around to greet the person who entered her shop, her nose was immediately assaulted by a foul smell. And to make matters worse, the smell remained inside her mask.

"H-H-Honored Crusader… How may I help you…?"

"I need a new set of clothes, especially a cloak. Boots and gloves as well if you have them."

"We have boots and gloves here, but they're only normal ones. If you want something sturdier, there's the Blacksmith Shop across the street."

"Normal boots and gloves are fine."

As far as Vivian knows, using Physical and Magic Arts with normal gloves doesn't affect the gloves. But for boots, it will affect it. However, considering her Physical and Magic Force and the rate of speed she was growing, unless she could buy a pair of boots that were indestructible, then it was smarter to just buy a pair of normal boots instead.

"I'll gather them right away, Honored Crusader."

"Thank you."

***

9:18 a.m.

Knock.

Knock.

Vivian knocked on a door before opening it and entering.

"Good morning, Brother Inquisitor Blanch. It's me Crusader Heliza," said Vivian.

"Heliza" was the alias or codename that Vivian chose for herself after Blanch explained to her the rules here in the headquarters of the Inquisitory Branch. If she were to pass the Training Course, she would be using this alias or could choose another until her current contract with the Holy Crusade ends. On the other hand, if she were to fail the Training Course, she would return to her identity as "Crusader Vivian" and most likely be sent to the Infantry Division.

"Ah yes, please take a seat. How may I help you?"

Vivian took out a piece of cloth under her new White Cloak.

After buying a new set of clothes and before coming here, she took a long and full bath which lasted for almost an hour because her entire body was covered in blood and guts, including her hair. She didn't even care when others gave her the side-eye after she came out because she was inside for so long.

She opened the piece of cloth and revealed her Identity Papers that were soaked in blood.

"I need a new set of Identity Papers. I went out to explore the tunnels last night and accidentally bumped into a caterpillar-like monster. It came out of nowhere and made some frightening sounds so I accidentally attacked it while I was reading the map."

"Caterpillar-like monster?"

"Something like a giant and fat worm or snake but it crawls with tiny legs."

"You mean a Sarcoise?"

Sarcoise…?

That's what it's called it…?

I'm going to check if it's in my books…

"I think that's it."

"I understand," Blanch said and nodded. "Those monsters can look and sound scary in the dark, but they're not aggressive unless their Queen is nearby."

There is a queen…?

As far as Vivian could remember, she didn't see any queen when she was fighting and drowning in the sea of Sarcoises.

Is that why my [Halo]'s active spell effect didn't work…?

But then again, even if my Magic Force was higher, [Halo] isn't exactly a mind-controlling spell…

"Please hand over your Identity Papers to me," said Blanch.

Vivian quickly handed over the papers.

"Thank you, Brother Inquisitor."

"Also, be sure to be careful in handling your Identity Papers next time. Since it was an accident, I'll let it pass. But if you damage your Identity Papers again and request for another, I will be noting it on your final evaluation."

"Yes, Brother Inquisitor. And thank you, Brother Inquisitor."

I need to find a sealing plastic for my Identity Papers…

But I don't remember seeing any plastic in this world, only rubbers…

Seriously, why don't people just use a Memory Crystal…?

I don't understand why do we even need to study, memorize or write things when we can just use a Memory Crystal…

Very, very incompetent people…

***

1:24 p.m.

Vivian was in a classroom and listening to the Inquisitor teacher or instructor discussing a topic.

This was her first class for today from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. which covers demons, demon-worshipers, the Cult of Affinity, demon-kins and monsters.

"Beings who have the [Chaos Mastery] can gift the other people [Lesser Chaos Mastery]. And those who receive the [Lesser Chaos Mastery] will form a master-slave relationship with the being who has the [Chaos Mastery] where they can sense each other and the master can also control the slave to some extent.

"And as for the beings with [Lesser Chaos Mastery], they can only gift other people [Lesser Chaos Mastery]. However, there won't be a master-slave relationship between them. Instead, whoever was the source of the [Chaos Mastery] would be their leader. 

