A Dark Fantasy Spy

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Dark, murky smoke settled over the Research Facility.

At first glance, it resembled a smoke screen or the mist of dawn, but it wasn’t naturally born smoke.

From within the black smoke, a heavy sound of steel echoed.

The armored figure reminiscent of a knight from the medieval era stood there.

In its unwavering stance, there was an aura of steadfastness, unshakeable even in the face of worldly tempests and calamities. Its broad shoulders seemed to signify bravery and courage.

The gauntlet crossed lightly over its arm suggested a sense of calm, hinting that it would remain unflustered, no matter the opponent it faced.

“…Hmm.”

Francesca suddenly began to smile as she faced the unwavering opponent.

Taking out a pair of gloves she had never seen before from her pocket, she slipped one onto her left hand.

“That’s a knight straight out of a fairy tale. Come to slay a dragon, perhaps?”

Camila’s gaze swept over the plate armor.

“An armor that can’t be pierced by bullets. I’ve never known of an armor that could block guns, let alone a longbow or crossbow… And with the strength to send someone flying with bare hands, no less.”

It seems like a tough opponent.

Camila added briefly, slowly beginning to pace as the reconnaissance commenced. Francesca also observed her opponent calmly from her relaxed posture.

“Considering it has no splendid patterns or adornments, and is even lacking a surcoat, it doesn’t seem like it’s of noble origin, yet the craftsmanship of the armor is quite impressive for that. Although its strength might rely on some power, the prowess in battle suggests it was a knight in life.”

“……”

“Where did you leave your sword, knight?”

A mockery or a question. The ongoing inquiries made it hard to gauge the underlying intent, yet no answer was returned.

The figure maintained its silence, standing still like a statue.

As Francesca and Camila prowled the area, they exchanged hand signals to share information.

The looming threat of battle was palpable.

Hidden behind them was a vial of reagent. The air shimmered at their fingertips. The sword left by the Archmage glimmered with a blue light.

“Let me tell you a fun story for the knight who awakened from slumber after hundreds of years. Since olden times, what ended the age of knights was—”

Francesca, quietly smiling, drew her rune sword.

“Magic.”

—

Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

A blue strike fell. The blade’s passing left behind a trail of lingering blue magic.

The chilling and beautiful afterimage created an illusion as if it had cleaved through the very air. It was an abnormal phenomenon that was difficult to explain scientifically, but magic was a study that wrought miracles.

The alchemist, holding the heritage of ancestors in hand, kindled their own ideals.

– ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ !!

The blue magic surged through the crack. Its deep azure hue spread wide across the clear sky like a triumphant threefold.

Fine and dense needles rushed from all directions. The knight in plate armor leapt into the air.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Francesca, staring at the vampire, extended her left hand as if she were waiting.

The magic, stretching like threads, curled gracefully into her grasp. Following her sweeping gesture, azure threads connected to her rune sword gathered, and as she successfully clutched all of them, her gloved hand yanked them sharply.

At that moment, something astonishing happened. The threads made of magic began to move simultaneously under her command.

Though the previously erratic threads stiffened for a moment, Francesca skillfully controlled them. She looked akin to a puppeteer directing her puppets.

-Wham!

-Clang!

Walls, ceilings, floors, instruments. The azure threads left marks everywhere, tracing elegant arcs.

Francesca expertly maneuvered her gloved hand, continuing her control while the vampire struggled to shake off the ferocious pursuit. It avoided her attacks, frantic to evade, with no chance to retaliate.

Then the sound of a gunshot rang out.

Concrete debris rained down from the dented spot, and a bullet lodged itself in close proximity to her thigh. Though the spent bullet failed to pierce the armor, it left a clear mark.

The crushed projectile dropped from the gauntlet, and the gleaming helmet tilted downward. The figure, confirming the gunshot wound on its armor, lifted its gaze to scrutinize the scene.

“I’ve stopped!”

I raised my voice and pulled the trigger.

Though it ducked behind a concrete pillar to evade the relentless hail of bullets, it soon stumbled as it turned the corner—snagged by my thread.

-Ratatat! Ratatat!

