A day has passed since the monster attack at the Academy.
It’s the usual route back home after going to the Academy.
This is my home. I took ownership of a rundown empty house near the Back Alley.
At first, it felt a bit awkward, but now it has become as comfortable to me as the Back Alley.
I step into the dark house where not a single light source exists. I’ve still not turned on the lights. Ever since becoming a monster, I preferred the dark over the bright.
After all, these eyes of this body are specialized for seeing in dark environments. It’s a little different from humans.
Today, I bought a few more uniforms at the Academy.
The ones I used to wear… can’t be worn anymore. I was staring at the uniforms I took off yesterday. What a sight.
They were stained with the blood of humans and monsters, and were ripped to the point of being unwearable.
This isn’t something that can simply be cleaned by washing.
It’s quite bothersome having to buy new uniforms every time this happens.
Thinking back, there were quite a few things that happened yesterday.
Monsters invaded the Academy, I killed the Seed of the Demon King, failed to kill Albert, and even witnessed Ariel’s growth with my own eyes.
I felt a bit tired.
I hadn’t properly rested after returning from the Academy yesterday.
No matter how unkillable the body may be, fatigue builds up.
Right now, I felt like lying down and sleeping.
But before that, there was something I had to do.
After the Academy incident, I needed to settle what I had gained.
I began to slowly sort through my thoughts.
There were more gains from this incident than I expected. I obtained information much more useful than reading books at the Academy.
The more information I have about this world, the better. Just finding out things I didn’t know was a significant harvest.
The mastermind behind this incident is probably that woman.
Commander Seir. That was certainly her name.
I read her memories. Seir was a remnant of the Demon King’s army that survived the war.
There was an external force that turned the Empire into an enemy. I had somewhat expected it, but I was surprised by the scale being larger than I thought.
It was strong enough to not even begin comparing to the enemies I’ve fought until now.
Thinking about how there could be many like that makes the future of the Empire seem very dark.
So curiosity arose.
‘Why didn’t they attack all at once?’
If one Seir had such influence, she could have toppled the Empire altogether.
To be honest, the current military strength of the Empire isn’t that strong.
Among humans, they are certainly strong, but that’s in comparison to other beings.
If all the remnants of the Demon King’s army had invaded this time, the Empire probably would have been destroyed. The Empire lacks the strength to fend them off.
Or could it be that I’m missing something?
What was the Demon King’s army wary of that made them hesitate to engage in a full-scale war with the Empire?
I took a bit of time to think.
“Formatting?”
And then I blurted out the name of someone I’m not very familiar with.
I don’t know how strong she is. I’ve only heard of her feats in books; I’ve never seen her in person.
Is that woman really that strong? Does the Demon King’s army fear a single human?
I’ll have to meet her directly to find out. Coincidentally, I have an appointment with Albert today.
Soon, the questions will be answered.
At that point, I turned my head.
Where I turned, there were piles of golden fragments. All of them are the Fragments of the Demon King.
“······.”
What should I do with these?
I kept them, thinking I might need them later, but wouldn’t eating such a large amount leave me quite full?
I was getting hungry around now. I had consumed quite a bit of stamina in this incident.
“Hmm.”
It was when I picked up a Fragment of the Demon King.
There was definitely overwhelming power contained in the small fragment. That’s because it’s the root of making even lowly monsters into massive beasts.
Scenes of Seir losing her mind and rampaging after consuming a fragment flashed through my mind.
Do others typically go insane after consuming a fragment? Then why am I still okay?
Perhaps it’s related to the whispers I heard when I used the Demon King’s power. Maybe if one’s self-awareness is weak, they get swept away by the Demon King.
Most beings can’t accept the power of the Demon King, and their minds crumble.
But I’m just fine.
The reason is a mystery to me.
The possessed body was quite optimized for accepting the power of the Demon King.
It felt like the fragments fit within me as if they had always belonged.
Maybe I have a unique constitution.
‘If I eat this, will more memories from the past come back?’
I don’t know the principle, but the Fragments of the Demon King acted like a catalyst to awaken my forgotten memories.
If I eat this fragment now, I will have to face the phantoms of the past again.
Thinking that way made me fearful of eating it. There were no good memories for me since I fell into this world.
The phantoms of the past haunt me like a nightmare. It was true back then, and eating this would make it true now.
“······.”
Holding a Fragment of the Demon King, I briefly hesitated.
Should I eat this or not?
The hesitation didn’t last long.
If I do nothing, nothing will happen.
If I hesitate, I will only stagnate.
For the sake of the future, I had to face the past.
I understood that forgotten memories could be a clue towards the conclusion.
“······.”
I immediately popped the fragment in my mouth and swallowed it.
As expected, it wasn’t tasty at all. It was fishy, bitter, and even nauseating.
However, surprisingly, the Fragment of the Demon King tasted better than human food.
At least it didn’t make my stomach churn.
After swallowing one fragment, I laid down on the bed.
I resolved not to retreat any further.
Now it was time to face the terrifying past.
A normal Back Alley, known as Dusty Lane.
This place, overflowing with all sorts of trash and filth, was a street for the homeless.
A place teeming with beggars and criminals, it was so dangerous that even the Empire’s Knights Order didn’t patrol here.
In Dusty Lane, it wouldn’t be unusual for someone to die at any moment.
In this place, killing someone leaves no evidence, and even those who don’t kill die from various diseases and hunger.
It wouldn’t be odd at all for a body that starved to death to be found on top of a body that was stabbed to death.
This was such a place.
But even considering this, there had been a significant incident recently.
To the extent that the starving homeless, who could hardly muster the strength to speak, were all gossiping about the event.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the entire Back Alley was in an uproar.
“······Have you heard? The Gambling Den collapsed.”
“It wasn’t just that it collapsed. All the people there were reported to have been wiped out.”
The Gambling Den in Dusty Lane was managed by a sizable criminal organization.
Those who oppressed and threatened people in that place were notorious; everyone knew of them.
They were like figures of terror.
Such figures were wiped out overnight by some being. They were likely elite combatants made up of retired soldiers and mercenaries.
While it might be good in the short term to have the terrifying presence dead, the homeless in this area had to suffer under another fear.
The fact that a single individual could wipe out a criminal organization means that they had power that far surpassed those retired mercenaries.
There existed such a being in the Back Alley now.
Nothing was known about it, but the victims were certainly there.
Shrouded in mystery, terrified people called it the Back Alley Monster.
“······.”
Amidst the bustling commotion of the Back Alley, there was a girl walking.
She passes through the center of the rumors. Does she know that the topic of conversation among those gathered is her?
To cut to the chase, she did know.
The girl with silver hair, exhibiting extreme anxiety, covered her ears to block out the rumors she didn’t want to hear.
Desperately covering her blood-stained hands and mouth, she was headed somewhere.
She was searching for another girl who had fled, leaving her behind.
Iria’s memories of that day were hazy. She had only briefly lost consciousness, and when she opened her eyes again, all the people around her were dead.
There was a misunderstanding.
She had to clarify that she wasn’t the one responsible, that the events of that day were just an accident.
But she couldn’t find her.
Iria couldn’t locate her.
“I-I didn’t do that…”
Why is she running away?
It should be her that wants to escape reality the most.
“Please…”
Why is she crying?
It should be her that wants to deny reality the most.
“······.”
Iria was in a hell known as the Back Alley.