"Regarding humans, if they're lucky enough to receive the [Chaos Mastery] from a Greater Demon because they are very rare, very powerful and rarely interact with our world -- 

"In fact, let me tell you something about Greater Demons for a second. Throughout recorded history, there have only been a handful of times that a Greater Demon has decided to directly and physically interact with our world via a Wave or Summoning Ritual. And within that handful of times, only 4 people were able to survive a single attack from them without dying. And these were extremely powerful people who could level kingdoms on their own. One of them was His Holiness Light Saint Neu'a, the first Light Saint and founder of the Temple of Priests. Greater Demons are so unimaginably powerful that not only our world's reality can't handle their existence, but we can't even capture their Magic Art essence on an Origin Crystal to make an Affinity Crystal with their [Greater Chaos Mastery].

"Let's go back to the topic. If a human receives the [Chaos Mastery], they will become a Demon Human. Meanwhile, if a human receives [Lesser Chaos Mastery], they will become a Lesser Demon Human. 

"Also, please note that there are no Lesser Demons that would come out of the Wave or Summoning Ritual because Lesser Demons only exist in our world or plane. Meanwhile, in the Demon's world, there are only Greater Demons and Demons with Greater Demons serving as the masters, Kings or Emperors -- at least that is what we know."

"Once a human becomes a Demon Human or Lesser Demon Human, they will have two forms -- the human form and the demon form.

"For Lesser Demons, their height is 3 meters tall, they have 4 arms and they have [Lesser Chaos Enchant], [Lesser Chaos Transformation], [Lesser Chaos Blessing] and [Lesser Chaos Ascension]. On top of this, their lifespan is increased by 3 years. So 1 year of a Lesser Demon Human life is 3 years of a human life.

"Meanwhile for Demons, their height is 6 meters tall, they have 6 arms and they have [Chaos Enchant], [Chaos Transformation], [Chaos Blessing] and [Chaos Ascension]. And as for their lifespan, it would be increased by 6 years. So 1 year of Demon Human life is 6 years of human life.

"Let's talk about [Lesser Chaos Enchant] and [Chaos Enchant].

"The [Lesser Chaos Enchant] boosts or amplifies any skill or spell by x2 and it emits a light red lightning. Meanwhile, the [Chaos Enchant] boosts any skill or spell by x3 and emits a red lighting. And both of which only costs a Low-Tier skill mana.

"Let's move on to the [Lesser Chaos Transformation] and [Chaos Transformation].

"Both the [Lesser Chaos Transformation] and [Chaos Transformation] allow them to transform their bodies between human and demon form at the cost of a Low-Tier spell mana. They could also do some partial transformations, like only transforming their eyes into the color black with yellow irises which allows them to hunt more efficiently, or their hands for claws, increase their number of arms, and etc. 

"And if you ever encounter a demon using their demonic eyes, as much as possible, don't fight them at night or in low-light conditions. Their eyes aren't affected by bright lights, flashbombs, smoke or anything that humans usually use to disrupt each other's eyesight. They see the world in black and white with all manner of living beings radiating a blue or red-colored humanoid root-like structure.

"Blue means the living being can use Magic Art, while red means the living being can't use Magic Art.

"Furthermore, both the [Lesser Chaos Transformation] and [Chaos Transformation] also allow them to heal any fatal wound, including resurrection -- provided that they have enough mana. But if they ran out of mana and suffered a fatal wound, they would die.

"I would like to add one more thing as well. Given that the [Lesser Chaos Enchant] boosts or amplifies any skill or spell by x2, while the [Lesser Chaos Enchant] boosts any skill or spell by x3, this only applies to active skills or spells and passive skills or spells that have an activation.

"For example, for the Necromancer, they can use [Lesser Chaos Enchant] and [Chaos Enchant] to boost their [Dark Halo] Class Magic spell. And remember, [Dark Halo] is like [Halo]. It has a passive effect that boosts the mana recovery of the owner and an active effect that inflicts fear and terror on anyone aside from the owner who views it -- provided that the owner of the spell has a greater Magic Force compared to the target. Nevertheless, if a Necromancer boosts their [Dark Halo] with [Lesser Chaos Enchant], they would get a x2 increase in mana recovery. Meanwhile, if it's [Chaos Enchant], they would get a x3 increase.