The furious barrage of threads pursued, while the ceaseless gunfire rang out.

The heavy sound of metal clanging combined with the rifle’s discharge, and the unsettling noises of the threads at play filled the air.

Even in its plate armor, the figure moved with remarkable agility. Skirting just out of reach of the threads, it rolled across the floor, leaping over obstacles in a stunning display of agility.

“What the heck is that? How’s it running around like that in armor?”

“It must be because it isn’t human that it can move like that!”

Francesca lashed out with the threads she had grasped. Quick as the eye could follow, an onslaught commenced.

The strike surged on like a snake pouncing for its prey, but the opponent wasn’t so easily caught.

As she brandished the thread from above, the figure slipped beneath an experimental device like a slide. When she swept sideways, it stuck close to a pillar, waiting until the last moment to evade.

Close yet so far away, the quick attacks continued. Francesca focused intensely on her control, while the vampire kept its eyes trained on the madly flying threads.

-Swish!

As a swift sound cut through the air, the helmet turned left. The figure, spotting a thread approaching from the diagonal, quickly leaped toward its blind spot.

Everyone has habits. Fighting is no different.

In each consecutive battle against Francesca, this opponent had learned her tactics.

The number of threads responding when she pulled a finger, her upper body movements before she delivered a downward strike, the types of follow-up attacks that would come after a failed strike depending on height, and so on.

Continuously learning, the adversary adapted to the fight against Francesca.

The penalties of the plate armor or the difference in range were scarcely acknowledged.

-Clang!

The moment the thread tore through the door of the freezer, the detached metal sheet was caught by the gauntlet.

The warrior, having snagged the door with its gauntlet, took aim. There was no time to react. The heavy metal door flew straight toward its target.

Not a parabolic arc but a perfectly straight line, the flying chunk of metal prompted Francesca to shake her five fingers, splitting the door into countless fragments mid-air.

And there stood the knight in plate armor.

Successfully drawing attention with the obstacle, it seized the fleeting moment.

Dashing across the distance, it lashed out with the gauntlet.

Francesca’s lips curled, gently.

“Caught you.”

Her voice, low and cut through the chaotic noises, was distinctly clear. The shining helmet glanced down, and the gauntlet, entwined with azure threads, began to stir.

The azure threads that were making elegant arcs responded in that very instant.

The fluttering threads shed their looseness and assumed order.

The taut azure threads intertwined, shifting shapes, and within an instant, the overlapping threads morphed into the form of a net.

The fishing was complete.

All the hundreds and thousands of attacks had been for this moment.

The alchemist, reeling in the line after the wait, smiled.

“To catch the wicked, a net must be tight….”

And then she pulled the firmly gathered net with all her might.

“I will never let an evil one escape.”

The net unfurled in the sky, ensnaring the opponent.

The azure-lit threads wedged into the seams and gaps of the plate armor. The rough thrashing aimed at breaking free produced sharp metallic noises, but the more it fought, the tighter the net constricted.

Francesca, managing to trap the vampire, struggled to maintain control over the net. Yet she lacked the strength to contain its monstrous might.

However, it wasn’t necessary to hold it until reinforcements arrived.

“Now’s the time!”

A shrill voice reached everyone’s ears. The sound came from above us.

Hearing the warning, Francesca swiftly let go of the net. I wrapped my arm around her waist, lifting her up and leaping toward the cover I had anticipated, glancing up at the ceiling.

The expansive ceiling filled with dark smoke.

Cutting through the gloom reminiscent of the night sky, a beam of light descended like moonlight upon that spot.

Camila, her red hair billowing, pointed her finger at the target.

“Bang!”

The world turned white.

The light that dispelled the darkness swallowed all sounds in the vicinity.

Vibrant colors danced chaotically, disorienting the eye. The surged tremors skimmed across the rock.

The trembling of the cave and desert meeting the waves echoed into the hearts of people.

“What was that just now?”

“Was that an earthquake? Is something happening down below…?”

And then, after the crimson storm passed. As Camila descended carefully to land on the ground,

The dark smoke began to lift, and the dazzling light started to banish the darkness from the Research Facility.