WTBFCY Chapter 17

The shadow stretching from Sashar's coat hem moved like something alive.

"Now, don't run too far away."

"S-save me!"

Before he finished the word, the shadow following the kidnapper expanded and swallowed him whole.

Thud. Thump.

Seconds after the man vanished into the black shadow like paint, his clothing and shoes and hat dropped to the pavement below.

"Mmm. Garbage taste indeed."

Sashar pressed his hand to his mouth as though about to retch, breathing slowly. The kidnappers had rushed him seeking revenge for the girl—and he'd consumed them cleanly. But Sashar only frowned in disgust at the aftertaste.

The humans' filthy memories seeping in made the whole experience unpleasant. At least he felt adequately full.

That's something, I suppose.

His red eyes—now satiated with life force—glowed faintly in the dark before shadow swallowed them. He'd been about to consume the remaining unconscious kidnapper when he paused, looking up at something unseen.

"...Troublesome insect attached itself to me."

He considered dealing with it directly, then hesitated. But he had something useful for this. Sashar reached into his coat and withdrew a small box.

Click.

As he opened it, fine dust-like particles glowed pale blue in the darkness, drifting through the air like pollen.

"There. Food. Consume that."

The particles seemed to understand him. They hovered near his form briefly before drifting slowly toward the sprawled human in the alley. The fine dust settled on the unconscious man's hand. Within moments, black spread from that point, consuming everything in its path.

"The one rushing here now comes to kill you. His blood will smell sweet to you. If you survive him—if you don't die—find me again."

Watching the black shadow coalesce around the human like a cocoon, moving with something like consciousness, Sashar spoke. The black faerie absorbing its first living prey responded faintly—clearly intoxicated by the taste.

Sashar turned and walked on. Already the scent of mixed blood reached his nose. He raised his hand, and shadow unfurled, creating a thick black pool. It swallowed Sashar entirely before dripping to the ground and vanishing.

Crack!

The last drop of shadow disappeared just as Noah rounded the corner at a run. He emerged with revolver drawn, scanning the alley. The scattered clothing spoke clearly—he'd missed them. Damn it.

Noah's jaw clenched.

Red eyes. That was the mark of a high-tier black faerie. One that had devoured at least hundreds of humans. Regina had simply observed: Interesting, this city has all sorts of people. She'd never think to doubt what she'd seen.

Red eyes didn't exist in humans.

"A high-tier faerie in the capital...!"

Years of hunting, and finally he'd found a lead. Noah's face mixed frustration at losing prey with the elation of finally finding his target.

Then, behind him, the hand of the man collapsed on the ground lifted skyward. Black shadow had consumed him entirely and now wore his form—but Noah didn't turn, focused on tracking the high-tier faerie's traces.

Screeeee!

Suddenly, the black arm shot toward Noah at terrifying speed, more spear than limb. The sharpened hand scythed through air, about to pierce his head—except Noah was no longer there.

The black faerie panicked. Its target had vanished from sight. The elongated arm retracted rapidly back into the alley. Then, a human leg jutted from the lamplight below—twisted at an impossible angle.

Kiiirrrr...

The faerie hadn't fully assumed human form yet, so it moved on two arms and one leg, torso bent backward. The memory absorption incomplete, the shape bore little resemblance to human. But its speed matched a scavenging bird.

The grotesque thing moved along the wall, searching. Its prey was close—it could smell the blood—but nothing entered its field of vision.

Kiiiii... w-where... where did it go...?

The scent was unmistakable. Yet the black faerie saw nothing. It contorted itself upright, moving its reverse-bent arm along the wall—and blue eyes glinted from the shadow behind.

The moment the black faerie realized Noah's presence behind it, the instant it threw itself skyward to dive—

Bang. Crash!

Kieeeee!

Dust exploded. A hole tore through the faerie's head; its chest caved in. With only a nose remaining, it shrieked and thrashed, attempting regeneration. But when that failed, its body trembled once, then collapsed into a black lump.

"Thought I'd lost to something newborn," Noah said flatly, approaching the corpse. "I'd be disappointed."

He pressed the revolver's muzzle to the blackened neck-stump and pushed. The substance gave like charcoal. He pushed his hand deeper, felt around, and extracted a small sphere.

Noah drew out a small pouch and deposited the sphere inside. The remaining corpse was pure black soot. Looking down at it, he thought of Regina.

If she touched this, would she absorb it too?

But dragging her here at this hour to make her touch the corpse seemed like too much bother. Noah turned away, leaving the body. There would be other opportunities.

Beyond the surrounding buildings, a white structure rose into the sky—taller than even the royal palace where the royal family resided. The Royal Research Institute: Arme.

"...I need to talk to Ezra."

A high-tier black faerie appearing wouldn't have escaped Ezra's notice. Noah began walking toward the institute. Late as it was, he didn't hesitate. The person he sought wasn't human, after all.

The empty street glowed orange beneath the streetlamps. With Noah gone and only an unidentified black lump remaining, the alley settled back into silence as though gunfire had never sounded.

"Yaawn."

James, on patrol of the Royal Research Institute, couldn't suppress the sleep pressing down. The institute rarely saw visitors. Many officers requested assignment here for the quiet, but James found the silence tedious instead. Especially patrol duty. With only one guard assigned, there was no one to talk to.

"Ugh, time crawls tonight."

He stared up at the large clock mounted in the corridor and muttered to himself. His voice echoed in the empty hallway. The building was massive, and something about it felt eerie. So clean it was cold even in summer, standing alone in these corridors felt like haunting a ghost's house.

The few people passing were always in robes, and in the nearly two years James had worked here, not one had greeted him. They might as well not have noticed him at all.

He'd heard researchers were often eccentric. But were they all like this?

James stretched with that thought, yawning. Sleep was creeping in—another full patrol seemed necessary. No one watched, but that didn't mean he could neglect his duty.

"Hmm?"

Thinking the weather had turned cold enough to warrant winter uniforms tomorrow, he noticed a figure approaching from the opposite direction. A visitor at this hour? James's interest sharpened along with his caution. He examined them closely—then a small sound of recognition escaped him.

The face looked familiar.

"...Could it be Noah Lester?!"

Years didn't matter. That face was harder to forget than to remember. Platinum hair, cold blue eyes, features so beautiful they seemed inhuman. James recognized him immediately and broke into a bright smile, raising his hand.

"Hey, Lester! How many years has it been? I feel like this is the first time since academy graduation. How've you been?"

Noah, walking the corridor with no expression, stopped at the sound of his voice. He narrowed his eyes slightly, taking in the other man's features, before recognition seemed to strike. His lips curved into a faint smile.

"Ah, James. It's been a while. You've been assigned here, then?"

"That's right! You went to the crime investigation bureau, but then nothing—I was curious what you've been up to this whole time."

"Investigating cases here and there, mostly. You've had no trouble?"

"Case investigations—sounds impressive! I wish I'd applied to the investigation bureau. But someone as brilliant as you or Collins probably wouldn't have been stuck in a quiet post like me anyway. Oh, speaking of Collins—you hear the rumors? That young and already promoted to District 12 Chief. Amazing, right? But his promotion ceremony got pushed back a week, so he hasn't even managed to visit the rural territories for his new post yet."

James chatted easily, like talking to an old friend. Noah glanced up at the massive clock mounted high on the wall—its exposed gears faintly luminescent as its hands barely moved.