A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The members of the Order of the Holy Knights kept a watchful eye on the outside from the elevator.

Francesca held a rune sword, its blue light barely contained by the cloth wrapped around it, checking the path she had just walked. A faint wind blew down the passage leading to the surface. She stared at the only entrance and exit for a while.

“…It’s darker than I imagined.”

I heard Camila’s mumble as she peeked outside. Upon confirming the abyss-like darkness, she seemed to shudder, her body trembling.

I absentmindedly stroked the silver tip of the bullet with my finger, glancing at Camila, who was looking unnerved.

“Are you scared?”

“Of course I am. A vampire! Why on earth was such an important incident hidden from us?”

“There were circumstances.”

“Hmm… Well, I can understand that. But isn’t Frederick scared?”

“Worried more than scared.”

“Aren’t worry and fear similar in meaning…?”

I shrugged my shoulders and added nonchalantly.

“Saying I’m scared would sound too pathetic.”

A chuckle followed. Two chuckles, to be specific. From Camila and Francesca. It seemed their worries lightened with my silly comment.

-Thud…!

As the descending elevator made a heavy noise, it began to slow down. We braced ourselves against the structure, waiting for the impact to cease.

Only after the shaking stopped and the shock faded did our bodies, which had been trembling violently, regain stability.

However, aside from the stabilized bodies, my mind was far from at ease.

“……”

An unfathomable darkness welcomed us.

—

Episode 17 – The Tree that Drinks Blood

—

It was a darkness like lacquer.

We couldn’t even see each other’s faces. I held my palm close enough to feel the breath of air, yet not even the shape of my hand was discernible.

Having thrown off my gloves and waving my palm, I spoke softly.

“At this rate, night vision gear will be useless.”

The verified night vision goggles provide a clear image even in the pitch-black woods, provided there’s even a faint light source, like moonlight or starlight.

But coming down to a place like this, they would be rendered entirely ineffective. Even amplifying the tiniest reflection to thousands of times requires light bouncing off objects, after all.

Still, I thought at least the emergency lights would be on. Yet, no matter how much I looked around, I found no sign of illumination.

“Objects are unidentifiable. Everyone, check for emergency lights.”

At Ibrahim’s command, the members of the Order of the Holy Knights began to fumble around in the pitch-blackness.

Camila and Francesca were no different. We carefully observed our surroundings, trying to find even the slightest glimmer of light.

“It seems like there’s an emergency light around here… but it’s probably broken.”

“This one’s completely out of order. No response at all.”

Voices from the corner became clear. It was the conversation of the members of the Order of the Holy Knights.

Though the wide room was shrouded in darkness, and it was difficult to discern where was where, even while whispering, the sound traveled widely, indicating that the members speaking were definitely in the corner.

After searching the area for over three minutes, we found no sources of light. Just plenty of presumed broken lights and emergency signals.

Ibrahim spoke.

“I’ll switch to lights.”

“Is that alright?”

Francesca, who had been quietly listening, shot him a question.

“In this pitch-black darkness, turning on lights will only advertise our presence here.”

That was a rather reasonable concern. But we had no other options at this moment.

“It’s better than fighting a vampire with our eyes blindfolded.”

Staying still would just result in our eyes adjusting to the darkness, while the risk of getting caught by the vampire and getting sucked dry was high. Especially considering why the Order of the Holy Knights, who usually made monsters tremble, had to flee mid-battle.

Eventually, we all decided to turn off our night vision gear and turn on the lights.

This was akin to giving up stealth, a declaration that we would face the vampire head-on.

“Phew—”

Sighing as she released her held breath, Camila turned on her flashlight.

“Now it feels a bit better.”

“Are you afraid of the dark, Hero?”

Camila shook her head at Francesca’s question.

“Not really. I prefer being loud over stealthy.”

“…?”

Francesca tilted her head in confusion, and just as she was about to reprimand her for her useless chatter—

The members of the Order of the Holy Knights, illuminating the darkness with their lights, froze in place. Ibrahim did too, and we were no different.

Many bodies lay sprawled at the entrance of the elevator.

Like a graveyard.

—

I swiftly swept the light around the area.

Water pooled on the floor. Luggage scattered about, personal belongings, pencils, papers. Someone’s shoes rolled under a bench. Meaningless alarms blared from phones and communication devices.

A bizarre scene unfolded before my eyes, with figures of people lying everywhere.

