A Dark Fantasy Spy

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The shock subsided, leaving the area as quiet as a grave.

The flames that drove back the darkness swallowed every sound in existence.

The cold texture brushing against my fingertips. Having lightly tapped the magical tool, I gathered my defense spells.

“…….”

Noticing the solid barrier of magic fading, Francesca slowly lifted her head.

It was around the time she started scanning the surroundings that Camila’s voice reached her.

“Is everyone alright?”

She stood there in the middle of the research facility, her pristine appearance untouched by even a scratch or a speck of soot, contrasting sharply with the devastation around her.

“Yes. Camila, are you unharmed?”

“Yes!”

The facility, long reduced to ruins by the storm that had swept through, crumbled with each step taken, the charred debris crunching underfoot as she approached Francesca to offer support.

—

Episode 17 – The Tree that Drinks Blood

Although the magic cast by Camila had vanished by the evening, the aftershocks still lingered throughout the facility.

The searing heat tickled my skin, while sparks flying in every direction danced along with the flow of air.

While I was accustomed to the scene by now, it wasn’t exactly a pleasing sight to be in the midst of a fire disaster. We decided to hastily escape the area before things worsened.

“Whoa!”

Emerging through the swirling embers, Camila set us down on the ground. In an instant, as flames engulfed her body, she showcased the art of moving several meters in the blink of an eye.

Naturally, it made sense for Francesca, who knew everything about magic, to recognize Camila’s skill.

Sitting on the ground, she stared at Camila with a somewhat astonished expression.

“…Is that teleportation?”

“Oh, you noticed?”

No, wouldn’t it be strange if she didn’t?

Camila, tilting her head slightly at Francesca’s question, muttered as if adding to her thought.

“Teleportation magic is considered a proud heritage among all magicians, regardless of their school. The records were lost, and the predecessors who could’ve passed it down vanished, so I thought it would never be seen again….”

“The professor taught me.”

Francesca nodded as if to convey that she understood.

If an ordinary magician claimed they learned practical magic from a great figure, most would scoff and dismiss them as a fraud.

But with Camila, it was a different story, especially since she learned from one of the two great archmages in the world.

If it were someone else, they would have probably seized Camila and ranted passionately about how exceptional the magic she learned was and how crucial it was to have been taught by an archmage. Perhaps even spewing jealous feelings along the way.

However, Francesca was a different breed altogether.

“If only you had learned something better….”

A tone of disappointment leaked from her voice, jokingly lamenting why she hadn’t learned more when there was so much to take from the Duke.

This made Camila chuckle softly.

“I wanted to, but time was short. Next time, I will learn something better.”

Francesca replied calmly.

“Magic is often compared to a lonely and solitary journey, but without inspiration, it’s easy to lose your way. The Duke’s magic must offer plenty to reference.”

It was advice for a fellow traveler on the same path, albeit heading in a different direction.

With genuine counsel, Camila smiled gently and nodded. Then, with a soft smile, she offered a compliment.

“Still, Francesca’s magic was quite remarkable, wasn’t it? You managed to catch the opponent in a way I’d never imagined.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Francesca raised her gloved hand and dismissed it as no big deal.

“It’s nothing special. Just a common capture trick.”

Though she downplayed it, it was far from an insignificant technique. Extracting magic using the rune sword left by the founder of the Ranieri family, and then manifesting it in thread to manipulate freely was a skill I had never even heard of.

Perhaps due to the easing tension, the two began sharing various conversations.

“That vampire… is it really dead for sure?”

“Most likely.”

Upon hearing Camila’s question, Francesca gazed at the devastated research facility and muttered.

“Who could possibly rise from there?”

Though she hadn’t witnessed the vampire’s demise firsthand, anyone who experienced the previous scene would have echoed her sentiments.

The power of the magic Camila cast was truly formidable.

No matter how ancient a monster may be, the slightest possibility of surviving such an encounter simply faded from thought.

As Francesca’s gaze lingered on the ashes of the research facility, Camila suddenly began to ask a question.

“Would it be good to confirm once more?”

“Fortunately, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Francesca, who had propped the rune sword, pointed to my wrist. More precisely, she indicated the silver cross adorning it.

“The relic isn’t responding.”

The lack of response from the relic meant no negative or malicious energy was detected.

During the department store terror incident and when facing demons in the northern regions, Lucia’s cross had always reacted first at the onset of trouble. It was a truth we all personally experienced.

Hence, the absence of a reaction from the relic served as proof that the vampire had perished.

Nodding in understanding to her statement, Camila began to ponder, her brow slightly furrowed as she looked at us.

“But were we really dealing with a vampire? It seemed a bit, no, a lot different from the one I know.”

“It’s a difficult question to answer definitively. Vampires are said to have been eradicated centuries ago. Even the cult itself firmly believes and accepts it as truth, plus no serious researcher ever delving into the extinct undead remains.”

Having been extinct for hundreds of years, with no remaining records, one could not be certain about anything.

