A Dark Fantasy Spy

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“It seems like your condition has improved a lot since earlier.”

Camila murmured.

“Have the wounds truly healed?”

“That’s something we won’t know for sure.”

“Hmm…”

Camila’s gaze shifted to the spider. Its state was still far from ideal, but if one looked closely, they might notice something strange. The shell, which had once been cracked, was now properly attached, and the flesh that had been oozing was beginning to regain its original form.

The creature that had lost its legs glared at us from behind numerous knights and combat magicians, as if it were staring at an age-old enemy.

For a brief moment, the blue eyes and the red irises crossed paths.

“…What.”

Flames erupted from the fingertips of Camila, who was moving her lips.

“Now we can check it for ourselves.”

And then, a monstrous roar echoed across the gloomy sky.

—

Episode 11 – No Issues on the Northern Front

—

The grotesque jaw opened, revealing a mouth structure with green threads stretching like cheese.

Venomous fangs were poised to tear into the neck.

“Ugh…!”

A knight quickly lowered his body and rolled on the ground.

The silver armor that had been glistening with light was swiftly sullied with mud and filth, and the knight’s head was soaked in the body fluid of the corpse spider, yet he didn’t flinch.

Instead, he swung his sword.

From the muck, a pure white blade rose.

The blade, trailing a white light like a tail, carved a deep mark onto the giant spider’s body.

“Step back!”

A booming voice shook the surroundings.

The knight, who had been trying to strike at the monster, turned his head sharply.

“Commander!”

“Get out of the way! Go stop the corpse spider!”

Following the command from his superior, the knight retreated.

Pereyti, who had sustained injuries, began to engage the monster directly, wielding his sword himself.

Beyond the striking silver sword, which radiated a brilliance beyond all others, lay a fierce battlefield.

A sea of corpse spiders, writhing like waves, surged towards them.

The knight who had joined the rear guard at the commander’s order swung his sword at a corpse spider.

– Swoosh!

The body of a spider, which had been attacking from behind his companion knight, was precisely severed in two before hitting the ground.

A fellow knight, noticing the spider carcass rolling at their feet, shot a glance at the knight.

Pereyti, having spotted his subordinates battling amid the cluster of corpse spiders, thrust his sword into the ground and spoke in a gruff tone.

“Was it Sir Martinez? I heard you’re an adventurer, but it looks like fighting isn’t your strong suit.”

“It’s not something to boast about, but I’ve achieved enough not to be evaluated so poorly.”

Juan Pablo Martinez, who had been preparing magic while moving his lips, spread his arms wide.

The magic power that flowed from him gathered in the air, and intricate sigils were etched into the space.

In an instant, a green barrier unfolded before him, which had been empty just moments before.

Beyond the slowly turning complex formulas and rippling green magic, visibility was hampered by dust and fog, but Martinez could sense something approaching at a rapid pace.

At last, the giant leg collided with the barrier.

“…Hmm.”

The monster lashed out with its legs covered in black armor.

– Thud!

As if to crush Pereyti, who had lost his legs, and Martinez, who blocked the way to him, the enormous leg attacked the barrier.

Swinging. Swatting. Pressing down.

The previously tranquil barrier began to shake. The boundary that resembled a still lake was rocked like a tumultuous sea, rippling everywhere, much like a downpour hitting a pond.

Yet, there was no trace of confusion on Martinez, who maintained the barrier.

It was as if he was waiting for something, remaining silent as he took the hits while expanding the barrier.

– Boom!

Martinez lifted his head at the loud noise coming from the front. The sound was distinctly different from that of the barrier being struck.

A violent blast descended from the sky.

A blue magic strike fiercely clawed at the spider’s back. The heavy body of the monster was ruthlessly slashed, leaving deep scars on its black shell.

– Kyaaaaah—!

The monster screamed in pain at the sudden attack from above.

With crimson retinas filled with suffering, a figure was captured.

Under the gloomy sky where not even a ray of sunlight could pierce through the overcast clouds, an ominous glow filled the air, tinted by the magic rising from the rift.

