Ronan continued walking without stopping , even after the familiar streets from Percy's memories gradually disappeared behind him.
The surroundings slowly became more unfamiliar the deeper he went, which he took notice but decided to ignore for now .
At some point, even Percy's memories no longer helped much with navigation.
The buildings around him appeared older and more cramped together while the streets themselves became narrower and dirtier than those around the Fereom District.
Occasionally, Ronan had to stop briefly just to remember the general direction back home.
Still he continued forward. After turning around another dim corner, Ronan eventually arrived near what seemed to be a garbage disposal area used by nearby residents.
Several wooden bins sat piled together near the wall while broken furniture and torn sacks were discarded carelessly nearby.
The faint smell alone made him frown slightly.
Still, moonlight happened to reach this particular corner fairly well.
Ronan pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time beneath the pale crimson glow.
Eight twenty one PM.
"Hm… a bit late already."
He quietly closed the watch before slipping it back into his pocket.
Though honestly, if he had gone drinking at the Shrewsbury Drunkard like usual, he probably would have returned home even later than this anyway.
Thinking that, Ronan relaxed slightly.
"I guess I can explore a little more."
He was just about to continue walking when his footsteps suddenly halted.
A strange sound echoed faintly from deeper within the alley. Ronan's scalp instantly tingled.
At first, the noise was difficult to make out beneath the distant sounds of the city, but as the seconds passed, it gradually became clearer.
A low growl. Followed by something resembling a weak shriek was heard.
Ronan's body stiffened instinctively. As the sounds became closer and closer , well he was walking towards it .
For a brief moment, he genuinely considered turning around and leaving immediately.
This wasn't Earth. That single fact alone was already enough reason not to investigate strange noises in dark alleys at night, even on earth that was probably the case too.
But just as he was about to step back
He stopped himself on his track .
" No, Didn't i just decide this moments ago ? I as Ronan would do things Percy normally wouldn't.
Ronan swallowed dryly before hardening his resolve. "
…I'll just take a quick look."
Slowly and carefully, he began walking toward the source of the noise.
His footsteps remained extremely cautious while his eyes constantly scanned the dim surroundings nervously.
Truthfully, part of him still hoped the sounds would suddenly stop and reveal nothing more than stray animals fighting over scraps.
Ronan stopped right before the turn. Showing himself directly toward whatever was making those noises felt unbelievably stupid.
His gaze quickly landed upon a small hole within the old cracked wall beside him.
Without hesitation, Ronan slowly leaned closer and carefully peeked through it.
At first, he could barely make out anything.
The alley beyond was simply too dark.
Only vague shadowy movements flickered occasionally within his vision as though something was struggling violently against something else.
Ronan squinted his eyes into slits , as he couldn't tell what he was even looking at.
"…Damn it."
"Perhaps it really was just stray animals fighting."
The thought slightly eased his tension.
"Well… nothing I can do if I can't even see properly."
Ronan slowly began pulling away from the wall, already preparing to leave while inwardly mocking himself for investigating random noises in the first place.
But the clouds above shifted slightly and moonlight escaped through the darkness and spilled directly into the alley ahead.
Ronan froze instantly. His breathing halted by itself. A figure stood within the pale crimson moonlight.
The silhouette resembled a man, yet at the same time, something about it felt deeply wrong.
Its body appeared strangely distorted as though it was both solid and not solid simultaneously.
At moments, Ronan could clearly make out the outline of limbs and clothing.
Then suddenly, parts of it seemed almost translucent and ethereal beneath the moonlight.
Like snoke pretending to be human. With that hazy state , that seems evil.
And its eyes were dark crimson eyes quietly glowed within the darkness. Ronan felt cold sweat dripping down his neck .
The weak shrieks from earlier suddenly sounded far clearer now. Only then did he realize .
The thing was dragging something across the ground , he couldn't make out who or what the gender was , but the silhouette was definitely a human or an ape .
Ronan immediately stopped breathing entirely. Every instinct within his body screamed at him not to move or to get the fuck away from here
Because whatever stood within that alley was absolutely not human.
"Don't notice me, don't notice me , don't please just don't. "
Ronan repeated the words endlessly within his head while slowly backing away from the hole in the wall.
He no longer cared what that thing was dragging across the ground.
Human or animal, It wasn't his business.
Because right now, all Ronan wanted was to quietly leave this alley and return home alive.
His heartbeat pounded violently inside his chest , hoping for that thing not to hear it too.
Step. Step.
Every movement he made was painfully careful as though even the slightest sound would immediately draw the attention of that horrifying thing.
At that moment when he tried to move his leg annother step back .
Thud.
Ronan's body froze , his hands began trembling along with his lips , He hadn't bumped into the wall he was sure of that and Something else had stopped him.
Or rather Someone. Ronan's breathing nearly ceased entirely..
Slowly he turned his head behind him ready to punch whatever it was , his hands trembling yet made into a fist . But his eyes widened slightly as he released his fist .
A man stood there silently. With a black overcoat , formal suit. Curved pipe resting within one gloved hand.
Ronan immediately recognized him to be the older investigator from before.
For several seconds, Ronan's mind genuinely failed to process the situation properly.
"Why is he here? How long was he been standing there?"
"W-Was i being followed ?"
Ronan stared blankly at the older man, momentarily forgetting about the creature within the alley altogether.
Meanwhile, The man simply glanced toward him calmly before shifting his gaze toward the hole in the wall.
His expression remained frighteningly composed.
Then without even lowering his voice
He spoke quietly.
"You should leave, Mister Percy."
The moment those words fell . The growling sound inside the alley abruptly stopped.