In the back alley of the Central Empire, a white monster that eats humans has been spotted. It’s a recent rumor.
Of course, it wasn’t something that could be brushed off as mere gossip. Many people have actually died or gone missing there.
Some have claimed to have seen the monster, while others screamed about something with red eyes watching them.
Whether it’s the truth or just an exaggerated rumor is hard to determine.
“Is it the work of a monster?”
The man standing at the entrance of the alley wondered if it might be linked to a sizable criminal organization. Regardless, an investigation was necessary in any case.
His name is Leon. He is a knight assigned to investigate the local missing persons cases.
Before entering the rumored alley, he waited at the entrance.
According to the Knights Order’s principle, it is typical to go on patrol in pairs.
Soon, his junior knight was expected to arrive. So, he decided to wait for a bit and pulled out a notebook from his pocket.
It contained the records of inquiries he had made about the back alley.
It had been nearly a week since he took on the patrol mission, but the rumored monster had yet to be sighted.
If it were hiding somewhere in the alley, there should have been some trace of it, but he found no evidence of the white beast.
However, people had died there.
Stains of dried blood were found on the walls and floor of the collapsed wreckage, matching those of the missing persons.
As Leon organized the information, he felt his head growing busier. It was as if the victims existed, but the assailants did not.
There were bloodstains, but no corpses to be found. Following the victims’ blood trails felt like someone intentionally erased every trace, leaving only severed remnants.
There clearly were signs of the victims, but nothing beyond that.
From the fact that only their traces were erased, could it indicate intelligence? He couldn’t exclude the possibility of it being a mutated monster either.
“Excuse me…?”
“…What?”
“What are you doing over there?”
A delicate voice echoed in his ear.
Leon turned to where the voice came from. There stood a woman in white. A woman whose skin was so pale, it seemed almost ghostly.
‘There’s no way I didn’t sense her coming.’
He felt a slight tension as he fixed his gaze on the woman.
The first thing that caught his attention was her long silver hair flowing down to her waist and her crimson eyes that shone even in the darkness.
She had a somewhat mystical presence. Leon remained on high alert.
“Who are you? Why are you here at this hour?”
He placed his hand on his sword sheath as he asked.
During the patrol mission, it should have been off-limits for civilians to enter. He presumed she was at least not an ordinary person.
However, the woman’s response was entirely unexpected. She spoke with a completely expressionless face.
“I… live here.”
Leon became even more vigilant.
“You mean… you live in this alley…?”
The woman confirmed that she did. Leon’s expression grew more complicated.
“This place should now be uninhabitable. About a year ago, buildings were destroyed by a monster attack, and the magical energy that hasn’t been wiped out is still trapped here.
“But that’s true.”
“I can’t believe it. Please confirm your identity.”
“Identity…?”
The woman seemed to ponder deeply, bowing her head. Up close, despite her pale skin, she was quite beautiful.
The sharp aura emanating from her vividly red eyes fit well with the saying ‘stunning beauty.’
If he had met her elsewhere, he would have certainly thought she was nobility.
While she hesitated to answer, Leon observed her keenly once more.
Her shirt was pure white, like her hair, while her black skirt contrasted sharply. Somehow, it seemed like a familiar outfit.
He decided to ask just in case.
“That outfit… Are you a student from the Academy?”
The woman in white nodded in silence. The knight lowered his guard a bit more.
Perhaps it was a kind of courage test that had been trending among students recently. Either way, he thought that she was not someone to be wary of.
The knight let out a small sigh. Frowning slightly, he appeared ready to give her a lecture.
“…I won’t hold you responsible for ignoring the Knights Order’s entry control. Please leave this place immediately.”
“…”
The woman stood still, blinking her crimson eyes. The moonlight shimmering on her red eyes was beautiful yet chillingly hollow, making it impossible for Leon to meet her gaze.
Regardless, without any change in expression, the woman pointed in one direction with her hand.
“I saw someone wearing the same outfit rush over there.”
To the depths of the dark alley. Where they say the monster appears.
Did one of his fellow patrolling knights ignore the command and head in first? But for what reason?
His junior knight was not careless enough to disobey orders and take reckless actions without a reason. If what the silver-haired woman said was true, there must have been a compelling reason.
But…
“…”
He didn’t know.
Caught in a tangle of thoughts, Leon could not come up with anything.
“It was a red-haired female knight.”
The silver-haired woman continued.
It matched the description of his junior knight.
“When she arrived, a young boy was being dragged away by a monster, and the knight jumped in.”
“How do you know this?!”
Leon shouted.
It seemed he wanted to know how he was supposed to trust her.
Certainly, if it were his junior, she would act just like that. If the monster beyond the alley existed and was luring in nearby citizens, then the silver-haired woman’s words made sense.
Considering her claims, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
However…
“…How can I trust you?”
That was why it seemed suspicious.
Leon couldn’t trust her. She was a stranger to Leon, and even when he asked her to identify herself, she hadn’t given him a clear answer.
In that situation, her actions felt somewhat like guiding Leon to walk into the alley.
Above all, her white hair and red eyes had many overlaps with the monster of the alley.
Suppressing the anger that had welled up for a moment, Leon tried to calm himself and asked as calmly as possible.
“Please answer. What are you? And what reason do you have for being here?”
His words weren’t said with the expectation of an answer. After all, she would probably avoid answering or remain silent.
Could she be a monster? Perhaps her claim of being an Academy student was just a disguise to deceive him.
Swish, Leon’s sword, which was at his waist, was drawn out.
He pointed the silver blade at the woman and breathed heavily. He was in an extreme state of tension.
If the woman before him were a monster, she could attack him at any moment.
However, Leon hesitated while keeping his sword aimed at her.
Though he claimed he didn’t trust her, he showed signs of being unsettled.
He was caught between doubt and possibility. Despite his suspicion toward the woman before him, he couldn’t ignore that it was plausible.
If her words were true, he had no time to be in this position. His junior knight might be in a life-and-death struggle in the darkness ahead.
So, Leon stood still for a moment, glancing between the alley and the woman.
As a skilled member of the Knights Order, he chose to observe the situation first.
And then—
Screeeaam!!
A scream rang out from deep inside the alley, piercing his ears.
It was a familiar voice. It was, of course, the voice of his junior knight.
“Le-Leon-senpai!! Aah! Please save me!!”
The sound was almost pitiful in its desperation. In an instant, it felt like his heart sank. Cold sweat poured down Leon’s forehead, and he could see his hand trembling from gripping the sword.
“Can we not go?”
The silver-haired woman turned her head, looking toward the alley as she asked.
The light wasn’t able to penetrate the depths beyond, and it was so dark that nothing could be seen. Leon was also looking in that direction but saw nothing.
He had no way of knowing what was happening beyond there.
Thus, he took a step, then another step toward the alley.
To see what lay beyond, he moved forward almost as if entranced.
When Leon arrived at the entrance of the alley, the figure of his junior knight faintly came into view.
Covered in blood, she appeared terrified, as if frightened of something.
‘I must save her.’
That thought consumed him.
Leon positioned his sword and leaped into the darkness beyond.
Like a foolish bug flying toward a flame, he seemed desperate yet reckless.
And—
“…”
Someone had been watching that scene from beginning to end.
Her name was Iria.
A back alley monster who lures humans with illusions or echoes using her red eyes.
Beyond the alley where Leon had dived in, there was nothing at all.
From start to finish, it was merely an illusion that Iria projected by reading his memories.
With the grace of familiarity, she followed her caught prey, stepping into the darkness.
‘Just a knight today, huh.’
On that clear night of the full moon, yet another victim was added in that same back alley.
