novelraw Chapter 494: Setting Out to Sea
Chapter 494: Setting Out to Sea
The creature behind Lu Li, which he had just touched, was like a cold stone—motionless and breathless.
Pressing his right hand against the holster of the Atonement, Lu Li reached back with his left.
A cold, coarse surface. No discernible features. Like some lifeless object.
It was just a gray boulder standing by the hut, its shape unlike any known creature.
Lu Li glanced back at the wooden steps. Thanks to his caution, the creature by the entrance hadn't been disturbed. Still, something felt wrong.
The knocking on the door had stopped.
Lu Li broke off a small stone from the boulder and, walking over to the open window, tossed it into the hut.
The stone clattered across the wooden floor. The sound was accompanied by a noise from the hut—the creature at the entrance had stirred.
A creak sounded, followed by the shuffle of sand—the same sound Lu Li had heard when he opened the door.
Then came the groan of floorboards under the creature’s weight.It had entered the hut.
Slightly hesitant, Lu Li, now standing beneath the hut, dimmed the light of his oil lamp, leaving only a small circle of illumination around him. He watched his feet, ready to retreat at a moment's notice.
His gaze fell on a small pebble stained with dried blood. Lu Li froze for a moment, then looked around.
He saw a blood trail leading from the hut toward the shore, gradually fading from view. A few meters from the hut, in the direction of the trail, lay an overturned boat on the sand.
Next to the boat, a clear drag mark was visible, leading into the sea.
Lu Li imagined Richard, just moments ago, pushing the boat into the water, clumsily clambering inside, and, after grabbing the oars, rowing away into the dark abyss.
Glancing up at the cracks between the floorboards, Lu Li slowly backed away from the hut, careful to stay out of the window's line of sight, and approached the overturned boat.
The creature, exuding a strong, fishy stench, was still inside the hut. Lu Li had enough time to right the boat and launch it.
After turning the boat over, Lu Li took off his shoes, tossed them inside, and rolled up his trousers. He pushed the boat off the sand and dragged it toward the water.
Cold waves lapped at his legs, receding and stealing his warmth.
When the water reached his shins, the boat was fully afloat.
The water receded to his knees. Lu Li stared at the dark surface of the sea and, for the first time, hesitated.
Was it really wise to leave this gloomy shore and venture into the depths of the subterranean sea?
Was it worth risking his life just to deal with the bloody tentacles?
Lu Li didn't know where this boat would take him. To Richard? To an answer? Or to the end of his journey?
But Richard knew. He had come here for this very purpose, and so he had boarded the boat without hesitation and set out to sea.
Or perhaps the boat was just a trap, and Richard was only creating the illusion of his escape? Maybe another boat was waiting for him somewhere along the shore, a few hundred meters away.
Sensing Lu Li’s hesitation, or perhaps just noticing how long he was staring at the sea, an indescribable presence, like invisible tendrils, touched his mind.
From the depths of the sea came the call of some unspeakable being.
This entity, this creature, was trying to conceal its malice; otherwise, Lu Li would have gone mad from the mere contact with its mind.
Lu Li thought of the Corpse of the Ancient God. Could this be that same "Ancient God" calling to him?
In any case, the call served as a beacon for Lu Li in the dark depths.
And he had an advantage—he and Richard were on equal footing in the struggle for the Corpse of the Ancient God.
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing cry erupted from the shore, like the sound of a broken record player.
Lu Li tore his gaze from the sea and looked toward the hut.
A figure stood on the shore, just beyond the reach of the waves.
It resembled a human, yet every part of it was different.
The creature’s head was like that of a grotesque piranha. Its body was vaguely humanoid, but its hands and feet ended in webbed membranes.
Gills on its cheeks, bulging, unblinking eyes, and slick, scaly skin—everything about it suggested a life spent in the water.
Its horrifying face displayed recognizably human emotions. It lay on the sand like a frog, or rather, like someone in prayer.
The fish-man clearly possessed intelligence, perhaps even speech.
Realization dawned on Lu Li. He glanced at the boat, which couldn't drift away, and started walking toward the fish-man.
The creature didn't move at first, but when Lu Li came within ten meters, it scrambled back with an agitated cry.
Lu Li stopped. The fish-man ceased its retreat and lowered itself back onto the sand.
It seemed it didn't want Lu Li to get too close.
Lu Li resumed his approach toward the fish-man, which had buried its head in the sand.
The fish-man scrambled back again, letting out a piercing shriek filled with fear and malice.
It was experiencing a conflict of emotions—reverence and fear for Lu Li, mixed with a natural hostility toward humans.
Realizing that getting any closer might provoke an attack, Lu Li stopped, gave the fish-man a long look, and turned back to the boat.
A mumbling in an incomprehensible language came from behind him. Without hesitation, Lu Li climbed into the boat.
As if it were a living thing, the boat pushed itself off from the shore and began to glide into the dark depths of the subterranean sea.
...
Lu Li still hadn't returned.
Flames had now engulfed the entire psychiatric hospital. Fortunately, the surrounding plants had long since withered, so the fire couldn't spread, though a few dry trees near the building had caught alight.
Anna waited anxiously for Lu Li by the shed.
Doubt began to creep into her mind.
Nearly half an hour had passed since the smoke first appeared, but there was still no sign of the police.
The Sentry Post was only a few kilometers from the hospital. Even if they had come on foot, they should have arrived long ago...
...
The Sentry Post.
Ever since the mass migration to the Lennon Archipelago began, this quiet town at the foot of Sugard Mountain had lost its peace.
Now, it was a place of noise and commotion. Every day, thousands of people arriving from different cities passed through the Sentry Post, stopping for the night.
This brought a decent income to the locals—in these trying times, nothing could compare to the jingle of shillings in one's pocket.
But right now, the Sentry Post was gripped not by noise and commotion, but by anxiety and panic.
People had gathered in the streets, staring in horror at the peak of Sugard Mountain.
They weren't looking at the aristocratic mansions visible on the summit, but at the other side of the mountain, from where crowds of screaming people were fleeing.
They looked like ants whose nest had been destroyed.
Against this backdrop, the smoke rising from the hospital seemed insignificant.
On the street, a lumberjack clutched his axe with trembling hands. A terrible thought seized him. "Why... what happened... what's happened to Belfast..."