The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 885: The New Believer

Zadok Allen had once been more devout in his faith to the father-god and mother-goddess than anyone, but They had never paid him any mind.

His Deep One bloodline allowed him to remain "human" in the town of Innsmouth, untouched by the corruption. But that same bloodline also made him an outsider.

The townspeople who had yet to change despised him, while the Deep Ones saw him as a pathetic creature.

— Lad, what are you planning to do... hic... become a Deep One, gain eternal life?

Saliva laced with wine dribbled from the corners of Zadok Allen's mouth, matting his beard and giving off an indescribable, putrid stench.

He didn't have long to live.

— I passed through Innsmouth on a train once. When it stopped at the station, a crowd of townspeople surrounded it. Do you remember? — Lu Li didn't press Zadok Allen further.

As for the Deep Ones, Lu Li might have already encountered them—and perhaps even Dagon or the Lord of the Depths...

In the final trial set by Friday—or some other unknown entity—Lu Li had seen humanoid creatures resembling fish and frogs on the coast, as well as a being called an Ancient One, slumbering in the deep sea.

The reason the townspeople had swarmed the train back then was now clear: Lu Li carried the faint aura of their Lord.— The Ancient Era? A railway station? I don't recall... maybe you... hic... had something on you that drew them in.

Speaking of them, Zadok Allen raised a trembling hand, pointing to the sea with more hatred than affection.

— Hic... what was it you asked me earlier? That woman named Vala-Ula.

Zadok Allen's eyelids drooped as the moonshine began to take hold.

— Katerina. She was taken from Vinnelag a few days ago by the Deep Ones.

— Vinnelag? Hic... they have a cult there too?

— No, she was taken after she became corrupted.

— Today is October 31st... I see.

Zadok Allen pointed to the sea again, but this time toward the port Lu Li couldn't bring himself to look at:

— Tonight... hic... at the Rebirth Festival, they'll perform a sacrifice. They'll summon their father-god and mother-goddess and turn your Katerina into a Deep One.

Lu Li wasn't too late.

But with only a few hours to spare, they had little time to prepare.

— She's not yours!

Anna objected, swinging her legs as she sat on the stone wall.

— You really don't want to become one of them? It's not so bad... you're no longer weak, you don't fear the corruption, you gain strength, and you can live almost forever...

Zadok Allen trailed off into a strange, drunken mumble, looking as if he might fall asleep at any second.

— In the harbor square? — Lu Li asked.

— Right there...

After a few more questions about the corruption, Zadok Allen's responses devolved into meaningless muttering.

— If you don't want to become one of them, get out of here. Innsmouth doesn't welcome outsiders... unless they stop being outsiders.

He delivered the last sentence with his remaining strength, then slumped against the ruined wall and drifted off.

Lu Li scanned the area for a moment. Seeing no other townspeople nearby, he left the drunken, teeth-grinding Zadok Allen, rounded the stone wall, and headed back toward the town.

Those born of mixed blood and those touched by the corruption eventually transform into Deep Ones. This tribe of Deep Ones worships their father-god and mother-goddess, Dagon and Mother Hydra.

Dagon and Mother Hydra are themselves Ancient Ones who once slept on the seafloor, servants to the Lord of the Depths.

In the best-case scenario, he wouldn't have to face the Lord of the Depths, and perhaps not even Dagon and Mother Hydra or their other acolytes. He would only have to deal with the local Innsmouth cult and the Deep Ones.

But it was like watching the fog clear only to reveal an endless mountain range ahead—a sight that could drive any traveler to despair.

Returning to the town, the pervasive feeling of being watched washed over him again. Ignoring Anna and the townspeople, Lu Li returned the way he came, passing through the town to the south, towards the ruins.

But he couldn't get back to where Ophelia was waiting.

Several townspeople, making no effort to hide their presence, followed him. Lu Li spent some time trying to shake them, but to no avail. Even when the townspeople were out of sight, the feeling of being watched lingered—Lu Li had already aroused suspicion.

Under the strange and indifferent gazes of the townspeople, Lu Li returned to the town.

— Even our great exorcist is helpless, it seems?

Anna commented as she followed him. Lu Li sat on a bench outside the inn, ignoring the incessant whispering of the nearby townspeople as he gazed out at the sea. Just as his eyes began to sweep across the bay, he looked away, stood up, and went inside.

— It seems you got the answers you were looking for.

The old man, who had noticed the disappearance of the wine bottle, smiled.

Unlike Zadok Allen, the old man was human, without a drop of Deep One blood.

The reason he had survived in the town for several decades was simple: he was cowardly enough and had lived long enough to even speak with the Deep Ones, though he never initiated contact himself.

When Lu Li asked him for gloves and a scarf, the old man was surprised.

— Why? Those things will only make you stand out more, make you more suspicious.

The old man asked quizzically.

As someone who had lived in the town for decades, the old man's advice was worth considering. Nevertheless, Lu Li took the two items and went back upstairs.

— You're making such sacrifices for Katerina, and you still claim you don't love her?

Anna, sitting on the bed, smirked.

— Or do you... want your story to end here?

Click.

The door clicked shut. Lu Li took off his hat and laid it on the table alongside the scarf and gloves.

Strands of his black hair fell forward.

— You should have tried to believe Ophelia, to believe that I'm the real one.

Lu Li didn't answer, adjusting the spyglass.

— You cherish your humanity more than anything else, all because of Anna. And now you're willing to cast it aside? When she sees what you've become... will she accept you?

Lu Li's hand paused for a moment. Then he extended the spyglass to its full length and set it on the table.

— I'll recover once I've found Katerina, — he replied.

— Maybe not.

Anna tilted her head slightly. — And then the real Anna will kill you, mistaking you for a monster... How interesting.

Lu Li shook his head, saying nothing.

— You don't think so? But the real Anna already killed you once. She stabbed you through the heart with her own two hands. — Anna's eyes curved into a smile as she spoke the cruel words with the sweetness of a lover.

— Do me a favor.

Lu Li no longer engaged with the illusion. He picked up the spyglass and walked to the window.

— During the corruption process, I might lose consciousness. I need you to wake me every five seconds.

— You're asking an illusion to help you?

Anna stopped swinging her legs.

— You've saved me twice.

— That's only because I don't want anyone but me to take you, — Anna said, her clear eyes fixed on Lu Li.

— Perfect, then.

Lu Li closed his left eye, calmly raised the spyglass, and brought it to his right eye.

— When my consciousness sinks into the abyss, pull me back to you.