Chapter 198: The Church Brought an Army for One Heretic

The first checkpoint appeared before noon. It wasn’t particularly impressive.

Six men. Two knights in white armor. One priest. Three auxiliaries inspecting wagons. The problem was that another checkpoint stood twenty kilometers farther east.

And another to the south.

Roland returned shortly afterward wearing an expression Raven already recognized. It wasn’t fear. It was the face he made when the news was worse than he wanted to admit.

"We have a problem."

Valeria, sitting beside the road, looked up.

"That doesn’t narrow things down much anymore."

Roland dismounted.

"The Church closed Harrow Pass."

Raven was spreading a map across a flat stone.

"Completely?"

"No. Merchants can pass. Residents too. Mercenaries have to register their name, destination, and contract."

"Luggage?"

"Random inspections."

Raven marked the crossing.

"Mages?"

"One."

"Knights?"

"Four."

"Inquisitors?"

Roland paused.

"Two black cloaks."

Valeria stopped smiling.

"That’s new."

Raven looked up.

"You’re sure?"

"I haven’t spent three weeks following Church people just to confuse a decorated robe with an inquisitor now."

"I wasn’t doubting that."

"It sounded remarkably similar."

Raven ignored the comment.

"What else?"

Roland crouched beside the map.

"Two tracking teams north. One following the trail we left yesterday. Another coming back from Morven."

Valeria leaned closer.

"So they know some of the information was false."

"They suspect," Raven corrected.

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes."

Roland pointed to another location.

"They also stationed people at the two largest Mercenary Houses in the area."

Raven marked both.

"Inside?"

"One or two clerics in each. Asking about recent contracts, foreigners, unusual weapons."

Valeria rested her arms across her knees.

"This is starting to feel personal."

Raven kept studying the map.

It wasn’t personal.

That would have been simpler.

It was institutional.

And institutions had more hands.

More eyes.

More time.

"Elise?" Raven asked.

Roland shook his head.

"Didn’t see her."

Valeria looked toward Raven.

"That’s new too."

It was.

Until now, the pursuit had worn Elise’s face.

One Saint.

Brother Halven.

Small teams.

People trying to locate Raven for an investigation.

Now there were black-cloaked inquisitors, enough knights to occupy crossings, mages assigned to inspections, and multiple independent teams.

Someone had changed his classification.

Raven folded one corner of the map.

"We need to know who."

---

They found out that afternoon.

Not through an interrogation.

Through a tavern.

Less dramatic.

Usually more useful.

Valeria went inside alone.

Raven and Roland waited in an abandoned structure behind a stable. Twenty minutes later, she returned carrying a small bag of bread and a satisfied expression.

Roland looked at the food.

"Information or dinner?"

"Both."

She threw him a loaf.

Raven waited.

Valeria sat down.

"The Church issued a regional order this morning."

"Name?"

"Provisional Doctrinal Containment Measure."

Roland bit into the bread.

"That sounds unpleasant."

"It is."

Raven spread out the map again.

"Justification?"

"I couldn’t get the full text, but I heard enough."

Valeria began counting on her fingers.

"Subject possesses an unclassified Authority."

One.

"Confirmed ability to incorporate biological functions from eliminated creatures."

Two.

"Anomalous interaction with sacred mana."

Three.

"Evidence of consecrated tissue integration."

Four.

"Weapon capable of compromising high-rank defenses."

Roland stopped chewing.

"Did they say Champion?"

"Not out loud."

Raven didn’t need to ask why.

It wasn’t good publicity to explain that an Awakened had made a Saint bleed.

"Anything about the Hound?"

"Yes."

Valeria looked at him.

"The Order of Penance reported that important structures were missing from the corpse."

Raven had expected that.

"Do they know which ones?"

"I didn’t hear details."

"Do they know what I did with them?"

Valeria smiled without humor.

"I assume ’subject consumed consecrated components’ is already circulating through at least one office."

