Chapter 629: Treatment Plan?

Although Lumian had previously suspected that Hanter Island housed more than one devil, he imagined only two: the blood-colored devil and the ice-blue-eyed devil, both sealed away. