Dark Fantasy’s Extra

I blocked Dara’s claws with the Raven Dagger.

But Dara pinned down my hand holding the dagger and pressed hard.

“Ugh…”

It felt like my hand was being crushed.

Having poured all my magical power into [Acceleration], I couldn’t reinforce my arms.

I saw Dara raising his head to strike mine.

I had no strength or magical power left to push him off while he pressed down on me so heavily.

If my head gets hit directly by that shell mask, my skull will shatter completely.

I saw a stick protruding beside his head.

It was the shaft of the Mermaid Hunter that had pierced through his arm.

Without time to think, I shot his pierced arm with the pistol in my other hand.

“Arghhhh!”

Though Dara screamed, he still struck the pistol in my hand with his other arm.

The gun shattered like glass, badly cutting my hand in the process.

But it created a perfect opening.

I squeezed out every last bit of my remaining magical power and strength to lift my body and push him off, pinning him down instead.

Then I pressed the dagger’s tip against his exposed neck between the breastplate and mask.

“Call back your troops right now!”

We couldn’t possibly handle all the Deep Sea Folk soldiers spreading throughout the city.

To minimize casualties, we needed their commander to call them back.

“Ha, haha… I lost… To such a weak hunter at that…”

Dara said.

“Yes, you lost. Now call back your troops…!”

“Just as you serve the White Witch…”

Dara’s demeanor became unsettling.

“I too… serve Little Mermaid.”

“What?”

“Long live… Little Mermaid.”

Dara pushed his neck against my dagger himself.

Deep Sea Folk bodies are hard.

I felt that hard flesh piercing into the blade and the lukewarm wetness of blood transmitting through my hand.

The yellow flames burning in the eye holes of his shell mask went out.

The enemy commander was dead.

So… did we win?

“…”

A brief silence followed.

But soon I heard the surrounding sounds again.

Hilde was still fighting.

She had bought me time to duel Dara one-on-one by holding off the elite Deep Sea Folk trying to reach here.

And gunshots continued to ring out.

The guards were also fighting together against the scattered Deep Sea Folk.

And from further away came screams.

The screams of citizens being killed by monsters spread throughout the city.

“Damn it…”

I stood up.

My legs were numb, and my waist felt frozen in a bent position.

My shoulders were so stiff I could barely straighten them with my arms hanging limp.

It wasn’t over yet.

And then I collapsed again.

Everything went black before my eyes.

“Senior!”

I heard Hilde’s voice.

But all sounds grew distant again.

I could barely smell the metallic scent of blood and dust in the air through my nose.

But even that lasted only a moment before a cold winter wind blew in, covering all the filth.

*    *    *

A blood-soaked man was running while holding a small girl in his arms.

The scaled monsters that suddenly invaded had attacked his home, and his wife died without even leaving last words.

Now all he had left was his one daughter.

But even that daughter was spilling hot red fluid from holes in her mouth and stomach.

He could feel the small life in his arms growing colder.

He needed to find a doctor.

Anywhere safe would do, he just needed a doctor…

And all thoughts vanished with the foreign sensation in his thigh and shifting view.

He tried to hold onto his fading consciousness to see everything clearly.

The same spear that had pierced his wife’s neck had now pierced through his thigh.

Though the intense pain followed, the emptiness felt in his arms hit harder.

When he frantically looked around, he saw his daughter collapsed ahead.

Red was spreading across the gray stone ground around her.

The monsters approached him.

“Please! At least spare that child!”

He shouted.

But the monsters ignored him and approached the girl.

With spears dripping red blood at their tips.

“No! Please! Don’t go!”

His cries faded futilely.

The monsters surrounding his daughter raised their spears to strike down.

Where were the guards?

What were the humans who should protect the city doing?

Where were the hunters?

Those who took all sorts of privileges and money claiming they kill monsters, where were they when help was desperately needed?

Would his desperate wish for anyone – god, demon, anything – to save them reach someone?

“It’s alright.”

A beautiful voice rang out from somewhere.

It sent chills down his spine to hear such a clear, elegant voice even in this hellish situation.

No, not just because of the voice, but because a truly cold winter wind swept past him.

The monsters looked bewildered.

The spear-wielding monster stood frozen.

Its blazing yellow eyes turned to a calm purple.

Then its head was pierced by something transparent and sharp.

Everyone’s gaze turned to where the transparent spear had flown from.

Deep crimson eyes.

Elegant yet mysterious silver-blue bob cut hair.

Skin white as snow-covered winter fields.

A beautiful woman who seemed detached from this world.

A bizarrely out of place being stood there.

“…!!”

“…!?”

The monsters all charged at her at once.

Or rather, they tried to charge.

But they all became docile as if enchanted, their eyes turning purple, before easily dying with transparent ice spears through their heads.

The man was dazed by what happened in an instant.

