Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 196

In Blue Paper Moon, the Ivan Mountains were described as a massive dormant volcano covered in thick forests.

However, when you actually visit the place in the game, you can hardly find a single living tree, let alone forests – it’s just a desolate landscape.

There’s only one reason for this.

Due to the Frog Princess’s rampage, the volcano had already erupted, making it inaccessible and leaving it as mere background scenery.

In Blue Paper Moon, the Frog Princess appears not in the Ivan Mountains but in a lake deep within the massive cave system next to it.

You generally fight her right before the final boss Red Hood, and if you lose, two possible endings await.

One is being burned to ashes without a trace, and the other is becoming the Frog Princess’s doll.

A miserable ending where you have your eyes gouged out, tongue and limbs cut off, and receive the Frog Princess’s one-sided affection in the dark, damp depths of the cave.

Since it shows the player’s character being modified directly for the ending, you could feel an incredibly realistic sense of despair.

The ending condition requiring defeat with the Frog Princess at less than 10% health made it feel even more frustrating.

Even I, who was deeply into Blue Paper Moon, threw my mouse in irritation after seeing that ending a few times.

And now, I’ve come to these mountains to meet that Frog Princess, Vasilisa.

While lava flowed here in the game, it was still just normally covered in forests for now.

“Wait a moment.”

Maia said.

“We have guests who arrived first. Seems like the Order members. Though we’re just barely at a distance where they won’t detect us, they’ll definitely notice if we go any further.”

Can she even detect such things?

“Their stealth skills are extraordinary. Not as good as those strange undead, but they’re quite adept at concealing their presence.”

They must be elite agents from the Intelligence Department.

Their abilities in stealth, presence detection, and information gathering are at high-ranked hunter level, and their basic combat abilities are probably above mine too.

Though an agent was taken down in Cheshire Village, that was likely because they encountered Vile who couldn’t be detected, so there’s no reason to underestimate them.

Now then, how should we proceed…

“Want my help?”

Maia asked with perfect timing, as if reading my thoughts.

Normally I would ask for help here, but knowing her intentions now, I don’t want to be indebted to her.

I am Eugene.

Not something like Noah.

Regardless of the system or whatever, that’s what I truly believe.

“No thanks.”

“But can you find your way alone? Without being detected?”

“Let me think…”

“Noah might be able to, but Eugene is just an ordinary lower-ranked hunter. Even with a bit of a witch’s Mark, that’s all you can do…”

“Be quiet for a moment.”

“…”

When I spoke with slight irritation, Maia immediately closed her mouth.

Damn, I hope that wasn’t me commanding as Noah just now?

…I’ll think about that later. The important thing now is finding Vasilisa without being detected by the elite agents.

Let me think about this.

Vasilisa is in the Ivan Mountains.

Blanc testified to this, and since agents are here, it must be true.

Something feels off though.

In Blue Paper Moon, she appeared inside the cave.

She only came down after destroying the Ivan Mountains…

What exactly happened in between?

…Damn it, how would I know such things?

Even in Blue Paper Moon, the Ivan Mountains were just background scenery so I don’t even know the detailed geography.

But I need to go in and check right now…

How… without being detected…

“…”

…Do I really need to avoid being detected?

“Wait.”

Maia spoke up again as I kept walking forward.

“I told you you’ll be detected if you go further!”

“I know.”

“What are you thinking? Without my help…!”

“Not needed. Getting detected isn’t even an issue to begin with.”

“What?”

“I’m a hunter from the Order, remember?”

“…”

Come to think of it, this is completely natural.

The Intelligence Department isn’t the enemy but an ally.

Besides, I’m also part of the Behemoth Tracking Special Department and even heard about Vasilisa from Dominic of the Heresy Inquisition Department.

Even if the Intelligence Department detects me, I won’t be chased out.

“Ugh…”

Conversely, Maia was fidgeting anxiously.

While I’m a hunter of the Order, Maia is just an outsider.

Even if they know she’s a collaborator, she’s still ultimately a foreigner.

“Tch!”

Maia clicked her tongue and disappeared as if sinking into the ground.

She probably plans to follow…

But can she really hide from elite agents without being detected?

Is she really that versatile?

Anyway, I kept walking forward.

And soon, just as Maia had said, someone appeared from within the forest.

“Stop right there.”

It was a man wearing a cloak covered in leaves and branches suitable for camouflage pulled down over his head.

I hadn’t noticed him even though he appeared right in front of me.

He must definitely be an elite agent.

“You’re… a hunter from the Order. Could you be Eugene?”

He asked after seeing my badge indicating a lower-ranked hunter.

“Yes.”

“What brings you here? We weren’t told anyone from the Special Tracking Department was coming. And you came alone?”

“Yes. All surveillance needed to be completely dropped, so I came alone.”

“…Could it be Blanc?”

