A Dark Fantasy Spy

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I push down hard on the accelerator. The engine roars to life.

The vehicle, emitting a sound like the roar of a wild beast, raced unrestrained along the black asphalt road. The road requisitioned by the Military Government Headquarters for transporting military supplies and troops was completely deserted.

BAM! As I hit a deep pothole, the vehicle jolted violently. Lucia, seated in the passenger seat, momentarily shot up and was thrown back onto the seat.

After passing through the checkpoint and making a sharp turn, I finally started to see my destination. I parked the car in a spot that didn’t seem like it would be used by vehicles, quickly leaping out to sprint down the road.

The destination was the site of the collapsed underground sewer where a battle had occurred.

It was the location of Camila and Francesca.

“Stop! You can’t go in there right now!”

Dushing past the guard forces blocking the way, I charged towards the two of them.

As my steps finally halted and the troops following me seized me to prevent my entry, what I saw was a scene filled with patients coughing violently and spitting blood onto the ground, along with Imperial Army soldiers dressed in protective gear.

—

Episode 12 – The Ultimate Magician

It didn’t take long for the guard forces surrounding the area to retreat.

An officer arrived after contacting a higher command, dispersing the troops intending to subdue me, the handler.

With Lucia by my side, I was effectively free to roam the area without anyone’s guidance.

“Camila! Francesca!”

Sensing an unusual atmosphere around, I immediately searched for Camila and Francesca.

Fortunately, finding them was easy. The striking combination of bright red and purple hair made them stand out wherever they went.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“You’ve arrived, Colonel.”

I met the two inside the military tent set up at the site.

Camila was crouched in front of a magic-powered heater, while Francesca sat in a chair with her legs crossed. The thick canvas separating them from the chaotic external world made the inside of the tent seem so peaceful.

“Are you both alright?”

I looked at them with a bewildered expression and asked, to which Camila replied.

“As you can see, we’re perfectly fine. For now.”

Camila shrugged her shoulders while opening her arms wide.

Then Lucia rushed into the tent, quickly looking back and forth to check on both of them. As she hastily arranged her tousled blonde hair, a violent cough and retching noise from outside slithered in through the slightly open tent door.

I pointed my thumb toward the outside, muttering, “It’s total chaos out there.”

It sounded like someone with a severe cough might collapse at any moment, and suddenly someone might start spitting blood. There were already dozens of people showing such symptoms I’ve seen briefly. Moreover, heavily armored soldiers were wandering around for some reason.

“What on earth is going on?”

“Underground.”

Francesca, whose eyes were closed as she leaned with her legs crossed, slowly uncrossed her arms.

“The problems started from underground.”

“Underground? What do you mean?”

“I’ll explain in detail, but first…”

With her slender fingers, she opened the tent flap. Looking at the situation outside, Francesca observed the expressions of the group members with a serious look and began speaking.

“Let’s move to a better spot.”

—

Even in that brief moment of conversation with Francesca, the situation seemed to have worsened further. People were now coughing violently everywhere. The more severely affected were those who coughed up blood mixed with phlegm or were retching up clots of blood.

Though patients’ conditions were similar, their backgrounds were varied.

Some were firefighters, others military personnel. Occasionally, civilians in work boots and overalls blended into the crowd too.

Among them, there were a few who appeared to struggle with mobility. When such individuals came into view, soldiers clad in protective gear would escort them somewhere. I had no idea where they were taken or why, but it was apparent that the situation was dire.

Right after I exited the tent, I led our group to find the safest location we could.

There, I finally got to hear the full story.

“You mean the workers who went underground suddenly showed these symptoms?”

“Yes, they were the first to express them.”

Currently, we were in one of the northern large cities.

Here, I had discovered the demon possessing Lucia in connection with the investigation, and with the support of Veronica and the cult, we fought against the demons. During that process, the underground sewer collapsed, causing the ground to sink and buildings to crumble. I knew several people had already been casualties.

