The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 410: In the Heart of the Swamp

The most unsettling part of the journey was behind them. Before Lu Li stretched an endless thicket of ficus trees, beyond which lay their destination.

They had bypassed a dark, bottomless pool. In stark contrast to the noisy stream, the pool was cloaked in a deathly silence.

The open ground at the pool's edge looked easier to traverse than the dense ficus thicket, but Lu Li chose to keep his distance.

Their shadow guide gave the area a wide berth.

The dim light from the oil lamp glided over the trees as they moved steadily away from the pool.

From its silent depths drifted a barely audible whisper, thick with malice and despair.

They walked in silence through the sinister thicket, the sky completely blotted out by the canopy above. Perhaps fifteen minutes had passed, or maybe even a full half-hour, when JoJo noticed Lu Li's pace slacken.

Had they finally reached the center of the swamp?

JoJo wondered, her gaze shifting forward.

Contrary to her expectations, it was merely a small clearing in the middle of the ficus grove. The ground was blanketed in a thick layer of decaying leaves, the texture of slick mud.Lu Li gestured to the ground, indicating they should rest for a moment.

JoJo let out a breath of relief and sank directly onto the bed of decaying leaves. Lu Li settled himself on his suitcase and pulled out what was left of their dried meat.

He held out a piece to JoJo, but she just shook her head.

The grief that gripped her had dulled every other sensation.

Lu Li didn't finish his own share, saving the last couple of pieces. After a few minutes' rest, they were on their way again, following the shadow guide.

This leg of the journey was uneventful.

About fifteen minutes later, their destination came into view.

The ficus trees gave way, revealing a vast clearing. In its center stood a colossal ficus tree, its form rising to dominate the open space.

It was even more majestic and immense than it had appeared from the deck of the ship. Its scale defied any normal conception of a tree, or even of a building. The canopy, swallowing the sky whole, made one feel utterly insignificant.

Beside this behemoth, Lu Li and JoJo were no more than ants.

The shadow guide vanished, leaving them alone before the natural marvel.

But they were not alone.

In the dark clearing beneath the colossal ficus stood petrified figures. They encircled the tree, their hands clasped in prayer, as if in supplication to the Mother of the Swamp.

Lu Li's vision blurred. For an instant, another scene seemed to superimpose itself over reality: beneath a grim sky, at the base of the immense ficus, knelt countless figures. There were humans, shadow guides, six-armed monsters, night demons—every kind of servant of the evil gods he had ever encountered. They were all frozen in a bizarre, prayerful posture, their collective whispers merging into a monolithic drone that echoed beneath the great tree's canopy.

The vision vanished a few seconds later, and reality snapped back into focus.

He glanced at JoJo. Her eyes had been clouded as well, but they were now clear.

"What was that?" JoJo whispered, as if afraid of disturbing the worshipers.

"I don't know."

From this point forward, everything Lu Li knew was useless.

They were in uncharted territory.

But they were not alone.

Lu Li pulled the small figurine from his pocket. He waited until he could feel the consciousness of the Mother of the Swamp stir in response, then spoke.

"I'm here."

"You have fulfilled your part of the bargain... My servants... will be here for you soon... Wait..."

The Mother of the Swamp delivered her brief message and then fell silent once more.

"She told us to wait."

Lu Li relayed the message to Anna and JoJo, and then they waited.

Three minutes later, a figure shrouded in a dark cloak emerged from the base of the great ficus. The wide hem trailed along the ground, as if concealing a roiling cloud of black mist.

The figure drifted through the throng of petrified worshipers and came to a halt before Lu Li. Its face was completely obscured by the shadows of a deep hood.

A voice emerged from beneath the hood, a strange chorus of many voices blended into one—male and female, old and young. "Honored guests," it said, "our lady has commanded us to welcome you."

JoJo flinched, taking an involuntary half-step back. An inexplicable fear washed over her as the creature spoke.

Lu Li's reaction was far more subdued. His Contamination Detector was silent, indicating that he was immune to the voice's harmful influence.

This very immunity, in fact, was why the Mother of the Swamp had agreed to cooperate in the first place.

"Lead on," Lu Li said with a nod.

The cloaked figure did not move. Both Anna and JoJo felt a gaze fall upon them, as though the creature were studying them from the depths of its hood.

"They cannot come with us," the creature said.

Anna materialized at Lu Li's side. Her scarlet eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Why?" Lu Li asked calmly.

"Our lady's presence strips mortals of their reason, transforming them into pliant servants. They become mindless puppets... or vengeful spirits... Your aura," the chorus of voices seemed to address Anna directly, "is a firefly in the darkness, but it cannot withstand the moonlight of our lady. You would keep your mind, perhaps... but you could never serve her..."

"Does that mean I can enter? Either way, I'm not leaving Lu Li," Anna replied coolly.

The cloaked figure fell still for a moment. Then the chorus of voices resumed.

"Our lady does not object. Please, follow me."

"And me?" JoJo asked, her voice trembling as she fought back her fear.

Lu Li nodded and turned to the cloaked figure. "Can you lead her somewhere safe?"

"As you wish," the creature inclined its head slightly. "Your friend may wait here. A shadow guide will bring her a lamp and show her a safe path out of the swamp."

"Am I permitted to bring the Spirit Gun?" Lu Li asked.

"Of course," the figure replied.

Lu Li turned to JoJo. "It's time for you to leave."

JoJo nodded reluctantly. She understood this was as far as she could go.

Still, the thought of being left alone filled her with a dreadful anxiety.

With Oliver gone, she had no one left but Lu Li and Anna.

Yet, they had to part ways all the same.

"I'll wait for you in Roostown," JoJo said, accepting the holstered pistol from Lu Li. She watched them go, her eyes fixed on Lu Li and Anna as they followed the cloaked figure toward the colossal ficus.

She cut a small and vulnerable figure, all alone in the clearing.

...

"Were you human once?" Lu Li asked, his gaze on the petrified servants.

The creature had emerged from the darkness, meaning it could ignore the Night Calamity, just like other anomalies.

"Not exactly," the figure replied.

As they approached the giant ficus, Anna could feel her aura weakening. Lu Li, seemingly unaffected by the oppressive presence, came to an abrupt halt.

The cloaked figure stopped as well.

"Before we go any further, tell me who it is you're fighting," Lu Li demanded.

He had already posed this question to the Mother of the Swamp, but she had deflected, saying only that to even speak of the unknown evil god was to risk drawing its attention.

"At this point, it no longer matters whether you know or not."

The cloaked figure tilted its head slightly, and the chorus of voices resumed. "Our lady's enemy... is the former master of the Shadow Swamp..."

"The Mother of the Swamp."