The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 642: The Friendly Evil Spirit

Lu Li knew precious little about the Exorcist Association.

Most of what he knew had come from Tesla, with the remainder gleaned from scattered, incidental remarks.

The reason was twofold: the Association's inherent secrecy and Lu Li's own lack of time to conduct any real investigation.

Yet, the organization proved to be even more enigmatic than he had imagined. They had somehow found a way to preserve the consciousness of evil spirits corrupted by the In-Between, preventing them from succumbing to pure instinct.

It was a shame he was learning this only now. Had he known before the fall of Ellen Royal City, or even before the disastrous expedition against the Third Calamity, he might have had a chance to uncover their secrets.

But now, with the best exorcists dead and the three organizations having lost contact with one another, the path to finding answers was fraught with far greater obstacles.

Still, a sliver of hope remained. Rope of Descent, the spirit from the island off the coast of Belfast, might hold some of the answers.

"Was that voice lying to me?" Anna asked, peering at the parchment beside him.

"The story is true, but the voice might not have belonged to Rope of Descent."

Anna hadn't seen who was speaking; she had only heard the voice."I'll go with you to the Ghost Prison," Lu Li declared, setting the parchment aside.

"It could be a trap," Anna objected, unwilling to put Lu Li in danger. A human body was simply too fragile.

"An unavoidable risk," Lu Li replied calmly.

The heretics' conspiracy was a threat to the ruins of Belfast, and they were dangerously close to the Elm Forest.

Besides, Lu Li was determined to understand how old Miklos had managed to retain his sanity.

"What happened?"

Remi appeared at the entrance to the shelter. She had been tending to Enni when she noticed the Trader.

Lu Li handed her the parchment and recounted what had happened with Anna.

"It's too dangerous," Remi said, voicing her concern. She agreed with Anna; even Lu Li's indomitable will was housed in a fragile body.

The slightest, most insignificant wound could prove fatal.

"Nowhere is completely safe, not even this shelter." Lu Li opened a box, drew out ten ornately engraved bullets, and after setting one aside, he replaced the silver-plated rounds in "The Atonement."

"I can go with Anna," Remi offered.

Thud!

Lu Li snapped the box shut and raised his gaze to meet theirs.

"Then the three of us will go."

...

A cold wind howled over the rocky island, its mournful wail echoing through the crevices.

Carrying Lu Li, Anna drifted down to a soft landing before the ruined wall of the Ghost Prison.

"So, you've come..."

A hoarse, ancient whisper echoed in their minds, seeming to rise from some dark abyss. It was faint, heavy with exhaustion. "You were quick to arrive... and you seem so... close-knit..."

"How should I address you?" Lu Li asked, his gaze fixed on the black breach in the wall.

"Call me old Miklos... or Rope of Descent..." the voice replied.

At that moment, Remi added quietly, "There are traces of spectral energy inside... and something foul. Probably the heretics. But the being we're speaking with feels... pure. I don't think it's malicious."

Waiting for her to finish, Lu Li calmly resumed his conversation with old Miklos. "What do you want from us?"

"The heretics... they took the prisoners... and my true form... draining my strength... They are plotting something dark... a bloody conspiracy... You must stop them... before it's too late..."

"How could they have taken your true form?" Remi asked, confused.

An evil spirit's true form was its greatest vulnerability, as fragile as a clay pot. Even a child could destroy a spirit by damaging its anchor.

Assuming, of course, they could withstand its frenzied resistance.

Old Miklos had not been so lucky. The heretics had found his weakness.

"I cannot bring myself to harm another... not even heretics who worship evil..."

"Then why do you remain here?" Remi inquired.

"I've been here for so long... This place is like a second home to me..." Old Miklos's voice, like that of a dying man, trembled with sorrow. "There's almost no time left... I had hoped to return to my theater... to meet my end... But it's too far away..."

Remi fell silent.

"Where are these heretics?" Lu Li asked.

"Their lair... Follow the twisted tracks into the forest... upward... When reality itself begins to warp... you will know you are close..."

"If you are powerless against them, I doubt we stand a chance," Anna stated coldly.

After a moment of silence, old Miklos replied, his voice laced with bitterness, "I had hoped... you would summon the Exorcist Association..."

"The world has descended into chaos," Anna said, shaking her head.

"Yes... They are gone..." old Miklos sighed, no longer pressing them to salvage a hopeless situation. "If you intend to leave Belfast... you should hurry..."

The arrival of another group of anomalies in a city already teeming with them would hardly make things worse. Belfast couldn't possibly sink any lower.

"We want to look around the prison," Lu Li said.

"Of course... But there is nothing here now... save for cold stone..." old Miklos replied.

Remi confirmed his words, but just in case, neither she nor Anna strayed far from Lu Li's side near the entrance.

The chamber resembled a crypt more than a prison, lined with rows of massive, sealed sarcophagi carved from Deep Sea Stone.

But the ghosts once imprisoned within them were gone.

"Do your descendants know what has become of you?" Lu Li continued his conversation with old Miklos.

The spirit answered slowly, "Young man... I understand your apprehension... Do not worry... I have no descendants... I am Miklos Blayvins."

Lu Li nodded. "I hope you can answer one question for me."

"Traveler, here at the sunset of my life... Ask..."

Lu Li's gaze drifted to Anna. "Anna is suffering from the influence of the In-Between. I want to know how you managed to preserve your own mind."

"I... do not know... After the Exorcist Association took me... they..." Old Miklos fell silent for a long moment. "I don't know... They never told me anything... Young man... if you want the answer... you must find the Exorcist Association..."

"They're gone," Lu Li repeated the spirit's own words back to him.

"But perhaps... a spark of them remains... I can see she is important to you... Do not give up..."

Anna and Remi finished their inspection and returned to his side. Lu Li changed the subject. "I need some Deep Sea Stone."

"There is plenty of it here... If you need some... take it..."

"There's no one else here," Anna reported as she rejoined Lu Li.

Just as they were about to leave, Lu Li spoke to old Miklos again. "I have a way to deal with them, but I can't guarantee the safety of your true form."

"My original power is almost gone... I will fade soon, even without their interference... I have fulfilled the duty they gave me... So... it is your concern now... young man..."

The faint whisper of Rope of Descent dissolved into the wind.