Chapter 91
They have now been hijacked from the inside by the bandits because they are too few in number... Nana can hear desperate shouts of "Don't come any closer!" coming from inside the carriage.
"Get down! Get down! Or we'll kill him!"
"Don't stand on the roof... Damn it, let's get out..."
"Idiot! Going out will get you shot!"
"Get out from the truck bed! The boss will meet us!"
Listening to the bandits' conversation, Nana glanced at the corpse that had been killed by the first shot, tilted her head, and remained silent... The spellcasting unit on the assassin's shoulder silently activated, and the metal sheet underfoot and the waterproof tarpaulin connecting the carriage became transparent. The dim light outlined the silhouettes of people interacting below, and Anna thoughtfully used red and green to distinguish friend from foe.
Now, the bandits in the distance hesitated, seemingly considering whether to continue forward or flee. Meanwhile, Nana calmly changed her magazine, and then the Halo aura gradually broke through the black mist's blockade. The power of the Law increased with Nana's actions, the suppression of Witchcraft began to break free, and the swirling black mist seemed to ignite into black flames, as if Nana's Halo and wings were on fire.
This wasn't the first time Nana had used this skill; she never showed mercy to wicked girls who indiscriminately displayed malice... Finally, the assassin hummed a hymn the priest had taught her. (Mio)
"May the Lord have mercy on..."
A gunshot rang out... The final shot pierced the roof and tarpaulin of the vehicle, and with screams from inside, Nana brought the farce to an end. Meanwhile, the thugs who had been hesitant to continue their charge had already turned and rushed into the distant woods... They were abandoning even their own vehicles.
According to ICA training practices, Nana should have conducted a thorough search and followed the clues to dismantle the entire thugs' hideout... But before Nana could comfort the three Sarkaz youths who hadn't had much contact with the corpses, the urgent tolling of bells rang out again from a distant village.
Looking in that direction, Nana spotted military personnel in black uniforms on horseback, wielding batons and riot forks, chasing after bandits who had fled towards the woods... Sharp whistles rang out, mingled with screams and the muffled thuds of blunt force trauma.
After confirming their armbands with magic, Nana prepared to leave immediately. This group in black uniforms was the 'Infected Enforcement Squad' that Nana had been wary of for a long time.
The three Sarkaz in the car couldn't be exposed to them... First, they were demons, then the Infected... practically at the very bottom of the social hierarchy.
"Alright, let's leave..."
Just as the Sarkaz were scrambling to make way for Nana and getting into the car, a suppressed wail came from a van in the distance.
"Is someone still inside?"
P. S.: Feeling better now, I'll write another one to fill in the gap...
PS2: Meow Meow Cat
4th Crimson Warm Winter: 094 The Nun and the Boy Soldier
It's fair to say that Nana's voice wasn't quiet; if there were still people in that van who needed help, she would definitely have answered... But since the van was quiet, Nana assumed they didn't need her help.
After all, there's a high chance they're also accomplices of the bandits, and Nana doesn't have the patience to keep wasting time with them...
"The Infected Enforcement Squad is making arrests, I don't have time to stall any longer... It doesn't matter who you are, so that's it, goodbye."
"Waaaaah--!!"
"Wait a minute, Sister Mary... there might not be good people outside, Sister Mary!"
The anxious voice, which sounded like a child's, made Nana frown slightly. Although she could clearly see the black-uniformed soldier on horseback looking this way, the painful groans from inside the van didn't sound like acting at all... So Nana assumed a central shooting stance to prevent someone from grabbing her gun, and then yanked open the back door of the van, which was completely covered by a black cloth.
The sudden burst of light seemed to startle the other party. Nana glanced at the young fox, whose gender was unclear—white or gray. Blood and dust were mingled in her hand, and she gripped the small tin knife tightly. The little creature clenched its teeth, even its canines were showing, and its gaze at Nana seemed quite forceful.
However, Nana's gaze was more focused on the person behind the other person... It was another woman who at first glance seemed to be from the Vulpo tribe, but upon closer inspection, her tail was actually from the Feline.
At first glance, she doesn't look very old, probably around sixteen years old, with orange-blonde hair and slightly dreamy blue eyes... The ropes binding her had been cut for a long time with what looked like a dull knife, and the arrow stuck in her thigh was probably the main reason she could only lie on her side... Of course, what would make Nana pay so much attention to her was her outfit.
A black outer robe over a white dress, the robe edged with gold trim, and a Virgin Mary armband with a cross on the left arm...
"... The priestess's robes... the nuns of Laterano?"
Just as Nana instinctively reached out to help, the gray-haired Vulpo flicked the patch in his hand, and a trickle of bright red blood dripped from between his fingers:
"Don't touch Sister Mary!"
"The nun behind you... what's wrong with her?"
Ignoring the child's unwarranted hostility, Nana looked directly at the nun... Naturally, the nun didn't have anything like the Infected's monitoring bracelet on her... But this convulsive state... If it wasn't epilepsy caused by some other illness, then it could only be acute Oripathy.
"... That arrow... was Originium arrowhead..."
