Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 145

Some time after returning from Ridel Village, Maia brought news about Ozwald.

“Sir Ozwald fought with Vile?”

“I don’t know the details either. I only heard it from him directly. Oh, and he told me not to tell anyone about this.”

Ozwald had taken Oscar to the Juniper Forest and was ambushed by Vile.

Fortunately, they both seemed to have escaped safely, but for even Ozwald to have to flee, it must have been Vile himself who came.

That’s probably why the Order wanted to keep it secret too.

It’s not good to have behemoths lurking around nearby during these already chaotic times.

Of course, some might call it incompetent to keep allowing Beast invasions, but that’s because the Order hasn’t truly entered a war footing yet.

Though they’ve greatly increased the patrols of mid-ranked and lower-ranked hunters compared to usual, if the Order gets serious, they’ll deploy not only high-ranked hunters led by the 1st rank, but also items from the Great Holy War era.

Even now, Belle must not consider the current situation particularly dangerous.

…Despite how many people have suffered and died until now, she still don’t see this as a threat.

If I didn’t have knowledge from my past life, I would have considered this negligence, but Belle’s judgment is correct.

Compared to the worst that could happen, this level is still within the range of normal.

“But Ozwald seemed quite injured. He must have fought while protecting his disciple.”

“Why is Vile targeting that kid specifically.”

“Well, since he’s a behemoth, it’s probably just like running into a disaster. I can’t say anything for certain since I’ve never seen Vile myself.”

Looking at Blue Paper Moon’s story as a whole, Vile could be called a mid-boss level enemy.

Though his ultimate goal is to recreate the world anew by drawing upon that enormous cursed power that turned an entire star, the moon, blue, he always fails in the game.

Moreover, after the magical phenomenon, he completely loses his mind and becomes an even more dangerous madman.

“But coming to this continent was definitely the right choice.”

“Huh?”

“Behemoths, who could be called the extremes of curses, are so actively moving around here, right? We already know of two, and we’ll probably discover many more.”

“You still haven’t given up? About that moon?”

“Of course! Though I may have fallen to this state, my mind is still the same. For us sorcerers, there’s no being greater than that moon.”

Maia’s goal is to understand the cursed power covering that moon and paint it her own color in return.

Wanting to paint the blue moon green – it’s both interesting and grandiose dream.

“This might seem random, but have you ever thought about wanting to go to that moon directly?”

I suddenly became curious.

In my past life’s modern Earth, people had already gone to the moon several times.

“Well… that wouldn’t be bad, but not right now.”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask – the entire moon is covered in curses, remember? Even if it’s just a mild curse that only changes colors, a curse is still a curse. Just getting close would entangle you.”

“Ah….”

Wait, could that be why Vile became even stranger?

From being influenced by the moon’s power?

Since no one in Blue Paper Moon got as close to the moon as Vile did.

“Right now, probably only the witches could handle that moon…. I, too, need to not just recover my old power, but progress further in my own way using the knowledge received from Bari.”

“What if you become a monster again?”

“I’ll have to be careful not to let that happen…. But.”

Maia hesitated for a moment.

“But… if that happens again… will you save me then too?”

“I’ll try as much as I can.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

It was an old garden.

The sky was completely covered by dreary gray clouds that didn’t allow even a speck of sunlight through.

Withered and twisted flowerbeds and lifeless old trees without a single leaf, while dry winds swirled between their trunks and branches, tossing about dust and fragments of fallen leaves.

The walls were covered in already dead and withered vines, and the statues standing here and there were worn down and blunted all over.

An already abandoned place, but strange people were gathered around one table there.

“To call us here of all places, are you trying to provoke us?”

Little Mermaid Rusalka said from one side.

Though she wore her usual full body armor with a slightly displeased expression, all her guards were waiting outside.

Even though this was already an abandoned place, it wasn’t somewhere just anyone could enter.

“Indeed. You were so angry when I tried to talk about meeting or about that person before.”

Sitting on the other side was Princess Bari.

Her black hair tied up, dark blue eyes, and black hemp clothing created a gloomy atmosphere that matched this place well, but contrary to her words, her expression showed clear signs of interest.

“Moreover, though Rusalka and I came in person, you alone send a clone – isn’t that cowardly?”

“A clone or the original, they’re both equally me anyway.”

And finally, Snow White Margarete sat with her legs crossed in a slanted posture.

“And of all places, here? Don’t tell me you think I’ve set a trap? Do I look like Belle to you?”

Three witches had gathered in one place.

Snow White Margarete was the one who hosted the meeting.

She didn’t state the reason and simply told them to come to this abandoned garden.

Usually they would have refused, saying it must be a trap, but being told to come to this garden of all places, everyone came without complaint.

“I was just testing a bit. Whether you’re still your old selves. Well, since you came here alone, it was a needless worry.”

