Dark Fantasy’s Extra

The Beast of Bone Fragments fully opened its eyes and charged straight at us.

It felt strange seeing the same presentation and patterns as in the game.

“It-it’s coming!”

“Hold your axe.”

Hilde’s shout instantly cleared my idle thoughts.

The person beside me now is the protagonist of Blue Paper Moon.

Though not the male protagonist I know but rather the female protagonist I’m unfamiliar with, she’s still clearly the key to saving this world.

She can’t get hurt or die in a place like this.

“Trust me and fight.”

I shot my gun at the approaching Beast’s knee.

Though it might have been a behemoth long ago, now it’s just a corpse, no, a fossil.

Its movements are simple and its body has softened.

“…!”

The silver bullet lodged precisely in its front leg joint, and the Beast of Bone Fragments tumbled forward and rolled.

I quickly reloaded my rifle in that time.

“I’ll cover you, so move forward. But don’t get too far away.”

“Y-yes!”

Hilde walked forward with her axe held up and a tense expression.

Of course, sending Hilde forward alone was worrying, but compared to that harsh environment in the tutorial, this was much better.

At least now Hilde knows how to use magical power.

“…!”

The Beast of Bone Fragments rose again.

However, a noticeably large crack had formed where the bullet hit, and its movements were awkward.

“Stand on the side where it was shot! It’s weakened, so you can definitely win!”

“Yes!”

Seeing the Beast’s injured state, Hilde seemed to relax a bit, her tension easing from earlier.

The Beast of Bone Fragments swung its uninjured front leg at the approaching Hilde.

But compared to the forest wolves, it was slow and only had one arm.

Hilde easily dodged it while swinging her axe wide to the side, cutting off that arm in one strike.

“Got it…!”

And simultaneously, the Beast of Bone Fragments’ tail extended out long, aiming for Hilde’s head.

Hilde froze at this completely unexpected attack.

However, I had known such an attack would come and was prepared, so I precisely intercepted the tail with my gun.

The tail bone, weaker and thinner than the arm, shattered into fragments that scattered everywhere when hit by the silver bullet.

With its trump card thwarted, the Beast of Bone Fragments immediately threw its whole body forward with jaws extended, but this time Hilde properly responded by thrusting out her axe.

The axe blade struck the Beast of Bone Fragments’ head, creating a large hole.

“Kiiiii…!”

For the first time, the Beast of Bone Fragments made a sound as the light in its eye sockets blazed fiercely.

When the Beast raised its jaws high, black smoke rose from inside.

It looked exactly like when it prepared its desperate pattern in Blue Paper Moon.

If given time, it would breathe out powerful poisonous breath.

Of course, being just an early-game boss, the strategy is clear.

“Strike its neck!”

Hilde raised her axe again and struck the Beast of Bone Fragments’ neck.

I could hear the heavy axe blade shattering the neck bones all the way from where I stood.

Though it bent sideways, she brought the axe down one final time on the neck that hadn’t completely severed.

With a crumbling sound, the light blazing in the Beast’s eye sockets slowly faded.

We won.

But not knowing this, Hilde continued striking the dead Beast’s head with her axe.

Then, as if her strength had left her, she collapsed to her knees.

I slowly walked over to Hilde.

“Hah… hah…”

Hilde looked up at me while taking rough breaths.

“Se-Senior…”

“Well done.”

“Did we… did we win?”

“Yes. We won.”

Hilde stared intently at the fallen Beast.

The Beast of Bone Fragments’ threat level is roughly mid-tier.

While its poisonous breath is extremely threatening, its body is weak since it’s just a fossil.

However, how many would believe that an untrained girl faced it head-on?

“So this… is Beast hunting.”

“Yes. That’s Beast hunting. And now you too are a hunter who’s hunted a Beast.”

“Ha, haha…”

She laughed as if drained and fell backward.

“So this… this is what it means to be a hunter…”

“Resting is fine, but go rest a bit further back. The curse will spread if you stay there.”

“What?!”

Hilde hurriedly backed away.

A dead Beast leaks far more curse than when alive.

That’s why hunters always carry holy oil.

But there’s something that must be done before burning it.

I took out a leather pouch from my pocket and picked up the Beast’s head that had fallen off with its neck bones completely destroyed.

“Why are you collecting that?”

“It’s good to bring back samples of unusual Beasts like this. The Development Department likes them.”

“An unusual Beast?”

“Yes. What we just killed was definitely a Beast. But most Beasts don’t look like this. It’s similar to those zombies that attacked the carriage before.”

“Ah…”

“But among Beasts, there are many unusual ones like this. And most are strong and dangerous. That’s why when the Order finds unusual ones like this, we need to bring back either some body parts or extract blood.”

In the game, unusual Beasts naturally meant boss-level Beasts.

When you defeat a boss-level Beast, you can always obtain a part of that Beast’s body.

If you take it to a specific NPC in the Development Department, they’ll process it into a special item for you.

…Ah, come to think of it, is that NPC, no, that person starting their activities now?

At least I hadn’t seen them before Hilde came.

I should definitely check when we get back.

“Well, now that we’ve got the sample, let’s burn the rest.”

I sprinkled holy oil on the Beast of Bone Fragments’ corpse.

Holy oil is specially processed oil that can safely dispose of Beast bodies containing curses.

After hunting a powerful Beast, you must always burn its corpse with holy oil.

“Here.”

