Inquisitory Division

Aurgus 25, 3023 A.M., day of Fratur, 10:14 p.m.

10:14 a.m.

Inquisitory Division's Trainee Dormitory.

Vivian was lying in bed wearing nothing but a short dark blue sleeping gown and her eyes slowly opened.

Pop.

Pop.

Pop.

She stretched her body, causing it to make popping sounds.

Her eyes glanced at her normal-looking complexion.

Beautiful…

She tossed to the side and curled into a ball, trying to get that last bit of sleep before getting up.

Last night, right after she came back from killing the Sarcoises, she immediately took a bath and washed her clothes.

Something suddenly flashed inside her head and her eyes quickly opened.

Right…

I almost forgot about that…

She begrudgingly got up and prepared for her morning routine.

***

10:54 a.m.

Vivian entered a Tailoring Shop and immediately headed to the shopkeeper who was a woman wearing a mask without the sun symbol on her forehead.

"Hi, I'm here to get the clothes I ordered yesterday," Vivian said and showed a piece of paper.

The shopkeeper quickly recognized the paper which was some sort of receipt addressed to Crusader Heliza.

"Yes, Honored Crusader Heliza. We just finished it this morning. Please wait for a moment," the shopkeeper said and turned away.

Wow…

So they weren't lying that they would immediately have it by tomorrow…

Vivian recalled the shops back in the compound of the Luxen Chapter Temple in Luxen City.

Are Priests and Priestess inherently lazy…?

When the shopkeeper returned, she was carrying a large box and she handed it over to Vivian.

"Thank you for your purchase, Honored Crusader Heliza." 

"Thank you too."

***

At the dormitory.

Vivian was back in her room and wearing nothing but her underwear as she excitedly opened the box from the Tailoring Shop.

Inside the box were 6 items.

The first 2 items were a black short-fitting long-sleeved backless turtleneck dress. The hem ended only a couple of inches on her thighs and there were paddings underneath the chest area to cover the nipples.

The next 2 items were the same as the black short-fitting long-sleeved backless turtleneck dress. The only difference was the color. Instead of black, it was dark blue.

And the last item was a pair of long-legged black leather boots that reached up to her thighs and had a zipper on the side.

Regarding the dress, Vivian specifically chose this design for the dress for 2 reasons only:

The first one is so that she could avoid wearing a bra and also summon extra arms on the sides of her ribs without ripping her top.

The second one is so that she could easily shed clothes in case she needed to fully transform into her demonic form.

She originally didn't want to add a turtleneck design. But the shopkeeper explained to her yesterday that if she were to fight or even simply bend down with a backless design, the dress would easily slip or reveal her breasts so she had no choice but to add the turtleneck.

And as for her pair of long-legged black leather boots, this is also another design choice that she struggled with.

She originally wanted to just wear a normal pair of long boots so that again, she could easily remove them in case she needed to fully transform. But after considering the fact that most of her legs will be exposed, making it too vulgar for this world's current fashion taste, not to mention she was also a Priestess, she decided to go with this design.

Vivian began wearing one of the dresses and then checked herself in front of the mirror.

She checked her front, side, back and even tried bending down.

Let's also try this…

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak!

Two ethereal pale grayish color spider-like arms came out of her sides.

She turned to the side to see if she damaged her dress.

Good…

No damages…

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak!

The two spider-like arms retracted into her ribs.

She raised her hair and turned to the side once again.

Still good…

She let go of her hair and posed in front of a full-body mirror.

Just like the pocketwatch she bought the other day, this full-body mirror was also another item she bought.

Well…

At least right now I only have to worry about 8 items to remove whenever I need to fully transform…

She jumped a few times to see if her boobs would hurt or if she would feel any discomfort.

Hmm...

That was sexy…

Slightly uncomfortable though…

But I guess it's fine…

She stared at her legs.

Do I need to wear underwear…?

My body will be covered by my White Cloak and it's not like have a male genitalia flapping around as I move…

She shook her head.