Roland looked at Raven.

"You say that like it’s their fault it sounds bad."

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your face did."

Raven looked back at the map.

That explained the escalation.

They didn’t know about Radiant Metabolism.

They didn’t know about Penance Sanctuary.

They didn’t know exactly what had happened inside Raven’s body.

But they had enough pieces.

A dead consecrated beast.

Missing structures.

Raven resisting sacred mana.

Elise confirming integration.

A Champion-level barrier damaged.

Then penetrated.

They didn’t need to understand the mechanism.

Only the risk.

Valeria took another piece of bread.

"I heard something else."

Raven looked at her.

"There’s disagreement."

That was more interesting.

"Between whom?"

"Some offices want you captured. Others want immediate isolation. And at least one believes allowing you to remain mobile after what happened with Elise was a mistake."

Roland frowned.

"Does Elise know?"

"Almost certainly."

"Does she agree?"

Valeria considered it.

"She doesn’t seem to be directing this."

Raven had noticed that too.

She had prestige.

Not control.

They had already confirmed that during the previous interrogation.

The Church wasn’t one person with one voice.

That made everything worse.

And better.

Divisions could be exploited.

But they also meant Elise couldn’t simply say leave him alone and end the problem.

"How many?" Raven asked.

Valeria shook her head.

"I don’t have an exact number."

"Estimate."

"More than forty spread across the region."

Roland whistled.

"For us."

"For him," Valeria corrected.

Raven looked at her.

"You two are with me."

"Yes, but the imaginary wanted poster says Raven Ashford."

Roland finished his bread.

"I’d appreciate keeping my name off the imaginary poster."

---

There were more of them the next day.

Raven didn’t see every team directly.

He didn’t need to.

Roland kept bringing reports.

A patrol at the bridge.

Two teams on secondary roads.

A group of knights moving east.

Priests questioning merchants.

A mage specializing in mana traces stationed at a caravan stop.

And something different.

"There’s an inquisitor asking specifically about the rifle," Roland said.

Raven looked up from the projectile he was working on.

"What questions?"

"Shape. Length. Time between shots. Whether it needs visible mana buildup before firing."

Raven put down the tool.

That was more dangerous than asking about him.

"Who answered?"

"Everyone."

Valeria gave a dry laugh.

"Fame has advantages."

"Not many."

Roland sat down.

"They’re also asking whether you keep the weapon on you at all times."

"What did you tell them?"

"That I heard it explodes if anyone else touches it."

Raven looked at him.

Roland smiled.

"I’m learning."

Valeria raised a hand.

"That was a perfect lie."

Raven shook his head.

"Too absurd."

"That’s exactly why I like it."

"I don’t want people remembering absurd details. I want them repeating useful ones."

Roland sighed.

"I still have work to do."

"Yes."

"You could pretend that hurt."

"No."

Valeria smiled.

"That sounded more natural."

---

By the third day, routes were no longer the main problem.

Resources were.

They couldn’t enter a major Mercenary House without risking recognition.

Buying large quantities of food drew attention.

Changing horses was worse.

The Mk.I needed materials.

The specialized ammunition needed even more.

And Raven was rediscovering something Black Hound had already taught him in another world.

It didn’t matter how good you were at hiding.

If an organization controlled enough supply points, eventually it forced you to choose between exposure and running out of things.

Raven was reviewing their remaining supplies when Valeria entered.

"We have two days of comfortable food."

"Three if we ration."

"I don’t want to know what uncomfortable food means."

Roland called from outside.

"Dried meat without cheese."

Valeria grimaced.

"Two days."

Raven kept counting.

"Mana crystals."

"Enough for limited testing," she said.

"Black Mithril."

"You know better than I do."

"Low."

Valeria leaned against the wall.

"We could leave the region."

Raven didn’t answer.

"There are secondary passes east."

"Watched."

"Not all of them."

