She is not an investigator.

After all, no one can say for sure whether there is any pollution inside.

"I can go and browse around at the nearby shops."

Igris offered the suggestion.

Although it was indeed very cold outside, Igris would rather not go out if she could, but she was even more worried about other people going out, since the situation in the city was still unknown.

"I will go with you."

Anfer stood up, but Igris shook her head.

"It's okay, as long as you can protect everyone, I'll be fine on my own."

What nonsense are you spouting?

Without hesitation, Simia went to Igris's side and poked Igris's arm with her weapon.

“I can’t just watch you go by yourself; I have to go with you.”

"..."

Igris remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded helplessly.

"Okay, that's settled then. We'll be back before dark."

Igris was about to push open the door and leave when she suddenly stopped.

She pondered for a moment, then turned her head to look at Constantine.

"It may sound strange to say it like this... but I want you to be sure that the person who came back is indeed me, and not... anything else, you know what I mean."

After receiving a response, Igris finally pushed open the door and left the police station with Simia, stepping onto the cold street.

It should be around afternoon now. Igris wasn't wearing a watch, so she wasn't sure of the exact time and could only act as quickly as possible.

Since she was completely unfamiliar with the city, Igris could only place her hopes on Simia, who was by her side.

After all, she had been here before.

"...Why are you staring at me? I don't mind being in a place like this...but shouldn't we find somewhere warmer?"

"What nonsense are you talking about... Haven't you been here before? You should know the way at least a little bit, right?"

"Oh."

Simia pursed her lips in disappointment, looked around at the nearby streets, and narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Obviously, this place isn't much different from where I came last time. So, following the normal route, we'll continue forward and turn right at the next block to reach the very center of the city, where there's a square. I remember there were many shops near the square."

She wasn't quite sure of the exact location either, since it had been a year and a half since she last visited. In addition, she rarely memorized specific locations; she mostly memorized more obvious landmarks, such as squares, clock towers, and libraries.

Even so, she was indeed a great help.

"Indeed, bringing you along was the right decision."

"I'd rather you reward me with more intimate gestures than just praise."

Igris pursed her lips and simply stopped talking.

The Fools of the Gods - Beyond the World: Chapter Five, Spiritual Beings

The two soon arrived at the city's central square.

Like most other places, this area is still covered with a thin layer of snow, with no trace of human activity visible.

Igris quickly found the shops they were looking for on both sides of the street.

Moreover, there are many more shops here, including hardware stores and clothing stores.

There's almost nothing that appeals to Igris more these days than a clothing store.

"I'll go in and change into something warmer."

While talking to Simia, Igris easily pried open the door of the clothing store with practiced ease, clearly a repeat offender.

Although Simia also wanted to go in, since Igris was going in to change clothes, she couldn't just openly peek in. She could only stand at the door and watch silently.

Like most other places, the shop was empty but quite tidy, with many clothes still hanging on the display racks and not taken away.

In fact, Igris was already wearing very thick clothes. If they were any thicker, it would probably affect her normal movement. So Igris didn't focus on the even thicker coats, but rather on other things.

For example, a hat that can effectively block the cold wind, and a scarf.

While enjoying the pleasure of buying things without spending money, and pondering which scarf might be warmer, Igris suddenly thought of something.

She first glanced at Simia standing outside the door, then cautiously approached the counter.

And while she wasn't looking, he opened the cash register.

"...!"

Sure enough, he's rich.

The people's haste in leaving not only left these goods here, but also the gold and silver coins from the radio.

Rather than watching them gather dust here, Igris decided to find them a better home.

For example, Igris's wallet.

Anyway, no one will condemn her for this, right?

“Igris—”

"This isn't stealing; nobody wants this money anyway..."

"Look at that."

Simia's call made Igris look outside, and following her gaze, she landed on a patch of snow.

There was nothing there, but even in this environment, Igris quickly noticed something was amiss.

footprint.

Footprints appeared on the snow, continuing to move forward in the direction the two were heading.

The footprints were unshoe-free, the footprints of ordinary humans, and while they weren't moving very fast, they would soon reach the two of them.

Simia had raised her weapon, but she didn't fire because she didn't know what it was or whether bullets would have any effect on it.

More importantly, she wasn't sure if her gunshot would attract more attention.

"Don't be afraid."

Igris abandoned her plan to continue storing money, flipped herself over and jumped out from behind the counter, her face instantly covered with a bandage.

Igris also did not intend to fire. In this completely silent city, gunshots would most likely cause them some trouble, although long-range attacks would indeed be more reliable when facing an unknown entity.

But Igris was never one to be afraid of getting hurt.

Clang—!

With her sword drawn, Igris took a step closer to the footprints that were leading towards them.

The pace of progress was almost constant, and soon, Igris came face to face with the footprint.

An unprecedented chill made her shiver instantly, and the footprint stopped in front of Igris, not moving any further.

Igris tried poking the air in front of her with her weapon, but she didn't touch anything.

Clearly, this thing is not simply invisible, but something else that is even more difficult to understand.

Its footprints could be seen in the snow, and its sudden stop proved that it could indeed observe Igris and react to her actions.

But apart from that, nothing else seems to have happened.

There was no attack, no pollution; aside from feeling a chill, Igris didn't experience any other emotions.

Igris didn't know if continuing the standoff was a good idea, but she really didn't know how to deal with this being that was clearly targeting the two of them.

Just as Igris was starting to get a little impatient, the footprint finally moved again.

It chose to bypass Igris and headed towards Simia.

Igris instinctively prepared to block its advance, but the footprints suddenly accelerated, almost instantly overtaking Igris's obstruction and arriving in front of Simia.

Simia raised her gun, but before she could pull the trigger, the footprint stopped.

It stopped in front of Simia.

Then, she raised the gun again.

He aimed at Igris in front of him.

"..."

It turned out to be the case.

This thing can achieve a kind of ability similar to manipulating others by contacting them, but its ability seems to be ineffective against Igris, whether it is because of her resistance to pollution or because of the extra amplification given to her by the bandage on her face.

However, upon reflection, it seems that since she gained this new ability, her sensitivity to pollution has also increased dramatically.

It's highly likely that the scalpel played a part in that.

Now, however, she had to consider how to subdue the manipulated Simia in front of her.

"Simia, can you still hear me?"

Even with a gun pointed at her, Igris didn't feel much fear; instead, she stared intently into Simia's eyes.

She blinked rapidly and unnaturally, which proved that she was indeed still conscious, aware of everything that was happening, and still had some control over her body.

That's probably why she still hasn't fired.

Soon, her gaze shifted from Igris to her pocket, and then she looked at Igris again.

Igris immediately understood and rushed towards Simia without hesitation.

boom--!

The loud gunshots rang in Igris' ears, but the bullets were deflected far off course by Simia's influence, making it impossible for them to hit Igris.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Igris tackled Simia to the ground and reached into her pocket.

There wasn't much inside, except for a strange-looking amulet, which was very ancient and mysterious.

Igris placed the amulet directly on Simia's chest. The cold amulet in her hand instantly became scalding hot, and accompanied by a shrill scream, a semi-transparent, spirit-like creature flew out of her body.

"Ha—whoosh…"