Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded - Book 1: Chapter 8: (2)

Just moments before…….

Tilarna stood still in one of the temple’s inner chambers ⸺ a small room left in disrepair following centuries of neglect. She was to be interrogated after Elbajhi and his men finished their inspection of their『goods』, hence the reason she had been temporarily confined to this room.

This had most likely been a resting place for the worshippers coming to the temple all those years ago. Tables and chairs made of the finest Barosha cedar lay scattered across the floor. It was said that furniture crafted of such wood would not rot no matter how much time had passed; they were quite renowned for their durability.

The man clad in red, the one going by the name of Zelada, was their mildita¹. By the looks of it, he was a practitioner of the Mahzany school of magic. One of the latent characteristics of Mahzany mildi² was the accursed manipulation of souls. There was no mistaking it ⸺ he was the one behind all those killings.

And for whatever reason, Zelada had not told Elbajhi of Tilarna’s existence. There may be other factors at play here. Regardless, she would first need to escape from this place and rescue that child before she could get any answers. The fairy was located somewhere within the temple’s catacombs. She would recognize that nostalgic branii³ anywhere.

While she was in the process of exploring the range of her movements with her handcuffs, Tilarna noticed that something was off.

Elbajhi’s lackeys were raising up a ruckus. The smell of something burnt was wafting through the crack in the door. She overheard several words being said. 『Fire extinguisher』.『Need water』. 『Blast it away』.

A fire.

With her hands bound behind her back, Tilarna stood up. She surveyed her surroundings. The door leading outside was locked up tight. Ramming her petite body against it would be futile.

Dragging the table towards the edge of the door, Tilarna stacked a chair atop it. Still restrained by her handcuffs, she climbed the mountain of furniture with great effort.

Reaching the top, she looked down upon the entranceway.

Her feet were as yet unsteady; it felt as though she could lose her balance at any moment.

Deep breaths. Alright.

「Myna bolhe, labna ye Ghizenya⁴……」

She chanted. It was the incantation for a type of mildi quite appropriate for the current situation. In a blink of an eye, immense power began flowing through the girl’s petite frame. Her vision dyed red, a blazing energy spread through every corner of her body, all the way to her fingertips.

Before long, the sound of the lock opening could be heard from the other side. Two men, clearly panic-stricken, entered the room. Elbajhi’s men. Perhaps they had come to finish Tilarna off. Perhaps they were here to take her to a more secure location.

「She ain’t here!」

「Oi⸺」

They didn’t even have time to react.

Tilarna sent a chair flying towards one of them, before leaping towards him and delivering a sharp kick to his chin. CRACK! With his neck tilting at an odd angle, the man collapsed onto the floor. Using his body as a footstool, she soared into the air, strangling the other man with both her legs. From the front, it looked as though he was giving her a piggyback ride. It was almost as if he was an acrobat in a circus.

「!」

Putting her all into it, Tilarna used the full weight of her body and twisted. The man fell. Even so, she did not let go of her legs, falling right along to the floor with him. Clenching her teeth, she exerted even more force on the man.

「~~~~~GHAAAAAAAK!」

The man’s limbs fell limp. An agonizing cry escaped his lips. How stubborn of him. As the effects of the strengthening spell began to wear off, Tilarna started feeling the pain as well. Barely hanging on to her consciousness, she continued her relentless assault.

「ghrk……………」

At long last, the man stopped struggling. Squeezing her thighs around the man a couple more times for good measure, Tilarna finally loosened her grip on her opponent.

Neither of the two men had lost their life. One was seemingly in a trance, having received a severe concussion. The other had simply ‘lost consciousness.’

Heaving her shoulders, she dragged one of the men against the wall, setting him on his back. She dug through his possessions, finding a bunch of keys in his coat pocket. Sifting the smallest key out of the pile, she slipped it into the hole in her handcuffs.

Surprisingly, she managed to open it in one go.

Expressing her gratitude to the Goddess of War, Ghizenya, Tilarna excitedly flung her restraints to the side. Unfortunately for her, most Dorini handcuffs could be opened with the exact same key. She did not know this at the time, however.

Next was finding a weapon. Tilarna had absolutely no interest in the guns the men possessed. Instead, she grabbed a reasonably-sized, rectangular block of wood lying on the ground. Swinging it two to three times, she managed to ascertain its condition. Still, she was left with no armor whatsoever. She was practically naked; her shoes were all she had left. Nevertheless, Tilarna muttered.

「Okay.」

It seems as though the Goddess Ghizenya has not abandoned me just yet. In that case, I shall continue to fight on until the last atom on my body turns to dust! God be to the glory!

Swearing to herself, Tilarna dashed out of the room like a lioness on the hunt.

Lowering her body, she sprinted down the stone corridor at full speed. By this time, the smoke had already reached the ceiling. Where is the fire coming from? To what degree is this fire spreading? There is no time to waste; I must hurry to the fairy’s whereabouts.

Turning the corner, she found herself face-to-face with another man wielding a pistol.

「Bugh……!!!」

Charging ahead straight as an arrow, Tilarna swung her makeshift club to and fro. The man’s gun flew into the air. Turning around, she drew closer to her enemy, bringing down her wooden block onto him. A hit to the side of the head. As the man staggered to his feet, she delivered an elbow strike to his gut with all her might, sending his body crashing into the wall.

「Ugh……」

「SPEAK! WHERE IS THE FAIRY?」

Strangling the neck of her dazed opponent, Tilarna demanded.

「Most likely…… the underground…… catacombs……」

「Where is this fire coming from?」

「I-I don’t know……」

That was all that she needed to hear. Smashing the man’s head against the wall, she rushed on ahead.

Before long, she had arrived at a large hallway. A high ceiling. Pillars as far as the eye could see. The smoke had reached this place as well. Opposite her, men holding machine guns in one hand and fire extinguishers in the other were shouting angrily at one another. Given that this is a Gravany temple, one would usually find the entrance to the underground via⸺.

「Hey, you!」

Recognizing Tilarna, a man in the group shouted. Paying no heed, she sprinted across the hallway, in the direction directly opposite the altar. The path underground should lie on the other side.

「Stop right there!」

Naturally, she did not stop. All at once, the men began firing their weapons. Pellets sprayed all over her surroundings. As they hit the countless pillars, bits of stone and dust formed a thick cloud of debris in their vicinity. She could see the entrance to the catacombs. She dashed straight on.

「Goddamnit, after her!」

「Hey, doesn’t putting out the fire come first!?」

「Who cares! It’s useless anyway!」

As the men argued behind her back, Tilarna descended into the darkness below.

Translator’s Notes:

1. The Farbanian word for ‘magician.’
2. The Farbanian word for ‘magic.’
3. The Farbanian word for ‘scent/odor’
4. Lit. ‘Arms of a Giant, Blessings of the Goddess of War’