A Dark Fantasy Spy

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“Most of the students here will likely become priests, and while I can’t predict how many of you will end up as exorcists, you must understand what demons truly are.

Demons, devils, Satans, jinn, ifrits, evil spirits… there are countless terms that denote wicked beings.

Fundamentally, all malevolent entities mentioned in religions share one common trait.

Seduction.

A malicious being is not a particularly special or unique entity. There are certainly villains among those of you present here and within your own circles. In fact, even I, your teacher, might harbor a touch of malice hidden within me.

Evil is like a toxic mushroom existing within us.

When there’s good ventilation and warm sunlight, mushrooms and mold do not thrive. Conversely, in damp, musty places devoid of air and light, mushrooms and mold run rampant like a plague.

That is precisely where demons take root. Their work is to mysteriously blind and seduce your eyes and ears.

No matter how kind-hearted or devout a person may be, the moment they crack open their heart’s door in a moment of weakness, a demon will waltz right through the gap.

If you fail to cultivate your inner self and lock away the malevolent thoughts and habits lurking in a corner of your heart, before you know it, demons will have slipped into your heart.

…Indeed.

Just like that student over there, who’s dozing off during this sacred class, will likely invite a demon in.

Wake up right now, you damn little brat!”

— Archbishop Theodosius, during the lecture on ‘The History of Inquisition and Grand Exorcism’

—

Episode 12 – The Mightiest Magician Ever

New Year’s Day is now only a week away.

For some, the end of the year is filled with blessings and expectations, acknowledging that they will soon be recognized as full-fledged adults, and it can also serve as a significant turning point in their lives.

However, this year, I simply couldn’t welcome the end of the year with a warm atmosphere.

“Colonel, any progress today?”

“Sadly, no.”

The North is enduring a winter colder than ever before.

I’m not merely talking about the significantly lower temperatures due to an abnormal cold wave.

“With wizards, soldiers, and inquisitors everywhere… there’s a barmy lot going around, but there’s no sign of catching them. Not a glimpse.”

Since the series of murders began, the atmosphere in the North has shifted from chilly to downright lethal. The Military Government Headquarters, cult personnel, Magic Tower personnel, and foreign armies are on high alert, eyeing each other suspiciously.

“Recently, I’ve heard that the Inquisition visited the Cathedral with some of the Empire’s wizards. Do you know anything about that, Colonel?”

“Oh, that? They were just there to meet a patient. Nothing serious. But how did the administrator learn about it?”

“From a friend at the Imperial Ministry of Magic.”

Of course, the bigger issue lies elsewhere.

“Administrator, what’s the situation at the Magic Tower right now?”

“Are you referring to the Magic Tower in Nasitasia or the one in the North?”

“The former.”

Francesca let out a deep sigh.

“The atmosphere is not good.”

—

After the letters from Archbishop Theodosius and the high-ranking members of the cult reached the Empire, the Kien Empire accepted the proposal for a joint investigation with the Inquisition.

The war hero and member of the royal family, the Duke, even personally wrote to Lucia, granting permission for the Inquisition’s forces to be stationed in the North for investigative purposes.

The issue is that from the perspective of the Magic Tower, the presence of the Inquisition’s troops for investigation feels like a significant threat.

“There’s been a lot of talk about this from the start. Most of the Oracle Committee members, including the Tower Lord, opposed the Inquisition’s deployment. After the Duke granted permission, they’ve all switched to respecting his judgment and fallen eerily silent, but honestly, it’s not a favorable situation for the Oracles either.”

Not a magician myself, I didn’t fully understand the Tower’s dynamics, but listening to Francesca, it seemed the internal conversations among the Oracles were quite heated.

If I had to draw an analogy, it’d be like how Arab nations feel watching the Jewish flag being planted in Jerusalem.

They would like nothing more than to stop it by any means, yet there’s no sharp course of action, so they can do nothing but watch.

I rested my hand on the armrest and murmured, “So we really need to catch that investigator quickly. There’s nothing good that comes from dragging this out.”

“For now, I’ve tipped off Sir Evangelos.”

Francesca informed Evangelos Rysidike, the commander of the Magic Battalion.

Given the involvement of necromancers or possessed persons in this matter, Evangelos had promised to help us without any demands. He was mobilizing the Magic Battalion to search for the investigator, and Francesca was independently sending people to assist.

“A necromancer…”

Francesca muttered absently.

She perched herself on the desk, propping up her chin and staring into space.

“To be honest, it’s hard to believe. Necromancers haven’t caused incidents like this for nearly 20 years.”

“Do you know much about necromancers?”

Francesca placed her hand on a book, a magical tome adorned with geometric patterns. She tapped the thick book lightly.

“I’ve never seen one myself, but I’ve read books about necromancers in my family’s library. I also brought back some works about necromancers and possessed persons from the Magic Tower.”

Necromancer—commonly termed as such.

Like those scoundrels who play with human life, necromancers are unwelcome in any country. The Inquisition, various national magical departments, and even the Magic Tower are antagonistic towards them.

If they’re lucky, they might end up imprisoned alive in the ‘Crystal Prison’ managed by the Tower’s elemental and sorcery departments; if unlucky, they could lose their heads and become the subject of sensationalist media.

However, due to their rarity and their thorough clandestine activities, genuine encounters with necromancers have been few and far between.

With this in mind, Francesca nodded.

“Necromancers don’t really appear different from ordinary magicians. If they want to hide, they can do so thoroughly.

However, the tale of a necromancer or a possessed person suddenly appearing in the North is more convincing as the Inquisition struggling to shift the blame.”

