Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 198

“Ah… no. I’m not Noah. I told you I’m Eugene.”

I shook my head.

“But you gave me something so nice? You must be Noah because Noah is surely a good person.”

Vasilisa said.

“You must be Noah. You came to me because you’re Noah, right?”

She wasn’t wrong.

Though it wasn’t what Vasilisa intended, she had completely pierced through my heart and thoughts.

From the moment I heard Vasilisa could be found, I moved as Noah.

Because I was Noah, I created a new witch named Maia, made Blanc retreat because I was Noah, and came back to face my past sins because I was Noah.

No matter how much I denied it, I was Noah.

From the moment I became aware of it, I was that person.

“…Yes. But still, I’m not Noah.”

“What does that mean? How can you be Noah but not Noah?”

“I don’t know either. Just like how you don’t know anything, Vasilisa, I don’t know anything either.”

“Really? Then we’re the same!”

“Yes… we’re the same.”

A fallen god and a fallen witch.

If we’re the same, then we’re the same.

…No, we’re not completely the same.

This is Vasilisa’s original self.

She regained that innocence from when I first created her.

But what about me?

Am I that Noah from back then?

Though I can’t deny it anymore, I definitely cannot say that Noah from the past and Eugene now are exactly the same.

Even if I struggled within fiction rather than truth, the emotions I felt then and the feelings and beliefs I’ve held until now are all real.

Maybe… maybe I became Eugene for this purpose.

No matter how much Noah struggles, Noah is Noah.

A failed and despairing god.

But Eugene is different.

Though I left all my power and authority in that moon, I can clearly say that who I am now is far better than Noah from the past.

“…Maia.”

“What?”

Maia answered with a slightly subdued voice.

“I was a bit sensitive earlier. I’m sorry.”

“Not really…”

“You said you wanted to be a protagonist, right?”

“Huh?”

“That would still be difficult to grant.”

“Then-!”

“Instead, how about this? I’ll make a new moon for you.”

“…What?”

“Your real dream isn’t being a protagonist, is it?”

I pointed to the moon with my finger.

“A green moon. Creating a new moon with your color.”

“Wait, are you saying… you’re acknowledging that you’re a god?”

“Well, I suppose so. Even if I deny it, that’s the reality.”

“…Ha, hahaha… ahahaha!!”

Maia laughed.

Really loudly, laughing until tears came out.

“What is this?! Such an outdated proposal! You’ll give me a moon? In my color? That’s such an old story! It’s so outdated it’s hilarious!”

“So, you don’t want it?”

“…You’re asking even though you know? That I’m being outdated?”

Maia smiled.

That gaze and smile were full of relief, without any of the desperation or obsession she’d been showing lately.

“Fine! If that’s the case, I’ll take it. Give me my own moon, my god.”

“Alright. It’s a promise. But in exchange, help me.”

“Help? Is there anything left for me to help with? The system will manipulate fate to grant whatever you want anyway.”

“No, not necessarily. The system can’t interfere against the others except for Belle and Karen.”

Until the magical phenomenon, there were only Karen’s Beasts, so the system protected me.

But the situation is different with the other witches, no, my children.

They were all protagonists of their own worlds and possess some of my authority over the system.

Of course, if I completely insist on being Noah, there would be no problem since I have the highest authority and rank within the system.

But still, I am Eugene, not Noah.

Though I won’t deny the past, I want to continue living as Eugene.

In this case, my authority as Noah is reduced, making it unclear which side has the advantage when compared to theirs.

“Hmm… is that how it works? But wasn’t Red Witch not a protagonist?”

“Ah, Karen? About that…”

“Something’s coming.”

Vasilisa said.

At the same time, Maia stretched out her hand while turning around, unleashing a shockwave.

A skull emitting red light from its eye sockets shattered into powder.

“…This is quite a high-level undead too. Hard to detect. Not as much as Vile’s, but still.”

Maia said while looking down at the shattered undead.

“But in the end, since it focused on stealth, its actual power isn’t much. Why would something like this be here…”

Before Maia could finish speaking, undead began pouring out from the forest.

“Let’s run away for now.”

I stood in front of Vasilisa as if blocking her view.

Of course, Maia could handle thousands of such undead without issue, but I didn’t want to show any fighting in front of Vasilisa.

“Can’t be helped. We should head to the sky first.”

Wings sprouted from Maia’s back.

“Wow, so pretty…”

“Don’t pull on them. Anyway, hold on tight.”

Maia wrapped us in vines and flew up into the sky.

Looking down, an incredible number of undead were climbing the mountain.

“Just at a glance this isn’t in the hundreds. At least two thousand, I’d say. It’s exhausting just looking at them.”

“Smells fishy…”

Just as Vasilisa spoke, Maia also stretched her hand toward somewhere.

A blinding yellow light cut through the night and surged toward us, but it shattered and dispersed before Maia.

“…That’s quite something. This won’t work. You two get down.”

“What?”

“The opponent is at least behemoth level. I don’t have much room to fight while protecting you.”

