Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 154

After reaching a flat area near the mountain peak, we had the trainees stretch and review everything they’d learned so far, starting from shooting to rope techniques and camouflage.

Natural environments rather than controlled settings like training grounds or shooting ranges make it easier to develop real combat instincts.

Above all, it helps with survival.

The training proceeded smoothly.

Perhaps because the branch commander was watching, everyone seemed more disciplined than usual.

If there was one problem, it was the length of daylight.

The mountain sun sets quickly.

The sky was already growing dark.

“Dark clouds are coming too. Bad luck.”

Jarkoff said.

“…This is strange.”

Marcus said.

“The weather didn’t look like it would be cloudy today.”

“And just over this mountain…”

Even to me, the dark clouds seemed odd.

The sky in the distance was clear, but strangely only this area was surrounded by dark clouds.

“I didn’t want to interfere, but mountain weather is fickle by nature. It’s nothing unusual. Though I would have liked to show the branch commander more of the training.”

Ulysses, having originally worked at the Marquis’s mansion, probably wanted to be more attentive to Jarkoff.

“Let’s head down.”

Auntie Beth said firmly.

“If something happens, we might manage with just us, but it would be difficult to get all the trainees back. It’s better to go down now.”

“I’ll defer to the judgment of those in the field.”

Jarkoff nodded, and Ulysses also reluctantly backed down.

In such an unsettling situation, returning for safety’s sake is also good.

We ultimately decided to pack up and head down before it got too dark.

Looking at the trainees, the atmosphere suggested they were glad to finish early.

Of course, some were frowning about coming all this way for nothing.

If only we had more people with that kind of spirit.

“…Hm? I hear something strange below. I’ll take a look.”

Just as we were starting to descend, Ulysses suddenly climbed up to the treetop in an instant.

“…!”

Then he came back down in one breath with a startled expression.

“There are Beasts at the bottom of the mountain!”

Beasts?

Ugh, to safely escape with this many people…

“Not just one or two! There are hundreds!”

“…!?!?”

What?!

“What in the-“

“Damn, why didn’t I notice? No, I couldn’t sense anything! Even looking at them, I couldn’t detect them!”

Wait, that many Beasts can’t be detected?

Could it be…!!

“Vile?!”

“Vile? That behemoth?”

“Vile has the ability to create Beasts. Moreover, they’re tricky ones that even high-ranked hunters can’t detect!”

“Even high-ranked hunters can’t detect them?!”

“First, what was the exact number?”

Marcus asked.

“They had the whole mountain surrounded. Roughly over 700.”

Ah.

Oh wait.

No.

This can’t be.

“Can we break through?!”

Jarkoff asked.

“Breaking through… the encirclement is still somewhat thin…”

Ulysses closed his eyes in contemplation.

Then slowly looked at Jarkoff.

“…”

“…”

A strange atmosphere.

We all knew what Ulysses was thinking.

“…No choice then.”

“No, wait! We still don’t know! If we all work together, we might have a chance to break through!”

Beth shouted.

“That’s right. We still don’t know if…”

“…There are too many. We don’t have time.”

Ulysses’s demeanor sank heavily.

“You’re not planning to abandon us and run away?!”

“We have numbers too!”

Not just the other instructors, but even the trainees who sensed the atmosphere joined in trying to persuade Ulysses.

“There must be another way. I can’t just leave these people…”

Jarkoff shouted as he dismounted his horse.

But Ulysses took that chance to choke him unconscious with his arm.

Seeing this, I deliberated.

“…Sir Ulysses.”

And made my decision.

“You can blame everything on me. I don’t expect forgiveness. But my mind won’t change.”

Ulysses carefully laid down the unconscious Jarkoff.

“…”

I silently gestured toward Gerda who was anxiously standing beside me.

“…I see.”

“Huh? Brother? Why…”

The moment Gerda turned her head toward me, Ulysses approached at a speed hard to perceive, even using magical power, and struck Gerda’s nape with a pressure point.

I caught Gerda as she lost consciousness and collapsed.

“I’m sorry.”

Again… I’ve done something terrible to Gerda.

“Everyone… I hope you survive.”

Ulysses carried the two unconscious people and disappeared beyond the forest in an instant.

The trainees were dumbfounded at a speed they couldn’t possibly chase.

“Eugene…”

Auntie Beth called my name bitterly.

I just shook my head.

“…We’ll have to manage on our own.”

Marcus loaded his rifle.

Since we were ending before proper training, we at least had plenty of bullets.

“We’re finished!”

“I don’t want to die in a place like this!”

The trainees who had been in shock started getting restless.

“Everyone calm down!!”

I shouted.

“There’s no guarantee we’ll all die here!”

Right.

Someone might find a way to survive somehow.

Even if it’s just one person, they could survive.

Such small miracles do exist in this world.

“Remember your training! What’s in your hands?!”

Everyone has weapons.

Guns and bullets.

“Will you die like this? Or fight to live?!”

