A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The relic moved slowly, very slowly.

Like someone just awakening from deep slumber, the relic of Saint Balthazar began to stir softly on the map.

A white finger, withered like a twisted twig, pointed to a spot on the map.

“Saint… What is this…?”

“Yes.”

The area the relic indicated was an alley in Northern Novo Nikolayevsk.

Lucia crouched on the ground, examining the map.

“It seems to have finally appeared.”

—

Episode 12 – The Mightiest Magician

The relic of Saint Balthazar pointed towards the parchment map. Some of the glowing points had turned dark.

“It looks like someone with a wicked aura has passed near the talisman.”

The points on the map shifted constantly.

Bright points, shining like star clusters in the galaxy, darkened one by one. With one hand holding the map and the other clutching the strap of her fabric bag, Lucia threw herself into the alleyway.

“Follow me.”

We began to run in the direction where the talisman signal was detected, passing through the narrow alley.

The cold wind whipped past us, and the scene around us blurred by. The military police shouted something, and citizens rushed by, fading beyond the alley leading to the main road.

I checked my watch, which was strapped to my wrist, and, while leaning against a jutting wall, I shouted.

“It’s almost curfew. Only a little time until 10 PM.”

“We should be able to arrive before the siren goes off. Let’s speed up.”

Lucia quickened her pace, forging ahead, glancing back and forth between the map and her surroundings.

The view passing by was changing just like the city’s image drawn on the map. The grand map illuminating all of Novo Nikolayevsk began to focus on smaller units: districts, and quarters. The illustrations etched on the parchment seemed to dance like smoke. It was a phenomenon produced by the mysterious power contained within the relic.

As we narrowed the distance, the map began to illuminate a small area. Lucia, staring intently at the map, slowed down and started to look around.

“What’s the matter?”

“The distance has closed. We’re very close.”

Just as she said that, her fabric bag dropped to the ground. Lucia tossed it aside, unfastened the knot, and started pulling out something from it.

As she held a pistol, checking for anyone around, Lucia brought a communication device to her mouth and requested support. Then, while putting some items she took from her bag into her pockets, she handed me something small.

It was a pendant.

“Hold onto this. It will help conceal your presence from the demon.”

“What do you mean ‘conceal my presence’?”

“Because you have a wound inflicted by a demon. For now, the distance doesn’t matter, but if we get closer, it will definitely sense you and run away.”

I quietly hung the pendant around my neck. Not being capable of wielding divine or magical powers, I didn’t feel any immediate change, but it was better than having nothing.

I nodded as a signal, and in response, Lucia pulled the relic out of the wooden box.

“It hasn’t been a problem until now, but from here on, things will be different. No matter what you see or experience inside.”

Holding onto the anointed bones, she pointed the relic into the darkness cast by the alley.

“Please, stay alert.”

—

The relic of Saint Balthazar possesses the property to react to beings with unholy energy, serving as a sacred relic of the cult.

Thanks to this characteristic, the Inquisition has employed various sacred relics, including the bones of Saint Balthazar, to hunt heretics, possessed individuals, and necromancers for thousands of years.

“…Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.”

As the soft prayer continued, the relic began to react. The previously drooping bones of Saint Balthazar started to move.

The remnants of Saint Balthazar, with only his elbows remaining, began to move cautiously and meticulously.

With joints cracking, the palm slowly unfurled. As the five white bone joints stretched out to form the shape of a complete hand, Lucia held the elbow area of the bones and began to scan the surroundings slowly.

Somehow, it reminded me of the mine detectors I had seen during my time in the GOP.

Though there were no armored soldiers or large heavy mine detectors, Lucia silently searched the alley’s walls and floor carrying the relic of Saint Balthazar.

“Send forth your light and truth to guide me. Teach me to fulfill your will and lead me to a land of fairness.”

According to the markings on the map, the last recorded presence of a tainted aura was near the talisman. With no other talismans reacting, it was evident that that inquisitor must be nearby.

Lucia focused intently, searching through the alley.

In a quiet voice, she asked, keeping an eye on the surroundings to avoid being disturbed.

“Have you caught anything, Saint?”

“…Faintly, but there is an evil presence lingering here. It certainly seems that Inquisitor Agato was here not long ago.”

I glanced around, then looked back at Lucia.

“But where did he go?”

We were in the middle of an alley. It was a typical alley with the back of buildings stretching long.

With nothing but brick walls surrounding us except for the sky, there were no windows or back doors leading into the alley. To exit, we had to walk straight either way for a long time.

Of course, there were more talismans set further down.

If Agato moved forward or backward, he would surely be detected by the talismans.

But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find any sign of Romain Scheir or Agato.

“Whether he rose to the skies or sunk into the ground…”

I kicked a stone lying on the ground.

“When is the Inquisition supposed to arrive?”

“If they don’t get lost on the way, the priests should be here soon. Until then, let’s search the area a bit more.”

Lucia used the relic of Saint Balthazar to search for clues left by the inquisitor.

With her eyes softly closed, she murmured a prayer while caressing the wall and floor. The bones of Saint Balthazar were examining the surrounding energy, fingers spread wide like a peacock.

