Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 53

I stood in the middle of town after leaving the chapel.

I opened the gun breech to eject the shell casing, loaded new ammunition, and fired forward.

Flames burst from the Dragon’s Breath Shotgun’s muzzle, engulfing the undead Beasts.

Where the flames had consumed and disappeared, only charred corpses remained.

Of course, this weapon had its drawbacks.

First, spewing widespread flames was only possible using incendiary rounds, and while I hadn’t counted exactly how many I brought, there would eventually be a limit.

And the flame’s range wasn’t that long either.

Though wide, it was overwhelmingly shorter compared to normal guns.

However, despite all those drawbacks, no weapon could be more useful than this in my current situation.

To finish Yorick in one strike, I had used magical power beyond what I could handle at once, leading to severe aftereffects, and then used magical power again in an unstable state to avoid an ambush.

Regardless of how much magical power remained, I couldn’t use it anymore.

At least until my magical power completely stabilized, I had to rely only on physical abilities and weapons.

As many undead Beasts rushed in from the front as had disappeared.

A terrible cycle where commotion attracts Beasts, and fighting creates more commotion.

However, it would be fine once I escaped this village.

Undead that have lingered long in one place tend to resist leaving it.

I just needed to get past the palisade marking the village boundary.

The problem was that it wasn’t a short distance from here to there.

I reloaded incendiary rounds again and spewed flames at the charging Beasts.

With a heavy gunshot, the Beasts turned to charcoal again.

The familiar smell of burning flesh and curses entered my nose and filled my chest.

Strangely, it felt good.

Powerful firepower burst from the strong weapon, and enemies fell like scarecrows.

It felt almost like playing a game.

“No…”

This was all because of the stimulant.

Though I couldn’t compare since I’d never taken any in my past life, the Order’s stimulants were clearly powerful drugs made for combat.

Taking them erases fear, numbs pain, and heightens emotions to turn you into an overly brave warrior.

That effect doesn’t last forever.

I don’t know how long until the drug’s effects wear off.

It was 5 minutes in Blue Paper Moon, but in reality, I can only hope it lasts longer.

When the effects wear off… I probably won’t be able to move anymore.

It’s not hard to imagine what future awaits if that happens inside this village.

I reloaded the gun again and dealt with the approaching Beasts.

As I organized my thoughts one by one, I realized the situation was worse than I’d thought.

Though I needed to do something while I could still move, my forward progress wasn’t fast.

Even sprinting at full speed from here to outside the village would take 3 minutes.

But how much time had passed since taking the drug?

“Damn it.”

I needed to kill this drug-induced high and regain my reason.

Should I hide in the underground passages instead?

…No, Yorick already knows I’m here.

He just can’t watch me right now without a new puppet, but he’ll come back to confirm my corpse after some time.

A frontal breakthrough takes too much time.

The Dragon’s Breath Shotgun alone can’t break through… no, I have something else.

I took out a smoke grenade and detonated it.

As thick smoke rose and obscured vision, I climbed up a house’s wall onto the roof that I’d spotted earlier.

Just by doing this showed me a path forward.

I jumped from rooftop to rooftop toward the village outskirts.

Below, I could hear the howls of undead Beasts and creatures.

But I absolutely couldn’t look down.

Not all houses were sturdy enough to jump across.

I had to be careful where I stepped on houses without proper roofs.

However, though not as much as magical power enhancement, the drug-enhanced senses somehow let me keep jumping around.

“Huff…!”

At some point, I suddenly started running out of breath.

The suppressed high was fading on its own.

I suddenly felt cold, and something was trembling.

The drug’s effects were wearing off.

My senses suddenly dulled, and I misstepped and tumbled off the roof.

As soon as I hit the ground I got up and ran again.

I could see the village gate.

Just needed to get past there.

“Woof! Woof!”

The howls of creatures I’d fought while saving Sancho came from behind.

Those things had faster legs than undead Beasts.

But I had no leisure to turn and return fire.

Right now I just had to think about somehow escaping this place.

But my legs felt heavy.

Though I was moving forward, it didn’t feel like proper movement.

Breathing was difficult, and there was a metallic taste in the air.

My vision blurred again.

Still, I knew the direction.

But my body, was too, heavy…

“Get up!!”

Just then, some man’s voice pierced my ears.

Someone carried me on his back and ran.

“Damn, I didn’t expect to repay this debt so soon!”

It was a familiar man’s voice.

I heard the clattering sound of armor.

The tension completely drained away, and consciousness faded.

* * *

“…Ugh.”

I opened my eyes to pain like an awl stabbing my head.

“Urghh…”

I couldn’t say anything from the unprecedented headache that was hard to describe.

My vision was dark.

No, rather the sky was dark.

Was it night?

“Sigh, you need to come to your senses soon…”

I heard Sancho’s voice.

Did he not realize I was awake?

Had I been groaning like this even while unconscious?

“…Reminds me of the old days.”

He said.

It wasn’t particularly directed at me, just talking to himself.

“When my lord would sometimes collapse like this, I’d attend to him at his side like this…”

I heard drinking sounds.

The smell of aged grapes brushed past my nose.