What we had just witnessed was the scene of sorting out that collapsed sewer.

“Actually, to say sorting it out is a bit misleading. For the Military Government Headquarters, finding the demon buried underneath is far more important than restoring the destroyed infrastructure. That was the main purpose of the operation from the start.”

Francesca, running her fingers through her hair, spoke with a cynical tone.

“The first people to show symptoms were the workers who had gone down to operate there. They were responsible for clearing the rubble so the crane could lift it.”

At that moment, Francesca furrowed her delicately shaped brow suddenly.

“However, something was off about the condition of the workers who came on shift afterward.”

“What do you mean?”

“They kept sweating profusely, couldn’t walk straight, and struggled to focus on conversations. Sometimes, they stared blankly into space. Afterward, they started coughing and suddenly began collapsing.”

All the workers who came up after completing their tasks presented similar symptoms. Sweating profusely like it was raining, chills, an unsteady gait, and posture, among other things.

Given the extremely unusual climate in the North, one might chalk it up to the strains of hard labor and the chilling cold seeping into their bones, but the lack of focus, vomiting, spitting blood, and fainting were clearly no ordinary fatigue symptoms.

But that wasn’t the only issue.

“Right after the workers who had changed shifts collapsed, the workers still down underground began to show similar symptoms too. It was either fire department personnel or military people—I can’t remember, but they were the personnel sent in by the Military Government Headquarters.”

“And after that?”

“Afterwards, there wasn’t much else.”

As soon as the next shift of workers began showing similar symptoms, an Imperial Army commander, responsible for the on-site response headquarters, made a decisive call. They ordered all subordinates to put on protective gear and began sealing off the collapsed site, controlling the movement of people.

I’d heard from the Imperial Ministry of Defense that they had previously encountered a strange disease that spread in the North, so their quick response had likely been due to the demons attacking in peculiar ways.

“Thanks to that, it seems the number of symptomatic individuals was kept to just dozens. The commander made a wise decision.”

Francesca concluded her explanation in a calm voice.

Though I learned the full story of the incident, questions lingered like ink stain on paper. Why were these people showing symptoms? What had happened underground?

I wracked my brain to understand the cause of the situation.

Perhaps touching a gas line while the sewer collapsed had caused the workers to spit blood due to leaking gas. While the possibility of an outbreak could not be dismissed entirely…

“The symptoms appear far too quickly for an outbreak, don’t you think?”

Camila, seated in the corner, swung her legs back and forth like a child on a swing.

“I’m not an expert, but I’ve gone to various places as part of Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross following my sister. Sure, each disease has its own symptoms, but considering the current situation where only the workers in the underground were affected, it doesn’t fit the description of an outbreak.”

“That does make sense…”

Rejecting the notion of an outbreak, Camila proposed a new hypothesis: a chemical leak.

Though she couldn’t specify how the chemicals leaked or what substances caused such symptoms, it definitely sounded far more plausible than the sudden outbreak of an infectious disease.

“Could it be a leak of some chemical substances that leaked from underground?”

But,

“No.”

Francesca firmly dismissed Camila’s speculation with a shake of her head.

With Camila pouting in disappointment, the facts spoke louder than assumptions. Francesca, resting her hands on the armrest, slowly pressed her fingers against her temple as she spoke.

“The cause isn’t gas or chemicals. It’s not an outbreak either. It’s likely something more… akin to superstition.”

“Superstition? What do you mean by that?”

“Think about it. What’s lying dormant down there?”

“…….”

Without needing to say it aloud, the only person here with no clue about what lay buried underground was Camila.

A demon.

“…Are you really saying that’s the cause? You mean it?”

“Women have good intuitions, Colonel. Especially if they’re magicians with a developed sixth sense. Didn’t you see it once at the department store?”

At Francesca’s words, my gaze instinctively wandered. At the edge of my vision was Camila, swinging her legs back and forth.

