Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 143

Alice, where is my Alice?

That was Vile’s last words in Blue Paper Moon.

Like the witches, Vile’s goal is to create a new world, but unlike other witches, it’s not such a terrible world.

It’s similar to the current world but more… like a fairy tale, you could say.

And the most common protagonist in fairy tales is a beautiful girl.

Vile was looking for an ideal girl worthy of becoming the protagonist of the world he would create.

“So Alice is grandfather’s ideal type, no… in this case, would you say ideal form?”

Right after returning from Ridel Village, our Behemoth Tracking Special Department gathered again in the conference room to examine the contents of Vile’s diary that Zepetia had brought.

“Grandfather was probably writing a fairy tale book. He seems to have been quite deeply immersed in the story he wrote. Or should I say obsessed. Anyway, there were many mentions of wanting to find Alice.”

Listening to Zepetia’s explanation, I felt a strange sensation.

This whole situation is a bit… off, with a granddaughter bringing her grandfather’s diary to reveal all his private and personal stories to everyone.

Moreover, the grandfather who had been searching everywhere was now chasing after a pretty boy to make him a fairy tale protagonist….

What kind of comedy is this.

“Alice…”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Oscar, the person in question.

But Oscar still showed no reaction.

I can’t even tell what he’s thinking normally these days.

At this point, shouldn’t he just leave this department and get some counseling while recuperating?

I wonder what Ozwald thinks about his transformed disciple.

“Hey, Oscar.”

“What?”

“He’s saying you’re Alice, what do you think about that?”

“…Don’t care.”

“…”

“…”

I got so frustrated I asked directly, but that was the extent of our conversation.

“Anyway, since Vile’s target has become Oscar, the department’s direction may change going forward. I’ll discuss the details with Sir Crowty and Sir Ozwald, then gather everyone again to share the updates.”

With Sephira’s words, we dispersed.

Sephira and Dominic, being naturally busy people, left immediately, while Oscar just walked out without saying a word as usual.

Zepetia went to conduct more detailed research and investigation on the Tweedledee and Tweedledum she had obtained this time.

Only Hilde and I remained in the conference room.

“It’s been a while since we fought together, Senior.”

Hilde said.

“Huh? No, not really… you and Lady Sephira did the fighting. I just ran away with Oscar.”

To be honest, it feels a bit awkward.

There was no need for me to do anything since stronger people than me handled everything themselves.

No… come to think of it, isn’t this how it should normally be?

Maybe my sense has gotten a bit warped from handling too many overwhelmingly heavy tasks beyond my station.

“Oscar… why did Vile choose Oscar?”

“Who knows. I don’t think we can understand it.”

There’s no way we can truly understand the mind of a behemoth.

Even I don’t understand it – I just know the game knowledge in my head, not understanding it in my heart.

Besides… in Blue Paper Moon, no being that could be called Alice ever appeared until the end.

Near the very end, Vile goes completely mad from not finding Alice and starts creating masses of hideous Beasts, saying he’ll create Alice himself.

Of course, none of them could be called a fairy tale protagonist Alice.

Usually for this kind of role… hmm….

“What is it?”

“…No, nothing.”

Shouldn’t it have been Hilde’s role originally?

In a game, the female protagonist would be such an object of obsession.

He did hesitate slightly when he saw Hilde, and if Oscar hadn’t been there, he might have actually marked Hilde as Alice.

“Never mind that, since it’s been a while, let’s go eat together.”

“Yes!”

“With Gerda too.”

“…Yes.”

*    *    *

In a beautiful seaside village at sunset.

Two massive Beasts were fighting each other there.

“Grooooar!!”

A one-eyed bald giant-type Beast with bulging muscles and height enough to crush an ordinary house underfoot swung all three of its arms simultaneously at the Beast facing it.

“Shaaaak!”

But its opponent was no pushover either.

Though smaller than the giant-type Beast by three heads, the sea serpent Beast with three heads caught all the incoming rock-like fists with its mouths.

Not only that, but the sharp fangs as thick as human forearms in each mouth must have been poisonous, as the giant’s arms started turning black.

“Grrrgh….”

As the poison spread, the giant dropped to one knee.

The sea serpent, seeming to press its advantage, tried to wrap its tail around the opponent’s body.

“Ugh… Graaaah!!”

The giant’s single eye turned bright red before shooting out an enormous beam that struck the sea serpent’s body.

One of the sea serpent’s necks was grazed by the red beam and became tattered, losing strength, allowing the giant to grab that part and tear it off with all its might.

“Keeeeeek!?”

Having lost one head, the sea serpent unwrapped its tail and fell back, writhing in pain.

The giant didn’t miss this opening and gathered power to fire another red beam.

“…This won’t do.”

But just before the red light could gather, a yellow beam flew in and pierced through the giant’s single eye.

“Ooooh, ooooooh!!!”

The giant screamed, clutching its face.

A moment later, the giant’s head exploded, scattering brain fragments everywhere as its single eyeball shot up like a firework before falling and rolling on the ground.

The eyeball kept rolling across the beach before stopping in front of a man.

