Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 207

When Zepetia heard the news of Eugene’s death, she wasn’t quite that desperate.

To be precise, she was briefly desperate enough to die, but she quickly managed to pull herself together.

Actually, saying she pulled herself together wasn’t quite accurate.

Rather, it would be more accurate to say she fell even further down.

Her new goal was, of course, to create ‘her own Eugene’.

Following the logical reasoning that a creation would need to contain at least some part of Eugene to be called Eugene, she rechecked all the information about Eugene that she had gathered so far in her secret laboratory.

She verified Eugene’s blood and various other bodily fluids, hair, skin tissue, and more while drawing up designs, staying up night after night.

Fortunately, thanks to the abundant legacy left by her grandfather, she had more than enough reference materials.

At first, she tried to recreate Eugene as closely as possible, but the more she read her grandfather’s research materials and understood their contents, not only did Zepetia’s knowledge expand, but her desires did too.

If possible, metal would be better than fragile biological tissue.

Modularizing limbs and internal organs would make them easier to replace or reproduce if they broke down later.

Moreover, among her grandfather’s materials were notes on unconditional obedience and brainwashing of test subjects and creations, and since Zepetia had done her own brain research too, even the mental aspects were progressing smoothly.

Zepetia thought she was doing very well.

Minor things like people being scared just from her walking by, or even Corsis, the head of the Development Department, occasionally trying to say something but closing his mouth, were trivial matters.

The new Eugene was developing well.

That’s what she thought.

“What, what, what the hell is that?!”

Eugene collapsed in shock while pointing at the prototype.

“Huh? Um… that’s…”  

Zepetia’s ghostlike demeanor instantly vanished as she stammered with a face full of embarrassment.

“It-it’s a… doll…”

“A doll? That thing?”

Eugene got up with a disgusted expression.

“Even so, that’s… if you were going to make one, couldn’t you at least make it look similar? What is that thing?”

“Uh-uh, th-that’s right. I-I’m not very good with ae-aesthetics…”

“Sigh… anyway, you scared me… Just give me back my clothes.”

“Oh, um? Clothes?”

“You took my spare clothes, right?”

“Ah, right. I’ll-I’ll give them back. Just a moment! Please wait outside for a moment. I’ll bring them right away…!”

“Bring them quickly. I need to wash up and go to the administrative office.”

“Okay!”

As soon as Eugene went outside and disappeared from view, this time it was Zepetia who collapsed.

“Hah, hah… haah, haah….”

She breathed roughly with a flushed face as sweat ran down her face.

That just now… surely it wasn’t a hallucination.

It was too vivid to be a hallucination.

She was so shocked she couldn’t even ask if he had really died.

“…Ugh.”

When she turned to look at the prototype she had made, Zepetia’s face twisted.

Had she really thought something like that was okay?

While the form was a matter of taste, comparing it to the original showed it was beyond crude.

It completely lacked that indescribable, unique atmosphere that only Eugene had.

The difference became even more obvious when she removed the clothes to return them to Eugene.

This was just an ugly piece of metal.

“Sigh… how embarrassing…”

Showing such an utter failure to him in person, there could be no greater shame.

Zepetia gave one cold look down at the artificial Eugene before turning around and heading toward the door.

When she opened the door slightly, she could see Eugene through the small gap.

The real Eugene.

“He-here… I’ll give them back…”

Zepetia returned Eugene’s clothes with her fingertips.

“Oh, right… um…”

Eugene received them with a very awkward expression while hesitating to speak.

“…Let’s go get some fresh air outside together later…”

“Ah, okay!”

*    *    *

After getting the clothes back from Zepetia, I headed to the shower room as quickly as possible.

Though there were the stares directed at me in my completely ragged state and the report to make at the administrative office, I wanted to somehow deal with the unpleasant and disgusting feeling after seeing what Zepetia had been making.

My stomach dropped, or rather, an instinctive revulsion welled up.

A crude, strange doll resembling myself.

While I felt somewhat relieved it ended before Zepetia completely lost it and did something dangerous, more than that I honestly felt most disgusted with her for making such a thing.

I wondered if this was the uncanny valley, but as I calmly thought about it while washing up in the shower room, I realized it was slightly different.

The real reason I felt disgusted by that doll was that it was a kind of idolatry.

When I was Noah, that is, 500 years ago in this world, there was a faith spread about me.

Though I don’t know who created such a faith, I hated people praying in my name.

The world as a story should remain a story, and the author should remain an author.

I don’t like recklessly crossing that line.

That’s why when I entrusted the worlds to the children as protagonists, I never intervened until they reached an ending where that world could no longer expand in any way.

“An ending…”

After finishing my shower, I headed to the administrative office while putting my clothes in the laundry basket and sank back into thought.

Every story must have an end.

Old stories must end for new stories to begin.

Margarete’s world ended in endless winter.

