A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The ground cracks open.

The stone structures that have stood firm through the ages begin to crumble. Some bricks bulge, while others sink down.

It’s a scene reminiscent of the roaring sea.

Literally, the earth shakes.

—Kurruurrrng!

A noise reminiscent of an earthquake erupts as the cavern trembles. The walls of the cavern crack and shake, sharp shards falling from between the stars.

Amidst the chaos of screams and noise, in the cavern where the starlight has fallen,

A whisper filled with a devilish laughter begins to emerge.

“Oh stars, sing of your wrath.”

Men and women, the old and the young. Countless voices join in a chorus.

“Bring forth disaster with destructive rage, and send the souls of the foolish ones down to the underworld as fodder for the hounds.”

Lying in the center of the cavern, bound to a sacrificial altar, the creature smiled with its darkened eyes and twisted mouth.

It grinned while watching the falling starlight. From the bulging and sinking bricks, frail, shriveled hands suddenly emerged.

What crawled up from the depths appeared to be human but was undeniably not human. They had small, black horns on their heads, grotesquely twisted legs, and fingers sharper than an eagle’s talons.

A small scream escaped Lucia’s lips as she witnessed the scene.

“Muspel…!”

The demon lying on the ground grinned at the priestess who bit her lips in fear.

It then quietly raised its head, murmuring as it gazed at the pouring starlight.

“Your plan is unfolding just as you wished….”

In the depths that the moonlight could not reach, where screams and howls echoed.

“Break the high heavenly gates and deliver us.”

The howls of the monsters that have come to the surface resounded high into the sky.

Episode 12 – The Strongest Magician

While I was busy beating up demons, the ground suddenly collapsed, and monsters appeared.

They surged up from the earth.

—Kieeeeeek!

With skin that was a deep brown tinged with red energy. Sharp claws and a pair of horns sprouting from the head.

A hunched back, and leathery skin that clung to bones, reminiscent of a small, gaunt old man or a patient.

But that mouth, wide enough to swallow a person’s head whole and chew it, along with a voice filled with hatred and rage that boiled up from within, was anything but elderly.

In truth, they weren’t human either.

“What on earth are they?!”

I exclaimed in shock as I turned to Lucia.

“Muspel. Soldiers of hell from myth. In short, they are the demons’ lackeys.”

“…You mean demon kind?”

“They’re not demon kind. Unlike intelligent demons, they are more like puppets dancing on the hands of demons.”

Lucia turned her head to glance at the demons. The demon occupying the inquisitor’s body was still grinning while staring at the sky.

Lucia’s gaze, which had been glaring at the demon, now shifted forward again. The creatures called ‘Muspel’ were surrounding us, breaking through the darkness.

“Gargoyles, Muspel, Leviathans… The forces of hell are all under the command of the demons. Considering that they managed to summon Muspel, it seems they are not low-ranking demons.”

“Was that scoundrel behind this?”

I pointed at the demon on the floor.

Lucia nodded.

“That seems to be the case.”

“How dire is the situation?”

“Well… If those Muspel really did come from hell to this realm, it will be a tough fight. But from my perspective…”

Just as she was about to continue,—

“…Kkyaaaaaa…!!”

A scream filled with pain rattled the cavern. It came from behind the surging monsters. In this place, where there wasn’t anyone else, a human I had never seen before suddenly appeared.

No, to be more precise, it was something that had only become human.

“Kuhh…!”

A middle-aged woman rolled on the ground, screaming. Her face was undoubtedly human, but her body was not.

Her legs twisted backward, and her exposed limbs became a deep brown color, radiating red energy while thinning into frailness.

Her fingers were so sharp that with every flailing, they scratched the stone bricks, leaving deep gouges.

It was a grotesque appearance that seemed half-human, half-Muspel. The middle-aged woman transformed into something that was no longer human.

Screaming in agony while writhing on the ground, she reached out to us and pleaded.

“Please, please save me…!”

—Kyaaaahhh!!

—Kieeeeeek!!

The Muspel charged at her. The monsters emerging from the surroundings, as well as those breaking through the bricks to approach us.

In an instant, the monsters surrounded the woman.

“Kyahhhhh…!”

Her terrible scream echoed but was quickly drowned out by the roars.

The surrounding monsters lunged at the middle-aged woman, and she was instantly swallowed by a sea of beasts, vanishing from sight.

The scene bore a striking resemblance to a person being swept away in a flood.

A desperate hand reached out for help but was drawn into an ocean of writhing flesh along with screams. The cavern shook with the sounds of the monsters, and the middle-aged woman disappeared without even being able to utter a final cry.

In the blink of an eye, the sight left me at a loss for words.

At the same time, I began to understand the situation unfolding right before my eyes.

“…Those things. Could they be human?”

“They were human,” Lucia said, making the sign of the cross. A calm explanation continued.

“There are three ways for the monsters of hell to come to this realm. One is when a high-ranking demon opens a path and calls them here directly. The other is through sacrificing offerings to summon the monsters of hell. And what you’re witnessing now is the appearance of summoned monsters.”

“……”

“I had expected they wouldn’t be mere hybrids, but it seems they are not high-ranking demons either.”

Looking at the demon, Lucia murmured slowly, then she picked up the thick scripture that had fallen on the floor.

“It seems that the Grand Exorcism cannot proceed any further.”

With the divine energy raised, she swung the scripture widely. Just then, a Muspel approaching her got hit in the head with the scripture and soared into the air.

As the Muspel soared and crashed down, stirring up dust, the Saint of the Cult who had struck the demon from below held the heavy scripture firmly.

“We must focus only on surviving from now on.”