It's your own fault for misunderstanding

"...she is far, far above any of us… She must be at least… oh, dear Perseverance…! Don't raise your voice at her, Mina. Don't even try to confront her!"

"...oh shit…! That serious…?"

Blake gulped down his saliva, clearly overthinking and jumping to some wild conclusion, and muttered without taking his eyes from the black-haired girl, making the female inquisitor's face turn ghastly pale.

"Was I too quiet or something? Why aren't you…?"

The black-haired girl glanced over her shoulder to frown at the uncooperative female inquisitor, only to get wide-eyed as she stared at her.

"Ohhh… I got it wrong, so you were confused. You're one-fourth succubus, right? Demon followers must really hate y… Hmm? Wait, you're one-fourth succubus and still got innocent people mixed in?"

"...!"

The girl flinched and grimaced, glancing at the female inquisitor whose jaw and shoulders dropped as her eyes widened with some sort of realization.

"I will give you the benefit of the doubt and just assume that you set it up like that as a training or a test. Anyway, restrain this one. As for you…"

As if she didn't drop some life-altering bombshell of a revelation, the girl moved to the next captive, although this time, she stood between a pair of them.

"Vicky, Molly. You're so lucky that I was passing by, don't you think?"

She leaned down, looking between the man and a woman cowering from fear.

"Pretty embarrassing, right? Chop, chop. Get out of here. You have a business to run. Oh, the first two are free to go too, of course~"

The girl snickered before straightening her back and clapping her hands, looking to the side before calling out.

"...!"

The captives she referred to flinched, looking first at each other and then at the inquisitors who captured them.

"..."

The inquisitors in question, though, seemed equally confused and unsure of what to do.

The female one and the leather-clad one both turned towards the one with the abyss-like eyes, clearly putting their trust in the decision he would make.

"...we do appreciate your help, but low ranks like us have strict protocols to follow. Those with demonic energy within them must be…"

"Oh, for the love of...! Are you really trying to talk back to me right now?"

"!!!"

Blake took a deep breath and spoke up calmly but got interrupted by an annoyed scoff of the black-haired girl - a scoff that made the other two inquisitors freeze up in utter disbelief.

"You're making the anti-demonic inquisition look so bad. Making a show like that out of something should be the most basic procedure. Shame on you."

"!!!"

The girl continued, shaking her head with annoyance at the sheepish inquisitors completely thrown off.

"You all. Go. If those rookies even try to stop you, I will deal with them."

The girl then added casually, nodding at the captives with an encouraging smile.

Victor, the head of one of the criminal organizations in the western part of Jade City, was the first to listen to her.

He stood up, and after regaining some of his courage, he reached out, grabbed his secretary's hand, and ran off with her without daring to speak a word of gratitude for fear of unforeseen repercussions being tardy would bring.

"..."

"...!"

The other two captives declared as 'clear' beforehand followed the example, rushing past the girl, glaring at the three inquisitors with a challenge as if only waiting for any of them to make a move.

"...what about the other…"

Blake closed his eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down his racing heart, but that was a futile attempt.

*WA-BWHAM*

The very next moment, the overwhelming girl snapped her finger, turning the two captives from the opposite side of the line into nothing more than soot on the ground.

"Two thralls and a young lesser vampire, stand up. You were turned into a vampire recently, weren't you? It might have been done by the moron I already killed, but just in case, you will tell those nice rookies everything you know… unless you aren't a victim and got willingly turned into a demon kin?"

"!!!"

The girl then spoke to the only remaining captives - two sickly-looking adults with parchment-like skin and bloody sores in the corners of their mouths and a pale teenager trembling between both of them.

The girl's words were obviously directed at the teenager.

"I…! I didn't! Th-there… We came to this city from the southern mountains! I met that weird boy one day when we were camping out in the wild! I thought he was lost and tired to invite him to our camp, but then he… he…"

"Lesser vampires crave only monster blood. But thralls like your parents have a hard time making a distinction between a monster and a human until they are at least at level 45. After you give your testimony, I advise you to get out of the city and focus on hunting and leveling up so it will be safe for your little family to live amongst intelligent races without issue."

The teenagers began to explain themselves, but the girl spoke over them without sparing them a glance, generously giving them unsolicited advice.

"If you don't mind me asking, esteemed senior. How are you able to tell the demon followers and those with the blood of demon kin within them?"

The abyss-eyed inquisitor regained his voice and decided to ask.

"Depends. It's in their eyes. It's in their smell. It's the way their skin looks. In time, you learn to recognize the signs."

The girl shrugged her shoulders without moving from the spot, feeling a bit proud and relieved that she had chosen to keep her eyes on him to read his lips.

"...If I may…"

Taking that as a chance, the leather-clad inquisitor stepped forward - his voice muffled by his peculiar mask - and approached the girl with his gloved hand outstretched for a handshake.

"It is a great honor to meet you, my Lady. It wasn't stated openly, but you must be one of the esteemed Seven Authorities. A lowly grunt like myself cannot express how much honor and pleasure meeting one of such power and authority brings me…!"

The leather-clad man made his best attempt at flattery, clearly trying to use the chance to butter up to the person he believed to be an elite higher-up in his order.

That was the belief shared amongst all three inquisitors present, after all.

With the strength and experience the girl showcased in demon hunting and demon follower recognition, it wasn't a bad guess at all.