Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 81

After defeating Blood Klifort in the bloodstone research lab, Sephira, Oscar and I headed to the moonstone research lab.

“This place is insane. No, that Vile person is the one who’s insane.” 

Oscar said.

“Having the ability to create such amazing things, why use that genius for something like this?”

“We’ve also investigated matters related to Vile, but his corruption was truly sudden…” 

Sephira said.

The last publicly known trace of Vile was that he lived quietly in a corner of his family mansion until 20 years ago, when he suddenly became a behemoth, massacred dozens of humans, and vanished.

Moreover, many of the victims were renowned intellectuals of the time, making the damage particularly severe.

Everything about Vile’s motives, reasons for change, and how he suddenly became a behemoth remained shrouded in mystery, so the Heresy Inquisition Department from 20 years ago must have turned the place upside down searching for him.

But they couldn’t find any evidence.

That’s because Vile burned everything himself and killed all witnesses.

“Earlier in a village called Hameln, there was a madman who used children as research materials… Come to think of it, you discovered that case too, right?” 

Oscar said to me.

“Yes.”

“If it weren’t for you, those children’s sacrifices would have continued.”

“No, it would have ended eventually.”

“What?”

“That one had a clear goal.”

Iron Hans used knowledge to try becoming human from a behemoth, the exact opposite of Vile.

But they were no different in arbitrarily sacrificing innocent humans.

Though they all have their own stories, that doesn’t justify massacre.

“Once he achieved what he wanted, the sacrificing of humans would have stopped.”

“I didn’t expect you to say something like that.”

“I’m just trying to understand the situation objectively. Beasts with intelligence act in complex ways. We need to understand their thinking to respond accurately.”

“I see…”

Oscar looked at me with a subtle expression.

“How should I put it… you really are a hunter.”

“Of course I am.”

We went back upstairs and headed toward the moonstone research lab fork in the path.

A long, wide corridor stretched ahead, densely lined with uncomfortably white tiles.

While the lab entrance itself was painted white like whitewash, here it felt as if the walls themselves were emitting light.

We walked toward the corner at the end of the corridor.

But when we reached about halfway down the corridor, a single hand protruded from around the corner.

The fingers were abnormally white, thin and long – clearly not a human hand.

The moonstone research lab challenge begins now.

“…Impossible.” 

Sephira said, drawing her sword with rare surprise.

“I couldn’t sense any presence at all…?”

“What?! Then isn’t it extremely strong?” 

Oscar was also flustered.

The enemies in this moonstone research lab were immune to detection skills.

Besides their bizarre appearance, they focused more on gimmicks than combat and were difficult to tackle with pure specs alone.

“Whooo…”

What emerged from the corner was a woman wearing a dirty white long dress.

But like the hand shown earlier, her arms, legs, neck and entire body were elongated.

Her messy straight hair completely covered her face and fell to her waist, and her skin was beyond pale, like the color of plaster.

But her feet and ankles, the only parts visible beneath the dress, looked black and damp as if painted with black paint.

It stood in a standoff with us.

“Even seeing it directly, I still can’t sense its presence. It could be a high-tier Beast…”

Then the ‘It’ turned its back to face the wall.

“Blue light.”

Though spoken from the far end of the corridor with a heavily hoarse voice, it sounded as clear as if whispered right next to our ears.

“Everyone freeze! Don’t make a sound!” 

Knowing the rules of this game, I spoke as firmly as possible.

“…”

“Huh?”

While Sephira froze like stone immediately, Oscar only stiffened his body but looked uneasy, so I had to cover his mouth with my hand.

“Red light.”

It turned to look at us.

Its pitch black eyes gazed at us as if licking us.

Before that spine-chilling gaze, the three of us stood completely still like statues.

“Blue light.”

It turned its head again.

I removed my hand from Oscar’s mouth.

“Whew… what was that just now?”

“…”

Though he spoke right after I removed my hand, Sephira remained frozen.

As expected of a professional.

“It’s alright now. Let’s go back for a moment.”

I took them back to where the fork in the path was.

“Now explain what that was.”

“What we just saw was exactly like a game I know.”

“A game?”

“Statues… well, that’s what it’s called. You must know it too?”

In my past life it was called ‘Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed’, but in this world it’s called Statues.

The basic rules are the same – you move on green light and must freeze when It says red light and turns around. (+) ^[1] TLN: Well, surely you guys know Squid Game right? The Red Light, Green Light game. The game is basically called “Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed” in Korea, and called Statues in the UK and Red Light, Green Light in America.

“…?”

Sephira seems unfamiliar with it.

“Ah, that. I used to play it sometimes with servants when I was young. In my hometown we say ‘one, two, three, starlight’. You have to freeze when they say starlight.”

On the contrary, Oscar seems to know it well.

“So we move on blue light and freeze on red light, correct?”

“Yes. That’s the game. You win if you can touch It.”

