The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 528: Mutual Annihilation

The Great Chasm—that's what the demons of Hell call it.

This black fissure, stretching before the Black Rock Volcano, nearly severed the mountain range that spanned hundreds of miles, turning it into an isolated island. It extended from one end of the horizon to the other.

Compared to its immense length, the chasm's width of several miles made it look like a thin black thread.

— There it is.

Having broken free from the Death Wind, they saw the Great Chasm at the edge of the scorched earth, with a reddish canyon on the far side.

The journey was nearing its end, but the hardships were far from over. The dangers on this path included the pursuing Son of the Devil and the Great Chasm itself, while the truth of what lay at their destination remained unknown—perhaps there was no path back to the human world at all.

Whatever the case...

Lu Li glanced back and could clearly see the black smoke continuously rising day and night from the volcano's crater; the Death Wind that had shrouded the Black Rock Volcano seemed to have vanished.

And then there was the Son of the Devil, lurking within it and steadily closing in.

The malevolent aura he emitted was so potent that even Lu Li, still some distance away, could feel it distinctly.He made no attempt to conceal his approach.

The skeleton horse raced toward their destination, pushing to its maximum speed. The flames on its four hooves blazed anew, setting the scorched earth alight.

— I see him... the Son of the Devil! — Ruth's cry soon echoed from behind.

Compared to the vast volcano, the tiny figure seemed insignificant, yet the oppressive presence enveloping them made it impossible to ignore.

— Can you go any faster? — Lu Li asked, leaning toward the skeleton horse.

A moment later, a reply echoed in his mind.

"I can, but my riders won't be able to withstand it."

Time passed, and the distant Great Chasm grew clearer. With every glance back, the Son of the Devil loomed ever closer.

— Is this the direction you're so desperately fleeing? A dead end... or the path to your doom? — an icy, mocking voice suddenly whispered in his ear.

Lu Li ignored the taunt, gripping the skeleton horse's ribs tightly as he stared at the Great Chasm, now just a few miles away.

They were closing in on the Great Chasm, and the Son of the Devil was closing in on them.

Strangely, unlike every other anomaly Lu Li had ever encountered, the Great Chasm emitted no faint, sinister aura—he felt nothing at all.

Neither did Ruth, nor Whitley. They sensed not the slightest threat or unease from the Great Chasm ahead. It was as if they were approaching a simple river of lava, a stone, or a handful of sand.

Perhaps that was precisely why the Great Chasm could silently swallow so many of Hell's creatures.

"I hope the Son of the Devil doesn't know about it," Lu Li thought.

The skeleton horse finally halted. A few dozen meters away lay the Great Chasm, a place where even the creatures of Hell dared not tread.

The wreckage of a ruined bridge had fallen to the bottom of the gorge, leaving only an old, ash-covered span on their side.

— What do we do? — Ruth asked, her gaze shifting from the Great Chasm to the Son of the Devil.

— About what?

— How to cross, and how to deal with the Son of the Devil.

— Both.

Lu Li didn't answer Ruth. He leaped off the skeleton horse and silently watched the Son of the Devil, who was now a hundred meters away and walking toward them.

— I'm very curious...

The Son of the Devil's icy voice rang out, "Although my father is old and useless, and merely an avatar at that, he could have killed a weakling like you with a snap of his fingers... How did you manage it? How did you dispel his avatar? Did you have help?"

The demon's pair of black eyes fell upon Ruth on the skeleton horse. She felt the hair on her neck stand on end and barely restrained herself from drawing her pistol for a futile attack. But the Son of the Devil had already looked away and quietly shook his head.

— Not you...

— It's time for you to go back, — Lu Li said to Ruth, his gaze shifting from her and Whitley to the skeleton horse.

The skeleton horse snorted, stepped aside, and began to move, ready to depart.

The Son of the Devil paid no attention to their departure, his interest fixed solely on Lu Li as he continued to walk toward him.

As he drew closer to Lu Li, the ghostly hands that guarded him reappeared, reaching for the Son of the Devil's body. But before they could make contact, they seemed to strike something tangible, freezing solid before shattering and showering down like beautiful crystals.

Lu Li, too, was slowly backing away.

The sound of retreating hooves suddenly ceased. The skeleton horse had stopped a hundred meters away, where Ruth, holding the writhing Whitley, watched the scene unfold.

— You don't want to answer?

The Son of the Devil advanced slowly, as if wading through a mire, but that was the only hindrance.

He watched Lu Li with indifference as he approached. "No matter, I will learn everything from your soul..."

Lu Li had already backed up to the very edge of the Great Chasm, feeling as if he could sense the abyss breathing from below.

Coming within a few meters, the Son of the Devil reached a hand toward Lu Li's head.

— Don't worry, this will be very painful.

Ruth couldn't bear to watch. Just as the Son of the Devil's palm was about to touch his forehead, Lu Li's gaze flickered for a moment to something behind the demon, and he said suddenly, "You can feel that there's something wrong with my soul."

The palm froze.

— I am different from other souls. You won't necessarily learn what you want to know.

The Son of the Devil's black eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Are you... threatening me?"

— I just want to live a little longer.

After a brief pause, the Son of the Devil withdrew his hand and whispered coldly, "Then tell me, how did you deal with that avatar?"

— Do you have a bad relationship with him? — Lu Li countered.

— You are not worthy of knowing. — A piercing chill washed over them as the Son of the Devil's tone turned to ice. — Tell me... the answer!

His patience had run out.

— The answer is... — Lu Li's gaze fell to a point behind the Son of the Devil, — grab him.

While the Son of the Devil was still trying to process these words, the ghostly hands around him suddenly solidified and seized his body.

At the same time, Lu Li threw himself to the side, diving to the ground.

The ground began to tremble, the source of the vibration coming from behind the Son of the Devil.

Looking back in confusion, the Son of the Devil witnessed a scene that sent a flicker of fear through the depths of his eyes.

He tried to flee, but those damned residual souls held him fast.

A terrible cold erupted from the Son of the Devil's body, and the hands pulling at him instantly froze and shattered. But endless more hands appeared from the void, refusing to let him go.

The Son of the Devil could no longer maintain his usual icy tone; his face contorted into a snarl as he roared.

— Damned creatures...

In the distance, Ruth shrieked, and the Son of the Devil's curse was cut short.

Michelle, attacking without warning, snapped her jaws shut, swallowing the Son of the Devil whole. Without slowing, she plunged toward the Great Chasm and fell into the abyss.

The sound of her fall vanished into the darkness, and not another sound emerged from the Great Chasm.

Lu Li rose from the ground as the skeleton horse brought Ruth and Whitley over to him.

— That Son of the Devil and Michelle... are they dead?

Lu Li gazed at the abyss-like Great Chasm and remained silent.

He was pondering one thing.

Did Michelle lunge forward to swallow the Son of the Devil simply for food... or did she, in that final moment, regain her sanity and help him?

It was a question that, it seemed, would never be answered.