She is not an investigator.

Constantine laid down his weapon and sighed deeply.

“I am her friend. If you know Igris, I will not hurt you. You don’t need to lie to me.”

Upon hearing this, Vicatina couldn't help but raise her head. She looked at the weapon Constantine had put down and at the wounds on his body.

"...Are you one of those companions she mentioned?"

"What's the meaning."

“She… well, she said she would get me out of here safely, but before that, she needed to meet up with you… but when she went back, she found that you were no longer there.”

"..."

Constantine frowned deeply and re-examined Vicatina in front of him.

He suspected she was lying, but her lies weren't enough to justify her serious expression, especially since... she really did know Igris.

"How...did you two meet?"

“At the store, she said she wanted to take some supplies back with her, and I happened to be hiding there.”

She no longer hid anything and seemed to understand that, given the current situation, she needed to find a reliable teammate in order to safely return to Igris's side for the time being.

The priest in front of her was her only option.

"shop…"

Constantine fell silent, because in his experience, Igris had already returned, and with the supplies, she had successfully returned to everyone's side.

But everything she said suggested that Igris had not truly returned to them; rather, they had already disappeared before that.

So, which one is true?

He was willing to believe everything he saw, but as a priest and a former exorcist, he also knew that seeing is not always believing.

not to mention…

He remembered the moment he stood in front of the door.

His intuition and his inspiration kept warning him not to touch the lock or open the door.

But he chose to believe in Igris's exceptionality and that everything she did was normal.

Perhaps... he really did make a mistake.

"...I will take you to her."

Constantine hesitated for a moment, then stopped looking at Vicatina, who was lying on the ground looking extremely disheveled.

He didn't know where to go or how to find Igris, but he knew that by continuing to hide in this alley, he would never be able to find anyone else.

Whatever happened in the church, he planned to go back and see why he had been sent there.

Thinking of this, he turned his head again and asked Vicatina, who had just gotten up from the ground.

"And... why are you here? Why did you fall from the sky?"

Above them, besides the blood-red sky, were only the surrounding tall buildings.

But Constantine believed she didn't fall from the roof, otherwise she would have been smashed to pieces.

“I… originally went to the church with Igris to find someone, but then… she opened the door and I heard the sound of a piano.”

Her recollection was smooth and fluent, but afterwards, her words suddenly became distorted.

“There was a certain person who took me away from the place, and also, a key, I got a strange key.”

As she spoke, she took the key out of her pocket.

It was a silver key, which might be able to open a door, but it would be useless if the exact location of that door was unknown.

Constantine wanted to ask what those words she hadn't been able to say clearly were, but a bad feeling made him abandon the idea.

Something is clearly wrong with this city, but the real culprits that have turned this city into what it is today deserve their attention more than the city itself.

Moreover, considering more factors won't actually make their actions more efficient.

Only by finding others can they avoid their forces being scattered and find an opportunity to fight their way out of this strange city.

and so…

"Let's go. You'd better keep up with me. I won't have much time to keep an eye on you, but I'll do my best to protect you within my capabilities... Remember, you don't need to thank me for this. It's all for Igris's sake."

"As expected, your personalities are all eccentric... Hey, wait for me!"

……

Gunshots, the sound of burning, screams, and cries of agony.

Different voices seemed to appear before Anfer's eyes in the form of concrete images.

This forced him to open his eyes and look at everything in front of him.

Everything here felt so familiar to him, from the benches and the campfire to the people.

"you…"

"What are you daydreaming about?"

A young man walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and handed him a water bottle.

"Give me some. This stuff isn't available often. There's not much danger lately, and the commander is planning to let us relax a bit."

Anfer took the kettle from his hand in a daze, opened the lid, and a familiar scent wafted out.

That's the aroma of wine, a rich aroma of wine.

The aroma constantly tantalized his taste buds and stimulated his spirit.

Finally, he lowered his head.

It was as if they had given up thinking, as if they had let go of everything.

Then, they drank heartily.

The Gods' Fool - Beyond the World: Chapter Twenty-Eight, Team Assembles

"Speaking of which, we haven't seen any monster attacks lately."

"Look at you, you don't actually expect those things to come every day, do you?"

"No, of course not, I just feel... that we might be able to evacuate from here soon."

The three people around the campfire fell silent at the same time, and no one spoke.

Finally, the young man who had handed the water bottle to Anfer came over.

"Captain, what do you think?"

team leader…

Yes, he's the captain.

This team was the one he led; each member had their own code name and their own area of ​​expertise.

They are the elite of the elite, the treasures of the army, and the greatest representatives to whom he was entrusted with important responsibilities.

They are still alive.

Everyone is still alive.

"...The war will end sooner or later."

His voice came from his own mouth, yet it sounded so unfamiliar.

He was no longer young, and his cherished teammates had passed away decades ago.

But he, now, at this moment.

His voice regained its youthful vigor, becoming clear, deep, and respectable.

"But not now."

He stood up, picked up his weapon again, and couldn't help but laugh as he watched his squad members stand up in unison.

He had dreamed countless times of standing shoulder to shoulder with them again, and now, whatever happened, for better or for worse.

He did it again.

"crow!"

"To!"

The young man suddenly straightened his body. That was his code name; in battle, he was responsible for planning combat routes and observing the battlefield.

"hound!"

"To!"

A deep sound rang out, and a masked man straightened up to answer his summons.

Codenamed Hound, in combat, it is responsible for tracking, intelligence gathering, and vanguard operations.

"Scorpion!"

"To!"

Codenamed Scorpion, its mission in combat is to carry out targeted annihilation, provide tactical support, and infiltrate for sabotage.

"Soldiers, your rest time is over."

Anfer scanned the crowd in front of him and said with a serious expression.

"Someone tell me why we're here."

"To protect the city behind us, sir."

Crow answered the question. He was the youngest and least experienced, and perhaps for that reason, he was always full of energy and willing to bring energy to the team.

“That’s right, Raven, you’re right. Our purpose is to protect the city behind us and to safeguard the people there.”

Anfer remained silent for a moment, then spoke again in a stern voice.

"That's why we can't just watch the cities behind us fall, but we're still here, guarding this land and the border, making futile efforts... We have to go back, back to Frostville, back to that city, to protect and help those in need."

"Captain... are you planning to... leave this place?"

“Yes, Raven, I miss you all, I always have. I’ve dreamt countless times of feeling guilty because of your deaths. But you were soldiers, you were warriors. Your deaths were not in vain. So, so… I have to go back. I still have everything I need to protect.”