NOVPUBLudger still hadn’t forgotten that moment.
The way that child, licking his injured mother’s wounds, looked up at him with those clear, shining eyes.
The way he smiled and thanked him—even as Ludger was about to kill him using magic.
He would never forget it.
He couldn’t forget it.
“Wh-What?! How would I know?! Who the hell are you?!”
“You don’t know?”
Ludger hurled Belvotte Rixon to the floor like he was throwing out trash, still gripping his collar.
The aged tycoon groaned, clutching his aching back as he lay sprawled on the floor.
“Gkh... What the hell are you?”
“You recognize this?”
Ludger pulled something from his coat pocket and tossed it near Belvotte’s feet.
A small ampoule filled with liquid as red as molten ruby, encased in clear glass.
There was no way Belvotte wouldn’t recognize it.
He had commissioned its creation.
“T-This...”
“Now you understand?”
“W-What do you want? Money? Is that it?”
Realizing the intruder knew too much—his experiments, his whereabouts—Belvotte tried to lower himself.
Whoever this man was, he had snuck into his private residence unnoticed and had his hands on the very experimental drug he had funded.
Could he be... one of the Nightcrawler Knights from the Security Bureau?
Damn it! What the hell were those Bug Brothers doing?!
How could they let the test subjects escape and even allow some unknown lunatic to waltz right up to his home?
Still, Belvotte couldn’t let his anger show.
Whoever this man was—he held Belvotte’s life in his hands.
“I-I won’t press charges for the break-in. Clearly, you came here because you want something, yes?”
“Want something?”
“Yes. What is it? Money, perhaps? I have plenty. Say the word, and it’s yours.”
But Ludger’s answer went far beyond what Belvotte had anticipated.
“An answer.”
“Wh-What?”
“Answer the question I asked.”
“Question...?”
Belvotte struggled to recall it.
Something about a seven-year-old child?
He hesitated, then opened his mouth.
“Were you the one who eliminated that escaped test subject?”
“...”
“Haha! So it was you! You should’ve just said so. Ahem. Well, that bit earlier was just a misunderstanding, wasn’t it? You’ve actually done me a great service. That situation could’ve gotten much worse.”
“Just answer the question.”
“A-Alright, alright! That seven-year-old... the test subject, yes? What’s the problem? The child was already a monster. Better off dead before someone else discovered it.”
“...”
“Come on. Just another lower-class rat, wasn’t it? Even if a few of those kinds die, what’s there to mourn? They gave their lives for something far greater. A noble sacrifice, if you ask me.”
A noble sacrifice.
Belvotte Rixon meant it with all his heart.
Laborers. Paupers. Filth that rolled around in society’s gutters. If a few of them died, what did it matter to him?
Useless beings of no value.
But if their deaths laid the foundation for a drug that could restore youth—if they became the stepping stones for human progress—
Then wasn’t that, in fact, their greatest possible contribution?
“All these dirty peasants, slaving away in a factory all their lives—what do they get for it? Pennies. That’s it.”
Better, then, to give meaning to their lives by using them for something productive.
To Belvotte, being a test subject for the development of such a drug was justified.
“Is that answer good enough for you?”
“...Yeah. More than enough.”
“Then we can—”
“Too much, actually.”
CRACK!
Ludger’s hand shot out and seized Belvotte’s throat.
Belvotte’s eyes bulged as he grabbed at Ludger’s arm with both hands, but his old, brittle body couldn’t overpower Ludger’s iron grip.
“Gghk! Wh-Why?!”
I answered! I answered properly!
His eyes screamed that protest as he stared into Ludger’s cold gaze.
Ludger didn’t reply.
Instead, he brought the ampoule of red liquid close to Belvotte’s face—and poured it into his mouth.
Gllrk!
Belvotte fought back with all his might, but with his throat constricted, he couldn’t resist.
Gulp.
The red liquid slid down his throat.
And instantly, his body began to change.
“Ghkk! GAAAAAAGHHH!”
With a scream of pure agony, Belvotte’s body started to swell.
Ludger let go and stepped back, watching the transformation unfold.
His skin, once withered and wrinkled with age, tightened and smoothed—then split open as thick hair erupted all over his body.
But the changes didn’t stop there.
The hair suddenly fell away, revealing raw, reddened flesh.
It began to swell like a bubbling mass.
Belvotte had consumed the entire ampoule.
The test subjects had only been given trace amounts—fractions of what he’d just ingested—and even that had caused severe mutations.
Belvotte, in his aged condition, had taken in far, far too much.
“GrrAAAHHH!! Why?! WHY!!!”
Even as his body tore itself apart, even as it twisted into something inhuman, Belvotte screamed at Ludger.
His face warped grotesquely, merging with the features of a beast.
What came from his mouth was no longer human. Nor beast.
It was something else.
KRRRRAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!
“No matter what I said, you wouldn’t have repented. You wouldn’t even have understood.”
Then there’s no need to explain.
Instead, feel it for yourself.
Experience the same pain you inflicted on others.
Ludger canceled the sound-dampening spell he had cast over the room.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
The mansion’s security alarms blared to life, reacting to the magic.
And then came the monster’s roar.
KRAAAAAAAAAGHHH!
“What was that?!”
“An intruder! The sound came from Lord Belvotte’s quarters!”
“Lord Belvotte! LORD BELVOTTE!”
BANG! BANG!
Guards pounded on the door from outside.
Then it burst open, and heavily armed men stormed in.
Among them—a freelance mage, hired to protect Belvotte.
“A-A monster?!”
“Where the hell did that thing come from?!”
“Everyone move back!”
The mage immediately cast a fire spell and set the creature ablaze.
It went up easily, despite its grotesque appearance.
