There were fewer guards to greet him at the gate than there should have been. Logan didn’t like the look of the old men toting rifles. Their youth had been stolen; there were clues all around him. The touch of a succubus could strip a mortal man of their youth in moments, but multiple sessions were required for cultivators. But instead of killing the guards, they were allowed to return to their duties. Their minds couldn’t be intact; it would be kinder to put them down than allow sleeper agents and spies in his presence. At that moment, he gave up hope in the Count retaining agency.

Ula was involved; he knew that for sure. She preferred renewable resources over a total population harvest. There were traces of her qi within the city. However, Logan was confident she wasn’t the ringleader this time, or she’d be long gone already. By the traces of her qi in the town, she had gone into hiding.

Gemini had been suffering for months, but as a county on the outskirts of Astro province, a hairsbreadth from demon territory, inquisitors were slow to investigate. The high council may have sent a single inquisitor while they debated the issue.

He flashed his badge and moved past the guards. The men quivered in their armor as Logan passed them. He was probably the first high inquisitor they’d ever seen.

In the before times, Logan traveled with dozens of inquisitors and interrogators, with their retinues. With his mobilization king’s shook in their castles, fearing his audits. But, before his fall, he wielded power greater than any mere king. Now he had a heretical warlock and witch interrogator at his disposal.

Logan feared conflict with his fellow high inquisitors. With the brand of sin on his breast, his strength was diminished.

A herald scrambled to announce his presence as he walked through the castle in a familiar stride. He no longer held the power he once had, but they didn’t need to know that.

Even ruffled and red in the face, the herald managed to shout. “Announcing High Inquisitor Logan Amon scourge of demons, champion of the golden wings, and bearer of the Prophet’s light.” The herald yelled as Logan stepped into a hushed room. He glanced over the meeting and strode forward, wielding his mantle of office as a sword.

“I’ve seen the suffering of your town and have come to lend what aid I can,” Logan said. The herald spluttered at the paradigm shift. Usually, the highest-ranking noble would be given the right to speak first and question his presence.

“With respect, high inquisitor, you’ve come understaffed.” Count Moore said.

Logan no longer had the funding or political clout to keep a large retinue. But he wouldn’t need one to slay this noble family now. They felt greatly diminished; even their guards could barely be called cultivators now.

“With respect, my lord, a high inquisitor needs no retinue they are an army upon themselves. High inquisitor Logan Amon is a legend for his speed and hunting prowess. A large retinue would only slow him down.” Logan gave a slight pulse of favor through his qi through inquisition frequencies.

It was good to know the inquisition still knew how to circle the wagon. Internal politics had no place on the outside. But, of course, this man would expect a favor in return.

“What do you need, high inquisitor? Count Moore asked.

“I ask for the use of your men to assist my interrogator in raiding every haunted residence in the area. A rite of investigation of all denominations of triad parishes in a hundred miles. And enough cultivation materials to raise a single man from mortal to the coalescence stage.” Logan said.

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“If we had the men to search every haunted residence, we would have already.” The Count said.

“What makes your search different high inquisitor?” Inquisitor Roland said like a young acolyte questioning their teacher.

“I have bait. The demon who I suspect is behind Gemini’s troubles won’t be able to help herself.” Logan said.

He and Roland met each other’s eyes, and they had a conversation of experience. Gemini was doomed; the cancer had already metastasized, and soon homunculi and possessed will swarm the streets. Worse still, there was the possibility of chimera being created and used. Once a city reaches this state where nearly half of its population has gone missing, the city must be burned.

Logan should have arrived at a burning heap. However, Roland hadn’t done his duty, so Logan wouldn’t mention it.

“What madness are they talking about? No man inquisitor or not should be allowed to search the Prophet’s holy houses.” A young man dressed in expensive robes said.

By his appearance, Logan figured the boy was one of Count Moore’s sons.

A priest dressed even more lavishly than the boy bowed low. “No, my lord, he is right. Evil must be searched out from high to low, so it could not find purchase. We will, of course, open our doors to the interrogator.” The priest said.

That was too suspicious. Most priests would argue even if they had nothing to hide. Logan had expected to fight with the priest.

The countess spoke up. “Please, high inquisitor and inquisitor, have dinner with us, and we can discuss your plans in depth.” The woman said in a hollow voice.

“Fine, we will continue this talk over dinner.” The Count said.

After the dismissal, Logan found an empty room in the Count’s castle and covered it in silencing formations. Golden scripts covered the walls until they glowed golden, sealing the sound within the room. After moving through a series of techniques, he stopped all manner of divination in their meeting room. From there, he let his qi flow out until his true form emerged, bathing the room in flowing rays of light qi. Any illusion of invisibility would have collapsed under his might, but just in case, he pushed his power to its maximum. Once it was clear no one was spying on them, he lowered his qi back to more comfortable levels.

“The Count and Countess have been subverted,” Roland said. “I don’t know if they were willing or not, but I have reason to believe parts of their cultivation have been stripped away. A count should be low to mid majority realm, but he feels like a nascent realm like myself.” Roland said.

“What aide did they promise you before I arrived?” Logan asked.

“None; they claimed there was no problem here until you walked in. Then the nobles merely acted skeptically and didn’t bother bargaining or asking how many men you needed to take. Not that the men here are worth a damn. Can you feel any water qi within the castle?” Roland asked.

Logan’s eyes widened. Most noble castles are filled to the brim with qi gathered from the area. But the qi here was just as thin as outside. So, where was the qi going?

“Nobles have gone to war over qi sources before,” Logan said.

“Yes, and the whole of the Gemini river’s qi flows here but not the castle or the training barracks. The local barons and landed knights should have marched their armies here by now. I’ve sent riders from my retinue to check on them, but they haven’t returned. These were good men in the mid to high coalescence realm.” Roland said.

Logan felt his mind race. Was a demon sect building a staging ground to attack other territories? It didn’t make sense an inquisitor should have been dispatched when these troubles first began. But was it really because this place was so far from the capital? There was an inquisitorial college in the county of Libra only 20,000 miles away. For a trained inquisitor, that was only a day’s travel distance.

“Are the Count’s children compromised?” Logan asked.

It was always horrible when he had to punish children.

“The children have come out suspiciously unscathed. One among them may be guilty of colluding with this demon. Or they could be a distraction like the haunted houses and parishes. The high priest is much stronger than any priest of a backwater town should be.” Roland said.

Logan shook his head. “None of that matters; if we follow the qi taken from the river, then the truth will come out. Whatever they're doing, it requires a lot of water qi.”

He made his way to the barracks and searched for a man untainted by the succubi. After finding three, he gave up his search. Of the three, he found not one could be called powerful. Their cultivation was far from coalescence; usually, Logan would use these men as messengers. But, unfortunately, the danger of them being snatched up was very real.

The Count’s heir found him sitting on a bench watching the empty training ground. “High Inquisitor, I’d like to join in the raids.” The boy said.

Logan measured the boy’s worth and decided he didn’t care. What else were spares for than to replace idiots who got themselves killed? Red could fall back on his battle form to survive. This young man was only in the low coalescence realm. The likelihood of anyone surviving in this city was low anyway. It would have been better for everyone if they had just burned the town down. Roland appeared reluctant.

If Logan was a different man, he might have questioned the inquisitor’s loyalty to the cause. But burning towns had become distasteful even to the high inquisitor. So instead, he resorted to an age-old practice of scavenging the noble’s house for rare cultivation materials. In a hidden chamber, he found a pool of red liquid clearly meant for the heir. The nobles could consider it a part of their payment.