Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Hunting
The news that Iria had defeated Lucia shocked many students.
After all, a commoner with no background had beaten the second daughter of a famous swordsmanship family in a duel.
And this was Iria—the student with the lowest mana in the academy.
Mana quantity was not an absolute measure of strength, but it was true that the more mana you had, the greater your combat power usually became.
Lucia had possessed the highest mana among the academy’s gifted students.
No one had expected Iria to overcome that gap and win.
“Didn’t I tell you? She punched me during the entrance exam and broke my ribs.”
“Even so, we all knew she wasn’t weak after seeing that exam. But the mana difference was just way too big.”
In truth, anyone who had taken the entrance exam already knew how strong Iria was.
Her matches had all been short.
But they had been unforgettable.
Still, many believed that no amount of physical strength could overcome an overwhelming difference in mana.
Because of that, Student A—the legendary guy who had his ribs broken by Iria and bet on her anyway—made a huge amount of money.
People now called him Reverse Odds Ribs, named after that story.
As students passionately discussed Iria and Lucia’s duel, Reverse Odds Ribs suddenly spoke.
As if to say that something else was more important.
“Hey, forget that. Did you hear? Lucia licked Iria’s feet.”
“Damn it… that bastard… I’m so jealous.”
“What? If losing a duel means licking the feet of an S-rank beauty, I’m challenging her right now.”
I thought defeating Lucia would reduce the number of duel requests.
For some reason—
they increased instead.
Iria could not understand why.
After finishing the duel and heading home—
“Ugh…”
I grabbed my pounding head as my condition suddenly worsened.
I knew why.
Hunger.
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since I last ate.
Recently, I had been staying in my new house.
Unlike when I lived in the back alleys, humans did not come walking to me on their own anymore.
My vision was starting to turn red.
If I looked in a mirror right now, my eyes would probably be glowing.
The moment I left the academy and was alone—
the hunger came.
Today, it seemed I would have to hunt myself instead of waiting.
“It’s been a while since I hunted.”
I passed the central city fountain and moved toward a less secure district.
I hoped I would get lucky.
Stepping into the familiar back alleys, I activated my stealth ability.
As expected—
the knights could not notice me.
If I ate another knight, the knight order would make a scene.
So I needed different prey.
There were more criminals in these dark alleys than people realized.
Some were wanted criminals hiding here.
Others came here to commit crimes.
If possible, I preferred eating people like them instead of innocent people.
But even among criminals, there were some I had to avoid.
“Heh… how much is all this worth?”
“Pay me before you take it.”
“Tonight’s going to be wild.”
I ignored the scene of an illegal transaction and kept walking.
People like that were poisonous.
Their bodies were filled with drugs.
And if I ate them, it could affect me too.
My resistance was naturally high—
but half-working resistance was the worst.
It only made me irritated.
So they were off the menu.
“……”
Walking through the empty back alleys after escaping the suffocating academy felt strange.
There were few people.
It was quiet.
Completely different from the academy, which was always unnecessarily loud.
Bullying Lucia in the morning.
Dealing with strange perverts in the afternoon.
The mental exhaustion was heavier than expected.
In the alley where light could not reach, moonlight was the only source of illumination.
I walked quietly beneath it.
No people.
And even if there were—
they could not recognize me.
It almost felt like I had fallen into another world by myself.
The full moon was already out.
For some reason, on nights like this, I always felt more energetic.
And hungrier.
Maybe it was monster instinct.
What a shame.
If I were not hungry, I could have enjoyed the dreamy atmosphere of the back alleys a little longer.
I walked under the cold night wind.
This was an alley where monsters appeared.
Terrifying creatures that lured humans with illusions—
and ate them.
But walking through that alley now—
I was not afraid.
Because I was the alley monster.
In places where public safety was weak, I had always been the hunter.
So I never understood how it felt to fear me.
What did it feel like?
Was the place I called home terrifying to them?
Or was it me they feared?
It did not matter.
Today, like always—
I was the hunter.
And all I did was chase humans.
The back alleys were not safe even when Iria was absent.
Ever since rumors about the monster spread, other killers had started operating there.
If someone died, it could simply be blamed on the alley monster.
For them, it was the perfect hunting ground.
They were different from Iria.
Iria harmed humans for survival.
But the people here—
they enjoyed killing.
Murder without reason.
The thrill of sin.
The fake alley monster—
the serial killer Asha—
was addicted to that pleasure.
The sensation of driving a knife through human flesh was indescribable.
And when she intentionally avoided vital points—
the screams were even better.
“Haah… haaah…”
With a bloodstained knife in one hand, Asha began touching herself.
The wet sounds echoed through the quiet alley.
She had already killed one person tonight.
But her body was too excited to stop at one.
So she went looking for another victim.
Was she afraid of the monster?
Of course not.
That was just a rumor.
As far as she was concerned, all the deaths here were caused by killers like herself.
And Asha was stronger than most first-rate mercenaries.
Even if the monster was real—
she believed she could kill it.
That confidence let her roam the back alleys freely.
Who would die tonight?
Hopefully a woman.
Asha was a mad lesbian.
If only some cool beauty with pure white hair happened to pass through here—
she could stab her all night and cherish her.
But that would never happen.
Someone perfectly matching her taste would never come to a dangerous place like this.
That was what she thought.
“Hmm?”
But there she was.
Silver hair flowing beautifully.
Red eyes shining like jewels.
A woman so beautiful it took her breath away.
Her face was doll-like.
Perfect.
Asha swallowed hard.
Dirty thoughts flooded her mind.
She wanted to pin her down and do whatever she wanted.
“Hehe, guess I’m lucky.”
Asha immediately gripped her knife and rushed forward.
First—
cut both ankles so she could not run.
Then think about the rest.
But—
Slash.
Asha never reached her.
The moment she lunged—
both her ankles were cut off.
Her balance collapsed, and her body slammed into the ground.
Until the moment she fell—
Asha could not understand what had happened.
“Aaaahhhh!! My feet!! Aaaahhh!!”
“…?”
Only when the pain hit did she scream.
The girl she had tried to attack looked down at her.
Cold eyes.
As Asha writhed on the ground, a cold voice fell over her.
“Asha, did you enjoy your little murder game?”
“W-Wait! Wait! Aaaah!”
“You had quite a few disgusting thoughts. You were planning to cut my ankles.”
“H-How?! What are you?!”
Iria sighed.
So the alley monster had become famous enough to inspire copycats.
What a bother.
She lifted Asha’s chin and forced their eyes to meet.
Her severed ankles looked painful.
So Iria decided to put her to sleep.
Unlike Asha, who enjoyed the screams of others—
Iria disliked noise.
“Anyway, sleep well, Asha. If you’re born again, don’t come into the alley where I live.”
So tonight—
it was a serial killer.
Another victim had been added to the back alley.