Its regeneration was horrifying—its flesh healed even as it burned—only to be scorched again, and again, and again.
Sensing danger, the mage poured his full power into the flames.
An hour passed.
Eventually, the creature’s body reached its limit. It could no longer regenerate.
Its burning form crumbled into ash.
“Hahh... Huff... It’s over...”
“Where’s Lord Belvotte?”
“Find him!”
Say what you would about his character—he was still the man who paid their salaries.
Everyone fanned out in a frenzy, searching for Belvotte Rixon.
But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find him.
No trace remained.
In the end, everyone came to the same conclusion.
Belvotte Rixon had been eaten by the monster.
It was absurd. Unbelievable.
And at the same time—
They had no idea what had truly happened.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Inside Belvotte’s private quarters...
A hidden safe.
Nestled within a concealed space behind a massive portrait, the safe held Belvotte Rixon’s secret fortune.
And now—
It had been emptied by someone.
* * *
“You’re here?”
Hans greeted Ludger at a shabby house tucked deep within the alleys of Rederbelk’s commercial district.
A faded sign. A creaky door. The walls and windows caked in years of grime and grease.
But that was all a front. Once inside, the air was clean and the interior meticulously maintained.
It looked like a rundown pub on the surface—but it was all for show.
“Not bad. You picked a decent place.”
“It’s right next to the industrial district. Took some effort to get, though.”
“What about the surroundings?”
“I haven’t finished surveying the area yet, but the ecosystem in Rederbelk’s back alleys is... let’s just say it’s tangled. I’ll need more time.”
“Understood.”
Ludger placed the safe he brought onto the floor with a heavy thud.
Hans blinked in surprise.
“What’s that? Looks like it wasn’t easy to carry.”
“Not really.”
“So that’s... a safe? Sure looks like one.”
“It is. It was sealed with magic, but I disabled it on the way here. You can open it.”
Hans didn’t hesitate.
He opened the safe, checked the contents—and immediately shut it again.
“...That’s a lot.”
“Use part of it for operations. Hide the rest somewhere secure.”
“Well, if you say so, it’s not like I’m gonna complain. Heading out again?”
“Yes.”
“You look dead tired. Why not rest here a while? I even set aside a private room for you.”
“I’ll check it later. I get the feeling I’ll be back soon anyway.”
“And next time you show up, who’ll you be this time?”
“Whatever identity fits best in the underworld.”
“Ah, that one?”
Hans didn’t ask further. After all, Ludger was clearly worn down after the night’s events.
“Rest up. I’ll finish my work as fast as I can too.”
“Alright.”
Ludger stepped out of the hideout with heavy steps.
The air of the unused alley clung to his skin like glue, thick and damp.
As he walked down the foul-smelling path, he could feel eyes watching him from the shadows—hunters of the backstreets sizing him up.
The hyenas of the underworld.
But after scanning Ludger, they quickly backed off, realizing he wasn’t prey.
Once he had exited the alley, Ludger pulled down the hood over his head and lowered the cloth mask covering his mouth.
He stood silently, gazing out at the Remgier River where several steamers still passed through the city.
From the tall clocktower at the center of Rederbelk, a solemn sound rang out.
DONG! DONG! DONG!
Midnight.
Ludger continued to stare at the river’s dark waters.
Until the memory of that child’s gaze, the one that had pierced him so deeply—
Fully drifted downriver, carried away by the flow.
* * *
[Death of Tycoon Belvotte Rixon]
The next morning, this was the front-page headline on Rederbelk’s daily paper.
The death of one of the city’s wealthiest and most notorious magnates was more than enough to ignite a public firestorm.
And the fact that his cause of death was listed as a werewolf attack?
All the more scandalous.
Though the creature was slain by the mage stationed at the estate, the fact that Belvotte himself was dead made the story all the more explosive.
Some whispered he had been struck down by divine punishment.
Others claimed he had meddled with black magic and paid the price when it spiraled out of control.
Journalists swarmed the gates of the Rixon estate for days, demanding access and answers.
SCREECH.
At that moment, a black automobile rolled to a halt behind the crowd.
“Huh?”
Reporters turned to look, puzzled, as three figures stepped out of the car.
All wore the same distinct uniform—
Black coats adorned with gold epaulets.
The ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) moment the reporters recognized the attire, their eyes went wide.
“Th-The Security Bureau!”
“And—wait! That’s the Nightcrawler Knights!?”
The Security Bureau wasn’t exactly a secret organization.
Quite the opposite—it held immense prestige in the public eye, and a terrifying reputation in the underworld.
The journalists gulped.
What had begun as a search for tabloid gossip had suddenly taken a far more serious turn.
A scoop.
That word began to echo in their minds.
If the Bureau’s involved, this must be serious.
And that woman in front...
Silver hair pulled back to reveal a cold, piercing gaze.
Her black uniform was embroidered with gold and crimson thread, a stark contrast to her pale skin and steel-like presence.
She was a famous figure.
Terrina Lionhowl.
Matriarch of House Lionhowl, protectors of the Empire—
And commander of the Nightcrawler Knights, the Security Bureau’s elite task force.
Her title was widely known: “The Lord Protector.”
The one whose blade had felled countless threats to the Empire.
She was the roaring lion of justice, and her very name struck fear—or awe—into the hearts of citizens.
As she marched toward the estate without hesitation, the crowd of reporters split down the middle like the Red Sea.
She was the idol of every female knight in the Empire, and her charisma alone made the air feel sharp.
“Open the gate.”
Even the guards stationed at the entrance began to sweat nervously.
“M-Madam, we were told not to let anyone in—”
“The gate.”
Terrina raised one gloved hand and pointed at the door.
“Open it.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
The guard, pale with terror, obeyed at once.
The once-sealed gates of the Rixon estate swung wide open.