Bari’s world ended in eternal pain.

Rusalka’s story ended by sinking into the sea.

Vasilisa’s story ended with everything disappearing.

And the next story is the current…

“…Huh?”

What about the current world?

Does this current world have a protagonist?

“…?”

Huh?

Hmm?

Something… very important…

“Hello.”

Suddenly cutting off my thoughts, someone called out to me.

At the familiar voice, I looked over to see Dominic.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Eugene. I’m glad you’re alive.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Let’s cut to the chase, would you please come with me for a moment?”

“Wait a moment. First I need to go to the administrative office to report my return…”

“Pardon me, I should have mentioned this first. The Saintess has ordered it. She told me to bring you.”

“…”

Belle…

Right.

I knew she would call for me someday.

But is now really the right time?

Am I ready to meet the eldest daughter as someone who was Noah?

“…What if I ask you to wait a moment?”

“Then I would have no choice but to take you by force, but there’s no need for us both to get tired unnecessarily. I would appreciate if you came quietly.”

Dominic slightly revealed the rope at his waist.

Dominic’s binding techniques were artistic indeed.

Though reluctant, I decided to follow him.

Belle is hidden in the deepest part of the Order headquarters.

There are secret passages leading there throughout the building, but only high-ranked hunters and above can know about them.

Of course, thanks to my knowledge from Blue Paper Moon, I know exactly where and how to enter, but I’ve never used them even once.

“Pardon me, but I’ll need to blindfold you from here.”

Dominic said in front of the stairs in a deserted corridor.

There was a secret passage entrance in the middle of the stairs leading down to the underground boiler room.

“We’ll be going down stairs, so please be careful.”

Dominic said as he blindfolded me and took my hand.

We kept going up and down repeatedly after descending underground.

Probably a measure to prevent me from gauging the exact location.

In fact, being blindfolded while continuously going up and down made me dizzy and completely threw off my sense of position.

Just when I was about to get nauseous from dizziness, Dominic finally stopped and I heard the sound of stones grinding as a secret passage opened.

After stepping inside and walking for quite a while more, Dominic finally removed my blindfold.

We were in a room where visitors briefly stay before meeting Belle, with a large mirror on the wall where you could check your appearance.

My face reflected in that mirror looked exhausted.

Could be from all the various things happening lately, or maybe just the dizziness from moving while blindfolded.

Or perhaps tension from the fact that I’m about to meet Belle, the eldest daughter who cut my throat back then.

“Beyond here is the room where the Saintess is. Please be absolutely impeccable in both appearance and manners.”

Dominic pointed to the door ahead.

Belle is in there.

“…I know.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

A faint floral scent reaching my nose.

Probably roses.

Belle liked roses.

“Then, I will wait here.”

“…”

Leaving Dominic behind, I opened the door ahead and entered.

A rush of rose fragrance that made me dizzy for a moment enveloped my face.

What I saw was a room completely covered in roses.

And thorns that looked especially sharp among rose vines spread across everywhere.

“…”

Up ahead, Belle was there.

She sat in a chair with her face hidden beneath the veil she always wore.

Two steaming cups on the table.

And her bare feet were… wet with blood.

Perhaps from the thorns of roses spread throughout this room.

I sat down across from Belle without saying anything.

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence.

But I could sense that not just me, but even Belle across from me was struggling with what words to begin with.

“…Noah.”

Belle spoke first.

“Wrong.”

I looked down at the cup placed before me.

Coffee with sugar giving off a slightly sweet scent.

What I used to enjoy drinking when I was Noah.

Come to think of it, Rusalka followed me in drinking coffee too…

“I am Eugene.”

“From how you say that, it seems you at least remember that you were Noah in the past.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember me hurting you too?”

“You cut my throat.”

“And do you remember that you were trying to run away?”

“I was trying to become human.”

“Yes. And now, you’ve so wonderfully become human.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“Not at all. You were truly wonderful, and also a noble human. Even more so than when you were Noah…”

“Then that’s good.”

“…Do you know why I called you?”

“Who knows.”

“Rusalka told us all that you had returned.”

“Rusalka…?”

“Yes. She made quite an interesting proposal.”

“…What now?”

I have a bad feeling about this.

“She suggested we have a fair and proper competition over you.”

Damn it.

I can’t believe she would propose something like that.

“Why would you do that?”

“Huhuhu, do you really not know?”

“…I did know. That she wanted to make me her prince.”

“And yet you always pretended not to notice.”

“I did…”

So what?

Are you trying to say this is my karma?

“Was that all you wanted to say? That you want to fight over me?”

“Of course not. Rather, the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“I asked earlier, didn’t I? Why I called you here now.”

“…”

“Now your body bears the traces of all my sisters, including myself.”

“…So?”

“Now all the preparations are complete.”

Preparations?

“The preparations for you to return to being Noah…”