As our eyes met, she gave a light smile, but I turned my head back to Francesca.

“I understand that magicians are known to have a strong sixth sense. But do you have any evidence?”

“As for evidence…”

Her eyelids fluttered shut, hiding a pair of violet flowers.

“You don’t need to force me to explain it.”

When Francesca opened her eyes again, her gaze landed on one specific person.

“Isn’t that right, Saint Lucia?”

“…….”

“The silver cross you showed last time, do you still have it with you?”

“Yes, I have it here.”

Lucia, who had been quietly sitting, revealed the cross hanging around her neck. A silver cross. While it wasn’t precise, it was one of the church’s holy relics that could vaguely detect malevolent energy.

Confirming the shining silver cross, Francesca nodded her head.

“I can explain the details later, but for now, couldn’t we hold that cross up to the symptomatic individuals and learn something?”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

Lucia nodded in agreement with Francesca’s suggestion.

“It’s worth a shot.”

With her brilliant blonde hair gently lifted, she removed the cross hanging from her neck, clutching it tightly in one hand before standing up.

“Let’s go check it out.”

With a determined expression, Lucia stepped out of the tent to examine the symptomatic individuals with the cross, but due to safety concerns, nearby priests prevented this, so a protective officer from the Imperial Army took the cross to find the patients in her stead.

Moments later,

The heavy armored officer extended the cross, but it was stained black to a point where it was hard to believe it was once silver.

The one truth this cross revealed was simple.

“…….”

The demon buried in the rubble was very much alive.

And kicking.

—

Lucia’s cross detected the malevolent energy.

Whether that foul energy emanated from the demon or the necromancer’s corpse, or if it came from the remnants left at the scene remained unknown, but what was certain was that this foul energy had turned the site into chaos.

“If the foul energy is the cause, then that’s a relief. If it were an outbreak, ugh….”

Veronica, having heard the news, burst onto the scene accompanied by the priests of the diocese.

Driving a small tactical vehicle of the Imperial Army, which was quite the mystery, she leaned on the hood while scanning the area, all while wearing luxurious sunglasses.

“The Military Government Headquarters is curious about what to do from here on out. What should I tell them?”

“Um— it appears there’s no apparent contagion. The foul energy can harm people but doesn’t transmit! Just keep the site secure and ensure people can’t go underground for a while.”

“When will that be?”

“Naturally, until the purification efforts are complete.”

Luckily, it was confirmed that the cause of the unfortunate events occurring on-site wasn’t an outbreak.

Veronica prepared for prayers and large-scale purification efforts along with many priests from the diocese.

Although there were complaints from some officials of the Military Government about the interruption of the recovery work at the collapsed sewer, they finally shut up when reminded of the possible deaths should people be sent to the areas thick with demonic energy.

Commander Mikhail generously provided all necessary materials and personnel for the purification efforts. The Imperial Army set up tents on-site, categorized the patients, and mobilized army priests and magicians to assist the priests from the diocese.

“That should wrap it up, shouldn’t it?”

Seeing Veronica sporting her sunglasses in the middle of winter, I couldn’t help but voice my disbelief.

“Hmm….”

“What’s with that? You’re making people uneasy.”

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure from here on. Dealing with demons doesn’t exactly come easy… I’ll be in contact with the Inquisition to see if they have any information. They should find some solutions.”

“How long will that take?”

“Uh, eventually they might figure it out, right?”

“…….”

Hearing my remark sounded like a joke, I wore an expression of dismay, prompting Veronica to poke me playfully in the side.

“Don’t worry. What, you think it can get any worse from here?”

I assumed she said that to lighten the mood, but I couldn’t smile. It felt like those words might become a reality.

Sure enough.

Not long after, I heard news that even the Imperial Army unit stationed to stabilize the situation began to report symptomatic individuals.

It happened just three days before the New Year.