The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 49: No Sacrifice

The sun rose sluggishly over the Third Stratum, casting long shadows across a group that looked like the survivors of a very weird mud-wrestling tournament that had gone extremely wrong.

They walked painfully slowly; if a snail had been traveling in the same direction, it probably would have passed them with a polite nod.

"Pick up the pace!"

Felix wheezed; though he was currently leaning on a walking stick he’d fashioned from a crab leg.

"We need to... we need to..."

"We need to relax, Spoon."

Ignotus interrupted while walking at the front with his hands behind his back.

"The Academy isn’t going anywhere."

He kicked a pebble, watching it skid through the dirt.

"Unless it has legs, which, knowing this realm, is a non-zero possibility. But assuming it’s a normal building, it’ll wait."

Ignotus checked his internal map.

They had to be close; the wildlands were starting to thin out, replaced by the slightly less oppressive atmosphere of civilization’s outskirts. He could practically smell the bureaucracy and teenage angst of the Academy from here. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"We can afford a rest day..."

He announced while glancing behind him.

"No forced marches, just a nice, leisurely stroll to our destination."

A collective sigh of relief went through the group; even Ulv, who usually stood as straight as a flagpole, slumped his shoulders.

"Thank the Gods."

Gorm grunted, limping heavily on his bad leg while dragging two bodies by himself...

His people’s bodies, something that he did alone for the past however long.

Though finally, he didn’t need to do so anymore.

They had stopped near a cluster of rocks to bury them.

It was a strange scene. Gorm and the three surviving Ironheads digging shallow graves for Silas and the knife-thrower—the very men who had betrayed them, tried to kill them, and insulted their honor.

Lykos watched from a distance, his brow furrowed, before turning to Ignotus. Who was currently sitting on a rock, sharpening his sword with a rhythmic shing-shing sound.

"Why do you let them do that?"

His question came quietly.

"Those men betrayed us."

"You must remember that people are weird, Boss."

Ignotus shrugged while checking the edge of his blade against his thumb.

"Gorm might not seem like it, but he’s sentimental. And it’s only of course he is. The bastard spent years with those idiots. You can’t just extinguish your feelings of camaraderie like a candlelight... well, I can, but most people can’t, so you get my point."

Sighing, he looked over at the graves.

Gorm was placing a small stone on the mound of dirt, his head bowed. He looked genuinely sad, despite the fact that Silas had called him an embarrassment just hours ago.

"Shouldn’t we stop them?"

Lykos pressed.

"It feels... wrong to honor scum."

"Let them cry."

Ignotus’s answer was simple.

"I own their swords, not their hearts. If burying the trash makes them feel better, let them shovel dirt. It doesn’t cost you or me anything."

’Plus, it keeps morale up.’

He added inwardly.

’If I forbid them from mourning, they resent me. If I let them mourn, they think I’m benevolent. It’s basic management... I’ll have to teach this wolf about that someday.’

And so, with his questions answered, Lykos nodded and watched as Gorm said a few words:

"You both turned out to be bastards, especially you, Silas..."

The giant’s voice was thick with emotion.

"A greedy, spineless bastard. But you made good stew. Rest in peace, you piece of shit."

"Rest in peace."

The other mercenaries sniffled while Ignotus barely suppressed himself from uttering any of his usual sarcastic comments:

’Touching... Truly poetic.’

The mourning period lasted exactly ten minutes.

It wasn’t cut short by Ignotus’s impatience or by a sudden change of heart.

It was cut short by the Third Stratum’s favorite party crashers... at least their cohort’s.

Snap-snap!

The ground beside the newly dug graves exploded upwards.

A massive pincer, covered in barnacles and mud, shot out of the earth, sending dirt flying everywhere.

SKREEEEE!

A Giant Crab, apparently offended by the concept of a grave, hauled itself out of the hole. But it wasn’t alone, followed by two more, their beady eyes scanning the group for a post-mourning snack.

"Oh, come on!"

Gorm roared, wiping a tear from his eye and grabbing his axe.

"Can’t a man say goodbye to his traitorous friends in peace?!"

"Apparently not."

Ignotus sighed and hopped off his rock.

"I guess your mourning period is over. Back to work, people!"

The somber mood evaporated instantly, replaced by the familiar chaos of combat.

"Shields up!"

Ulv barked, ignoring his exhausted body as he shifted into a stance.

"Target the joints!"

