Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 218

Me, Sephira, and Eric arrived at the sacred ground in two days.

But it wasn’t just Blanc who was there.

“This is….”

“Should we call this fate?”

Karen, a small girl with messy blonde hair wearing a red hood and the final boss of Blue Paper Moon, was waiting in front of the entrance.

“Why are you here?”

Eric said with a sharp tone while placing his hand on his sword.

“Now, now, calm down. She’s on our side for now.”

Blanc came forward waving her hands.

“Blanc, don’t tell me you’ve been mind controlled?”

“Of course not. I even brought Hilde here properly.”

“Ah, hello… Senior.”

Hilde waved at me with an awkward expression.

“Why are you with them?”

I was dumbfounded by this exotic and outrageous combination.

“How about we all sit down and talk first? These will be quite long stories after all.”

Karen pulled out a large mat from inside her cloak and spread it on the ground.

We all sat down in a circle on it and looked at each other.

“First… no matter what anyone says, Eugene, you’re the center here right? You explain first. What are you to Noah?”

“I am….”

I explained my past as Noah that I had discovered so far without omission.

Creating worlds and making the children who are now called witches in this era.

But after continued failures, unable to handle the position of creator, I created Karen, Hilde, and Ryu to try to escape as a human.

“And though Belle killed me… Hilde probably got caught up in it too. Or maybe she eliminated the successor to prepare for Noah’s return. Either way, both Hilde and I must have died and been reborn.”

Thinking about it calmly, though Belle cut Noah’s throat, she would have known that even killing the creator would result in them returning through the reincarnation system.

Belle spent the longest time with me among all the children after all.

In that case, killing the god may have just been buying time.

“Since both the creator and successor died during the handover process, the system authority must have gotten twisted strangely. While Hilde has the authority itself, I’m still the one exercising it. Of course….”

I turned to Hilde who had been listening to everything so far with an ambiguous expression.

“We could fix that distortion here.”

“You mean you’ll return to being Noah?” 

Karen asked.

“No, what’s important is Hilde’s thoughts. If she wants to succeed my position we can finish what we couldn’t back then, but if she doesn’t want to I’ll maintain the creator’s position again. Of course, as Eugene not Noah, until a successor is naturally born.”

“Hmm… what do you think?”

She asked Hilde while crossing her arms and lowering her head in thought.

“Well, um… honestly speaking I don’t understand any of this.”

Hilde scratched the back of her head.

“All this talk about creation and such… how should I put it, I never imagined things would turn out like this. Senior being a god, creating witches, me being the god’s successor… it’s too confusing….”

“Well, that’s understandable. It’s too enormous to suddenly accept. But you need to decide.”

“Could you give me a little more time? To decide right now….”

“Time is still passing even now.”

“Wait, such an important matter shouldn’t be decided too easily. Then I’ll temporarily hold the creator’s position until Hilde decides.”

There’s no immediate reason Hilde needs to ascend to the creator’s position.

She must be quite confused too, and giving her control over the world’s fate in such a state doesn’t guarantee good results.

“Wait before that.”

Blanc raised her hand.

“There’s one issue we need to address first.”

“What is it?”

“Is there any guarantee you’ll still be Eugene even after taking on this creator thing or whatever? Are you really sure you won’t go back to being this Noah person?”

“…”

I thought for a moment.

Noah and Eugene.

Comparing the two….

“…I won’t go back.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m stronger than Noah.”

This isn’t about simple power.

In terms of mental strength, there’s no comparison between when I was Noah and who I am now.

Noah was just a pitiful human who somehow survived the end and ended up ascending to godhood.

But I’m different.

“Hah, confident aren’t you.”

Blanc smiled with satisfaction.

“Fine. If Eugene says that much, I’ll believe you.”

“…Are you really okay with just that?”

“Though it leaves a slightly unsatisfying aftertaste, the Eugene I’ve seen until now is more than worthy of being acknowledged as a hero. Whatever the means, if I die by your hands I’ll be satisfied with that.”

“Then it’s decided! We’ll transfer the creator’s position Hilde has to Eugene right here.”

Karen clapped her hands.

“…is what I’d like to say. But there’s something that concerns me. What are you planning to do about the portions distributed to our sisters?”

When I was Noah, I kept giving small parts of my system authority to them each time I created new worlds and protagonists.

As a result they built their own small systems and in some sense could be called equal to Noah as small creators.

Of course, it’s like comparing an ocean to a river, but water flows in both nonetheless.

If we transfer authority without reclaiming those parts, I’m not sure what will happen to Noah’s remaining authority they possess.

