A Dark Fantasy Spy

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Lucia and I slammed into the ground. Gripping her cloth bag haphazardly, the moment I threw myself down the steep slope, a tremendous explosion echoed from behind us.

Crash! Shards of stone rained down. Covered in debris and dust, I looked up to see the gruesomely shattered stone bricks where we had just been.

“Damn…!”

Swoosh!

A sharp metallic sound penetrated my ears. The Inquisitor, having unleashed an attack, tightened his grip on the staff sword’s handle.

Beneath the wooden grip of the staff, a long blade glinted under the starlight, and the sheathing that had contained the blade was now rolling on the ground.

Quickly pushing myself up from the floor, I turned to Lucia.

“That’s the staff sword wielded by the battle priests, right?”

“That’s correct.”

Lucia wrapped the cloth that had contained the talisman around her fist, while I hastily drew my pistol.

The Inquisitor took his stance. The taste of blood lingered between my clenched teeth.

“This bastard—”

I bit down harder and grabbed Lucia, rolling across the ground.

“Now even a priest is trying to stab a saint!”

The sharp blade began to rain down on us.

—

Episode 12 – The Strongest Magician in History

—

– Bang ̶ ̶!

A vicious strike came hurtling our way.

The attack was so fast it was hard to track with the eyes, and its destructive power was as immense as its speed.

– Crash!

The shattered bricks flew around, dust mixed with debris swirling everywhere. These stone bricks, which could withstand thousands of years, were effortlessly reduced to rubble.

“……”

The Inquisitor readied the staff sword and took aim again. In a blink, another attack came.

Lucia, positioned in the line of fire, quickly twisted her body to avoid the assault.

“Are you alright!?”

“I’m fine….”

Having evaded the blade, Lucia dug her feet firmly into the ground, tension building in her small fist, and her slightly twisted waist corrected itself.

“I am!”

Her fist launched forward.

With the sacred bond enveloping her tightly clenched fist, brilliant white light surrounded her hand like glowing fireflies illuminating the dawn fields.

Lucia’s powerful punch met thin air.

She swung her fist robustly through the air, but unfortunately, the distance was too far to land a direct hit on the Inquisitor.

However,

“Gah!”

As her fist shot out, a strained groan escaped the Inquisitor’s lips.

“Priest…!”

Cupping his abdomen, he hunched over, dropping to one knee.

I turned to Lucia and yelled, “What was that just now?!”

“I landed a blow! It didn’t go deep, so be careful! He’ll recover soon!”

Crash! The blade dug into the ground, cutting off Lucia’s words.

The Inquisitor, clutching his belly, relied heavily on his staff to rise again. He yanked the blade from the ground and swung it once more, launching another fierce attack.

“Dodge!”

As the warning sounded, I hurled myself to the right. The wind howled as the strike barely missed my head, embedding itself into the wall moments later.

Lucia rolled to the left and narrowly avoided the attack. The first strike was fortunate enough to be brushed aside, but there was no opportunity for counterattack.

– Whoosh!

The staff sword bent in an odd direction, pursuing her.

The movement of the twisting wrist altered the direction of each attack. The Inquisitor wielded the staff sword with such finesse, it moved as if it were a part of his own body.

– Slash!

The solid stone bricks were sliced apart following the trajectory of the blade.

– rumble!

A beat late, debris and dust poured down over Lucia’s head.

“This is…!”

Lucia flailed her arms to shield against the falling stone fragments. While she adequately protected her vitals, there was nothing she could do as her skin and clothing ripped apart.

– Crackle!

The Inquisitor swung the blade towards Lucia.

He repeatedly swept the staff sword and his arm, unleashing a flurry of strikes. The moment the blade was initiated, a fierce slash erupted, and while he gestured, shards flew.

Whether it was magic or some other ability, it seemed all the fragments raining down toward Lucia were under his command.

Of course, Lucia wasn’t going to sit idly by either.

“Yikes…!”

Barely sliding sideways from the attack, Lucia pounded her feet into the ground.