“It’s nostalgic. All of us gathering here together.”

Bari said while stroking the table.

“Hmph. What do you want to say? Having arranged such a grand meeting, quickly state your reason.”

In contrast, Rusalka sat with crossed arms without even looking around.

But the atmosphere was slightly more relaxed than usual.

“I have no intention of beating around the bush. An issue has come up that’s important enough that we need to postpone our fights, if only briefly.”

“Postpone? What could be so important? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of some petty peace negotiations now?”

“Just listen calmly. Has your temper gotten so short without tea? Ah, do you drink squid ink at the bottom of the sea?”

“What did you say?!”

“Wait, please calm down both of you. How can you be fighting already when we’ve just met? If green tea is alright, I have some… Ah, but the teacups….”

Bari pulled out a small pouch of green tea powder from her chest, but there were no cups since this wasn’t originally a place for drinking.

When Margarete snapped her fingers, three cups made of ice appeared.

As Rusalka’s yellow eyes glowed slightly, water filled the ice cups.

“Fufu, thank you. Though it will be cold tea, it’s nice to share together.”

Bari smiled as she added the green tea powder.

Though chaotic, how long has it been since seeing the sisters cooperate?

“Let’s finish this quickly. It’s not like I want to argue with you here either.”

Rusalka said while accepting a cup of tea.

“Who cut off whose words earlier? You’re the same now as you were back then…. Anyway.”

Margarete also accepted tea.

“Since you say you’re short on time, I’ll get straight to the point. Someone has appeared who’s stealing the moon’s power.”

There was a shattering sound as an ice cup broke.

Bari’s expression changed dramatically from the smiling face she had until just now.

Broken ice cup and overflowing green tea dripped down her hand.

“Who?”

A face that had lost all traces of faint nostalgia and momentary joy, replaced by nothing but savage intensity.

Dark blue eyes churned with sticky darkness, emanating an air beyond eerie to suffocating.

“One of Karen’s Beasts.”

“So they finally caused trouble….”

Rusalka rubbed her forehead while taking a sip of tea.

“Yes. This much is enough reason for calling us together. And it must be a behemoth?”

“…Didn’t you call Karen? She should rightfully be punished.”

Bari said in a sharp voice.

“Behemoths can’t be controlled. We can’t place all the blame on Karen.”

Rather, Rusalka shook her head.

“That may be true for you.”

“Calm down. I understand your anger, but we need to think rationally now.”

Though the two had become complete opposites from earlier, no one found it strange.

“Anyway, having someone meddle with the moon is unacceptable. So which behemoth is it?”

“That….”

“…Vile.”

A new voice was heard from behind.

Not only that, but an unpleasant noise of dragging metal across the ground was also approaching.

“Am I a bit late?”

Golden hair that seemed to shimmer even under this gloomy sky and blood-red eyes.

And wearing a red hood matching that nickname, a small woman approached dragging a huge axe.

Though not a single drop of blood stained her body, it felt like the thick scent of blood assaulted the nose.

“…Karen. I didn’t call you.”

Margarete said to Red Hood Karen.

“Why? I should be the most concerned party here, shouldn’t I?”

Karen came up to the table and sat down in an empty corner.

“Or could it be you thought I might try to kill all my sisters at once here? I’m the only one without seals after all.”

“You understand well. After Belle, you’re the most dangerous among us.”

“Ahaha, but leaving me out of a gathering like this really hurts…. Pass me a cup too.”

Margarete and Rusalka each created a teacup and water.

Bari also sprinkled green tea powder on top, but unlike before, she roughly scattered clumps with her hand.

And her gaze and atmosphere remained sharply on edge.

“Uhuhu, relax. Sister Bari.”

“You know what your Beast has done, right?”

“Ah, you mean Vile….”

Karen stirred the tea powder with her finger.

“That one, I didn’t actually create it.”

“What?”

“It’s a bit different. The curse is mine, but to be precise, it would be more accurate to say it was stolen.”

“Stolen…?”

“That Vile became a Beast on his own. My curse didn’t seek him out, he directly took my curse.”

“There’s a human who can do that?”

Rusalka said with some surprise.

“Humans sometimes do surprising things originally….”

Even Bari’s savage atmosphere softened slightly.

“Anyway, the reason you sisters gathered like this is to get rid of him, right?”

“Simply killing him won’t do. We’ll make him deeply regret laying hands on something beyond his station.”

Margarete’s voice was cold as ice.

“Well, that’s true. Anyway, I’m quite angry this time too. Of all things, to meddle with the moon… Shouldn’t sisters work together to protect Father’s legacy? But….”

Red Hood Karen giggled.

“It might be quite interesting if not one of us, but just an ordinary human becomes the creator of the next world. Don’t you think?”