“Phew, today really felt like an adventure… Rescuing a hunter among swarming Beasts, I wonder if my lord would scold me for saving a hunter if he saw…”

After those words, Sancho also fell silent.

I heard clattering as he put his helmet back on and lay down, followed by loud snoring.

I wanted to get up but still couldn’t do anything from the headache and lethargy.

Though quite some time seemed to have passed, the stimulant’s side effects were still continuing.

I don’t want to use that drug again.

Having to suffer like this for just a few minutes of heightened senses.

However, I’m glad I brought one after all.

At least I managed to hold out until Sancho came to help.

Those few minutes saved my life.

Well, if I had died that would have been that.

Still, if I’m going to die I’d prefer to do it more gracefully.

Dying while high on drugs feels unsettling.

As night grew deeper and the pain subsided somewhat, I got up.

“Phew…”

Though my body was a mess, I first needed to check my possessions.

The other things were all replaceable supplies, but I absolutely needed the Raven Dagger and Dragon’s Breath Shotgun.

The dagger was properly in its sheath at my waist.

But I didn’t know where the shotgun was.

Did I even have it with me at the end?

Looking around, I saw the Dragon’s Breath Shotgun next to Sancho who was snoring with his helmet on in front of the campfire.

Thankfully it seems Sancho retrieved that too.

“…”

I quietly looked at Sancho.

Sancho.

Even his backstory in Blue Paper Moon wasn’t particularly hopeful.

Long ago, some noble who went mad developed wanderlust, called himself an adventurer, and traveled this perilous world.

And Sancho was the one who served that madman at his side.

The details of their adventures weren’t shown, but the ending was clear enough.

The noble died, and Sancho, unable to forget his master he served, still continues adventuring alone.

What he seeks is the taboo of resurrecting the dead.

Later in Blue Paper Moon, Sancho also goes mad, his speech becomes strange and proper conversation becomes difficult.

Killing him in this state would give you Princess Bari’s Bone Flower, so he must have eventually reached her.

And at the end of the adventure he started alone, Sancho’s master, who he finally met with only bones remaining, praised him for serving well.

And there Sancho must have realized something was wrong.

Those forcibly resurrected from death become Princess Bari’s slaves.

The perceptive Sancho must have noticed his master’s praise was a lie.

He realized that he had not only forcibly awakened his master who had found peace, but trapped him in a skeletal body and made him the witch’s eternal slave.

He couldn’t help going mad.

Unfortunately in the game, there were no branch points to prevent Sancho from reaching Princess Bari except killing him or letting him die.

In the game it was just a sad story to pass over.

But here in reality, Sancho is a living person.

The madness and despair he’ll experience feels more vivid.

If I… if I had awakened my dead seniors that way…

My back turned cold.

What if they were resurrected from death to become the witch’s slaves?

If their final moments were defiled like that?

If I, Hilde, Crowty, Hera, Zepetia, and everyone I know all end up degraded into such eternally miserable slaves?

I was so scared I momentarily forgot even the lingering pain.

I’m terrified.

Not even death is a refuge.

Princess Bari tries to steal death from humans and create an immortal world.

It’s not just Princess Bari.

All witches aim to end this world and create a new one.

A world where everyone is ruled by their nature.

A world where everyone is devoured by winter.

A world submerged in the sea.

A world where no one dies.

A world where nothing exists.

These are futures too overwhelming for someone like me to handle.

Those insane witches must be killed.

The witches must be hunted and burned until no trace remains.

But I don’t have that power.

The one who has that power is…

“Hilde…”

After gathering all my belongings, I left the sleeping Sancho behind and headed toward the Order.

* * *

“That hunter was in Vinears village?”

Charmol, seated on his skull throne, repeated and spoke.

“Hmm, Vinears… brings back memories. Don’t you think?”

“Yes. Those were truly nostalgic times.”

Yorick said.

“Indeed. That’s right. It was quite a long-term plan but we succeeded safely. Thanks to that we gathered quite a bit of power, and I gained you too.”

“The grace you bestowed then is still impossible for me to repay.”

“That’s right. But… I wonder why that hunter was there?”

“I am ashamed. It was truly unexpected…”

“Same here. Really out of nowhere. What’s even left there?”

“I also don’t quite… Come to think of it, a hunter came there in the past too.”

“Ah yes, that did happen. Did that hunter perhaps leave something behind?”

“Not particularly… Since we even made that corpse into an undead to use, there should be nothing.”

“Well, it’s hundreds of years ago anyway so it would be hard to think of any connection. More importantly… since that human moved, did Blanc appear?”

“No. Unfortunately that woman did not show up.”

“I see…”

“…Um, my lord. May I dare speak a word?”

“What is it?”

“About that Blanc… isn’t that woman too dangerous after all…?”

“Yorick.”

“Yes.”

“You… sigh, it can’t be helped. You won’t understand no matter how much I explain.”

“Pardon?”

“I understand why you say such things. Rather, a fool who wouldn’t say such obvious things would be the strange one. Other plans can be abandoned or changed if needed. But she is different. Just remember that.”

“…Yes.”

Yorick bowed his head deeply.

Below it, he hid his frowning face.