The cathedral Cecilia led him to was a place Ian knew well.
He hadn’t been there often, but it was a cathedral he had visited a few times on field trips when he was young. It was the largest of the churches in Incheon.
Without hesitation, Cecilia entered the cathedral and approached an old priest sitting near the entrance. Ian followed her, dragging the sack behind him.
“…Oh, Sister Cecilia. What brings you here?”
The priest, who had been reading the Bible, spotted her and rose from his seat. After briefly bowing his head to Ian, who stood behind Cecilia, he put on the glasses he had set aside. Cecilia wore a faint smile.
“It’s been a while, Father Stefano. Have you been well?”
“Yes. Since the grace of God has touched my shoulders, how could anything unholy approach me? I am quite well and healthy.”
“That’s a relief. I hope God’s grace is with the other brothers and sisters as well.”
“Of course. But what brings you here, Sister? Has something happened that requires assistance?”
The two had begun conversing fluently in Italian before anyone knew it. Ian, unable to understand a word, looked around the cathedral with a bored expression, while Cecilia glanced at him and replied.
“It’s not a separate mission. As you know, the Vatican isn’t assigning any special duties at this time. If a supernatural incident resulting in human casualties had occurred, perhaps—but that is not the case.”
“Aah, I see.”
“I came today to interrogate a captured vampire. The church I reside at doesn’t have a separate ‘Reformatory.’”
“…A vampire, you say?”
Father Stefano gazed at the black sack in Ian’s hand with a slightly somber face. Cecilia nodded.
“It’s quite a notorious specimen. Laura—I’m sure you know of her as well, Father.”
“…Laura. I know her. Isn’t she the one who nested in Switzerland? Though she didn’t necessarily need to drink blood, she committed serial murders in Romania to satisfy her own desires.”
“That’s correct. That vampire is contained here. She’s currently unconscious.”
Cecilia kicked the sack lightly with her foot.
The sack didn’t move at all. Only a faint scent of blood wafted from it.
“Hmm, I understand the situation completely. I shall open the Reformatory for you immediately. There is no need to delay.”
As Father Stefano answered, he turned to look at Ian.
“But Sister, this young man is…?”
“He’s the one who captured Laura. Good personality, outstanding character.”
“Ah, I see. Might he be a vampire hunter?”
“Hmm… yes, something like that.”
Cecilia answered, scratching her cheek. Stefano nodded as if he understood and bowed deeply toward Ian.
“Thank you for assisting us in our work, Brother.”
“…Huh?”
Ian furrowed his brow at the unexpected expression of gratitude. Regardless, the priest bowed even deeper, a faint smile on his face.
“Though she may be a half-breed, a vampire is a vampire. You could have received a hefty sum had you sold her to the Cartel; I am truly moved by your choice to offer her to the church instead.”
“Uh…”
“May God’s blessing be with you. We shall prepare everything needed for the interrogation, so you may participate alongside Sister, observe, or leave if you prefer. We shall reward you as best we can.”
“Ah, then I’ll observe. Thank you.”
At the mention of a reward, Ian broke into a broad smile and held out his hand. Stefano smiled back and shook hands with him.
“Hahaha. May God be with us. Amen.”
“Hehe, amen.”
The two warmly crossed themselves while shaking their clasped hands.
Cecilia let out a hollow laugh.
*
The place the Vatican commonly called the “Reformatory” was practically no different from an execution ground.
“…….”
An underground secret room beneath the cathedral.
The black walls were faintly stained with blood that hadn’t been wiped away, and someone’s corpse was tied to a rope hanging from the ceiling, dangling in midair. A decapitated body had also been left abandoned in a corner.
No matter how one looked at it, it was not a room befitting clergy who cried out in God’s name. Ian openly frowned, staring at a piece of flesh stuck to the wall.
“You could’ve cleaned up a bit.”
Cecilia answered his complaint.
“They’re left here on purpose. Set up to intimidate. Besides, we didn’t kill them. Most were probably bought from the Cartel.”
“‘Most’ means there are exceptions, then.”
“Maybe one or two? And those are devil worshippers too.”
Squish.
Cecilia seated Laura’s limp body in a chair drenched in blood and restrained her. Silver shackles were fastened around her wrists and waist.
One should have been attached to her ankles as well, but that was omitted since she had no ankles. Instead, a cruciform metal stake was driven into her half-regenerated thigh. The stake, embedded without pain, bound her muscle and the chair as one.
“Phew, that wraps up the preparations. I’ll just set up the holy relics.”
“Need help?”
“None. They all activate through piety, so if you mishandle them they might break. Just rest quietly.”
