A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The silence didn’t last long.

“…Huh.”

Something that felt like a sigh or a lament escaped from deep within my chest.

“I understand what you want to say. No matter what happens, it means you plan to go catch the monsters first, right?”

“Um, saying that makes me feel a bit apologetic toward the Colonel.”

“If you know, then don’t say such things. Ugh.”

I removed the magazine and counted the bullets. Then I checked the condition of the firearm one last time.

“What am I supposed to do? They’re all adults, not children, so I can’t exactly stop them from doing what they want.”

Click.

I gripped the pistol tightly, ready to fire at any moment.

It seemed that Camila and Francesca were also prepared to fight. Francesca had drawn her sword and held a vial in her hand, while Camila tied her hair back with a string she had in her mouth.

I looked at the two of them with a worried expression.

“Remember this, both of you. If things get dangerous, don’t look back and just get to the defense line.”

“Don’t worry.”

Flames ignited at the tips of Camila’s fingers.

“We won’t get hurt.”

In response to her words, a shout echoed through the rift.

“The Corpse Spiders are coming! Everyone, to the stronghold!”

It was the signal that announced the start of battle.

Episode 11 – No Issues on the Northern Front

The noise echoed in the mountainous area as sirens blared.

The alarm from the unit defending the rift resonated off the sheer cliffs and withered trees, ringing and ringing endlessly.

No matter how loud they shouted, the sound was drowned out, and even the hard-of-hearing would have to cover their ears from the piercing siren.

In this area, where the echoed siren spread in all directions, the most distinct sound wasn’t a scream or a roar, but the sound of gunfire.

-Bang!

A gunshot split the air.

As the rifle fired, shells ejected, and the pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air. The sound of gunfire reverberated through the cold northern winter sky, cold enough to freeze even hot blood.

But even the breeze that had been a part of centuries-long battles didn’t seem to take away the heat of the shells. A soldier who had just been hit by a shell flying from the side shuddered at the warmth on his face.

In the old days, a soldier hit by a shell would have immediately kicked the helmet of the rookie with his boot. He was the highest-ranking of the veterans, and there was no one of a higher rank entering the stronghold than him.

However, the soldier did not kick the rookie’s helmet.

“Ugh, kuh…!”

“Alexey!”

A soldier grabbed another soldier’s shoulder. The man named Alexey didn’t respond but instead clutched his throat, gasping for air.

A thorn, the size of a palm, was embedded in his neck, and he hurriedly tried to cover the wound with his hands, but the blood showed no signs of stopping. In fact, with each heartbeat, it gushed forth like a fountain.

The blood soaked the watch wrapped around his wrist rapidly.

The gunfire continued.

-Tata-tata-tata! Tata-tata! Tata-tata-tata!

The machine gun positioned at the stronghold poured bullets with fierce intensity.

The shooter, firmly bracing himself, gritted his teeth and moved the machine gun left and right. Normally, he would have been reprimanded for wasting bullets, but the one to say that was also pulling the trigger and spraying lead.

The enemy was everywhere.

And the enemy’s name was Monster.

“The Corpse Spiders are approaching!”

At the familiar cry, the soldier raised his head.

He released the hand of the person who had just been alive and ran toward the radio, dodging bullets flying overhead.

The rear stronghold was relatively positioned behind. The soldier, glancing around hurriedly, grabbed the radio operator who was shooting while half-exposed.

“Hey! Where’s the Mage?”

“Eh?”

“Where’s the magician, you fool! The one from the support squad who was just here!”

The confused radio operator pointed somewhere with his finger. The sorcerer was at the defense point, positioned relatively forward.

It was clearly a location that had been a stronghold, but now it was swarming with spiders.

Just then, a large explosion erupted from the place the radio operator had pointed to.

Though visibility was poor due to the thick fog, a piece of ice imbued with cold shot upward, sweeping the area. The baby spiders had stepped on the mines set previously.

Understanding the situation, the soldier spoke to the radio operator again.

“Send word that the magician has died and we’re short on firepower. And tell the others in the strongholds to come over here immediately!”

“They’re all under attack and can’t come!”

“Then request reinforcements from headquarters! We have mortars, but where can we use them?!”

“They used them just now! Twenty minutes ago! But the communication—”

The radio operator’s voice was drowned out. More precisely, it was swallowed by the sound of gunfire.

The soldier twisted his hand, checking his watch. The ridiculous watch his friends gifted him to celebrate his discharge was tick-tocking even now amid the chaos.

He had vowed to throw that watch into the river of his hometown once he got discharged, yet it had been over five years and showed no signs of leaving his wrist.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, while looking at the watch, the soldier realized a shocking fact. The furious sound of the machine gun had stopped.

Looking up at the front, he saw a lone machine gun remaining at the stronghold, while a monster with hairy legs rampaged through the inside. There were no longer any people left there.

The soldier, now understanding the situation, bit his lower lip and began to speak.

“We’re falling back. It’s impossible to hold here. Prepare to run to the main defense line.”

Just as the veteran gave his order, the radio operator was about to nod when—

“Ugh!”