"Not yet."

She studied him.

"We could create another false trail and cross before they close the rest."

"Yes."

"Then?"

Raven placed the last round into the box.

"What happens afterward?"

Valeria fell silent.

Roland entered.

He had been listening.

"Another region."

"Yes."

"Another Mercenary House."

"Yes."

"Another blockade once they figure out where we went."

Raven nodded.

Roland understood.

"We can’t keep running forever."

Valeria looked toward Raven.

"Not exactly."

Raven closed the box.

"We can."

"What?"

"We could."

Valeria frowned.

"That doesn’t sound like what you want."

"It isn’t."

Raven walked over to the map.

The region was covered in marks.

Crossings.

Patrols.

Routes.

Possible inspections.

Circles where Roland had spotted tracking teams.

Lines showing where the Church appeared to be pushing them.

It wasn’t a perfect encirclement.

It never would be.

Raven could leave.

With enough care, probably that same night.

But then they would have to start over.

Change routes.

Change names.

Reduce exposure.

Hope the Church didn’t expand the order.

That solved nothing.

It only bought distance.

And Raven had already bought enough distance.

"The Church is doing something useful," he said.

Valeria raised an eyebrow.

"That wasn’t something I expected to hear today."

Raven pointed at the map.

"They’re concentrating resources."

Roland moved closer.

"How is that useful?"

"Before, we didn’t know how many teams were operating in the region. Now they’re showing us."

Valeria understood first.

"Because they have to close routes."

"Yes."

Raven marked another point.

"We didn’t know which roads they considered important."

Another mark.

"Now we do."

Another.

"We didn’t know how they responded when they lost a trail."

Roland studied the map.

"They split their teams."

"Yes."

Valeria leaned over the map.

"And they’re trying to push us."

"Toward specific routes."

"So we also know where they expect us to appear."

Raven nodded.

Roland remained silent for several seconds.

"This is starting to sound less like a pursuit."

"Because it stopped being one."

---

That same day, they saw a complete force for the first time.

From a hill.

At a distance.

Roland handed Raven the spyglass.

Raven counted.

Twelve knights.

Four inquisitors.

Three priests.

Two mages.

A supply wagon.

One tracking team.

It wasn’t an army.

Raven had seen armies.

Military columns.

Units that could erase a force like this in seconds with proper support.

But for one person...

It was a lot.

Valeria took the spyglass afterward.

"All that for you."

"Not all of it."

"Raven."

"They also want the weapon."

"That’s still yours."

Roland watched from behind them.

"I still want my name kept out of every document involved."

Valeria lowered the spyglass.

"That doesn’t look like a normal capture team."

"It isn’t."

Raven studied the formation.

Good spacing.

The mages were protected.

The inquisitors weren’t grouped together.

They had learned something.

They didn’t know all his capabilities, but they were no longer treating him like a dangerous mercenary.

They were treating him like a specialized threat.

That was progress.

Not the pleasant kind.

But progress.

---

That night, they took shelter in an old stone building once used for grain storage.

Roland lit a small lamp.

No large fire.

Valeria dropped her cloak over a crate.

"So."

Raven stood over the map.

"So what?"

"We can’t use the major Mercenary Houses anymore."

"No."

"The main roads are watched."

"Yes."

"The smaller routes are starting to close."

"Yes."

"And there are enough priests asking questions that any merchant with a decent memory can sell information about us."

"Also true."

Valeria folded her arms.

"I’m glad we agree."

Roland sat down.

"Where’s the part where you say you have a plan?"

Raven didn’t answer immediately.

He had spent hours studying the map.

Not looking for an exit.

Looking for geometry.

A large organization needed roads.

Meeting points.

Supplies.

Communication.

The Church was closing the region around Raven, but in doing so, it was also creating lines.

Predictable ones.

There was one place where three of those lines came close together.

Old.

Abandoned.

Away from major civilian routes.