The smooth stone bricks cracked under her weight, leaving deep footprints. She bolted forward in three decisive steps, leaping into the air, rapidly closing the distance to the Inquisitor.

– Hah!

Rising with divine energy, Lucia hurtled through the air, trailing streams of light behind her.

With lips slightly bloodied and a face smeared with dust, her appearance was a mess, yet Lucia did not hesitate.

Her blue eyes sparkled like stars lighting up the night sky, and her innocent divine power cascaded down like a meteor shower across the galaxy.

A ring of white light spun around her tightly clenched fist.

Lucia soared towards the Inquisitor, landing a devastating kick squarely into his chest.

With a thud! her shoe made impact, leaving a clear footprint on his brown tunic, the sound of the strike strong enough to suggest disbelief at the force behind it.

“…!”

The Inquisitor’s eyes widened as he attempted to swing his blade at the airborne Lucia.

Putting her weight into the kick, Lucia followed through with a powerful jab into his abdomen.

In that moment, the divine light exploded, piercing through the Inquisitor’s body. The extended beam of light flowed out behind him, dissipating like smoke.

“…Cough!”

His eyes bulged wide as if they were about to pop, and his mouth flew open in shock. The impact had been so intense, he was rendered speechless.

Caught off guard, the Inquisitor tumbled to the ground.

His brown tunic got dragged and torn in many places, and he became instantly cloaked in muck.

Yet, the brilliance in his eyes remained bright and shining.

– Swoosh.

The staff sword was raised high, slashing down from above at a diagonal angle.

The arc of the blade extended outward, slicing through the air. Sturdy stone bricks along the path were torn apart like paper, and the splashes of muddy water and debris painted chaos through the air.

Amidst the clash of blades and shrapnel, Lucia’s blue eyes emitted a fierce glow.

Just then, the moment Lucia sprang upward from the wall, the unleashed strike hit the spot where she’d been standing with a storm-like force.

Lucia dodged and weaved through the onslaught of attacks, evading each one effortlessly. But as time passed, the speed and power of the attacks escalated incrementally.

The Inquisitor swung his weapon with the intent to kill Lucia, launching a fierce barrage toward her.

Though the situation still seemed manageable, it was evident she couldn’t withstand this level of assault all alone.

At that moment, I plotted the Inquisitor’s back as he focused on assaulting Lucia.

– Bang! ̶ ̶!

The sound of three gunshots shook the dark cavern. A flash illuminated the surroundings for a brief moment.

The bullets fired struck true, leaving three holes in his brown tunic.

Yet, the effect was nonexistent.

“……”

Not even a blink from the Inquisitor.

Though he paused momentarily to look back at the source of the sound, it was merely for an instant.

He turned back, as if nothing had happened, and resumed his vicious attack on Lucia.

Even as I fired my pistol until the magazine ran dry, it had no impact.

He swung his sword while Lucia ducked and evaded, narrowly missing the blade.

Although the attack didn’t connect, a few strands of her hair were severed and fell to the ground. She had indeed avoided the attack just in time.

As I dropped the magazine, I replaced it and pressed the advance button while muttering to myself.

“Damn jerk….”

It seems guns simply wouldn’t work. I needed a change of plan.

I had to find something that would work on him. Something like the items Lucia had brought. Come to think of it, she had brought that bag when she jumped down earlier.

I quickly turned my head around, scanning the area. Just then, I spotted Lucia’s cloth bag draped over a pile of stones—not too far from my reach.

With my pistol in hand, I dashed over, snatching the bag. Hastily opening it to check the contents.

At that moment, I found something useful in my grasp. Holding it tightly, I ran toward the Inquisitor attacking Lucia.

“Hey, you bastard!”

“…?”

The unexpected curse caught the Inquisitor’s attention as he turned toward me.

I smashed the glass bottle I had been holding straight into his face.

“Take this!”

– Crash!

The sound of shattering glass echoed loudly.

