Damn, I recarneted As A Judge in Fantasy World

"Wow… it's so dirty and wide. Will I be able to find any traces in here?" Abel muttered.

—Hey, it might be a little difficult.

Shuguri also seemed embarrassed, blinking quietly. It couldn't be helped. The underground space they encountered was truly enormous. It felt as if the entire inside of the cliff had been hollowed out.

"My head hurts. Why would anyone hide in a place like this?"

—But it's not like there are no signs at all. He's definitely in there.

"It's a relief to hear that, but how long will it take to figure this all out?"

—All you can do is keep looking. Maybe just getting close will be enough. You'll feel his energy getting stronger.

"Alright. Let's do this."

Abel cautiously began to search the cave's interior, relying on the faint light from a glowstone. About 30 minutes later, as he ventured deeper inside—

*Pavababak!*

"Ugh!" he groaned as bright lights suddenly flared from different directions.

The only thing that could create such beams of light from nowhere were magic lanterns, which meant the commotion was caused by humans.

"What?"

"Who are you? The Temple of Sordin is not open to the public," a gloomy voice called out.

A group of people appeared, holding magic lanterns and wearing hooded robes.

'Are these the assassins of Sordin that Jaren Burgess mentioned?' Abel thought, noticing the robes, the markings on their sleeves, and the crossbows in their hands.

They looked ready to rain down arrows at any moment, but Abel wasn't eager to fight them.

What was his original purpose? Wasn't it to reform the Sordin Order and control Peltron? There was no reason for them to clash.

"I am Abel Carriers, Duke of the Empire. I have come to the Sordin Cult by order of His Majesty, the Emperor," Abel announced clearly.

His identity and purpose were straightforward, and a proper verification process should have allowed things to proceed peacefully—though he admitted his arrival had been a bit intense.

However, the assassins of Sordin seemed to have a different opinion.

"We know who you are. Duke Abel Carriers. You've been our target from the beginning."

"Ho?" Abel sighed in surprise at the unexpected response.

The leader of the group lowered his arm decisively, and in the next moment, dozens of arrows flew through the air.

*Shushu shushush!*

"No, why are you treating a guest like this?"

---

The three elements of problem-solving were empathy, dialogue, and persuasion.

But what happens when none of those work? Of course, the next option would be fists, swords, and hammers. So, Abel opted for the latter.

*Bam! Crunch!*

"The sensation of hitting is so good. It's like some kind of whack-a-mole game," Abel commented as he swung his gavel.

One by one, the robed men fell. Their crossbow shots were useless.

『Extreme Choice Activation』

"Select 'Defense.'"

[You will enter the 'Water Fist' state.]

*Thud thud thud!*

The extreme choice made Abel's body stronger than steel. Even though his attack power was halved, it didn't matter. The opponents weren't particularly strong, and Abel could control everything with his 'Water Fist.'

Look at it now—weren't they all falling after one hit?

"I thought priests had iron heads, but they're nothing special," Abel said, shaking his head.

—How does your mind even go in that direction? Shuguri asked, incredulously.

"I assumed that since they attacked so confidently," Abel replied.

After knocking down dozens of them in an instant, Abel stood before the leader—the man who had given the order to attack.

Although his face was hidden under the hood, the confusion was evident in his posture. Well, what did he expect? A surprise attack against a man known as the Northern Lights Warrior was laughable.

'This guy knew who I was, didn't he?' Abel mused.

Attacking him with such minimal forces was practically suicide. He should have brought at least fifteen Auror Masters. Abel chalked it up to arrogance.

'No matter, I just need to get the information I came for.'

"Shall we get to the confession? What is your relationship with Peltron?"

"It's just as he warned," the leader muttered.

"Him? So, you've chosen Peltron over Sordin?"

"You don't need to know the details. You just have to sleep here forever."

"What are you talking about?" Abel frowned.

If this had anything to do with Peltron, it made sense they wanted to kill him. Peltron had lost most of his powers after being defeated by Abel Carriers, and for demigods or half-demons like him, power was life itself. They might as well say they wanted to kill him.