I held out matches to Hilde.

“Since you hunted it, you should finish it too.”

“But you helped me, Senior…”

“This is an old tradition. When lower-ranked hunters take down a mid-tier Beast together, the one who dealt the final blow handles the corpse. You’re a real hunter now too.”

“Yes!”

Though she looked tired, Hilde smiled as she took the matches and stood up.

Then she lit a match and threw it at the Beast of Bone Fragments.

The Beast’s corpse was instantly engulfed in intense flames and turned to ashes.

…The Beast of Bone Fragments had a setting where it was originally an innocent boy.

But he met an unwanted horrific death, and even his corpse couldn’t rest properly before rising as a Beast, finally meeting his true end at his sister’s hands.

Like Kai and Gerda in Lasso Village, the reason innocent children suffer and meet miserable fates is simple.

Because children are weak and ignorant.

Unlike modern Earth, this world is harsh to the weak and lacks even the concept of human rights.

I quietly watched Hilde burning what was once a pure boy long ago.

“Senior? Did you have something to say?”

Feeling my gaze, Hilde asked.

“…No, nothing.”

And so ended my and Hilde’s first Beast hunt.

*    *    *

We left the juniper forest.

The sun had already set, and the moon was climbing toward its zenith in the dark sky.

We could see Thompson lighting a bonfire in front of the cabin.

“Welcome back. Did you finish your business?”

“Yes. And now…”

I was about to say that the Beast-transformed creatures would disappear now.

But I barely realized there was no need to say that.

If asked how I knew that in the first place, I wouldn’t be able to answer, so it would only raise unnecessary suspicion.

“…I’m hungry, could we get something to eat?”

Having nothing else to say, I made up something appropriate.

No, actually being hungry was true.

“Ah, I was just preparing something. I made extra for you folks just in case, fortunately.”

Thompson pointed to plates and a pot on the ground.

The plates held skewers full of meat, and the pot contained enough stew for three people.

A growling sound came from beside me.

When I turned my head, Hilde was blushing while trying to hide her stomach.

“Excuse me.”

Indeed, perhaps too undignified a sound for a noble lady.

If she were a commoner, hunger would be common so she wouldn’t mind.

“Oh my, so you were of noble birth.”

Thompson took off his hat and held it near his chest.

“I apologize for my rudeness…”

“It’s fine. I’m not a noble now but a hunter.”

Hilde waved her hands dismissively.

Thompson turned to me with a surprised expression.

I nodded slightly.

“…I see. Well, the food will be ready soon.”

Thompson placed the pot over the bonfire and stuck the skewers around it.

“I like eating while watching the moon and listening to the forest sounds. Of course, while keeping watch over the forest too. If you’re uncomfortable outside, you’re welcome to wait inside.”

“We’ll wait here too.”

I plopped down in front of the bonfire.

Hilde also knelt down beside me.

“You can sit more comfortably. Your legs will cramp like that.”

“Ah, well…”

Hilde awkwardly unfolded her legs and sat cross-legged.

“We’ll need to get more of that noble out of you.”

“Ugh…”

“Just kidding.”

We finished hunting a Beast together and now we’re sharing a meal.

It should be fine to treat her more casually now, not as a noble or apprentice hunter, but as a proper companion.

As Thompson said, we waited leisurely while watching the moon and listening to the forest sounds before eating the food he prepared.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“It was delicious.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. But… are you leaving now? It’s quite late, and the horses are sleeping too.”

“Then we’ll stay for the night.”

“Oh, is that alright?”

“It’s fine. Helping hunters who enter the forest is part of my job too. Though it doesn’t happen often.”

Thompson is officially a forest keeper employed by the Hunting Order.

“Um, what about bathing…?”

Hilde asked hopefully.

“What? Ah… there’s a stream at the end of that path over there.”

“…And?”

“He means wash in the river if you want to clean up.”

I spread out the blanket I had prepared on the ground.

Camping is common for hunters.

“Wa-wash in the river? Won’t it be cold?”

“Haha…”

Thompson scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“I’ve heard nobles bathe in warm water, but there’s nothing like a bathhouse here.”

“That’s how hunters live… no, anyone who works outdoors lives like this.”

“Would you like to sleep inside my cabin?”

Thompson asked Hilde.

“Well, that’s…”

She thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“I appreciate the offer but I’ll decline. I’m a proper hunter now too.”

“I see…”

He turned to me again.

“That one’s a real hunter too. Just not used to it yet.”

“I understand.”

Thompson returned with our backpacks after taking away the empty bowls.

“I’ll return your luggage now. Have a good night.”

After he left, only I and Hilde remained in the yard in front of the cabin, with just the bonfire burning warmly under the night sky.

“Your things are in the backpack too, so take them out and spread them.”

“Yes.”

Hilde also spread her blanket on the ground and lay down.

“Ugh, I should have brought a proper blanket.”

“…Is it hard?”

“Yes. The ground is so hard…”

“No, I mean that too, but. The Beast hunting.”

“…Yes. It was really hard.”

“Do you regret becoming a hunter?”

“No. I absolutely don’t regret that. Rather, as hard as it was… how should I put it… I feel like I’m doing something right.”

“That’s good then… If anything’s difficult, you can always tell me. I’m your senior after all.”

“Yes… Senior…”

Hilde must have been very tired, as she quickly fell asleep.

“…Senior, huh.”

I also looked at the night sky for a while before falling asleep.