Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 228

Epilogue

“What kind of performance is this?! Do you think this place is a joke?! If you’re going to do this poorly, pack your bags and get out!”

The middle-aged man with a shiny, red bald head yelled as he crumpled up a stack of papers and threw them.

The roughly bundled papers hit the small man’s face before scattering everywhere.

“I’m sorry.”

He picked up the scattered papers one by one.

The other people working around them paid no attention to this scene.

The bald department head treating himself like a king in this small office and getting angry at anyone was already a daily occurrence.

However, the man currently bearing this unreasonable anger was somewhat of an exception.

“You think you can act high and mighty just because you have some magical power?! If you were so talented, why didn’t you go to the Swamp Academy instead of here?!”

The Swamp Academy.

A place that accepts anyone with talent regardless of status or background.

Not only do they provide excellent meals and lodging for free, but they also teach those with magical power – one of the most extraordinary talents in this world – how to properly use it to become mages.

Truly a paradise that everyone dreams of.

But the gates of paradise are always as narrow as a needle’s eye.

And ever since the department head learned that this small, young man, Ozwald, had magical power, he had been especially harsh on him.

It probably wasn’t unrelated to his daughter failing the Swamp Academy entrance exam.

If his daughter could have gotten in and become a ‘witch’, it would have been an opportunity for the whole family to live in luxury away from this filthy pigsty of a city.

“…”

But Ozwald didn’t care about the department head’s circumstances.

He didn’t mind that he was being unfairly targeted with anger.

This company was just a place to fill time and collect a paycheck anyway.

And above all, he thought magic had nothing to do with him.

To get to the Swamp Academy, you’d need to go to the port that takes a week’s journey from this town, buy an airship ticket worth several months’ salary, and travel to a remote island to take the exam.

It wasn’t realistic at all.

So when Ozwald found out he had an aptitude for magical power, he wasn’t particularly happy about it.

He hadn’t even told the department head directly – the man had just overheard it mentioned in passing.

“Why don’t you just go right now?! They’re even doing an airship ticket lottery soon, aren’t they?! Damn… if I’d known, I could have at least saved money by getting that…”

Ozwald quietly slipped out while the department head was lost in thought.

The department head didn’t particularly hate him – he was just irritated, so he didn’t say anything more.

When 8 PM came and the workday ended, Ozwald left the company.

During the brief moment of climbing the stairs from the basement, he made short, meaningless small talk with his coworkers before becoming strangers again outside.

Finding or making true friends in this world was a luxury to begin with.

Especially on days like this.

“All residents of Lasso, please quickly return to your homes. Or evacuate immediately to the nearest shelter. Repeat. All residents of Lasso, please quickly return to your homes. Or…”

A loud voice rang out from the airship above.

“Snow White again…”

Ozwald showed his first sign of exasperation.

This place, Lasso, was initially built as a planned city with considerable expectations.

It was filled with vitality, with a large glass factory built on the outskirts, workers to operate it, and people in related occupations.

But everything changed 7 years ago when the winter winds from the ancient demon Snow White’s territory began reaching this city.

Most of the world was already conquered by ancient demons, and there wasn’t much land left where ordinary humans like Ozwald could live.

In such an era, the people’s yearning for the Swamp Academy, which even demons supposedly never interfered with…

However, the ancient demons stirred different aspirations in Ozwald.

That’s also why he was particularly irritated by these cold winter winds from ancient times.

“Sigh… let’s hurry home.”

The airship was operated by the central government to warn about areas expected to be affected by ancient demons.

They wrapped a large band around the airship in different colors to easily show the danger level – right now it was yellow, meaning the lowest level advisory warning.

Though this city had never received a red alert, even an advisory couldn’t be ignored.

If exposed to Snow White’s winter winds for too long, one would lose their sense of self and become a miserable monster as her minion.

Though Ozwald with his magical power could resist somewhat, he absolutely couldn’t say he was safe.

Ozwald hurried his steps.

The air was getting chillier.

A terrible wind that chilled not just the skin but the very soul was blowing in.

“Hm?”

But suddenly, Ozwald’s steps stopped.

He wasn’t sure why, but something caught his attention… that was the only way to explain the feeling that made him turn his head.

In the distance, someone was watching him.

Black hair and blue eyes, a wide-brimmed hat, and a flowing white dress that seemed most out of place in this location and time.

“…”

For some reason, Ozwald kept staring at that person.

He didn’t have time for this.

Even now the wind was getting fiercer and the air colder.

White vapor was forming with each breath.

Yet he couldn’t take his eyes away.

And it seemed the same for the other party, as they walked toward Ozwald.

“H-hey. Hurry and take shelter. Didn’t you hear earlier? There’s a Snow White advisory.”

Ozwald finally came to his senses and spoke.

