The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 69: You Can Run

Indeed, true Calamity had come.

Ignotus, after staring at the chaos below, the soldiers, the hundreds of advancing Chimeras from the forest, and then at his sword, jumped down, getting even closer to the battle.

The Wise Fool’s smile was brighter than ever.

He loved a battlefield... its chaos.

This one was unusual, but...

That didn’t stop him from liking it all the same.

Men screaming their lungs out for Gods that didn’t listen.

Monsters howling so loud, the very air rattled, shaking leaves loose from the trees.

Oh, what a scene this was... House Gift and House Twilight shoulder to shoulder, their shields up, and their blades down, charging together towards a certain death for many of them.

"For the Houses!"

Perhaps those words left their lips.

Ignotus didn’t know; he wasn’t exactly focused on that.

He simply enjoyed the battlefield, walking around it, looking...

Reminiscent.

It was suicidal.

It was stupid.

It was...

’Impressive.’

The first collision was wonderful, metal and Elements clashing with claws. Bones broke, and Divinity burst from Runes. Chimeras lunged through the gaps in the shield wall, snapping jaws and cracking helmets.

"Hold! Hold!"

Many a soldier screamed before a claw tore them in half.

Ignotus saw it all with his Beholding eyes.

The pulse before the lunge.

The twitch before death.

"They’re actually holding..."

He folded his arms.

"Idiots they might be, but respectable idiots."

No one retreated, even when half their front line was gone.

Another Chimera leapt over the corpses and got skewered by a Gift soldier’s spear.

The man roared in victory right before another beast tore him in half.

"...Okay, maybe not that respectable."

Eris hummed in agreement.

’You could help them, you know.’

’I could.’

He tilted his head as one soldier was dragged screaming into the dirt.

’But that would make me a hypocrite... and it’d ruin my plan.’

Did Ignotus feel bad for them? Well, yes, he actually did.

Yet that wasn’t enough to stop him, especially when considering their identity.

House soldiers, no matter what kind, always followed orders, always. Following orders of nobles usually meant only one thing. You’d done a few evil things in your life.

There were no innocents here.

Innocents were rare in this realm.

Most of them belonged in the deepest pits of Hell.

Perhaps that was why it was so adamant on devouring them all.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Another beast vaulted the barricade, swiping at three soldiers before it went down.

Ignotus’s gaze followed it lazily, tracing the lines of their motions as if studying them.

"Left flank’s breaking."

Eris nodded and asked:

’Do you think they’ll survive?’

He shrugged his shoulders.

’I’m not sure how many, but... yes.’

Hours of absolute carnage went by.

Every Chimera that fell was replaced by another.

Even though exhausted, starving, and broken, the Houses’ goons didn’t cease.

They didn’t even know if the Rune in the center was a Great Rune, yet they stayed.

The battlefield became a crimson swamp, boots sloshing in blood and eventual rain.

When dawn finally touched the horizon, there were barely two dozen soldiers left.

All breathed raggedly, their broken weapons hanging from trembling hands, too hollow to even think about screaming their victory.

The Rune’s bright glow was reflected in their eyes.

"Well..."

That was when Ignotus straightened up and stretched his neck.

"That’s my cue."

Every head turned as he approached, catching this newcomer’s appearance.

His cloak and tunic were a bit torn, his long white hair wild, and his body marred with Chimera blood.

The survivors stiffened, both shocked and too tired to react, forced only to watch him.

Ignotus, meanwhile, slowly walked forward while brushing dirt off his sleeves.

"Your Houses have abandoned you."

His voice, though low, reached them all.

"This is your chance... defect. Leave this sinking ship."

They blankly stared, both confused and waiting for more.

"You know this yourself. They lied to you... you’ll never become one of them."

He gave them what they waited for.

"They’ll give you a Title? Is that what you want? Legacy? Ha! Only after you’re dead, are you sure your families want that? That’s how the Houses work. Thanks to these monsters, both sides have already lost this land war, so..."

He gestured lazily to the Rune behind him.

"Let me take this trouble from you... If you’re still staying with your House and not quitting like most of the others would and should, just say that I did you in. That I’m a thief who stole it and disappeared. It’s not like any of you are allowed to claim it anyway. They’ll know."

He paced in front of them as he talked.

"I see that your captains are gone. Reinforcements? If it’s not obvious by now, they’ll never come. Again, you’ve been abandoned. So please, you’ve already done enough. Go home, spend time with your families, and drink something that isn’t your own sweat. I think you deserve a break."

A few of them dropped their weapons, relief washing over their faces.

His words made too much sense for men who had just spent two days surviving Hell.

They exchanged glances, muttered among themselves, and began to limp away.

...Most did, anyway.

Because there were always a few who didn’t have the brain cells to recognize mercy.

One of them—a soldier from House Twilight—pointed at Ignotus and shouted:

"He’s lying! He wants the Rune for himself!"

"Ah. There it is."

Ignotus sighed, his smile returning.

"...thank you for this."

Following that soldier’s lead, three of them rushed him, despite hearing of his gratefulness.

All were of the Ethereal Element: Gravity, Light, and Shadow.

Weak, flashy, and terribly coordinated.

"The discount trio~."

Ignotus took a stance, facing the one from above, riding... light.

He didn’t move out of the way; instead, he shifted his sword a single inch.

When the Light Runebearer’s blade came down, it met a slow thud.

The attacker’s head... slid off without him even seeing the sword.

Continuing, Ignotus swung his sword to the left.

It was at the same time a man lunged at him from the shadows.

But just as his blade was about to cut the dumb guy in half, gravity pushed him off course.

Clicking his tongue, Ignotus stepped away from the Shadow soldier and kicked up the Light’s broken sword. Grabbing it with his left hand while still in motion, he threw it right at the Gravity soldier’s neck, ending his life.

Runebearer of Shadow, the last of the three, froze.

Shadowy tendrils coiled around his hands, but they too didn’t move.

His gaze kept turning from one corpse to the other, unable to believe it, before suddenly...

"You can run."

He met Ignotus’s gray eyes.