She is not an investigator.

The demonic creature died just like that, lying on the ground, its body limp and powerless.

That's how it was solved so easily.

?

"My body is dissipating, but its power is still gathering. Leave here and seek new refuge."

At that moment, the knight turned to look at Alex.

This demon is indeed dead. As a human who has been completely corrupted, he can still retain the most basic human form under the control of original sin.

He's dead now, but it's not.

The Deus Ex could not tolerate his continued presence in the world. The knight was no longer there; he remained at the end of time, engaged in an endless battle with the giant wolf.

He also lacks the time and resources to address the multiple crises that have emerged.

"Original sin will not disappear; it will seek another opportunity. Do not become its sacrifice... Only a truly empty existence can bind it. Go and find it; only by finding the existence that was born with it can its life truly end."

"what?"

The knight seems to know a lot, but he doesn't have much time or many opportunities.

"They...always attract each other."

The sword blade pointed into the distance, and suddenly, a ghostly blue flame shot up from the ground. The warhorse within the flames stopped and let out a long neigh.

"It will guide you to your goal... Get on the horse!"

"—"

Alex flipped himself onto the warhorse, and before he could say anything, the horse charged off without hesitation.

That caused the people surrounding her to raise their guns again, and some even tried to block her with their bodies. Even though their expressions were full of fear and despair, those things seemed to still be controlling them, making them unable to resist at all.

This place is like a real gladiatorial arena, and these people are the rules trying to prevent this duel from being stopped.

But the warhorse completely ignored their obstruction and charged forward relentlessly, tearing a gap in the crowd with its own body.

The town behind them gradually receded into the distance, and the red mist slowly disappeared. The oppressive and repulsive atmosphere finally vanished from their minds at that moment.

Alex escaped with the help of the knight.

But his warhorse did not stop, continuing to gallop forward, its destination unknown.

Alex tried to stop, but the warhorse beneath her did not react and did not obey her commands, continuing to run.

Soon, the blue flames rose again, the warhorse slowed down, and its form almost disappeared.

Alex knew this was probably because the effect of the deus ex machina was about to end and the knight was about to disappear.

"—!"

With a final neigh, the warhorse stumbled and crashed heavily to the ground, sending Alex flying behind it.

Before she could even figure out where she was, everything in front of her began to spin rapidly, making her already dizzy head spin even more, and she almost vomited.

Fortunately, she didn't actually fall heavily to the ground, but due to bad luck, she ended up headfirst, her neck was broken, and she died under mysterious circumstances.

It seemed that something had landed before her.

"Well--"

Finally, she saw where she was—another unfamiliar small town.

In front of her stood three people, all dressed strangely, such as a man wearing an iron mask and a fellow wearing a somewhat tattered red cloak.

And... is that a tail? There are all sorts of strange things happening.

In contrast, the other person seemed... Oh, Isabella, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to meet her here.

What is she doing here? And... Alex should have just fallen off that crazy horse. Even if he was alright, he should have felt something, right?

Not to mention the soft feeling beneath me, which was quite comfortable.

"Alex? What are you doing here?"

"Me? Uh...right, someone asked me to investigate this matter, so I went on a business trip. Luckily, I found that guy's lair...although I ran into some trouble, I escaped and was brought here by a knight's horse, who said he would take me to the person who can truly solve all of this..."

Alex sounded dazed as she spoke, probably because the effects of the fog were still lingering on her, and it would be difficult for her to return to her previous clear-headed state in a short time.

But at least she still knows what she's doing and how to speak.

"By the way... this is you? Are you the one who can solve this? Or is it you?"

She first looked at Little Red Riding Hood, then pointed at Wilson. Of course, she never thought Isabella might be a possibility, since that guy didn't seem like the type suitable for fighting.

"Instead of that... I think you should lower your head."

"Ok?"

Alex looked down, puzzled, and then saw Igris lying beneath her, her hands supporting her head, quietly watching her.

"How am I feeling? Is my body feeling alright?"

"No wonder I didn't feel any pain."

Alex nodded thoughtfully, but because he was still not fully conscious, he didn't even have any intention of standing up.

"Please stand up before you speak, okay?"

Igris pushed Alex off her, her resentment almost tangible.

She meant well, of course; when she saw Alex rushing towards them and about to fall to the ground, she instinctively reached out to catch her.

