The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 519: The Returned Stars Envelop the World

"What do you feel?"

Remi looked at Anna, who stood at the cave's entrance.

Anna whispered, "Unease... fear..."

"Me too. It seems whatever is causing this is hostile to us," Remi said. "What happened? Is Lu Li unconscious?"

"He went to Hell, for... reasons. He hasn't come back."

Anna replied, stepping back into the cave.

The apocalyptic scene outside seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever.

Remi murmured something to her brother, who was lying on a lounge chair, then followed Anna into the shelter.

On the bed, Lu Li's breathing was steady, as though he were merely in a deep sleep.

The consciousness enveloping the Elm Forest and the shelter built of Deep Sea Stone were having an effect—Lu Li's Mind Level counter had stabilized."I need your help," Anna said, her gaze on Lu Li's face as she turned to Remi.

"What can I do?"

Anna removed Lu Li's woolen coat. "Stay here and watch over his body."

"Where are you going?"

"To Hell."

Anna's voice was calm, as if she were merely reaching for the oil lamp on the table.

Clutching the woolen coat that carried Lu Li's scent, she waited until Remi agreed to stand watch. Then, without hesitation, she closed her eyes, trying to recall the painful final moments of her life, just as Mistress Marylin had instructed.

The memories of her death, long buried, resurfaced. The fragile girl she had been—coughing blood, growing weaker each day—seemed a complete stranger to the ghost she was now. Like a detached observer, Anna sifted through the recollections of her past.

But Mistress Marylin had been wrong about one thing. She had thought that Anna, being long dead, would find it easier to communicate with spirits. But Anna's cold, still heart couldn't feel the so-called experience of dying.

Worse, Anna discovered she couldn't connect with Hell at all, as if... the door had been slammed shut.

The dead were no longer returning to Hell.

Recalling the horrific scene unfolding outside, she wondered—could this be why Lu Li hadn't returned?

An icy aura erupted from Anna, carefully flowing around Lu Li's sleeping form to violently flood the rest of the space.

Remi retreated a few steps, her voice a quiet counsel. "Perhaps you shouldn't worry so much. Lu Li is still alive. He'll find a way back."

"I hope so."

Anna's voice was as frigid as ancient ice.

Sensing Anna's dark mood, Remi started to leave, but she stopped at the entrance, remembering something. "I'd advise you to finish the shelter while you wait," she said. "It still needs a door."

Anna's impassive gaze fell on Remi, who continued, "Haven't you noticed? The repelling properties of these stones have intensified."

She approached the walls built from black Deep Sea Stone and touched their surface.

Just as Remi said, when Anna touched the Deep Sea Stone, she felt a resistance, as though pressing against something solid.

But the walls couldn't stop a truly powerful entity. When Anna unleashed her own aura, her hand began to sink slowly into the stone, as if pushing through thick mire.

Still, Anna would be here to guard Lu Li. If anything truly strange approached, she would sense its presence.

Anna pulled a small wooden box from the coat pocket. Inside was the Luring Meat. She paused for a moment before opening it.

At a time like this, could the Black Crow and the Trader still be summoned?

Ten minutes after she opened the box, the rustle of wings echoed from the entrance. A frail-looking messenger crow landed on the desk inside the shelter.

"Bring the Trader," Anna told it. The crow let out a hoarse, weary caw and flew from the cave.

A few minutes later, a figure appeared at the mouth of the cave, but it was not the Trader.

Remi had returned, and her brother Jimmy was with her. They brought a wooden chair, setting it up to stand guard at the entrance for Lu Li.

While waiting for the Trader, Anna stepped out of the cave to check on her sister, Enni. The tree was already awake, and upon sensing Anna's presence, it radiated a friendly consciousness.

She was still very weak, with only the faintest trace of instinct remaining.

The black sun still hung motionless over the sea. Belfast was once again shrouded in an unnatural fog, making it impossible to see anything clearly. Only faint, indiscernible sounds drifted on the wind—like the whispers of countless dead souls.

Half an hour later, an unnaturally tall figure finally appeared at the top of the cliff.

With Lu Li's soul absent, the Trader dealt with Anna by default.

"The price of Deep Sea Stone?" Anna asked.

"10,100 shillings."

Unexpected. The last time, the price had been thirteen thousand shillings. This was much cheaper than it had been just a fortnight ago.

But the Trader immediately added, "Per cubic centimeter."

Had Lu Li's consciousness returned, he would have understood the implications of the Trader's words.

It was just as Tesla had said: "When the newspapers can no longer hide the truth, the shelters will open, and the price of Deep Sea Stone will skyrocket."

Now, all those conditions had been met...

Anna watched the Trader, burdened by a heavy pack, depart from the cave.

She had asked if he could retrieve Lu Li's soul from Hell, but unfortunately, that fell outside the scope of his business.

He traded only in objects and information. Rescuing souls was not on the list.

"The forest's consciousness is the outer barrier. Then there's my brother and I. And then you," Remi said, coming closer to quietly reassure Anna. "Even an Evil Spirit wouldn't dare trespass here without good reason."

Anna didn't reply. The lamplight traced the line of her profile, her lowered lashes casting her eyes into shadow.

A moment later, Remi returned to the cave's entrance.

"The city... it's destroyed... isn't it..."

The indistinct, hoarse words came from Jimmy, who sat on the wooden chair in his human form.

"Yes," Remi replied softly.

Silence fell over the cave.

They stared out at the world beyond. Though neither of them was human anymore, the reality of the catastrophe that had destroyed their home—and the bleak, hopeless future it promised—still filled them with sorrow.

...

Scrape...

Scrape...

A dragging sound echoed from the rim of the meteorite crater.

A demon was dragging Lu Li, hauling him up the slope.

Moments before, it had been cowering several hundred meters away. But when the terrifying aura of the Devil faded, it couldn't resist the alluring scent that lingered. It had followed the trail and discovered a delectable soul lying unconscious at the bottom of the crater.

A lingering shred of human instinct told the demon it should find a more secluded place to devour its prize.

But the creature was too frail, too small. By the time it had dragged Lu Li's soul halfway up the crater's rim, the steep incline sent both the demon and its prize tumbling back to the bottom.

The demon let out an enraged whimper. Its neck swelled as it suppressed that pathetic instinct. It would devour its meal right here, right now.

It loomed over Lu Li, its form covering half his face. Its mouth, dripping with hot slime, stretched wider and wider. Blue veins pulsed beneath its gray skin. The instant it lunged forward to bite, countless transparent hands materialized around it, tearing at its flesh and limbs.

The demon's panicked shriek lasted only a second before the spectral hands ripped it to pieces, which scattered across the ground around Lu Li.

The threat to Lu Li was gone. The hands faded away, returning to the void to wait, to stand guard.