The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 174: A Fairy Tale

Tesla's story made it sound as if Lu Li was leaping from one trap to the next, with some new danger always lurking just ahead.

But if it continued like this, the trial would border on the absurd.

In any case, Tesla hadn't ended his story with "and they lived happily ever after," which meant something else was bound to happen.

From that point on, Tesla's narrative style shifted, becoming more like that of a novelist.

...

The gloomy sky seemed so bright, the black earth so vast. After emerging from the cold, dark tunnel, Lu Li felt how wonderful it was just to be alive.

“I really made it out of the ruins...” he whispered, standing at the entrance and gazing at a bonfire flickering between tall stone pillars, monsters swarming around it.

He was about to act when a furious roar echoed from the stone forest. A monster with an unusual tail appeared at the edge of the woods. In its black, powerful claws, it clutched a stone the size of a human head and, with another roar, hurled it at the group of monsters.

One of the reasons humans dominate this world is their ability to use tools and their intelligence.

A stone the size of a human head couldn't injure the monsters, but it was enough to shatter the bonfire.Sparks flew in every direction, alarming the monsters, who both loved and feared fire. Their attention shifted, and letting out a deafening roar, they charged toward the strange kinsman who had provoked them.

Remi's brother turned and vanished into the stone forest, drawing all the monsters after him. Their roars gradually faded.

Just as planned, as soon as Lu Li appeared at the entrance, he had drawn the monsters away.

Lu Li came to his senses, cast one last glance at the dark tunnel of the ruins, and before the monsters could return, he fled down the stone steps and disappeared into the stone forest on the other side.

He hid behind a black stone pillar, just as he had arranged with Remi's brother, and waited for him to appear. A few minutes later, heavy footsteps sounded, and Remi's brother returned.

But Remi was still nowhere to be seen.

He was in terrible shape: covered in wounds, with most of his scales torn away, revealing the same black flesh beneath.

“Where is my sister?!” he demanded anxiously of Lu Li.

A pang of sorrow struck Lu Li. “She’s... dead.”

“What did you say?!”

A claw, reeking of rot, seized Lu Li by the shirt and lifted him off the ground. The monster’s maw, full of sharp teeth, twisted into a snarl, and a black claw shot upward.

Lu Li closed his eyes, bracing for the blow.

But the blow never came. The enormous claw stopped just before his face. The monster released its grip, and Remi's brother—along with his monster—clutched his head, whispering in agony, “It’s not your fault... I waited too long... I should have overcome my fear and gone after her sooner... This is my fault...”

Lu Li didn't know how to console a brother who had just lost his sister. He could only comfort himself with the thought that perhaps Remi's soul was still somewhere in the ruins, alive in some other form.

“Jimmy!? What happened to you?!”

Suddenly, a surprised, clear voice rang out.

The two grieving figures lifted their heads at the same time, looking toward the sound with a flicker of hope.

A translucent figure in a white dress approached them. Now, outside the gloomy ruins, Lu Li could see Remi more clearly—and her unsettling, pure white eyes.

Lu Li knew what had happened to the siblings, but they were unaware of each other's state, so both were frightened.

Lu Li briefly explained what had befallen each of them. Jimmy remained silent for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

“At least we’re alive...”

“How did you manage it?” Lu Li asked Remi, unable to contain his curiosity.

Remi explained that after Lu Li left the altar, while the master of the ruins was preparing to manifest, she had followed Lu Li’s advice. She flew upward, passed through the walls and the mountain, and escaped the confines of the ruins.

Perhaps he had been deceived too many times, but Lu Li couldn't help but doubt her words.

Could it be, as Remi claimed, that the master of the ruins—that sinister and terrifying entity—had simply let her escape? What had happened at the altar after he left? But it didn't matter. All Lu Li knew was that he had completed his mission, and they had both survived, albeit in different forms.

“Let’s get out of here. If the master... that entity from the altar, manages to get out or control me...” Jimmy said anxiously. He didn’t want to lose consciousness again, and he didn’t want to lose his sister.

Lu Li and Remi, who was now a ghost, naturally agreed. Jimmy settled his form atop the monster's broad shoulder, and together they slipped past the patrolling creatures, exiting the stone forest and finally leaving the black earth behind.

The rotting black soil beneath their feet gave way to green grass. They stood on the slope of a hill. To their left lay a village surrounded by meadows; to their right, the black land, steeped in death. The border between them was stark and clear.

“What will you do now?” Lu Li asked. In their current states, neither Remi nor Jimmy could show themselves in the village.

“Go home,” Jimmy answered firmly.

Remi seemed to be thinking further ahead. “If the village won’t have us, we’ll find another place.”

“Another place?” Lu Li repeated.

Remi nodded, a flicker of a dream in her eyes. “Somewhere by the sea. We’ll build a little house there.”

She didn't seem as dejected as Jimmy, which made her appear more mature.

Lu Li couldn't be sure if Remi had always been this way, or if something had happened at the altar. The ease with which they had escaped the ruins still bothered him.

Perhaps he could learn more from the organization when he returned.

“We won’t forget your help, Lu Li,” Remi said, suddenly embracing him. Her cold, incorporeal body felt the same as it had in the ruins. Jimmy nodded gratefully.

“Where will you go now?” he asked.

“Back to report on my mission,” Lu Li replied. On their way out of the ruins, he had told them about his work.

“I mean, after you report.”

“Home. My home is by the sea, too, by the way.”

In the rays of the setting sun, the black earth and the ruins with their dark stone pillars were visible in the distance. Lu Li stood on the hillside and smiled at the brother and sister. “Welcome to Belfast.”

“A good story,” old man Pick sighed. At his age, few things could stir his soul, aside from memories of his youth.

He looked at Lu Li. “So our silent hero got his happy ending?”

“Yes, perhaps it’s the best ending possible,” Tesla said, smiling at Lu Li with undisguised admiration.

The villains were defeated, the hero befriended the oppressed monster, and together they escaped from the clutches of evil.

An ending like that is only possible in a fairy tale.