How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game-Chapter 212: Tsukva (1)

“…Who’s there?”

Denif tightly gripped his sword, tensing his body to move at any moment as he glared at the temple.

There was no answer. I shared my guess instead.

“Tsukva.”

As I called out that name, an intense wave like a seizure spread out from deep inside the temple.

-Yes, yes. You know me. Come, sacred and profane blood. Come deeper, come inside.

With those final words, the wave disappeared in an instant. Goosebumps had risen on my neck and forearms.

A figure from a thousand years ago, chosen by the Great Devil.

I never thought I’d not only hear that person’s voice, but actually communicate with them. Denif seemed to feel similarly.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

“Is that really the Tsukva?”

“Seems so.”

“But he died, didn’t he?”

“Well, we don’t know that for sure yet. It wasn’t explicitly stated that he died.”

Denif glared at the temple with a half-doubtful expression. I continued speaking.

“Of course, he’s probably not in a normal state.”

Common sense dictated that it was impossible for a person to live for over a thousand years. Even the founding emperor didn’t live that long.

Moreover, if he was in a normal state, he wouldn’t be trapped in this temple but would have been wandering outside long ago.

“I suspect it might be some kind of residual consciousness bound to the temple.”

“Is it okay to go in?”

This was Denif’s question. It was unusual for the battle-loving Denif to speak like this. Of course, it wasn’t out of fear of fighting now either.

Tsukva had mentioned my blood and told us to come inside.

My Devil’s Blood and Tsukva’s Scythe, which reduces the amount of sacrifices and blood needed for summoning devils. There were certainly some unsettling aspects.

“Well, I’m not sure. The worst case is that a devil gets summoned because of me.”

In other words, I might be walking into the tiger’s mouth of my own accord right now.

But I couldn’t just be consumed by fear either. We don’t know yet what the right answer is.

I’m disregarding the lack of warning from Death Avoidance. Death Avoidance isn’t omnipotent. The entry itself might be fine, but something could go wrong inside.

“What should we do?”

“Let’s go in.”

I made my decision. There was a possibility of things going wrong, but I judged it better to deal with Tsukva’s Scythe.

The residual consciousness and sacred object of one chosen by the Great Devil. If devil worshippers were to encounter this, it would cause major changes.

Even in the game, once the main story really got going, their numbers increased to an incomprehensible degree.

Of course, the empire was in danger then too, but it was probably because of this guy and his relic.

“I’m fine with it, but are you sure?”

“It’s fifty-fifty anyway. He might be deceiving us because he doesn’t want us to enter.”

It didn’t seem like deception though. The emotion in that chilling voice wanted me to come in.

I glared at the temple shrouded in darkness. I still didn’t know how my choice would turn out.

“Or it could just be his arrogance. He probably thinks he’ll definitely beat us.”

“Then we just need to win.”

Denif summarized it simply and clearly.

“Right. At most, he’s just a ghost.”

Tsukva’s Scythe. If the relic’s ability was real, he wouldn’t have just left it behind when he died.

The voice and consciousness we’re hearing now is probably some kind of mechanism set up to protect that relic.

We have no intention of handing it over to devil worshippers anyway, so we need to destroy it. It just means an additional battle.

I grinned as I answered, and Denif smiled along. Denif rolled his shoulders to loosen up.

“If we’ve been invited, it’s only polite to go.”

I looked at the path before us. Come to think of it, there was no need to carefully navigate traps.

“Let’s fly.”

“Huh?”

“We don’t need to worry about traps, right?”

The temple was surrounded by vast darkness, above and below. How to describe it… it felt like a huge space had been created inside the mountain.

Therefore, flying to the temple shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, we needed to check first.

I examined the space with winds. The winds couldn’t reach inside the temple. The same was true for the darkness above and below the pillars of the bridge leading to the temple. It seemed to be a domain of darkness.

In any case, there were no traps in the air. Well, they probably didn’t imagine someone flying in. Even if there were thread-like traps, they would have decayed over the centuries.

‘Still, we need to adjust our height.’

The darkness above and below. Since even winds couldn’t reach it, we needed to be careful. We had to adjust our distance well.

I wrapped winds around myself and Denif. We’ll fly while maintaining an appropriate distance above the bridge, within reach of the green flame’s light.

There was a huge circular area in front of the temple. Quite large. About the size of a school playground. It didn’t take long to get there.

Before landing, I pressed down on the ground with winds. There might be issues here too.

“That was simple. Convenient, though.”

“Don’t be envious, focus on your mystic.”

After landing, I surveyed the surroundings. The green flame’s light reached faintly. The image was slightly blurry.

Even though my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, my vision wasn’t completely clear, probably due to the darkness. I took out the glowstone from my chest. I had brought it just in case, for emergencies.

As I unwrapped the cloth, sunlight-like light spread across the circular ground. The darkness recoiled sharply.

This wasn’t a figurative expression. Literally, the living darkness recoiled as if having a seizure.

‘As expected, it’s not just ordinary darkness.’

However, after retreating briefly, it soon began to creep back. Still, the light source was maintained.

I turned my gaze to the floor. The seven stars was engraved on the circular floor. At the end of each star of the seven stars was another small circle, and within those circles were bizarre characters.

How to describe it… It felt like an altar. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. I took a deep breath to calm myself and turned my gaze to the temple.

I could see the tightly closed doors of the temple. There was a reason winds couldn’t enter. Darkness was rippling through the cracks of the closed doors.

“This is… something, isn’t it?”

Denif seemed to sense that the atmosphere was not ordinary. Instead of answering, I nodded.

“I’m not sure if coming in was the right choice.”

