The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 443: Farewell to Belfast

A clamorous bustle had returned to the streets of Belfast.

The fog had lifted, leaving the city shrouded in a light rain that fell from low, heavy clouds. From the hills where the city's streets were built, the road to Port Roadster was visible, clogged with a long line of carriages.

The honks of steam cars stuck in the traffic jam echoed through the air, like the cawing of flocks of crows circling over the city as if they were harbingers of disaster.

The carriage, having left Sailor Street, soon found itself caught in this torrent. The driver of the steam car ahead honked impatiently, as if hoping it would clear the way.

The horses, startled by the noise, snorted restlessly.

"We can cut through the slums," Anna's voice said from beside him.

Lu Li pulled on the reins and, turning off the main road, steered the carriage toward the southern districts.

After passing through several unfamiliar streets, they found themselves in the familiar St. Father's Quarter.

In the distance, through the veil of rain, the tall Keltalas Cathedral was visible, looming over the silent cemetery.

As they drew closer to the church, tombstones of various sizes and the grieving figures of angels upon them became discernible.Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!

Flocks of crows perched on the bare branches of the trees growing in the cemetery, tilting their heads to watch the people and carriages passing by, as if announcing death.

To JoJo and Frank, who were peering out the window, these crows were a sinister omen.

Lu Li and Anna remained calm—for investigators, crows were more like allies.

It felt like a farewell from friends.

Without stopping, the carriage drove past the cemetery, and the church gradually disappeared behind the buildings and the rain.

As they neared the eastern coast, even far from Belfast's busiest districts, the streets were crowded with people carrying their belongings, all heading toward the port.

Some were locals; others, like Lu Li, had decided to change their route.

The only difference was that as they approached the slums, everyone tried to bypass the dangerous area, whereas Lu Li drove straight through it.

In contrast to the panic reigning on the other streets, a strange sense of calm permeated the slums. People went about their usual business as if it were just an ordinary day.

After all, for most slum dwellers, leaving Belfast was an unattainable dream.

And the looming threat of strange creatures was perhaps less frightening to them than their empty cupboards.

This tranquility held until Lu Li had crossed the slums without encountering any obstacles.

Beyond the slums, the atmosphere reverted to what it was on the other streets—panic and fear.

The road ahead was partially blocked by the police, among whom stood several figures in the black uniforms of the Night's Watch.

The reason for the change in atmosphere became obvious.

Something strange had happened here.

The slowly moving carriage skirted the cordon, but before driving away, Lu Li slowed down and stopped.

He recognized two of the bodies covered by white sheets as people he had seen just recently.

"What do you see?"

"What happened?"

The anxious voices of JoJo and Frank came from inside the carriage.

Lu Li didn't answer. He pulled a new badge from his pocket and showed it to an approaching police officer. "Investigator Lu Li. What happened here?"

Every police officer in Belfast knew that badge.

"One moment," the officer said and went to fetch someone from the Night's Watch.

Bodies were being carried out of the casino. All the victims had one thing in common: the upper part of their faces was mutilated, as if gnawed away. Some were already dead, while others were still moaning, their lolling tongues trembling horribly.

A member of the Night's Watch approached the carriage, saw the badge, and reported officially, "Sir Investigator, there's been an attack by a Spirit of Defilement."

The few survivors couldn't speak and were beyond hope, but many witnesses had seen everything.

A stranger with a grim expression had entered the Black Mamba Casino and won several thousand shillings. When he tried to leave, the casino staff stopped him. Knowing that the casino never let money leave the slums, they accused the stranger of swallowing the chips and demanded he cut open his own stomach. The stranger offered them another way to confirm his innocence: he ate the upper part of the faces of everyone in the casino—specifically, the area around their eyes.

He let them look inside his stomach.

After that, the stranger walked out of the casino, now filled with screams and blood, and quickly vanished.

Notably, just fifteen minutes earlier, a similar incident had occurred at the Black Mamba Casino: two outsiders had won several thousand shillings and had also been hassled by the casino staff, who demanded they cut their stomachs open.

One of the outsiders actually did it to prove his innocence. The casino let them go, but when the police and the Night's Watch arrived, their bodies were found in a nearby alley.

"I see," Lu Li nodded. The Night's Watch member returned to the casino, and Lu Li, pulling on the reins, drove around the tragic scene.

"It was those two..." Anna whispered.

Mary's Aunt and the others were bewildered, but seeing that Lu Li and Anna had no intention of explaining, they remained silent.

On the way to the port, they witnessed several more scenes like it.

Passing by a park, they saw bodies covered with bloodied sheets on the benches. As they drove past, they overheard a terrified local recounting the story: "At noon, I saw him and his family from my basement window, wandering the street like ghosts. He pushed the park benches together and told his wife and kids to sit down. I didn't understand what he was going to do. And then... he shot his wife and son. His daughter begged him not to kill her, but he pinned her to the bench and fired. Then he stepped aside, looked around, and shot himself."

A crowd had gathered at the edge of the park. An elderly man asked loudly, "Are you afraid of the darkness of sunset?"

"No!" the people replied.

"Tell me why!"

"Because the sun will rise again tomorrow!"

On the coastal road, police officers were trying to calm a sailor who was soaked to the bone, surrounded by members of the Night's Watch.

"Calm down, sir, you're safe. You're on dry land."

"No, no! You don't understand! They're in the fog! Can you hear it? They're coming! They're coming, ahhh..."

The sudden scream was cut short. A Night's Watch member stepped closer and discovered that the sailor had died of fright.

The carriage slowed as it approached the crowded port.

The bustling Port Roadster was now just ahead.