“It’ll be tough for everyone, but we need to get up and help each other! That’s the only way we might survive!”

Auntie Beth added from beside me.

“How can we?! Even that incredibly strong hunter ran away!”

“Yeah! Did you see how fast he ran?!”

“…Those who want to live, follow me.”

Marcus’s heavy voice rang out.

“Those who want to sit here and wait to die can stay.”

“…”

A few trainees hesitated before coming toward us.

That started it, and eventually everyone picked up their weapons.

Though only a few showed courage first, that was enough.

If others do it, you do it too.

And they must all think alike that they need to do something.

“For now, let’s follow the direction Sir Ulysses went.”

Where a mid-ranked hunter broke through first would give us the best chance.

“That sounds good.”

Marcus nodded at my suggestion.

We headed toward the mountain direction Ulysses took at a brisk pace.

Running would be good, but we had to look after all the trainees behind us.

They couldn’t fully match our movements if we ran while descending, so it would be difficult.

“I hear something.”

Auntie Beth said.

As she said, about a dozen Beasts were heading toward us from up ahead.

They didn’t look like normal Beasts but…

“Ugh! What are those?”

They were Beasts that resembled humans, with long black hair covering their faces and wearing something like white dresses.

But though they looked similar, they were clearly not human.

They were nearly 2m tall with strangely thin arms and legs and long nails.

Moreover, even as their hair swayed while running toward us, not one showed its face.

Like mountain spirits.

…Has Vile gone completely mad with his Alice obsession.

Though I’ve never seen anything like this even in Blue Paper Moon, since I can’t sense their presence even though they’re right before my eyes, they must be newborn Beasts.

“Front row trainees, raise your guns! Remember your training!”

I shouted while aiming my gun at the approaching Beasts.

The trainees at least followed me and raised their guns.

The Beasts resembling Alice, no, Oscar, raised their long sharp claws as they steadily closed the distance.

“Open fire!”

Marcus shouted the same command as during training.

He probably did it deliberately to reduce the trainees’ burden.

We all simultaneously unleashed silver bullets at the Beasts.

“Screeeech!”

The Beasts screamed and tumbled at the bullet barrage.

Most fell, but a few staggered, perhaps having avoided vital spots.

I drew my pistol and aimed at them.

“Hmm.”

Right beside me, Marcus also drew his pistol just like me.

Without even exchanging glances, we each finished off the nearest Beasts definitively.

Then reloaded.

Since Marcus and I had the same training.

“Keep moving!”

We ran past the fallen Beasts and continued forward.

“Damn…!”

But an incomparable number of newborn Beasts came charging from ahead.

The number of Beasts filling every gap between the trees was sickening.

And above all…

“Vile?!”

Someone wearing a crow-like mask with a long beak and wrapped in a cloak stood behind the newborn Beasts.

Why the hell is he here?!

“Is that Vile? This way’s no good. Turn around!”

Marcus immediately changed course to the left.

The other instructors stood on the side exposed to the Beasts and threw white fire bombs.

Silver powder descended like mist onto the newborn Beasts.

“Screeeaaaaah!!”

The ones touched by the silver mist writhed in agony and went berserk.

They became obstacles blocking the other Beasts running behind them.

We ran away from that place with all our might.

Fortunately, no one had died yet.

“That way too…!”

But newborn Beasts also swarmed from the direction we turned to.

And there was something that looked like Vile there too.

“Damn… we’ll break through like this…!”

Just then Vile snapped his fingers and a giant hand shot up from the ground.

It looked similar to Tweedledum and Tweedledee’s from Ridel Village.

If Sephira were here, something like that would…

No, get it together.

She originally lives somewhere different from me.

In the end, we had no choice but to turn away from that too.

No matter how urgent, we had to avoid places where death was certain.

“Huff, huff…”

“Urgh…!”

The trainees’ breathing grew rough.

“…Could it be.”

Marcus said.

“They’re herding us.”

I immediately said what I realized.

We were being driven to one place.

“If enemies appear again, we’ll break through. At this rate we’ll just lose stamina and be annihilated.”

I couldn’t disagree with Marcus’s words.

We can’t save everyone.

We need to make realistic judgments.

But… reality started exceeding our thoughts.

“…I hear a strange sound.”

Auntie Beth said.

“It shouldn’t be possible, but something huge…”

“Screeeaaaaaaaaah!!!”

An enormous scream that pierced straight from ears to brain.

My sense of direction went strange and vision grew hazy.

Before I knew it, I had fallen forward.

“Ugh…”

Like I did long ago, I lifted my head without discerning anything then slammed it forward.

The shock of hitting the ground forcibly cleared my vision.

And wind.

A strong wind was coming down from above.

Wait, wind coming from above…?

Why…are there shadows around…

I weakly lifted my head up.

“…A dragon?”

A dragon was floating above us.

Its cloud-like massive wings poured down shadows and wind pressure on us, and the scales covering its body were dark as storm clouds.

Fire flickered in that dragon’s mouth, then soon came spewing down toward us.