A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The dense fog hung heavily in the air. Crimson mist swirled ominously within the pale haze.

Leaning against a crumbled wall, I stared vacantly into the thick fog.

“……”

In that curtain-like mist, red eyes peered out.

The spider shone with an eerie crimson glow.

—

Episode 11 – No Issues on the Northern Front

—

The spider moved.

Its long legs, wrapped in the hard shell of a crustacean, extended ominously. These extensile limbs shot up high into the sky, then spearheaded downward with a rush.

—Kuuuuung!

A tremendous roar ripped through the silence. Mud, entangled with my vision, exploded outward like fireworks. The ground shook as the spider landed, contorting its joints in a grotesque manner, seemingly crushing a discarded cigarette butt beneath its foot.

The spider’s movements had a strange playfulness to them, almost comical.

But the issue was, this spider easily surpassed the height of a three-story building and could squish several people beneath its leg, like a tank.

The Imperial Army tank crumpled like paper.

The armor, known to withstand at least a machine gun’s fire, was punctured, and the tank that had been pushing back against the corpse spider was twisted and smashed beyond recognition.

Then, as the spider’s leg ripped away, something viscous and sticky—be it oil or human—plummeted down.

The giant spider, having effortlessly swatted away a tank, began to illuminate its red eyes menacingly.

—

Silence hovered over the defense line.

Despite being packed with countless soldiers and heavy machinery, the defense line was filled with the strange sounds of life, yet now, it remained eerily quiet.

But the silence was short-lived. Never for long.

—Shuaaaak!

The legs, clinging to its grotesque body, began to move again.

“Here it comes! It’s coming down!”

“Take cover!”

The Imperial Army scattered in every direction.

Like dropping rain, some rushed into the trenches, while others hit the ground to avoid the onslaught.

It was a moment where screams and shouts filled the previously silent defense line.

And then, when the colossal leg slammed into a stronghold.

—Kwaaaang!

With that earth-shatteringly loud sound, a terrible stillness followed.

Even those fleeing or swept away fell into silence. The only noise resounding through the defense line was the crumbling of concrete fortifications.

Beneath the murky winter sky, a grotesque sound echoed across the fog-laden valley. As the spider writhed, trees and shrubs trembled, and with every stride of its giant legs, concrete and steel debris rained down outside the stronghold.

The colossal spider, reveling in its destruction, began its search for the next target.

At that moment,

—̶ ̶ ̶̶̶̶!

An explosion erupted from the dreadful beast’s mass.

A bizarre wail split the heavens. The red eyes rolled around, desperately seeking the source of the attack.

At the end of those crimson gazes was a tank.

Kururung! With a booming roar, the tank began to move. A massive shell casing emerged from behind the turret.

With each rumble of the tracks, the ground trembled. In the blink of an eye, the tank that fled from the stronghold fired its cannon at the monster.

The shell struck the spider’s body and exploded, while the tank ejected yet another shell casing.

As black smoke and gunpowder mingled into the fog, the sound of gunfire erupted behind the roar of cannons.

Tatatatatata! The tank commander gripped the machine gun and opened fire upon the beast. The machine gun, mounted beside the main cannon, blazed with activity.

Two flares cut through the air, swiftly striking the monster as the tank shook off the snow piled on its surface and charged like a wild beast.

Then came the moment.

—Chwaaaak!

Thin white lines shot through the smoke.

It was a web spun by the spider.

The web soared through the dense smoke, wrapping around the tank. The previously thunderous rumble of the tracks came to an abrupt halt, and the tank was rendered immobile.

I could clearly see the panic on the tank commander as he was suddenly ensnared by the spider’s web, even from the fog.

But that moment was fleeting.

The massive spider, having shot out the web, charged toward the tank with astonishing speed. Its gigantic form moved with an agility that defied imagination.

As several legs approached the tank, the spider used its armored legs to snatch up the tank. Lowering its body while trapping the tank in place, it let out a bizarre cry.

At that moment, the tank lifted off the ground.

The tank that had been shaking the earth with cannon fire was now airborne. Like a weightlifter hoisting a heavy barbell, the spider lifted the tank using its multiple legs.

The tank flipping over was an instant affair.

The Imperial Army tank, boasting thick armor and a powerful cannon, toppled like dominoes, crashing into the muck. The roaring engine, the boisterous tracks, and the tank commander all vanished into the mire.

—Whiiiiiiiik!

The giant spider swept its legs and uprooted the area.

Infantrymen, who had been momentarily dazed watching, and armored vehicles moved were swept away. The turret of a vehicle targeting the machine gun swung abruptly aside as if struck, splattering red paint across the snowy ground.

No one lived there anymore.

On a defense line clouded by thick smoke and fog.

