The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 735: The Livitown Cultists

Flames blazed brightly, bathing the entire town in their flickering light.

The sky was shrouded in a gloom as deep as the Night of No Light. Torches cast flickering light on the silhouettes of the people, figures that had remained unchanged since the onset of the Eternal Night.

A few figures had gathered at the town's entrance, apparently conducting some sort of transaction. Katerina steered clear of the area, murmuring a reminder to Lu Li not to stare.

What set Livitown apart was its people. Most of the hunters were gaunt and thin, but the plight of the ordinary residents was far more severe. Prolonged dehydration had given their bodies a sickly, sallow hue, and slack skin hung from their desiccated frames.

Even the heavily contaminated vagrants leaning against the alley walls looked healthier than the town's inhabitants.

"Follow me," Katerina whispered, her demeanor more cautious than it had been in Mantistown as she led Lu Li toward the Hunter's Guild.

"They're severely dehydrated," Lu Li remarked, a note of surprise in his voice.

Even a prohibition on drinking water shouldn't have reduced them to such a state.

"It's because this place has a strong religious streak... you understand what I mean," Katerina explained, trying her best not to draw attention to them.

The residents believed in some deity, and because of that, they followed the rules to the letter.Katerina had been to Livitown a few times and knew her way to the local Hunter's Guild.

After a few minutes, they arrived at a building that stood out from the neighboring houses. A shield-shaped crest hung on its wall, depicting a crossed dagger and a flintlock pistol.

"A Spirit Gun..." Lu Li whispered, recognizing the weapon.

"Yeah, but we can't afford one," Katerina said. "Besides, the damn thing is too loud. You can only use it in a safe zone."

Katerina had seen one used before. The pull of a trigger unleashed a thunderous crack that rolled across the entire wasteland. When the swarming anomalies finally retreated, nothing was left in their wake.

They pushed the door open and stepped into the Hunter's Guild. The acrid smell of tobacco, mingled with other scents, immediately assaulted their senses, shrouding the space below the ceiling in a thin haze.

The hunters inside were in slightly better shape. Aside from the typical leanness of their profession, they showed no obvious signs of dehydration.

Ignoring the greedy and curious glances from the patrons, Katerina strode directly to the counter.

"A bounty or a job?" a clerk asked listlessly. Her skin was slack from severe dehydration, and her voice was nearly lost in the guild's din.

"Selling information."

"Public or confidential?"

"Public."

A hush fell over the room at her words, and several pairs of eyes fixed on Katerina.

Public information usually meant an opportunity to get in on the spoils, especially for those who heard it first.

"Just say it. We'll assess your information..." The clerk yawned, her fatigue from dehydration so profound she looked ready to fall asleep on the spot.

Deliberately mimicking Lu Li's calm tone, Katerina announced, "The nearest Ghoul nest is migrating. They're preparing to expand into a Ghoul city."

An abrupt silence descended upon the Hunter's Guild following Katerina's declaration.

One by one, the hunters turned to stare in their direction, but no one looked pleased. The emergence of a Ghoul city was a major problem for the town—for everyone. It promised no reward, only danger.

A horde of Ghouls was never something a lone hunter could handle.

In the now-silent hall, only the clerk's tired voice broke the quiet. "Location?"

The clerk, calm and utterly exhausted, sounded as if she were processing the most trivial piece of news.

"They're heading..." Katerina trailed off. She didn't actually know their destination.

"About eight kilometers south of the nest. You can follow their tracks from there," Lu Li's calm voice supplied.

The clerk jotted it down quickly. "What's your name?"

"Katerina. Katerina the Sting," she answered quickly.

"We'll have to verify the information... which will take some time. Once it's confirmed, you can collect your reward at the Hunter's Guild."

"How long will that take?"

They didn't plan on staying long. Katerina intended to leave Livitown as soon as the Eternal Night receded, at the latest.

"Depends on how... *yawn*... urgent it is, and how far," the clerk said through a massive yawn.

Katerina doubted the town would send out an investigation party during the Eternal Night, which meant she wouldn't be seeing any reward soon.

"We're being followed."

The voice was Lu Li's, speaking the moment they stepped out of the Hunter's Guild.

Katerina stopped and glanced back. The two figures tailing them didn't turn or walk away; they merely slowed their pace for a moment before continuing forward.

"We mean no harm," the stocky man declared, his voice a low rumble.

His leather armor marked him as a hunter, and the skin exposed around it was covered in scaly patches.

His companion was as short as Krot, though not nearly as stout.

"Name's Giant. We heard what you said in the Guild and want to team up to check out that nest." His words were blunt and to the point.

Even though the migration and expansion of the Ghouls was dangerous, it still presented an opportunity for profit.

Abandoned Ghoul nests often contained valuables—the belongings of their victims.

Katerina hesitated for a moment. She didn't trust strangers, so she shook her head and declined. "We have other business to attend to."

The reward for "delivering" Lu Li far outweighed anything they might find in a Ghoul nest. For now, that was her top priority.

The man called Giant said nothing, simply turned on his heel and walked away, his partner following close behind.

Giant and his partner hadn't been the only ones following them. Another group lurked in a nearby alley, peeking out like rats. Katerina shot them a contemptuous glance. A flicker of black light in her left eye was enough to make the skulking hunters shrink back, daring not to follow them any further.

On their way to the inn, they saw several wagons gathered at the western edge of Livitown. Word was they were preparing to venture out into the wasteland, despite the shroud of the Eternal Night.

Lu Li studied the motley collection of wagons and sensed a distinct air of the wasteland about them. Perhaps that was why the caravan was in such a rush to depart during the Eternal Night.

Katerina was just about to rent a room at the inn when a group of figures swept through the entrance.

"The cultists..."

The desiccated innkeeper bowed his head in reverent awe.

Two figures in cloaks glided through the doorway. Their robes were longer than Lu Li's, trailing along the floor like veils, and their strange, level movements made them seem to float just above the ground.

"The Church has confirmed your information..." a low whisper emanated from the shadow of a cloak. "...What do you want?"

The voice was a quiet whisper, accompanied by a barely audible murmur, drifting from the shadows of the cloak.

"Money."

The word escaped her lips instinctively. Then, remembering the caravan she'd seen, she added, "And I hope we can join the caravan heading to the City of Phantoms."

Shurkh.

A pouch of coins was tossed to Katerina. A desiccated, claw-like hand flickered out from beneath the cloak and vanished back into the shadows.

"The caravan will accept you..."

Katerina caught the heavy pouch and stammered her thanks. Then she realized that the shadows beneath both cloaks had turned to face Lu Li, their unseen gaze fixed upon him.

"An untainted unbeliever... The Church of Livitown would welcome your visit..."

With another muttered prayer, the cultists glided out of the inn, their forms seeming to float away into the night.