Chapter 171: Mental Illness (3300 Added)

Inside the church.

Under the incandescent glow of the gas lamp, Leisinuo bit down on a piece of gauze, took off his coat, and used the tip of a dagger to pierce his own flesh, prying out a deformed, pitch-black bullet.

Clang!

The blood-stained bullet head landed on a metal tray, emitting a low sound.

Deeper than the sound was Leisinuo's pale complexion.

Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead; he managed to bandage the wound, but he looked as if he had been fished out of water, drenched all over, and still panting heavily.

Although there were professional doctors in the Church, Leisinuo no longer dared to trust them.

Aaron manipulated Leisinuo, taking out various tools to set up a Ritual Array on the floor.

Before Leisinuo's eyes, a human figure emerged from the void—it was none other than 'Leisinuo' himself, identical in appearance and wearing a melancholic expression!

"Hallucination? No... have I developed schizophrenia? Impossible, I have always been careful about this aspect, and there has been no advancement in Primordial Substance recently..."

He retreated to the corner of the wall, at times talking to himself as if conversing with someone, at other times remaining silent, looking at everything around him in terror.

"Turned into a real madman."

"Mental illness? I've been working with a madman all this time? Leisinuo's usual words and actions don't look like those of a patient at all... Sigh... Could it be that he used astonishing willpower to cover up his condition? This is truly sparing no effort for the Church's cause... so noble, so great, almost like a saint..."

Aaron muttered to himself, his Spirit Body leaving Leisinuo, and as he left, he swiped those deformed Filthy Bullets.

The next second, his hand passed through the other's body to no effect.

Not only that, his threshold for happiness was suddenly raised to a desperate height.

Mother Fulalei calmed down a little, but her voice could still not hide her panic: "I brought breakfast to the Clerk, but he... he... he has gone mad!"

At the core of the Ritual Array, Leisinuo swore a solemn oath.

In an instant, Leisinuo's expression became calm, and he stood up like a walking corpse.

Just as Nicholas was preparing to enjoy his breakfast, a nun draped in a black robe walked over rapidly, her face showing undisguised fear and panic.

"Wait... I seem to have overlooked some problem... this kind of bullet is very strange... my Spirituality seems to have been damaged..."

The irritability in Leisinuo's heart intensified; he opened the drawer, pulled out letter paper, and prepared to write a letter.

Nicholas instantly returned to calm, understanding that this Clerk had likely provoked some enemy from the Mysterious world, which was why he had been reduced to such a miserable state.

Merely coming into contact with the Mysterious might be a serious crime for an ordinary person that would land them in the Investigation Bureau's prison, but for those nobles and superiors, it really didn't count for much.

The doctor who served the Church specifically answered with a heavy expression.

"Contamination?"

"I swear... I will absolutely not tell anyone what I saw tonight!"

Aaron observed for a long time and made a diagnosis: "Uh... I originally wanted you to commit suicide, but now it seems..."

"Am I being too careful? Originally, it's hard for a madman's words to be believed..."

Even though there were activities last night, Nicholas still got up on time and led the believers and nuns in a morning Prayer.

The doctor continued.

Nicholas's tone was gentle, seemingly carrying the power to soothe people's hearts.

He took out his Zoulun without a word, held it in his mouth, and rubbed his finger against the trigger.

"I am you..."

However, after playing with the firearm for a while, Leisinuo ultimately relied on his willpower to put the Zoulun down and did not attempt to actually commit suicide.

But now... Leisinuo felt that everything had lost its meaning, as if his life had suddenly lost its goal.

"Sure enough... although my 'Filthy Bullet' doesn't have strong lethality at first, its aftereffects are the most severe."

Leisinuo grabbed his hair in frustration.

A voice came directly from the back of his head; within his thick hair, a human face emerged: "We were one from the start..."

And feeling the other's chaotic Spirituality, Aaron was absolutely certain that the other party was truly mad, not faking it!

"In this situation, unless one receives the salvation of the 'Spirit of Delusion', it is very difficult to save them."

"However, while examining the patient's body, I also discovered several recent gunshot wounds and abrasions; judging from the wounds, they seem to have happened in the last two days..."

"What?"

In just a short time, Leisinuo had turned into a severely depressed patient, even developing suicidal tendencies.

However, at this time, Aaron had improved the Ritual, choosing to use a non-human Evil Spirit of the Fourth Primordial Substance as a 'witness'; the binding force would only be stronger than the original version!

The next day, early morning.

Nicholas couldn't help but be stunned.

Leisinuo's heart felt as if it had sunk into the Abyss, becoming incomparably depressed; he felt as if the world had been covered in a layer of dust and glass, and he was isolated from the world.

Beside him, Aaron, possessing Aokelaier and transformed into an Evil Spirit, watched the performance of this mental patient calmly.

"More evidence is needed... I suspect he is an Extraordinary himself."

He looked at Leisinuo, who was huddled in the corner of the room and trembling incessantly, the disbelief on his face still not having faded, and looked at a Church doctor nearby: "What exactly happened to him?"

And Nicholas was the latest role model promoted by the Holy Spirit Church; he could not be allowed to be slandered or brought down immediately.

Several hours later...

"Mother Fulalei, what happened?"

A voice suddenly sounded directly in Leisinuo's ear.

"Your Excellency Archbishop, the patient is suspected of suffering from mental illness and has already shown symptoms of split personality and severe depression..."

"Unexpectedly... Nicholas Inamu has long been in contact with the Mysterious world... he hid it so well... No, I must inform the Great Church as soon as possible..."

"If he doesn't receive timely intervention and treatment, there will be big trouble..."

"No, it's contamination!"

Leisinuo's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly struck out, attacking the Shadow before him.

"I... I am you!"

In other words, the women, alcohol, tobacco... all the various things that used to make him feel excited and happy, instantly lost all their appeal.

"Your Excellency Archbishop!"

In the past, striving for the cause of the Church and the Holy See, and obtaining his own status and Glory from it, had been his lifelong pursuit.

This was the Secret-Keeping Ritual; Aaron had originally used it on the maid Sylvia, and the normal process required the person taking the oath to be sincere for it to take effect.

Nicholas sighed silently in his heart.

He manipulated the Evil Spirit to possess Leisinuo.

Leisinuo nodded, then suddenly realized something, the muscles on his cheeks becoming twisted and ferocious: "Who are you?"

"It is also possible that he repelled the enemy, but lost control of his Mysterious powers himself? For an Extraordinary, this is not rare. If he had sought my help last night, I might have been able to perform a Purification Ritual for him..."

Nicholas sighed in his heart and asked the doctor: "Is there any treatment method?"

(End of this chapter)