People lay scattered in the corridor. The estimated number was around 30 to 40.

“…Could it be that they’re all dead?”

One of the members of the Order of the Holy Knights muttered quietly. It was a voice that seemed to plead for any reply, yet nobody dared to speak up.

Except for one.

“They’re alive.”

Camila answered.

“There are no signs of external wounds.”

Striding forward, she had already crouched down in front of a fallen researcher.

She shone the light here and there, lifted clothing and hair to check for injuries, even placing a finger under the nose or listening at the ear.

“I see no visible wounds, and their breathing seems normal. I think these people haven’t died; they likely just fainted.”

“Yes, appears they’re not dead. This one’s breathing too.”

Having confirmed that the guards were alive, I nodded in agreement with Camila. The members of the Order of the Holy Knights hurriedly scattered, checking for the wellbeing of the civilians lying around.

Thus, we found 27 civilians breathing in the corridor. None were dead. All were found to be breathing.

Ibrahim, who was checking the scholars, wore an incredulous expression.

“This is strange. For so many people to faint at once…”

“Is the situation quite suspicious?”

“Generally, if civilians are isolated in an area with undead running amok, eight out of ten would be dead. One of the remaining two would likely be injured or mentally disturbed, while the rest would be on the brink of death.”

What about the last one, I wondered. The commander of the Order of the Holy Knights continued to explain in a flat tone.

“They turn into them.”

He elaborated on the fate of civilians caught by the undead.

“Those bitten by werewolves, those whose souls are drained by evil spirits… If they aren’t naturally occurring undead like ghouls or banshees, victims of those monsters can become like them.”

While listening to their conversation while being cautious of our surroundings, I read Ibrahim’s thoughts.

“You’re worried about people turning into vampires.”

“Yes.”

The commander of the Order of the Holy Knights withdrew his wrist, where the pulsating wristwatch rested. As he slowly raised his body, the firearm strapped to his back hovered right over his neck.

Considering that Ibrahim hadn’t reached for his gun yet, it was indeed a precarious position.

I observed the fallen individuals while checking on the state of Camila and Francesca.

“For now, let’s start with examinations.”

“I’m already doing that.”

The Order of the Holy Knights moved among the fainted or sleeping civilians.

An agent with a pistol held a thermometer to the forehead of a neatly lying employee.

“36.1 degrees. Normal body temperature. No signs of infectious disease. No bleeding or injuries around the neck.”

Click, another member took a photo of the employee’s face. After checking the image, he raised his wrist, sending a silver cross glinting.

“The holy relic shows no reaction. Seems there’s no problem.”

“Scrapes and bruises on the kneecaps and hands appear to be from falling.”

“Alright. Let’s report through the radio. Is communication with the surface still possible?”

The communications officer, busy trying to reach the surface, crossed his arms to make an X sign.

The medical officer let out a deep sigh. After grabbing a civilian’s leg, he spoke to his comrade.

“Ugh… Let’s move him to the side for now.”

The two members swiftly lifted the employee and moved him. The civilians were now divided into those who had and hadn’t been examined.

Fortunately, the 27 civilians were assessed as normal. The Order of the Holy Knights carefully checked the civilians’ conditions, finding no oddities.

The other civilians examined later proved to be the same. During the nearby search, we came across people down in some rooms. When informed by Francesca that new civilians had been found, the members went directly to that location for examinations, but once again, there were no issues.

“But can we really deduce whether they’re vampires or not just from this examination?”

I threw the question out of pure curiosity, but Ibrahim shook his head with a troubled expression.

“We’re not certain either. The blood test method to identify werewolf status seems the most reliable, yet… honestly, whether we could identify victims who turned into vampires through blood tests remains uncertain.”

“Indeed, they’re monsters that went extinct centuries ago.”

I gazed at the fallen civilians with a grim expression. Unfazed, Camila was busily moving someone whose status—whether they were a vampire or human—was still uncertain.

While others were momentarily distracted, I cautiously approached the fallen individuals, shining my flashlight upon them. It was a shared hope. Perhaps something would be revealed.

The result was predictable.

As I moved the light here and there, I clicked my tongue and switched off the flashlight.

“Everyone, focus.”

Ibrahim drew the members’ attention. The members of the Order of the Holy Knights, engrossed in their tasks, turned to look at the commander simultaneously.

“From now on, we’re heading to catch a vampire.”