The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 912: The Host's Feast

[Plankarn Town: Facing the Wastelands, you're never alone. Backed by the rocky mountains, a little piece of Belfast. Breathtaking scenery, a unique golden beach to enjoy. With a cave shelter, you'll never fear a tsunami or storm. Your neighbors? Aristocrats... professors... scholars...]

A broken wooden billboard stood crookedly on the edge of a gravel-strewn road.

The road beyond led to a quiet town, its silhouette materializing through the fog.

Ophelia walked ahead, with Lu Li, Prusius, and the Deep God trailing slightly behind. The cultists flanked them, breathing life into the silent town.

The ceaseless, corrosive sea wind had bleached the town of its vibrant colors, while the gravel dust draped it in a gray veil.

After following the gravel road through a town large enough for several hundred residents, Lu Li stopped the Deep God from advancing recklessly toward the mountain peak and led them back into the town.

This was not the Allen Peninsula; everything around them was unfamiliar and unexplored.

While the cultists scouted the area, Lu Li unfurled his map.

The map of the Lennon Archipelago, drawn before its destruction, had no record of the town. However, the mountain itself might be the key to identifying the island. There were only two mountains in the entire archipelago: Serpent's Head and Watcher's Mountain.

One was on the main island of the Lennon Archipelago, the other on an island called Saint Lina—the latter seemed more likely.There were no shattered reefs around the island. Plankarn Town had also been built during the Ancient Era, and the pristine condition of the surrounding sea and the town's buildings suggested the island had remained largely intact. It was clear that the heart of the Lennon Archipelago had suffered the most destruction.

Located in the southwest, Saint Lina Island perfectly matched their position.

"Why don't you head straight up the rocky mountain?"

"Because you have to be careful, look how many caves there are..." Prusius murmured to the Deep God, glancing at Lu Li, who was intently studying his map.

"The rocky mountain, the caves... can you all see that mountain?"

Lu Li frowned, looking up into the distance. The fog still shrouded the entire island, and only the mountain's silhouette was visible.

"Of course, we see it," Prusius replied, puzzled.

"I... see it too," Ophelia added.

Everyone else could see the entire island and the mountain clearly; for Lu Li, however, everything remained shrouded in fog.

Because Lu Li was human?

Lu Li asked Prusius for details about the rocky mountain, mentally picturing a bald peak composed of nothing but rock and deep caves.

The caves were packed so densely they were impossible to miss. The entire mountain resembled a massive hive more than the "cave shelter" promised on the billboard, rising ominously and horrifically from the surrounding rock.

"Does the power of the mutilated body affect sight?" Lu Li asked.

"I don't know..."

"Can your power help me dispel the fog?" Lu Li asked again.

"I cannot find the source..."

"Your Highness, Deep God, is there truly nothing you can do? The returned mutilated body revived an entire forest," Prusius lamented, his ears drooping. He then turned back to Lu Li:

"Lu Li, you're not affected by the fog?"

"Not yet."

The Mind Level counter remained silent, and no delusions had set in, aside from an itch from the tightly bandaged wound on his palm.

"What is that?"

Prusius, staring at the rocky mountain, suddenly exclaimed.

They saw various silhouettes emerging from the caves. They formed two rows, surrounding a central anomaly that was approaching the town at the foot of the mountain.

They seemed to bear no ill will. The two rows of anomalies halted outside the town, while one bloated, toad-like anomaly crawled forward, its posture reverent as it approached the group on the street.

"I sense... the aura of My cultists."

As the Deep God whispered, Lu Li made out the silhouette of a giant toad in the fog.

Its slippery, slime-covered body was caked with gravel. From beneath its head, pressed into the earth, the anomaly's cry rang out:

"Your most faithful servant guards Your sacred body and has been awaiting Your return all this time!"

"You know Me?" the Deep God intoned majestically.

The giant toad's silhouette trembled at the sound:

"Lord who commands the ocean, ever-living Ancient God, guardian of the world, Ancient Ruler of antiquity, the Deep God! This humble servant is Your most devoted cultist!"

They were in luck. The third mutilated body was guarded by cultists who still believed in the Deep God.

"Did you just say 'sacred body'?"

"Yes, Master, It is at the top of the mountain!"

"Take Me there."

The giant toad's silhouette still didn't dare raise its head to look directly at the god. As it crawled, it growled:

"Your servants sense no faith in them. Are they enemies?"

The Deep God suddenly fell silent, the shadow under His cloak turning towards the others.

Ophelia quietly gathered her power, Lu Li watched calmly, and only the carefree Prusius noticed nothing.

"They... are My companions," He said.

"This servant asks the Deep God and all divine messengers to follow."

Lowering its head, the giant toad rose and led the group back toward its followers, setting foot on the rocky mountain.

"You... by whose faith do you worship Me?"

Lu Li listened to the Deep God's whisper as he observed the giant toad's followers. They were a mix of various anomalies, among which he even recognized corpse-eaters and mantis-demons.

"It was Lord Kan Bel who led this servant to become Your cultist."

"Who is Kan Bel?" Prusius whispered from beside him.

"I..."

The Deep God paused for a moment:

"Some things are hard to remember. It seems he was a cultist of Mine from a past era."

The giant toad's cultists led them into a cave. As they moved deeper, the stone walls gave way to surroundings resembling the corridors of a mansion with carpeted floors and crystal chandeliers.

There were even windows in the corridors, behind which lay an underground garden illuminated by fluorite, with clusters of brightly colored flowers pressed together on an emerald lawn. If not for the lack of natural light, they would have thought they were in some aristocratic estate.

Ophelia was particularly enchanted by this place. Every painting on the walls, every statue, captivated her gaze. She recognized the famous works of art, and were it not for the impossibly complete collection, she might have believed them all to be genuine.

Prusius felt the same. As they passed a library, he saw a seemingly endless collection of books—enough to last a lifetime of reading.

But for Lu Li, everything was veiled in a thin haze, as if he were separated from this world. The flowers and grass lacked vibrancy, the paintings and sculptures held no grandeur. Everything around him imparted an inexpressible sense of isolation, as if the world itself were rejecting him.

The giant toad scurried away to prepare for the next ritual. Before they could retrieve the mutilated body, they first had to take part in a ceremony.

It was a ritual left by the Deep God, who was once a Great Old One.

Though the Deep God had long forgotten it, His devoted servant still remembered. Unfortunately, a lack of resources made the giant toad despair over its inability to perfectly replicate the ritual.

After the feast ritual, they would be able to take the mutilated body. However, before participating in the feast, they needed to cleanse their bodies.

Servants in human clothing led them to guest rooms, bringing hot water, towels, and clothes of a suitable size. Perhaps by the giant toad's deliberate design, a beautiful human girl, or at least one who looked human, entered the room to serve Lu Li.

And Lu Li recognized her.

"Qiao Qiao."