Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 545 - 545 Sixty-four

545: Sixty-four.

Richard’s Purpose 545: Sixty-four.

Richard’s Purpose The old man swung his shovel, digging into the earth in the graveyard.

An oil lamp rested beside him under a tree; a gravestone lay next to the mound of loose earth, engraved with his name: Acheson Rodney.

It was unclear whether Acheson Rodney was the name of the old man or someone he knew.

In any case, the grave was not prepared for Lu Li.

Sensing someone’s presence, the old man paused his digging and said slowly, “Please wait a moment…

It will be ready shortly.”

The digging was nearing its end; the pit was just large enough to hold a person.

Lu Li, holding an oil lamp that scattered the mist, focused his gaze on the old man’s back, occasionally glancing up at the Blood-Colored Tentacles that hung over his head.

Whoosh—

The last shovel of earth fell onto the mound, and the old man inserted the iron shovel into the ground, using it as a cane: “This thing isn’t entirely bad; at least I still have the strength to dig my own grave.”

The old man turned to face Lu Li—no frightening scene emerged; his aged face simply revealed that he was an ordinary old man.

“Did you know I would come?” asked Lu Li, as the old man’s reaction suggested he had been waiting for some time.

The old man seemed to answer a different question: “I know you, the one who competed with Richard for the Ancient God’s Body.”

He did indeed know something.

“I’ve been investigating him, please tell me what you know.”

“Of course…” It was rare to have a host willing to tell all, and the old man smiled amiably: “I’m glad that I can have a chat with a young person before I die.”

The old man was Acheson Rodney, the name written on the gravestone.

A citizen of the Dawn Kingdom on the Main Affinity Continent.

Before it all began, he was just the father of two children in the countryside of the suburbs, living a peaceful life.

Richard destroyed everything.

Acheson Rodney was not Richard’s first choice; he was too old, only able to walk with the aid of a cane.

But the outcome was just as Lu Li saw: the old man became the host for the Blood-Colored Tentacles.

The old man would have preferred if Richard’s initial target had been himself, then his two sons wouldn’t have died in vain; nothing could make a father more despair than learning of his children’s death.

With no funeral or ceremony, the lonely old man took his sons’ bodies to an open space outside the forest, which was the village graveyard for the deceased.

As he gasped for breath from digging the graves and was about to place his sons into them, something strange happened.

The excavated pit turned into a staircase extending downwards, with Blood-Colored Tentacles, like blood-red lightning, shooting out from his sons’ corpses, burrowing into the old man’s forehead.

Acheson Rodney told Lu Li that it was at that moment Richard appeared, saying with surprise to him as he lay sprawled on the ground, “I didn’t expect it to choose you…”

The old man couldn’t comprehend the meaning, but his instincts told him that the man with the neurotic smile before him was the root of all evil—he wanted revenge, but he was too old, and could only watch as Richard picked up the shovel, scooping up the earth to spread over the graves.

The staircase extended downwards, its color like that of blood, with an invisible layer of barrier; his two sons lay upon it, the earth also resting on it.

As Richard shoveled dirt to bury the old man’s sons’ corpses and the staircase, he told the old man some things.

For instance, the old man’s son’s death was indeed caused by him, like the purpose behind his actions.

Despite not understanding why this evil fellow was willing to share his plan, the old man made an effort to remember every word he said.

Now, what he had committed to memory had a use.

“Just as you’ve guessed, their deaths were my doing.

Don’t look at me with such hatred, how could a mere mortal like you understand the actions of a god… Don’t you get it yet?

Look at this unyielding gloom!

This hopeless world is about to be enveloped in hope, and the survival of humanity as feeble as ants is nothing but a fool’s dream!”

The old man relayed the words Richard once said, not intentionally imitating his tone, but the words still evoked the image of the man’s frenzied shouting.

“You have no idea what you’re about to face, yet I…

I, who possess the Ancient God’s Body, am the only one who can protect everyone under their gaze!

Hm?

Evil?

No, this is not evil—the birth of greatness often accompanies sacrifice, it’s an inevitable path, and you should be glad for your son, for they died for their god…”

After repeating Richard’s past words, the old man’s mood was downcast for a long time before he continued speaking.

The grave had been completely covered up, leaving only a soft mound of earth, a different color from the surrounding ground, narrating what had happened, what had once been buried.

The shovel was tossed back to the old man by Richard, who told him that after a while, he would contact the old man, and upon receiving the letter, the old man was to go to the Allen Peninsula to await the arrival of the god.

After saying this, Richard turned and left.

Becoming a host to the Blood-Colored Tentacles, the old man’s body gradually underwent some changes.

For instance, his strength greatly improved—not to that of his prime, but he was no longer an old man who required a cane.

And then there were the Blood-Colored Tentacles that hung from the depths of the clouds, descending over his head.

It wasn’t just him; he saw many Blood-Colored Tentacles dispersed everywhere.

The tentacles to the southeast were particularly numerous—the old man knew that they were all over the Allen Peninsula.

Every day the old man observed these seaweed-like, possibly dozens of miles long Blood-Colored Tentacles.

Occasionally new ones would appear, occasionally old ones would vanish.

But one day, he noticed the Blood-Colored Tentacles disappearing at an alarming rate, and they were all in the direction of the Allen Peninsula.

He guessed someone was dealing with them and prepared himself.

But after all the Blood-Colored Tentacles of the Allen Peninsula had gone, things quieted down.

Three days ago, when Lu Li was preparing to head to the Lennon Islands, the old man received a letter from Richard.

In the letter, Richard told the old man that the god was about to revive, and only by going to the Allen Peninsula could he avoid death.

The old man decided to go, for revenge.

He took all he could, including the shovel that had buried his two sons, and traveled by cart to the port in Barnard Forest to take a boat to Rhodest Port on the Allen Peninsula.

During the voyage, the old man on the boat saw the last of the Blood-Colored Tentacles over the Allen Peninsula vanish.

This sight filled the old man with joy; that person must have started acting again.

He never believed in the “god” Richard spoke of.

A god should protect the people, not create slaughter.

And since that person was stopping everything, he was a friend to the old man.

Two days later, the old man landed at Rhodest Port, and the coastal view of Belfast was starkly different from the inland scenery.

He had no interest in sightseeing and temporarily settled in a nearby hostel by the church.

During the eerie, fog-enshrouded night, the old man faintly sensed his impending death.

So, at dawn, he took the gravestone he’d already carved on the boat and went to the cemetery to dig a grave for himself, while waiting for either Richard to arrive or the man opposing Richard.

Lu Li.