Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 96

When Maia woke up again, she wasn’t in front of a warm campfire but on a cold stone floor.

She had been in such a special deep sleep to recover her strength that she hadn’t even noticed being dragged away all night.

Of course, that was because she had trusted Eugene.

She thought that at least Eugene wouldn’t abandon her.

“Awake?” 

Called a voice that instantly conveyed coldness, ruthlessness, and hostility in just that single word.

“Who’s there?” 

Maia asked while rubbing her eyes.

“Where’s Eugene? Where am I?”

“That hunter is elsewhere. And this is the Order.”

Surprisingly, the voice told her the truth.

Though not out of goodwill, of course.

“The Order?! W-why am I here? And where exactly is Eugene?”

“That hunter personally handed you over to us.”

“Such lies won’t work on me.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because Eugene isn’t that kind of person.”

“You seem to trust him quite a lot. Any special reason?”

“I can tell just by looking. More importantly, you… don’t tell me you captured Eugene too? Weren’t you fellow hunters? No… could it be because of me?”

“…You’re quite sharp.”

A Heresy Inquisition officer in white uniform stepped out from the darkness.

“Then this will go quickly. First question. Where are you from?”

“What if I don’t want to answer?”

“Then we’ll never remove those chains from your hands.”

The Heresy Inquisition officer pointed to the ‘Beast Binding Chains’ binding Maia’s hands.

“Ugh… you’ve bound me with something really annoying.”

“You can feel it too. Your magical power being completely under control.”

“Yes. Unfortunately, with my current power I can’t break these.”

The Heresy Inquisition officer’s eyebrow twitched slightly at the word ‘current’, but it was so subtle as to be almost unnoticeable.

“Sigh, can’t be helped. But first, tell me where Eugene is. No, is he even still alive?”

“Yes. If you cooperate willingly, we’ll tell you about Eugene too. But I’m curious. Why are you so concerned about that lower-ranked hunter?”

“I have a debt of gratitude I must repay.”

“Gratitude… very well. We’ll ask about that later too. First the initial question. Where are you from?”

“An unnamed island. Not from this continent at least.”

Maia cooperated reasonably well with the Heresy Inquisition officer’s questioning.

Her answers were fairly straightforward – that she was a sorcerer, that she came to the continent seeking broader knowledge, and that she happened to meet and form a good connection with a hunter named Eugene.

At least she didn’t make any fatal slips like Eugene had worried about.

“Then, what’s this debt of gratitude you mentioned owing Eugene?”

“First tell me one thing for certain.”

“What is it?”

“Is Eugene safe?”

“…At least better off than you are now.”

“That doesn’t sound like a lie. Good. You asked what debt I owe Eugene? It’s a bit embarrassing, but until recently I was actually caught by a powerful dark sorcerer and lost my mind. But Eugene freed me from that curse.”

“A powerful dark sorcerer… do you know their name?”

“Bari.”

“…!”

The Heresy Inquisition officer drew in a sharp breath.

“That dark sorcerer called herself Bari.”

“Is that… true?”

His voice, which had remained cold throughout, couldn’t fully hide his doubt and anxiety.

Though the witches’ existence except Red Hood was erased from history by Belle’s order, the ones who did the erasing were the 1st-rank hunters and Heresy Inquisition Department.

That mission had continued from ancient times until now, and naturally the inquisitors knew about the other witches.

If this were normal circumstances, they would have eliminated Maia on the spot without question.

“Tell me more details. If the information proves useful, we may be more accommodating to your demands as well. Of course, if you’ve lied, there will be punishment beyond that.”

But the situation had changed.

The Order’s key figures were aware that the witches’ seals were breaking.

Moreover, Snow White and Little Mermaid had already revealed themselves to the world.

This was truth that could no longer be hidden.

The directive from above had shifted from concealing information to gathering more.

“Really? You won’t kill me for being useless after I tell you everything, right?”

“Of course not.”

That wasn’t entirely a lie.

Without looking inside someone’s head, there was no way to know if they had told everything.

If the subject was an unremarkable person, say a civilian who got caught up in things, killing and burying them would be much easier and safer, but their current subject was no ordinary sorcerer.

And interrogation was delicate work.

The goal was to gather information – torture, threats, and murder were just some of the means to that end.

“Now where should I start explaining…”

Maia told them how she happened to arrive at Spider Castle, coincidentally met Bari there, was then cursed and turned into a monster before being saved by Eugene.

The inquisitor noted that her testimony matched Eugene’s exactly, but still didn’t let go of his suspicion.

“You expect us to believe that?”

“What’s strange about it?”

“As far as we know, Eugene is a lower-ranked hunter. He’s a veteran somewhat recognized at headquarters, true. But that’s for his experience and reliability, not his power. Yet you’re saying he accomplished all those feats alone? Without anyone’s help?”

“…How long have you lived?”

“I can’t tell you that. Why suddenly ask?”

“Well, just looking at you, you seem not even half my age. You’re still young so you don’t understand.”

