She is not an investigator.

"…Mirror?"

"The world is upside down, the city is upside down. You have entered the mirror, passed through the mirror, and arrived here, yet not here. You seem unaware, but you are constantly moving away from the world itself, constantly advancing towards that void. He can see you; His eyes are everywhere. He..."

The Mirror Demon's voice suddenly stopped, like a radio that had lost its signal, becoming silent and deathly still.

How much time has passed? Half a second, half a minute, or longer?

It finally spoke again, its voice filled with terror and despair, almost as if it were crying.

"Then, I saw the world blood red."

click.

It sounded as if a mirror was shattering. Igris instinctively reached into her pocket for the shards of mirror.

The mirror, which was chosen by the Mirror Demon himself and was perfect in both shape and condition, was now full of cracks.

It is even continuing to spread.

The Mirror Demon released Igris's arm, collapsed to the ground in pain, and curled its body up as much as possible.

It hurts so much that it can't make a sound or even react.

What it saw destroyed its existence, tore its essence apart, and, using the mirror as a vessel, eroded those poor creatures.

Cracks began to appear on the Mirror Demon's cheeks, and its skin started to fall to the ground like debris.

It was dying, dying from the lingering power of that glance, dying weakly and ridiculously.

Everything happened so fast, no one could have imagined it would happen.

The Mirror Demon's body turned pale almost instantly, rapidly losing its own color.

“Igris…”

This was its last cry, even though it really wanted to look up one more time, its eyes had already lost their ability.

tear-

The sound of cloth being torn came, and the Mirror Demon's almost numb body felt that unforgettable warmth at that moment.

The hastily wrapped bandages were clumsily applied to its body, revealing the rescuer's anxiety and helplessness.

Although it can neither hear nor see, it still feels happy.

Because at times like these, Igris would indeed worry about it and feel pain for it.

"..."

"..."

Igris slowly stopped bandaging and turned to look at the stillness around her.

The world she saw at that moment appeared severely colorless, with almost everything appearing in black, white, and gray.

She didn't doubt that there was something wrong with her eyes, because she knew who had come, who had come to her door again.

“Poor thing, our little guy looks like he’s seen something terrible, and he seems to be dying? Do you need my help, Igris?”

The man in the white suit reappeared before Igris, enjoying her gaze and smiling contentedly.

"Did you make this?"

"uh-huh."

Clang—!

The sword blade landed in front of the man instantly, but at the very moment it struck, a tremendous repulsive force blocked Igris's attack and forcefully sent him flying.

Her body slammed heavily against the wall, but the physical pain did nothing to quell her inner rage.

"Are you angry? That angry? That's rare..."

"Shut up! I'm going to kill you!"

Igris's roar seemed so powerless in the face of his playful smile. Even when she rushed in front of him again, she was sent flying before she could even swing the blade in her hand.

Clang—

The weapon in her hand fell to the ground, and the wounds on her body began to make her breathing heavy.

But an attack of this magnitude wouldn't even allow him to get close.

Although it was quite amusing to watch Igris charging at the barrier like a mad bull, that wasn't his purpose in coming here.

So, let's get down to business now.

Snapped.

He snapped his fingers, and an invisible force instantly climbed onto Igris's body, lifting her up from the ground and suspending her in mid-air.

"Let me go—!"

"I like to see you struggle, but... listen to me first."

"Let me go!"

Igris wasn't going to listen to his nonsense, nor did she think he could actually say anything meaningful.

Aside from mockery and seduction, Igris couldn't think of anything else he could say.

“You’re prejudiced against me. Look how many times I’ve helped you, yet you’re still hostile towards me.”

"Bullshit!"

Help? What kind of help?

This refers to the fact that he gave Igris the wrong clues in the castle, causing her investigation to be in trouble and blocked.

Does this mean he used Mirabelle as bait in the arena, treating her like a toy?

It refers to how he repeatedly tempted her to fall into depravity during the rainstorm, how he mocked her wantonly on the train, and how he was hurting the people closest to her at this very moment in order to gain his own pleasure.

"I killed you... I'll kill you sooner or later—Nyarlathotep...!"

The Gods' Folly—Beyond the World: Chapter Nineteen, "I Hope You Return in Triumph"

"Tsk tsk tsk."

He shook his head, the mocking smile on his face slowly fading away. He then pulled over a nearby chair and sat down.

“You want to kill me? Of course I can give you that chance, but you can’t do it. You can’t do it no matter what. I know everything that happened to you, even the sea where you died, and how you were transferred to this body by that ritual… and of course, the voice in your head.”

"...!"

"You don't know what I do know. Of course you don't know, because you know nothing. You are a human being. You cannot imagine the existence of a dimension like mine, and you have no idea what the truth is. Your sense of good and evil, your rationality, and your thoughts are all as laughable as children to me."

Even though his face was expressionless, at this moment, Igris could feel a deeper and stronger sense of mockery and contempt.

He was no longer standing from the perspective of a victor, but rather from the position of a ruler who was above her race.

To him, Igris was indeed like an ordinary insect, who might bite him sometimes, but from every angle, she was just an insect.

Their statuses were not equal, and naturally, he had no obligation or goodwill to choose to engage in equal communication with her.

But now, that situation has changed.

Or rather, it was changed long ago.

At that time, the insects in his eyes had already begun to evolve and were running towards the reality of the world.

Sooner or later, she will grow to the point where she can truly kill him.

But she couldn't do it.

Opportunities are presented to many people, but humans can never achieve them.

Even though he was really curious about how far Igris could go, she had already disappointed him far too many times.

Nyarlathotep's patience was finite; he had been staring at Igris for far too long, and it was pointless and unpleasant.

But why did she become like this, and who gave her that opportunity?

he does not know.

He doesn't know.

It was surprising, novel, and confusing to Him.

Why wouldn't He know? He understands the world and everything that is happening in it.

But Igris was not among them.

He could no longer see Igris's movements or predict her future.

Perhaps He should go and talk to that old friend about her, but before that...

He seemed to understand something, something extraordinary.

right here.

In Frostville.

Above this city.

"What exactly... are you trying to say?"

“You’re finally listening to me, Igris. I’m really touched, and even a little relieved.”

He wouldn't shed fake tears, even if he could, it would be meaningless.

He didn't want to waste any more of their time, even though time never seemed to be flowing at this moment.

"This city has changed. Unexpected things have happened that shouldn't have, vulnerabilities have appeared in the system, as if a virus has been implanted... It has become an outsider on this stage, like..."

He paused for a moment, then looked into Igris's eyes for the first time.

"Just like you."

His gaze seemed to pierce through the depths of her soul, peeling back everything about her and revealing it all before his eyes.

Igris had no secrets in his eyes, but at this moment she was full of secrets.

"I do not understand…"

"You should understand, just as you should understand why you are not afraid of fire, you should understand why you can easily communicate with the great beings in the vast universe, you should understand what the greatest miracle that happened to you is, being resurrected from the dead? No, you know better than anyone else."

Igris fell silent. She knew what Naya was talking about—her biggest secret, something she had never been able to understand.