When Charlotte returned to Saint Roch Cathedral, she had expected to be taken to the upper levels as on her previous visits. Instead, after crossing the main hall, the young cleric guiding her turned into a side corridor, pushed open a low wooden door that could easily have gone unnoticed, and led her to a flight of stone steps spiraling downward.
Don't tell me this is the legendary Inquisition. Has my transmigration been discovered? Are they going to lock me up and torture me? Half nervous and half puzzled, she followed him down the stone steps, only to find the space growing increasingly open. Before long, they reached a broad corridor illuminated by oil lamps, candles, and light-guiding panels.
Paved with even flagstones, the corridor led to several different areas. Offices were separated by double wooden doors, thick walls, and orderly stone pillars. From time to time, people in gold-and-white robes, holy emblems pinned to their chests, hurried past, greeting one another only with their eyes, silent and busy.
Just what you'd expect from the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. Even their basement has to be as bright as noon, but they work like a genuine underground organization... Charlotte muttered inwardly as she surveyed her surroundings. She realized that this area had most likely been built alongside Saint Roch Cathedral from the very beginning, and its scale was not much smaller than the main church above.
She followed her guide past a row of offices with golden nameplates, passing the alchemy room, storage room, archive room, and a heavy wooden door marked "Dissection Room."
There aren't bodies of Beyonders who lost control or cultists laid out in there, are there...? Thinking of what might have happened to Julian Wright's body after it had been taken away, she suddenly felt that even the brightness beneath the cathedral could not dispel her chill.
At last, she arrived at a door near the end of the corridor. Most of the office nameplates she had just passed bore full names, such as Jellen Burns and Joel Vaughn. This one, however, had no surname, only the name "Viève."
Is it because she came from a monastery and doesn't use a family name, or is she deliberately hiding it? Several thoughts flashed through Charlotte's mind, but she did not dwell on them. She simply knocked and went inside.
The office belonging to the captain of the Purification-ers was far simpler than she had imagined. Several oil paintings praising the Sun and celebrating saints hung on the walls. The bookshelves held editions of the Holy Bible from different eras in different bindings, along with stories of saints and angels. Several neatly organized reports and a small golden box sat on the desk. Viève stood beside it and looked up as Charlotte entered, revealing a gentle smile.
Today, she was not wearing her white nun's habit. Instead, just as during the operation to arrest Julian, she wore a white shirt, a dark waistcoat, and trousers that allowed easy movement. The clothes were sharply tailored, fully outlining her waist, shoulders, back, and legs. She looked like a well-trained female warrior while retaining her earlier air of nobility.
Charlotte could not help stealing a few extra looks.
It's only because this kind of outfit is so rare. It definitely isn't because Madam Viève has such wonderful proportions... She offered herself this excuse inwardly, greeted Viève with a bow as though nothing had happened, then asked in puzzlement:
"Madam Viève, why aren't we meeting upstairs this time?"
"Because there are some things you should see." Viève paid no attention to Charlotte's gaze and even stepped closer, bringing her legs, previously hidden by the desk, into view. "You've already taken part in an operation with the Purification-ers and encountered Beyonders outside the Church and the Underground Trading Fair. It's time you learned how the Inquisition really operates."
With that, she went to the door and motioned for Charlotte to follow.
They returned to the bright underground corridor. Viève slowed her pace and explained as she led Charlotte past the row of rooms they had just passed:
"The Inquisition is the sole enforcement body under the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. It investigates heretics and cultists and handles supernatural incidents that could endanger ordinary people. Beneath the cathedral in every city, there is an area like this where we work, though the scale varies."
Her voice echoed down the corridor alongside their footsteps, lending her words a certain grandeur.
"Here, we have offices for civilian personnel who analyze information and investigate cases, as well as secure chambers for sealing away dangerous objects and imprisoning heretics. As for the Purification-ers squads, they are the most important component of the Inquisition."
Charlotte nodded thoughtfully.
She had heard bits and pieces of this before and learned some of it from Viève's booklet. Yet only now, standing in this underground space and watching the silent staff busily working, did she gain a tangible sense of the Inquisition's position within the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
The church aboveground is a sanctuary for praising the Sun, while the underground area is an abyss where heretics are buried... Moved by the thought, she could not help asking:
"Does the Preaching Brotherhood, formed by believers within the Church who advocate harsh measures against heretics and cultists, refer to the Inquisition?"
Viève shook her head and answered calmly:
"That is only the philosophy of some of its members. Within the Church, there is also the Little Brotherhood, which advocates spreading the faith, treating neutral Beyonders gently, and attempting to recruit people from outside the Church. Because it promotes asceticism, it is also known as the Mendicant Order.
"In addition, female believers in certain monasteries who share similar views have formed the Nine Sisters Society."