The agent asked in a tense voice.

They already knew that Blanc never approaches within a certain distance if there’s any surveillance on me.

And being elite agents, they would also know about the operations involving Charmol and Vasilisa.

After all, they’re directly involved.

“Yes. Blanc should be following.”

“Damn it, what are those Inquisition bastards thinking? Keeping secrets even from us…!”

The elite agent burst out in frustration.

“I thought something big was coming this way, but Blanc? We weren’t told the details either.”

By something big, could he mean Maia?

It seems their detection abilities are better than what Maia expected.

Though probably not enough to grasp everything.

“You know what’s in that mountain, right?”

“A very dangerous witch.”

“Right. And you’re going in there? Alone?”

“Yes.”

“With a tail following you?”

“…Yes.”

“Hmm…”

The elite agent pondered with his arms crossed.

“Can’t be helped. We’ll all need to step back from these mountains. Whether you plan to make Blanc clash with the witch or not, Blanc won’t follow with us here.”

“Thank you.”

So elite agents have that level of authority to make field decisions?

If anything, it’s fortunate for me that they can withdraw so decisively.

“No need for thanks. Do you really know where you’re going? If those two end up fighting, we won’t even be able to recover your body.”

“I suppose so.”

“…Alright. Wait here a moment. Let me go talk with my colleagues.”

The elite agent went back into the forest.

Though I was watching carefully the whole time, there was just a slight ripple and he disappeared.

He must be using high-level camouflage techniques, both physical and magical power-based.

After waiting in place for about 30 minutes, that agent appeared again.

“Our side has all withdrawn. We haven’t gone too far, but we won’t interfere or protect you either. If you don’t come back out after a day, we’ll assume you’re dead. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes. That’s enough.”

I stood up and bowed my head to him.

Thanks for his cooperation, and an apology for deceiving him.

I’m sorry, but I must go in and meet Vasilisa.

And I can’t let anyone interfere.

Since Vasilisa is unstable, even small disturbances must be avoided.

“No need for thanks. We’re each just doing our jobs.”

With those final words, the elite agent disappeared again.

As before, his stealth technique was hard to comprehend even while watching.

As if his very existence had vanished…

The vanishing of existence…

“…”

I stared silently at where he disappeared for a moment before turning back toward the forest.

Vasilisa is somewhere in there.

I don’t know exactly where.

The Ivan Mountains are literally a mountain range.

With my abilities, it might be impossible to find one small girl in these vast mountains within a day.

No, just finding her isn’t even the end.

What comes after is the real problem.

“…Do you have any plan?”

Maia’s voice came from underground.

The fact that she’s speaking again only now probably means the elite agent has truly left.

And she probably wasn’t confident in hiding perfectly from them either.

“Find Vasilisa.”

“And then?”

“…”

“What do you want to do after finding her?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Then why did you come all this way?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you joking?”

“No. I’m serious.”

What do I want to do after meeting Vasilisa?

“Still, I must meet her. Because I was wrong.”

“…You know your words are completely contradictory, right?”

“I know.”

I defined myself as Eugene.

That Noah and Eugene are separate.

But I don’t want to run away from Noah’s mistakes and sins.

Of course, as Maia said, these are contradictory and selfish words.

If Noah and Eugene are different people, it makes no sense for Eugene to care about Noah’s sins in the first place.

And yet.

And yet I can’t help but care.

I want to meet her.

Though I don’t know what I want to do after meeting her, as soon as I learned I could meet her, I abandoned everything I should do as Eugene and came all this way.

I don’t regret that fact at all.

Even if I die here, it’s the same.

“…Well, I can help you escape if needed. Though you won’t die anyway.”

Won’t die, huh…

…Is that really true?

Vasilisa completely burned and erased an entire world.

If, just if…

…Couldn’t I also be burned and completely disappear?

“…Let’s go.”

* * *

The elite agents of the Ivan Mountains gathered in one place.

Three people in total.

Though it might seem few, anyone who knows their rank would call it an incredible number.

That’s how carefully they needed to approach the Frog Princess Vasilisa.

“We need to run quickly. There’s not much time.”

“To think this would happen. They could have at least told us.”

“Well… they probably couldn’t talk about it openly… but the Order sure handles things dramatically. Though they do need to deal with dangerous elements thoroughly.”

“Dangerous elements… huh.”

Said the agent who had met Eugene.

“He seemed like a decent guy, but it can’t be helped. What a shame.”

“We have no time to waste. He might notice us soon too.”

“This is going to be one hell of a mess.”

“Not a mess – hell itself will break loose. We better get out of here fast.”

“Right. Let’s go quickly.”

The agents decided to get as far away from the Ivan Mountains as possible.

They had told Eugene they wouldn’t go too far, but that was a lie.

Because to them, Eugene was already a dead man.