Chapter 295: The Farmer and the Power Thief (II)
"Father… haah… Father Gideon… I really… can't run anymore."
Lynn bent over, hands on her knees, sweat dripping onto the cornfield beneath her.
Seeing this, Gideon had no choice but to stop as well.
He glanced back. The surroundings were quiet—aside from a few crows perched on haystacks, there was no sign of the Butcher, Babu.
"Rest for a few minutes. Then we move again."
At those words, Lynn collapsed straight onto the ground, completely abandoning any semblance of "nun etiquette."
Gideon, meanwhile, scanned the terrain, mapping out the best escape route for when they resumed running.
This was already the fourth time they had escaped pursuit.
And yet, every time, the Butcher managed to track them down.
It didn't make sense.
"Does that thing… have some kind of tracking ability?" he asked.
"Haah…" Lynn took a deep breath, finally catching her breath.
"It's because… we leave traces when we run."
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
He turned back and checked the ground. There were footprints—but that was only because the soil here was soft.
They had run across hard ground before. The Butcher had still found them.
"Not footprints," Lynn said, pointing at the ground.
"It's a special kind of energy trace. Only visible with holy power. It fades after some time."
Gideon nodded and quietly activated his Divine Eye.
Sure enough—
From his perspective, the ground was covered in faint red streaks, like threads of blood.
No wonder the Butcher kept finding them.
"Is there any way to erase those traces?" he asked. "Or move without leaving them?"
Lynn shook her head. "As long as you run, they'll appear. The only way to avoid them… is walking."
That clearly wasn't an option.
If the traces suddenly disappeared, the Butcher would search nearby first—and at their speed, they wouldn't get far.
Gideon had also tried climbing trees or rooftops.
But every time he jumped, an invisible force pressed him down—he couldn't lift both feet off the ground.
Lynn explained that this was one of the Holy War Site's rules.
Unless in special terrain, humans could only walk or run.
Crawling was possible—but someone had tried that before.
The Butcher still found him.
What happened next needed no explanation.
Gideon had no choice but to abandon many ideas. Otherwise, with his current physical strength, staying in high places would have been the safest option.
"Then how do you know running leaves traces?" he asked.
"Isn't holy power unusable here?"
"Well…" Lynn hesitated. "Under certain conditions, you can temporarily regain your power."
Gideon's eyes lit up.
Even briefly regaining power could change everything.
"All of us trapped here are searching for lost holy relics… and generators."
Gideon froze.
Relics… and generators?
Individually, both made sense. Together, they felt completely out of place.
He had heard others mention "generators" before, but assumed it referred to some creature.
Just as Lynn was about to explain further—
A slow, rhythmic heartbeat echoed around them.
"They're coming," Gideon said immediately, his guard rising.
Lynn scrambled to her feet.
A chainsaw roared in the distance—
Within seconds, it was already close.
"F-Father Gideon… I… can't run anymore…" Lynn's voice trembled.
He turned.
Her legs were shaking uncontrollably.
Whether from fear or exhaustion—she couldn't move.
Despair filled her eyes.
She had been here long enough to know what happened when someone became a burden.
Just as she forced herself to move—
"Find somewhere to hide. I'll draw it away."
Her eyes widened. "You—"
Before she could finish, Gideon was already running.
Still too many things I haven't learned yet… I can't let her die, he thought.
Besides… she's someone I know.
There was another reason.
He had realized something—
His speed wasn't slower than the Butcher's.
At least—not when the monster wasn't using the chainsaw.
The creature couldn't use it continuously.
In tight terrain, it relied on an axe instead.
That meant—
If he led it into narrow terrain, he could keep it occupied.
Moments later, Gideon reached a campsite.
Two L-shaped walls connected together, windows on both sides—exactly the kind of "good terrain" Lynn had mentioned.
The heartbeat pounded in his ears.
The chainsaw roared behind him.
He could already see a faint red glow.
Without hesitation, he vaulted over the wall.
Here, he could finally leave the ground—because this was "special terrain."
Landing—
The chainsaw slammed into the window frame behind him.
The Butcher paused briefly.
Side effect of using the chainsaw, Gideon noted.
He didn't linger.
He ran toward the outer wall, circling wide.
And so the chase began.
With his speed, he maintained a safe distance.
The Butcher locked onto him relentlessly.
He tried different routes, even using a wooden plank to counterattack—but it only bought time.
Eventually, he had to return here.
The farm was too open. In wide areas, the chainsaw dominated.
And he couldn't outrun that.
Two hours later—
"…Does this thing ever get tired?" Gideon muttered, sweat forming on his forehead.
Even with his body, he was reaching his limits.
At this rate, he'd collapse first.
"Hey… we don't even have a grudge, right? How about we sit down, talk it out?" he tried.
No response.
"No consciousness…?"
Maybe I can find a weak point with the Divine Eye…
But that would drain his stamina even faster.
Still—
He had no choice.
He turned sharply, golden rings appearing in his eyes.
The Butcher's body filled with dense black sigils.
Black upon black.
No weak points.
"…That's just unfair," Gideon muttered.
At that moment, the Butcher raised its axe again—
Then suddenly stopped.
Gideon halted as well.
The creature turned—looking elsewhere.
