Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 211

“Eugene. Eugene… hmm… I wonder if I should say I know him or not.”

Ryu stroked his chin with his eyes closed.

“So there is something.”

Eric was convinced by his reaction.

“What’s the relationship between Noah and Eugene? His influence is abnormal. To have that kind of power, he must have some connection with the Creator God.”

“…”

As soon as Eric finished speaking, Blanc leaped onto the wall and stood right next to Ryu.

“Tell me. What happened to Eugene?”

“Did something happen?”

Ryu asked without even looking in that direction or showing any movement.

“Perhaps, did his personality suddenly change, or… did he become impossible to defy?”

“…!”

In an instant, Blanc brought out ears, tail, and claws made of curses and lunged at Ryu.

Though the speed was faster than a bullet and even tore through the surrounding air, Ryu also drew his sword from his crouched position and blocked the attack.

“You! You know! Quickly tell me! Tell me exactly what happened to my Eugene!!”

“There’s a slight error in your words.”

“What?!”

“To claim him as your own… compared to your competitors, you lack the qualifications.”

“Lack qualifications? Competitors? Don’t tell me you mean the witches?”

“Witches… that’s what they’re called these days. Anyway, that’s right. Compared to the ladies, you’re merely a creature. You lack the power to intervene in that competition.”

“Kugh… don’t make me laugh!”

Blanc twisted their face like a demon and sent Ryu flying.

A massive curse created a red storm, spraying sticky madness and killing intent.

“Eugene is mine! I won’t give him to anyone! I’ll kill them all, whether they’re witches or whatever!!”

“I cannot allow that.”

Ryu, who had spun once in the air before landing stably, narrowed his eyes.

“Lord Noah cherished the ladies dearly. As Lord Noah’s servant, I cannot stand idly by. I shall bury you behind this sacred ground – consider it an honor.”

Ryu’s sword stretched like liquid and swung downward.

When he lightly swung it like a razor-sharp metallic whip, an invisible slash flew toward Blanc.

“Shut up!”

Blanc struck it away with her hand, but a wound appeared and small drops of blood sprayed out.

But Blanc’s momentum boiled even higher than before, and the rising curse spread beyond the ears and tail to envelop the rest of her body, trying to transform into a true creature form.

“Both of you wait a moment.”

Eric jumped onto the wall and stood between Ryu and Blanc.

“Neither of us needs to fight. Blanc, if you kill Ryu here, we won’t be able to learn anything about Eugene.”

“Grrr…”

Blanc ground her teeth, but the curse covering her body stopped again.

“And Ryu. You called yourself a gatekeeper. Perhaps… as someone who has fulfilled their duty as a prophet, are you unable to leave this place?”

“Indeed, that’s correct.”

“Then if we were determined to hit and run, or if we used a diversionary tactic, could you stop both of us simultaneously?”

“Hmm… I’ve grown quite old now, so that would be difficult. After all, you both have transcended the limits of existence.”

“Then that would be a serious dishonor as a gatekeeper. You would lose face before your master Noah.”

“That is indeed true. You are quite skilled. However…”

“…However?”

“Haha… while stopping both simultaneously might be difficult, I can still easily kill you one at a time even now.”

Ryu laughed.

“…!”

“…!”

At that moment, even Blanc who had been radiating killing intent wavered slightly, let alone Eric.

“I am the gatekeeper who protects Lord Noah’s sacred ground. I would be unqualified if I couldn’t easily cut down mere behemoths like yourselves.”

This time Ryu walked toward them first.

“Run away if you wish to run. However, let me be clear. If you show your backs, one of you will certainly die.”

Ryu who had always seemed like a peaceful old man leaked a hint of killing intent.

At that moment, Blanc broke into a cold sweat as memories of the past surfaced.

During the Great Holy War era, the golden age of behemoths.

Back then, Blanc had seen Kenken from afar.

That distant aura of a mighty one she felt then was now flowing from this small old man.

“We have no intention of running. As I said before, we didn’t come here to fight. Blanc just got excited for a moment.”

Though Eric felt his heart being crushed, his expression didn’t change at all.

Hiding emotions and maintaining composure was a basic requirement of royalty.

“…”

Ryu stopped walking.

“I, we just want to know. Who Eugene is, and what relationship he has with Noah.”

“…If I tell you that, can you promise to quietly leave?”

“Of course.”

“…”

Ryu turned his head toward Blanc.

“…Tch.”

Blanc withdrew all the curses covering her body.

“Very well. It would be better for me too if this could end without incident.”

“Rather, I’d like to ask something. Are you really going to tell us so easily? Are there no conditions?”

“Well… everything will end soon anyway, so you won’t have time to do anything.”

“End?”

“Soon Lady Hilde will awaken.”

*    *    *

“This is impossible…”

Hilde collapsed to the ground.

“I’m… a god?”