Beyond the horizon, before a writhing swarm of corpse spiders.

The solitary spider stood tall, roaring as if to devour the sun like a general leading their troops.

—

I felt no particular thoughts.

I was simply scared and terrified.

The view through the crumbled wall was nothing short of horrific.

The defense line had already been surrounded, some parts breached.

Even at this moment, waves of corpse spiders were advancing on the defense line, several times larger than what had been encountered at the observation post.

I recalled the faces of those who were aghast after seeing the intelligence reports collected by the Military Intelligence Agency. The officials from the Ministry of Defense, who had fretted over where such monstrous tanks were developed, were now in a frenzy, insisting we needed to develop new tanks too.

That monstrous tank was stuck now in the muck over there.

—̶ ̶ ̶̶̶!

The main cannon fired.

A new tank, having appeared, shot shells at the giant spider. Other tanks, having abandoned the stronghold, unleashed their firepower to slay the beast.

Yet, the spider didn’t even flinch.

The spider, puffed up like a blowfish, glared with its red eyes and shot out webs. The wide-spreading web cut through the air and enveloped the tank.

What followed was no different from before.

Realizing they would die if caught in the spider’s web, the crew desperately attempted to maneuver their tank to evade, but regretfully, many couldn’t escape. The web enveloped the tank, and the spider smashed into it, flipping it over.

And thus, another tank sank into the muck.

“Huuaaaagh!”

“Screaaaah!”

Countless screams resonated with clarity.

The shrieks, carried by the wind, bounced off ancient trees and cliffs, spreading far and wide.

“…Ah.”

What unfolded before me was a scene you wouldn’t even see in a low-budget monster movie. It was so ridiculous that it didn’t hold a candle to the mass-produced ads from Chinese companies I had often watched before splurging on YouTube Premium.

Suddenly, I burst into laughter.

The defense line that had held firm just minutes ago crumbled. It was bizarre enough for a corpse spider to spring forth suddenly. Now, a monster the size of a villa was smashing tanks like they were toys. The very existence of such a gigantic creature here was strange. It was odd that I hadn’t recognized it until it had approached the defense line. It surely hadn’t been summoned out of thin air.

I did not understand.

It all felt like an unfortunate, nonsensical dream.

“If you write a novel this way, you’d get scolded….”

With a sense of despondency, I sat on the ruins and gazed at the blazing defense line. Just then, an explosion went off as flames spread to the spilled oil from an overturned armored vehicle.

Even amidst the chaos and death, I found myself laughing like a madman.

And so I laughed.

“……”

Sitting amidst the ruins, I pondered, staring through the gaping wall at the burning world. I seriously contemplated what I could do now.

Run away?

Of course, I could. Having crossed deserts over hundreds of kilometers just before starving, what was crossing a single mountain to me?

I could surely look after myself, and with Camila and Francesca by my side, we could move just fine. Unlike me, both of them were magicians, so it would be far easier for them.

Fight?

I could do that too.

But what could I accomplish by fighting here?

Indeed, a small hole had appeared in the defense line. The unit responsible for defending the rift had expanded the defense line along the valley. Should any part of it be breached by the monsters, the troops securing other areas wouldn’t be able to retreat. Their escape routes would be blocked.

And the Imperial Army stood no chance. In a situation where armored troops couldn’t defeat a single spider, what could infantry do? If only a magician were present, it might be feasible, but the remaining magicians here were scarce, not to mention the combat magicians requested by the division had yet to arrive.

Setting aside all that, this was not a place where I belonged.

Why should I guard the food supply that sustains the Empire? I was not one of them. If I died here, it would just be a pointless death.

Thoughts swirled around my mind, but my heart had already leaned in one direction. After sketching a route to the nearest unit below the mountain range, I addressed Camila and Francesca.

“…Camila, Francesca. If you can move, right now—”

“Let’s go.”

Camila interrupted my words. Dust-covered and coughing, she had already brushed herself off and stood up.

I looked at her in surprise, but Camila met my gaze without a word. It was as though she knew what I was about to say.

I tried to say something, but Camila spoke first, urging me on.

“Let’s go.”

Her blue eyes gazed out the window, staring at the giant spider laying waste to the defense line beyond the crumbled outer wall.

“Looks like… that’s the problem…”

“……”

“As long as we can take down that Godzilla-like monster, everything will be fine, right?”

Flames ignited in the air.

With fire encircling her fist, Camila stepped forward over the rubble of the collapsed building.

She spoke.

“Francesca mentioned it earlier. Someone will come to help us if we hold on a little longer.”

“……”

“I believe it. Someone will help us. Someone will certainly come to our aid. So…”

The once troublesome Camila looked at me with the utmost seriousness.

“Let’s go. To take down that monster.”