One time…

Only one time…

If people find out that I like to go commando in public, I wouldn't be surprised if they start labeling me as a pervert…

And only God knows how many men would start being bold to approach me…

Her eyes glanced at her thin but fit arms and she began doing bodybuilding poses.

Front double biceps pose.

Side chest pose.

"Yeah, baby!"

Side triceps pose.

"Yeah! Fuck yeah!"

Front lat spread pose.

And finally, most muscular pose.

"God, I'm so skinny! Fucking hell! So embarrassing!" 

She shook her head and cast her gaze on the floor.

But then again, I'm a woman now…

So I should be skinny like a model…?

She returned her gaze to her reflection.

"But I seriously can't stand my shoulders," she said as she flexed her shoulders.

As a former man who was into fitness and an aspiring back fitness influencer back in her original world, Vivian wasn't used to seeing herself without developed delts.

She turned to the side and checked her butt.

I think my chest is bigger than my butt…

Propotion-wise…

She touched her butt and flexed.

I can feel some muscles and a bit of fat…

Tch!

"How come there are no like those slime or magic suits I've seen in anime?"

"Super inconvenient!"

Brrr…

Vivian's stomach made a sound and she pressed her hand on top of it.

At least I have a flat stomach…

She flexed her abs and checked it from side to side.

I would die in embarrassment if I had a big belly…

"Time to go out and order some food."

***

3:14 p.m.

Vivian was inside a classroom with her fellow trainees and listening to a lecture for the 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. class which covers investigation protocols, command structure of the Temple of Priests and other organizations outside the Temple of Priests, Physical Arts, Magic Arts, and the Class Magic of all Classes.

A Gold Cloak Inquisitor was standing in front of the class.

"Everything we do in life has a purpose, a reason or a motive.

"For example, you want to get married.

"Why do want to get married?

"It could be one or many reasons -- maybe for love, maybe you want to have your own family, maybe you want to continue your family's legacy, etc.

"Another example, let's stick with something simple, let's say you always eat breakfast at 6:00 a.m.

"Why 6:00 a.m.? Why not 5:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m. or even 11:00 a.m.? Also, why do need to eat breakfast and dinner? Can't you just eat once a day? There are people who only eat once a day and are perfectly fine. There are also people in this world who eat more than twice a day. Why is that the case?

"Another simple question: Why do you want to be an Inquisitor?

"Is it because of the political power it holds? Is it because something happened to you in the past that made you want to become an Inquisitor?

"What I'm trying to say is, everything we do in life has a purpose, a reason or a motive. And crime is no different. 

"Let me give you a simple crime scenario.

"Let's say someone stole food from a store.

"Why did the person steal the food?

"Was the person hungry?

"Did the person steal the food to give it to someone else?

"And why did the person have to steal instead of buying it?

"Your task an Inquisitor is to understand the purpose, reason or motive behind why a crime was committed. And if you could find out what that is, you will also be able to find out who the culprit is.

"However, there are special cases.

"Although most of the time every crime has a purpose, reason or motive, there will always be those handful of people who are no different from mindless monsters and simply commit crimes just for the sake of it.

"Fortunately, because they're no different from mindless monsters, they're easy to catch.

"There's also something called misdirection.

"For example, let's say there was a case where a group of 5 people were murdered at the same time.

"At first glance, you could dismiss the murder was done by someone who is no different from a mindless monster and simply enjoys killing.

"But what if the murderer wanted people to view it that way in order to hide the fact that his actual target was only one person in that group?

"And during your investigation, you find out that one of the victims was a King, Prince or someone very important.

"Your next goal by then is to understand why that King, Prince or someone important was assassinated.

"And when you discover the real purpose, reason or motive on why that person was assassinated, you will discover the identity of the murderer.

"But remember, just because the Inquisitory Division is in charge of investigating and revealing any corruption or abuse of power that occurs within the Temple of Priests, the Inquisitors, be they active or not, who are found to be guilty of corruption or abusing their power, their sentence will be very heavy. And if death is involved, it's True Death.

