She is not an investigator.

The world seemed to have fallen into error and chaos, and the sky was changing faster and more frequently.

The interplay of light and shadow constantly spilled into the church and onto the faces of everyone present.

Finally, finally.

It stopped.

Then, the world turned blood red.

The Fools of the Gods—Beyond the World: Chapter Twenty-Four, Scattered

"This is…"

The red light fell.

It splashed onto Igris's face.

In her eyes, that red world was reflected.

Loneliness and despair suddenly crept over her, making her feel suffocated.

She lowered her head and looked at the people around her.

Without a trace.

She was now the only one left in the church, standing there blankly in the blood-red light.

"Where...did everyone go...?"

She gripped the weapon in her hand blankly, but the increasingly suppressed emotions made her stop and start squatting on the ground, taking deep breaths.

"What...what's wrong with me..."

Her thoughts began to become confused, she became overly sad, and even her body began to feel numb and tense.

The pure white church gradually turned deep red.

The sound of the piano also became particularly melancholy and sorrowful at this moment.

Every note relentlessly struck her heart, attempting to break her spirit.

Igris shook her head violently and forced herself to stand up.

She can't let herself sink here, she can't stop here. She needs to keep moving forward, she needs to leave this place, she needs to find her companions, she needs…

Clang—!

"Found you! Imposter!"

"...!"

The swords clashed, and she instinctively raised her weapon, deflecting the attack aimed at her chest.

Her steps became unsteady, and her expression became confused. The pain in her wrist prevented her from completely losing consciousness, but it also brought her deeper doubts.

She looked at the figure holding a weapon in front of her, at the enemy who was almost identical to herself, and began to tremble.

"you…"

"Where did you take them?!"

As she spoke, another attack pierced her body.

The attack was fast enough, but she still easily blocked it and kept examining herself.

She didn't understand, she couldn't figure it out.

Why does another version of myself appear? Why?

Why would she call herself a fake?

"Stop...wait...don't continue attacking..."

Ta-da!

That's... the sound of a piano?

As the piano music faded, a sudden thrust came at her once again.

The attack was fast and the angle was equally tricky. She was completely exhausted and could only roll over to the side to avoid it.

Even so, the attack still tore through her clothes at the chest, leaving a gash on her body.

Blood flowed slowly, accompanied by waves of stinging pain, and her sorrow grew ever stronger.

"Why...don't continue like this..."

Tell me, what about them…?

Dengdeng.

The piano music started again.

The other person abruptly stopped speaking, as if harboring immense anger, and charged forward again without hesitation.

She understood, she understood completely.

It was the sound of the piano that was influencing my emotions.

This affected their emotions.

There is no escaping it.

Even if my heart is full of tears, even if my body is numb and cold, even if I want to die.

But she can't do that; emotions shouldn't affect her, nor could they possibly affect her.

They wouldn't be so fragile, nor would they feel sad or even prepare to give up their lives because of a piece of music.

Resistance.

She had to resist.

Clang—!

The blade stopped in front of her forehead, gently brushing aside her bangs, but could not move forward again.

She deflected the attack with remarkable precision using her sword, and with a sudden burst of force, forced her opponent back.

Finally, her fighting spirit was ignited; finally, she stopped thinking about backing down.

She must fight.

“I am… the one who inherits the legacy, Igris.”

Igris took a deep breath, raised her sword, and pointed it at herself, who had also stopped moving.

Her sword began to gleam slightly, and her face was quickly covered by bandages.

Her call reached the other person's ears, carrying with it her doubts.

Now, tell me your name.

boom--!

Flames suddenly rose up, engulfing the figure opposite, seemingly symbolizing her anger.

She slowly raised her sword, pointing it at the figure in front of her, and murmured something.

"I am a man hated by the sea, a man whose fate is intertwined with mine."

Her gaze pierced through the flames, and accompanied by the stirring piano music, she swung her sword fiercely.

"Igris—!"

…………

"...My head hurts so much..."

Philina slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes, only to find that everything around her seemed so unfamiliar.

This appears to be a stairwell, and she is lying on the stairs, still holding her umbrella in her arms.

She shouldn't be here, she should...

She should be in the church.

"How could this be..."

She didn't see anyone else—Igris, Simia, Anfer, Constantine—none of them were there.

She seemed to be all alone here, lonely and quiet.

She stood up from the top of the stairs, gently brushed the dust off her clothes, and began to check the surrounding area.

She was probably in a house, which was almost entirely covered in dust, suggesting it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

Just to be on the safe side, Felina took out her weapon and carefully checked the nearby rooms.

Most of the doors here were closed, and Philina wasn't sure if it was a good idea to push one open rashly, but she didn't seem to have any other choice at the moment.

After pressing the door shut for a long time to make sure there was no movement inside, she finally pushed the door open.

As the door opened, the room came into view.

However, perhaps the view outside the window is more worthy of consideration than the situation inside the room.

"What is that...?"

In her gaze, the sky outside the window turned completely blood red, and further away, among countless tall buildings, countless objects that looked like embryos were silently suspended in the air.

She didn't know what it was, or what it would cause.

But she needs to leave.

Take everyone and get out of here as quickly as possible.

This scale of anomaly clearly indicates that the city has been completely overrun and turned into an unmanaged area.

The danger here is beyond their ability to easily resolve.

They need to leave, they need to escape, they need to let everyone know the specifics of what's happening here.

The information must be transmitted.

Clang.

"?!"