Raven had asked about it two days earlier.

A former religious installation.

Valeria stepped closer to the map.

"We can get out here."

She pointed to an eastern route.

"Roland could take us through the forest to the pass."

Raven nodded.

"He could."

"So we have an exit."

"Yes."

Valeria looked at him.

"You don’t want to use it."

No.

Roland stood slowly.

"What are you looking at?"

Raven picked up a piece of charcoal.

He marked a point.

Valeria studied it.

"What’s there?"

"Ruins."

"That doesn’t answer the question."

Roland leaned closer.

He recognized the location.

"Old Church complex."

"Abandoned," Raven said.

"For years."

Valeria looked between them.

"Why?"

Roland pointed north of the mark.

"Partial collapse. The trade road shifted afterward. I think it used to be a sanctuary and rest station."

Raven added, "Thick walls."

Roland looked at him.

"Yes."

"Elevation changes."

"Yes."

"Two large entrances. Several smaller ones."

Roland stopped answering.

Valeria looked at Raven.

"No."

Raven raised his eyes.

"I haven’t said anything yet."

"I know that face."

"You’re starting to say that too often."

"Because it keeps working."

Roland looked at the mark.

"You want to go there."

"Yes."

"There’s a blockade between us and the ruins."

"I know."

"Two teams can reach it from the west."

"Also true."

Valeria stepped closer.

"Raven."

"What?"

"Tell me you marked that because it’s an escape route."

Raven put down the charcoal.

"No."

She closed her eyes.

"Of course."

Roland looked at the map again.

"So... we stop running?"

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"We were never running."

Valeria laughed in disbelief.

"We’ve spent days sleeping in barns, avoiding roads, and leaving false trails."

"Tactical movement."

"That is running with military vocabulary."

Roland started laughing.

Raven let them finish.

Then he pointed toward the ruins.

"I was looking for somewhere to fight."

The laughter stopped.

Valeria looked at the point.

Then at Raven.

"Against Elise?"

"Against the operation."

"That includes Elise."

"Yes."

Roland rubbed a hand over his beard.

"And what exactly is the objective?"

Raven considered it.

Killing Elise would be stupid.

Attacking the Church indiscriminately would be worse.

Escaping solved nothing.

They needed to change how the organization evaluated the cost of pursuing him.

They needed to demonstrate that closing roads and deploying teams had consequences.

And Raven needed to decide where the next encounter happened.

"Isolate her," he said.

Valeria frowned.

"From the others?"

"Yes."

"And then?"

Raven looked toward the Mk.I leaning against the wall.

"Find out how much that level difference still matters when I choose everything else."

Silence.

Roland reacted first.

"That didn’t sound reassuring."

"It wasn’t meant to."

Valeria kept looking at the map.

"If we do this, we can’t pretend anymore that we’re only trying to get away."

"They stopped pretending this was only about asking questions a while ago."

"Elise didn’t."

Raven looked at her.

Valeria held his gaze.

"The Church did. She’s still different."

Raven knew.

Brackenford had proven that.

So had the interrogation.

Elise still believed she could save him.

Others were already considering what to do if she couldn’t.

"I know."

Valeria looked surprised that he admitted it so quickly.

"Then don’t kill her."

Roland looked at Raven.

Raven answered, "I’m not planning to."

Valeria’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Good."

"If I can avoid it."

They tensed again.

"You had to add that."

"It matters."

Roland raised one hand.

"I support the part where we avoid killing the Champion."

Raven ignored him and returned to the map.

The abandoned complex.

Entrances.

Elevation.

Cover.

Distances.

Retreat routes.

For the first time since Bellcross, Raven stopped thinking about how to maintain distance between himself and Elise.

Now he began thinking about how to achieve the exact opposite.

The Church had brought enough men to stop one heretic from disappearing.

Perfect.

That meant Raven knew where they were looking.

Now he only needed to give them something to find.