She is not an investigator.

As Momokawa continued forward, he became increasingly aware that something was amiss in the forest.

It was noon, and there were no branches or leaves overhead to block the view, but the surroundings were getting darker and darker, and the visibility was becoming extremely poor.

The bare tree trunks were densely packed together, making it extremely difficult to move forward. The view ahead was getting narrower and narrower, with only one tree after another in sight, almost triggering Momokawa's trypophobia.

Although she doesn't have that kind of phobia, she does have bipolar disorder.

So she was a little angry, but there was nothing she could do.

After all, she couldn't possibly take out a chainsaw and cut down all the trees blocking her way to prevent them from getting in the way.

Moreover, the biggest problem is that this situation greatly restricts her range of movement and field of vision, and these tree trunks could also become the best cover for bullets, which is very dangerous.

She might be a little paranoid, but that's enough to make her worry.

Fortunately, after slowly advancing for a while, the dense forest finally began to thin out. Although it was still somewhat dark, at least the obstructing tree trunks were no longer blocking the way.

Momokawa raised her head and could still see the sun, though its light had dimmed considerably. It might just be her imagination, but she could at least see her own palm, so aiming shouldn't be a problem.

Just as she was starting to worry about whether it would take her just as long to get out, the sound of running water interrupted her thoughts.

Is there a river?

The largest river near Molkens is the one in the northern suburbs that is less than three meters wide and probably doesn't even have any fish in it.

But there is a river here, and judging from the sound of the flowing water, it seems to be quite a large river.

Has no one developed this place? Why? It's unbelievable that no one has ever been to such a resource-rich area.

No, it's possible that someone did come, but their purpose wasn't development.

Momokawa discovered something else that wasn't quite right.

For example, the strange gurgling sound that accompanies the sound of flowing water.

The Gods' Fool – The Last Knight: Chapter Twenty-Three, The Ubiquitous Scum

Has anyone drowned?

Although it's not very realistic, that was indeed Momokawa's first reaction.

However, when she found the river, all the confusion was resolved. It wasn't that anyone had fallen into the water, and the river itself wasn't particularly deep. The strange sound was simply from a water ghost soaking in the water.

Yes, a water ghost.

A humanoid creature that lives in water, it hunts by pulling humans who come near the water source into the water and drowning them. It looks a lot like a large salamander. It is not strong in normal combat, but it is undoubtedly abnormal. However, in this water depth, even if Momokawa went down and let it pull him into the water, he probably wouldn't drown.

The water depth is indeed a bit of a joke, but it also seems to indicate that something really big is about to happen here, otherwise a water ghost wouldn't be standing in such a small river and not leaving.

This means that the attraction here outweighs the water ghosts' requirements for their own habitat.

However, the Watermark Wife Durian Water Ghost is a rather weak anomaly, and it is not yet possible to fully determine how serious the nature of this incident is, as both the Ghost Tree and the Water Ghost are too weak.

Whatever, let's just take it down first.

Taochuan emerged from the bushes and came to the riverbank. Looking at the water ghost lying in the river blowing bubbles, he gently stirred the water.

The next moment, the water ghost swam over and grabbed Momokawa's ankle, trying to drag her into the river, which was not even as deep as Momokawa's legs.

Although even if she let it pull down, it would only get her clothes wet at most, Momokawa didn't want to get her clothes wet, so she simply kicked the water ghost's hand away and took out her gun.

Bullets may not be as effective in water, but that doesn't mean they are useless.

Upon seeing Momokawa take out a weapon, the water ghost instinctively ducked into the river. However, the water was too shallow, and Momokawa fired two shots at the surface without a care. Soon after, a motionless water ghost floated to the surface, completely dead.

When dealing with this kind of terrain-based killer, terrain is a crucial factor, and this water ghost is the kind that's given away for free, completely lacking in skill.

Momokawa checked her bullets; she had seventeen left, enough for her to use for a long time.

She didn't originally have that much, but Olivia gave her quite a bit before she left. Momokawa finally understood Igris's happiness; having a rich female boss was a completely different experience.

However, it seemed that the gunshot from Momokawa O was a bit too loud. Although the ghost of the Water Valley was already dead, Momokawa still vaguely sensed that something was rapidly approaching.

This is good news. If anything comes close to the sound of gunfire, it will be of great help to the investigation, regardless of whether it is malicious.

But before that, she needs to think about how to hide properly.

……

Not long after Momokawa buried her entire body in the bushes, the sound of a branch breaking came from not far in front of her.

They are people, and there is more than one person.

"The gunshots should have come from around here. Let's split up and check."

The man in the lead gave a few instructions to the others behind him, then looked at the corpse in the river.

The water ghost's corpse had obvious gunshot wounds, so the gunshots were coming from an attack on it and the attacker wouldn't have gone too far.