“Why, scared?”

Denif frowned deeply at my provocation. Yeah, that expression doesn’t suit him. He should be like he is now.

I took a step forward. Thud- Even the air felt heavy. I walk towards the temple.

-…

A small whispering sound could be heard from inside the temple. However, I couldn’t understand what was being said.

Denif followed behind me. When I looked back at Denif in front of the temple doors, he nodded with a stern gaze.

Without hesitation, I pushed the door. Despite the darkness lurking below, it wasn’t heavy. Creeeeak- The old door made an unpleasant sound.

And inside the opened door, the interior of the temple was nothing but darkness. Literally, nothing could be seen. Only pitch-black darkness existed.

-Ah…! You’ve come! You’re here…!

A chilling voice was clearly heard. And simultaneously, a heavy darkness spread out from deep inside the temple.

Denif and I reacted reflexively. First, I pushed back the darkness with winds. Denif raised a barrier of sand.

But it was instantaneous. Like a dam gate opening, the darkness pushed forward with an irresistible mass.

It was pointless to resist. I gave one last strong push with winds, wrapped around Denif’s body, and quickly retreated.

We position ourselves in the center of the circular ground in front of the temple. The mass of darkness that burst out of the temple didn’t shoot towards us.

Instead, it circled around the circular ground surrounding the temple, letting out a chilling laugh.

‘This is going to be tough.’

Even though I was holding the glowstone, the surrounding darkness was growing thicker. The darkness that had been circling around descended in front of us and took on a human form.

It wasn’t a real person. It was just a mass of darkness taking on a human shape. However, the facial features were distinct. Even though it was darkness, the eyes and pupils could be distinguished.

“Carlyn, we didn’t break some kind of seal, did we?”

Well. It wasn’t a problem to worry about. The result would have been the same regardless of what choice we made.

“Even if it was a seal, devil worshippers would have broken it if we left it alone.”

Is this Tsukva’s original form? It was quite a handsome appearance, though it looked middle-aged. Those eyes formed a crescent.

And as the darkness rippled, a scythe appeared in his hand. That must be Tsukva’s Scythe.

-The frail blood that advanced into the empty light, breaking through the darkness, has now returned to the full darkness.

I didn’t respond. It was a soliloquy to begin with. A residual consciousness that has lasted over a thousand years. It was questionable whether dialogue would even be possible.

Dialogue was meaningless anyway. He wanted my blood, and I wanted his scythe. That’s all there was to it.

I readjusted my grip on my sword. I focused on the Moonlight Technique. A clear crescent moon began to rise in my mind.

Tsukva, in his dark form, solemnly raised the corners of his mouth.

-Behold the darkness. And accept it. Not the empty light, but the full darkness…

Thump- A faint wave spread out. And from the outermost part of the temple, the green flames began to extinguish.

The light had been dim to begin with, but even that had been reassuring in the darkness. The underground where the temple was located began to turn pitch black.

And now, the only light source here was the glowstone in my left hand. But even that wasn’t bright.

Since Tsukva appeared, the approaching darkness had been creeping around as if trying to erase the light emitted by the glowstone.

Still, though the light might dim, it didn’t disappear. It didn’t seem like a good choice to enter that darkness.

Therefore, I had to make a decision. I couldn’t stay with Denif throughout the battle.

“Denif.”

Calling his name, I lightly tossed the glowstone. Denif, who caught it reflexively, looked at me with wide eyes.

“What about you?”

Instead of answering, I focused on the Moonlight Technique. A soft moonlight began to frost over Moonlight.

It looked precarious in the pitch-black darkness, but a light source was a light source.

I had this moonlight, so it was the right decision to hand over the glowstone to Denif.

I had brought the glowstone just in case, but I couldn’t detonate it here. That would be suicide. There was nowhere to escape to.

‘No choice.’

I focused on the moonlight frosting Moonlight and on Tsukva opposite me. Winning the fight was the only answer. I gripped Ghost Blade in my left hand.

No need for questions and answers. I dashed forward, kicking off the ground. To the right. Understanding my intention, Denif moved to the left.

From the moment I moved away from the glowstone, darkness began to creep over me. I intensified the moonlight.

It wasn’t enough to harm my body yet.

Tsukva swung his scythe from where he stood. A blade of darkness shot out, covering a 180-degree area in front of him at hip level.

I evaded by sliding on the ground. I thrust Moonlight forward. The scythe came crashing down ominously.

Clang-! A sharp metallic sound, I blocked the scythe with Ghost Sword and thrust with Moonlight. Behind me, Denif charged in.

He didn’t block. Is it working? This easily?

But he instantly turned into darkness. Transformed into black smoke, he melted into the darkness.

“What the…!”

Denif’s exclamation, I focused on winds. The area wasn’t large, but unlike inside the temple, I could sense a certain range.

However, I couldn’t feel Tsukva’s presence. He seemed to have completely merged with the darkness.

As he disappeared, the darkness also seemed to lose strength for a moment and retreated. The area illuminated by the glowstone expanded.

But it was only for a moment.

Suddenly, as the darkness thickened, an alien form appeared behind Denif. It was Tsukva. I shouted quickly.

“Denif!”

Denif quickly rolled forward. Only an arm holding a scythe emerged from the darkness, slashing through the air. It was a close call.

But Tsukva’s body didn’t appear. The scythe and arm disappeared into the darkness just like before.

“Damn, he’s full of tricks…”

Author's Thoughts

Hi everyone, I've completely translated this novel! For those who love this novel and wanted to binge read until the last chapter, you can go to my Patreon "Shop" page. There, I have a product in which you can read them with discounted price!