The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 396: A Deal with an Evil God

Lu Li took the two spirit pistols from Jojo. One of the holsters had fallen into a trash can along with the statuette of the Mother of the Swamp, leaving him with no place for the second weapon, a level-two artifact. He temporarily set it on an end table.

Next, he retrieved an oil lamp from his suitcase, lit it, and placed it deeper in the cellar, scattering the shadows. The entire space was now clearly visible.

Once that was done, Lu Li removed his coat. To Jojo and Frank's astonishment, he tossed it onto the floor, doused it with kerosene, and struck a match.

As if sensing what was about to happen, a soft whisper echoed through the cellar.

— Why... reject this power...

Jojo and Frank stared in disbelief at Lu Li's coat. Was it... talking...?

— You are weak... I will grant you strength... — the whisper grew insidious and mesmerizing.

— That isn't power.

Lu Li replied calmly, relaxing his grip on the match.

The match tumbled through the air and landed on the coat. The instant it touched the fabric, a flame erupted.Blue flames engulfed the coat, burning ever brighter. A faint breeze from the Shadow Swamp caught the tongues of fire.

The kerosene-soaked coat burned fiercely. For a moment, the light seemed to warp, and the cellar filled with a chorus of whispers that died as quickly as it began. Silence descended.

The reflection of Lu Li and the fire danced in Jojo's eyes. The flames drove back the chill, yet she felt no warmth. The whispers that had reached her ears had filled her with a primal fear, the kind of terror one feels when facing a mortal enemy.

Frank felt the same.

And that had been just a faint echo of the entity's true power.

So this was an Evil God... A true deity...

Jojo thought. The image of Lu Li standing calmly before the burning coat was seared into her memory.

A few minutes later, the last tongue of flame flickered out, leaving behind nothing but a small pile of ash.

— What was that? — Jojo asked.

— The mark of the Mother of the Swamp. She was trying to make me her servant, — Lu Li explained, pulling a spare coat from his open suitcase and putting it on.

Just like before, the Mother of the Swamp had left her mark on him. There might be other consequences, but for now, this was the only one Lu Li could deal with.

Jojo didn't understand. — Why you? It would be so much easier to enslave ordinary people like us...

— That's why she chose Mr. Lu Li instead of us, — Frank said with a bitter laugh, the paralyzing terror finally releasing its grip. — We're of no interest to her.

— Could it be... — Jojo's eyes widened in understanding. She had always known Lu Li was far more enigmatic than he appeared, but now a dreadful thought struck her. — Does she know we're here?!

Frank's gaze snapped to Lu Li, his expression tense.

— That doesn't matter right now, — said Lu Li.

They had nowhere else to go.

The slaughter of her servants was still raging above, and at the end of the tunnel lay the domain of the Mother of the Swamp.

— I'm sorry, I was so naive... — Jojo clutched her head in her hands, her voice filled with despair. Her brother's disappearance had clouded her judgment, and only now did she fully grasp what they were up against.

— If you get the chance, you have to run.

— Try to remember exactly where your brother might be hiding, — Lu Li said, ignoring Jojo's despairing words and turning to Frank. — The townspeople were hiding in this cellar. They might have moved somewhere else. Think. Besides the church, where else could they have taken shelter?

— Hmm...

Silence fell over the cellar. It lasted for several minutes, broken only by the sound of someone chewing.

The scent of dried meat filled the air. Frank, who hadn't eaten all day, swallowed hard. A sharp pang of hunger shot through his stomach.

A piece of dried meat was held out to him.

Frank looked up, his face brightening. He swallowed thickly and quickly offered his thanks. — Thank you.

He took the meat from Lu Li, but just as he was about to bring it to his lips, the cellar walls began to tremble.

Slow, muffled tremors rose from deep within the earth, like the beating of a colossal heart. Something was waking up below.

The piece of meat fell from Frank's hand. He began to shake with terror. — The eye... That eye... it's opened...

— The Black Beacon?

— Yes... Every time that eye opens, the monsters in town fly into a rage. They attack anything and everything, destroying whatever's in their path...

The muffled tremors continued to shake the entire town. Jojo and Frank clutched at their chests, feeling sick. Even Anna said she felt unwell, the slow, rhythmic beat weighing on her spirits.

Only Lu Li remained unfazed.

Screams and shrieks drifted down from above. One could only imagine what was happening up there.

But no one descended into the cellar.

Ten minutes later, the tremors began to subside.

— Longer this time... — Frank rasped, drenched in a cold sweat. — At first, it only lasted a few seconds, but now...

It was as if some creature were gradually awakening.

The Mother of the Swamp is likely still in the Shadow Swamp... Could this be connected to the unknown Evil God?

Once the tremors stopped, Jojo and Frank began to recover.

— That was horrible. I felt like my heart was beating in time with it... — Jojo said, still feeling an uncomfortable rhythm in her chest, as if her own heart were trying to shake off some lingering, foul influence.

— Have you thought of anything? — Lu Li asked.

Jojo, her eyes filled with sadness, shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but a soft whisper suddenly filled the cellar.

— I can help you find him...

Before they had even recovered from the strange pulsing, Jojo and Frank froze again, paralyzed by the terror that dripped from the whisper.

— Where is he? — Lu Li asked, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.

— You must do something for me... — It seemed the Mother of the Swamp was no longer insisting that Lu Li become her servant.

Lu Li's hand went to his holster as he walked toward the corner of the cellar from which the whisper emanated.

There, next to his suitcase, he saw the statuette of the Mother of the Swamp, partially covered by some clothes. It was glowing with a sinister, deep violet light.

— Does your change of heart have to do with what's happening upstairs?

— It is... difficult for me to control, — the Mother of the Swamp whispered.

So that was why she had changed her mind.

Lu Li paused for a moment before replying, not yet refusing her offer. — Is this a deal, or a partnership?

— What is the difference...

— I cannot enter a partnership with an entity whose intentions I don't know, — Lu Li replied.

— Is that... the reason you rejected the power...?

— Yes. Your power is tainted. It turns anyone who accepts it into one of your servants.

— Is that... a bad thing? — The whisper of the Mother of the Swamp held a note of genuine confusion.

— To you, it's natural. You grant power, and they give themselves to you in return. But to me, it's no different than making a deal with the devil for the sake of revenge.

The whispering ceased. Only the flickering violet light indicated that the Mother of the Swamp was still present.

Several minutes passed before the whispering resumed.

— I have studied the memories of my servants, and I understand you now... As you said... it is a deal...