Unfortunately, she overestimated her strength and underestimated Alex's weight, so she was almost completely pinned down.

They were even unable to move.

“Of course… Ah, Igris.”

She stood up, looked at Igris whose face was full of complaints, and her eyes cleared up in that instant.

It seems she has regained consciousness, which is quite an achievement.

Igris got up from the ground, dusted herself off, and looked at Alex with her arms crossed.

"Go on, you said you met a knight, and he saved you and brought you here?"

"Strictly speaking, I summoned him. The rest is just like that. His horse brought me here, and he said that something here could truly kill that guy..."

She was talking for a while, then suddenly fell silent.

His gaze also fell on Igris.

"so…"

"You think that person is me?"

The Bizarre Stage Play – The Book of Secrets: Chapter Forty-Four, We Have to Abandon Her

"Of course, there are other possibilities, after all, there are many people here, but I guess..."

Alex didn't continue. She patted her head, indicating that she was still not fully recovered.

“I know what you mean… I’m certainly willing to believe the knight, but without concrete information and intelligence, it would be very dangerous for us to act rashly. We can’t gamble on this.”

"Of course...you're right, but it's not safe outside the city right now. We should go back...no, wait? Why are you here?!"

Ah, she finally realized.

They realized why they were here, in the wilderness outside the city, where danger lurked and where normal travel was impossible.

Picnic? Obviously not.

"Looks like you really were stunned by the fall."

Isabella shook her head helplessly and sighed.

"This is my hometown. I came back to visit and collect the bodies of the people here. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Collect the body..."

Alex paused for a moment, then looked at Igris.

"Do you know how dangerous it is outside the city? Just how reckless do you think you are to come here with only a few people?"

"Although I didn't expect things to be this serious before leaving the city, you seem to have even less right to say such things than we do, don't you?"

At least until Igris witnessed those horrific scenes of brutal killings firsthand, she simply assumed it was just a riot.

But now, the situation is clearly much more complicated, but even so, there were still three of them when they left the city.

In comparison, Alex, who went out to investigate on his own and even managed to find out where the other party was hiding, is the one who is more outrageous, isn't he?

“I was just here to gather intelligence… Oh well, I’ve escaped anyway. I’m going back to the city to inform the others, and they should pay more attention to what’s happening outside the city. That way, my mission will be complete… What about you? Come back with me.”

Alex's mission was to gather intelligence; a direct conflict would be unexpected, not to mention that she used deus ex machina, the impact on reality of which cannot be erased in a short time. The Special Investigations Department will have to pay more attention to this kind of event.

In short, her mission was accomplished, and the remaining challenges were not for her to choose or overcome; she was here on vacation after all.

"In fact, we were planning to go back to the city first and then figure things out."

Igris crossed her arms, glanced behind her, and quickly moved closer to Alex, whispering something.

“That girl, the one with the tail…you should be able to tell she’s special. I’m wondering if we can still bring her into the city, or rather…whether you will allow her to live peacefully as a normal human being.”

"Don't even think about it... Do you think I can't see how dangerous she is? For you, Amelida is already an exception. Special Investigations Department's special agents are indeed mostly people with extraordinary abilities, but those people are ultimately just a means for us to control them... The current situation is very complicated, and we can't continue to cause more trouble."

"You mean we're going to abandon her in the wilderness and let her fend for herself, or let her go wherever she wants? Alex... I still think she's a person, and you could probably try giving her a chance."

Alex glanced furtively at Little Red Riding Hood, then suddenly grabbed Igris by the collar and pulled her close to him.

“My word doesn’t count, Igris. I really want to help you. I also really want to help her, but my word never counts. No one can guarantee her anything, even if she really has human reason, but no one can bear that risk.”

"And me? Perhaps I can vouch for her and prove that she is indeed friendly and harmless."

“Don’t joke around… Igris, you are nothing, your guarantee is useless, and you don’t need to go to this extent. How long have you known each other? Are you sure she really has no problems at all? You can’t keep being naive.”

"All right--"

Igris sighed, and Alex released her collar and gently patted her shoulder.

“I know you’re a strange person, and you always seem particularly awkward in certain situations, but you still need to think more about yourself. Losing a stranger won’t be a big problem, but you can’t. I can’t lose you, understand?”

"Whatever... there's nothing to be happy about."

Igris turned her head and looked at Little Red Riding Hood, at the little girl who had been listening to their conversation.