The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 526: The Last Guest

In the frozen tavern, a sharp crack shattered the icy silence.

At a table right by the door, cracks suddenly spiderwebbed across the body of a stone demon that had been frozen into an ice sculpture. They spread slowly, covering its form in a fine network of fissures.

Crack!

The stone demon's body shattered, collapsing into a heap of fragments coated in ice crystals.

After a few moments of silence, the fragments began to reassemble on their own, reforming the stone demon's body. Crimson flames flared to life in the crevices between the stones, melting the ice from its surface.

Once re-formed, though looking even more fractured than before, the stone demon raised a hand and twisted its lower jaw back into place with a grating crunch.

It glanced around at its "old friends"; the ice on their bodies was also beginning to melt, and they started to stir.

Everything in the frozen tavern was returning to normal.

One of the greater demons shot a look at the stone demon that had just shattered and reassembled itself, and cursed, "Idiot."

"He was too arrogant.""Just a son of a devil..."

The creatures of Hell began to grumble loudly to the humanoid demon behind the bar.

Before the Demon of the Ice Heart had arrived, the old proprietor had warned them, and they had all put on an act for that arrogant devil's son.

The humanoid demon had already returned to his normal state; the ice began to melt away from his feet, banishing the chill that was alien to the tavern.

"You took quite a loss on that deal, old proprietor, didn't you?" a greater demon taunted, its voice a hoarse rasp.

The more cunning among them pieced together the reason for the devil's son's visit. "That human... was he in such a hurry to leave because of him?"

"Why didn't you let us teach that devil's son a lesson?" the stone demon rumbled. He was more like a fire demon than one of stone, for beneath the collection of rocks, his true form was a swirling mass of flame.

Although the stone demon could always find new rocks outside to assemble a new body, these particular stones had been with him for decades, and he had grown deeply attached to them.

"Save your strength," the humanoid demon told the unhappy stone demon. "Besides, the tavern's closing tomorrow. No need for any of you to come back."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you get scared, old proprietor?"

"You're kidding, old man, right?"

"There's simply no need for the tavern anymore," the humanoid demon said with a dismissive wave. "And a word of advice: be more frugal with your souls in the future. You ugly beasts will thank me for it."

Having said that, the humanoid demon started clearing empty glasses from the bar and wiping it down, just like any ordinary bartender.

The creatures of Hell exchanged glances. The old proprietor was the master of this tavern, the most powerful being in Hell, even in his old age.

But a devil's pronouncements were usually like apocalyptic prophecies, imbued with a strange and fantastic power.

What they said usually came true.

"Explain yourself, old proprietor," a four-armed demon demanded, its voice a harsh rasp.

The humanoid demon answered without turning around, his attention still on cleaning the bar.

"The medium who just left was Hell's last guest."

The creatures of Hell suddenly felt a piercing cold, one far more terrifying than the power of the devil's son.

"Am I the only one who doesn't get what the old proprietor is saying?" the stone demon asked, bewildered.

A shout rang out. "He's saying no more souls will ever come to Hell, you rock-head!"

...

The skeletal horse galloped across the scorched earth, heading for the mountain peak.

The hell-beast's aura warned lesser demons to keep their distance. Greater demons wouldn't have been frightened by the skeletal horse alone, but the aura of its rider made them wary, and they watched cautiously as it passed through their territories.

The slope of the Black Rock Volcano caused no discomfort for Lu Li and the others on the horse's back; its speed never affected the smoothness of the ride.

"Do you know of the Death Wind and the Great Chasm?" Lu Li asked.

"I only know that it's very dangerous there."

Ruth was not yet of a station to know Hell's deeper secrets, so she fell silent and simply rode on.

The occasional steep cliffs were like flat ground to the skeletal horse; it simply walked straight up their near-vertical faces. A frightened Ruth hugged Whitley tightly, but soon realized the horse's back remained perfectly stable, and they were in no danger of falling.

Even when a river of lava blocked their path, the skeletal horse simply walked across its surface, ignoring the searing, molten rock below.

After a few dozen minutes, the skeletal horse reached the midpoint of the majestic, range-like volcano. The abandoned town at its base was no longer visible, and the sight of the endless sea of lava in the distance left Ruth staring in stunned silence.

It was far more impressive than the ocean.

Fwoosh!

The flame contained within the skeletal horse's ribcage suddenly flared, enveloping the three figures on its back. Ruth flinched in fright, but quickly realized the fire didn't burn; it was warm, like bathwater.

They had entered the domain of the Death Wind, and the skeletal horse's flame was protecting them.

Lu Li's gaze shifted from the sea of lava to their surroundings.

A faint gray haze shrouded their surroundings, making it difficult to see clearly. As they ascended toward the peak, the haze grew denser, and visibility worsened.

Strangely, this haze created by the Death Wind hadn't been visible from the foot of the mountain when they had looked up at the peak.

The vast majesty of the lava sea soon vanished behind the ever-thickening haze of the Death Wind. The ambient light began to dim, and Hell, once a world of fiery red, grew dark and eerie.

After several more minutes, the skeletal horse, which had been plowing straight ahead through rock and lava, suddenly veered sideways in a wide arc, as if to avoid something.

Lu Li looked in the direction the horse had swerved and could faintly make out a solitary figure in a white robe, standing a few dozen meters away.

"Gods..."

A sharp gasp came from behind him; Ruth recognized the creature.

"That's a horrifying hell-beast," she whispered. "The body you see on the surface is just a lure—its real form is hidden underground. Anyone who dares get too close is devoured instantly. I've heard that not even devils or greater demons will go near them."

Ruth, of course, had heard about it in the tavern.

And it wasn't the only one; it seemed the Death Wind on the Black Rock Volcano was full of them. The higher they climbed, the more frequently they appeared.

The skeletal horse continued to weave in wide arcs, and in that time, Lu Li and Ruth spotted at least a dozen more of the bizarre creatures. Within the soul-erasing Death Wind, the white-robed figures stood stock-still upon the scorched earth, unnervingly motionless.

Besides them, there were also many other creatures whose origins Ruth didn't know.

Ruth started to lose hope. If they were encountering so many terrifying things before they even reached the Great Chasm, how horrifying must the chasm itself be—a place feared even by the native creatures of Hell?

Just then, the skeletal horse beneath them suddenly surged forward, its hooves no longer leaving flaming prints in its wake.

"What's wrong?" Ruth asked, bewildered.

Lu Li, having received a warning from the horse, answered, "It says a malevolent aura is pursuing us from behind."

"The devil's son?"

"Most likely."

Now, all hope was lost.