Rumors have been spreading lately about a white monster in the back alleys of the Central Empire that devours people.

Of course, it’s not something to dismiss as mere gossip.
Many have died or gone missing there.

Some claim they saw the monster.
Others scream about something with red eyes staring at them.

Whether it’s true or just exaggerated rumors, there’s no way to know for sure.

‘Is it the work of a beast?’

Perhaps it’s tied to a sizable criminal organization, thought the man standing at the alley’s entrance.
Either way, an investigation was necessary.

His name was Leon, a knight tasked with investigating the disappearances in this area.

Before entering the rumored alley, he stood at the entrance, waiting.

It’s standard for the knight order to patrol in pairs.

Soon, his junior knight would arrive.
For now, he decided to wait and pulled a notebook from his pocket.

It contained his records of investigating the back alleys.

Despite a week of patrolling, the rumored monster hadn’t been sighted.

If something was hiding in these alleys, there should be traces.
Yet, no sign of a white beast could be found.

But people had died here.

Blackened bloodstains were found on the walls and floors of the collapsed ruins.
Tests confirmed they matched the missing persons.

Leon felt his head grow heavy as he reviewed his notes.
It was as if victims existed, but no perpetrator.

Bloodstains were present, but no bodies.
Following the blood trails led only to abrupt ends, as if someone had deliberately erased them.

The victims’ traces were clear, but nothing else remained.

Could it be intelligent, erasing only its own tracks?
He didn’t rule out the possibility of a mutated beast.

“Hey…”

“…?”

“What are you doing there?”

A delicate voice reached his ears.

Leon turned toward the sound.
A woman stood there, her skin so pale it seemed almost translucent.

‘I didn’t sense her presence.’

He tensed slightly, eyeing the woman.

Her long silver hair reached her waist, and her red eyes glinted faintly in the dark.

She had an almost mystical aura.
Leon didn’t let his guard down.

“Who are you? Why are you here at this hour?”

He asked, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

The area was restricted to civilians during patrol duties.
She likely wasn’t an ordinary person.

But her response was completely unexpected.
With an expressionless face, she said,

“I live here.”

Leon grew more cautious.

“You… live in this alley?”

She nodded.
Leon’s expression grew more complicated.

“This place is uninhabitable.
A year ago, a beast attack destroyed the buildings, and the lingering miasma hasn’t faded.”

“But it’s true.”

“I can’t believe that. State your identity.”

“Identity…”

She lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought.
Up close, despite her pale skin, she was strikingly beautiful.

Her sharp red eyes gave off a piercing aura, but her face was so lovely it could captivate a nation.

If he’d met her elsewhere, he’d have assumed she was nobility.

As she hesitated, Leon observed her closely.

She wore a white shirt, as pale as her hair, and a contrasting black skirt.
The outfit seemed familiar.

He asked cautiously,

“That uniform… Are you a student at the Academy?”

The white woman nodded silently.
Leon relaxed his guard slightly.

Perhaps she was here for the courage test popular among students.
She didn’t seem like a threat.

He sighed, frowning as if ready to scold her.

“I won’t hold you accountable for ignoring the knight order’s restrictions.
Leave immediately.”

“…”

She stood still, blinking her red eyes.
Her gaze, illuminated by moonlight, was beautiful yet chillingly empty, making it hard for Leon to meet her eyes.

Unfazed, she pointed in one direction.

“I saw someone in the same uniform as you rushing that way.”

It was the dark alley where the monster was said to lurk.

Had his junior knight ignored orders and gone ahead?
But why?

His junior wasn’t reckless enough to disobey without reason.
If the silver-haired woman spoke the truth, there had to be a cause.

But.

“…”

He didn’t know.

Lost in thought, Leon couldn’t make sense of it.

“It was a female knight with red hair.”

The silver-haired woman said.

It matched his junior knight’s description.

“When she arrived, a young boy was being dragged away by a monster.
She saw it and ran in.”

“How do you know that!”

Leon shouted.

He seemed to want to say, how could he believe her?

Indeed, his junior would act that way.
If a real monster in the alley was abducting citizens, her story made sense.

Her words weren’t entirely implausible.

But.

“How can I trust you?”

That made it all the more suspicious.

Leon couldn’t believe her.
She was a stranger, and she hadn’t clearly answered his questions about her identity.

Her behavior seemed to lure him into the alley, which was suspicious.

Above all, her silver hair and red eyes matched too closely with descriptions of the alley’s monster.

Leon suppressed his rising anger and asked as calmly as he could,

“Answer me. What are you? Why are you here?”

He didn’t expect a response.
She’d likely dodge or stay silent again.

Was she the monster?
Perhaps claiming to be an Academy student was a ruse.

With a sharp sound, Leon drew his sword.

He pointed the silver blade at her, breathing heavily.
He was in a state of extreme tension.

If she was the monster, she could attack at any moment.

But Leon hesitated, sword raised.

He said he didn’t trust her, yet he was shaken.

He was torn.
Suspicious as she was, her story seemed plausible.

If she was telling the truth, he had no time to waste.
His junior could be fighting for her life in the darkness beyond.

So Leon stood there, glancing between the alley and the woman.

As a seasoned knight, he chose to assess the situation.

And then.

–Aaaagh!!

A piercing scream erupted from deep within the alley.

It was a familiar voice.
Of course—it was his junior knight’s.

–Leon, Senior Leon!! Argh! Help, please help me!!

It was beyond desperate, almost pitiful.
His heart sank.
Sweat drenched his forehead, and his sword hand trembled visibly.

“Don’t you need to go?”

The silver-haired woman turned toward the alley and asked.

Beyond, where no light reached, it was too dark to see anything.
Leon looked too, but saw nothing.

He had no way of knowing what was happening.

So he took a step, then another, toward the alley.

To see what lay beyond, he moved forward, as if entranced.

As he reached the alley’s entrance, he faintly saw his junior knight.

Covered in blood, she looked terrified, as if fleeing something.

‘I have to save her.’

That was his only thought.

Leon gripped his sword tightly and plunged into the darkness.

Like a moth to a flame, foolish and reckless, yet somehow desperate.

“…”

Someone watched it all from start to finish.

Her name was Iria.

A monster of the back alleys, luring humans with her red eyes, showing illusions, or drawing them in with hallucinations.

Beyond the alley where Leon ran, there was nothing.

From beginning to end, it was an illusion Iria crafted from his memories.

As if accustomed to this, she followed her trapped prey into the darkness.

‘A knight tonight, huh.’

On that dawn, under a clear full moon, another victim fell in the same alley.