Maia had already started descending to the ground.

“Don’t expect them to be like Vile who was already dying. They seem quite strong even among behemoths.”

“You can’t win?”

“Though I’m a witch, I can’t help being a bit weaker compared to the others. Still, I won’t lose if we fight. Probably.”

Thumbelina was an imperfect witch from birth.

Even in Blue Paper Moon, she was stronger than behemoths but weaker than witches.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to run away or hide on your own down there. Those undead from earlier, you should be able to handle a few of them without much trouble. The frog over there can help with detection.”

“Got it.”

After we landed on the ground, Maia flew off somewhere alone.

Another intense yellow light flew at her from somewhere.

“That’s… could it be Eric?”

The yellow curse power belongs to Rusalka’s Beasts.

Though ‘Sea Dragon’ and ‘Deep Sea Folk Magus’ can also attack like that, if Maia considers them a strong opponent, it can only be Eric.

“But why is Eric with undead…”

No, now’s not the time to worry about such things.

“Vasilisa.”

I knelt down on one knee to match Vasilisa’s eye level.

“We’re getting out of here. Will you help me?”

“Yes. But what should I do? Should I destroy everything?”

“No, absolutely not. Just tell me where those skeletons are coming from. I’ll carry you on my back the whole time.”

“Okay!”

I carried Vasilisa on my back and held my rifle.

“Hold on tight. Got it?”

“Yes!”

She squeezed me with surprising strength.

At least she won’t fall off.

“Here we go!”

I ran toward the bottom of the mountain.

Though I headed for where there seemed to be fewer undead when we saw from the sky, it’s impossible not to encounter any among such numbers.

According to Maia, there are at least two thousand opponents.

Realistically, it’s nonsense for me to try breaking through such a large army.

“…No, maybe not necessarily.”

The eyes I saw earlier were red.

Meaning they move based on Karen’s curse.

If that’s the case, my authority should work to some extent, but…

“There are many ahead.”

Vasilisa pointed forward.

“Hmm!”

I changed direction and ran another way.

The problem is Vasilisa.

I absolutely don’t want to show any fighting in front of her.

If by any chance that triggers her memories to return, that’s absolutely not what I want.

Maia definitely said to run away or hide.

Not to win by fighting.

“Let’s find somewhere to hide.”

“Hide?”

“Yes. Let’s play hide and seek.”

“Hide and seek? Let’s do it!”

Vasilisa smiled innocently.

Seeing that smile made my heart lift a bit.

We just need to endure here safely.

I don’t want Vasilisa to fight like the other children.

Of course, the same goes for them too.

Somehow I want to meet them again and persuade them not to fight…

…Huh?

“…?”

“Eugene?”

Vasilisa called out to me as I stood frozen.

But my mind had gone blank and I couldn’t respond.

Because… persuading my children… to…

Persuade…?

Come to think of it, I was trying to say something at the end, right before Belle cut my throat.

Trying to persuade the other children to stop fighting…

…Huh?

I definitely… told that plan to Karen and Belle…

They both said it was a good idea…

“Eugene!”

Vasilisa pulled my cheek.

“Ah, what?”

Thanks to the pain, I could regain my senses.

“The seekers are coming! Front and back!”

“Ah, front and back?!”

What should we do?

The opponent isn’t just a group but an army.

If we get surrounded, there won’t be any gaps left to escape through.

To escape the undead’s sight…

“That’s right…! Vasilisa, ssh!”

I put my index finger to my lips to gesture for silence.

“Ssh!”

Vasilisa copied me and closed her mouth, then I took off my coat to cover our bodies and finally lay down on the ground, trying to shield Vasilisa.

It’s terrible camouflage that barely covers her completely while only half-covering me.

No, it can’t even be called camouflage – it probably looks like child’s play.

But that’s enough.

“…”

Soon after, countless footsteps could be heard.

The light footsteps unique to undead.

But even those become overwhelming when there are so many.

They gradually approached us.

“…”

“…”

The undead… passed… by…!

Footsteps that came close then moved away again.

Those things ignored us and walked past.

After waiting a bit more until no sounds could be heard, I finally raised my body.

“Phew… Vasilisa, you can talk now.”

“Okay. They passed by without seeing us?”

The undead army can be seen leaving in the distance.

I unconsciously looked down at the back of my hand.

Though the Mark wasn’t directly engraved, it really had an effect.

Bari’s Mark had the ability to make undead not attack first.

Maia said before that if I hide well, I probably won’t be detected by undead.

Of course, those with intelligence would see through such poor camouflage, but among an army of thousands of undead, they must surely be mindless puppets without any sense of self.

“Let’s hide somewhere suitable again. There’s no guarantee we won’t be detected next time.”

Maybe we should find a cave or dig a hole in the ground.

This time they were just skeletons, but if there’s a field commander or something among the thousands of troops, we’ll be discovered.

By the way, where did such a large number of undead come from?

Realistically thinking, there’s only one person…

“Could it be… Charmol?”