The bottle, crashing onto the Inquisitor’s forehead, shattered into countless pieces. Glass shards pierced through his skin, and the liquid that had been contained splattered across his face.

The sensation of the glass cutting into my hand was sharp and vivid.

Blood mixed with the liquid flowed down my fingers, covering my hands and wrists.

I aggressively smeared the liquid across his face. A vivid streak of crimson handprint extended from his left forehead to his right cheek, following the direction of my palm, before the flesh of my fingertips tore against the glass shards.

As I smeared the liquid on his face, the Inquisitor remained unresponsive. He stiffened, frozen in the same stance he had taken while brandishing his sword.

Still raising the staff sword high above, he finally brushed away the liquid trickling down his face with his hand.

Then glancing down at the stains on his palm, he muttered in a weak voice.

“…Holy Water?”

A grotesque grin twisted on his lips.

And then.

—

The sounds ceased.

The noise that had filled the surroundings until just moments ago vanished.

The dripping blood. The harsh breath. The sound of shoes dragging against the ground, reverberating against the bricks— all of it.

“…….”

In this world where the sound had evaporated, I witnessed the Inquisitor’s mouth gaping open as he raised his sword high.

And then,

“…Ugh!”

Suddenly, I felt something rise from within me.

A violent pain assaulted the wound on my chest. My esophagus and stomach felt like they were being seared with fire. While my convulsing arm briefly covered my mouth, I couldn’t hold it back any longer, and I spewed out the contents of my stomach.

“Ughhh…!”

Dark red vomit cascaded to the ground.

Bits of flesh and blood were mixed in unappealingly.

The moment I laid eyes on it, my vision began to wobble left and right. No, to be precise, it was splitting apart into several directions.

My sight trembled and fractured like reflections in a shattered mirror.

Warm liquid, seeping from my ears, flowed down along my earlobes, while a deafening static assaulted my eardrums.

Grabbing my ringing head, I sank to the floor.

And with my limbs trembling, I crawled across the ground, using the bricks for support.

—

It was then that—

A warm hand rested on my shoulder, and a gentle warmth enveloped me.

“Get up.”

A divine light like fireflies illuminating a dark meadow.

Hair that seemed to be spun from gold floated slightly above the ground.

In a world where all sound had disappeared, a resolute voice pierced through.

“You have been cursed. But now, it’s alright. The curse has been lifted.”

“…Lucia?”

“It’s not over yet. Get your head together.”

Hearing Lucia’s voice, I lifted my head. Only then could I properly grasp the situation around me.

The shaking vision that had been fragmented.
The convulsions wreaking havoc across my body.
The intense ringing that had ensnared my mind.

All had vanished, as if they were just a midsummer night’s dream.

What I could feel clearly now was Lucia’s firm voice.

With her divine light supporting me gently, she helped me regain my composure.

“……”

Rising from the ground thanks to Lucia’s aid, I turned to look at the Inquisitor. He had thrown down the staff sword and was furiously clawing at his own face.

Silently, I glanced back at Lucia. Lucia also turned her gaze from the Inquisitor to meet mine.

“……”

“……”

No words were necessary, nor was there any need to speak.

In this moment, what we needed to do was very clear.

I grabbed the Inquisitor by the collar and slammed him to the ground, while Lucia pinned him down with her foot. Before anyone could utter a word, I retrieved the holy rope and bound his limbs.

Seeing that, Lucia firmly held him down on the ground.

Smeared with holy water on his face, the Inquisitor twisted and screamed as his movements were restrained. His animalistic cries echoed throughout the underground cavern.

“It’s all over now. We’re almost there.”

Looking down at the Inquisitor, who was intermittently convulsing, Lucia quietly pulled out her holy scripture.

As she flipped through the pages quickly, she spoke.

“I’ll finish this as soon as possible. Before the priests arrive.”

“…If it’s possible.”

Lucia traced the sign of the cross across her forehead, chest, and shoulders.

In a solemn voice, she began.

“Then I will now commence the exorcism ceremony.”