Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 205

Rusalka and the royal guards, along with their elite forces, all returned to Tramina.

No, to what used to be Tramina.

“What is this…”

Little Mermaid’s stronghold.

The witch’s lair.

The capital fortress of the Deep Sea Folk.

The castle that was once teeming with Deep Sea Folk was now filled with an unnatural silence.

Most Deep Sea Folk, especially the soldiers, typically communicated through thought transference rather than speech.

Thanks to this, they had unrivaled organizational capabilities compared to other witches’ armies, with faster, wider-reaching, and more accurate command transmission than verbal orders.

But now, those responding to Rusalka’s thought commands had decreased to less than half compared to before they left.

Moreover, while there were bloodstains everywhere, there were no bodies where they should have been.

Rusalka knew full well what all this meant.

“Ugh… Charmol!!”

When Rusalka shouted, the sky was instantly covered in dark clouds as thunder and lightning fell with rain. 

Waves surged and whirlpools formed everywhere, even creating waterspouts.

Overwhelming rage.

But it all dissipated futilely.

A perfect blunder.

A perfect home invasion, predicting that Rusalka would take almost all her elite forces with her.

Though there were many Deep Sea Folk soldiers, without commanders to lead them, their perfect operational capabilities meant nothing.

While there were no signs of damage to Tramina’s walls, nearly half the army guarding the castle had vanished.

And Charmol’s forces must have grown by that same amount.

“That bastard…!!”

Rusalka ground her teeth, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

There was no other option besides capturing more humans to fill the gaps of those who had disappeared.

“Damn it! At this rate, getting ahead with the information means nothing…!”

But what angered Rusalka most wasn’t falling for the enemy’s scheme.

The problem was that she had completely lost a perfect opportunity to get far ahead in preparations for the upcoming war over Noah.

The Deep Sea Folk were replaceable – as long as there were humans, she could make as many as needed.

Among them, those with strong self-awareness and souls from their human days had some value, but they were still just somewhat useful subordinates at best.

She could increase subordinates indefinitely, but there was only one Noah, or rather Eugene.

“…Sigh.”

Rusalka let out a deep sigh and calmed her excitement.

She was angry, but being consumed by it wouldn’t help anything.

“Lady Rusalka…”

When she appeared to have calmed down, one of the royal guards carefully called her name.

“Please give us any orders.”

“…First confirm the remaining forces. Check the specific damages and recall all royal guards stationed in less critical outer regions.”

“Yes!”

“And select the thousand strongest among the surviving soldiers. We’ll turn them all into mid-tier Beasts to fill the immediate gap.”

“As you command. But Lady Rusalka’s magical power…”

“It’s an unavoidable loss. This is all we can do to fill the immediate vacancy.”

In terms of value, ten high-tier Beasts were worth more than a thousand mid-tier Beasts.

But there were few strong ones while there were many tasks and positions that needed filling.

Sometimes sheer numbers were simply more important.

“Though we’ll need to control the information… that Charmol will probably spill everything about what happened to me. Hmm… there’s no other way. It would be better to approach first from our side.”

“When you say approach first, surely you don’t mean the other witches?”

“Yes. We’ll proactively share information about him and negotiate to make the starting line fair.”

“Will they listen?”

“Probably fifty-fifty… but it’s better than just taking the hit. Now begin the operation.”

All the royal guards bowed their heads at Rusalka’s command and began assessing the damage.

“…”

The thought passed through a corner of Rusalka’s mind that if Eric were here now…

The only behemoth she trusted and kept as a subordinate.

But he wasn’t here now.

And she didn’t particularly have any lingering attachment.

“…Hmph.”

*    *    *

Blanc was crouching alone on top of a cliff.

Her usually confident gaze was empty, without even a hint of her usual spirit.

In that state, she kept endlessly repeating the same questions and thoughts.

What was Eugene’s sudden change?

Before his commanding presence, Blanc felt overwhelmed for the first time in 500 years.

500 years ago, there were many behemoths far stronger than Blanc, and she often felt the power gap before transcendent beings like Kenken and Arachne.

But what she felt from Eugene was something different from a gap in power.

That feeling was closer to facing a witch than a behemoth.

Like facing a higher being from the very root of existence…

“Eugene…”

Blanc called his name dejectedly.

Amidst only confusion, she didn’t even care that someone was walking up behind her.

“You’re the same.”

Eric said.

“…What is?”

“Blanc, you thought you were the predator and he was the prey. But it was the opposite. You were devoured by him.”

“Devoured? …Me?”

One of Blanc’s eyebrows twitched.

“Yes. It couldn’t be helped. Because we’re just behemoths. Powerless like me…”

“…Why did you come here?”

“Just checking while passing by. And my prediction was right. You, too, were taken by him… Eugene. Just like the other witches.”

“Eugene is just human.”