Beneath that sky, a woman with hair like violets, wielding a sword etched with strange patterns, stood poised.

—

One of the common misconceptions about mages, who boast a rich history, is that “mages are disadvantaged in close combat.”

Swordsmanship is favorable in close combat.

Magic, requiring incantation and materials, is unfavorable in close combat.

Therefore, it’s said that mages cannot defeat swordsmen in melee.

It’s a classic syllogism.

Such misunderstandings largely arose during the independent war between the Church and the Magic Tower.

In the early days of the war, magic users from the Magic Tower faced the Inquisition officers, combat priests, and knights, and they were entirely wiped out, and this latter day gossip transformed into the tale we know today.

It’s half true and half false.

To be precise, it’s an error born from a retrospective approach that doesn’t factor in the prevailing conditions of the time.

The Inquisition had conducted inquisitions against mages for thousands of years. The Inquisition was a group more skilled in great magic battles than any intelligence agency, and the Church was literally a state that was serious about crushing any mage who dared oppose the authority of religion.

On the other hand, up until the war broke out, mages had no notion of how to deal with clergy.

It was strange to expect a bunch of nobles who had long hidden and survived scattered throughout the world to suddenly start winning consistently against a Church that had existed under the banner of religion for thousands of years. Hence, it was only natural for them to struggle in the early phases.

Mages had to research effective ways to confront the clergy in order to survive.

What was born from this process was the combat magician.

And when the Church and the Magic Tower engaged in full-scale war, the combat magicians of that time were not the same weaklings that people believe they were against knights.

– Swoosh!

A blue magical strike sliced through the air.

The unleashed sword strike grazed the monster’s leg and slammed into the ground, erupting explosively, causing a mix of blood and mud to spray everywhere.

“Whoo—”

Francesca, having coalesced her magic power, shook off her sword and assumed her stance.

Then,

– Swoosh!

As the sword blade turned blue, another strike was unleashed. This time it entered properly, as it attracted a loud scream from the creature.

Francesca flicked her sword to shake off some residual magical energy.

“It’s my first time using the rune sword in real combat, and it’s surprisingly good.”

The peculiar-looking, luxurious sword glimmered in Francesca’s hand. Specifically, the strange characters carved into the blade were glowing.

The script, reminiscent of antique calligraphy, darkened blue as she infused it with magic.

“Did you make that yourself?”

“I didn’t make it; I just borrowed it from my family’s vault, Colonel.”

I knew of the Ranieri family’s vault as well.

It was a storage facility where various artifacts, crafted by their ancestors, were kept. I had heard that precious alchemical gems rolled around like pebbles on the ground, and treasures were stacked high within.

Of course, that was in the past.

It was a bygone era since the former head of the family, Francesca’s grandfather, had been marked as a public security criminal, leading to confiscation by the state.

Francesca continued while adjusting her grip on the rune sword.

“I borrowed it without permission, but what can I say? My ancestors wouldn’t have wanted it to just gather dust in that musty place.”

“Wait a minute. You stole it?!”

While I looked at Francesca with disbelief, Camila, who was fighting off the approaching corpse spiders together with others, shrieked loudly.

She threw a fireball toward the gathering spiders with the casualness of playing catch, then turned back to us.

“Spiders are coming from all directions!”

Flames bloomed like blossoms, engulfing several corpse spiders in one go.

“Not yet?!”

“No.”

Francesca lifted the rune sword high toward the sky.

“Very soon.”

With a swish, a new strike sliced through the air with purpose.

Even though it was covered in armored plating that could withstand bombardments, the monster seemed to realize that it couldn’t withstand the blue sword strike, darting its remaining legs around desperately to avoid Francesca’s unleashed attack.

The colossal creature evaded deftly despite its size. Its long legs stirred up a mess of bodies, debris, and shattered concrete as it backed away.

Chasing after it was a figure.

“Where do you think you’re running, you damned monster!”

Pereyti sprang forward like a cannonball, cutting through the air with his sword.

The white sword strike, swung smoothly like rowing a boat, flew through the air.