At that moment,

-Clack.

The once-stiff relic of Saint Balthazar reacted swiftly. The wrist twisted, and the fingers curled.

With only the index finger left up, the relic clenched a fist, pointing with that white, twig-like finger to a particular spot on the alley floor.

“What’s going on, Saint?”

“I believe I found the energy of a demon. Step back for a moment.”

Lucia, who had been trying to approach me, stopped me, warning me to keep my distance, and began examining the ground.

With one hand gripping the relic, she stopped praying and slowly scanned the stone floor, moving the relic from right to left like a blind person reading braille. All the while, the white finger pointed steadily to the same spot as before without a hint of shaking.

At last, at the moment when the direction of the relic’s wrist and finger aligned,

“I found it.”

Lucia declared as she wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

“It seems to be underneath us. The sacred relic is pointing below.”

“Are you certain?”

Without answering, Lucia knelt down on the ground. Without a care for getting her clothes or hands dirty, she closed her eyes and began to feel her way along the floor, speaking.

“It’s an extremely faint energy, barely perceptible without focus… But yes, I can feel something from beneath. It has a very aggressive and gluttonous… aura of evil.”

Indeed.

It must be reliable, coming from the lips of a saint. Lucia is one of the most competent priests in the cult, after all.

Experts are coming to this location now. The priests from the Inquisition are participating in the joint investigation. This is already within their jurisdiction, and they should be knowledgeable and experienced enough to easily grasp the situation and formulate a plan.

“Looks like we’ll finally see the end of this today.”

As I sighed in relief, Lucia smiled and replied.

“The end is not yet. We must remain alert until the very last moment.”

“Of course. First, let’s find a way to go underground before the Inquisition folks arrive.”

I extended my hand to Lucia, who was sitting on the ground.

“Take my hand, Saint. I’ll help you up.”

“Thank you…”

Just as Lucia was about to take my hand, smiling brightly,

I suddenly felt a void beneath me. The solid sensation of the ground I was standing on vanished all at once.

Both Lucia, who was about to be pulled up, and I, who was trying to lift her, experienced the same phenomenon at exactly the same moment.

“…Huh?”

The scenery around us faded into darkness in an instant.

The sense of floating enveloped my body, a feeling like leaping into the void.

The fading screams and the profound darkness surrounded us.

We fell into the underground.

—

In the great Northern city, Saint Basil’s Cathedral.

The hour hand had just passed 9, nearing 10 PM, when curfew would be imposed. Unlike the residents moving to shelters and refuge at the military police’s command, a crowd of people gathered before the cathedral.

They were priests.

“…….”

“…….”

The priests stood in a long line. From a distance, they appeared to be waiting for some ceremonial event, but,

Everything looks funny from afar and tragic up close.

The people gathered at the cathedral’s entrance were not the dignified priests about to perform a ceremony; rather, they looked more like they had a gathering with a grimace akin to that of someone who had just bitten a bug, beads of cold sweat trickling down their brows.

In front of the priests lined in rows, a priest sitting on the steps leading up to the modest hill of the cathedral spoke up.

“So, to summarize….”

Unlike the other priests, who seemed to be getting what felt like a reprimanding, this priest lounged in a slouched position, legs crossed.

“You are hunting down that possessed individual or suspected necromancer causing havoc in the North, and you’re currently investigating based on information you received from the Archbishop.”

The priest’s voice was low, laced with irritation as he called out the names.

“Brother.”

“…Yes.”

“Where did that information come from?”

“…….”

The named priest sighed inwardly. There are limits to how much one can bear, and why does that person always live like that?

Yet the priest in front of him held a higher rank than anyone else, even above the Archbishop. In the end, the priest reluctantly confessed under pressure.

“That would be… we don’t really know well….”

“Oh, that’s enough.”

Cutting off the priest’s incomplete statement, the sitting priest waved his hand dismissively, his tone cynical as he spat out.

“I’m an idiot for expecting an answer from a rookie. I’ll just hear the answer directly from the Archbishop.”

“…….”

The sitting priest uncrossed his legs, stood up. His long legs lightly tapped the stone floor, and he rose from his seat.

“Anyway, based on that information, you have conducted an investigation. In the process, Lucia has confirmed the materials, is that right?”

“Yes. The Saint insisted on inspecting the information directly….”

“Where is she now?”

“…….”

“Not going to answer?”

At the command-like inquiry, the most senior priest finally spoke.

“Yes, she’s gone directly to look for Inquisitor Agato. We were just called by the Saint for support-”

“Why’s she going looking for him? She’s neither an Inquisition officer nor an exorcist. That’s not her job.”

“…I’m sorry.”

The priest covered his face with his palm and sighed deeply. As he bowed his head, his hair fell forward.

“Hah… I knew this kid would end up causing a mess again. She never does anything like this alone….”

“…….”

“Well, that’s not the important part right now. Brother, you need to rush and fetch someone older and bring the rest to help Lucia. You know where the location is, right?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then.”

As the priest brushed his hair back, he declared.

“I’m going, too.”

His jet-black hair flowed back like a wave.