Abnormal Slayer.
White-Haired Thousand-Year Fox.
A being known as the most ferocious among the peaks of Beastmen.
Each of these titles refers to Adina, a name renowned with equal parts dread and reverence.
Naturally, Luke Richter, who had read the original work, was fully aware that these titles were not an exaggeration in the slightest.
Her presence, one that corrupts humans, consumes abnormalities, and is itself referred to as a calamity, is simply unforgettable.
However, even someone like her had a past.
A past, one might even say, filled with some rather embarrassing black history.
‘D, I’ve been found out…!’
From the start, there was never an intention to intimidate.
She simply didn’t want to travel alone through this Magic Realm and had planned to use the sign as an excuse to request their company.
However, everything went awry.
All because of a single offhand comment from that man.
— Is it not just that you’re scared?
‘Why did he have to say something like that…’
Adina is cowardly — a fact she was fully aware of.
Impossible not to know. After all, she was different from her kin since the day she was born, far too different.
— Depart. You do not have the worth to be with our race.
Thus, she was abandoned.
Even her parents turned their backs on her due to her lack of valor.
She had wanted to die.
No, she had planned to end her life. Wasn’t that the sole reason she came to Blackmore? There was no thought; only a reckless decision to leap off the cliff.
But standing at the cliff’s edge…
“…”
She ultimately couldn’t jump.
The moment she looked down from the edge of the cliff, her whole body trembled.
She couldn’t move a single step.
Her will to live, something she thought of as far greater than she had imagined, held her back.
‘Damn…!’
Her lips trembled with fear, and the overwhelming self-loathing made it hard to breathe.
She was trash—utterly useless trash—and exactly what the others said: a disgrace to her people.
Because of that…
She thought as she looked at the sign.
‘Yeah, it’s all this damn sign’s fault.’
She knew it was an absurd excuse.
But she had no other choice. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that if she didn’t blame someone else, she would never be able to get past her frustration.
Thus, she decided to take that as a pretext and hold them accountable for interfering with her plans — demanding they compensate by accompanying her.
But then…
‘M, monster…!’
Adina lost the words she was about to say, overwhelmed by Rudine’s menacing aura.
The unveiled malice radiating from Rudine was immeasurable, an ominous and overwhelming malevolence that matched her twisted smile. It was both shocking and terrifying.
The inorganic gaze felt like it was looking deep inside of her, drying out her mouth. Far from regaining determination, all her courage was crushed.
Trickle. Trickle.
Cold sweat rolled down her spine as her eyes fluttered nervously.
‘What… what exactly is this?’
She was perplexed.
How powerful could this man be if he commanded such a monster under him? Honestly, she felt a twinge of awe.
Still, that wasn’t the most pressing issue. This was the Magic Realm. Although she had come here intending to die, her failure to do so meant she had to seek a way to survive.
Yet…
‘How…?’
There was nowhere to go. No food, no guidance, and no home.
Her eyes brimmed with tears. Her shimmering silver tail quivered pathetically.
She needed someone to depend on.
In her line of sight entered a man—Luke Richter.
‘That man…’
A sudden thought occurred to her.
If this man could control such a monstrous subordinate, then surely he could at least guarantee her safety?
Thus, a single word slipped out.
“I… I… don’t want to be alone.”
Upon hearing that, Luke Richter thought.
‘What is this now?’
It was exasperating. When he asked why this girl had been following him, the answer he received was that she was scared of being alone.
Confounded, he repeated the question.
“You’re a Beastman, aren’t you?”
“…”
“And you’re scared?”
“…”
SQUEAK! TWITCH!
She responded by twitching her triangular ears rapidly—her way of confirming yes.
But then,
“So what?”
“What?”
“Where’s the connection between your fear and me?”
As Adina opened her mouth to reply, it closed just as quickly without uttering a word.
Shocked by his cold response, her eyes blinked rapidly.
“But…”
“But what?”
“I’m sure I can be helpful to you…!”
“What help?”
“Huh?”
“What help can you possibly offer me?”
Seeing the moisture forming in Adina’s violet eyes, it was clear to anyone she was pitiable.
