A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The desolate streets are traversed by the military. The heavy snowfall of that night in Orventzku contrasts starkly between white and black.

The sudden arrival of outsiders startled the city’s residents.

In a place like Orventzku, which had become chaotic due to the lockdown, such encounters were rare.

Saint Veronica placed her hand on her hip and surveyed the townsfolk who were whispering about her.

“Hmm….”

There seemed to be more residents than she expected.

While the area near the collapse site was devoid of any signs of life thanks to the military escorting civilians away, this place was different.

“It appears the residents haven’t evacuated. Or rather, it seems they couldn’t?”

“Yes, Saint. They say there are no cities left to accommodate the residents.”

Although it was called a city of 330,000, that was merely a number from the past.

After five years of conflict, Orventzku had seen an influx of countless refugees, pushing its population to approximately 410,000.

And now, most northern cities are at overcapacity.

“Well, several cities have fallen during the war, after all.”

Sending the residents to other cities would cause those cities to buckle under the pressure, and creating a temporary refugee camp outside the city would pose climate issues.

With people freezing to death overnight in shelters, how could they carelessly toss residents into the wilderness?

In the end, while they couldn’t move forward or backward, they found themselves forced to engage in battle within the city that still had residents.

A knight clad in armor appeared before Veronica, who was commanding the troops of the Inquisition.

The Saint asked the knight, “Have there been any notable findings during the search?”

“No, Saint. Nothing has been discovered so far.”

“What about communications?”

The knight shook his head. So communication is still down, huh?

Suddenly, she thought of her younger siblings who had left in the opposite direction. They were certainly not the easy targets to fall victim to anyone, but her concerns didn’t easily dissipate.

But at least she took comfort in knowing her siblings were moving with someone reliable.

Veronica issued new orders.

“Search thoroughly. A demon of that caliber surely couldn’t have gone far.”

Just then, a priest rushed over, clearly huffing and puffing. He was an Inquisition officer responsible for the rear guards.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-in the sky…!”

Veronica turned her head.

What she saw over her shoulder was the dark blue night sky of Orventzku.

Amidst the march of stars that seemed about to fall, flames roared fiercely into the sky, illuminating the entire city faintly.

It was the signal they had been waiting for.

—

Episode 12 – The Strongest Magician

A white holy light flowed from the torn pages of a holy scripture. Without even touching it once, Lucia fiercely ripped a page that had flipped over by itself.

With a dazzling light, the wind began to blow.

Her radiant blonde hair was scattered in the wind, just like the torn pages of the scripture.

– Swish!

The torn pieces flew across like paper boats on a flowing river, sticking to various surfaces.

Damp bricks with snow piled in the crevices, the pooled blood of fallen refugees congealed on the shattered asphalt. The dark poles of streetlights, and even the bodies of demons burning in flames.

One page, two pages, three pages… dozens, hundreds of pages rose to the occasion.

The wave of paper crashing down like a tsunami on the coast swiftly swept away walls, floors, and the demon’s body.

The scriptures that the disciples of God had meticulously transcribed spread out like a net, clinging to the demon. Even as the flames that scorched its flesh persisted, the papers clung firmly to the demon’s body without so much as a burn. It was a strange sight.

Like wrapping an item in newspaper, the sheets stuck all over the demon’s body resembled the mummies of ancient Egypt.

The only difference being that mummies do not move once dead, while this fiend was very much alive and struggling.

– Grrrrr…

A low growl reverberated. Aside from the part of its mouth that was still uncovered, it was buried in the papers and slammed down against the ground.

The demon did not spew human languages or shriek sounds; it simply buried its head in the mud, struggling to break free as if it were a wolf from Norse mythology.

Each syllable it spoke, the intensity and pitch of the sound felt utterly impossible to mimic with human vocal cords.

The subdued demon bellowed in the beast’s voice.

I pointed my rifle at the demon and asked Lucia, “…Is it sealed?”