“Do you really think so? Even looking at yourself now?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Look at yourself. Who would think you’re that Blanc? You look exactly like a wet dog. Not a behemoth at all.”

“…The other witches? Then perhaps… that woman too?”

“…”

“…Ha, hahaha. This is truly laughable.”

Blanc stood up laughing.

“What’s this? Now that I look closely, you’re an abandoned dog too?”

“…Even so, I still serve my master.”

“Right. That’s what makes a behemoth. It would have been quite fun if you had joined us 500 years ago.”

Eric was a behemoth born slightly after the Great Holy War period.

Back then, Eric was both a prince of a nation and a sailor when his ship was wrecked and he happened to meet the sealed Rusalka.

And on that very day he met Rusalka, he decided to dedicate everything to her.

And by sacrificing his homeland, he rose to become a behemoth.

“If that had happened, I wouldn’t exist.”

“Hehe, that’s true too. Ah~ Thanks to you I feel a bit better. That’s what being a behemoth was about. I was such a fool to forget something so obvious.”

Blanc’s eyes had somehow regained their previous sharpness.

Her usual confident smile was back on her lips too.

“Thank you. Eric Gringham Wales.”

“Just Eric.”

“Right, right. Prince Eric Gringham Wales.”

“…Hmph.”

“By the way, what are you going to do now? Surely you didn’t think you’d be abandoned… well, that’s just how witches are.”

“There’s someone I need to find. No, it would be hard to call them a person.”

“Who? Doesn’t sound like you mean a Beast.”

“A prophet called Ryu. Probably neither human nor Beast. I think he’ll be in the sacred ground… perhaps you know of it?”

“Sacred ground?”

“A certain place Lady Rusalka and other witches always visit alone. It’s called sacred ground because no Beast or anyone else can enter carelessly.”

“Hmm…”

“If you don’t know, that’s fine.”

“Yes. I don’t know.”

“Then…”

“Is what I would normally say. But you helped me this time, so I’ll be honest.”

“Could it be you do know?”

“While I can’t guarantee it’s the sacred ground you’re talking about, I do know a place that person often visits alone.”

“That person?”

“That small red witch. Red Hood. Sometimes she goes somewhere alone. But when I follow, she always suddenly disappears somewhere.”

“Where is it?”

“Follow me. I’ll guide you.”

“Just telling me where would be fine. No need to follow…”

“No, you follow me. I’m interested too now. In this sacred ground.”

“…Very well. Lead the way.”

“Hehehe, but is it okay to trust me so completely? It might all be a trap you know?”

“You’re a behemoth too. This isn’t related to him, so there’s no reason for such petty lies.”

“Heh, correct answer. Let’s leave right away.”

*    *    *

On my way back to the Ivan Mountains, I briefly left Vasilisa with Maia.

Though Vasilisa didn’t want to be separated from me, fortunately she took quite a liking to Maia so I was somehow able to persuade her.

Moreover, Maia’s behavior when she fell and Vasilisa’s behavior when unstable were strangely similar.

Maybe that’s why they seemed to communicate well in odd ways too.

“…Hm?!”

The guard at the Order headquarters entrance was startled when he saw me.

“Are you Eugene?!”

“What? Ah, yes. I just got back.”

“Oh… you’re, you’re alive… Thank goodness.”

“…?”

“Well you see… we heard you had died. A few days ago.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, the elite agents who said they’d return after a day hadn’t shown up even after the incident at Ivan Mountains ended.

I thought they’d just returned because it was dangerous after the volcanic eruption, but did they actually think I had died?

Well, it’s not strange.

They must have already known about the Frog Princess being at Ivan Mountains, and those elite agents couldn’t have failed to notice Charmol’s undead army and Eric’s approach.

Moreover, knowing Blanc was coming too, it wouldn’t be strange if they fled to survive.

It would make less sense to think a lower-ranked hunter would return alive from a place where such beings gathered.

“Well, it was quite an ordeal in various ways. But somehow I got lucky and made it back. Though I got pretty roughed up.”

“Well, looking at your clothes I can see why. Though you don’t have any injuries considering that.”

The injuries… I didn’t see it myself, but I heard I somehow survived with Rusalka’s blood after becoming charred like coal.

Thanks to that I was fine both inside and out, but not my clothes.

What I’m wearing now isn’t a hunter’s uniform but something like a sackcloth I borrowed from Maia.

She said it was traditional Swamp Island clothing, which was a rare equipment Maia gave as a gift in the game.

It doesn’t have any special abilities, just something like a concept costume.

“Anyway, what matters is I made it back alive.”

“Ah, of course. Well then, go on in.”

“Thank you. Keep up the good work.”

I entered the Order headquarters.

And as always, I went to report my return to the administrative office first.

“Excuse me…”

The administrative office already had not just Hera but also Crowty and Sephira.

And Sephira had drawn her holy sword Robera and was emanating a fierce killing intent.