But that was all. I wasn’t her guardian.
‘Not my problem, but my nose is three feet long, huh.’
Anyway, Adina would still survive even without me. Her growth potential was rapid enough for her to one day claim a seat among the beast kings. Still, seeing her tears, I added a line out of pity.
“I’m sorry. I’m too busy caring for myself.”
At this, I figured she’d understand and resumed my journey.
“…Let’s make a deal.”
Pardon?
“Let’s make a deal.”
“Deal?”
“That’s right!”
She started digging into her pocket, pulling out something. It was a commonplace pebble.
But the astonishing part was its surface.
‘Could it be…’
Flowing faintly was a soft light, engraved with sizable golden runes.
Its identity was—
‘A Rune.’
The primal script known as a Rune.
“Huh.”
Watching this, Rudine smirked, intrigued. She’d instinctively realized this pebble was something extraordinary.
Indeed, it was. Runes immediately granted the holder specific abilities upon possession, making them treasured items in themselves. Some runes were far less efficient, but there were a few notorious ones that stood out as game-changers.
And this particular engraving?
If my memory doesn’t fail me…
‘Rune of Time.’
Swallowing the rising lump in my throat, I couldn’t resist asking.
“Where did you get this?”
The girl’s face brightened upon hearing the question. She evidently perceived a shift in negotiation power, even wagging her tail.
“Stole it.”
Huh?
“What did you just say?”
“I said, I stole it.”
“From where?”
SQUEAK! TWITCH!
Her wiggly ears moved in triangular motions. Adina placed her hands on her hips confidently and announced—
“From the White-Haired Tribe.”
The White-Haired Tribe.
An identity and lineage that defined Adina as a Fox Beastman. Renowned for their ancient history, their storied artifacts were often infamous.
Hold on.
…Could it be?
“I stole from the treasure vault of the White-Haired Tribe.”
“!!!”
No way.
Is this really true?
“What do you know about what this object is?”
“Nothing!”
“So you’re making this deal without knowing its value?”
“Ahem!”
Her luxurious silver tail wagged teasingly.
“I want you to let me accompany you!”
“…”
“And I’ll give you this in return!”
Wow. What a deal.
*
Meanwhile,
“…”
A masked man walking through the misty terrain of Blackmore surveyed his surroundings. His expression darkened in response to its eerie landscapes.
Sigh.
The man took a deep breath before continuing his steps.
He reflected on the reason for his presence here, which was due to a covert order from higher-up—to observe Luke Richter, newly appointed as Blackmore’s administrator, and report.
‘Luke Richter…’
The exact reason was unclear, but it was evident that higher-ups were beginning to take an interest in him.
‘Excessive attention for a low-level administrator.’
Deep down, he thought it ridiculous that too much attention was being paid to the illegitimate child of a baron.
‘Here it is.’
He had arrived at Luke Richter’s office. Silently concealing his presence, he carefully assessed the environment.
‘Seems to have a fairly clean personality.’
The office was tidy, everything well-organized, not a single speck of dust visible.
‘Nothing particularly unusual so far.’
He stepped back outside the office and looked around. Expectation was low; after all, what peculiarities could a low-level administrator have?
That’s when he noticed something.
‘This…’
A messy streak of crimson on the dirt ground. It was evident—bloodstains.
What’s more, the blood appeared to form a trail, as if guiding him somewhere.
‘…’
The man’s eyes sparkled at the sight. The stains were so vivid, it was impossible to estimate how much blood had been spilled on the ground.
He followed the trail, the stench growing stronger with each step. His sense of smell was overwhelmed by the metallic scent of blood.
And then, at the end,
“!!!”
A pile of Demon Beast corpses processed by Rudine—stacked so high they could be called a ‘mountain of corpses’.
“…Hmph.”
How many were there exactly? And each one was an unusual Demon Beast, their cuts so clean that it looked like they had been bisected in one swift stroke, despite their massive size.
This wasn’t the skill of an ordinary low-ranking official. Frankly, even he couldn’t have done such a precise cut easily.
Having realized this, the next step was clear.
“…Nothing more to see.”
He needed to submit a report promptly. The thought dominated his mind completely.