“Not quite.”

She shook her head firmly, her expression grim. That was a rarity for her.

“It’s merely bound for the moment. Vulnerable to external attacks, it will awaken the instant my holiness runs dry—”

With a thud, Lucia closed the scripture loudly and added, “By then, reinforcements will surely have arrived.”

Reinforcements, huh.

“What comforting words.”

Swarming enemies is a tactic steeped in ancient history for humans. The image of humans hunting mammoths with rocks and spears appears even in the murals of Goguryeo.

But that’s that, and this is this.

The demon was subdued, yet still alive. There was no point in just twiddling my thumbs waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

I raised my rifle and aimed at the demon. It was a waste of time to aim from this distance, so I pulled the trigger immediately.

– Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots rang out as bullets lodged into the demon’s body, which was pinned to the ground covered in papers. The demon’s form jerked multiple times.

However,

– Grrrr…

The demon wasn’t dead.

It let out a beastly growl, still very much alive.

I pushed back my helmet, glancing at Lucia. The cool night air brushed over my forehead, cooling the sweat that beaded there.

“…Damn it. Even holy bullets can’t kill it.”

“It is not a being you can easily slay. Even if it’s just a lackey, a demon is still a demon.”

Lucia looked down at the fiend with a remarkably calm expression. I didn’t know why, but she seemed rather accustomed to this kind of situation.

She raised her rifle slightly and pulled the trigger. Moments later, I learned an alarming fact—that even bullets consecrated with holy water could not kill the demon.

I muttered a curse under my breath.

“…Damn.”

“Saint Veronica will be here soon. Let’s wait. I’ll keep watch. You’ll need to check on the others.”

“Please do, Lucia.”

Lucia, who had subdued the demon, kept her gaze locked on it. Meanwhile, Francesca and Camila were confirming the status of the people found on the scene.

The place where the fiend had huddled was an open lot between shopping complexes, reminiscent of a Harlem alley from an old American movie.

This filthy spot, which probably served as a trash heap or smoking area, was now becoming a refuge for refugees with nowhere else to go.

“Is anyone alive?”

“…No. They’re all dead.”

Francesca pulled her hand away from a fallen refugee’s neck. The corpses, dressed in layers of tattered clothing, looked as if they had been viciously mauled by a beast. Dried dark red blood stuck out starkly from the torn fabric.

These were presumably the owners of the things we had seen on our way here. There were four corpses in total, all differing in age but adults nonetheless. Francesca’s brow furrowed deeply.

“It seems they were people without ties to the city, lacking the conditions to enter a refuge. They must have banded together to survive.”

She murmured quietly as she removed the sling hanging from her neck.

“Why did these people attack? If they had unsealed and escaped, wouldn’t it have been better to just flee while avoiding pursuit?”

“I couldn’t say,” I replied, casting a glance at the subdued demon. Lucia was sprinkling holy water from her fingertips onto it.

As drops of holy water touched its body, the fiend writhed as if ensnared, letting out a scream that seemed to mix male and female voices, echoing sharply between the buildings, shaking the surroundings.

The demon, screaming like a tormented soul condemned to hell, gave me a strange sensation of déjà vu.

“…….”

Feeling an unexplainable sense of déjà vu, I decided to excuse myself briefly to check around.

—

After patrolling around nearby buildings for about five minutes, I didn’t discover anything peculiar.

There was no Muspel suddenly emerging from the ground as before, nor were there any handlers likely to threaten us like the necromancer would.

Having confirmed the safety through my patrol, I summarized the current situation.

The demon had been subdued.

Everyone was safe, and I had no injuries. We didn’t have a single fatality, let alone any injuries.

However, there had been civilian casualties during the subduing process. The number was four. They had fallen victim to the demon before we arrived. There were no survivors.