Chainsaw roaring—
It vanished into the cornfields.
Gideon didn't move immediately.
He retreated to the inner wall, recovering while watching.
Half an hour passed.
No movement.
Only then did he leave, taking a more complex route.
Under a large rock—
"Father Gideon! You're alive!" Lynn exclaimed, overjoyed.
He nodded. "Got lucky. It left before I ran out of stamina."
"You held it off that long?!" she stared in disbelief.
"Is that strange? I was trying to wear it down."
Lynn shook her head, still stunned.
"Scavengers don't get tired. At least, none we've seen."
"Even experienced clergy with Bone Manifestation last only about twenty minutes."
She looked him over.
"You might be the one who lasted the longest."
Gideon waved it off. "I was only chased for half an hour. The rest was terrain."
"I see…" she said, relieved.
"But that's still incredible. I wouldn't last five minutes."
He changed the subject. "Do you know where it went? Will it come back?"
"Maybe someone else started a generator," Lynn said thoughtfully.
"Father Gideon, let's head back to camp. It's not far. Bishop Austin can explain better."
Gideon considered, then nodded.
Ten minutes later—
They reached a hidden corner.
Broken walls, a rusted excavator nearby.
More than a dozen clergy sat there.
As soon as they approached—
"Who's there?!"
"It's me! Lynn!"
"Lynn? Why so late? Where's Vini? And who's this?"
A shirtless man stepped forward.
"Dylan… Vini…" Lynn lowered her head, forcing herself to stay composed. "She was killed."
Silence.
Others gathered.
"Was it the masked figure again?" a man with a silver cross asked.
Lynn shook her head. "No… it was the one with the chainsaw."
A collective gasp.
Even Bishop Austin's eyes widened.
"…That thing, here…" he murmured.
"May she rest in peace. Lynn… you've done well to survive."
"She saved me," Lynn said, gesturing to Gideon. "Without him, I'd be dead too."
All eyes turned to Gideon.
"May the Lord bless you," Austin said, making the sign of the cross. "Where are you from? What have you encountered?"
Gideon raised an eyebrow—but replied calmly, "I arrived not long ago."
Seeing confusion, Lynn added, "He just entered today—from the Holy Land."
"What?! The passage opened?!"
"Where?! How far?!"
The group erupted, crowding around him.
"Everyone, please—this is improper," Austin said, stepping in.
"He's just escaped a Scavenger. Let him sit first."
Moments later—
Gideon sat on the ground, surrounded.
"We've been trapped here for a long time," Austin said.
"Please… tell us what's happening outside."
Gideon made the sign of the cross over his chest, then briefly explained everything—the Church's mobilization, and how the Clergy Order selection had been merged with the rescue mission.
But the moment he finished—
The people around him responded with disdain.
"Hah, figures. Why would the Church open a passage just for people like us?"
"Clergy selection? Please. It's just an excuse to recruit expendable labor."
"We have to find those noble brats to activate the teleport? What if they're all dead? Are we supposed to rot here forever?"
Discontent spread through the group.
Some even began questioning Gideon directly—since he wasn't here to rescue them, what right did he have to stay in this "safe camp"?
Austin quickly stood up.
"Everyone, regardless of anything else—the Church has reopened the passage."
"And Father Gideon saved Lynn. Otherwise, we'd already have lost another companion."
He turned to Gideon.
"If we help locate those people… can we leave together with the noble families?"
Gideon remained calm.
"From what I understand—yes. However…"
At that single word, the atmosphere immediately turned hostile.
"However, I still know too little about this place. Even if I want to help, it would be difficult."
He glanced around at everyone.
"If possible, could you all share what you know? It'll increase our chances."
Austin nodded.
"That's only right."
"The more people understand the rules, the better our odds."
As he spoke, he picked up a few stones from the ground.
"Our current location… is only one part of the entire Holy War Site."
According to Austin, this space was divided into multiple regions—each with completely different terrain.
Swamps, western wastelands… and the farmland they were currently in.
Each region was separated by a powerful evil barrier.
No one in one region could directly reach another—
Unless they escaped through that region's exit gate.
"And each region has three generators," Austin continued, arranging the stones. "They're connected to the gate's power system."
"…To open the gate, you need electricity. And the only known way to generate it… is by inserting lost holy relics."
Gideon interrupted, frowning slightly.
"But don't holy artifacts lose their power here?"
"Those brought from outside—yes," Austin replied.
"But relics that were lost here long ago… still retain a portion of their holy power."
He took out an old cross—worn with age.
"This is one of them."
Gideon took it.
He could clearly feel the energy within—
But when he tried to draw it out, something blocked him.
"These relics can only be used with generators," Austin explained.
"Once inserted, they temporarily restore holy power to nearby clergy."
"Sometimes… they even grant a brief special ability."
Then he sighed.
"But finding them is extremely difficult."
"They're scattered randomly. No markings. No obvious aura."
"Often, it takes weeks to find just a few."
"And all the while, we have to deal with Scavengers…"
"It's like searching for a needle in the ocean."
Gideon's gaze flickered.
He looked down at the cross in his hand.
Through the perspective of Divine Eye Restraint, the relic's spiritual runes glowed faintly—
Clear. Distinct.
Impossible to miss.
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