The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 928: Vinnelag's Dream

Lu Li stood on the deck of the Andrea, which was being held aloft by the Deep God.

A sharp sea wind whipped at the hem of his clothes and the tips of his hair; the return to the Allen Peninsula would not take long.

Vinnelag was still cut off from communication; a message from Midnight had informed Lu Li that the Inquisition, which controlled Vinnelag, had sealed off the city.

"Does the Inquisition worship an ancient being?" Lu Li tilted his head back and asked the Deep God, a creature as vast as a city, its form casting an immense shadow.

"I do not know what this 'Inquisition' is..."

"They are the ruling power in the city you were about to destroy—a church that worships the Sun God."

"The Sun God..."

His low voice echoed across the sea:

"It is a foreign deity, born during the years of My slumber, fallen at the end of the last era..."

"But they still worship Him.""Do you remember what I said... Faith is power."

Many foreign deities are born from faith...

On the deck, Lu Li stood in quiet contemplation.

Were the Inquisition's aggressive actions connected to this?

The church had never been the Inquisition's priority, nor did they force people to believe. If they truly wanted to resurrect a foreign deity, they had hidden their intentions well.

"Go to Vinnelag. I need Your power."

...

In the cold, snowy landscape, many residents had been driven from their warm homes. Shivering in thin clothing, they followed the Inquisition Guard.

A grim-faced, middle-aged man stepped away from the window.

His companions were gathered around the fireplace, the bright flames licking at their animated faces:

"This reminds me of a joke. Midnight commissioned an artist to create a painting titled 'Midnight Banishes the Heretics.' The reluctant artist, under pressure, finally finished the work. A few days later, the official who came to collect the painting was stunned: it was a landscape. There were snowy mountains and an enormous sphere. The official pointed to the snowy mountains and asked, 'What's this?' The artist replied that they were the World's Spine Mountains. The official then pointed to the enormous, shadow-casting sphere and asked, 'And this?' The artist said, 'That's the Eye-Worm.' 'So where are the heretics?' the official couldn't help but ask."

The artist replied, "The heretics are in Midnight."

With a bitter chuckle, the man spread his hands.

"Perhaps we could change the title to 'Vinnelag Banishes the Heretics'?"

"Do you want to end up in the dungeons too?" a friend holding a coffee cup asked.

"I'm hardly worthy of that honor. They're only throwing people in the dungeons if they have ties to that exorcist, and I've never even laid eyes on him," the storyteller said, shaking his head.

The middle-aged man who had been standing apart from the group suddenly spoke:

"Are we just going to let the Inquisition and those... those they once persecuted as heretics, spread their faith? Does the warrior who slays the dragon become the dragon himself?"

"Easy now... easy," a companion whispered urgently, gesturing for him to keep his voice down.

"It's not really so bad, is it? The Inquisition isn't a cult, and the Sun God isn't an evil god..." the middle-aged man huddled in the armchair closest to the fire said hesitantly.

Knock-knock-knock—

Just then, there was a knock at the door downstairs.

The men exchanged glances.

"Great, Potter. Since you don't see a problem with any of this, you can handle the squad outside."

"Don't sell us out," someone joked as Potter passed.

Then they fell silent, listening as Potter descended, crossed the living room below, and opened the door to negotiate with those outside, after which the tramp of heavy boots started up the stairs.

The Inquisition Guard appearing in the doorway startled everyone upstairs, and the friend who had joked with Potter was so shocked he dropped his coffee cup.

Fortunately, Potter hadn't betrayed their earlier complaints.

"The Inquisition demands that we go to the church," Potter said, stepping forward.

"Us? All of us?" the middle-aged man by the window asked with a frown.

"Uh... yes," Potter said nervously, glancing at the knight who radiated a cold aura.

The group of middle-aged men had no choice but to put on their heavy coats and scarves and join the column of citizens being led away.

...

Bang—

In the hideout of the Black Pirates gang, a frightened subordinate burst into the cellar.

The leader, who had been in the middle of a violent whipping, turned his head viciously:

"I told you not to..."

A flickering shadow seeping down the stairs into the dungeon interrupted the leader's words; the Inquisition Guard had entered the cellar, and the leader's eyes widened.

"The Inquisition Guard is here!" the subordinate added belatedly.

"This damned thief stole from the Black Pirates—" Suddenly realizing who these cold-eyed men were, the leader quickly corrected himself: "—stole my things. He's still alive, I just wanted to teach him a little lesson."

With that, he ordered his slow-witted underlings to release the thief at once.

The Inquisition had no intention of paying any mind to the leader's brand of justice; they had come for one reason only.

"The church? I haven't set foot in one for as long as I can remember," the leader muttered in confusion.

"Alright, alright, I'll go with you. Just give me a few minutes, I need to tell my grandmother."

Leaving the intimidating knights behind, the leader threw on a coat and went upstairs. He knocked gently on a door, a gesture that didn't match his brutish appearance, and only entered after hearing an elderly voice from within.

"Grandma, I have to go out for a little while."

"Where are you going, Little Pete?" his grandmother asked.

"Uh... it's a meeting. We were invited by the biggest gang in Vinnelag."

"Be careful... if the big kids pick on you, you come to Grandma."

"Sure, sure," the leader replied irritably, leaving with his underlings and pushing his way onto the bustling street.

Vinnelag hadn't been this bustling in a long time.

It seemed there were people everywhere, crowding the streets in the biting cold wind.

From a bird's-eye view, one could see soldiers and knights maintaining order, directing citizens toward the nearest churches, as well as to shops and businesses that had been requisitioned by the church and converted into temporary houses of worship.

Each church held hundreds, even thousands of citizens, with priests leading them in prayer.

Many citizens didn't object to worshipping the Sun God, as faith in him was already deeply rooted. There were also those who rejected the Inquisition's strange actions, but this dissent was quickly suppressed—the Guard's soldiers surrounded the churches.

Citizens capable of deeper thought felt a sense of unease. And as the days passed, with them remaining under guard in the churches, constantly praying and reciting scriptures, that unease began to spread.

Although, for many of the poor who were on the verge of starvation or had already run out of food, the opening of Vinnelag's storehouses to distribute meals and the warmth of the churches inspired deep gratitude.

Whatever the case, neither the citizens, nor the nobles, nor the officials knew anything; they were confined to the churches as if in prisons, repeating their daily prayers.

The prayers of hundreds of thousands of citizens across the entire city continued for a week.

After one of the usual services, the people simultaneously felt something stirring, being born, and responding—

But before the feeling could become any clearer, the citizens lost it and awoke from a dream.

Potter awoke by the warm fireplace, the coffee still warm. The leader of the Black Pirates gang awoke on the cold cellar floor, and the thief was also slowly coming to.

As the stunned citizens flocked to their windows one by one, and then stepped out of their homes and onto the streets, they saw with shock a cloaked figure standing in the bay opposite Vinnelag.

The Deep God lowered the Andrea, and Lu Li stepped onto solid ground from its low deck.