She is not an investigator.

The term "wild witch" is actually a bit rude, as it's like comparing witches to domesticated animals. However, it's clear that no one present seemed to care too much about this issue.

“You’re right. Most of those who actually knew my identity are dead… of old age. During the census, I naturally acquired my human identity and opened an ordinary shop to cover my tracks.”

As she spoke, she reached into her skirt pocket and, under Simia's wary gaze, pulled out her identification and handed it to Igris in front of her.

"I just received this this year. They told me that everyone in Frostville will be given one of these little cards from now on, which will be used to prove my identity and age, etc..."

This is quite novel, because in other cities, this kind of identification has not been widely adopted, largely due to population size issues, as there are too many homeless people to count.

"...It says here that you are thirty-one years old?"

"Actually, when I first took the census, I reported my age as eighteen, so thirteen years later, I was indeed thirty-one."

Vicatina was very sincere and cooperative, and Igris returned her identification to her.

She did prove the legitimacy of her identity, but that doesn't mean she might gain Igris's trust.

Because the real problem facing everyone now is not just about identity.

"What happened to this city? There doesn't seem to be a single living person left. They didn't even take anything with them. Why? Why are you the only one left here?"

Igris had many questions, and she really didn't have any more time to waste here. After all, she needed to get back to the police station as soon as possible to avoid worrying everyone.

Vicatina paused for a moment, shook her head in distress, then seemed to remember something and cautiously asked in return.

"Can you believe what I'm saying...? I mean, it might be a little unbelievable, but it's all true."

She was terrified of their weapons, and as a witch, she was indeed far too weak.

"Tell us, as long as you don't make any rash moves, we won't attack you."

Despite saying that, Igris still had no intention of putting down her weapon, after all, the gun in her hand was not so easy to accidentally discharge.

"The northern defenses seem to have been breached. No... I don't know, but something has definitely gotten in. It has invaded the city without any restraint, killing many people, replacing many others, and constantly spreading disaster and pollution."

As expected, what happened in the city was not much different from what Igris had predicted. Ultimately, something had invaded the city on a large scale, which led to the current situation.

"But it doesn't seem to have been damaged very badly?"

Simia also came over and expressed her doubts.

The city is indeed full of danger, but it is difficult to see any signs of fighting or destruction, either from its surface or from the condition of its buildings.

Faced with disaster, the city's police officers could not remain inactive. Even if the army were completely wiped out, they would still have the capability to fight on the second line.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say… Shortly after the city was invaded, the army arrived. I recognized their uniforms; they were from the Arctic frontier, the same army stationed on the edge of the city… On their very first day in the city, they launched an indiscriminate massacre.”

Indiscriminate killing?

"…right."

Vicatina swallowed hard, her face showing embarrassment.

"They would attack all living things, whether human or monster. On the first day, the streets of the city were almost littered with corpses... But on the second day, they stopped the slaughter and instead took the survivors away. I don't know where they went, but they seemed to be protected... Many people went, and those who refused were killed on the spot."

"But you are still here, and you are still alive."

“I hid, and they couldn’t find me. There must have been other people hiding, but they left quickly… left the city.”

The Fools of the Gods—Beyond the World: Chapter Eight, Spells, and False Humans

"So, this is why the city is completely deserted?"

Igris stroked her chin, frowned, and asked again.

"But the city didn't look chaotic; everything seemed well-organized, and although it was deserted, everything was quite tidy."

Even though the streets were covered with a thin layer of snow, there was still no sign of ruin. Apart from the lack of people, the city was a model city.

"That's for later."

Vicatina pointed to the snow outside and explained.

“The snow won’t last long. Every now and then, the city will come alive again. Many people will appear on the streets, living ordinary lives. People will clear the snow from the streets, and everything will be as if nothing has happened… But those aren’t people. Those are… fake. They will come to my shop to buy things, but the next day, they will disappear again, and those things will reappear here.”

"I can't be sure if what you're saying is true or false."

After all, this kind of thing sounds a bit unbelievable. Although the thickness of the snow on the street is indeed a bit strange, it doesn't completely confirm that what she said is true. After all, it cannot be ruled out that the witch in front of us has mental problems and is having hallucinations.

“I know you can’t believe me… so I have evidence.”

She scrambled to her feet, and under Igris's watchful gaze, went to the shelf and pressed a hidden compartment.

The crisp sound of gears turning rang out, and the shelves next to it began to move slowly, revealing the hidden passage behind them.

"I managed to talk to them about the search while I was hiding in here... That's not the point, the point is... come with me!"

She slipped into the secret passage. Igris and Simia exchanged a glance and nodded to each other. Igris then went inside, while Simia waited at the door.

As Igris stepped into the somewhat dimly lit passageway, the contents inside came into view.

