I Became a Murderer in the Academy. - Chapter 16

The news that Iria had defeated Lucia gave a fresh shock to many students.

A commoner with no background had beaten the second daughter of a famous swordsmanship family in a duel.

Moreover, Iria had the lowest mana pool in the Academy.

While mana amount doesn’t absolutely represent one’s power, it’s true that the higher it is, the greater its influence on power.

Lucia was the person with the highest mana amount, even in the Academy, where only prodigies gather, so no one expected Iria to overcome that difference and win.

“See, what did I tell you? I got my ribs broken by Iria’s punch during the entrance exam.”

“Well, we knew she wasn’t weak since we saw her at the entrance exam. But the mana difference was too big, you know…”

In fact, those who took the entrance exam would have known to some extent how strong Iria was.

Her matches were all short but equally intense.

However, many thought it would be impossible to make up for the overwhelming difference in mana, no matter how excellent one’s physical strength was.

Thanks to this, Mr. A, the legendary underground fighter who got his ribs broken by Iria, made a lot of money.

He was called “Underdog Ribs” after that incident.

Amidst the students’ heated discussion about the recent duel between Iria and Lucia, Underdog Ribs opened his mouth.

“Hey, have you heard that news? They say Lucia licked Iria’s feet.”

“Ugh, I’m. Extremely. Envious.”

“Woohoo. You mean if I lose a duel, I can lick the feet of the Academy’s S-class beauty? Let’s go challenge her right now.”

Iria thought the number of duel requests coming in would decrease after defeating Lucia, but for some reason, it increased.

She wondered about the reason for this.

***

On my way home after finishing the duel.

“Ugh……”

I clutched my throbbing head as I felt my body condition rapidly deteriorating.

I know the reason. It’s hunger. Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I last ate.

I’ve been staying at the new house I found recently. Unlike when I stayed in the back alleys, humans didn’t come to me alone.

My vision of the world was slightly red. If I looked in a mirror now, there’s a high chance my eyes would be glowing.

I was hungry now that I was alone after leaving the Academy. Today, instead of waiting for humans to come, I would have to go find them myself.

‘It’s been a while since I hunted.’

I passed the fountain in the central city and moved towards a place with worse public safety. I hoped I would be lucky.

I stepped into a familiar back alley and used my concealment ability. As expected, the knights couldn’t recognize me.

If I ate another knight, there would be an uproar in the knighthood. So, I had to target other humans.

Surprisingly, there were many criminals on these dark streets. Either they were wanted and had taken refuge in the back alleys, or they were committing crimes here.

I tend to eat those kinds of people rather than innocent ones if possible, but there were types among them that I had to filter out.

“Heh… How much is all this, hehe.”

“Hey, hand over the money before you receive it.”

“Looks like tonight’s gonna be a blast.”

I lightly ignored the scene of an illegal transaction and walked on. I shouldn’t eat humans like that because they contain poison.

The drug substances accumulated in their bodies could affect me too.

Although I generally have high resistance, the effect of being moderately applied was rather frustrating and made me feel uneasy.

I decided not to eat those for now.

“……”

Walking in the quiet back alleys after escaping from the stuffy Academy feels strange.

The atmosphere differs from the unnecessarily noisy Academy, with fewer people and more silence.

I was quite mentally fatigued after tormenting Lucia in the morning and being harassed by strange perverts in the afternoon.

Moonlight is the only illumination in the back alleys where light doesn’t reach. I walked the quiet streets bathed in it.

There are no people; even if there are, they can’t recognize me. It sometimes feels like I’ve fallen into a different world all alone.

It was already the night of the full moon. For some reason, I seemed more energetic and had a stronger appetite than usual on these nights.

It might be the instinct of a monster.

It’s a pity.

If I hadn’t been hungry, I could have enjoyed the dreamlike atmosphere of the back alleys a bit more.

I walked, feeling the cool night breeze.

