The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 621: Return to the Swamp Road

By early morning, the bloody haze in the streets had thinned somewhat.

The southbound swarms of Blood Dandelions had finally, for the most part, cleared the skies over Flarand.

The cities to the south had already prepared. They had mounted enormous torches on their walls, capable of halting the dandelions, while kerosene and wood shavings flowed through repurposed channels in the streets. Doors and windows were barricaded, and stockpiles of food, coal, and firewood were replenished. Though catastrophe was inevitable, these cities would not share Flarand's fate—they would not be utterly destroyed.

Some villages and settlements, knowing they could not stand against the approaching tide of dandelions, chose to abandon their homes. They fled with their families, seeking refuge in cities the plague was not expected to reach.

None of this, however, was of any concern to Lu Li and Anna at that moment.

Their southbound carriage rocked gently as it traveled. They had left the city of Typhoon not long before, saying goodbye to York and the others who were remaining there for now, and had taken Lilia with them on their journey back to the Allen Peninsula.

Himmfast was a great distance away, and York, with his group of elderly, women, and children, had to weigh whether such a long journey was worth the risk, especially with the dandelions drawing near.

Amper was also with them, but since his appearance near towns or on the roads was likely to cause a panic, Anna had instructed him to follow the carriage at a distance.

"Miss Anna... she seems much more lively now."

The lines around Lilia's eyes deepened into a smile. She knew Anna was a ghost, of course... but what old soul doesn't enjoy watching young love blossom?Especially in these dark, hopeless times.

Throughout the day, Lilia had noticed Anna watching Lu Li, her gaze tender and unwavering... as if she could never look at him enough.

Rustle—

Lu Li lowered the newspaper he was reading and calmly met Anna's gaze from across the carriage.

Anna blinked slowly in return.

Previously, Anna would have simply kept staring, unconcerned. And before that, she would have pretended not to notice, looking away only to sneak another glance later.

Sarah's memories had inevitably left their mark on Anna. Even after she had just pulled herself back from that endless tangle of chaos, she found herself hesitating before saying Lu Li's name—the name "Adam" felt more familiar, more natural, after two hundred years of memories that weren't her own.

Fortunately, Lu Li's words, combined with Anna's own willpower from before her consciousness was submerged, had acted like a reef against the tide. They anchored her sense of self, preventing her from being broken by the weight of Sarah's long history.

Anna was still Anna, only now her story was written on a parchment that held much new content, both good and bad.

Lu Li turned his attention back to the newspaper. Alongside the shocking and terrifying reports about the fall of Ellen Royal City, there were now articles about Flarand and the southbound Blood Dandelions.

The cities across the Plains of Serenity were already lamenting their fate. After passing Flarand, the swarms of dandelions had dispersed, threatening to spread across the entire plain. Those who had witnessed the devastation firsthand knew all too well that even a single one of these seeds could spell disaster.

All people could do was hope that the rain clouds recently formed over the Serma Mountains, to the north of the plains, would arrive swiftly and wash these troublesome motes from the sky before they could blanket the entire region.

If not, the dandelions would likely continue south after ravaging most of the Plains of Serenity, eventually reaching the Fallen Leaves Mountains to the east, putting them just over the range from the Allen Peninsula.

For the time being, Himmfast and the other settlements on the Allen Peninsula had little to fear. The peninsula's climate was largely independent of the mainland's. Even if the seeds did manage to cross the mountains, the ocean winds would likely blow them back out to sea.

By evening, the low silhouette of the Fallen Leaves Mountains rose on the horizon. The dry, cold air grew damp and cool, carrying the scent of the sea.

Lu Li felt it first. This was where he had first set foot on the Allen Peninsula, where he had spent most of his time... The salt on the breeze felt like a welcome home.

Anna also lifted her head, trying to sense the air, but her expression fell in slight disappointment—as a ghost, she couldn't smell anything.

Fortunately, Sarah's long memory was like an endlessly thick book, one as vivid as a dream. Anna could flip through its pages anytime she wished and experience the emotions within.

Occasionally, they encountered other travelers on the road, their carriages piled high with belongings. As they neared Maple Town, these others would turn onto side roads, and they would part ways.

Some even tried to dissuade Lu Li from taking the Swamp Road, warning that terrible changes had supposedly taken place there. There was a small port thirty miles to the east, they said, where he could hire a boat to bypass the swamp and reach the Allen Peninsula.

And soon enough, well before nightfall, the three of them saw for themselves the changes on the Swamp Road.

A few days ago, when they passed through here, the horrifying overgrowth of the Northern Shadow Swamp had already spread halfway across the Swamp Road, encroaching on the territory of the Mother of the Swamp.

This time, the invasion was total. The entire Swamp Road was swallowed by a twisted, nightmarish canopy. The dense, thin branches looked like desiccated hands, reaching across to claw at the Southern Shadow Swamp on the other side.

The horse pulling their carriage grew agitated, balking at the entrance to the low-lying Swamp Road, where the sky was completely blotted out by a canopy of dry branches.

The Mother of the Swamp seemed powerless to resist the terrible creature that had awakened in the Northern Shadow Swamp.

Lu Li retreated to the outskirts of Maple Town, unhitched the carriage from the horse, and attached it to Amper instead. He returned to the town, left the horse at the carriage depot, and then made his way back to the Swamp Road.

But this time the Swamp Road was overrun with Dry Claws, making it impassable. Their only option was to venture directly into the damp, gloomy swamp.

The Mother of the Swamp detected them immediately—behind the indistinct silhouettes of the dead trees, the outlines of vague shadows and a few Six-Armed Savages appeared.

Amper stopped before one of the vague shadows. Lu Li addressed the presence behind it, the Mother of the Swamp. "I've brought what you need," he said. "And the person."

The vague shadow gave no reply. It merely receded back among the trees, only to reappear deeper in the swamp, several dozen meters away.

Amper followed, pushing its way through mud and dead trees.

Ten minutes later, a forest of dry ficus trees appeared ahead, dense and withered.

The branches hanging from the trees no longer held the faceless figures in white dresses. As they drew closer, the ficuses ringing the heart of the swamp—like satellites around a planet—stirred. Their drooping branches pulled aside, forming a straight, dark passage into the center, like an arched gateway.

The trees seemed to regard Lu Li with favor. The tips of their branches brushed gently against his clothes in a gesture of goodwill. This was likely due to his Humanity. Destroying Sarah and Adam had granted him a great deal of it, and after the amplification from the Book of the Apocalypse... Lu Li now possessed 12 points of Humanity.

Just a few days ago, when he left the shelter, he had only possessed 2 points.

This had forced Anna to release the aura of her vengeful spirit to conceal Lu Li's vitality, which stood in such stark contrast to this world of despair.

After passing through the grove of ficuses and crossing the swampy creek where 'the Whale' had once run aground, the giant trees at the heart of the Southern Swamp rose up before them.

Lilia gazed up at the giant ficus, her clouded eyes reflecting a mixture of shock and timid reverence—

From the dark hollow of the tree, a figure in a black cloak emerged silently.

"They said... you have brought what I need..." the voice of the Mother of the Swamp rasped from beneath the black cloak, a single sound woven from countless faint whispers.