But he quickly came to his senses as he remembered his daughter’s condition.

“P-please help! My daughter is severely injured! A doctor…!”

“That won’t be necessary.”

She approached the girl.

Perhaps she had some way to save dying people, just like how she killed all those monsters with mysterious power earlier?

Such thoughts barely crossed his mind before the following scene transcended such naive notions.

When she reached out her white, delicate hand to touch the girl, the child’s bleeding, dying body melted like snow.

And soon reformed into a new appearance.

“Huh?”

His daughter transformed to look exactly like that woman.

“Wh… what…”

He momentarily failed to comprehend the scene that destroyed common sense and perception.

“Your daughter has been saved.”

Snow White Margarete said.

“She has been reborn into this strong and beautiful form.”

“No, uh, no, that’s…”

He was confused.

“Have faith.”

What was once his daughter approached and caressed the cheek of what was once her father.

That sensation instantly chilled his tumultuous mind, leaving him unable to think at all.

So much that he didn’t even notice her deep crimson eyes turning purple.

“Fa…ith.”

“Yes. Faith. Father, I have been reborn as a beautiful being.”

“Reborn…”

“Not just me, but you too can become like me.”

“Me too…”

“Forget all the painful and difficult things, and be reborn as a beautiful being. It’s not the Order that saves us.”

“Y-yes. Yes. The Order didn’t save us…!”

A strange heat began rising in his blank eyes.

“M-me too. Take me too!”

“Not yet.”

“Huh?”

“Wait with everyone for my return.”

“Everyone? But…”

His wife was already dead.

“Yes. Everyone. Listen carefully.”

“…?”

He couldn’t hear anything.

“…!”

The screams of slaughter that had filled the entire city were now completely silent.

“This city will remember me. So wait together.”

“Ah…!”

A tear rolled down from his eye.

“Y-yes! I’ll wait! I’ll definitely wait, so please take me with you too!”

“Yes. Then, until we meet again. Father.”

And she disappeared with a sweet laugh.

The fact that his daughter had originally called him daddy rather than father vanished from his mind, buried beneath the deep exaltation burning in his chest.

*    *    *

I opened my eyes.

“Ugh…”

I tried to raise my upper body, but no strength entered my waist or shoulders.

“S-Senior! Are you conscious?!”

I saw Hilde in a complete mess.

“What… what happened?”

“We won!”

“Not yet… The troops spread throughout the city…”

“It’s fine.”

“What?”

“Listen carefully. There’s no more noise, everything’s peaceful.”

“Hm?”

The sounds of people dying could no longer be heard.

“Maybe they all became docile after you killed their commander.”

“…That’s impossible.”

I barely managed to raise my upper body by straining my whole body.

“That’s impossible.”

It makes no sense.

If that were the case, there would have been no reason for Dara to take his own life.

He would have resisted until the end to command his troops.

He clearly killed himself to eliminate even the small possibility of the indiscriminate attack order being cancelled.

“But it really seems the fighting is over now. Please rest first. Your body…”

As if such a fortunate thing would happen?

As if there would be such salvation in this vicious and cruel game.

“There must be… something must be wrong. We can’t let our guard down. Weapons… Arghh!?”

I tried to stand properly again, but my strength immediately gave out from the numbness and intense pain shooting through my spine to my whole body.

“Hah, hah…”

No good.

I had used magical power beyond my limits, and my muscles were not just fatigued but likely injured somewhere.

Forget walking, I could barely even stand.

“Senior, please! You mustn’t move anymore!”

Hilde grabbed my hand with a voice that seemed about to cry.

“Right. Stay still.”

Just then someone’s voice was heard.

“…!?”

I already knew that voice.

“Who…?”

Hilde turned her head curiously in that direction.

“I thought you were just a small fry, but I’ve had to reconsider a bit.”

I painfully turned my head as well.

Snow White Margarete stood there.

“Not bad at all. Thanks to you, things became easier.”

“Why… are you here?”

This makes no sense.

Why?

You appearing here now wasn’t in any scenario I knew.

“My eyes are everywhere in the world. Even I didn’t expect this attack, but… it’s definitely Rusalka. How bold of her.”

“W-who are you?”

Hilde asked.

“I’m having a conversation with my servant right now. Outsiders should stay quiet.”

Snow White met Hilde’s eyes.

That alone left Hilde frozen.

She had clearly been hit with a mental attack.

“Who’s your servant?”

“Ah, not yet. But you will be soon. Consider it an honor. Though humans like you aren’t usually my taste, I’m making an exception considering your achievements.”

“Achievements?”

“Originally I planned to step back and watch calmly too. But thanks to you quickly killing the half-fish commander, I got a chance to shine.”

“Chance?”

“Fufu…”

Snow White smiled.

I felt chills.

“A chance to make my name as the new Saintess.”

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