But why did he say "fall asleep"?

'Is he purifying his language skills because he's from a clerical background?' Abel thought.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. His instincts screamed danger.

*Spot!*

"Huh?" Abel reflexively dodged as something sharp flew toward him.

It was an instinctive reaction, even though his defenses were boosted by the extreme choice. His heart pounded in alarm, as if warning him that the situation was dire.

*Phew!*

"What the…?" Abel muttered, watching as the sharp object hit the man he had been speaking to square in the chest.

It was an arrow enveloped in an eerie black aura. But what surprised Abel more was the smile on the man's lips, even as his torso was pierced.

"Hoo hoo hoo… You can never get out of here," the man said with eerie calm.

"There's really not a single normal one here," Abel sighed, exasperated by the bizarre events unfolding.

He glanced around and noticed the enemies he had knocked down were getting up again, all of them surrounded by a black mist.

—That's it!

Shuguri's fur stood on end as he spoke in warning.

"What is it?" Abel asked.

—It's the power of a demon… Peltron, or something.

"Aha! So, I finally found it. But where is he?"

—I don't know yet. I need more time to pinpoint the exact location.

"While you focus, I'll handle these guys."

—What? You actually understand things quickly. I thought you were a fool.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Just do this," Abel said, grinning.

—Huh? They're shooting again. Just focus on the battle for now! Shuguri snapped, noticing the urgent situation.

Abel resisted the urge to smack Shuguri's head and refocused. The situation was getting critical.

'The power of Peltron… If I'm not careful, my extreme choice could be broken,' he thought, quickly deciding to deactivate his skill to conserve stamina. If the situation got any worse, he'd have to go all out.

『Extreme Opt-out』

*Pishuuuu―*

A weight seemed to lift off Abel's body as he relaxed, lightly tapping his toes and glaring at his enemies.

Each of them possessed a power that couldn't be ignored, but it didn't matter. All he needed to do was avoid them, approach, and deal with them directly.

"But first, let's take care of this," Abel muttered, turning toward the man who had been shot.

With a swift swing of his gavel, the man's head flew off. His body collapsed, rolling lifelessly on the floor.

"Oh my! This feels so satisfying," Abel quipped, relishing the moment.

This wasn't how things were supposed to go. He was the Supreme Judge of the Empire, and these were priests of the Sordin Cult. Shouldn't everything be handled legally?

But now, they had fired the first arrow, and they continued to aim their crossbows at him.

"This is self-defense, understand? You traitorous uncles?" Abel said, explaining the situation briefly.

The priests remained silent, still firing their crossbows.

"Why are they traitors?" Abel wondered aloud.

Weren't they attempting to assassinate the royal family? Abel was here under the Emperor's orders. Wasn't their attack treasonous?

"Are you so shocked that you can't speak?" Abel asked, though he knew they wouldn't answer.

Another barrage of arrows enveloped in black aura came at him, all potentially lethal.

*Shushu shu shu! Pavabak! Pavabak!*

Each arrowhead gleamed with Peltron's power.

"No, seriously, where is he?" Abel murmured, running along the wall and glancing back at Shuguri.

The little creature was still scanning the floor, searching diligently despite his small size. But making himself any bigger would turn him into a prime target for the priests. Shuguri was doing well enough.

'Okay, if he's holding up, I'll do my part too,' Abel thought, considering that Peltron was likely empowering the priests. Ending the battle quickly seemed like the best strategy.

*Shhhhh! Kwakwakwang!*

Suddenly, a terrible explosion echoed from behind them.

The explosion echoed throughout the vast cave, causing the walls to tremble. Abel instinctively dove to the side, shielding his face from the flying debris. The smell of smoke and burning stone filled the air, thick and oppressive.

- "That was close," Shuguri muttered, flinching as another tremor rattled the ground.

Abel quickly got back on his feet, scanning the area for the source of the blast. His grip tightened on the gavel. "What was that?" he asked, his voice steady despite the chaos.

Before the explosion an arrow hit the target but soon after that there wasn't an explanation.

There must be reason.