OBS Chapter 22 The Vulture's Witch Hunter Diary
Chapter 22 The Vulture's Witch Hunter Diary
The following text is from the diary of Father "The Vulture" Gascoigne, an inquisitor of the Holy See. His diary is a thick theological notebook with a watermark of the Holy See's emblem on bone-white paper.
The ancient and simple Kingdom font is concise and clear, with strokes as sharp as if carved by a knife, penetrating the paper.
Gascoigne's diary was consistently detailed, but the priest forbade anyone to touch it.
Because it has only one reader: its god.
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"The seventh day of the harvest month in the Royal Calendar 1257."
"Fourteen days, a full fourteen days."
"May God protect me, every moment I spend in this forest is an exceptionally difficult trial for me."
"I should have spent my time hunting down the Lord's enemies: heretics, witches, and cultists. Instead, at this crucial moment when the war between the two nations is at a stalemate and peace talks are in full swing, I am instead bound by duty to this barren forest, to fight against beasts and humanoids."
"Today, the witch hunters cleared out a kobold cave. Those little beasts had set up clumsy traps throughout the cave and used holes in the rock walls to shoot at us."
"Those crudely made traps could not escape the eyes of the witch hunters, and the inferior bone crossbow bolts could not penetrate our divinely protected armor, but the kobolds' resistance successfully wasted our precious time. For a day and a night, the kingdom's most elite witch hunters were dragged into the kobolds' lair and slaughtered these foul-smelling creatures one by one."
"They didn't give up resisting until their deaths. These low-IQ humanoids seem to be protecting something important—this excites me greatly. The traitorous half-elf Antin might be in this cave."
"Although this evil sorcerer is proud, it is understandable that he would cooperate with a group of kobolds when he was in dire straits."
No matter how glamorous the surface may appear, scum will eventually collude with scum.
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This sentence in the diary is particularly striking. The writer seemed to have used a lot of force, as the ink spread on the paper, and the letters of the word "dregs" were slightly distorted, as if the quill pen was about to break.
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"We captured several kobold prisoners and found the way to the depths of the cave through their indistinct language."
"These traitors provided us with invaluable intelligence, and I have ordered them to die a swift death. May God forgive their souls—if these little beasts have souls at all."
"The caves are a maze, the narrowest point only wide enough for one person to crawl through, and our torches have burned out. I prayed to God to use a blessed miracle to provide light for the whole group. This will make us very conspicuous targets, but it doesn't matter; the kobolds' methods cannot harm God's warriors. I firmly believe this."
"The only threat is Antin's magic. I've ordered the witch hunters to prepare anti-magic grenades and anti-magic tools. We won't give him a chance to launch a surprise attack. This time, the witch hunters will not fail."
"In the darkness, we finally reached the end of the kobold's lair. I called upon the name of God and fearlessly stepped into the deep cave."
"The cave was so vast that even the light of God's blessing could not dispel all the darkness. At the end of the light, countless red eyes were staring at us."
May God protect you.
"I stood before the tense witch hunters, chanting the prayer of the Lord's miracles, and the light of blessing transformed into the dawn—the bright sun pierced through all the darkness, leaving the Lord's enemies nowhere to hide."
"Even in the deepest depths of the earth, the light of the Lord can still reach His devout believers. I have never doubted this, therefore I cannot be defeated."
"However, when the owners of those red eyes revealed their true colors, I was extremely disappointed."
"Those were hundreds of kobold cubs, their fur not yet fully grown, lying in a row on a bed of dry grass. A dozen or so female kobolds were taking care of these little beasts."
"Upon seeing our arrival, the female dog-headed beings responsible for breeding launched a suicidal charge against us—they were unarmed, armed only with their claws and teeth, their eyes filled with desperate fanaticism."
"The witch hunters killed them with ease, like crushing ants. Steel is enough to deal with ordinary beasts. There's no need to use anti-magic silver or divine magic."
"Only those countless little dog-headed people remained, staring at us with their mindless eyes. These creatures were unaware that their people had been slaughtered by us."
"This must be the kobold tribe's breeding season. They've concentrated all the food from their nest around this cave. We've thoroughly searched the cave."
"Unexpectedly, these kobolds possessed human artifacts. We found spices, coarse textiles, and human jewelry on the dead female kobold. These items didn't seem to be stolen or robbed. Could someone be trading with these humanoid races?"
"This is a chilling fact. If it's true, then the Book of Sand may have already been moved out by Antin through this black market. The Church's detection methods can ensure that Antin cannot leave this forest without leaving a trace. But kobolds, or other humanoid creatures, are different. The Church wouldn't be able to detect a kobold sneaking out with the book."
"We didn't find any trace of Antin or the Book of Sand in the cave. Now, I can only pin my hopes on Antin: I hope this guy isn't foolish enough to believe a kobold, or a goblin, or whatever, would try to move the Book of Sand for him."
"God protects us; the loss of the Book of Sand is a disaster that neither the Church nor I can bear."
"The witch hunter asked me for the next instructions: kill these little dogheads, or let them fend for themselves."
"It seems their faith is not devout enough. Even when faced with the cubs of non-human beings, they cannot escape the moral burden brought about by their weak humanity."
"The females who cared for these kobold cubs are all dead, and their corpses will attract wild beasts. The beasts will follow the trail, find these unarmed little creatures, and devour them alive."
"The wild animals in this forest will not waste any opportunity to freeload."
"Their deaths were inevitable; it was only a matter of time."
"Before the witch hunters are completely exhausted, we need to check the last unsearched landmark in this area."
"It's said that a giant forest bear roams the remaining area. I hope to find Anting's bones in the bear's mouth, and then find the Book of Sand near the bear's den. That would be the best outcome."
"We don't have time to waste on these little things. I'm leaving their fate to this damn forest."
"The gods will protect my soul."
"The gods will protect my soul."
"The gods will protect my soul."
The sentence was repeated three times, filling the last blank space on the page.