The Tale of the Redeeming Villain

The northern checkpost was around thirty miles from the place where Rudolph and his team received the message, so despite being superhumans, it took them a little time to reach there.

And lord, the scene awaited them there....

"W-What in the world..." The blond soldier who provided the information, couldn't help but gasp at the scene before them. The previously arranged checkpost, which was guarded by two dozen soldiers, was now completely destroyed.

Fallen soldiers lifelessly laid around the checkpost with heavy damage visibly inflicted on them. The condition of their weapons and trap wires showcased the ferocity the enemy possessed.

Rudolph crouched down to check the nearest soldier, and fortunately, the Saintess had enough sanity to not kill them.

"Wasn't Saintess known for her defense and healing aspect?" Rudolph asked, to no one in particular.

Getting back up, Rudolph looked at Carlson before saying, "This is not the work of a Saintess. She has turned into a monster, manipulated by an evil being."

Carlson narrowed his eyes but decided to remain silent. Fortunately, Catherine and Blake had already escaped before they arrived. And from the condition of the soldiers, it doesn't seem anyone would be informed about the direction they went...or so he thought.

"Captain! There is a soldier conscious there!" Hearing the voice, Rudolph and Carlson immediately turned their eyes toward their left, and indeed, a soldier was groaning and moving around a little.

Rudolph instantly took out his water container and neared the soldier followed by others and Carlson.

"Hang in there, soldier." Flipping the soldier, Rudolph fed him some water.

'Huh?!' Carlson's eyes stretched wide as he stared at the fallen one, as he remained standing still at his spot.

"Tell me, what happened?" Rudolph pressed for an answer.

The soldier coughed blood and somehow uttered some words, "T-The S-Saintess...s-she went i-in that di-direction..." Pointing toward the west, the soldier called out, only to fall unconscious soon after.

Rudolph gently laid the soldier down before getting up and commanding everyone, "We are heading in that direction! The Saintess wouldn't have covered much distance given the freshness of our comrade’s blood."

"Ha!" Everyone began to march towards the west, while Carlson remained standing and staring at the soldier.

Rudolph angrily called out, "Carlson! Start moving already!"

Responding with a nod, the redhead also walked away.

Once the whole battalion was out of sight, the soldier who gave them the direction, slowly got up and stretched his body a little.

Removing the fake beard he adorned, Blake turned to look at the nearby bushes before signaling the girl who was hiding there.

Catherine instantly sprang out before she healed Blake's wounds, which he inflicted on himself to make the act look real.

"Carlson recognized me."

Catherine blinked in surprise, "But he didn't tell them?"

Blake smiled at that as he said, "I thought you won't be surprised. Don't trust your friend?"

Catherine heaved a sigh, "It's not like that....Carlson is a bit impulsive so I thought he could have blurted out your name."

"Haha~that would have been hilarious."

Catherine didn't comment on that, knowing how that what-if situation would have been anything but hilarious.

Once she healed him, she asked Blake, "Where should we go now?"

While taking off his metal vest, Blake said, "We go back in the same direction we came from. I still think that surviving in the trade center for the time being is our best option. After a few weeks of isolation, we will shift to another continent."

For some reason, when Blake looked at her, Catherine was narrowing her eyes, urging Blake to ask, "What is it?"

"Why do you sound so experienced in this? Have you run away with another girl in the past?" Her demeanor became dangerous as she asked in a borderline threatening voice.

The yandere vibe is strong—Blake inwardly uttered.

Resting his hand on her shoulder he assured her, "You are my first and last, Catherine."

Those words were enough to make her shoulders relax as she nodded in understanding and with a happy smile, asked, "Shall we go?"

"Yup!"

*******

For several hours, Rudolph and his team kept on moving in the direction where they got the lead. Without a single break, they moved like hound dogs who had no other purpose other than tracking down their targets

However, despite how far they went, they couldn't locate Blake and Catherine. Even checking up on the checkpost that came on the radar, they received no report of sighting the duo.

"Halt!" Rudolph commanded after realizing the futility of this pursuit.

Many soldiers thanked inwardly since they were already on the verge of falling because of exhaustion. Carlson didn't look much affected but looking closely, one could see that his face was slightly pale as well.

Well, that was to be expected given it was already dawn—six hours of non-stop chasing.

Rudolph took several deep breaths before turning his attention towards the blond and asking, "Contact the church and ask for her whereabouts. We aren't getting anywhere like this."

The blond soldier nodded before he sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes shut.

It took several minutes for the soldier to connect with the church while the others took a breather and had some potion to recover their stamina.

Almost after ten minutes, the eyes of the communicator parted wide as he stared at Rudolph in shock.

"What is it?! Just tell me." His sharp voice made the soldier flinch before he immediately reported,

"The Saintess can no longer be tracked! Her blessings have been removed!"

Many people were shocked, including Carlson, after hearing that. Rudolph narrowed his eyes and scratched his head.

Can someone even remove their blessings? He wondered.

"Now what do we do, Captain?" Someone asked from the battalion.

Rudolph rested his hands on his waist and thought for a moment. Glancing at Carlson, he found the boy more shocked than anyone else; a testament that he actually was not involved in Saintess' escape.

Finally, after a brief moment of pause, Rudolph commanded, "Retreat."

******

A/N:- A new journey begins! It won't be long...like ten more chapters before we reach the conclusion.

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