This is an alley where monsters appear. A terrifying one that bewitches humans by showing hallucinations and then eating them.

But I, who was walking in that alley now, wasn’t very scared.

Because I was that back alley monster.

In places with poor public safety, I’ve always been the seeker. That’s why I couldn’t feel the emotions of those who fear and avoid me.

I wonder how it feels.

Is the space that’s like home to me scary to them? Or are they afraid of me?

Actually, it doesn’t matter.

Today too, I, the seeker, am just chasing humans.

***

In fact, the back alleys weren’t safe even when Iria was absent.

After rumors spread about monsters roaming around, other murderers became active there.

It was a perfect stage for them to operate, as they could blame the back alley monster even if they killed people.

They were different from Iria, who harmed humans because of eating.

Unlike her, who committed murder to survive, those here did it because they truly enjoyed killing.

Meaningless murder. The sense of sacrilege that swells up because of it. Asha, the fake back alley monster and murderer, was half addicted to that pleasure.

The sensation of piercing human skin with a knife is indescribably good.

If you deliberately miss the vital points, they make pleasant crying sounds, which was so exciting it drove her crazy.

“Haa, haa……”

Eventually, Asha began to masturbate with a blood-stained knife in one hand.

The squishy sound echoed through the quiet alley.

She had already killed one human, but due to her body being heated up more than necessary, it seemed she wouldn’t be satisfied with just one tonight.

So she walked the back alleys looking for a new victim. Scared of the monster? That’s all just a rumor someone made up.

She thought that even the people who had died here so far were killed by murderers like herself, not by monsters.

Moreover, Asha is stronger than an average first-class mercenary despite her appearance. Even if the monster really existed, she could subjugate it at her level.

That’s why Asha could roam the back alleys freely.

Who would be the poor person to be killed by her tonight? She hoped it would be a woman. She was a raging lesbian. Their screams were so much more pleasing to the ear.

How nice it would be if a cool beauty type girl with snow-white hair happened to pass by here. She could cuddle her all night long while stabbing her with a knife.

But that wouldn’t happen.

There’s no way someone who perfectly matches her taste would set foot in such a dangerous place.

She certainly thought so, but,

“Oh?”

Surprisingly, there was.

A woman with gently fluttering silver hair and jewel-like red eyes.

It was a breathtaking appearance just to look at. Asha’s mouth watered at the doll-like, pretty face.

She couldn’t control the inappropriate thoughts flooding her mind. She wanted to lay her down and do this and that right away.

“Hehe, I’m really lucky after all.”

Asha immediately rushed forward, gripping her knife. First, let’s cut both ankles so she can’t run away.

After that, we can think about the rest slowly.

However.

-Slash.

Asha couldn’t reach her. Both of her ankles were cut off the moment she rushed in.

Her center of gravity collapsed, and her body slammed into the ground. Until just before falling, Asha couldn’t understand what had happened to her.

“Kyaaaaaaah!! My feet!! Hiyaaaaaak!!”

“……?”

Asha screamed at the terrible pain that belatedly hit her. The girl she had tried to pounce on looked down at her from above.

It was a cold gaze. A chilly voice fell upon Asha, who lay face down and cried out in pain.

“Asha, do you enjoy your murder game?”

“Huk, wait, wait a moment! Huaaang!”

“You have a lot of unhealthy thoughts. You were trying to cut my ankles.”

“Hik! Wh-what! How!”

Iria sighed as if she was seeing all sorts of things.

The back alley monster had become so famous that now even copycat crimes were happening.

She lifted Asha’s fallen head and met her eyes. Her cut ankles seemed to be in great pain, so she quickly put her to sleep.

Unlike Asha, who liked others’ screams, Iria didn’t particularly like noisy things.

“Anyway, have a good dream, Asha. If you’re reborn in the next life, it would be better not to come to the alley where I am.”

Today it’s a murderer, huh.

The number of victims in the back alley increased.