“I see…”

“But was there any need to run away? Couldn’t we just kill it before getting close?”

Oscar asked.

“We don’t know about that. It’s an enemy that even Lady Sephira couldn’t detect.”

The It in the moonstone research lab has 1 HP and dies even if you just punch it.

But it’s immune to all types of ranged attacks so you have no choice but to get close to kill it.

We’ll need to verify if it works the same way here, but such an easy method probably won’t work in this world.

“What happens if you get caught on red light?”

Sephira asked.

“Well… maybe some kind of unknown curse?”

In Blue Paper Moon, getting caught instantly halves your HP and movement speed.

Getting caught a second time halves your remaining health and speed again, and the third time is instant death.

Whatever the effect is, it absolutely won’t be lifted until you leave the corridor.

Since your maximum HP itself is reduced, you can’t heal it, and items that increase movement speed have no effect.

Fortunately, once you leave the corridor and completely escape It’s line of sight, movement speed returns to normal, but your HP bar remains empty, forcing you to use recovery items.

“But I’m not certain…”

However, naturally conveying that information is another matter.

Rather than dying based on knowledge, it would be most certain if I experienced it myself.

“I’ll go try it myself.”

“What?!”

“I cannot allow that.”

Sephira and Oscar responded immediately.

Especially Sephira looked quite perplexed.

“You could die!”

“I cannot send you on such a dangerous mission!”

“But that’s the surest and best way.”

Information is most important when facing an unknown enemy without certain victory.

What techniques they use, what habits they have, what their personality is like – all of that is needed to catch Beasts.

Lower-ranked hunters are expendable for gathering that information.

Deploy them in mass and the few who return alive bring back enemy intel.

Even Intelligence Department agents can only safely investigate up to high-tier Beasts – from behemoths on, even they get hopelessly discovered and killed.

If someone has to die anyway, better a lower-ranked hunter than valuable agents.

I used lower-ranked hunters that way too when playing Blue Paper Moon.

It’s just my turn now.

“Even so, it’s too dangerous! What do you think life is?!”

“Calm down and lower your voice.”

“Ah… anyway, no. What kind of crazy talk is this all of a sudden?”

“That’s right. This is a recon mission, not a suicide attack.”

Indeed, maybe I spoke too casually since I have the certainty that I won’t die?

From their perspective, it might have sounded like suddenly going off to die.

“I’ll try attacking from range.” 

Sephira suggested.

Objectively thinking, this is the right answer.

Though I have a feeling her attacks will have no effect, we won’t know until we try.

We returned to the long corridor again.

It was still in the same spot.

“Blue light.”

As soon as we faced it in a straight line down the corridor, Its voice rang in our ears.

“Hah…”

Sephira took a deep breath and assumed her stance.

The white skeletal form rose from her sword again, emanating the same chilling pressure as when fighting Blanc. 

She seems to be preparing a powerful attack, perhaps wanting to finish it in one hit.

“Oh, ohhh…”

Oscar, who could specifically understand the flow of magical power, marveled.

When Sephira swung her sword wide, a skeletal blade energy like the one that finished Blood Klifort’s phase 2 in one hit flew toward It.

The blade energy flew leaving an eye-searing white afterimage and hit It directly.

A strong explosion occurred and It’s form vanished.

“Did we get it?” 

Oscar said.

That’s such a cliché line.

I stayed completely still, waiting for Its next words.

“Red light.”

That clear voice.

“Ugh!?”

“Gasp!”

Sephira and Oscar groaned simultaneously.

“Green light.”

When the smoke cleared, what appeared was It’s unharmed back, not even a speck of dirt or injury on it.

Taking advantage of the green light, I grabbed the two who were frozen in shock and escaped outside the corridor.

“…How is it?”

I was half purely curious what it felt like to have HP evaporate in reality.

“It feels like… being half dead? My body feels strangely heavy…”

Oscar said while struggling to raise his arm from lying down.

“Me… too.”

Sephira looked relatively fine, but she must be enduring through sheer willpower.

They both probably lost half their life force, but I won’t know exactly what it feels like without experiencing it myself.

Of course, I have no intention of experiencing it.

For now, there’s a big hole in the team’s combat strength.

However, since those two have somewhat realized what kind of place the moonstone research lab is, it’s not an entirely bad situation.

“I can still move. Next time I’ll properly…”

“Please calm down.”

I pushed Sephira back down as she tried to get up.

Of course, someone like her wouldn’t be pushed down by the likes of me even with half their life force gone, but fortunately she quietly let me.

“I’m fine, and I know what to do. Please wait here while I handle it myself.”

“I leave it to you.”

“Yes. Take as long as you need…”

“Please, come back safely.”

“…If I can.”

I headed back toward the corridor where It was.

• 1. TLN: Well, surely you guys know Squid Game right? The Red Light, Green Light game. The game is basically called “Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed” in Korea, and called Statues in the UK and Red Light, Green Light in America.