One couldn’t withstand the winter winds in such attire.

They might freeze to death even before becoming a winter minion.

“…”

But the other party approached Ozwald slowly without any response.

When Ozwald tried to speak up louder in frustration, his voice was drowned out by the warning from the airship.

“All residents of Lasso, evacuate immediately. Do not come outside until the next announcement. Repeat. All residents of Lasso, evacuate immediately. Until the next announcement…”

“?”

This was an unfamiliar announcement.

Immediately?

Looking up at the airship, the band wrapped around it had changed to a color he’d never seen before.

Red.

A warning one level higher than advisory.

“Ah…”

Ozwald stood there for a moment as if nailed to the spot.

If an advisory meant dangerous winter winds were blowing, a warning meant winter itself was coming.

Disaster was right at their doorstep.

Like almost all other regions of this world, Lasso too had now entered the maw of an ancient demon.

As that fact sank in, something stirred inside Ozwald.

“Ancient… demon…”

Actually, saying he wasn’t interested in magic was a lie.

I want to know so badly.

I want to research more, discover unknown things.

Whether it’s the Swamp Academy or whatever, I just want to know magic.

Ancient demons are the essence and pinnacle of that.

Magic so overwhelming it could devour and lead the world to destruction.

The Snow White advisory forcefully reminded Ozwald of the emotions he had been suppressing.

And now it was a warning.

Magic of unprecedented depth would soon unfold.

Even if life withered away because of it…

“Gasp!”

Ozwald returned to reality.

A Snow White warning had been issued.

“You! I said hurry and take shelter!”

Ozwald ran to that strange person.

Everyone would die if they stayed here.

“Damn it, can you not hear?! We need to run away right now…!”

“It’s been a while.”

“?!”

The moment he heard that voice, Ozwald was seized by a strange emotion again.

An intense feeling that made him forget even the current crisis.

“Ozwald.”

“You know my name? Were we… acquainted?”

“I am…”

“All residents of Lasso, evacuate immediately. Until the next announcement, absolutely do not come outside…!”

That voice was drowned out again by the sound that reminded them of reality.

Growing urgent, Ozwald grabbed the other’s hand and ran.

“Whatever the situation is, we need to hurry! We can talk later!”

The air was growing fiercely colder.

Extreme cold filled his lungs.

And something he had never seen in his life, only heard rumors about, was descending from the sky.

White ice particles.

Harbinger of disaster.

And a woman passed in front of the running Ozwald.

“Hey, you there too…!”

Ozwald stopped.

A living chill that instinctively registered, engraved in his eyes, piercing his heart – an avatar of winter.

“…My. Should I call this lucky?”

Silver hair with a blue tinge and dark red eyes.

Skin as white as porcelain, no, as snow.

“I came thinking there was some good prey… but it seems there’s a guest who arrived first?”

Cold energy gathered in her hand, forming a large spear of ice.

“Would you mind stepping aside? I want that.”

“…”

The strange boy beside Ozwald stepped forward.

“H-hey. I said we need to run…”

“This time, I’ll protect you.”

The boy pulled out a staff from somewhere.

It was a wooden staff with a strangely curved end and a large jewel attached to the tip.

“What?”

“You’re going to fight me? Really? What kind of wind is blowing?”

“…”

Ozwald couldn’t understand the current situation.

But he knew one thing – the strange boy in feminine clothing in front of him was trying to protect him.

Everything was a mess.

“Sigh… I didn’t really want to fight you if I could help it. But if you’re going to interfere, I have no choice.”

Snow White threw the ice spear.

Dorothy also raised his staff as if about to do something.

In that brief moment, something unbelievable happened to Ozwald.

He pushed Dorothy aside and stood in front of the ice spear instead.

As he squeezed his eyes shut, his life flashed before his eyes.

Though there wasn’t much in his unremarkable life worth remembering, the very last thing he saw was that strange boy.

“?”

But no matter how long he waited, death didn’t come.

When he slowly opened his eyes, what he saw was another unbelievable sight.

What appeared to be Snow White had been shattered to pieces by someone.

“How dare you again…!”

Snow White’s fallen head tried to say something in rage, but someone new who had appeared crushed that head to powder under their foot.

“Wow~ That was pretty brave, wasn’t it?”

A frivolous voice.

But it held some expectations.

“What’s your name? And that beside you is Dorothy, right? What did you do to summon Dorothy?”

“Run away. That one is dangerous.”

Dorothy showed signs of anxiety for the first time as he spoke.

“Hehe… I wonder if you could reach it? Something like a hero like Eugene…”

Blanc grinned.

《Extras in Dark Fantasy》 THE END

Translator Note:

Thank you very much for reading this series. Thanks also for those of you who bought the advanced chapters!

P.S: If you like this series, might I interest you with the other novels that I translated? You can see them here!