Just as I was about to say that—

– Rumble…!

The ashes barely held together began to collapse.

As a steel framework that had survived the inferno lifted, the charred dust spread chaotically.

And then, a heavy metallic sound echoed.

“…What the—”

Crash! Something ascended through the ashes. An all-too-familiar gauntlet.

At the moment Francesca laid eyes on the emerging armor, it felt like being pulled taut, sending an alarm through her body.

– Thud!

Francesca snatched the rune sword and leapt into action. As blue magic wove through the air, the vials that had slipped from her grasp splattered against concrete and rock.

As a viscous liquid formed a magic circle over the swirling concoction, the potion gradually began to take shape.

While the venomous mixture began to assume form, the gears tossed into the air spun repeatedly, absorbing nearby objects until they shaped into a golem.

– Woosh~!

Camila, transformed into flames, appeared above the ashes.

Gathering every ounce of magical power, she swung her arm down, producing a trail of crimson flames in her wake.

Behind her was the cube gifted by the Duke, hovering and glowing in strange colors as if responding to its owner’s magic.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Just then, as the crimson flames were about to sweep the ashes—

– Boom!

Camila’s barrage of magic fizzled out like it hit an invisible wall, erupting into an overwhelming noise.

“What…!”

Startled, Camila hurriedly prepared her next spell. But the opponent’s movement was quicker.

A plated armor, dusted with ash, surged upward from the rubble. Soaring several meters, it slammed into Camila, who was waiting in mid-air.

“Ugh!”

Though she quickly assumed a defensive posture, blocking an attack without the aid of protective magic proved impossible. The hit sent her crashing backward.

Francesca unleashed a fierce attack as well, but even that proved insufficient.

Unlike the frantic chase before, the creature deflected every single assault thrown its way.

Smashed to pieces by the sticky alchemical mixture with a single punch, the behemoth easily shook off the advancing golem with a casual kick while smoothly dodging Francesca’s green slicing strike.

“…Have I ever seen such a monster?”

“Francesca! Behind!”

Amid the battlefield’s clamor, a sharp warning sliced through. As she hastily turned her head, a heavy set of armor and a rugged helmet loomed before her.

– Bam!

A rising gauntlet seized Francesca by her collar. Despite the rune sword infused with blue magic flying toward the joints of the metal armor, her body was hurled away before the tip even grazed it.

– Crash!

Francesca’s form vanished amidst the ruins. Where she landed was a barren expanse strewn with exposed rebar and sharp debris.

The lost rune sword collided with the rubble, producing an eerie sound.

A knight that had thrown both Camila and Francesca slowed its head-turning motion.

– Caw!

Sinister blades began to glimmer in the darkness.

Bombs rushed in with the intent of crushing the armor, followed closely by armor-piercing rounds.

As the knight, gazing at the barrage of explosives and blessed ammo, brought its arms together deliberately, it began to eye every attack coming its way with steady focus.

– Bang!

The moment the two gauntlets collided, it felt as if time froze, leaving all objects suspended in the air.

The halted projectiles fell like dust, and the incoming bombs detonated without a touch of power, scattering into mere shadows of dust.

I had even pulled out the flamethrower after reloading, pressing the assault on the knight. Yet, the holy flames were repelled, unable to reach him, pushed back in all directions.

It was as if the flames had a mind of their own, stubbornly refusing to touch him.

– Hraaa!

With the flames brutally shoved aside, the knight advanced toward me. In desperation, I activated my UV torch and thrust it toward him.

The weakness of vampires lies in sunlight. The disinfecting and chemical properties of sunlight are derived from the power of ultraviolet light. This is why artificial lighting that employs UV light is depicted as a weakness of vampires and zombies in movies and dramas.

Whether this was a coincidental truth arising from the imagination of people around the globe or simply the delusions of a writer remains uncertain, but at this moment, I had no other option. I shoved the UV torch into its face—and—

“…Huh?”

Nothing happened.

Startled by the purple light, the knight flinched for a brief moment, but that was all.

Shielding its eyes from the glaring light, it merely glanced between the UV torch and me, as if asking, “What is this guy doing?”

“Ha….”

I was the fool for believing the movies.

– Crack!

The moment I received a kick, it felt as though I had been struck by a car, and I tumbled away.

“Cough.”

Clutching my abdomen, I pressed myself against the ground, searching for a usable weapon. I threw aside the useless torch and grabbed the one firearm that might be of use.

As if reading my intent, the knight stomped down on my gun to prevent me from grabbing it. Just as I was about to pull the greatsword from my waist—

The knight, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

“…Who is attacking me?”

It felt as though the voice resounded from inside my head.

“Who are you? The cult?”

No.

It wasn’t an illusion.

“Are you the Dawn Society?”

I used the hand meant to grab the greatsword to shield my eyes.

“…What is this?”

The armored knight, with the heavy greatsword aimed at my throat, was engulfed in a glow of red light.