“After all, the cult and the Empire didn’t really share information with the Tower, right? That’s why rumors are bound to arise, just like now.”

“They probably wanted to avoid making the confusion any worse. Well, the absence of concrete evidence is indeed a fact.”

“And that’s why the people in the Tower are rebelling. Initially, I wouldn’t have believed it, but…”

Francesca’s gaze shifted quietly to me.

“…Given that I’ve seen them rotten away in plain sight, I can’t help but believe.”

I cautiously looked at the wound on my chest.

“Is there no way to treat this?”

“For now, I’ve contacted some acquaintances in the Alchemy Department to obtain some highly effective potions. But I can’t guarantee their effectiveness.”

Francesca had provided me with various potions over the past few days. Yet, none of them had been able to heal the rotting wound.

“If it were an elixir, it might work…”

“That’s an obsolete potion, isn’t it? I believe the recipe has been lost.”

“It existed but has remained a legend since. If only the recipe were safely locked away!”

Francesca jokingly bantered while diverting her gaze. Her fatigued eyes were drawn to the curtains draping the window.

“While your wounds are certainly serious… I’m more concerned about ‘those’.”

Francesca carefully drew back the curtain. Peeking through the narrow gap where only half her face could fit, she immediately frowned in displeasure.

—Caw! Caw…!

The sounds of crows echoed from outside. With a flutter, wingbeats accompanied their cries.

Francesca shut the curtain and stepped back from the window.

As she flipped through the magical tome adorned with geometric patterns, after a while of turning pages, she brushed her hair back in frustration. Her silk-like strands cascaded like waves down onto her shoulders.

“Well, whatever about the crows… while investigating the necromancers and the possessed persons you mentioned, something does strike me as odd.”

“What is it?”

“About the necromancers.”

Suddenly, Francesca tilted her head.

“While there’s insufficient material regarding the possessed persons, there’s ample documentation on necromancers in the Tower. Nevertheless, the instance of a necromancer disguising themselves as a priest dealing with sanctity is nonexistent across the board.”

“Couldn’t it be brainwashing? Or maybe they took some measures to appear holy.”

“To ascertain that, we’d need to gather their magical or divine essence…”

“……”

Suddenly, the amulet crossed my mind. The amulet that had contained the investigator’s divine essence. While a grand mage could sense the divine within, the investigator had caught on and successfully destroyed the amulet.

“Damn it.”

I cursed briefly and refocused on Francesca’s words. She sat, tapping a book adorned with geometric patterns with her quill.

“Whether it’s brainwashing or not, there’s definitely a concern here; this seems completely different from the past incidents involving necromancers. They usually just kidnapped a few people from the countryside for sacrificial experiments. They’ve never made such blatant moves, you know?”

“Considering their low numbers and the fact that they only operate in the shadows, it’s rare for them to pull off any large-scale incidents.”

“Exactly, that’s what’s weird.”

Francesca looked up and gazed at me.

“Why would those who have been lurking in the shadows suddenly appear in the North and stir up trouble?”

“……”

“Well, we’ll keep investigating, but Colonel, you should also take care. Avoid getting hurt any further.”

I nodded in response.

—

Separately from the joint investigation or intelligence gathering, Francesca promised to assist in tracking the investigator. Although the personnel from the Magic Tower might be unaware, for the time being, the Magic Battalion and several magicians would operate under Francesca’s supervision.

I mobilized my network to trace the movements of the investigator.

By using internal documents from the joint investigation team of the Imperial Ministry of Magic and the Inquisition, I discovered the locations of several villages suspected to have been visited by the investigator. Much like the villages where Priest Rebecca and the Inquisition had visited, those villages lay far from the city.

However, when the wizards from the Ministry and the priests from the Inquisition visited the villages, it was already far too late.

Just like the village where Lucia and I had discovered the undead, the villages where the investigator is suspected to have visited were all completely deserted. The Military Government Headquarters estimated that around 300 to 500 citizens were missing.

The joint investigation team attempted to gather the essence of the investigator left at the scene for identification and concrete evidence, but the amount of residual essence was so minuscule that they couldn’t glean any meaningful results.

Eventually, I decided to share various pieces of information I had regarding the investigation with the joint investigation team.

Since I lacked formal investigative authority, I merely hoped that whoever it was, they would quickly apprehend the culprit.

Of course, as someone masquerading as a diplomat, it was impossible for me to provide information to the joint investigation team outright. There was a real risk that before the investigator was apprehended, I might find myself caught for espionage instead.

So I chose to relay information to the joint investigation team indirectly.

“Please accept this, Your Grace.”

“What is this…?”

I handed over materials containing details about the investigator to Archbishop Theodosius, who managed the diocese in the North.

The Archbishop had a history of serving as an exorcist for the Inquisition but was not engaged in intelligence work. I deemed it somewhat trustworthy since he was interconnected with Lucia.

Moreover, given that time had passed since the Archbishop’s retirement from the Inquisition, and initially, due to his background as an exorcist, Director Petrus’ judgment regarding the Archbishop being far removed from overseas intelligence or counter-espionage investigations somewhat influenced my decision.

“Hmm… records about the missing monk. May I ask if this monk is the one I’m thinking of?”

“If the person Your Grace is thinking of is the one everyone is searching for right now, then yes, that’s right.”

“…What would you like me to do? Brother?”

“Please ensure that this document reaches the joint investigation team securely.”

Thus, several pieces of information regarding the investigation were safely delivered to the joint investigation team.

However, what I didn’t anticipate was the fact that this information would pass through the hands of someone completely unexpected.