Chapter 123: His Elite Inquisitor

Elector Mordecai stared at Raziel with cold eyes in the middle of the main hallway.

The four elite Inquisitors kept their hands on their weapons and surrounded the highest authority in the Church.

Raziel maintained a blank expression and locked down his heart rate using his reduced empathy.

He knew Mordecai did not come to St. Celeste for the Ascension Tournament.

The man claimed to evaluate the spiritual security of the academy after the disaster at St. Sophia, but that was a front.

Mordecai came to evaluate Raziel personally and investigate the activation of the ancient Pantheon node.

“I require a private demonstration from all novices who passed Phase Two,”

Mordecai announced to the gathered instructors.

“The Church must verify the purity of our future defenders.”

Father Marius nodded eagerly and guided the Elector toward the inner training courtyard.

Raziel followed the group with Gideon and Oswyn right behind him.

He needed a strategy immediately.

He possessed the stolen Eye of Judgment in his room, but he had no idea if Mordecai carried a second detection crystal hidden inside those white and gold robes.

Using the gold and black Umbral energy meant risking instant execution.

He had to use standard blue runic magic.

***

The novices formed a line in the dirt courtyard under the afternoon sun.

Mordecai sat on a wooden chair brought by a guard and leaned his chin on his crystal cane.

“Begin,” Mordecai ordered.

Gideon stepped forward first and punched a training dummy to splinters using his Amplified Strength.

Oswyn recited a deafening verse of protection.

The Elector watched them with total boredom and dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

Raziel walked into the center of the courtyard.

He forced pure blue mana into his right index finger and suppressed the Shadow Parasite deep inside his chest.

The internal conflict caused a sharp and burning pain in his veins, he ignored the physical agony and focused entirely on the geometric shapes.

He traced a standard kinetic barrier in the empty air.

FZZT!

The blue light stabilized and formed a simple translucent shield.

It was weak and lacked the aggressive punch of his true power.

It took him three full seconds to draw the shape, making it an inferior defensive tool for actual combat.

It was completely mediocre but it was safe.

Mordecai nodded, but his eyes narrowed.

He recognized the lack of lethal intent and felt something missing from the presentation.

“A functional runic shield,” Mordecai said. “But the ecclesiastical registry lists you as a Fire Elementalist, Novice Raziel. I wish to see your primary Gift.”

Raziel felt his stomach drop.

He never demonstrated genuine Elemental Fire because he did not possess that Gift.

He lied to High Inquisitor Aldric during his first interrogation to hide his anomaly.

Now the supreme commander of the Inquisition demanded to see flames.

He had to improvise right now.

Raziel dropped the blue barrier and channeled mana into the palm of his right hand.

He traced a specific thermal rune directly onto his own skin.

He forced the geometric lines to vibrate and generate pure physical temperature without igniting an actual spark.

His palm turned bright red. The air around his hand warped from the intense heat.

“Internalized Fire,” Raziel stated. “It is a close combat variant. I channel the heat directly into my physical strikes instead of projecting flames.”

He punched the air to demonstrate.

SWISH!

A wave of hot air hit the dirt.

It was a pathetic excuse for elemental magic and completely unconvincing.

Mordecai frowned, the Elector recognized a desperate trick.

He stood up from his wooden chair and tightened his grip on his crystal cane.

Brother Thomas stepped out from the line of instructors and intervened before Mordecai could issue an arrest order.

“Eminence,” Thomas spoke with a respectful tone.

“Novice Raziel has demonstrated an evolution of his original Gift toward Inscription. It is a rare but documented phenomenon known as Affinity Transmutation.”

Mordecai stopped walking and looked at the healer.

He accepted the explanation for the moment but his eyes showed zero belief.

Mordecai walked around Raziel.

“Affinity Transmutation. Do you know how many documented cases exist in five hundred years, novice?”

“Seven, Eminence,” Raziel answered without hesitation.

Mordecai stopped. “You know the fact.”

“I am a voracious reader.”

“Evidently.” Mordecai paused and stared at Raziel. “The seven previous cases had something in common.”

Raziel waited in the silence.

“They were all liars.”

The other novices stopped breathing and Father Marius smiled a cruel smile in the background.

“All seven hid their true Gift. Affinity Transmutation does not exist. It is a convenient fiction for those who need an alibi.” Mordecai stepped closer and invaded Raziel’s personal space. “Do you need an alibi, Novice Raziel?”

“Eminence, with all due respect, Raziel’s ecclesiastical records were verified by the instructors,” Thomas intervened again.

“Silence, Brother.” Mordecai did not take his eyes off Raziel. “Answer.”

Raziel held his gaze using his reduced empathy to project absolute calm and refuse intimidation.

“I do not need an alibi, Eminence. I need to be left alone to study.”

Mordecai blinked and let out a dry laugh.

“You have nerve. Good. Cowards do not interest me.”

Mordecai turned around and walked toward the exit of the courtyard with his elite guards flanking him. He stopped at the heavy wooden doors without turning his head back.

“I will be watching the final phase of the Tournament. Personally.”

The heavy doors slammed shut.

***

Raziel walked straight to his isolated room in the old wing and locked the iron bolt.

He dropped his back against the heavy wood and his hands started to shake, the sudden crash of processed adrenaline leaving his system.

He survived a direct confrontation with one of the most dangerous man in the Church by using pure lies and a thermal rune.

He walked over to his bed and sat on the edge breathing heavily and stared at the stone floor.

The blue interface materialized in his vision and flashed with an urgent warning.

[ALERT: ELECTOR MORDECAI POSSESSES DETECTION ARTIFACT.]

[TYPE: UNKNOWN.]

[ANALYSIS: IT IS NOT THE EYE OF JUDGMENT. IT IS A SUBTLER PASSIVE SCANNER.]

[RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT USE UMBRAL PARAGON SKILLS WITHIN A 50-METER RADIUS OF THE SUBJECT.]

Raziel read the warning and clenched his fists.

The final phase of the Ascension Tournament started tomorrow morning.

The event consisted of full-contact martial and magical duels in the capital arena.

Mordecai promised to sit in the front row to watch him fight.

Fifty meters covered the entire combat arena.

If Raziel channeled a single drop of gold and black energy, the Elector would detect the heresy.

Raziel stared at his trembling hands.

He had to fight the strongest novices in Phaedra tomorrow.

He had to survive real combat using nothing but weak standard blue runes and his physical reflexes.

He wondered if standard magic was enough to keep him alive.

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