The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 487: Richard's Goal

The old man swung his shovel, digging into the cemetery soil.

An oil lamp sat beneath a nearby tree. On the tombstone, propped against a mound of soft earth, a name was engraved: Eichison Rodney.

It was unclear whether this was the old man's name or that of someone he knew.

In any case, the grave was not meant for Lu Li.

Sensing a presence, the old man paused and spoke slowly, "Please, wait a moment... I'll be finished soon."

The work was nearly done; the pit was deep enough to hold a man.

Lu Li held the lamp, its light scattering the fog, and watched the old man’s back. His gaze occasionally lifted to the Bloody Tentacle dangling over the man’s head.

Scrape.

The last shovelful of earth landed on the mound. The old man plunged the shovel into the ground and leaned on it like a cane. "This thing isn’t so bad," he remarked. "At least I still have the strength to dig my own grave."

The old man turned to face Lu Li. There was nothing monstrous about him; his wrinkled face was that of an ordinary old man."Did you know I was coming?" Lu Li asked. The old man’s demeanor suggested he had been waiting.

The old man’s reply seemed to come from left field. "I know you. You’re the one fighting Richard for the body of the ancient god."

So he really did know something.

"I've been searching for him all this time. Please, tell me what you know."

"Of course..." The old man offered a kindly smile, seemingly glad for the chance to speak with someone before he died. "I’m happy to have someone to talk to before the end."

The old man’s name was Eichison Rodney, just as the tombstone said.

He was a resident of a kingdom on the mainland.

Before all this, he had been just a father of two, living a peaceful life in the countryside.

Richard destroyed everything.

Eichison Rodney wasn’t Richard’s first choice; he was too old and walked with a cane. But as Lu Li could see, the old man had become a host for a Bloody Tentacle.

The old man wished that he, not his sons, had been Richard's original target. Then they might still be alive. There is nothing worse for a father than to learn of his children's deaths.

With no funeral or ceremony, the lonely old man carried his sons’ bodies to a clearing behind the woods, where the villagers buried their dead. As he gasped for breath, having dug a pit and lowered his sons’ bodies in one by one, something strange happened.

The pit transformed into a staircase leading down. A Bloody Tentacle, like a bolt of red lightning, burst from his sons’ corpses and shot into the old man’s forehead.

Eichison Rodney told Lu Li that Richard had appeared at that very moment, remarking with surprise, "I didn't expect it to choose you..."

The old man didn't understand what it meant, but his intuition told him this man with the twitchy smile was the cause of it all. He wanted revenge, but he was too old and could only watch as Richard picked up the shovel and began to fill in the grave.

The downward staircase, seemingly made of blood, felt unreal. His sons’ bodies lay upon it, slowly being covered by the earth.

As he filled the grave, Richard explained his goals to the old man.

He confessed to killing his sons and explained why he had done it.

Although the old man couldn't fathom why the villain would reveal his plan, he memorized every word.

And now, that knowledge had become useful.

"'As you’ve guessed, it was I who killed them. Don’t look at me with such hatred; a mere mortal like you cannot comprehend the actions of a god... Can’t you see? Look at those eternal clouds! This hopeless world will soon be illuminated by true hope, while pathetic little humans, like ants, can only dream of survival!'" The old man recounted Richard's words. He didn't try to mimic the voice, but the speech alone conjured the image of a lunatic.

"'You have no idea what you're all about to face. And I... only I, who will possess the body of an ancient god, can protect everyone from their gaze! Evil? No, this isn't evil. A great birth is always accompanied by sacrifice; it is the inevitable path. You should rejoice for your sons, for they died for the sake of their god...'"

After relaying Richard's speech, the old man fell silent for a long time before continuing.

The grave was completely filled in, marked only by a soft mound of earth, its color different from the surrounding soil, a silent reminder of what lay buried there.

Richard tossed the shovel aside and told the old man he would be in touch later. When he received a letter, he was to travel to the Allen Peninsula to witness the god's arrival.

With that, Richard left.

Having become a host for the Bloody Tentacle, the old man began to change. His health improved; he was no longer an old man who needed a cane.

And then there was the Bloody Tentacle, hanging from the heavens.

He could see not only his own tentacle but countless others, scattered across different locations.

There was a particular concentration of them to the southeast—the old man knew they were all on the Allen Peninsula.

Every day, the old man watched these Bloody Tentacles, which resembled long strands of seaweed. Sometimes new ones would appear, and sometimes old ones would vanish. But one day, he noticed the tentacles began to disappear at an incredible rate, and all of them were on the Allen Peninsula.

He guessed that someone was destroying them. The old man was prepared for this, but after all the tentacles on the Allen Peninsula had vanished, everything went quiet.

Three days ago, just as Lu Li was preparing to travel to the Lennon Archipelago, the old man received a letter from Richard.

In the letter, Richard announced that the god would soon awaken, and only by traveling to the Allen Peninsula could one be saved.

The old man decided to go, seeking revenge.

He packed what little he could, including the shovel he had used to bury his sons, and set out for the nearest port in the Barnard Forest to board a ship to Port Roadster on the Allen Peninsula.

During the voyage, the old man saw the last Bloody Tentacle over the Allen Peninsula disappear. This brought him joy; that man was taking action again.

He had never believed in Richard's "god." A god was supposed to protect people, not murder them.

And since this person was trying to stop it all, he considered him an ally.

Two days later, the old man arrived in Port Roadster. The coastal city of Belfast was vastly different from the inland regions. He didn't bother to explore, instead taking a room at an inn near the church.

On the night the strange fog rolled in, the old man felt death approaching. So this morning, he brought the tombstone he had carved on the ship, came to the cemetery, and dug his own grave. He was waiting for Richard, or for the one who opposed him.

Lu Li.