One soldier, yanked forcefully, stumbled back from the stronghold with a dying groan.

The soldier who took a thorn to the chest collapsed upon hitting the ground. His face contorted, the color drained from it, and his eyes lost their luster as they turned to the sky, while his hands went limp, dropping something.

The soldier’s eyes widened in horror as he recognized what it was.

“Grenade in the hole!”

“Get down!”

One of the soldiers in the stronghold threw himself over the grenade. An explosion erupted among those trying to escape the stronghold.

The soldier was thrown backward, landing hard on the ground.

“…”

There was no need to understand the situation.

The grenade exploded, and he was caught up in it. His stomach ached, indicating he had taken a hit.

It was hot.

It hurt.

“…”

Looking over, he saw people rolling in the snow.

Some didn’t even move, while others grabbed fallen weapons with trembling hands, and some dragged the injured toward the defense line, stumbling with their nearly immobilized bodies.

No more gunfire could be heard. No, the sound itself was gone.

The soldier, holding his stomach, lay on the ground, staring up at the sky. Through the thick fog, the grim northern sky could be seen.

Just like the sky of his beloved hometown.

“…”

Drowsiness washed over him. His friends in his hometown had worried that he might die while serving up north, but now he didn’t care about their concerns.

He hadn’t been the studious type, but now he seemed to understand. At least in this last moment of life, death wasn’t the glorious end the recruiters at the academy talked about.

He knew it sounded crazy, but not like this.

With that murmured thought, his eyes began to close.

As his eyelids slid shut, the last image imprinted on his retina was—

Flames staining the sky red.

And a black-haired foreigner looking down at him from somewhere.

*

Another soldier had just died.

The soldier, ejected with the explosion, lay on the ground, intestines spilled out, lifeless. A watch with a slightly silly design hung from his wrist, but the glass was shattered, soaked in blood, making it more chilling than funny. The second hand had stopped moving as well, making it feel even eerier.

I reached out to the soldier’s body. I pulled the rifle that still dangled from his shoulder.

Upon checking the magazine, I found there were hardly any bullets left. It seemed the fighting had been intense.

I stripped the chest rig of ammunition from the corpse, throwing it over my own attire haphazardly. Though blood stained my pristine white shirt, I didn’t care much.

After acquiring the insufficient ammunition, I raised the rifle and fired bullets into the head of a nearby spider.

-Bang!

The Corpse Spider, which had been charging fiercely, fell to the ground, losing its momentum as the bullet blew a hole through its head. Its foul bodily fluids oozed out from the opening, and a few crushed eyes rolled out like porridge.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

As I took down a few monsters, I shouted toward Camila and Francesca.

“The outer defense line has been breached! If we keep this up, monsters will reach the defense line!”

“I know that too!”

With a flick of her wrist, Camila conjured ripples in the air. Flames ignited as if she were wielding telekinesis.

The tiny sparks transformed into flames. The flames birthed from the air engulfed the moisture-less wood, the carcasses of monsters, and someone’s body, spreading out in all directions.

The spreading flames formed a small barrier, enclosing us. The approaching Corpse Spiders retreated, sensing the heat.

-Kieeeek!

-Si-sisi-sisit!

The horrific cries echoed throughout the northern mountains. The Corpse Spiders eyed us like predators stalking their prey, circling back and forth.

Francesca, watching the movements of the spiders, narrowed her eyes.

“…Hmm. It’s indeed strange. The Corpse Spiders aren’t retreating, even facing the flames.”

“Back in the day, I remember a monster the size of a medium car charging at Camila!”

“Large species act that way. Once their territory is encroached upon, they’ll charge at anything, human or animal, without a second thought. But with small species like the Corpse Spiders, it’s a different story.”

Francesca adjusted her grip on the sword and gazed at the swarming mass of spiders. There were so many that it could easily be called a swarm rather than just a single species.

“It’s strange. Did the magic of the rift influence the monsters’ instincts…?”

“Now that’s nonsense.”

“Similar research results came out recently from the Mauritania Continent. It’s a topic I’m focusing on, so I was planning to invite them to the Magic Tower soon…”

That Francesca is interested in the ecology of monsters is surprising. It reminded me of Saint Veronica, always full of unexpected insights. My knowledge expanded yet again today.

As Francesca hummed while lightly stroking her chin, she licked her lips and broke the silence.

“Well, what’s important right now is not that. At this rate, we’ll be surrounded; what do you propose we do?”

Instead of answering Francesca’s question, I turned my head. My gaze landed on the soldiers from headquarters who had come to support, rushing a wounded person toward the defense line.

After glancing at Camila who was manipulating fire to keep the monsters at bay, I called out to Francesca, who was swinging her sword through the air.

“Administrator.”

“Yes, Colonel.”

“Ten minutes. Just ten minutes, can you hold out?”

While wielding her sword, Francesca smiled slyly.

Her violet eyes, resembling violets, gleamed with a shade of crimson.

“I could hold out for thirty minutes. Care to make a bet?”

“Cut the bravado.”

I raised my rifle and shot down the approaching Corpse Spiders.

The familiar gunfire rang across the snowy northern landscape.