Humans don’t eat human blood.
Humans aren’t tough enough to not get a scratch if they roll down the back hill.
Humans can’t regenerate their wounds in an instant.
Humans have uniform teeth. Either they have sharp fangs, or they don’t.
Humans are…
“………”
Then what am I?
It took a good while for me to realize, after falling into the Unknown World, that I wasn’t human.
Even in my long contemplation, rumors spread.
The homeless and the trash called the mysterious being that killed criminals the Back Alley Monster.
Am I a monster that isn’t human?
I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t.
After accepting that I was a monster, I no longer hid in the back alleys.
Because a monster that eats humans is stronger than humans.
After some time in this world, I realized that there was no being that could harm me in this street.
Once I knew I was stronger, I wasn’t scared of the surroundings anymore.
Fear was the first emotion I lost.
*
Drenched in shabby clothes, I wandered aimlessly down a muddy street.
It was a rainy day.
The feeling of stepping on the trash and filth stuck to the ground with bare feet was horrendous.
It was soft and slippery underfoot. I was walking while enduring the rising disgust.
Shwaaa.
Droplets falling washed the blood off my body. The blood on my hands and the corners of my mouth.
Wondering if my red eyes were stained with blood, I gathered rainwater to wash them, but this wouldn’t wash off.
It seems my eyes were originally red.
Puddles formed in the sunken ground, reflecting my figure.
Silver hair and red eyes.
In a world where hair colors varied, I stood out strangely.
My name is Iria. Age unknown. Origin and past unknown.
I read the reflection of my memory in the puddle.
Truly, aside from my name, I had nothing left of my hollow shell. And I was just an unfortunate human trapped in an unknown shell.
What was my name in my past life?
“………”
I can’t remember.
Just a little while ago, I was sure I knew it clearly; now, trying to recall it makes my head feel foggy.
I could no longer walk and sank down where I stood.
I hadn’t slept and wandered the day away. Aimlessly in the back alley.
But I couldn’t find Riana. Maybe she wasn’t in the back alley.
Maybe she intentionally avoided me.
I don’t know anymore.
How to live, what I am.
Why I fell into this place, what this world expects from me.
The girl who taught me how to survive ran away, leaving me behind.
In the end, I was left alone again, watching the world go by.
Everyone is desperate to live.
The homeless who survive by eating trash, or the normal humans outside the Empire.
A stark contrast to my current self.
Time continues to flow in this world even if I disappear. In this unfolded world, I have taken no role.
How should I put it…
I feel detached from this world.
Until not long ago, it was fine because there were two of us, but now that’s not the case.
“Ugh.”
Funny enough, what I felt now was nothing but hunger.
It’s been three days since the incident happened.
My monster body feels hunger less frequently than a human, but I haven’t touched a drop of blood in three days.
Is this a sensation close to instinct?
I wanted to eat a person. I wanted to kill. I wanted to sink my sharp teeth into a human’s neck.
At this point, I had to admit it, even if I didn’t like it.
I was a monster.
As a monster, I had no right to resent Riana for running away.
If she’s the age of a girl in that situation, her reaction is natural. It’s probably me who killed everyone there.
My memories are vague, but Riana must have witnessed all of it.
The scene of Iria, the monster, tearing living humans apart.
If I owe an apology, shouldn’t it be me who should apologize?
I was lost in thought.
Feeling the thirst for blood, I stood up.
I didn’t want to kill humans, but I wanted to. I walked somewhere, feeling this contradictory feeling.
Again, there was no destination.
I would walk until I found something out.
Because that’s all this monster knew how to do.
As I walked through the back alley, I bit the neck of a human who tried to harm me.
Maybe because my appearance was peculiar, attempts at crime against me in the back alley were more frequent than expected. Mostly of a sexual nature.
If it were any other time, I would have desperately fled, but knowing I was stronger made me feel there was no reason to run away.
If this world is one of survival of the fittest, then I was the predator, and that man was the prey. It is my role to eat, not the other way around.
Biting into a human’s neck and sucking their blood felt better than I imagined.
The sweet taste of blood spread through my mouth. Just putting it in my mouth felt good, but swallowing it felt like an overwhelming satisfaction flooded my entire being.
Honestly, it felt great, to the point I was scared I’d get addicted.
If I had to pick, it might have been the best sensation since falling into this world. The problem was that the means of experiencing this sensation was murder.
“Hmm…”
I pulled my teeth out. Blood was dripping from my mouth again.
I killed another person.
This time, it was a decision I made, not an accident.
I don’t know if it was a rational judgment. Back then, I could say I was rational because I was so extremely hungry.
I filled my hunger and slowly regained my fading rationality.
I felt guilt wash over me.
It wasn’t about having feelings towards that man; he was someone I could kill.
No, the guilt came from the fact that I, who was once human, killed a human.
In the back alleys of the Central Empire, a monster that eats humans appears.
And that monster is me.
Do I have to live this way going forward? If so, this is a terrible existence.
My blood-stained hands trembled. Eventually, they too disappeared into the rain.
For a murderer, rainy weather isn’t so bad. It conveniently washes away traces on its own.
If only the scars engraved in my heart could be washed away too. Maybe that was too much to expect from mere falling rain.
I don’t know.
Falling into the Unknown World, I still knew far more than I didn’t know.
But even so, I decided to live on.
This life disgusts me, yet I am afraid of dying.
I chose to live in this world as a monster.
*
There’s no space for monsters. The Central Empire is a city where humans live.
But still, I wanted to sleep. Somewhere with a roof to escape the rain.
Was that too much to ask?
This might be how I repay the karma of killing someone.
In the end, I lay on the street and closed my eyes. I felt I would have nightmares tonight.
“Cough, cough! S-stop···!”
“What a cocky little brat! Dare to steal?!”
As I lay with my eyes closed, I turned my body at the sound of someone’s voice.
A woman’s voice, and a man’s voice, sounding angry.
“Help, please!”
“You’ve already stolen enough to pay for the bread! You garbage, if you don’t have money, you should sell your body to pay it back!”
The street was my home, but now, their voices were too loud for me to sleep.
Curious about what was happening, I decided to head towards the sound.
Thud, thud.
I walked towards the noise.
A girl with pink hair was being held by a large man, screaming.
Looking closer, it was Riana.
She had lived in the back alley longer than I had and had grown up here, still surviving by stealing.
Since she couldn’t have a proper job, stealing was the only way for her to survive.
“………”
This world isn’t just unfriendly to monsters, it seems.
I found the person I was looking for. I had a lot to say if we met again.
Should I intervene?
I hesitated a bit, but knowing I would regret losing her this time, I took a step forward.
I walked a bit further down the dark alley and revealed myself in front of the two.
As I got closer, they sensed my presence. Their gazes turned towards me.
Riana’s expression changed dramatically when she looked at me.
Her pupils shook as if she doubted whether she was seeing right.
Then, slowly, she opened her mouth.
The trembling words seemed to have difficulty holding back.
“Y-…Iria? W-what are you doing here…”
“Who are you?”
Our reunion after the incident didn’t go well.