"So if you're going to investigate, make sure that you're fair, not biased, not driven by emotion or any personal motive. Your goal is to simply reveal the truth.

"Now what about using [Halo]? Because it has a charm-like effect, right?

"We've already talked about the pros and cons of using [Halo] the other day this week. But since tomorrow will be the weekend when all of you are allowed to take the Final Exams if you want to in order to complete the Training Course, let's discuss it one more time. However, this time around, I want to give you a few of my personal opinions as well.

"First of all, please note that what I'm about to say can be somewhat considered as heresy. But I trust that all of you who have decided to take the Inquisitory Division's Training Course despite knowing how notoriously difficult the tests are are smart enough to understand the difference between being pragmatic and delusional. 

"Each Division has its purpose.

"For the Infantry Division, their main purpose is fighting. Wherever there's a battle, they're sent there to subjugate the enemy.

"For the Air Division, their main purpose is to provide air support. They're also in charge of delivering crucial information at the quickest time possible.

"For the Sea Division, their main purpose is to guard the seas.

"For the Exploratory Division, their main purpose is to establish new bases in foreign lands that the Temple of Priests has little or no influence of.

"And lastly, for the Inquisitory Division, their main purpose is to investigate and reveal any corruption or abuse of power that occurs within the Temple of Priests.

"Let's just focus on the Inquisitory Division.

"There is a very good reason why Inquisitors have to wear masks and have to hide their identity. Once you become an Inquisitor, you will have the political power equal to that of a Red Cloak. And although our main goal as an Inquisitor is to investigate and reveal any corruption or abuse of power that occurs within the Temple of Priests, you should never let that political power blind you.

"You have to understand that the Temple of Priests is the most powerful and most influential out of all of the Temples which in return also attracts most of the talented, gifted and well-connected people of society. And the higher the status of the Priest or Priestess, the more talented, the more gifted and the more well-connected they are. So most of the time, you won't just be dealing with the members of the Temple of Priests, but you will also be dealing with Aristocratic Noble families or other high-profile organizations that the said Priest is connected with. 

"So as much as possible -- and I cannot stress how important this is because I've seen it so many times, especially with young or fresh Inquisitors, committing this mistake over and over again because they've become drunk with their political power -- if you find yourself in a case where the suspect is a high-profile individual, gather as much evidence as possible without letting them suspect that you're into them before presenting your case. So learn how to outsmart your enemy, smile and be cordial with them, do whatever you have to do without letting them suspect that you're into them. And when the right comes, that's when you will strike.

"And as for the use of [Halo], as someone who has been part of the Inquisitory Division for years, my advice: When dealing with high-profile suspects, it's better to only use it once all of the necessary evidence are gathered and the suspect has been arrested and is up for interrogation. You see, most people would find [Halo] as a direct act of provocation. So think twice before you use it. And if it turns out the person you used [Halo] is innocent, you would be the one in trouble.

"So yes, given the main purpose of the Inquisitory Division, not many look at this Division in a positive light, especially those in high positions. But it is still a necessary Division in order to keep the peace and stability within our Temple.

"This is also why it's important to keep your real identity a secret and not to be drunk with the political power that the Inquisitor position brings, because someone could target your loved ones as a form of revenge, be it directly or indirectly.

"Anyhow, if hearing about all of this makes you want to back out from the Training Course to become an Inquisitor, I suggest you back out, there is no shame in it. Being an Inquisitor is actually a very isolating, stressful and dangerous job because of all the political maneuvering you have to navigate on.

"Nevertheless, please always keep in mind that the main purpose of the Inquisitory Division is to investigate and reveal any corruption or abuse of power within the Temple. And those found guilty will be punished."

********************

********************

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

By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…

https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades

There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.

Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain spoilers or dispel some of the mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 268-272 are posted there.

I would like to give my special thanks for this month's Patrons:

• 

Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.