She is not an investigator.

boom!

扑通翼傘巫气氿山侕群/撩.

Looking at the man who had lost his life, Igris wiped the blood from the muzzle of the gun onto the man's body and picked up his mask.

She had no interest in listening to any ancient evil beliefs, as that would inexplicably disrupt her already sharp intuition and force her to undergo an inspiration test, potentially leading to mental corruption.

In addition, since she had no intention of letting this cultist go, she simply shot him dead.

Although she should ask for directions, it was pointless anyway. After all, she couldn't completely trust what a cultist said; she might accidentally wander into some monster's lair and have nowhere to run.

In addition, Ling's current situation is still unknown.

I can only hope she's safe.

……

"Hahaha…"

Ling's figure moved swiftly through different paths, while behind her, strange, dense sounds kept coming, as if something was closely chasing the police officer in the darkness.

The sewer system is a complex network of passages, and wandering around without a sense of direction is dangerous, but Ling didn't have many options at the moment.

She didn't know what was behind her, but she knew it couldn't be anything good.

At the very least, we must not get caught.

"...!"

As she continued running, her foot suddenly slipped, and her whole body staggered, crashing headfirst into the wall, forcing her to stop.

Ignoring the pain, Ling turned around instantly, drew her sidearm, and stared intently at the strange sound approaching in the almost pitch-black passageway.

The sound grew closer and closer, dense and indistinct, enough to give anyone goosebumps. It sounded like sticky, segmented limbs walking on a stone pavement—disgusting yet bizarre.

Ling's flashlight was nowhere to be found, and at this moment she could only try to protect herself with very limited vision.

But the gun in her hand didn't give her much of a sense of security, because she knew what kind of enemy she was facing.

The eerie sound grew closer and closer, as if it had already reached Ling and stopped.

But she didn't see anything appear before her eyes, nor did she feel anything unusual.

Either she can't see it, or it's hidden.

But why hide it...?

"Ling?"

Just then, a familiar voice rang out from the darkness beside her, and a figure slowly emerged.

"Passa! Are you alright?!"

It's Passa, and he doesn't seem to be injured.

"It's nothing, I've already found their base."

Pasa glanced at Ling indifferently and then extended an invitation to her.

"Let's go together, it'll be good to look out for each other on the way."

"Okay...did you run into Igris?"

Upon hearing Igris's name, Pasa slightly raised her head.

"No, what's wrong with her?"

“She came with me too… but we got separated. I know I shouldn’t have brought her… but, I’m sorry… it was my fault.”

Ling looked guilty, after all, Igris was currently wandering alone in such a dangerous place, and it would be difficult to guarantee her safety with just a gun.

"Let's talk about that later, you look injured."

"Oops... I bumped into something, it's nothing."

Ling glanced at the scrapes on her arm and shook her head dismissively.

"No time for small talk, let's go."

Ling nodded and took her first step.

But then, she suddenly remembered something, frowned slightly, and looked away.

"Ling?"

"I think I twisted my ankle. You go first, I'll follow you."

Pasa took a deep look at Ling's appearance, and finally shook his head helplessly.

"I'll wait for you. Do you need any help?"

"Yes... Could you please help me up?"

"..."

Pasa hesitated for a moment, then frowned slightly in displeasure.

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"Yeah...that's not a good idea."

Ling straightened up slightly, pointing the gun in her hand at Passa in front of her.

"Who are you."

"…What are you doing?"

You can't fool me.

Ling placed her finger on the trigger of her sidearm and said in a low voice.

"You have too many flaws. It's like you suddenly appeared in front of me, and before that, I didn't hear any footsteps approaching at all. Also, from the moment you appeared in front of me, you didn't move a single step. Even when you said you were going to leave, you still didn't make any move. Your acting is terrible."

Pasa fell silent, and the next moment, Pasa in front of Ling was suddenly pulled by something and disappeared into the darkness.

The dense sounds rang out again, and Ling finally heard the specific direction from which the sounds were coming.

The top of her head.

As she looked up, countless different faces appeared in her eyes. They belonged to different people, had different expressions, different appearances, and were constantly changing and alternating.

One moment she's crying, the next she's smiling, then she's angry, and then her face is full of sorrow.

Countless faces hovered and moved above her head, and she finally saw what they were.

A centipede.

A very, very large centipede.

Each of its bodies was covered with many human faces, all of which were looking down at Ling.

Thousands of faces.

They typically appear in areas with a high death toll, and they will use masks on their bodies to mimic familiar humans, attracting others to approach and then launching an attack.

If they are discovered, they will leave quickly.

"Have many people died here?"

Although the scene above her head was quite impactful, it wasn't the first time Ling had seen such a scene before. In addition, the method of dealing with the myriad faces was also very simple, so she actually relaxed a lot.

Until she noticed that the faces on the ceiling were still watching her, refusing to leave.

The Fools of the Gods—The Worship of Eternal Night: Chapter Fourteen, The Clown

"This isn't right..."

Ling subconsciously took a step back, but there was a wall behind her, so where else could she go?

Faced with the myriad faces above her, although it showed no signs of attacking, Ling couldn't bet that it wouldn't harbor any ill will towards her, given its enormous size and terrifying appearance.

After all, she didn't think her weapon would be effective against the thing in front of her; even if she emptied the magazine, it probably wouldn't make any difference.

Perhaps she should try to escape? But she didn't think her two legs could outrun the opponent's countless limbs, and making a rash move would not be a good idea.

The most important point, and something she's been thinking about all along, is this.

Why is "a thousand faces and a hundred appearances" still here?

This is a documented anomalous creature, clearly stated in the files. It will never attack humans who have discovered its true form, and should leave immediately.

But instead of leaving, it stayed there, as if watching Ling to prevent her from leaving, without launching an attack.

If the unique malice manifested in countless ways was amplified due to the isolation and helplessness of the contaminant, it is understandable. But if that were all, it would have immediately attacked Ling, but it did not.

why?

Or does it have some other purpose?

Just as Ling's thoughts were in turmoil, the face among the myriad faces changed again, and, using the same trick as before, transformed into a figure that Ling knew all too well, appearing before her.

This time it's Igris.

"Do me a favor."

The fake Igris spoke calmly to Ling in front of her.

"In this way? You didn't even try to hide it."

Ling raised her sidearm and aimed it at Igris in front of her, but Igris shook her head.

"I need your help."

"you?"

"us."

Igris pointed to the main part of the ceiling and continued.

“I know your purpose, and I know what those people want to do. They've forgotten a lot in the sewers, things like me.”

Igris, or rather, the woman of a thousand faces, spoke softly to Ling at that moment.

"You may not understand why I would seek your help. After all, in your eyes, I should be a monster, an evil being that hunts humans."

It was no longer malicious at this moment, and the unsettling aura that Ling had been feeling all along had also been revealed, indicating that being isolated and helpless had stopped affecting her.

“But we’ve always lived here, in the town of Maubalkenson. We are victims too. It’s those damned cultists who caused this tragedy. They actively cultivate aberrant creatures in the sewers to interfere with outside investigations. Countless people have died in these perpetually dark sewers over the decades. I don’t know how long this will last, so please help me, help me kill them.”