The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 833: Saintess Helena

"Do you think it's true?"

"What?"

They left the tree-like structure. As guests, they were free to remain in the settlement of the Church of the Vine.

They made their way toward the only beautiful building in the settlement, the True Library, passing through it to reach the Church of Distortion on the other side.

"His kindness, and His power."

Katerina whispered as she climbed the library steps.

"Don't answer with vague words like 'maybe' or 'perhaps'."

"Yes."

Katerina was still doubtful and didn't grasp the Eternal Dreamer's experience, but Lu Li knew full well about his long dreams.

Now, every time he fell asleep, the time that passed was measured in hundreds of millions of years.That vast expanse of time had allowed the Eternal Dreamer to live through enough stories, just as he had said. His body was still that of a fragile human, but his consciousness had long since evolved into that of a higher being.

"Seeing the future..."

Katerina almost wanted to run back and ask about her own future, even knowing that revealing the answer would alter that very future.

Prusius remained silent; his mood had been heavy since leaving the Eternal Dreamer, a mixture of anxiety and guilt.

Returning to the hushed True Library, Lu Li closed the main door and headed for the secret passage on the other side.

Lu Li had been here before; the dark, urine-soaked alley behind the secret door was gone, and the original buildings of the district had been demolished. However, the new constructions were sturdier and more beautiful than the slum-like hovels on the other side.

They stretched in an arc along the settlement's defensive wall, with only the northwestern corner cleared for a plot of farmland.

A large square paved with blue flagstones remained in the center of the settlement, as if the houses were encircling a central church.

The church's sharp spire seemed to pierce the clouds; atop it stood a ghostly, translucent amber statue, reminiscent of Belfast's former grandest cathedral, the Kel'thas Cathedral. But this one was even more magnificent and mysterious.

The appearance of figures at the church's exit drew the attention of the settlement's inhabitants; a silhouette with octopus-like tentacles slithered out from beneath a black cloak.

"Your auras are unfamiliar... Where do you come from?"

The cultist knew they hadn't come from the other side.

"We came from the outside, and we have questions. The Eternal Dreamer said we would find answers here," Lu Li said.

"The Eternal Dreamer... the prophet, then... Follow me."

The cultist moved its numerous tentacles and led them toward the central church, which was encircled by the other buildings.

Katerina's frown gradually deepened; as she delved further into the settlement, she saw skeletons hanging under the eaves of the houses along the way. There were skeletons of anomalies, and also human ones...

This place was cleaner than the Church of the Vine, but it seemed to harbor a greater chaos.

Climbing the steps and entering the church of the Church of Distortion, they found that dozens of candles were not enough to properly illuminate the hall, forcing visitors to focus more on the stained-glass windows that let in light from outside. They depicted ghostly, beautiful silhouettes, gazing down with compassion on everyone in the hall.

Katerina's brow furrowed even more; she recognized the horrifyingly familiar objects—candles made from fat rendered from living beings.

No one did such things in the Wastelands, not even the aristocrats. It was partly due to the cost, but also due to their sinister nature.

A figure was lounging lazily in a high, throne-like chair in the hall. The cloak had slipped from her head, revealing soft, wavy flaxen hair and a beautiful face.

A diamond-shaped crystal was embedded in her forehead, and her bright eyes shone like jewels in the dim light, watching the newcomers. The graceful silhouette under the cloak leaned lazily against the chair, revealing a sliver of smooth, white shin.

"Saintess, the prophet instructed these lost sheep to come to our Lord."

The cultist who had led Lu Li bowed to the woman in the chair; numerous suckers were visible from beneath its raised cloak.

"He wants these strangers to meet my sister? Wait a moment... it's you," the lazily reclining Saintess leaned forward, her luminous eyes peering intently at the tall figure.

Black hair, black eyes, a black cloak accentuating a tall frame—everything was just as it had been...

"You know me?"

A low, indistinct laugh echoed through the empty cathedral, and the Saintess leaned back in her chair again.

"Let's pretend we don't. What is your purpose here?"

"To find a person," After a brief pause, Lu Li corrected himself: "To find traces of an evil spirit named the Shadow Maiden."

"Why should I help you?"

The unique construction of the church made the Saintess's voice sound like a prophecy, echoing throughout the hall.

"The Eternal Dreamer said you could help us," Lu Li replied.

"But we are equals, not his subordinates. He cannot command us," The flippant and casual tone was ill-suited to the Saintess of a church.

Lu Li fell silent, trying to remember which of his acquaintances the Saintess could be.

To his sorrow or fortune, Lu Li, who had few acquaintances, didn't have to search his memory for long. He couldn't place her face among those he knew, but fortunately, the memories stirred by the True Library reminded him of a long-past episode:

Back when Belfast was not yet destroyed, the True Library had been taken over by an anomaly called the 'Library Spirit,' forcing an emergency evacuation. Lu Li had escaped through the secret door, and after leaving the alley reeking of urine, he was accosted by a woman of the night. Lu Li had used her persistence to ward off other women, successfully leaving the street while she, in the process, had twisted her ankle.

That was why the Eternal Dreamer had said Lu Li would meet an acquaintance here.

The woman from his memories, who wore only a red dress in the rainy season, her face garishly painted and doused in cheap perfume, gradually merged with the image of the Saintess before him.

She, like Lu Li, had not been touched by time.

"I remember now," Lu Li said.

"An equivalent exchange."

Almost as soon as Lu Li finished speaking, the Saintess leaned forward, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair, as if afraid Lu Li would say something more:

"Do something for the Church of Distortion, and I will give you the answer you seek."

Lu Li remained silent, but the Saintess grew impatient.

"If that old prophet sent you to me, it means I can solve your problems," Dangerous emotions flared in Helena's eyes.

"Will you do it or not?"

Her past added a certain ambiguity to her words, or perhaps that ambiguity was brought in from the outside.

"I am the Saintess of the Church of Distortion. You are insulting a messenger of the divine!"

The Saintess's soft whisper made the church tremble; a massive, brilliant eye, like a lighthouse beam, materialized in the air, bizarre shadows erupted from the alluringly burning candles, and countless thick tentacles slithered out from under the cloaks of the nearby cultists.

Lu Li calmly raised his head and met the menacing gaze from the chair:

"I haven't said anything."

"Mr. Lu Li, say something nice," a trembling Prusius whispered, sidling up to Lu Li.

"Why?"

"Compliment this Saintess, or she'll give us the most troublesome task! She might even kill us!"

"We are only human. Our abilities are limited," Lu Li said to those eyes.

After a short silence, Helena gave a slight wave of her hand.

"There is one task that would certainly suit you."

The whisper faded, the massive eye vanished, the candles, resuming their normal glow, swayed gently, and the cultists who had bared their claws once again hid them beneath their cloaks.

It was as if nothing had happened.