“Yes. According to Noah’s will, you are the one who will end this world and start the next. In other words, you could say you’re Noah’s successor.”

“D-don’t joke around. No matter what, do you think I would believe such an absurd story?”

“Then how do you explain that Senior by your side?”

Karen grinned as she looked down at Hilde.

“Wh-what about Senior?”

“Blue Paper Moon… that’s what it was called, right?”

“Blue… Paper Moon?”

“Yes. A small model of this world that Noah created.”

The true purpose of Blue Paper Moon was education for a successor.

Noah created Karen to assist with transferring his authority and created Blue Paper Moon so the successor could study the previous worlds.

“But after Noah disappeared, I discovered that part of Blue Paper Moon had vanished. While almost everything about my sisters’ past worlds remained, the part about the current world was completely gone. Eugene probably knows where it is.”

“Senior has nothing to do with this!”

“Oh really? About that person called Eugene… hasn’t he acted like he knew everything in advance?”

“…!!!”

“That human called Eugene probably either has Blue Paper Moon, or has memorized it from reading it so many times. Whatever the method, Eugene is connected to Noah, and he must have been able to survive until now because he knew important information and the future of this world to some extent through Blue Paper Moon.”

“N-no. Senior is strong…!”

“You should know. How Eugene overcame the various crises you’ve faced so far.”

“…”

Of course, Eugene’s struggles were always desperate.

Risking his life was a common occurrence.

But…

“No matter how strong your will is, you’ll die if your body is weak.”

Hilde couldn’t deny Karen’s words.

Certainly, she respected Eugene’s character and will.

But Eugene’s talents never escaped the framework of a lower-ranked hunter.

Rather, because of that, Hilde became more anxious and obsessed with the time she spent with Eugene.

Because she never knew when he might die from pushing himself too hard.

Yet somehow Eugene overcame every crisis.

As if he knew how to overcome them.

“Senior… Senior would never…”

What if it had been a planned approach from the start?

What if his goodwill toward Hilde wasn’t just that of a colleague or senior toward a junior?

Or… what if he knew about Hilde’s feelings for him but rejected them for such reasons?

“No. Senior is… I am…”

“You must be confused.”

Karen lowered herself to match Hilde’s eye level.

“But don’t worry. I’m on your side. I was born for you. That’s why Noah created me.”

Karen’s small, thin arms embraced Hilde’s shoulders.

“G-get away!”

But Hilde pushed Karen away like having a seizure.

“No! You’re lying! This is all lies!”

“Hmm… maybe it’s too hard to believe right away…”

“Don’t insult Senior!”

“I wasn’t really insulting him? Rather, I think he’s amazing. Even knowing everything in advance, it would be more than difficult to achieve with just the body of a lower-ranked hunter. Overcoming all that…”

“No… he didn’t overcome it…”

“Hm?”

“Senior… Senior… is dead…!!”

Small droplets formed in Hilde’s eyes.

“What? D-dead? That can’t be… who could possibly…”

“They say he was killed by someone called the Frog Princess!!”

“Vasilisa!?!?”

Karen couldn’t hide her shocked expression for the first time.

“Why would he go to Vasilisa… could there have been something in Blue Paper Moon…”

She muttered while chewing her fingernails.

“Th-the body! We need to retrieve the body at least! There must be something left…”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Hilde grabbed the Executioner’s Axe again and swung it at Karen.

“…!”

Karen also blocked it with her axe, but this time her body was lifted into the air.

“Damn, has she awakened a bit…”

Karen retreated slightly after landing on the ground.

Though the impact on her arm wasn’t that great, she was strangely blown backward.

As if the laws had been rewritten to make Karen retreat regardless of the difference in power.

Hilde was Noah’s directly created successor, in other words, a vessel for a creator made by the Creator.

Though she died alongside Noah while trying to protect him from Belle before fully maturing, some of the authority she inherited remained as latent potential when she was reincarnated by the higher system.

If she could bring out and use all that latent potential, Karen and the other sisters wouldn’t even be a match.

And the biggest problem was Hilde’s mental state when she awakened as a creator.

“If a creator goes mad, it’s all over…”

The world that Vasilisa destroyed was remade by Noah who was the creator.

But conversely, if a creator destroys the world, then who would remake it?

“Huaaaah!”

When Hilde screamed, the moon began to melt.

Literally, the blue moonlight in the sky melted and settled into Hilde.

“Not yet!”

Karen urgently cut away the space above Hilde’s head with a red slash.

At that moment, Hilde collapsed as if her strength had drained away and fell over.

“Hah, hah…”

Karen looked down at Hilde while breathing roughly.

Just now the moon had definitely responded to Hilde.

Thanks to the authority that Noah had granted Karen, she could sever the connection for now, but it would become harder to do so the stronger Hilde became.

“Hilde… you can’t become a god yet. Not yet.”

Karen turned her back on Hilde.

“I need to… find Eugene… before everything becomes too late…!”