The reason for the civilian deaths lay not with me or my group but with the demon, so there would be no controversy in future evaluations. The Abas media wouldn’t run stories claiming “the Defense Attaché from the Kien Empire killed multiple civilians due to misfire in military operations…”

So I could wait in peace for Veronica to arrive. Once I planted bullets made from consecrated materials into its head, that demon would make a rapid exit straight to hell.

With my thoughts organized, I returned to the open lot without diverting to the alleys and reported to my group.

“The vicinity is safe. I just finished a sweep, and there’s no one passing by or looking out.”

Soon, Veronica would arrive, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a short rest, turning to the backpack I had tossed on the ground during the battle and pulled out a bottle of water.

“Lucia, Francesca. Let’s share a little.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks, Colonel.”

“Make sure to drink some water while waiting for the support to arrive.”

Francesca leaned against the railing of the stairs as she received the bottle, resting. Meanwhile, Lucia only took a sip, unwilling to take her eyes off the demon.

“Please go get some rest, Lucia. I’ll keep watch over the demon.”

“No, I should be the one watching…”

“It’s fine, you deserve to rest with Francesca. When Saint Veronica arrives, the two of you will have to take down the demon together. So save your strength until then.”

“…….”

Lucia seemed as though she wanted to say something, gazing at me silently, before firmly pressing her lips together and nodding.

“By the way, where’s Camila?”

“She went into that building over there where the door opened earlier. She said she would signal so that others wouldn’t get lost.”

“Please stay here with Francesca and keep an eye on the demon. I’ll find her and bring her back soon.”

Finding Camila turned out to be easier than I expected. She was on the top floor of the building with the most stories.

As I climbed up the stairs, peeling paint and rough concrete came into view. I soon found Camila standing outside the wide-open door.

The cascading Milky Way flowed above, and Camila was silently gazing at the darkened city.

After taking a moment to survey the rooftop, confirming there were no dangers, I approached her. Orventzku was still eerily silent.

“Are you alright?”

I spoke to Camila.

“I heard you went to signal, but I was worried as you went alone. Was there no response from the other side?”

She didn’t answer.

While the gentle wind tousled her hair, Camila continued to face away from me, looking at the city.

“Were there any soldiers or Inquisition officers passing by? Since Veronica went the opposite way, it seems like she’ll take a while to arrive.”

“…….”

“…Camila?”

Just as I was about to adjust the length of the sling around my neck, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me. The hand I was adjusting the length with began to slow its speed.

We arrived at the open area, having followed the footprints, and engaged the demon. I initiated the first attack, shooting at the demon, then Camila, Francesca, and Lucia joined in to assault it.

The demon shrieked in rage as it dodged our attacks. It lunged at me, trying to bite my face.

I couldn’t keep an eye on the time, but it felt like the battle had been going on for about ten minutes.

During those ten minutes, we fought vigorously against the demon. We shot bullets, slashed with knives, threw punches, and set it ablaze.

Yes, we fought fiercely.

Very fiercely, and with much noise.

What I’m curious about is precisely that part.

The noise.

Despite the raucous battle, why was the city so quiet?

“…….”

I lifted my head and surveyed the surroundings. The confined Orventzku was as silent as a grave.

Thinking back, many things seemed strange.

No matter how much a city is in lockdown, it houses 330,000 people. Considering the refugees who flocked in after the conflict, it’s safe to assume the population exceeds 400,000.

As a precaution, the Military Government Headquarters had escorted all civilians away from the vicinity of the collapse site, where the demon’s lair and barriers were, to minimize civilian casualties in case a battle broke out. However, it was impractical to evacuate the entire city, so civilians who lived beyond a certain distance from the collapse site were not evacuated.

This meant that the area we were currently engaged with the demon had not seen civilian evacuation.

Every house in sight likely had someone grateful for surviving the day and preparing for tomorrow.

Yet, the residents displayed no interest in the outside situation.

Even if the military broadcast orders not to venture outside, a battle had erupted. Gunfire rang loudly in the quarantined city, yet the residents neither came outside nor even opened their windows to observe the situation.