“…?”

He was over 40 years old.

By this world’s standards, he could be called elderly.

“What’s important isn’t power but mind and heart.”

“…”

The inquisitor couldn’t immediately refute.

There were occasional cases of weak humans defeating Beasts through wisdom or strength born from desperate situations.

But there was a limit.

However, when the inquisitor met the sorcerer’s eyes just before saying that, he closed his mouth.

Maia’s eyes had changed from their previous light mood to having unfathomable depth.

“When I first met Bari, I had enough power to subdue her. Because it was just an avatar made from a corpse, not her real self. But I carelessly let my guard down just because I was stronger, and pathetically ended up like this.”

“Then was that hunter different?”

“He was different. There are things that only the weak can know and do. Eugene knows that. And above all, he has heart.”

“Heart?”

“Well… you’ll understand when you live longer.”

“…I’m not that young.”

The Heresy Inquisition officer deeply furrowed his brow.

*    *    *

I opened my eyes on the dirty, worn blanket laid on the stone floor of the underground prison.

Though it was just the first basement level, not a trace of sunlight entered, so I couldn’t tell how many days had passed.

It felt like at least a day or two had gone by…

Looking toward the bars, I saw half a loaf of bread and a cup of water in the small hole below.

After eating that much at least, my stomach woke up too and I actually felt even hungrier.

Not wanting to waste time meaninglessly like this, I focused on recovery while circulating the magical power in my body.

Unlike the Beast Binding Chains on Maia, what was on my hands was just something that suppressed power through force.

Of course, I couldn’t break it even if I used all my magical power, and I had no intention to either.

After a bit more time passed, someone walked this way.

“8th-rank hunter Eugene. Come out.”

Said a man who looked like a guard as he opened the door.

“Am I being released?”

“No. Don’t ask questions and come out quickly. Don’t keep them waiting.”

I could hear a slight fear in the guard’s voice.

I got up, lightly dusted myself off and followed him out of the prison.

And when the door to our destination room opened, even I couldn’t help but flinch.

“…Come in.”

A man wearing a Judge’s black uniform with red patterns sat alone at a desk.

Which meant that at worst, I could face summary execution right here.

The guard bowed his head to them and withdrew.

I swallowed hard once and walked toward them.

“8th-rank hunter Eugene. Correct?”

The Judge asked.

“Yes.”

“This is the written statement based on what you said. Read it.”

The Judge pointed to several sheets of paper on the desk.

I carefully approached and read them one by one.

Everything was written exactly as I had said.

“Are there any differences between what you said and this statement?”

“No.”

“I see.”

With those words, the room’s door opened again and someone entered.

“Ah, don’t push. I can get in by myself.”

Maia’s voice rang out.

“Ah, Eugene! You’re safe!”

She came over and stood beside me.

“Now that you’re both here, let’s get to the main point.” 

Said the Judge.

“Ugh… what are you exactly? You seem like a really nasty one.”

Maia wrinkled her face looking at the Judge.

“H-hey?!”

I was startled and tried to stop her.

“What have you done to your body? I’m amazed you’re even alive with that thing attached.”

“…So you can see it. You’re no ordinary sorcerer indeed.”

The Judge said.

“Of course! I’m a genius among geniuses.”

Maia proudly raised her head.

Though she barely reached desk height even then.

What Maia had likely perceived was the body modification ritual that Judges undergo.

The most important quality for a Judge isn’t power but mind.

Physical strength can be achieved through magic somehow.

Of course, calling the ritual process inhumane would be an understatement.

They ruthlessly consume the life and souls of living prisoners, and even the Judge candidates receiving the ritual frequently die unable to endure it.

“Sorcerers of your level are rare. I heard you came from an unnamed island.”

It seems Maia hadn’t mentioned Swamp Island out of care for her homeland.

“I trained quietly alone until now. And as I already told you, I saw my limits alone.”

“…So that’s why you contacted a hunter from the Order?”

“What?”

The Judge turned his head toward me.

“8th-rank hunter Eugene.”

“Yes.”

“What happened at that castle was surprising, but not unbelievable. After various investigations, we judged that the testimony and evidence matched, and decided to rule those charges as innocent for now.”

I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

So justice still lives even in this cruel world…

“However, separate from that, we cannot overlook the issue of having private relations with such a dangerous sorcerer.”

Ah, of course…

“8th-rank hunter Eugene. You said you met this sorcerer near the border.”

“Yes.”

“How did you know she would be at the border?”

“It was just coincidence.”

“You expect us to believe that?”

“That’s… it really was coincidence. I just went to the border for a trip somewhere far away to rest…”

“Even if by some chance that truly was coincidence…”

The Judge’s demeanor grew ominous.

“Why didn’t you report it to the Order immediately? Surely you’re not going to claim that with over 10 years of experience working for the Order, you didn’t know what to do upon meeting a sorcerer?”

I swallowed hard again.

A Judge with summary execution authority was now suspicious of me.

Moreover, that suspicion was reasonable.

“I…”