“What is this exactly?”

Eric Gringham Wales, Little Mermaid Rusalka’s right hand, said while looking at the giant’s eyeball.

He had seen countless Beasts as big as the giant that could shoot beams, too many to count.

But this Beast was different.

It was fundamentally different from anything he had seen before.

“…This is troublesome.”

Eric walked past that eyeball toward the sea serpent that had lost one head.

Though it was a valuable fighting force, he never expected to suffer this much damage in a place like this.

They had deliberately chosen a village on the outskirts away from the Order’s influence to conquer, but upon arrival, there were no humans and only unfamiliar Beasts everywhere.

“Hmm….”

Eric’s gaze moved from the giant’s eyeball toward the village.

A Deep Sea Folk army was battling a group of Beasts that looked similar to the giant but much smaller.

“…!”

A Deep Sea Folk spearman threw a harpoon that pierced through a cyclops’s chest.

At the same time, four or five other cyclopes rushed at that Deep Sea Folk and tore its body to pieces with small beams.

A Deep Sea Folk shaman protected by Deep Sea Folk shield bearers waved their staff in various directions, spewing Black Mist filled with deadly poison that not only peeled the skin off the gathered cyclopes but instantly exposed their muscles and bones, splattering blood and flesh everywhere as they died in agony.

The tide of battle was definitely turning in the Deep Sea Folk’s favor.

They had more varied troop composition and even outnumbered the enemy.

But this expedition wasn’t planned for this kind of battle in the first place.

The very situation of taking casualties wasn’t a good flow.

Originally they had planned to one-sidedly ravage an unprotected human village….

“No choice.”

Eric walked toward the village that had become a battlefield while gripping his golden sword.

The favorable situation became settled instantly once Eric joined in.

But Eric’s face didn’t show the expression of a victor.

“…You there.”

He turned his head toward a corner and spoke.

Though it was an empty space, Eric wasn’t fooled by such decent camouflage.

“I know you’ve been watching since earlier, so come out.”

“…As expected of Little Mermaid’s knight. Your skills are no ordinary matter.”

From the empty space appeared a small head with multiple legs attached.

Though it was just a severed head with insect legs attached like decorations and no body, Eric perceived that this bizarre Beast was the commander-type existence controlling the Beasts that had filled this village.

He could easily figure out the command system using consciousness and thought rather than language since it was a specialty of Little Mermaid’s Beasts.

“Indeed. I am Little Mermaid Rusalka’s one and only knight. Who are you?”

“I am Test Subject 384.”

“Test Subject 384? What kind of name is that?”

“I was never given a proper name.”

“Who do you serve?”

“Serve? No, I’m merely being controlled. By that guy called Vile…”

“Vile? …I see, that behemoth they say was born most recently.”

“Yes. My job was to take all the humans from this village. But we were suddenly attacked by you all.”

“Where are the humans you took?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. They were already gone when I arrived.”

“…Seems we were both too late.”

“Well, I don’t particularly care. I’m just following Vile by force anyway.”

“Would you perhaps join us instead? Your abilities are more than sufficient to work with us.”

“Sorry but that’s not possible. If I betray him my head will explode immediately. There’s a bomb inside my head you see.”

“What a vicious master.”

“I just wish he’d die already.”

Test Subject 384 crawled toward Eric.

“Come any closer and I’ll kill you.”

“You think I want to live after being in this state?”

Test Subject 384 leaped.

Eric swung his golden sword and cleanly split Test Subject 384’s head, which was also its body, exactly in half.

As the split parts fell to the ground, a sticky green liquid burst out with a splat and the brains contained inside dropped with a thud.

Shortly after, each part exploded in small bursts that incinerated the remaining corpse.

“…Truly a cruel master.”

Eric looked down at Test Subject 384’s end while shaking the green liquid off his sword.

“Withdraw.”

Though Eric’s voice was soft, his thoughts reached all the Deep Sea Folk spread throughout the village.

They gathered not only their comrades’ corpses but also all the enemies they had defeated before returning to the deep sea.

Finally, after the sea serpent that had lost one head painfully returned to the sea, Eric also went back into the ocean.

Though blood stains remained pressed into the earth and small bits of flesh they couldn’t collect stayed behind, only silence would remain in this village until creatures or insects eventually came.

Thus another village disappeared.

*    *    *

“Lord Vile. Test Subject 384’s signal has disappeared.”

Said Slave No. 3, a newborn Beast with a short body, hunched back, and twisted limbs, but a disproportionately large head with visible brain structure.

“…Leave it be. I’m busy, so handle it yourself.”

Vile said without even turning around.

Before him was a large canvas, and in his hands were painting tools and brushes.

“Understood.”

Vile didn’t even respond to Slave No. 3 and continued painting.

Around him were already dozens of large and small canvases scattered about, all painted with similar subjects.

Long black hair with blue eyes, white dress and wide-brimmed hat.

The appearance of an ideal protagonist, androgynous yet beautiful.

“Alice… my Alice… I’ll surely come for you, so wait for me….”