Upon approaching, one is greeted by a dazzling array of metal parts, hanging on the wall in a seemingly chaotic yet orderly fashion. Igris doesn't recognize the specific names of these things, but she has a feeling that they are not something an ordinary person could create.

Secondly, there was a large workbench with a piece of parchment on it, on which was drawn an incomplete talisman. This certainly resembled what a witch would do, perhaps studying the occult.

Vicatina noticed Igris looking around her studio, especially noticing the talisman, and quickly explained.

"That's not a bad thing, it's just my personal interest..."

"Overheating, is that what the talisman means? But it looks like it's not finished."

Igris interrupted Vicatina's nervous explanation, slowly walked forward, and picked up the parchment.

"Although I can't draw, recognizing the names of these things is quite easy. After all, I have a friend who is also very interested in these things. Besides, you seem to have more than just an interest in these things?"

"Ah... um, I didn't expect you to know about this, but... let's not talk about that now, come with me and take a look."

Normally, Vicatina would be very interested in having a good talk with Igris about these things, but now she desperately needs an opportunity to clear her name.

The store was running low on supplies, and if she didn't want to be trapped here and starve to death, she had to find a way to seek help.

Vicatina quickly walked to the next cubicle, raised her hand, and clenched it tightly in the air.

The next moment, several wooden crates stacked together were instantly lifted away, and a mangled corpse fell to the ground.

It was sudden, but Igris reacted just as quickly, pinning Vicatina against the wall before she could even react.

"Wait...wait! That's not what I meant! Look at this corpse!"

"..."

Igris turned to look at the body lying on the ground. Judging from its appearance, it was impossible to tell how long it had been dead, but it shouldn't have been too long. It was a woman, probably in her thirties. Her abdomen had been cut open, and the organs inside were clearly visible.

There was a long incision in her arm that completely cut through the skin, revealing the muscles and faintly visible bones.

Clearly, these wounds were not the actual cause of her death, but they were enough to prove a great deal.

"You're dissecting her?"

“She’s dead…she died before I did all this, she was a dead person to begin with…no, she can’t even be considered human, even though she was completely identical to a human, even though her body structure was no different from a human’s, but…she was too perfect, her skeletal structure, her muscle structure, no human could have such a body, she was more like…”

"Human beings in our conception, right?"

"……Yes."

Igris released Vicatina, and under her somewhat puzzled and curious gaze, Igris slowly put away her weapon.

“You have earned my trust, at least in this respect, I am sure you are not lying.”

Igris was certainly familiar with such things. Their origins were unknown, and they resembled humans but were not human. These creatures that constantly imitated humans were truly unsettling.

She has killed many such creatures before, and she wouldn't mind killing a few more.

"So... you can take me with you now, right?"

Vicatina looked at Igris with expectant eyes, but the latter shook her head.

"I need to ask for other people's opinions, but they probably won't refuse you. Nowadays, very few people discriminate against witches, and even fewer would really want to leave someone to die."

Igris took a deep breath, looked around, and finally asked out of curiosity.

"Honestly, what exactly is your job? Your studio makes you look like an inventor."

“I am indeed... Have you heard of talisman weapons? They use the power of talismans to amplify the weapon itself, and that’s the direction I’ve been researching.”

Igris nodded thoughtfully, touched her pocket, and pulled out a few bullets.

"You mean this kind?"

Those were the stasis bullets Constantine gave her; she had been reluctant to use them, and still had ten left.

{ 氿O肆刘棋捌+二把“弹子…？

Vicatina took the bullet, looked at the blue characters engraved on it, nodded, but then shook her head.

"Yes and no. This is a one-time use item, and it contains relatively less power. It is also relatively simple to make, requiring only some effort and the cost of a ritual. The specific cost depends on the ritual itself."

"So, what you made is even more amazing than this?"

Igris took the bullets back from her hand. At least Igris felt that these things were useful enough. How powerful would a real spell weapon be?

"I actually have one right here..."

Vicatina stopped halfway through her sentence, then looked at Igris with a serious expression.

“I can give it to you, but… but you have to take me away from here. It’s a deal, okay…?”

It was supposed to be a transaction, but the last sentence somehow sounded weak and pathetic.

"I can kill you and find it myself, after all, this place isn't that big, is it?"

Igris pursed her lips and gave a fairly kind smile.

Although Vicatina, who was standing in front of her, turned noticeably paler.

"You...you can't do this...I didn't even intend to take your money..."

"Of course I was joking."

Igris slowly approached Vicatina and gently tapped her forehead with her pistol.

“I’m not some heinous villain, otherwise you wouldn’t have had the chance to stand here and talk to me the moment I saw your face.”

Vicatina covered her forehead and looked at Igris with some confusion.

She didn't understand the meaning of those words, nor did she understand what Igris meant.

But that's not important.