She is not an investigator.

They no longer fear blood and death.

For this city, for everyone, and for themselves.

Time and time again, the trigger was pulled.

……

"Hahahaha! That's all? Is that all?!"

Alex swung his long staff heavily, sending the figure in front of him flying and crashing to the ground.

"A fake!"

Alex planted the long stick in the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

She wasn't in much better shape either, covered in bruises and wounds, but she won.

Even if her opponent is herself, she still won't lose.

The figure that had been knocked to the ground slowly got up. Its calves and arms were twisted and broken, but it still stood up.

On the ground, red threads suddenly wrapped around its body, pulling it back from the brink of death and placing it back in front of her.

"...Hey, you're cheating, aren't you...?"

Alex shook the long staff in his hand, barely managing to pull himself together, and pointed at the figure in front of him who had taken out his weapon again.

"Then... I'll kill you one more time."

This battle is endless.

……

Igris climbed the stairs, steadily ascending.

This spiral seemed to have no end; above her head were towering cloud peaks, as if she had already broken through the clouds and reached a higher realm.

Her steps began to slow, and her strength began to wane.

But she couldn't stop, even though every step made her body tremble slightly, even though her limbs were already sore and weak.

The city's only hope rests on her shoulders, so she must move forward.

We must keep moving upwards.

"Where are you going?"

It was as if the air itself was empty. A voice drifted through the air and landed in Igris's ears, but she continued forward without paying any attention.

There was nothing on it.

Igris tried to ignore the strange noises and continued her arduous climb.

"You want to save them?"

"..."

"Stop talking nonsense. You can't even do martial arts, you can't even climb to the top of the tower. The police are out of ammunition and supplies, and the guy at the bottom has been beaten half to death. This is a dead end to begin with, so why do you keep going? You must be tired. Take a rest. No one will say anything."

"Shut up!"

Igris's voice swirled above the spiral, but it left Igris frozen in place.

She didn't speak, and she didn't have the strength to refute.

"Noisy!"

The Mirror Demon slowly appeared beside Igris, cursing loudly at the air Igris couldn't see.

"Can't you two just pick someone to talk to at first? Why are you talking back and forth in my ear? Do you think I want to hear your conversation? You're crazy!"

"...Mirror Demon?"

The Mirror Demon turned its head and looked at Igris, who was standing there in a daze, giving her a reassuring look.

"Ignore it, I'll curse it for you, just keep going up."

"..."

Igris was a little unsure of what to say. Should she thank the Mirror Demon? Although it didn't seem to make any real sense.

"Look...look what I found, a mirror...? Amazing."

"I am your father."

"puff…"

Igris couldn't help but laugh, but under the gaze of the Mirror Demon, she obediently shut her mouth and continued climbing.

"You think this kind of..."

"I am your father."

broken.

Igris suddenly found it hard to stay calm and continue climbing, especially with two arguing, unidentified creatures beside her.

Although, if it's just arguing, there won't be any problem...but—

"Pointless arguing will only waste your time; the people below have already..."

"I am your father."

The Mirror Demon only knows this one sentence!

But at least Igris had nothing else on her mind right now except for that sentence.

Unfortunately, her mental abundance could not provide her with the necessary physical nourishment.

Her physical strength had completely reached its limit, and she could no longer take a step.

After struggling to step onto the next step, her legs suddenly gave way, and she almost fell off.

"Ha...looks like someone can't hold on any longer."

"Are you alright?!"

The Mirror Demon ignored the voice and helped Igris up, looking worriedly at the wound she had accidentally bumped.

"I...may..."

Igris looked up at the spiral that still seemed to have no end in sight and gave a bitter smile.

"...I can't do it anymore."

"...Come up."

The Mirror Demon's figure suddenly changed, transforming into a burly man that Igris had never seen before.

It didn't like transforming into other people's forms, but Igris was too weak, so it could only transform into someone with relatively better physical strength to try and carry her forward.

嗏

"It's impossible..."

“You have to do it, even if you can’t. You promised me you’d take me to more places and see more scenery. Are you going to give up here? Get up! The Iris I know never gives up easily!”

"..."

Igris grabbed the Mirror Demon's arm, barely managing to stand up straight, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"You're right... I have to..."

"That's amazing. How about I make it a little more difficult for you?"

As the strange sound faded, the steps beneath Igris' feet suddenly vanished, and her body began to plummet.

Falling from that height... even if you survive with the nickname "The Clown," you'll completely lose the ability to climb upwards.

"Is this... the end...?"

Igris closed her eyes in despair, but the next moment, the crisp sound of horses' hooves rang out.

Igris opened her eyes abruptly and jumped down! In an instant, the blood-red wall in front of her was torn open by the fierce attack, and a knight on horseback stepped through the void and grabbed the falling Igris.

"knight!"

"I'll come, I'll respond."

The knight nodded to Igris, then his warhorse let out a long neigh and galloped quickly upwards.

"I haven't gone up yet!"

The Mirror Demon's voice and everything around her rushed past, blurring everything in Igris's vision.

She was only able to feel weightlessness again when she was already on the ground.

Before her stood a huge, slowly beating heart.

The Gods' Fool - The Last Knight: Chapter Fifty-One, The Moon Rises Again!

The heart beats, and red threads connect it from the tower.

The knight's warhorse was restless and neighing, while the knight gently stroked its mane to soothe it.

Igris walked slowly forward, her steps mirroring the beating of her heart.

Until she stopped in front of that heart, an unprecedented sense of disorientation appeared in her vision.

The tower collapsed.

Or rather... it crashed.

It fell to the ground, fell into the world that countless believers prayed for.

The sun was swallowed by the horizon, and a few stars were already hanging in the deep blue sky.

Alex, battered and bruised, leaned against the ruins, and before her stood a figure that had been reborn countless times.

Police officers fought back against the cultists' onslaught, and blood stained almost the entire street red, but there had been no gunshots for a long time.

A crack appeared in his heart, and a mad giant eye stared intently at Igris before him, its gaze seemingly containing countless forbidden knowledge.

The heart stopped beating.

The red threads returned to their owner, gently lifting the legendary giant eye.

He rose into the sky and, beneath the azure sky, became the second blood-red moon.