Léon: The Cat Killer

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!" 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 under her feet and the waterproof sheet connecting to the carriage became transparent. The dim light outlined the contours of the 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. Nana, meanwhile, calmly changed magazines. Then, the crimson aura gradually broke through the black mist's blockade. The power of the discipline 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 aura and wings were burning.

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… 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 saw soldiers in black uniforms on horseback, wielding batons and riot forks, chasing after bandits who had fled towards the woods… Sharp whistles rang out, mixed with screams and the muffled thuds of blunt force impacts.

After confirming their armbands with magic, Nana prepared to leave immediately. This group in black uniforms was the 'Infected Patrol Team' 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 infected... practically at the very bottom of the discrimination chain. Four

“Okay, 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 Bloodstained 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 that they didn't need her help.

After all, there's a high chance they might be other accomplices of the bandits there, and Nana doesn't have the patience to keep wasting time with them...

"The infected patrol is making arrests, I don't have time to delay any longer... It doesn't matter who you are, so that's it, goodbye."

"Uuuuuuu——!!"

"Wait a minute, Sister Mary...the people outside might not be good people either! Sister Mary?"

The anxious voice, which sounded like a child's, made Nana frown slightly. Although she could see with her own eyes that the black-clad soldier on horseback was 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 pulled open the back door of the van, which was completely covered by a black cloth.

The sudden light seemed to startle the other party. Nana glanced at the young fox, whose gender was unclear, whether it was white or gray. Blood and dust were mixed together in her hand. The small tin knife was tightly gripped in her hand. The little creature clenched its teeth, even showing its canines, and stared at Nana with considerable force.

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 a Volpo, but upon closer inspection, her tail was actually that of a Felin.

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 Lateran?"

Just as Nana instinctively reached out to help, the gray-haired Volper 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 an infected person'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 an 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 if only silhouettes, gave the nun immense strength... Then she groped for little Volper'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 Volper no longer harbored such strong hostility towards her, Nana walked past her, picked up the nun, and then said to the stunned little guy:

"Follow."

The Sarkaz's truck was waiting nearby, with plenty of empty seats inside. Nana had no idea what the two had been talking about... but in any case, both sides could reach a consensus on the fact that neither wanted to get involved with the disciplinary team.

Before the other party could send someone to make contact, he drove away in a flash... Although the officer on horseback also made eye contact with Nana, judging from the officer's indifferent attitude as he watched him leave, the infected patrol team near the village did not 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. She then determined the Oripathy status by touching her body fat percentage... Clearly, Sister Mary became infected because of that Oripathy arrow. According to that little Volper, this happened this morning.

"...So, you were taken in by that group of infected people 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 Wolper.

"...No...I was thrown into their midst about two weeks ago, while Sister Mary was captured a week ago..."

"It sounds like there's a lot going on... Do you need 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 that it was white-furred, sadly shook its head.

“We…are Colombians…I…have nowhere to go back…”

"Colombia?"

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 a Colombian end up in Ursus... And she's a nun, isn't she... This attire... It should be the uniform of the Lateran Sisters. Although it's not Sákota's, her armband definitely confirms she's a formal nun serving in the Lateran Church..."

"...You're a 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 am not the fallen Sakorta... 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 radio in the cockpit asking 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 5th Division of the Colombian Army… it was agreed that I would be granted Colombian citizenship after completing my service term… but…”

"Did the military back out?"

Shaking her head, the little fox unconsciously scratched her right arm. Nana then frowned and pinched the little guy's hand, gently touching the strangely shaped, thin clothing. The uneven texture was clearly the feel of Originium crystals.

"You don't want your life!?"

The little fox was clearly startled by Nana's actions. It shoved Nana away abruptly, then anxiously grabbed the hand that Nana had just touched, and only after confirming that its actions hadn't caused any injury did it 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 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 number... was cancelled together... maybe it's because we were defeated..."

The recent Colombian 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 Glassval 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 struggles 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 make a note of this and contact her agent to deal with it one by one when she returned to Colombia.

Right now, she's more concerned about the little fox beside her... After all, they're both from Colombia, and Nana feels that whether she's an agent or a Rhodes Island operator, she should take care of this little fox who also has 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 group..."

"Send to Ursus?"

"Well, I originally thought this was a military operation... but later, the original guerrilla leader told me that I had been sold into this organization because I reported others for disobeying military discipline..."

"In other words, you had no idea what your mission objective was... and now, with your original unit number completely disbanded, you've lost contact with your superiors... Is that right?"

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 Syracuse that her mother, whom she barely remembered, had occasionally mentioned.

"I understand. I'll handle this. You'll stay with me for now..."

Hearing the strange Sarkaz'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 care too much, after all, neither Laterano nor Columbia was a high priority... Right now, Nana was most concerned about reuniting with her Rhodes Island companions and investigating the anomalies of the Icefield 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 the possibility of capturing a live Infected guerrilla member... But speaking of Infected guerrilla 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 any guerrilla 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:

"What...what?"

"...Although it wasn't voluntary, you were indeed a guerrilla member, right...? Can you tell me about those guys?"

“Those guys? They weren’t ‘guerrillas’ in the military sense…just a bunch of looters and rioters…maybe the Reunion Movement led by ‘Shield’ and ‘Yeti’ can be said to be truly 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 'guerrilla team'. After taking some bread and bottled water from the car for the little fox to eat and maintain her strength, Nana was not brought back to reality from her reverie until she was called from the driver's seat.

"...Miss, we've rejoined the convoy..."

"Okay, let's stop and rest. Judging by the time, everyone should be setting up camp and preparing dinner..."

"...Miss, those two people..."

"They're with me, you just do your own thing."

Seeing that Nana didn't want their help, the Sarkaz, disguised as Felin with hoods, bowed slightly and left.

Sister Mary floated into the air as Nana got off the car. Her curled-up, still-sleeping posture made the silver-haired fox's eyes widen 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 Lateran nun's habit, but her expression relaxed after realizing that the person was a Feline and not a Sarkaz.

"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. Before we can confirm her attitude, please don't rush to remove your headscarves."

"Yes." V

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 infected?"

"Not everyone, but 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...water...water. It was water poured from a plastic bucket in the second vehicle, water from the village well; 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 Guerrilla II, Umbrella Bell IV, or the Flying Fox... I thought..." Wife

Before the little fox could finish speaking, Nana tilted her head and added: s

"...We can also be..."