I Became a Murderer in the Academy.

In the back alleys of the Central Empire, there’s a rumor of a white monster that eats people.

It’s a recent rumor that’s been circulating.

Of course, it wasn’t something to be dismissed as just a rumor.

Many people have actually died and gone missing there.

Some testified to seeing a monster there, while others screamed that something with red eyes had seen them.

There was no way to know whether it was true or just an exaggerated rumor.

‘Is it the work of a demon?’

The man standing at the alley’s entrance thought it might be related to a fairly large criminal organization.

Of course, either way, an investigation was necessary.

His name was Leon, a knight in charge of investigating the recent disappearances in the area.

Before entering the rumored alley, he stood at the entrance and waited.

It’s a general rule for knights to patrol in pairs of two.

Soon, Leon’s junior was expected to arrive here.

So, while waiting, he took out a notebook from his pocket.

It contained the diary of his investigations in the back alley so far.

He opened it and organized everything he had investigated so far.

Even after almost a week of being assigned to patrol duty, the rumored monster had not been sighted.

If it was hiding somewhere in the back alley, there should be some trace, but no signs of a white beast could be found.

But people had died there.

Black, dried bloodstains were found on the walls and floors of the collapsed debris, and investigations confirmed they matched those of missing persons.

Leon felt his head becoming complicated as he organized the information.

It was as if the victims existed, but the perpetrator did not.

There were bloodstains, but no bodies anywhere.

Even when following the victim’s blood trail, it would suddenly stop as if someone had deliberately erased it.

The traces of human victims were clearly left, but nothing else.

Does the fact that it only erased its own traces mean it has intelligence?

He didn’t rule out the possibility of it being a mutant demon.

“Excuse me…”

“…?”

“What are you doing?”

A delicate voice rang in his ears.

Leon turned his head towards the direction of the voice.

There stood a white woman.

A woman whose skin was so white it looked pale beyond just being fair.

‘I’m sure I didn’t sense any presence.’

He tensed slightly and observed the woman before him.

The first things that stood out were her silver hair that fell to her waist and her red eyes that glowed faintly even in the darkness.

She gave off a somewhat mysterious impression.

Leon remained on guard until the end.

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

He asked, moving his hand to his sword hilt.

Entry for civilians should have been restricted during the patrol period.

He judged that she was at least not an ordinary civilian.

However, the words that came from the woman’s mouth were completely unexpected.

She said with a face that showed no change in expression:

“…I live here.”

Leon became even more wary.

“Here… You’re saying you live in this alley…?”

The woman answered that she did.

Leon’s expression became even more complex.

“This place should be uninhabitable now. About a year ago, buildings collapsed due to a demon attack, and the lingering demonic energy still hasn’t dissipated.”

“But it’s true.”

“I can’t believe that. Please identify yourself.”

“Identity…”

The woman seemed to be thinking with her head bowed.

Up close, apart from her pale skin, she was quite beautiful.

Her red eyes, clear even in the darkness, gave off a sharp atmosphere, but her face was so beautiful that the phrase “beauty that could topple a nation” seemed fitting.

If he had met her elsewhere, he would have surely thought she was the daughter of some high-ranking family.

As the woman delayed her answer, Leon observed her once more carefully.

A white shirt as white as her hair.

And a black skirt that contrasted with it caught his eye.

Somehow, the outfit looked familiar.

He asked, just in case.

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

The white woman silently nodded her head.

At this, the knight loosened his guard a bit.

Could it be a kind of courage test that’s recently become popular among students?

Either way, he thought she wasn’t someone he needed to be wary of.

The knight let out a small sigh.

Judging by his furrowed brow and frown, it seemed he was about to lecture her.

“…I won’t hold you responsible for ignoring the knights’ entry restrictions. Please leave this place immediately.”

“…”

The woman stood still, blinking her red eyes.

Her red eyes, slightly glistening in the moonlight, were beautiful yet so empty that it sent chills down the knight’s spine, and he couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with her.

