The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 392: The Pop

"Strange occurrences..." Frank echoed thoughtfully. "It's true, some of the residents started acting odd. They stopped going outside and began buying up all the beef and mutton... Are they somehow connected to that unknown evil spirit you mentioned?"

"Very likely."

Lu Li frowned, his gaze fixed on the spot where the shadow in the opposite window had vanished.

Like the previous Shadow Person, this one had also disappeared the moment Lu Li noticed it. It showed no aggression, as if it were merely a silent observer.

After waiting a few seconds, Lu Li opened the fogged-up window and, along with JoJo and Frank, climbed into the neighboring house.

"Have you seen any strange newcomers lately?"

Upon entering the house, the first thing Lu Li did was look toward the spot where the Shadow Person had just been, but it was empty. There were no servants hiding in the shadows of the first floor, either.

JoJo closed the window and drew the curtains. Frank was about to say he hadn't seen anyone suspicious when he suddenly remembered something odd. "Tenebrae is the only land route from the Allen Peninsula to the mainland, so we always get a lot of travelers. A while back, I did see a strange group of people. They wore black clothes, even during the day, and were following one of the locals."

"Do you know this local?"

As he asked, Lu Li walked to the opposite window to survey the street and the house next door. The back of the next building was completely destroyed; the second floor was gone, leaving only the front wall and a corner of the upper story. Without a roof, it looked like a ruin.Through the gap, Lu Li could see two or three more houses, and beyond them, an empty lot. Past the lot, the silhouette of a forest was visible under the blood-red sky. The church was hidden by other buildings.

They were already almost at the end of Trio Street.

"I've only seen him a couple of times, I don't know his name," Frank said, shaking his head and clenching his fists. "They're the ones who turned Tenebrae into... this."

"Yes."

The cause of the events in Tenebrae became perfectly clear.

This was the Mother of the Swamp's territory, but recently a group of heretics had arrived and somehow performed a ritual, summoning their own evil god—an unknown evil god.

Lu Li didn't know if evil gods were eternal enemies, but he was certain that performing a ritual and summoning another evil god in the Mother of the Swamp's territory would have enraged her.

The Mother of the Swamp, her territory invaded, had sent the Shadow People, the Six-Armed Savages, and her other servants from the swamp into the town to destroy her enemies.

The unknown evil god, in turn, had used its followers' rituals to transform many believers and innocent residents into its own servants: the Head Balloons, night demons, and other creatures, to counter the Mother of the Swamp.

Pawns against pawns, king against king.

Perhaps the two deities were now fighting somewhere high in the heavens, beyond human comprehension. Otherwise, where would this unceasing bloody rain have come from?

"It's dangerous to stay in the next house. We need to move quietly and quickly."

After scanning the area, Lu Li turned to his companions.

JoJo and Frank joined Lu Li at the window, looking out at the ruins across the way.

After waiting a moment, they realized Lu Li had no intention of leaving.

"Aren't we going over there?" JoJo asked.

Lu Li's calm expression gave no hint of his thoughts. "Not yet."

JoJo and Frank's confusion quickly dissolved. A terrifying figure in a white dress materialized beside Lu Li. The space around her seemed to warp, and in the next instant, the Faceless Shadow was gone.

"Let's go."

Lu Li opened the window.

He leaped down into the alley, paused for a moment for JoJo and Frank to join him, and then passed through the gap in the wall into the ruins.

Scorch marks covered most of the wall, and the floor was littered with planks and stones. Their boots crunched on the debris, the sound echoing in the stillness.

JoJo and Frank glanced around nervously. JoJo couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

Glancing back by chance, she saw with horror that human heads were floating above the house they had just left, drifting toward the ruins.

"Those Head Balloons are following us!" JoJo whispered.

Her words caught the attention of Lu Li and Frank.

Looking back, they saw a chilling smile spread across the balloons' faces.

"Run," Lu Li said, turning away.

The trio stopped trying to be stealthy and ran through the ruins toward the next building.

Slam!

Lu Li, the last one in, slammed the window shut.

The Head Balloons, as expected, flew up to the window, their distorted faces pressing against the glass.

Even a brief glimpse of them made Frank shudder. "They're still chasing us..."

Among them, he saw the head of his Aunt Sophia.

Lu Li remained silent, inspecting the house while keeping a watch on the window.

The cluster of heads rose, drifting away from the window.

"The glass is broken!" Frank suddenly cried out.

JoJo spun around. Just as Frank had said, the glass in several of the house's windows was shattered. The wind whistled through the openings, making the curtains sway.

"We can't stay here. Let's go before they get in."

Lu Li walked to the opposite window. Beyond it, there was no dark alley, no wall, no cover of any kind. An empty lot stretched out from the house, and about two hundred meters away, the stone spire of the church rose into the air.

They had reached the end of Trio Street.

Perhaps they should have stayed in the building and devised a plan to cross the remaining distance.

But the Head Balloons wouldn't give them time to think.

The sharp shards of broken glass could pierce them.

Lu Li wasn't sure if the balloons would make a sound when they popped, or if they were tougher than he thought. He couldn't take the risk based on guesswork.

JoJo and Frank followed Lu Li's instructions without question, climbing out the window. Once he joined them, they started running toward the church.

On the open, blood-soaked ground, the wind pushed them forward, but it also propelled their pursuers.

JoJo couldn't help but glance back. The balloons, caught by the wind, were closing in fast.

They were faster.

"Blow them away," Lu Li whispered. An icy aura formed around him, and a gust of wind shot toward the balloons, which were now less than ten meters away.

The lightweight heads, like ordinary balloons caught in a breeze, were scattered in all directions, flying away from the fugitives.

But just then, Lu Li shouted to JoJo and Frank, who had stopped, "Run!"

Before they could even understand what was happening, one of the balloons—a man's head—slammed into a building, apparently hitting a sharp piece of debris, and instantly burst. They thought they heard a pop.

But the reality was far more terrifying.

The next moment, a piercing male scream erupted, echoing across Tenebrae.