From Momokawa's perspective, she could only see two or three people searching around. She didn't know their identities or their exact numbers. Momokawa didn't plan to act immediately; she needed more information.

"...I think I can smell it."

Just then, a man walking past her stopped and carefully sniffed the surrounding air, his expression becoming increasingly excited.

"I smell it...! It's nearby!"

"..."

Momokawa tried smelling himself, and apart from the smell of soil, there didn't seem to be any strange smell. The other person was obviously exaggerating.

Even knowing the specific area, it's not so simple to directly find Momokawa, since she's in the dark while those people are in the light.

She could launch a direct attack, but she had to make sure these guys were indeed terrorists, otherwise she'd be arrested and imprisoned for indiscriminate killing.

Once they reveal their identities, Momokawa will consider whether or not to take action.

Because of the man's call, everyone came to his side, looking around with wariness.

Taochuan wasn't worried about being discovered. She was quite skilled at stealth; if she were discovered with just a glance, she wouldn't be alive now.

But they don't seem to like talking, at least not like the kind of conversation that Momoko imagined, where they would reveal their information through chatting.

This also made it difficult for her to move around freely, leaving her completely awkwardly stuck in place.

Perhaps they aren't bad people? After all, cult members don't seem to be mentally sound, and they inevitably mention their faith and chant about their Lord every few words.

Although it's a bit of a stereotype, most of the guys Momokawa encountered were indeed like that.

"The person may have already passed away."

After searching for a while without finding any trace, the leading man frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Whoever he is, we can't let him near our ceremony. We've already lost one divine child; we need two more..."

boom!

It would have been better if you had said that sooner.

A bullet flew out of the grass and hit the man who had just been speaking directly in the back of the head. He didn't even have time to react before he fell to the ground. Everyone around him panicked and pulled out their weapons to find the source of the attack.

The divine child, and the ritual—Momokawa almost instantly connected the butcher killed by Igris with them.

Why do blood worshippers keep butchers? Because the butchers are their divine children. If they want to call upon their god, the best way is to communicate through the divine children, and the lost divine child is probably the one that Igris killed.

Since they are cultists who worship blood, then Momokawa probably doesn't need to show any mercy.

After all, they had killed more people than Taochuan had ever eaten.

boom!

While Zero and the others were still unaware of the four members of the group, Momokawa secretly pulled the trigger again, killing the second person on the spot. The team of five had already lost two members without even seeing them.

"I see her! She's there!"

We've been discovered, but it's okay, it's too late to find out now anyway.

Momokawa leaped out of the bushes and went straight to the nearest cultist. With a look of terror in his eyes, he grabbed the cultist by the neck, pressed the barrel of his gun against the back of his head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Now there are only two left.

boom!

Gunshots rang out suddenly, and Momokawa instinctively hid behind the corpse, watching the bullet instantly pierce his body, causing his already fragile body to tremble slightly.

The other side also had a gun, and although their accuracy seemed a bit off, their firepower was definitely much stronger than hers.

However, suppressive firepower won't be of much use.

Upon hearing the gunfire from the other side cease, Momokawa didn't rush to peek out; instead, she threw a stone to her right.

Sure enough, two more gunshots rang out, attempting to hit the stone.

"We've been tricked!"

"Yes, we were fooled."

Taochuan flipped over and rushed to the other side, suddenly pulled the trigger, knocked down another cultist, and pointed at the last cultist who didn't even have time to change his magazine.

"This is now my favorite part of the interrogation process."

Although it's a bit strange to interrogate a cultist, Momokawa never cares about that, since intelligence doesn't just come knocking on your door.

She slowly walked to the cultist's side, watching him quietly reload, and couldn't help but smile.

What awaited him was a gun aimed at his wrist.

"I said... this is the interrogation phase now, the battle is over."

Momokawa suddenly grabbed the man's hair, forcing him to lift his head and look directly at himself, and narrowed his eyes with some pleasure.

Where would you like to begin?

The Gods' Fool - The Last Knight: Chapter Twenty-Four, The Interrogation

"You think... I'd be like those brainless idiots who would spill all their information just because you intimidate them a little? Don't even think about it!"

"It's okay, everyone says the same thing to me... You know, actually, my dad wasn't entirely without results in the process of searching for that church."

Momokawa casually pulled out a uniquely shaped dagger and revealed a gentle smile.

"For example, I learned its name... and I also learned what its blessings truly belong to."

The man swallowed hard, watching her slowly place the dagger next to his face, and suddenly felt inexplicably nervous.

"The Church of Suffering... is a cult whose purpose is to spread suffering and calamity. There seems to be no point in telling you this, after all, I'm already..."

Slowly, the dagger in her hand sliced ​​across his face, leaving faint bloodstains on his cheek.