The nun answered with difficulty, her unfocused eyes probably unable to even see who was asking the question... However, the Halo and wings, even as silhouettes, gave the nun immense strength... Then she groped for little Vulpo's hand, trying to hand him to Nana:
"Take her with you... we can't let the child... the search team..."
"No! I will never leave my sister behind!"
Speechless at the melodramatic declaration of unwavering devotion, Nana glanced back at the thugs' chase, which was nearing its end. Seeing that little Vulpo no longer harbored such strong hostility towards her, Nana walked past her, picked up the nun, and then said to the stunned little guy:
"Keep up."
The Sarkaz's truck was waiting nearby, with plenty of empty seats. Nana had no idea what the two had been talking about... but in any case, both sides could at least reach a consensus on the fact that neither wanted to get involved with the Military Police.
Before the other party could send someone to make contact, he sped away in his car... Although the officer on horseback also made eye contact with Nana, judging from the officer's indifferent expression as he watched him leave, the Infected Enforcement Squad near the village didn't seem to have any intention of getting entangled with strangers.
That's good, so Nana can focus on dealing with the nun's injuries.
Taking out a freshly acquired Oripathy prevention drug from the village from her pocket, Nana casually inquired about the other person's height, weight, and other information. Then, she determined the Originium Disease status by touching her body fat percentage... Clearly, Sister Mary became the Infected because of that Originium arrow; according to that little Vulpo, it happened this morning.
"... So, you were taken in by that group of the Infected this morning?"
After taking the medication, Mary immediately fell into a deep sleep and was therefore unable to answer Nana's question, which Nana was asking about little Vulpo.
"... No... I was thrown into their midst about two weeks ago, while Sister Mary was captured a week ago..."
"It sounds like there's more to this than meets the eye... Would you like me to take you home? If you don't know where, just tell me your sister Mary's parish."
Upon hearing Nana's explanation, the Little Fox, after touching it to confirm it was white-furred, sadly shook its head.
"We...are Columbia ...I...have nowhere to go back..."
"Columbia?"
Obviously, no matter how skilled an assassin is, they would feel a sense of dread upon suddenly encountering a fellow villager... Driven by curiosity about 'what kind of trouble those opposition members are up to now,' Nana continued to ask:
"How did Columbia end up in Ursus... And she's a nun, isn't she...? This attire... it should be the uniform of the Laterano Sisterhood. Although it's not Sankta's, her armband definitely serves as official proof of her service as a nun in the Laterano Church..."
"... You're clearly Fallen Angel, yet you know so much..."
Seeing the somewhat dazed look in the grayish Little Fox's eyes, Nana angrily took a water bottle from the cockpit and handed it to the little creature who couldn't possibly be a girl:
"I'm not the fallen Sankta... Never mind, let's put the nun's matter aside for now... What's this about you being homeless?"
Following Nana's question, a silence enveloped the carriage... Apart from the occasional interference from the cockpit radio inquiring about the location, the silence in the carriage lasted for quite some time.
Fortunately, Nana didn't dislike silence, and it didn't really matter if she didn't want to talk. Just as Nana was wiping her pistol and counting the bullets in the weapon case, the Little Fox suddenly spoke again:
"I... originally served in the Columbian Fifth Army Division... it was agreed that I would be granted Columbia citizenship after completing my service term... but..."
"Did the military back out?"
Shaking her head, the Little Fox unconsciously scratched its right arm. Nana then frowned, took the little guy's hand, and gently touched the strangely shaped, thin garment. The uneven texture was clearly the feel of Originium Crystals.
"Are you out of your mind?!"
The Little Fox was clearly startled by Nana's actions. It abruptly pushed Nana away, then anxiously grabbed Nana hand that had just touched it. Only after confirming that its actions hadn't caused any injury did it fiercely raise its head and glare at Nana again.
"You'll get Oripathy! Aren't you afraid?!"
"... So, the army is refusing to fulfill your contract because you're the Infected?"
Hearing that Nana seemed to care more about her tone, the Little Fox whimpered for a while, then shook its head.
"I don't know... I... no, our entire unit... was cancelled together... maybe it's because we were defeated..."
The recent Columbia wars, defeats, and Boy Scouts... when these keywords are linked together, Nana roughly knows where this little guy comes from.
After the defeat in the Bolívar War, the boy soldiers who were "forced" to retire... Perhaps we shouldn't emphasize the fact that they were boy soldiers, because in similar situations, age doesn't matter.
Because so few of the defeated troops survived, the state government was unwilling to pay the costs, and the parties involved didn't know how to attract public attention, so canceling the entire organization, along with burying the heroic battles of those soldiers... seems to be the style of some lazy officials.
I've only been gone for... less than three or four years... and the people I need to deal with seem to be starting to surface.
Nana decided to write this down in a little notebook and then contact her agent to deal with it one by one when she returned to Columbia.
Right now, she's more focused on the Little Fox beside her... After all, they're both from Columbia, Nana feels that whether she's an agent or Rhodes Island operator, she has to take care of this Little Fox who also suffers from Oripathy.
