Riana stumbled upon Iria purely by chance.

The back alley wasn’t as wide as one might think, and Iria had been lying in the same spot for three days.

"Iria! Iria! Wake up! What happened to you?"

A considerable amount of time had passed since Iria had left Riana at the dorm and vanished. During that time, Riana hadn't found peace. Although she didn’t need to steal to get by, thanks to the money Iria had given her, she still felt uneasy.

She was still afraid of Iria, yet, at the same time, she was concerned for her.

Despite what had happened, Iria was her friend.

And Iria had helped her several times. Without her, Riana would probably have died in the back alleys.

Seeing the friend who had saved her lying there in such a horrible state made Riana’s heart ache.

She couldn’t erase the memory of the last time she’d spoken with Iria.

Come to think of it, she’d never seen Iria truly smile. Even before the incident, Iria had always worn a sad or bitter expression.

Now, Iria was broken. It was hard to believe that just a short time ago, she had been able to move with ease. Now she was shattered beyond recognition.

Her dimly opened eyes were void of life. What could have happened to bring her to this state?

"Iria, try to get up... just for a moment."

Riana called her name softly.

Iria showed a faint reaction.

Her dull eyes turned toward Riana.

"Mm... uh..."

Iria’s lips moved, but her words were incomprehensible.

It sounded more like a groan of pain than anything else. She was far from okay.

As Riana continued to call her name, Iria began to move.

Her movements were more instinctual than conscious. The faint scent of blood clung to Riana.

In the lawless Dusty Lane, it was common to get all kinds of wounds, large and small. But the timing was unfortunate.

Standing before Iria, who was starved to the extreme, Riana's scent of blood became the trigger. Iria felt something snap inside her.

And with that, Iria’s consciousness slipped away from this world.

"Iria? Are you okay?"

"...."

"Iria?"

No answer came to her calls.

Iria stood up and looked at Riana.

"Eek!"

Riana instinctively stepped back, for the red in Iria’s eyes seemed emptier and more dangerous than anything she’d ever seen.

What stood before her wasn’t human. It was something separate, something other than the Iria she knew.

Would she even understand if Riana tried speaking to her? Was there any sanity left at all?

She couldn’t tell.

The current Iria looked dangerously unhinged. Riana’s entire body sent signals of danger as she looked at her. For some reason, she knew she shouldn’t get any closer.

"S-Sorry. Maybe I should just..."

Riana sensed the impending danger and tried to back away, but it was too late.

Iria grabbed her wrist before she could react. There was no restraint. The strength that emerged from Iria’s unconscious state wasn’t human.

"W-Wait! That hurts!"

Riana screamed, but Iria didn’t hear her. She was merely following her instincts, pulling the prey in her grasp closer.

A sickening crack sounded as Riana’s wrist bone snapped.

The scream of a girl echoed through the dark back alley, where the red-eyed monster prowled.

"Ah, ah?!"

Riana was in the grip of a monster.

Silver hair and red eyes, just like the figure that had wiped out the criminal organization, a nightmare revived before her eyes.

She’d seen how Iria could tear a person apart. If she didn’t escape, she knew she’d meet the same fate.

But escape was impossible.

The monster held her tight, refusing to let go.

"Stop! Iria! Stop it, please!"

Riana wailed, but the monster didn’t relent.

Lying on the ground, Riana looked up at the silver-haired monster above her. Those chilling red eyes swept over her.

The monster moved closer, until they were so close she could feel its breath on her skin.

Riana’s heart pounded faster than it ever had. Her pupils shook, and she instinctively curled into herself.

There was no way to escape now. Cornered, Riana had a fleeting moment of regret.

She shouldn’t have touched the fallen Iria.

She should never have felt pity for the monster that killed people.

Tears rolled down her face as she remained trapped.

Regardless, the monster wrapped her in its arms, then opened its mouth.

A sickening crunch echoed as two fangs pierced her skin.

The back alley reeked of blood that day.

The unconscious monster moved only by instinct, having completely lost any semblance of reason.

It focused on the human before it to sate its ravenous hunger. It bit into her neck, licking up the blood that flowed.

Each step of the process was brutal. Just like a predator that pays no mind to the pain of its prey during a meal.

When the blood stopped flowing, the monster would bite another part of her flesh, drawing more blood. If the amount of blood wasn’t satisfying, it would bite into the existing wound to start the bleeding again.

Naturally, Riana was in agony. It was a horrific pain beyond anything she’d felt in her life.

Her eyes welled with tears.

"Stop! It hurts, Iria! Please, stop!!"

She cried out loud, but her voice never reached Iria. She merely continued to feed, following her instincts.

Riana resisted with all her might, but against the overwhelming strength of the monster, it was futile. She was far too weak to push Iria away.

The more she bled, the quieter her screams became.

A sign that her life was fading.

"I...Ria... Help...me..."

"..."

"Ah...uh..."

The monster didn’t stop feeding until Riana’s life was completely gone.

Riana’s outstretched hand fell to the ground, her eyes devoid of life.

And then.

She no longer breathed.

Thus, Iria consumed her friend. The back alley was cloaked in a crimson miasma.

"..."

Even after killing her dear friend, Iria remained unaware, her body moving on its own.

The primal instincts that Iria had once suppressed with reason now ran free, unchecked.

With vacant eyes, Iria walked the alley’s paths.

The back alley, at that moment, felt different from usual.

With Iria having lost control, the alleys were already covered in dark mud.

The miasma within Iria was more vast than that of any monster.

It spread over the entire area, enough to engulf everything, and the residents of the alley who hadn’t managed to escape were devoured by it.

The miasma spread wide, acting like Iria’s eyes.

Anyone without immunity to mental attacks would lose all memories merely by touching it.

Unconscious Iria put everyone within range into a deep sleep.

She covered the sleeping bodies with her miasma to absorb their lives all at once.

It was a type of feeding too, but it was far more efficient than sinking her teeth into each person individually.

The monster of the back alleys moved toward any human presence, seeking to consume more.

There were those asleep and those resisting the miasma—those with stronger wills.

"What is this...?"

"Run! Something dangerous is coming!"

The miasma spread over the entire area in an instant.

Even those with stronger resistance couldn’t move. They too were trapped in a state of confusion.

Iria walked among them.

The silver-haired girl in rags seemed to radiate a strong scent of blood.

"Ugh, help me! My foot is stuck in the black mud!"

"Sorry, but I have my own problem here! I can't help anyone else!"

Two humans.

Iria extended a hand toward them.

And then.

"Aaagh!!"

"Ngh...!!"

The miasma that blanketed the area shot up like black spikes, piercing their bodies.

It hadn’t struck their vital organs, so they didn’t die instantly, but they wouldn’t last long.

The black spikes drew even those with strong wills into eternal dreams. Just the slightest touch would trap them in endless sleep.

Iria was trying to consume every human in the alley.

She was driven to restore her damaged body, wounded from repeated suicide attempts.

The dense miasma influenced not only people but also objects.

Buildings in the alley began to collapse one by one. Between the burning buildings, people screamed and tried to escape.

But escape was impossible.

The moment they left the buildings, they were touched by the miasma and dragged into dreams.

It didn’t take long to turn an entire street into rubble.

That day, Iria killed everyone in the back alley.