She is not an investigator.

Once again, the exact same voice kept interfering with his commands.

The soldiers became confused, bewildered, and... unable to act.

Finally, the curtain of darkness was lifted, and everyone's figures were exposed before him.

He opened his mouth, wanting to give another command, but before he could, a grenade landed precisely in his mouth.

Boom—

The violent explosion blew half of his head off, but even so, his body continued to heal and repair itself.

He is unkillable, just like those soldiers.

"Tie him up and take him away first!"

Countless vines spread out from the ground, completely enveloping his body.

He lost his freedom, his ability to speak, and his right to command the army.

They succeeded, famously resolving the difficulties they faced, and the predicament that had almost trapped them to death.

嗏

The black, mud-like liquid slid onto the ground.

They lost their parasitic properties and transformed into the most primitive, ordinary matter, spreading throughout the equally dark night.

The soldiers lost their lives, falling to the ground. The man lost his head, becoming a headless corpse, and died wrapped in layers of vines.

They began to gather together, and then they began to close.

Among them, a sand table that slowly floated in appeared before everyone.

And it was completely swallowed by the black mud.

The Gods' Folly - Beyond the World: Chapter Seventy-One, Pollution

"Sometimes, they always think they can control everything, but little do they know that those are always their most vulnerable times."

When someone attempts to control substances and organisms that are not recognized by human society, they must consider why such organisms are difficult to be recognized.

The ant colony did indeed work; he became the queen ant and had his own army of worker ants.

But is he really the one controlling those armies?

Was it him who became the queen ant, or those ubiquitous... disgusting black sludge?

He should have listened to his superior's orders, he should have stopped immediately, and he should have taken the dangers they posed seriously.

But now, it's all too late.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Darker than night, more filthy than filth, the mud that came from beyond the ocean, the matter that tried to be controlled by humankind.

…No, living things.

Finally, at the most opportune moment, it revealed its true fangs.

It gathered together, becoming enormous and dangerous; it was an aggressive giant, and a symbiotic pollution.

It will be in the sand table, in the ant nest.

Become your own master.

"Everyone, run!"

The dark shadows covered the massive, muddy body. Constantine's call made all those who were trying to raise their weapons stop in their tracks.

No one attempted to attack it; the black, mud-like substance continued to spread, devouring everything around it and coexisting with it.

Even darkness itself.

"What is that thing... Millie! Bring Constantine back!"

His darkness is being assimilated, being devoured; his body is growing darker and darker, and more and more familiar.

That was the power of the eternal night; it was evolving, constantly devouring and evolving.

Constantine was unable to move his feet, and for the first time, the darkness surging from his arms went out of control and began to climb back up his body.

At that moment, countless vines sprouted from the ground, lifting Constantine's body directly into the air, allowing the shadow that controlled him to be covered by the vines and regaining his freedom.

Before he could catch his breath, Constantine was just about to escape when darkness enveloped him once more.

Its target shifted away from Constantine and began to devour the enormous vines.

At this moment, the tender green plants were stained with a layer of ink and completely lost their vitality.

Millie's expression also began to turn sour, and in the process, a smear of black sludge quietly crept up onto her fingernails.

"I…"

Millie noticed and felt it: her consciousness was becoming chaotic, her body was gradually losing control, and she was experiencing unspeakable pain.

"—"

She opened her mouth, trying to tell everyone to run, but her throat was already making it difficult to make a sound.

That kind of contamination doesn't just spread through physical contact, but in another... more elusive form.

Difficult to prevent, impossible to resist.

"—"

Boom—

A sudden tremor came from underground, and Millie's figure fell to the ground. The next moment, several huge vines emerged from the ground and slammed heavily into her body.

"—!"

Instinctively, Millie raised her hand, and her vines quickly crashed into the attack coming at her, but in an instant, they were completely torn apart without any resistance.

"Millie!"

"It is evolving... based on everything it devours, based on the attacks we launch against it."

At this moment, Simia's emotions became unusually calm.

Without a doubt, any attack launched against it is not only unlikely to directly harm it, but it is also easy for it to devour and evolve, becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.

Its movement speed is quite slow, so the best way to deal with this situation is to quickly escape its attack range.

But this also means that they have to abandon Constantine and Millie.

"...Tsk."

The properties of this thing are unheard of, and its characteristics and appearance are completely unfamiliar. Where did those people find it? Where did it come from?

Does this thing... have no weaknesses at all?

Weakness...an ant nest?

"...Constantine! The reason they can connect and gather together is the ant nest inside its body! Take it out, or destroy it, and it will disintegrate on its own!"

"You make it sound so easy..."

Constantine stared at the giant in front of him, whose height had gradually grown to the height of a three-story building, and gritted his teeth.

It seemed to know exactly where its weakness lay, so much so that the anthill was completely protected within those black, mud-like objects, making it impossible to attack directly.

Moreover, just touching it is almost enough to get infected by that stuff, let alone destroying its internal components.

What can I do...? Is there any way to make its body start to disintegrate...?

Constantine's contemplation didn't last long before he was drawn to a striking splash of red.

The girl, who resembled a wild beast, did not run away; rather, she was rapidly approaching the dangerous giant.

"This kind of attack is unlikely to work... if she's also contaminated..."

Puff-!

It was a tail thorn that broke him.

Sharp and deadly, with her rapid dash, the microneedle pierced the giant's body almost instantly.

In that instant, the ubiquitous mud climbed up her body and spread throughout her entire being.

Her expression turned pained and she became even more agitated, but she suddenly stopped when the black mud crawled up to her chest.

A silver light suddenly shone, stopping the black mud from continuing to erode it. At that moment, she seemed to regain control of her body and began to scratch at it almost frantically. Her sharp claws dug out countless bits of black mud again and again, and finally she managed to dig a hole in it.

Finally, unable to restrain itself any longer, several vines shot out from the ground and crashed into the girl lying on it.

Faced with this attack, she simply leaped back lightly, and with a roll, her body landed gracefully on the ground, dodging the attack.

But her current state doesn't seem very optimistic.

Its originally red body was now half-stained black, and its lower body had almost completely lost its original appearance, with countless silts clinging to it and continuing to spread.

The silver light on her chest had not dissipated, continuously blocking the erosion of the silt, though the light was much dimmer than at the beginning.

"key."

Constantine saw it; it was a key, a silver key, hanging around her neck.

"The key can temporarily resist that kind of pollution, but it can't completely block it... right?"

"The wound on its chest hasn't fully healed; this is a good opportunity!"

Simia heard Constantine's mutterings and noticed the strangeness happening to the girl. Almost without hesitation, she gripped the silver key in her hand.

"Cover me!"

The Fool's Play of the Gods - Beyond the World: Chapter Seventy-Two, Stagnation

"and many more!"

Felina quickly pulled back Simia, who was about to rush forward and fight, and said anxiously.

"Didn't you hear me? This key can only temporarily stop the pollution, not completely. You'll be in trouble!"

"So you mean I should give this opportunity to others and let them go to their deaths, or you should go yourself?"

In this situation, Simia didn't intend to say anything more to this young lady, but at that moment, the key in Simia's hand was suddenly snatched away.

Bewitched by the Mirror Demon.