She is not an investigator.

"Wouldn't it be very inconvenient to drive a train when one hand is a prosthetic?"

"You'll get used to it. It was a little inconvenient at first, but now there are almost no problems."

Cecilia put the gloves back on her prosthetic arm, and at first glance it was indeed hard to tell that her arm was actually a prosthetic.

"I had a very pleasant chat with you. To be honest, I rarely have the opportunity to interact with passengers like this."

It's probably because she spends most of her time in the driver's seat, and there are no other passengers in this dream.

However, Igris was indeed an accident this time, since she herself didn't know how she got in.

"This train will probably stop at a station along the way for a short break later. How about I buy you a drink then?"

Cecilia liked Igris very much and was happy to be her friend, even though they might not be able to see each other again in the future. But making more friends is never a bad thing.

If Igris is willing to drink.

"I'm sorry, I don't like drinking."

"That's a real shame."

The Gods' Fool - The Northern Train: Chapter Thirteen, It Was Actually... a Pet?

Meanwhile, in the other carriage...

Constantine kept his gun raised, staring intently at the approaching, eerie figure, not daring to let his guard down for a moment.

Its steps were indeed slow, but exceptionally firm. Although it came from the rear carriage, the overwhelming sense of terrifying oppression still made people breathe rapidly.

Perhaps he should have chosen to fire directly; every moment of hesitation was closing the distance between them.

Looking at the light before him, Constantine suddenly thought of a very similar creature.

It's not some strange or bizarre creature; it's just a very ordinary one.

Anglerfish.

The records of this creature are quite interesting. It is the most representative deep-sea fish discovered by humans in their exploration of the ocean, and its characteristics largely represent those of most deep-sea fish.

For example, those fish are most likely ugly.

The most famous feature of the anglerfish is probably the small lantern hanging on its head, which can attract other fish to approach in the relatively dark deep-sea environment.

Perhaps the creature in front of us also possesses similar characteristics? For example, using light to attract other creatures in the dark.

But will this trick really work? After all, when faced with thoughtful humans, a light source that looks suspicious from every angle is even less likely to inspire any desire to approach it.

However, Constantine's question was resolved smoothly the next moment.

Puff-!

A muffled thud suddenly came from not far in front of him. Under his gaze, the figure that had been slowly moving forward with the strange ball of light suddenly fell heavily to the ground. The ball of light also fell to the ground, illuminating its headless body.

At that moment, a sharp bone blade pierced straight into the eerie sphere of light that was still glowing, and puddles of black liquid flowed out.

The light from the orb dimmed, but it still illuminated the owner of the bone blade.

It was a strange creature with a short stature, which at first glance looked like an ordinary monkey. It had long arms, but no fingers. Instead, it had a pair of sharp bone blades.

Its skin is a pale gray color, covered with various wrinkles and dense black spots, which makes people's scalp tingle just by looking at it.

Its head is particularly striking; the head, about the size of a fist, has no eyes, only a huge mouth that takes up almost the entire face.

It's worth mentioning that it has no teeth, so this shape looks more... disgusting than terrifying.

Constantine did not make any rash moves, and the strange creature did not choose to attack him either. Instead, it persistently used the bone blade in its hand to stab the increasingly faint ball of light again and again.

Just as the ball of light was about to completely extinguish, it stopped moving, lowered its head, and seemed to be preparing to swallow the chopped pieces of meat into its mouth.

But at that moment, a strange phenomenon occurred. The light sphere, which had almost gone out, suddenly began to tremble, and the black liquid flowing on the ground instantly showed unprecedented activity, wrapping around its bone blade like tentacles.

As the black liquid rapidly tightened, before the strange creature could even let out a scream, the crisp sound of bones cracking rang out.

Its corpse lay limp on the ground, completely lifeless, while the orb of light also extinguished completely in place, and the black liquid appeared to have lost its activity as well.

Constantine felt that this scene was probably a brilliant example of hunting and counter-hunting. Although the animals being observed were not conventional in some respects, the priest still gained valuable experience.

…However, why would such a thing appear on a train traveling at such a high speed?

"Oh, did I scare you?"

The lantern's light illuminated the last carriage of the train, and the train attendant slowly stepped over the corpses on the ground and walked towards the first carriage.

Compared to when he left, he now carried a lamp and white gloves stained with a strange black liquid.

