The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 696: Sorrow for Comrades Turned to Dust

She was really there.

It was not an illusion from the "Door" or anything like it.

"So, Miss Anna is your companion." The sudden remark from the female exorcist broke the gaze between Lu Li and Anna.

Anna gave a slight nod, looking at the girl. "Miss Gulian."

The girl named Gulian took the hint. Asking Elena, "Are you feeling unwell?" she led her out of the room.

The door closed, and silence once again settled over the room.

Anna stepped off the balcony, her bare white feet sinking into the burgundy carpet. She stopped in front of Lu Li and murmured quietly, full of remorse, "I'm sorry... that you had to go through all this danger because of me."

"Did you find Aunt Mary?" Lu Li's dark eyes had regained their calm, as if the recent turmoil had been a mere illusion.

Anna lowered her eyes, a faint blush hidden beneath her lashes. "Aunt Mary... I've already buried her in the cemetery."

She slowly began to recount her journey: from landing on the west coast to traveling to Raintown, and then to Revoltown. Anna had followed the cultists' trail until she met Gulian here, an exorcist who had come from the southern coast, from Storm Cape. They had joined forces to investigate.Although Anna had neutralized the cultists from the Church of Silence who were plotting something sinister in Revoltown, she had not been able to save Aunt Mary. All she could do was wait in the city for Lu Li to arrive.

Despite the tragic outcome, Anna had obtained crucial information.

"From those cultists, I learned how to deal with Silence..."

"And how?"

Before Anna could answer, Elena threw the door open. Gulian, unable to stop her, shot Lu Li an apologetic look.

"You didn't say your companion was a ghost." Elena's gaze lingered on Anna's ethereal form as she addressed Lu Li, the former familiarity gone from her voice. "Don't forget your promise."

"What promise?" Anna frowned, clearly displeased by her rudeness.

"The First Dead have taken over the lake near her town. I promised her that after we found you, we would help the town deal with this anomaly."

"Alright, we'll get back to that later," Anna replied. She looked tenderly at Lu Li, a faint fire smoldering in the depths of her eyes. "We need to deal with the Third Calamity."

Elena had no intention of joining them; her only concern was the fate of Helentown.

Gulian decided to stay behind to exorcise the non-existent anomalies plaguing the paranoid Viscount Khamis. She watched as Anna, Lu Li, and Elena ascended into the sky, shrinking into black dots like hawks before vanishing to the west.

It turned out Elena was afraid of heights.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her lips, pale from the biting wind, pressed tightly together.

Anna did not create a barrier against the wind, as if punishing Elena for her disrespect toward Lu Li. Only after a reminder from Lu Li did she shield the girl from the gusts.

The seventy-five-kilometer journey, which would have taken Lu Li and Elena two days on foot, Anna covered in less than an hour.

It was not yet dark when they reached Helentown.

"Let's go down, I need to talk to them," Elena said. Without the freezing wind, her fear of heights had lessened considerably.

Anna set them down on the outskirts of Helentown. Elena headed into the town, and the people, surprised by their swift return, curiously eyed the cloaked figure of Anna.

In the two days that Elena and the exorcist had been gone, the town had been quiet, with no new attacks.

"Lu Li found his companion, and they've returned to help us."

To Elena's surprise, when she proposed to the elder that they deal with the First Dead, he was no longer so resolute.

"Child, the townspeople have already packed their things. Now that you're back... we can leave tomorrow."

The townsfolk were ready to abandon their homes.

There were too many of the First Dead in Lake Legkogo Zerkala, and they had no confidence they could destroy them all. Besides, the lake was vast; if even a few of the anomalies survived, their numbers would soon swarm again.

"You're retreating?" Hatred flared in Elena's eyes, and she gripped her spear so tightly it creaked. "What about Abiloki, Jils, Madam Gas, Uncle Barton, and Missi's death?!"

The elder sighed and glanced worriedly at Lu Li.

"We will help you destroy the First Dead," Anna's voice suddenly came from beneath her hood. "But we can't guarantee there won't be any left."

"That's enough... Thank you," the elder said with relief.

The townspeople wanted to join, but they were turned down. Only Elena, who knew Anna's true nature, followed them to the shore of Lake Legkogo Zerkala.

The surface of the lake was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the majestic, snow-covered slopes of the World's Spine Mountains.

Gazing at the placid water, one might think that dark shadows of fish were swimming beneath the surface far from shore.

But Elena knew they were not fish.

"Give me the Atonement. There's no need to waste humanity." Anna already knew about the First Dead, and their ability to create illusions posed no threat to her.

"The pistol will be ruined if it gets wet," Lu Li said.

"I forgot..." Anna said quietly, a little embarrassed, as she removed her cloak and handed it to Lu Li. "Wait for me."

"Be careful," Lu Li said, taking the cloak.

"Alright."

Anna walked to the pebble beach, past a boat washed ashore, and stepping onto the surface of the lake with her bare feet, she headed toward its center.

Before Lu Li's eyes, the figure in the white dress raised a hand, as if preparing for something, then slowly lowered it.

In the next moment, the surface of the lake for several hundred meters around Anna seemed to be battered by an invisible downpour. The water churned and boiled, forming waves that crashed onto the shore.

A profound silence swept across the lake, followed by raging waves, yet they could not touch Anna, who had become like a goddess of the storm.

Anna's power had grown.

Lu Li watched in silence.

And there was still no word from the Exorcist Association.

A few minutes later, Anna, having unleashed utter chaos, returned. Behind her, she left only murky, roiling water that no longer resembled a smooth, mirror-like surface.

"I found something at the center of the lake," Anna said, looking at Lu Li. "Do you want to see?"

"Yes."

Lu Li took Anna's outstretched hand, and she transported him to the center of the lake.

Anna's power pushed back the murky water, revealing the lakebed a hundred meters below: a scattering of sharp rocks and a cave among them.

"This is their lair." Anna took the oil lamp from Lu Li and lit it, then led him down toward the lake bottom.

The turbid water swirled around them as Lu Li looked down at the approaching stone cave.

Reaching the bottom, Anna held the lamp up to the cave entrance.

Human bones lay scattered around the entrance, and as Anna drew closer, even more bones came into view inside, practically filling the entire space.

The Trader had not mentioned that the First Dead collected bones.

The cave held the remains of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. Among them were the bones of those who had sailed on the same ship as Lu Li, and the remains of Emin.

"Perhaps a few of the First Dead are still alive, but most of them have been destroyed," Anna said.

Lu Li gave a slight nod. "Let's go back."

They ascended from the dark, grim depths and returned to the shore, then headed back to Helentown with Elena.

The danger from Lake Legkogo Zerkala had passed, and the residents once again began to discuss whether they should leave.

But that no longer concerned Lu Li and Anna. Having fulfilled their promise, they left the town in the deepening twilight.

Soon after, Elena, saying she wanted to help Lu Li, bid farewell to the townspeople and set off into the wastes.