Even I can’t know everything about the system.

More precisely, I know all the general things, but there are too many variables to predict with parts being used irregularly like this.

“It’s somewhat concerning, but since it’s not much we could ignore it and proceed. Or we could reclaim them one by one after ascending as creator.”

“Is that so…. Then, shall we begin? Let’s go inside first. Just in case.”

We all got up from the mat and entered Noah’s old mansion.

“Welcome, Lord Eugene.”

Ryu greeted us at the entrance.

“It’s been a while, Ryu.”

“I apologize for not coming out to welcome you though I knew you were outside.”

“It’s fine. You’ve been through a lot until now.”

Ryu endured 500 years alone with just one prophecy and his original strength.

“Thank you. Then, have you decided what to do?”

“For now I’ll take back Hilde’s authority and decide slowly later.”

“A wise decision. And….”

He turned to Hilde.

“It’s been a very long time, Miss.”

“I’m sorry but… were we acquainted?”

“It’s natural you don’t remember. Lady Hilde, you were reborn in an unstable state. Even Lord  Eugene didn’t realize for quite a while so it’s not strange.”

“Reincarnation… what kind of person was I back then?”

“It’s hard to say since our acquaintance wasn’t long. At that time Lady Hilde was only about a month old. But you definitely weren’t a bad person. After all, you died taking Lady Belle’s attack meant for Noah… that is, Lord Eugene’s past life.”

“So that’s what happened….”

Though even if Hilde blocked it, that doesn’t mean I would have survived.

The first attack just failed, but she just needed to swing her sword again.

Since it’s my memory from right before death I don’t remember exactly how things happened, but as Noah, my mind must have nearly collapsed seeing Hilde die before my eyes and I probably died without proper resistance.

“Now then everyone. Please come in. You two as well, I’ll welcome you as my master’s guests this time.”

Ryu said to Eric and Blanc.

“This is where Lady Rusalka was born….”

“Excuse the intrusion~”

“Then I’ll go ahead and prepare the ritual, I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Karen went in first.

Me, Hilde, and Sephira walked in slowly.

“…Mr. Eugene. Is this really alright?”

Sephira asked.

“You originally hated that position and tried to leave it, didn’t you?”

“I told you to speak casually…. Anyway it’s fine. The current me is Eugene not Noah. And I have no intention of creating worlds again. I’ll just hold onto it until passing it to a successor.”

“If that’s the case then that’s good but….”

“Are you worried I might change into someone else?”

Sephira hesitated then nodded.

Blanc had the same concern, but she readily nodded at my assurance.

But I can’t expect everyone else to be the same.

“It’s fine. I am me. I am Eugene.”

“Yes….”

Still using honorifics.

Well, she can get used to it slowly later.

When we return to the Order….

“…”

…What will happen when we return?

Will we be able to return?

When I regain the creator’s authority, will I be able to continue being a hunter?

Of course, the Hunting Order is an organization Belle created by gathering humans.

It’s strange for me to return there now.

But.

But… I, Eugene, took pride in being a hunter.

I never doubted my identity was that of a hunter.

I went through a lot to become a hunter, and met many people.

And I received such great kindness from my seniors to become the Eugene I am now.

If I leave like this, wouldn’t it be betraying them?

It might seem silly to cling to such things amidst grand talk of gods and creation, but it’s important to me.

“…Senior.”

Hilde said.

“What?”

“Well… though I don’t really understand, if you want, I can just keep holding onto this authority thing. You don’t really want to do this either, right Senior?”

“I don’t want to run away like that.”

Yes.

That much at least I can say for certain.

I don’t want to just cover up and move past my past mistakes.

I couldn’t unilaterally pass on what I shouldered to Hilde.

Making my own successor with my own hands was a mistake from the start.

Of course Hilde who was born has no fault, but from the beginning I should have waited for someone qualified to handle the creator’s position to be born naturally in human history.

Whether it took a thousand years or ten thousand, or even several times or dozens of times longer, that’s what I should have done.

“I’m fine with this.”

“…If you say so, Senior.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m going off to die. I just need to wait.”

Though I don’t know how long I’ll need to wait, I no longer feel the burden and despair I felt when I was Noah.

I don’t need to create a perfect world like a fairy tale.

I can set the children I created when I was Noah free.

If that happens, their fighting will stop and no more Beasts will be born.

Though those children are fighting because they each have things they want, they’re just like Vasilisa – not knowing any other way.

Thinking that way made my steps feel lighter.

“Let’s go. We need to end the story of witches and Beasts.”