So that's how it is. Rumors outside always lean toward exaggerated, frightening accounts. If a church only ever used force, it could never spread its faith widely. After all, this world has seven orthodox gods... Charlotte kept these irreverent thoughts carefully to herself. Remembering that Viève had come from Fauville Monastery, she reflected that, despite being one of the Purification-ers, Viève was always willing to explain things patiently and give people a chance. She was clearly nothing like the rumored fanatics who dragged people into underground interrogation rooms at the slightest provocation. She most likely belonged to the Nine Sisters Society, or at least agreed with similar principles.
Of course, it was also possible that the Church considered a descendant of the Sauron Family worth winning over and had deliberately sent someone from the moderate faction to approach her.
As they talked, they arrived before a pair of enormous golden doors. Around four meters high, they reached the ceiling of the broad corridor. A relief of the Sun Holy Emblem adorned the entrance, gleaming like gold beneath the surrounding lamps and the sunlight deliberately channeled here.
Viève volunteered an explanation:
"These are the doors to the Hall of Holy Radiance. Inside, we seal away important objects held by this cathedral and imprison Beyonder criminals. The formula and ingredients for the Arbiter potion you took are also kept here."
She did not stop walking. Realizing that an outsider like her would not have the chance to look inside, Charlotte cast a regretful glance at the golden doors and followed closely. Soon, they returned to Viève's office from the other side of the circular corridor.
Once they were seated, the member of the Purification-ers continued:
"The second matter concerns the cultists Julian Wright identified.
"We have already carried out a round of arrests. One died resisting, and two were captured. According to their interrogations, at least as far as they know, there are no other members worshipping that evil entity left in Sushit. However, the identity of the Supervisor who maintained exclusive contact with Julian remains unknown.
"The interrogations also revealed that all their powers came from that entity's bestowal. They do not belong to any potion pathway recorded within the Church.
"Sequence 9 is called Broker. They can keenly detect people's illicit needs and facilitate transactions through eloquence and persuasion. Sequence 8 is Shadow Merchant. Under relatively safe conditions, they can strike bargains with creatures in darkness and shadows, use those creatures to launch certain attacks, hide within shadows, and create false shadows. As for Sequence 7, they said only Julian had received that entity's boon and reached that level."
Charlotte listened with a slight frown.
As for this pathway's Sequence 7 abilities, she had already experienced them firsthand. Their core was probably Conviction, which pronounced others' crimes, and the corresponding punishments.
Viève clearly understood this as well and immediately continued:
"The final matter concerns both Julian and you. The dagger that killed him has now received an official number and name."
She opened the small golden box on the desk. Inside lay the dagger Charlotte had grown somewhat familiar with, though it now had a new leather sheath traced with golden lines, with the Sun Holy Emblem and intricate symbols drawn on both sides.
"This is 3-1452, the Dagger of Judgment."
Charlotte knew that a Sealed Artifact's grade was determined by its danger and the power it contained. Grade 0 and Grade 1 artifacts were limited in number and generally kept only at the Purification-ers headquarters. Their numbers were also shared with the other six major Churches to avoid duplication. Grade 2 and Grade 3 artifacts were relatively less dangerous, and each Church assigned their numbers independently. To avoid overlapping numbers, they left gaps between the numbers they used. This did not mean the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun possessed more than a thousand Grade 3 Sealed Artifacts.
But the name intrigued her, so she asked directly:
"The Dagger of Judgment? Is this dagger really that powerful?"
"That is precisely what I want to tell you." Viève's expression turned serious. "After killing Julian, it seems to have absorbed the Beyonder power that should have been expelled from his body. Its power grew stronger as a result, and abnormal changes occurred."
Why does that sound like a Sealed Artifact drank a potion and advanced on its own...? This absurd thought surfaced in Charlotte's mind. Then she remembered that Julian's power had been a boon, not something gained by drinking a potion normally, and the matter seemed even more complicated.
"Testing has shown that it now inflicts greater damage on the guilty. It also allows its wielder to actively use an ability similar to Julian's Conviction. When the wielder calls out the target's crime, it can briefly restrict their movements for around two seconds. The effect depends on both parties' mental states at the time."
Viève held the dagger through its leather sheath as she explained.
"Its negative effects have also become stronger. It makes its wielder grow complacent more quickly and may attract the attention of shadow creatures, especially at night or in enclosed environments.
"The biggest problem is that now, from the moment they grasp it, anyone guilty will feel intense discomfort and remorse. It does not judge crimes strictly according to the law. It is closer to passing judgment on sins the wielder acknowledges deep within their heart."
So the more accustomed someone is to repentance, the more easily they're affected? Doesn't that sound a little too specifically aimed at the Church's believers...? Charlotte instinctively looked at Viève, and another question sprang to mind. What exactly did the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun use to test these effects? Surely not those cultists they just captured?
It seemed the frightening rumors about the Inquisition were not necessarily fabricated out of thin air.
As her thoughts wandered, Viève held out the leather sheath bearing the Sun Holy Emblem.
"Try picking up this weapon now."