A Dark Fantasy Spy

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As soon as Senior Lyudmila called, I woke up the party and we headed straight to the Headquarters. Coincidentally, thanks to the Imperial Army’s support of magicians, we took less than 20 minutes to arrive.

Braving the cold winds of December, the first words from the military government officer welcoming us at the headquarters were short and intense.

“Demon has appeared.”

I asked him, “When and where?”

“At around 23:39, the alarm first rang in Orventzku. Communication is poor, so we can’t contact the units on the ground, but we’ve definitely received reports that the alarm was sounded.”

Orventzku. A familiar name. It was the place where I fought demons alongside Lucia.

The talisman rang out in the besieged city.

There was no time to ponder.

“Let’s leave immediately.”

We had to go catch it.

—

Episode 12 – The Mightiest Magician

Orventzku is a massive city in the northern region. As of five years ago, it had a population of 330,000, and its area is comparable to that of Goyang-si.

The issue lies in the distance.

Orventzku is about 380 km northeast from Novo Nikolayevsk, where the military government headquarters is located. Simply put, even if we drove at 100 km/h, it would take us at least three or four hours without stopping to arrive.

Right now, there couldn’t be a worse situation.

Yet, the military government solved the problem by setting up a teleportation magic circle connecting Novo Nikolayevsk and Orventzku.

Typically, military facilities are prohibited from having teleportation circles installed, but this wasn’t the time to be concerning ourselves with regulations.

Commander Mikhail exercised his authority and connected Novo Nikolayevsk with Orventzku.

“We have arrived.”

In an instant, we covered the 380 km distance and entered Orventzku.

“Did everyone arrive safely?”

“Lucia and Francesca made it! Saint Veronica too!”

Unlike Warp Gates, the nature of teleportation circles does not allow many people to move at once. Thus, only five could use the teleportation circle: me, Camila, Lucia, Francesca, and Veronica.

But there was no problem.

The military government had stationed troops between the cities, ready to support as soon as the radio was received.

Moreover, in the besieged Orventzku, troops were stationed along the city’s borders. Since it was a city where battles against demons had taken place, Veronica had specifically dispatched troops from the Inquisition, and the Magic Tower had sent combat magicians here as well.

In other words,

“First, let’s gather the troops. Go bring everyone from the cult and the Magic Tower!”

“What about you, Colonel?”

“I’ll open the checkpoint first. I’ll meet with that commander over there.”

Fortunately, the units were already prepared for battle prior to our arrival. The Imperial Army battalion commander I met at the checkpoint entrance was already in full gear, boarding a vehicle.

“We prepared as soon as the alarm rang. Residents living around the collapse site have already been informed by the division, so there shouldn’t be any trouble even if a battle breaks out.”

“Have they still not deployed?”

“The unit responsible for initial response entered 20 minutes ago. Some knights and magicians accompanied them. They should have arrived at the site by now, so we’ll get a radio contact any moment.”

—

A peculiar coalition of the Empire, the cult, and the Magic Tower had entered the city to exterminate the demon.

I shoved my companions into the remaining vehicle and took the wheel.

“The battalion commander said that the vanguard that left first is handling the initial response. We haven’t received any radio yet, but some knights and combat magicians went with them, so it should be fine. Those stationed outside are also entering.”

Due to the terrible weather in the north, communication was particularly poor today. As the snow fell onto the windows, our convoy drove through the dim city.

“The radio’s out?”

Camila, lying in the back seat, frowned.

According to the original plan, she should’ve been resting at the cathedral by now, but for some reason, she was here with us. While it was my doing, the chaos of everyone leaving led others to barely think twice about her following along. Besides, the current situation was too hectic for anyone to notice anything unusual.

Since it felt cramped for five people, Camila was lying across Lucia and Francesca’s laps in the back seat.

“Something feels off.”

“Please don’t say that. It’s making me anxious.”

I nervously pressed the accelerator while my legs trembled like a sick dog, feeling an inexplicable foreboding.

They say words can manifest reality.

The moment we crashed through the snow to arrive at the collapse site, I instinctively knew that my ominous feeling had come true.

The collapse site was dotted with Imperial Army vehicles.

The engines were running, but the driver’s side windows were stained red, and the soldiers, priests, and magicians sent for initial response lay in the snow, eyes open, staring up at the night sky with unknown debris scattered around them.

“…….”

Sifting through the bodies, I approached the collapse site and realized the nature of that debris.

They were dozens of broken silver stakes and shattered magical tools.

—

“Connect the communications! Tell the regiment!”

“Disembark and secure the area. Report any survivors immediately.”

“Where are the magicians? Find out when the combat magicians from the division will arrive. Hurry!”

Those facing the horrific scene fell into confusion. Reactions varied, but everyone was half out of their minds, making their situations similar.

Though I pressed the communications squad leader for information, the radio showed no signs of working.

While I wouldn’t call it good news, fortunately, the priests and magicians were maintaining their composure.

Yet the real problem lay elsewhere.

“…Why is everything destroyed?”

“…….”

“Veronica?”

“…Damn it.”