Unlike Francesca’s rune sword, Pereyti’s strike hardly wasted a moment before cleaving through three of the monster’s legs at once.

Though it didn’t sever them perfectly, that alone demonstrated incredible power. No one had been able to achieve that.

With the rune sword in hand, Francesca joined Pereyti in pressing the attack.

As she ducked to avoid the blue magical strikes descending from above, Pereyti’s white strikes approached like a viper aiming for the ankles, and in avoiding the white strike, the blue attack came rushing like an arrow.

Moreover,

– Clink!

A vial suddenly shot through the air.

The explosion of the liquid showered glass shards everywhere.

Distracted by dodging the sword strikes, the monster got hit by that vial, paying the price for its negligence as its armored shell and flesh began to melt away.

– Kyaaaaaah!!

The spider let out a torturous scream as it staggered back.

As if dodging a rain of bullets, the monster thrashed about, frantically trying to escape.

“Hahaha!”

Pereyti’s boisterous laugh pierced through the raging winds.

“I thought alchemists just buried their heads in books, but it seems the lady can fight far better than I expected! Do you have more of those mysterious vials?”

With a hand in her pouch, Francesca calculated based on the sensations at her fingertips.

“…There’s not enough. The quantity isn’t sufficient to just throw them around recklessly.”

“What a shame! Then…”

Pereyti grinned.

The knight, who had huddled down, sprang up and charged forward.

“Keep your eyes peeled for the moment a gap appears!”

A white sword strike flew toward the cursed creature. Pereyti swung his sword, and Francesca infused her rune sword with magic.

Strikes and strikes mixed chaotically.

The ground trembled as the monster dodged the strikes, and at times, the grunts of the creature struck by attacks shook nearby tree branches.

Pereyti unleashed strikes to create openings, and Francesca threw vials, not letting slip the opportunity.

Compared to Pereyti, who had honed his skills for decades, Francesca’s sword technique was indeed lacking.

However, the rune sword crafted by the Ranieri family’s ancestors was no mere plaything.

– Swoosh!

The blue strike was launched.

The magical strike that extended from Francesca’s arm shimmered with blue magic as it sliced through the overcast gray skies.

The strike landed squarely on the creature’s lower belly.

Attempting to evade the knight’s low attack, the creature leapt into the air, leaving it vulnerable to the alchemist’s assault.

– Kyaaah!

The spider did not dodge the incoming blue strike.

To be precise, it couldn’t evade it, as it was rooted in the belief that it wouldn’t suffer critical injuries from that blow.

Between a merciless silver strike capable of severing its legs and a blue strike that merely grazed its shell, it could easily calculate which blow to endure with its monstrous intellect.

Yet, there was a problem.

The strike recently cast by Francesca was significantly larger and more powerful than before.

By the time the monster realized this, the blue strike had already reached it, slicing through its armor and tearing into its tender flesh.

– Kyaaaaaah—!

A pain unlike any it had ever felt surged through its body.

The agony of having its legs cut off was nothing in comparison to this excruciating torment, and the vast spider, suspended in the air, no longer could think of landing.

Boom! The building-sized spider crashed down, shaking the ground.

Its erect torso collapsed in an instant, sinking into the goo made of melted ice and someone’s blood, standing precariously on feet stuck in the marsh.

With my rifle planted into the concrete rubble, I forced my tumbling body to stand.

“…Damn!”

As I raised my head, the entire world was a sea of spiders.

A horde of corpse spiders surged forward, forming a sea of bodies. Bugs, so it’s got to be a swarm, right?

“Camila, are spiders insects or animals?”

“Why are you asking that now?! Fight already!”

Camila whipped her arm like a whip. Flames danced around her hand as she struck the air as if hitting the cheek of an enslaved person.

The risen flames swept through, cresting like waves. The delayed chorus of the corpse spiders erupted in response.

– Kyaaaah!

– Kyaaah!

– Grrrrr!

As Camila steadied herself again, the magic manifested beside her. Seeing the engulfed spiders retreat, the ground itself rose up.

