Dark Fantasy’s Extra

A girl with bandages wrapped tightly around her face lay in a hospital bed.

“Time to change your bandages.”

The boy approached and spoke to her.

But the girl couldn’t even nod, only letting out a faint moan.

The boy unwrapped her bandages with practiced movements.

As the bandages came off, a horrible smell instantly filled the small, cramped hospital room.

But the boy didn’t even wrinkle his face.

“This might sting a bit.”

The boy held the girl’s hand with one hand, while carefully applying ointment made from crushed herbs to her face with the other.

Besides the ointment, sticky and horrible discharge and pus coated his fingers.

“…”

The girl moaned again.

“Ah, sorry. Did that hurt?”

It did hurt.

But it wasn’t unpleasant.

If she could move her head, she would have shaken it to say it didn’t hurt.

If she could move her mouth, she would have smiled and said it was fine.

If sound could come from her throat, she would have said thank you.

But for her, who couldn’t even blink without eyelids, the only thing she could do was look at that boy.

And even that time wasn’t very long.

“There, all done. Thanks for bearing with it. I’ll be more careful next time.”

The boy said this and let go of her hand.

The warmth receded.

One of today’s few joys had already ended.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Sorry. I couldn’t get new bandages today, so I washed the ones we used before. Please bear with these for now. I’ll try to get new ones somehow soon. When I go downtown later, I’ll buy lots to keep in stock.”

The boy wrapped the bandages tightly around the girl’s face again.

He wrapped them carefully and meticulously to avoid touching the eyeballs of the girl who had no eyelids.

Soon, familiar darkness enveloped the girl.

“They’re holding a festival tomorrow. I heard they caught three mid-tier Beasts. So I need to go help with the festival preparations.”

The boy shared stories of the outside world with the girl for a while.

It was the only time the girl could connect with the world.

“Someday, I want to leave the Hunting Order and live quietly. If I survive until retirement, that is. Without having to worry about Beasts…”

Sephira had harbored the same wish.

*    *    *

“I sensed your presence during the search and came.”

Sephira said.

Search?

Well, zombie beasts had appeared en masse within the Order territory and attacked the Grimm family’s daughter.

The Order must be in emergency mode, and they probably organized a large investigation team to determine the cause.

But when I looked down from above earlier, I hadn’t sensed any human presence.

Are they still far away?

“My, how surprising. How did you find us already? I thought the search would start tomorrow at the earliest.”

Blanc maintained a relaxed demeanor even before Sephira, a 3rd-rank hunter.

Objectively speaking, the current Sephira was no match for Blanc.

It would take someone at least at Crowty’s level.

But what’s this about the search starting tomorrow?

Come to think of it, how long was I unconscious?

“It’s an emergency situation. After taking the Grimm young lady’s statement, I came ahead alone. Fortunately, I found a survivor.”

“But meeting me isn’t exactly fortunate, is it?”

Blanc licked her lips.

The atmosphere wasn’t of facing an enemy, but clearly of looking at prey.

“It’s impossible for you to defeat me.”

“But making that hunter escape might be possible.”

“I’m fine! Lady Sephira, you should return to headquarters and report this Beast’s existence!”

Right now, having Sephira here only makes things more complicated.

“Huahahaha! Really, from start to finish, you say nothing but things I like!”

Blanc laughed loudly.

“That guy’s right. You seem like a decent enough hunter for the Order, it’d be a waste for you to die in a place like this. Wouldn’t the right answer be to cut your losses with that low-ranking hunter and run away to tell that unpleasant woman?”

“…If I can’t save even one person before me from a Beast, I have no right to be this sword’s wielder.”

White energy rippled from Sephira’s sword.

“That sounds nice, but somehow it doesn’t seem like your true feelings?”

Blanc tilted her head.

“A Beast like you wouldn’t understand.”

Sephira swung her sword wide, sending a white blade of energy at Blanc.