Regardless, the woman pointed in one direction without any change in expression.

“I saw someone dressed like you hurriedly entering that way.”

It was in the direction of the dark alley.

The place where the monster was said to appear.

Did the knight from the same patrol team ignore the standby order and enter first?

But for what reason?

His junior wasn’t reckless enough to disobey orders and act rashly without reason.

If the silver-haired woman’s words were true, there must be a good reason.

But.

“…”

He didn’t know.

He had been lost in deep thought, holding his complicated head, but he couldn’t guess anything.

“It was a red-haired female knight.”

The silver-haired woman said.

It matched the description of his junior.

“When she arrived here, a young boy was being caught and dragged away by a monster, and that knight rushed in after seeing that.”

“How could that be!”

Leon shouted.

It seemed he wanted to say, how could he believe that?

Certainly, if it was his junior, she would have definitely acted that way.

If the monster beyond the alley really existed and had dragged in a nearby citizen, the silver-haired woman’s words made sense.

Just listening to her words, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

However.

“…How can I trust you?”

Rather, that’s why it was suspicious.

Leon couldn’t believe her words.

She was a stranger to Leon and hadn’t even answered his question about her identity clearly.

In such a situation, her behavior, which seemed to be guiding Leon to walk into that alley, was suspicious.

And above all, with her silver hair and red eyes, she had many similarities when compared to the monster in the alley.

Leon tried to calm his rising anger and asked as calmly as possible.

“Answer me. What are you? And for what reason are you here?”

He didn’t expect an answer.

She would probably avoid answering or remain silent anyway.

Is she a monster?

Maybe even her claim of being an Academy student was a disguise to deceive him.

With a swish, the sword at Leon’s waist was drawn.

Leon pointed the silver sword at the woman and breathed roughly.

He was in a state of extreme tension right now.

If the woman before him was a monster, she could suddenly change and attack him at any moment.

But Leon hesitated while pointing his sword.

Although he said he didn’t believe her, his wavering was visible.

He was in half-belief.

Apart from being suspicious of the woman before him, it was quite plausible.

If her words were true, he had no time to be doing this.

It meant that his junior was risking her life in battle beyond that darkness.

Leon stopped for a moment, alternately watching the alley and the woman.

Like a skilled member of the knights, he chose to observe the situation first.

And then.

-Kyaaaah!!

An ear-piercing scream burst out from inside the alley.

It was a familiar voice.

Of course it was.

It was the voice of his junior.

-Se, Senior Leon!! Aah! Help, help me!!

It was a voice that sounded desperate, even pitiful.

For a moment, it felt like his heart sank.

Leon’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat, and his hand holding the sword visibly shook.

“Aren’t you going to check?”

The silver-haired woman asked, turning her head to look towards the alley.

Beyond where not a speck of light entered, it was so dark that one couldn’t see even an inch ahead.

Leon also looked in that direction, but he couldn’t see anything.

He had no way of knowing what was happening beyond there.

That’s why he took one step, then another step towards the alley.

To see what was beyond there a little closer, he moved forward as if entranced.

When Leon reached the entrance of the alley, he faintly saw the figure of his junior.

A female knight covered in blood, seemingly terrified of something.

‘I must save her.’

That was all he could think of.

Leon adjusted the sword in his hand and plunged into the darkness beyond.

It was like a moth flying into a bonfire, foolish and reckless, but somehow desperate.

“…”

And there was someone who had been watching this scene from beginning to end.

Her name was Iria.

She was the back alley monster who could enchant people with her red eyes, showing them hallucinations or luring humans with auditory hallucinations.

There was actually nothing beyond the alley that Leon had rushed into.

From beginning to end, it was just an illusion that Iria had shown him by reading his memories.

She moved into the darkness, following her caught prey as if she were used to it.

‘Today, it’s a knight.’

Soon, the dawn after a full moon night graced the sky, and the alley’s darkness claimed another victim.