As the lights came on in the first carriage, Constantine's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but he still frowned and asked.

What are those things?

"Pets? I don't know either. They're all raised by Erwin. They're usually kept in their cages, but they can't help but come out at times like this... Don't worry, they won't go into the first carriage, and you won't be in any danger."

The train conductor casually opened the window, and a chill instantly rushed into the carriage, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.

He casually tossed the glove, which was stained with black liquid, away, then slammed the slightly ajar window shut and locked it tightly.

After recounting everything that had happened last night, he turned back to Constantine and pointed to the gun in his hand in the dim light.

"Put your weapons down. You'll be fine in the first carriage. Holding them up all the time is tiring."

"..."

Constantine slowly lowered the muzzle of his gun, but before he could say anything, Felina, who was standing next to him, suddenly couldn't help but speak up.

"Conductor, Igris seems to have fainted..."

"She fainted? Are you sure she didn't just fall asleep but actually fainted?"

"Of course! How could someone fall asleep and be impossible to wake up no matter what you do?"

The train conductor glanced at Igris, who was leaning on Felina's shoulder with her head down, and shook his head dismissively.

"Of course, like the one driving right now."

"...Anyway, you have to think of something, just in case something really happens..."

"Why don't you try slapping her?"

The train conductor interrupted Philina, irresponsibly suggesting a bad idea.

The person who came up with this idea is definitely not a normal person, and the person who actually does it is even less likely to be a normal person.

Constantine glanced at Felina and, sensing that she wasn't the type to do such a thing, felt somewhat relieved.

Otherwise, he always felt that even if this method could actually wake Igris up, someone would suffer.

"I'm not joking!"

"I don't know either. After all, even if she really fainted, there's nothing we can do. There are no doctors here. The only thing you can do is slap her and see if she wakes up."

Selena fell silent and turned to look at Igris, who was leaning on her shoulder.

Constantine suddenly had a bad feeling.

"You're not really planning to do that, are you?"

"How could that be! I'm not stupid!"

Faced with Constantine's questioning, Selena immediately looked away and turned to the priest, angrily rebuking him.

Constantine was skeptical, given that she did indeed seem inclined to give it a try.

I wonder what will happen after Igris is actually woken up.

Constantine suddenly felt a strange sense of anticipation.

The Gods' Fools - The Northern Train: Chapter Fourteen, Midway Stop

Felina ultimately did not choose to do so, although she did consider whether such an action was feasible, but before that, the train had already emerged from the tunnel.

The light reappeared in the carriage, instantly dispelling all the darkness and causing Igris, who had seemingly fallen into a coma, to open her eyes immediately.

She slowly raised her head, first looking at Felina leaning against her, then at the train conductor leaning against the door, silently extinguishing the lantern.

In the end, Igris said nothing, but simply turned to look out the window.

After passing through the tunnel, the barren land that was still somewhat green disappeared without a trace, replaced by a vast expanse of white snowfield.

Yes, it's snowing.

It's impossible to determine exactly how thick the snow is or how long it has been falling, but it doesn't seem to be thick enough to affect the tracks.

"Igris? Are you alright?"

Felina called out to Igris in a low voice with some concern, pulling Igris back from looking out the window.

Igris shook her head, lowered her eyes slightly, and explained softly.

"I was just asleep, don't worry about it."

“…Oh, okay then.”

Felina was at a loss for words. Perhaps it was because Igris seemed really strange, or perhaps she just gave off a feeling of being somewhat...unapproachable?

boom--!

Suddenly, a loud crash came from Igris' side, drawing everyone's attention.

A streak of bright red blood appeared out of nowhere on the glass beside her and slowly flowed down.

No one noticed exactly what happened, but it's highly likely that something hit it.

Is it a sparrow? Or a crow?

It must have been a bird that was unlucky enough to crash into such a fast-moving train.

This should have been insignificant until the train's speed suddenly began to decrease.

Igris looked out the window. It was still an ice field, with no stations or even buildings to stop at.

The train attendant also looked towards the door, clearly not understanding the train conductor's reasoning.

Are we planning to rest here for a while?

Igris asked the train conductor in a low voice, but the conductor did not answer.

He was still staring at the car door in front of him, seemingly lost in thought.

"I'll go ask the train conductor. You all stay seated and don't move... Don't wander around, and don't open the doors."