When the energy blade hit Blanc, a massive explosion occurred.

“Use this chance to escape.”

“Ugh…!”

I had no choice but to turn and run.

With their fight beginning, it would be impossible for me to intervene unless there was a significant opening.

*    *    *

“…He ran away.”

Blanc said coldly.

“I expected something a bit more impressive. It’s unsightly at the end.”

Though hit by Sephira’s energy blade, she appeared completely unharmed.

“To betray expectations like that, it hurts my heart…”

Before the smoke could clear, Sephira charged at Blanc, swinging her sword.

“And of all things, a woman with this unpleasant sword had to interfere.”

But Blanc caught the sword easily.

“Ugh…!”

Sephira applied force, but Blanc’s arm holding the sword only trembled slightly, and she couldn’t push it back.

“This is boring. I’ll go kill that guy first and come back.”

“That guy…”

“Hm?”

“You mean the hunter who just escaped…?”

Blanc started getting pushed back.

“…What about it?”

Along with Blanc’s response, Sephira sent her flying.

“You… I absolutely won’t let you…!”

Sephira’s cold eyes blazed.

The energy flowing from her sword enveloped her, forming a giant skeletal shape.

“…Aha. Now I get it.”

Blanc got up, dusting off the dirt from where she had landed.

Her face wore the expression of a child who had found something interesting.

“You, Eugene…”

“Don’t dare speak that name with your beast’s mouth!”

When Sephira swung her sword, the skeletal form swung its arm as well.

Blanc blocked with her arm but was sent flying in an instant.

“That person, I will protect him…!”

But immediately a huge tree came flying at Sephira.

She hastily swung her sword to cut the tree in half, but Blanc, who had been hiding behind it, leaped up and kicked Sephira’s head.

“Protect? Who are you protecting?”

Blanc spoke while looking down at Sephira, who had helplessly gone flying and rolled on the ground.

“I told you, didn’t I? It’s impossible for you to defeat me.”

“Urgh…”

As Sephira tried to stand up unsteadily, Blanc had already approached and kicked her again.

“It was good that you stepped up boldly. I had some expectations for you at first too.”

“Ex… expectations?”

Sephira turned her head painfully to speak.

“Yes. For the sake of a mere low-ranking hunter, standing up to a strong Beast like me – what a brave hero! How magnificent?”

Blanc walked toward Sephira.

“What…”

“You see, I like people like that.”

Then she crouched in front of Sephira, grabbed her hair, and brought her face close.

“I want to see such heroic humans. However…”

Blanc stroked Sephira’s chin before letting go.

“…I’m not very interested in someone who acts with such impure motives. A woman clinging to a man, you probably couldn’t even confess, right? No, it seems you weren’t even acquainted to begin with. Is it just one-sided love on your part?”

“Sh… shut up…”

Sephira’s face twisted more than ever before.

It wasn’t from pain, but pure rage.

“My, did I hit a nerve?”

Blanc grinned.

“I’ll tell you some good news. I won’t kill you right now.”

She grabbed Sephira’s neck and lifted her up.

“First, I’ll kill that cowardly, filthy piece of trash who betrayed my expectations and ran away.”

“…!”

“And just before he dies, I’ll whisper in his ear. That pathetic woman who protected him actually…”

“…!!!”

“Ahahaha!”

When Sephira tried to struggle violently, Blanc laughed loudly.

At the same time, a blade with a faint green tinge pierced through Blanc’s stomach.

“…Huh?”

Blanc coughed up blood and collapsed.

*    *    *

I didn’t pull the mithril glaive back out of Blanc’s body.

It would probably cause more damage if it stayed embedded.

Of course, I don’t expect this alone to kill a behemoth.

I aimed for her soft belly since I wasn’t confident in piercing or cutting through bone anyway.

“Haa, haa… La-Lady Sephira… Are you alright…?”

I looked toward Sephira while catching my breath.