Lykos yelled, raising his staff, ice arrows materializing around him.

Ignotus quickly dashed forward, sliding under the first crab’s reach.

"Sorry, Silas!"

He called out cheerfully as he sliced through a crab leg.

"Your funeral is now a crab buffet!"

The fight was messy and fast, as the group now moved like a well-oiled contraption—a ’contraption’ fueled partially by grief, exhaustion, and a deep, burning hatred for crustaceans.

Gorm vented his sorrow by smashing a crab’s shell into powder, using his two Runes to their maximum output, crushing them with his gravity. The mercenaries took out their confused anger on the pincers, using their Elements as well, and the same went for the guards.

Ignotus, meanwhile, joined by Ulv, danced through the middle, slicing away at their joints.

Minutes later, the crabs were dead, and the group was panting, covered in monster blood.

"Well..."

Ignotus called away his sword and kicked a severed claw.

"That wasn’t too bad."

He glanced at the nearly destroyed graves and then at Gorm.

"Are we moving?"

Gorm looked at the mess and sighed, shouldering his axe with a hardened face.

The sadness was gone, replaced by the dull resolve of a survivor.

"We move."

"Good choice."

Ignotus grinned, turning back to the road.

"The Academy awaits. And I bet their food doesn’t fight back."

They started walking again, leaving the dead—both men and monsters—behind them in the dirt.

...

On the fourth night, merely hours away from Saint Academy, they sat around a crackling campfire, drinking, eating crab meat, and laughing loud enough to scare the bugs away.

Ignotus sat slightly apart, chewing slowly, his eyes flicking over the firelit faces.

They looked more... content now and more rested.

All were clearly in a better mood.

’Aren’t you glad you saved them?’

Eris’s voice sounded almost smug.

’I...’

That made him pause and stare at the fire.

’Maybe.’

Slowly, a smile tugged at his lips.

’Actually, yes. I am glad.’

He pushed up to grab another stick of crab meat, but his hand froze halfway.

His head turned sharply to the right, his eyes narrowing at the darkness beyond the firelight.

’No way... is it not yet over?’

One of the guards noticed his strange stiffness.

"What’s wrong, Professor Stranger? Do you see something?"

Ignotus didn’t answer, his sword materializing in his hand as he dashed forward.

"EVERYONE! RUN! NOW!"

As his warning loudly echoed, the guards snapped their heads toward the trees just in time to see them.

Big slitted eyes glinted in the dark, reflecting the campfire glow.

"P-Pythons!"

"Get back!"

"Protect the Lord!"

Chaos erupted as their massive bodies slithered into the edge of the light, their scales hissing against the dirt.

Ulv was the quickest to move, grabbing Lykos and pulling him back toward the other edge of their fire, his fur standing on end. Felix was nearly just as quick, though he hid behind Grom and the other mercenaries.

"Disciple Ulv..."

Ignotus glanced back, his voice calm.

"If I survive, double my reward to ten gold."

The wolf-man’s blue eyes trembled, his grip on Lykos tightening.

"And... and if you don’t?"

Ignotus chuckled, rolling his shoulders into a stance.

"Then be happy you won’t have to pay me... or maybe just help out my butler over there. Now go; you’ll only hold me back."

Ulv’s jaw clenched, his teeth grinding, before he finally nodded and dragged Lykos with him.

"...no."

But Lykos dug his heels into the ground, refusing to move.

"STRANGER, DO YOU WISH TO DIE?!"

Ignotus didn’t answer, his eyes staying on the Pythons.

"My Lord, please, don’t let his—"

Ulv tried again, only to be cut off:

"HIS SACRIFICE BE IN VAIN?!"

Lykos’s fur bristled.

"HE NEEDS NOT DIE HERE! THIS IS MERE LUNACY! WHAT DO WE HAVE THESE MERCENARIES FOR?! LET US STAY AND FIGHT THEM TOGET—"

His words were cut short with a thud as his head slumped sideways, knocked out cold by Ulv’s hand, who bowed his head slightly.

"I’m sorry, my Lord."

He looked once more at Ignotus, his blue eyes burning.

"Brother, don’t die."

Ignotus waved them away and nodded at Grom, silently telling him to stick close to them.

"I won’t."

And then they were gone.

The fire crackled, and the Pythons hissed.

In moments, Ignotus stood alone, his blade steady in his grip.

He let out a long breath, his eyes narrowing.

"This is no sacrifice."