There was more than one oddity.

We made a tremendous amount of noise fighting the demon, with gunshots, explosions, and the demon’s howls. Regardless of the rest, explosions and gunfire would surely grab the attention of the troops searching the other areas.

Everyone in Orventzku must know what’s happening, and surely someone who crossed paths with a demon would notice they were engaged in conflict. No one among them would gaggle into the fray more quickly than the mages from the Magic Tower—they could fly through the sky.

Yet, despite the fighting breaking out and continuing without interruption, no one has come to seek us out.

Neither the Empire, nor the cult, nor the Magic Tower. Even Veronica, who had promised to send a signal if an emergency arose.

No one had come to look for us.

As if we were invisible.

Once my thoughts progressed that far, a shiver ran down my shoulders, which were rolled up into my sleeves.

“…We need to get out of here. Let’s go down.”

“…….”

“Camila, I’m serious. This isn’t a joke.”

“…….”

Camila remained unresponsive.

The dimly lit cursed gray city, the radio, Veronica, and Camila—all present but no one responded.

As my heightened senses returned to normal, the surroundings started feeling more claustrophobic and twisted.

Even with my helmet on, I could feel the hairs on my neck standing up straight. We absolutely needed to leave this place. Just as that thought gripped my mind, I grasped Camila’s shoulder and spun her around.

“…Camila!”

Suddenly turning toward me, she clasped her arms around my neck tightly.

Her ragged clothes, her disheveled hair, and those darkened eyes came inches away from my face.

The foul stench of decaying corpses oozed from her half-open lips.

Her face came uncomfortably close, and with a wide grin, she babbled in Kien.

“Didn’t I tell you? If you want to live, run away.”

My throat suddenly tightened. I couldn’t breathe.

Blood pooled in my head, unable to reach my brain; my consciousness faded gradually.

A ringing resonated in my ears.

Flashes of light and the world splitting into three. Visions flickered by like a strobe light.

Dimming sight and sinking consciousness, the memories of the sea training I underwent before joining the company resurfaced. I began to feel as though I was diving into the depths of the ocean. The dark, cold seawater swept around me.

The unmistakable waft of a funeral home’s scent filled my nostrils. An all-too-familiar wail began coming from behind, slowly approaching.

A clear laugh cut through the ringing.

And the faintest of voices.

I tried to escape but,

I could not get away.

—

“Wake the hell up! At this rate, we’re all gonna die!”

A distinctly different English accent from that of my American friends suddenly broke through the haze. It was a profane shouting starting with ‘Wake the fuck up.’

My mind sharpened instantly. My eyes flew open, and the constricted airways loosened as the cold rushed into my lungs.

I gasped vigorously, like a person swept away by a torrent. I ended up choking and coughing audibly.

Before my eyes lay the head of a crushed monster. With a crack, it had smashed into the wall as its jaw was torn off. A figure wielding a glinting silver knuckle, Lucia, appeared before me.

Beside her was Camila, crouched behind a trash bin while firing her rifle at the monsters.

– Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!

Even amidst the chaos, I noticed that the firearm in Camila’s hands was the one I had brought.

Wavering, I wildly flailed my arms in the air while trying to lift my immobile upper body, but someone pushed me back down.

The sight before me was of an undeniably attractive young lady. The one who had pushed me down was Francesca.

In her hand, she held a bandage.

“…Francesca?”

“Don’t move. Colonel, you hit your head. Given that you were unconscious for a while, it’s likely you’ve sustained a concussion.”

Gunfire. Combat. Monsters. Unconscious. Fainting.

A torrent of information engulfed me.

I struggled to open my mouth, managing to ask with difficulty what was happening.

The response was simple.

Camila, dropping ammunition clips to the floor, yelled frantically.

“Can’t you tell? We’re in deep shit!”

Such a kind explanation.