This was not a literary expression; the earth genuinely lifted.

“Anton! Help me out!”

The wizards, who had come to assist from the defending unit, were turning the earth upside down.

Thud! As my boots sank into the muck, the ground erupted, and as I swung my hand down, it sunk deep.

Majoring in elemental magic, yet deemed less valuable for combat compared to others, these construction wizards were utilizing their skills to entomb the swarm of corpse spiders.

Next to them, knights of the Church were slicing through the corpse spiders in half, while combat magicians from the Tower fried them with electricity.

“Keep the spiders from reaching the Commander!”

“Watch your magic levels! If you’re not feeling well, drink potions!”

Shouts echoed from all directions.

With dozens of knights facing the rampaging swarm of corpse spiders, only three were engaged with the huge beast capable of flattening armored battalions.

I pondered how to report this to the higher-ups when I raised my rifle to target an incoming spider.

A report can only be written if I’m still alive.

– Bang!

In an eruption, the head of a corpse spider burst. The trigger recoiled, the chamber opened, and a brass shell flew across the snowy ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang! I pulled the trigger, shooting bullets into the approaching spiders. Occasionally, distinct gunfire, not from me, echoed through, but my focus remained on the swarm of spiders ahead.

“Camila! Stop the fire and shoot your gun! Did you sell it off after giving it to me earlier?!”

“I left it with the unit members earlier!”

“Are you kidding me?! Why did you leave it there?!”

I could hear Camila shout an apology.

If my feelings could do so, I’d want to reprimand her right away, but unfortunately, punching her in the face would have to wait.

– Kyaaaaah!

Poisonous fangs glistened in front of me.

The corpse spider that had suddenly charged in. Instinctively, I shoved the barrel into its mouth.

– Kyaaaaah!

As the creature lunged to bite my face, it clamped down on the gun instead. A baby suckling a pacifier is cute, but this damn spider was gnawing at my barrel while scratching me with its sharp legs.

“Ugh! This damn thing!”

I rapidly switched the settings on my firearm. Then, pulling the trigger, I crammed bullets deep into the creature’s maw.

Tatatatata! With every flash of fire from that dark creature’s mouth, its head exploded.

Each impact sent splattered brains across the ground as the corpse spider trembled and collapsed each time a bullet struck its head.

After kicking its jaw to yank out the gun, I began shooting wildly at the horde of approaching spiders. When the bullets ran out, I pulled out my pistol to deal with them and nimbly changed the magazine when I had the leisure.

Knights, magicians, quasi-civilians, soldiers—everyone was doing their utmost to kill the monsters swarming toward the rift.

It felt as if every spider in the rift was converging here. But that was merely an illusion. Over an hour had passed since the first transmission that the defending unit was being attacked.

With the blue and white strikes flashing and the shrieks of the monsters in the backdrop, I fought tooth and nail to slay the spiders.

Throughout this near-death experience, a familiar voice rang out.

“Colonel!”

It was the voice I had been waiting for—Francesca.

I grabbed Camila, who was spewing fire, and shouted.

“Camila, now!”

“Got it!”

– Whoosh!

Between Camila’s hands, nearing each other, a blazing inferno flared up vehemently.

The flames grew bigger, engulfing the surroundings, creating a shimmering distortion in the air as both people and monsters alike were captivated by that light in a trance.

“Dieee!”

The swirling mass of flames surged across the northern mountain range.

It sped toward the monster that had been hacked at by sword strikes.

As dusk settled, casting a dim shadow across the murky gray sky.

Falling flames devoured the monster.

—

The Kien Empire’s northern mountains. Within the basin surrounding the rift, a massive inferno erupted.

A fireball, crashing down like a meteor, landed atop the monster’s head.

Not a queen leading the swarm, nor a general commanding an army, but that very enormous spider, masquerading as the leader of the corpse spiders.

It was truly a magnificent sight.

Both humans and monsters alike.

Those wielding swords and those unleashing magic.

All trying their hardest to kill the monster or being charged at by the spiders.

All halted in place, seized by the towering blaze.