It was nothing Ian needed to refuse outright. He nodded, then watched with interest as Cecilia took items out of the chest.
With a clang, she pulled out a cross-shaped branding iron. Holy water made from various rivers, daggers, lanterns, maces, ropes, spears, axes, whips, and more. Tools usable not merely for torture but outright as weapons came out in a steady stream.
*Quite thorough.*
Ian stuck a cigarette between his lips and flicked it.
Since this was his first time seeing the Vatican’s holy relics, he watched with arms crossed and interest as the items were placed on the table.
He didn’t feel any particularly special aura from them.
The only things on them were Bible verses engraved in the corners, such as “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,” and “Do everything in love.” No discernible mechanism could be found.
They seemed to operate through faith alone, rather than any special power. To Ian, even if he received them as gifts, they would be nothing more than useless trinkets.
Well, it wasn’t like they would give something as precious as holy relics to a mage anyway.
“Our Father in Heaven. Please deliver us from the snares of evil, and grant us the strength to smite them.”
While he was thinking, Cecilia prayed and cut her palm with a dagger. A priest’s holy blood splattered over the relics.
“And so, just as You have done, allow us to judge demons with our own hands. Amen.”
Laaaa…
The moment the prayer ended, the holy relics sang a hymn. The Bible verses engraved in the corners were recited in unison in her mind, and she opened her eyes and donned a golden gauntlet. With a clank, the metal clicked into place.
After confirming that the gauntlet had shifted to fit her hand perfectly, Cecilia turned to Ian and smiled faintly.
“Preparations complete. I’ll start now. Do you want to ask first, or should I?”
“I’ll go first. I’m planning to find out what I need and leave early. I’m a bit tired.”
Ian had fallen asleep late at dawn, woken in the morning, and then dealt with mercenaries who had stormed his officetel, not to mention the remaining stragglers. Having used more magic than usual, he couldn’t help but be somewhat tired.
“…Ah, really?”
Cecilia, who had secretly been looking forward to an afterparty, answered in a sullen tone.
It lasted only a moment. She cleared her throat, composed herself, clenched her fist tight, and recited a Bible verse.
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Swish.
Cecilia took her stance.
She pulled her right arm back. Twisted her waist and stretched her right leg straight back. Her left arm shot forward.
“Hsss…”
She inhaled.
Bent her knees. Made her right foot the axis. Targeted Laura’s jaw.
“Hup.”
She held her breath. Eyes wide open, she rotated on her axis and channeled power from her waist, swinging her right arm in a great arc. Air currents formed from the amplified strength and speed granted by the gauntlet, and Cecilia drove a right hook squarely into Laura’s jaw.
Craaack!!!
With a cheerful sound, Laura’s shattered lower jawbone flew through the air. The chunk of bone, torn away with flesh, crashed into the wall and shattered, and Laura, startled by the impact, snapped her previously closed eyes wide open.
“Uueeh…?”
A stupid sound spilled from her mouth. But Cecilia paid no heed, grabbing Laura’s tongue and ripping it out roughly.
A severed piece of red flesh was partially pulled out. Blood burst out with a pop.
“Eh? Ueh? Heeeh…?”
Perhaps because she had received a shock severe enough to rattle if not destroy her brain, Laura blinked, unable to comprehend the situation.
Cecilia ignored her.
She roughly wiped the blood droplets from her face, then opened the lid of a glass bottle containing her own blood and poured it gulping down Laura’s throat.
The effect was immediate. Having drunk a priest’s blood, Laura’s eyes bloodshot, and she began to convulse.
“Aaaaaaaack!!!”
“Shut up.”
Thwack!
A golden fist slammed into the top of Laura’s head. Cecilia looked down at her trembling figure and stomped on the tongue thrown to the floor, crushing it.
“As you know, a priest’s blood is no different from poison to vampires. But strangely enough, it heals you, doesn’t it? It just hurts a bit, that’s all.”
“…Aaaa.”
“Without suffering, there are no miracles; this, too, is God’s grace.”
Wham!
Cecilia kicked Laura along with the chair. A long spear pierced through her falling abdomen, pinning her in place.
Her body, which had begun to regenerate, writhed, but Cecilia did not allow it. She immediately drove stakes into Laura’s shoulder and knee joints, then pulled out another glass bottle filled with blood.
“Praise His merciful grace. I am your judge, a blade to purge heresy. The pagan before my eyes shall die here today and be reborn as a true brother and sister. Should you fail to do so, you shall receive the iron hammer of God.”
“Kuh… heh…”
“Lord Jesus Christ, please forgive this one’s sins.”
Smaaaash!
Cecilia struck the stake piercing Laura’s shoulder with her fist.
“Amen.”