The sealing magic was thoroughly shattered. The second barrier and totems, along with the runestones prepared by the Magic Tower, were all completely wrecked.

Incredible as it seemed, this was reality.

And reality was merciless.

Now I had to accept the situation. The seal had been broken and the demon had escaped. To varying degrees, things were spiraling into the worst-case scenario.

“Veronica, Francesca.”

I quickly regained my senses and called the two.

“Release the personnel and search the surroundings. Right now.”

The saint and the alchemist mobilized the forces from the cult and the Magic Tower for the search.

The knights and inquisitors kicked down doors of nearby buildings, while the magicians soared into the night sky, searching for traces of the demon. Thanks to the military evacuating all residents, there were no civilian casualties just yet.

Now that things had escalated to this point, the Imperial Army began to get a grip on the situation. The battalion commander immediately sent a messenger to inform the regiment and nearby battalions of what had transpired and mobilized the troops to track down the demon. The heavily armed Imperial troops advanced northward.

In the meantime, Veronica retrieved a shotgun from the passenger seat and slung it over her shoulder, pulling out a revolver and inspecting the cylinder.

“Let’s split up. I’ll head east with the knights. Colonel, you take our siblings and the hero, and go west.”

She meant she could handle killing the demon alone, so we should stick together.

She also added that if she found any traces of the demon, she would shoot a signal into the sky with magic or divinity.

“And if something goes wrong?”

“Then Colonel, you’ll be the one who dies, right?”

“Be careful, Veronica.”

Veronica nodded.

“You too, Colonel.”

—

The forces of the Empire, the cult, and the Magic Tower scattered in all directions to search for the demon’s traces. The combat magicians from the Empire and the Magic Tower scouted the alleys and buildings from the air, while soldiers and knights barged into buildings to search every inch.

“The demon’s power seems stronger than we expected.”

The seal of the demonic realm and the ward was broken. Under the circumstances, it appeared the demon had broken the seal by itself and killed all nearby troops to escape.

Francesca gave a calm assessment of the demon’s power. Despite her detached evaluation, a hint of tension escaped her lips.

Lucia added, “It’s strong. And cunning too.”

“Can we capture it?”

“I can’t say for sure. But we can’t just sit here while lives are at stake.”

Under the dark blue sky, a forest of buildings, Orventzku.

We began racing through the gray city shrouded in darkness. With my companions in the vehicle, I silently charged down the road.

No matter how we split it up, searching a city the size of Goyang-si wasn’t going to be easy. And the enemy was a demon. No one knew how it might evade our surveillance or what methods it might employ.

“Were the talismans around here not activated?”

“No.”

Lucia, seated in the back, answered while examining a map. The yellowed parchment map was one of the cult’s sacred relics, the navigator’s map. It was the same map used with the remains of Saint Balthazar to locate the demon.

“Not just nearby, but all the talismans in the city are quiet.”

“…….”

Though the map was silent, the city was the complete opposite.

The sudden appearance of the military was enough to rouse the sleeping residents. Despite the lockdown order and blackout, the people of Orventzku began cautiously stepping outside or peering out their windows.

To control the citizens, soldiers repeatedly broadcast through loudspeakers mounted on armored vehicles, urging them to refrain from going outside.

The military’s announcements echoed, spreading throughout Orventzku. Residents who had woken up in the middle of the night returned home, bewildered.

When on earth were they going to evacuate? Surely they wouldn’t fight in this state, would they?

While I was swiftly navigating the road, Camila, who was sitting in the passenger seat with a tense expression, suddenly exclaimed.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, that person seems a bit off… I mean, it feels very strange.”

“Who?”

“That person over there.”

A slender finger pointed sharply at the window. The finger indicated the pitch-black night sky, where a certain magician was flying.

The magician was riding a broomstick.

“What seems strange about that—”

At that moment, the flying magician suddenly changed direction.

As they glided straight while looking left and right, the figure paused in midair and began to glide smoothly upward, resembling someone riding a bicycle down a steep hill with their feet off the pedals.

In other words, they were descending.

For whatever reason, the suddenly maneuvering magician lowered their altitude on the broomstick.

Despite the increased speed and sharply descending height, the magician did not stop.

They passed over the tops of buildings,
over the middle floors of apartments,
and still did not cease their descent.

The tiny dot that looked so small from a distance was gradually coming into focus, transforming into the shape of a person and the long silhouette of a broom, revealing the movement of a fluttering cape and ultimately becoming clear enough for us to identify the magician’s features and attire.

The magician, clinging to the broomstick, raced through the dark night sky over the city.

Finally, as the figure on the broomstick vanished between the concrete jungle,

-Thunk!

The magician, splattered red against the asphalt, was finally able to come to a halt just a few meters away from where we had stopped on the road.

“…….”

Silence fell.

Lucia clapped her hands to her mouth in shock, eyes wide open. Francesca cautiously gripped the hilt of her rune sword without making a sound, and Camila swallowed hard.

The awkward silence was broken by the sudden sound of the controls being jarred.

“Get out of the car, now.”

I grabbed my rifle and opened the driver’s door.