"Another example, they can also use the [Lesser Chaos Enchant] and [Chaos Enchant] on their transformation spell.

"In the case of the Lesser Demon, his [Lesser Chaos Enchant] can boost his [Lesser Chaos Transformation], transforming him into a 9-meter tall Lesser Demon or anywhere between 3 to 9 meters.

"Meanwhile, in the case of a Demon, his [Chaos Enchant] can boost his [Chaos Transformation], transforming him anywhere between 6 to 18 meters.

"However, there is a catch to this. Once a demon or any being goes beyond 10 meters in height, their speed would be affected by the laws of reality. At 10 meters, their speed would decrease by 10%. At 11 meters, 11%. And so and so forth.

"And for [Lesser Chaos Blessing] and [Chaos Blessing].

"I've already explained this earlier. 

"Beings who have the [Chaos Mastery] can gift the other people [Lesser Chaos Mastery] through the [Chaos Blessing]. And those who receive the [Lesser Chaos Mastery] will form a master-slave relationship with the being who has the [Chaos Mastery] where they can sense each other and the master can also control the slave to some extent.

"And as for the beings with [Lesser Chaos Mastery], they will have [Lesser Chaos Blessing] which allows them to gift others [Lesser Chaos Mastery]. However, there won't be a master-slave relationship between them. Instead, whoever was the source of the [Chaos Mastery] would be their leader. 

"And for the last spells, [Lesser Chaos Ascension] and [Chaos Ascension], these spells will allow the owner to transform into a True Demon and elevate to the Demon World. It's not easy, of course, because this requires a lot of sacrifices and no one knows for sure if the Demon World is a peaceful place.

"Now, you must be thinking that being a Lesser Demon Human or Demon Human doesn't seem so bad. Not only do you get an extra Affinity with useful spells but you also get to extend your life.

"And oh, I almost forgot to mention. [Lesser Chaos Mastery] and [Chaos Mastery] also permanently increase your Physical and Magic Force with the [Chaos Mastery] giving more. So that's another reason why being a Lesser Demon Human and Demon HUman doesn't seem so bad.

"And yes, that is true. I can't blame you if you think that way. But understand this: it also comes with a lot of drawbacks.

"Firstly, summoning a demon through a Summoning Ritual not only requires tons of sacrifice, but it also causes so much pain and destruction to this world.

"And when a Greater Demon or Demon decides to interact with our world, they are extremely hostile to every living being. To them, the beings in this world are nothing but food, cattle, a lower lifeform.

"And speaking of food, once you become a demon, your perception of life would be no different from Necromancers. If Necromancers see every living being as their plaything to learn their Class Magic spells, Demon Humans and Lesser Demon Humans see every living being as nothing but food. 

"In fact, according to humans who have turned their back to humanity and accepted the Lesser Chaos or Chaos Affinity, living beings with a blue-colored root-like structure are the tastiest that no food or drink could compare it. And most blue-colored root-like structure beings are humans because we are both with Magic Art Affinities. And if you're a Lesser Demon or Demon, you will have this insatiable hunger.

"There's also the master-slave relationship.

"Once you're a slave of a demon, you can't harm them, but they can harm you. On top of that, they have a degree of mind-control over you which could allow them to force you to do things that you don't want to do.

"Furthermore, most people only get [Lesser Chaos Mastery]. Those who get [Chaos Mastery] are very rare. Because as I've mentioned before, Greater Demons rarely interact with our world because they are like masters, kings and emperors and are so powerful that not even our world's reality can handle their existence. And once you perform a Summoning Ritual which requires a heavy form of sacrifice and you only get a Demon -- which is the most likely scenario, you will be bound by that Demon.

"On top of that, we, the human race, especially the Temple of Priests, will hunt you down because you are a plague that only causes pain and suffering to the world.

"So sure, go ahead, you can try your luck in becoming a slave of a demon. Just know the consequences that it brings." 

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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