Even the one who had created that flame.

We quietly stood at the center of the rising blaze, watching the gigantic shadow slowly succumb to the flames. As the leader burned alive, the surrounding corpse spiders seemed to sense something, abruptly stopping their attacks and retreating.

Surrounded by a flock of corpse spiders and humans fighting back, stood a huge bonfire in the mountains, looming above them.

In a bizarre yet surreal scene, everyone froze in place, neither making a move nor knowing what to do.

—

– Grrrr!

Through the rising flames, it stood up.

Having withstood Camila’s inferno, the monster awakened again, just as it had after enduring bombardment.

Of course, it was far from intact.

– Grrrr!!

Half-cut and shattered armor. Flesh grotesquely distorted and charred by the melted alchemical substances. Its body, like a charcoal briquette, was devoid of moisture.

Having crawled back from the brink of death, it stood precariously.

“Damn…”

An expletive whispered into my ear.

– ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶!!!

An incomprehensible scream reverberated throughout the area.

Withered trees, land turned into a swamp. Every living thing around shook.

It’s said that animals are the first to catch on before a disaster strikes. Perhaps that phrase was about to prove true, as the horde of corpse spiders surrounding us turned around and started scampering away.

Just like a crowd trying to escape an impending calamity.

And soon, that disaster revealed itself before us.

“…It’s coming!”

“Block it!”

Thick fluid gushed from the enormous spider’s mouth—a vile mix of green and red.

The dying beast’s last desperate act. The creature that spewed the fluid began to crumble before it could even find solid ground.

Yet, the fluid it expelled continued to advance toward us through the air.

Most of the people didn’t recognize what it was, but instinctively, they understood it was something they mustn’t touch. It was intuition.

“…Tear it!”

Pereyti shouted as he pulled out a hefty tome like one resembling a religious text. A whoosh! The sound of pages tearing echoed as a white barrier of light erupted in various places.

“Sir Martinez!”

Francesca’s panicked voice reached me, and the magic developed a beat behind.

Intricate formulas blossomed in the air as a green barrier sprang up before us.

Similarly, the mages from the Tower began to deploy barriers just as Martinez had. Some wizards hopped into their companion’s barriers like dodging raindrops.

The Empire’s mages erected shields from the ground, while the Church and the Tower struggled to fend off the torrent of bodily fluids pouring down.

The problem lay with Camila and me.

Although being a mage, Camila had little magic she could actually handle. Moreover, barrier magic was one that was passed down only within the Defenders School.

Thus, Camila didn’t even know how to create a barrier. And I, with no magic ability, was at a loss.

“…Ah!”

Before I realized it, the sky had already turned a sickly green.

The nearest barrier was close, but it wasn’t large enough for both of us to fit. The other barrier was just too far to sprint to.

Now, still stranded in that ambiguous position, neither Camila nor I had yet found cover.

“Colonel…!”

Francesca’s voice rang out distantly. Her golem was barreling toward us.

“……”

I hesitated momentarily.

Fortunately, the conflict didn’t last long.

I forcibly grabbed Camila, pointed in the direction of the barrier, and promptly kicked her, sending her flying into it.

The horror-stricken faces of onlookers and the wide eyes of Camila as she was pushed away.

The goal of the rushing golem and the wavering figure of Camila.

The ear-piercing scream invaded my eardrums while the crimson aura began to fade, and the darkness filled in its space within the westward sky.

A shadow slowly loomed, creeping over us like a shroud of green liquid.

As the green liquid flooded my sight.

I closed my eyes quietly.

—

– Whoosh!

At that moment, there was a loud ripping sound, as if tearing paper, piercing through the screams and ringing clearly in my ears.

Imagining the thick torrent of the green liquid surging toward me, I opened my eyes again.

Before me was a dazzling white light.

And,

“I thought I was too late…”

“Huh…?”

With her hair billowing in the wind, Lucía stood behind a radiant barrier, clutching a hefty tome against her side, looking down at me with a smile.

“Looks like I made it just in time.”

“Are you unhurt?”