Do you have any other family members you can rely on?
The little guy shook his head, then glanced at Sister Mary, whose expression had relaxed:
"No... If I had to say, it would be that after we were sent to Ursus, Sister Mary took care of us... She always wanted us to leave the Infected Guerrilla Force..."
"Send to Ursus?"
"Well, I originally thought this was a military operation... Later, the original the Guerrillas leader told me that I had been sold into this organization because I reported others for disobeying military discipline..."
"In other words, you had absolutely no idea about your mission objective... and now, with your original unit number completely disbanded, you've lost contact with your superiors... Is that correct?"
Nodding blankly, the Little Fox didn't know why this Fallen Angel was paying attention to this. She had actually given up on Columbia... Even if the topic of 'hometown' was brought up again here... the only thing she could think of was the 'hometown' called Siracusa that her mother, whom she barely remembered, had occasionally mentioned.
"I understand roughly. I'll handle this. You'll stay with me for now..."
Hearing the strange Sankta's name in front of him, which he didn't even recognize, the Little Fox frowned:
"... What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I were to follow someone, I would only follow Sister Mary..."
"It's alright, she'll be with me when she wakes up anyway... it's all the same."
Looking at the Fallen Angel who was talking to himself, the Little Fox pouted, looking like he was reluctant to comply.
Nana didn't pay much attention, after all, neither Laterano nor Columbia were high priority matters... Right now, Nana's main concern was reuniting with her Rhodes Island companions and investigating the unusual behavior of the Iceborne the Infected.
Thinking about this, Nana felt a little regretful. She had been so focused on protecting her Sarkaz followers that she had completely forgotten about capturing a live Infected Guerrilla Force member... But speaking of Infected Guerrilla Force members, Nana suddenly looked at the Little Fox in front of her who didn't even have a name... It seemed that she hadn't failed to capture the Guerrillas members after all.
As for Nana's 'enthusiastic' gaze, the Little Fox, who had been watching Sister Mary's condition closely, sadly moved to the side:
"W-what are you doing?"
"... Although it wasn't voluntary, you were indeed the Guerrillas member, right...? Can you tell me about those guys?"
"Those guys? They weren't 'The Guerrillas' in the military sense... just a bunch of looting and burning mobs... maybe the Reunion Movement led by 'Shield' and 'Yeti' can be said to be genuinely fighting for the rights of the Infected... the rest..."
Seeing the Little Fox's disgusted waving, Nana remembered what she had said about the special 'The Guerrillas'. After taking some bread and bottled water from the car for the Little Fox to eat and maintain her strength, Nana was only brought back to reality from her reverie when the driver called her from the driver's seat.
"... Miss, we've met up with the convoy..."
"Okay, let's stop and rest. It's about time everyone set up camp and prepare dinner..."
"... Miss, those two people..."
"They'll stay with me; you all just do your own thing."
Seeing that Nana didn't want their help, the Sarkaz, disguised Feline with hoods, bowed slightly and left.
Sister Mary floated into the air as Nana got off the car, her curled-up, still-sleeping posture causing the silver- Little Fox to widen her eyes again... Before she could grab Sister Mary's hand, unsure whether to take her or pull her back to the ground, Nana was greeted by her butler and maid.
"My lord, you... you've picked up a new member?"
Although the butler's expression upon seeing Mary's nun's habit was quite something, it quickly subsided. Nana decided to ask him about his strong reaction another time. As for Eileen, she was indeed a little nervous when she first saw the proper Laterano nun's habit, but her expression relaxed after realizing that the person was a Feline and not Sankta.
"My lady, the group has already set up camp. Are these two guests... or...?"
"According to my entourage, but I don't know what this nun's attitude is towards you, so until we confirm her attitude, please don't rush to remove your headscarves."
Yes.
Hearing the two refer to the 'Fallen Angel,' the nameless young soldier frowned and asked after they finished reporting and left: I
"Are you a nobleman?"
"... I can be." (You)
"Who are they to you?"
"... people who need my help..." (Three)
After a moment of silence, Nana added::)
"Someone like you and that nun..."
As she spoke, Nana crouched down so the Little Fox could more easily focus on its face. With the release of the restraints on its left eye, a few Originium Crystals pierced its skin again... But as Nana brushed her hand across its cheek, the crystals vanished instantly... The Little Fox frowned in surprise, staring for a long time, even cautiously touching its face... before finally realizing what was happening.
"... Is everyone here the Infected?"
"Not everyone, there are also those who haven't been infected yet..."
Following Nana's gaze, two Sarkaz girls, barely reaching the Little Fox's waist, were diligently carrying a basin of... clear water... it was water poured from a plastic bucket in the Number Two vehicle in the distance; it was well water from the village, and the little ones were carrying the portion for washing.
As the two little ones' childish "one, two, one, two" faded into the distance, the nameless boy soldier looked at Nana with a complicated expression: Dove
"You weren't the Guerrillas II, Umbrella Bell IV, or the Flying Fox... I thought..." Wife
Before the Little Fox could finish speaking, Nana tilted her head and added:
"... We can also be..."