The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 874: Starting with Comrades

Strictly speaking, Anna was not the founder of the Church of Shadows.

That would be Bishop John.

The rules, the hierarchy, the faith—all of it fell under John's authority.

Even the bond between "deity and believers" was not a close one; of the thirty-six core cultists, one hundred and six acolytes, and thousands of followers, only a select few had ever seen Anna in person.

Because Anna had no need for their faith.

It was simply that Bishop John's faith in the Shadow Maiden was sincere enough to extend to Lu Li.

Through Anna, they were also believers in Lu Li, a fact confirmed by the growing number of threads of faith converging around him.

The main bastion of the Church of Shadows was on the Allen Peninsula, or more accurately, the Main Continent.

Although the Wastelands were more welcoming to such heretics, the Church of Shadows could not enjoy the same treatment—because their deity had vanished.

In the Wastelands, a church without its deity could only find shelter under the authority of Midnight or other small cities. Over time, the devout believers would descend into madness as they doubted their god, while the less faithful would gradually drift to other beliefs.Therefore, they maintained only a single outpost in Midnight to disseminate information, a presence that was more symbolic than practical.

This meant that the Church of Shadows was extremely slow to receive news of Lu Li's return. They only learned of it when the newspapers in Winnelag were filled with headlines.

And then, due to the protection Lu Li received upon arriving on the Main Continent and his constant movements, they found it difficult to track him down, forcing Lu Li to seek them out himself—

But they hadn't completely lost face. After all, once Lu Li arrived in Sentry Post, Bishop John led him to the Stone Forest.

Besides the symbolic outpost in Midnight and the sanctuary of the Stone Forest, the Main Continent was their primary base of operations. They had outposts in many cities, and some settlements had even been converted into church strongholds.

"We know they have outposts in Midnight, Typhoon, and Wigtown, and we're continuing the interrogations."

Crunch—

One-eyed Vic tore the parchment in frustration.

"Is that all?"

In the upper level of the dark, damp dungeon, he walked over to the black-uniformed silhouettes lined up in a row and demanded mockingly:

"A team of the Inquisition's finest investigators, and after days of questioning, you haven't found out where these ugly worms have their outposts, where their lairs are, and you don't even know the name of a single one of them!"

"The Main Continent..."

A weak voice offered an excuse.

One-eyed Vic spun around. Limping, he approached the young, black-uniformed man who had spoken, pressed a finger to his forehead, and stared into his shifting eyes as he said with a sneer:

"And I also know you were born from your mother, not your father, right?"

Ignoring the fool, One-eyed Vic returned to his spot, looked around, and declared in a low voice:

"I'm giving you one last day. If you still can't break them..."

All the anxious investigators knew what his unfinished sentence implied.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed on the stone stairs, followed by a long, drawn-out cry:

"Mayor Matteus has arrived!"

Surprised, quiet whispers rippled through the room.

"Quiet!"

One-eyed Vic barked impatiently, silencing them.

"That sycophant? He actually came to the dungeon..."

He pulled a pipe from the pocket of the investigator's coat draped over his shoulders, lit it, and ordered his subordinates to disperse, waiting alone in the hall.

The clamor of footsteps arrived sooner than expected; Mayor Matteus, a face he'd seen often in the papers lately, entered the dark hall surrounded by guards.

His young assistant approached One-eyed Vic and said briskly:

"Investigator Vic, where are the two believers from the Church of Shadows that you arrested?"

"Believers? What are you talking about?"

The lit pipe released a puff of smoke, obscuring One-eyed Vic's narrowed gaze.

The assistant, Valendo, glanced away from the frightened investigators nearby, turned to the mayor, received a nod, and stepped closer, close enough to feel the heat from the pipe.

"I'm asking," Assistant Valendo said, staring intently at the single eye above the ugly scar on the bridge of his nose.

"Where are the believers you secretly arrested, arbitrarily detained, and illegally interrogated?"

"...Third level of the dungeon... at the end."

In the eyes of the other investigators, One-eyed Vic, the very embodiment of defiance, reluctantly bowed his head.

Ugly politics and power; even on the brink of death, a group of insatiable people still clung tightly to them...

"Thank you. We'll discuss your unauthorized, illegal interrogations later. For now, please lead the way."

Assistant Valendo stepped back behind Mayor Matteus.

One-eyed Vic glanced around, his face grim, and led the mayor and the others into the dungeon.

Nearby, having received a signal, his subordinates turned and ran toward another entrance to the dungeon.

...

The cultists were led back into the long wormhole connecting Sentry Post and Himmfast.

"You managed to negotiate with the Eye-Worm..."

John marveled at Lu Li's abilities.

It rendered the "path of trials for a safe arrival at the Stone Forest" they had prepared for Lu Li completely useless.

Not just Bishop John, but all the cultists of the Stone Forest left with Lu Li, ate the yellow plums, and climbed into the wormhole.

Their destination was Sentry Post.

As Ophelia had suggested, their first priority was to rescue their comrades.

Taking the Church of Shadows with him was part of that rescue.

Besides searching for Anna, Lu Li had tasked the Church of Shadows with contacting believers in other regions to find the missing Katerina and Andrea.

After a fifteen-minute journey, they arrived in Sentry Post and headed straight for Gades's house.

The believers of the Church of Shadows remained on the surface, while Lu Li and the others once again melted and cooled the stones to enter Hell.

Passing through two of Gades's deceptive obstacles, they emerged onto the surface. Their vision distorted to reveal a red and yellow landscape of scorched, desolate earth. In the distance, lesser demons were building city walls, while Gades, under an umbrella, casually tossed a wooden stick for Prusius to fetch.

"You're just in time. I'm training Prusius."

Noticing their return, Gades waved at the approaching Lu Li.

"You look like you haven't woken up yet."

Even Gades, who hadn't had contact with people for over twenty years, noticed the change in Lu Li.

Then, as if just noticing Ophelia's presence:

"Anna? You look... Of course, I mean, you're just as beautiful as ever."

"She is Ophelia."

"Right, well, you always have these anomalies... friends," Gades shrugged, making a tsk-tsk sound. He picked up a bowl of water and called for Prusius to come back for a drink.

"The little one woke up shortly after you left."

In the distance, Prusius spotted Lu Li and his companions. He dropped the wooden stick, furiously wagged his two tails, bypassed Gades, and rushed to Lu Li's feet, rolling over to show his belly.

The environment of Hell had made him less damp, and the seductive whispers were no longer present.

"You're back! Did you find Miss Anna?"

Lu Li and Ophelia fell silent. Elder Sister peeked out from the hood and answered:

"No."