It was still the same day.

School had just ended. Era walked silently along the edge of the road, heading home. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows behind him, and the streets were quiet—too quiet.

Suddenly, he stopped walking.
Something… something strange tugged at his senses. His eyes narrowed, and he turned his head sharply, scanning the area.

Without warning, he took off running.
Darting down a narrow alley, his footsteps echoed sharply against the walls. But just as quickly, he came to a sudden halt.

A girl appeared from the other end of the alley—wearing a black tactical outfit. Her movements were light, precise. Her masked face turned toward him—and she stopped in her tracks upon seeing him.

Era's eyes sharpened. He dashed toward her, grabbing her by the hand and neck in one swift motion.

Era:
“Who are you? Why are you following me!?”

???:
“Sir, I am A2, Night Walker. From Nightmare. A2 reporting.”

Era (confused):
“A2…? But why are you following me?”

Era let go. The girl slowly removed her mask, revealing her calm face.

A2:
“I’m here to take you to the base.”

Era:
“…Hmm. I see. But I need a few more years. I gave that decision without thinking. My school life isn’t over yet. Give me two more years. After that, I’ll join Nightmare and accept my role.”

A2 (nodding):
“Understood. But at least… come see the base once.”

Era:
“Not a bad idea. Alright then. How do we get there?”

A2 (smirking):
“Wait a second.”

She pulled out a small device and made a call.

A2:
“Come.”

Era:
“...?”

Moments later, a red luxury car pulled up in front of them.

Era (amazed):
“Whoa...!”

A2 (gesturing):
“Let’s go, Nightmare.”

Era:
“Hm.”

They both got into the car, which started moving smoothly through the city streets. After some time, it came to a stop in front of a large building with a glowing "N" logo on it.

Era:
“So this is the base? Pretty cool.”

A2 (smiling):
“No, this isn’t the base. It’s our office.”

Era:
“Office? And in such a public place?”

A2:
“No one knows what this place actually is. And probably never will. This is where we gather and store information—about those who earn money through illegal means. We have two more such offices in this city.”

Era:
“Three offices in the same city? Why?”

A2:
“In case something happens to one… the others serve as backups for all our intel.”

Era:
“Smart.”

A2:
“Thank you, Nightmare. Now, let’s head inside. And by the way, the first four floors of this building are a shopping mall. Our operations run in the upper floors.”

Era:
“I see…”

As soon as Era entered the building, workers rushed toward him. They seated him in a luxurious chair, removed his shoes, and guided him to a private changing room.

Mall visitors looked on in shock—especially as the CEO and manager themselves attended to Era, helping him dress.

Era (thinking):
“I didn’t expect them to reach this level in just five years… All four of them…”

When Era emerged from the changing room, A2 approached him with a subtle smile.

A2:
“Nightmare… I hope the outfit suits your taste.”

Era:
“Hm. Not bad. Could’ve been worse.”

He was wearing a golden coat, a blue t-shirt, grey pants, a diamond-studded watch, brown shoes, and a black mask with a glowing N logo on it.

A2:
“Alright, time to go. We need to reach the top floor.”

Era:
“Okay.”

As they walked toward the lift, bystanders whispered among themselves.

Random Person 1:
“Wow… Who is that guy?”

Random Person 2:
“I don’t know… but he must be some VIP.”

Random Person 3:
“I saw him when he entered. He was wearing a school uniform—IOP School.”

RP1:
“He’s a student?”

RP2:
“And from a normal school like IOP?”

RP3:
“No idea… but maybe…”

Inside the lift, Era and A2 stood silently. The lift rose all the way to the rooftop—and stopped.

Era:
“Why are we up here?”

A2:
“From here, we’ll travel by helicopter.”

Era (wide-eyed):
“Helicopter… I see.”

They boarded the aircraft. Soon, they were soaring through the sky, the city shrinking below them. After some time, they reached a dense forest area and descended near a massive mountain.

Era:
“So… the base is near this mountain? Or inside it?”

A2:
“Not inside. Above it.”

Era (surprised):
“Above?!”

The mountain pierced through the clouds—its peak towering like a colossus.

They entered a cave that led into the mountain. Inside, they were greeted by other Night Walkers. Homes were built into the rock walls—where the Night Walkers lived. One of them led Era and A2 to a lift, which began rising… higher… and higher…

Finally, they arrived at the summit.

There, stood three massive buildings, and one enormous mansion, resembling a royal palace.

Era (awed):
“Whoa…”

They walked toward the mansion.

A2 (explaining):
“This building is where our Night Walkers live. It’s where they eat, rest, and relax. Over there is the training center. And the third one is for evaluating new recruits.”

Era:
“And what happens if someone fails the test? You kill them?”

A2 (laughing):
“No, no! We simply give them an injection that erases a few hours of their memory. Then, we return them to the place we took them from. And of course, we always inject them with a sleeping serum before we release them.”

Era:
“I see…”

Now standing before the mansion's grand main door, Era looked up.

This… was the true start of the mystery behind Nightmare.

[To be continued in Chapter 15]