I felt dizzy from using magical power right up to the limit to suppress my presence while holding the magical power-consuming mithril glaive.

“Eu… Eugene…?”

“Haa… Ta-Take my hand… Urgh…!?”

Suddenly my neck was grabbed from behind and my body was lifted helplessly.

“Ha, haha, ahahaha…”

I heard Blanc’s laughter.

I expected it wouldn’t cause much damage, but to get up already…

“Sur, sur, surprising. I’m really surprised…! Ahaha… You really… were magnificent… You know?”

My throat is being squeezed, I can’t breathe…

“You even exceeded my expectations at the end. Y-yes. This is… what I wanted to see… Urgh…!”

There was a sound of metal hitting the ground.

It seems Blanc pulled out the glaive from her stomach and threw it down.

“Ah, that’s better now. My goodness, that really hurt. That shocking feeling, you know? It’s been so long since I felt something like this…”

Blanc’s voice wasn’t just normal, it was ecstatic.

But even that voice grew more distant.

Can’t breathe… Consciousness…

Just before completely losing consciousness, I pulled out a smoke bomb from my pocket with my left hand and set it off.

And simultaneously drew a dagger with my right hand and struck at Blanc’s arm.

But the dagger didn’t pierce her arm and bounced off helplessly.

Still, Blanc’s hand released me.

“Ah, sorry. I forgot that if you hold weak humans too long, they go bad.”

Not because of my resistance, but just because she remembered something she’d forgotten…

The difference really is hopeless.

But I can’t show it.

In this situation, I had to resist her with everything I could possibly muster.

Blanc is a crazy Beast obsessed with people’s heroic appearances.

While ‘heroic appearance’ is quite abstract, after playing Blue Paper Moon repeatedly, I came to understand somewhat what she considers heroic.

My blatantly ignoring her, finding weapons in the cave and coming back, and resisting with all my might like now – it was all to fulfill her ideal image of a hero.

Blanc sets expectations for people as she pleases, and kills them if they deviate from her expectations.

To survive, I had no choice but to act ruthlessly toward her.

It’s completely selfish and can only be called madness, but it was probably that madness that let her overcome the Beast’s curse and reach behemoth status.

While gasping for breath, I barely managed to reach into my chest and pull out a pistol to shoot at Blanc.

Six gunshots tore through the forest’s silence.

And when I pulled the trigger again, only clicking sounds could be heard.

“…”

All six silver bullets were caught in Blanc’s hand.

Blanc smiled at me as she showily dropped the caught bullets to the ground.

Damn it.

I pulled out the rifle from my back.

Blanc waited quietly until the muzzle was pointed at her.

“Hey, will shooting that change anything?”

Blanc asked in a cheerful tone.

“Shut up.”

I aimed at her face and fired.

For a moment Blanc’s head tilted back.

Could it be…?

“…Hee.”

When Blanc lowered her head again, a glinting silver bullet could be seen between her teeth.

She crushed it with her teeth and spat it to the ground.

“I’ve had enough fun for today. Those annoying ones will be here soon, right? Good job buying time, Mr. Hunter. Let’s meet again.”

Blanc instantly leaped up the hill and disappeared beyond it.

“…Damn it.”

I stared at the hill where she disappeared for a moment before turning around.

“…”

Sephira was still sitting there looking up at me.

“Let’s get up, Lady Sephira.”

I reached my hand out to Sephira.

She tried to grab it with a trembling hand.

“Over there!”

At that moment, hearing people’s presence and voices, I turned my head in that direction.

The advance party from the Order headquarters’ investigation team?

“Ah, Lady Sephira. People are…”

When I looked back at her, she had already gotten up on her own somehow.

Her face had returned to its usual cold expression.

“…The mission is over.”

She said in a monotone.

Over.

At those words, I collapsed as the tension left me.

We received emergency treatment and were immediately transported to headquarters.

But our destination wasn’t the infirmary, it was the Heresy Inquisition Department.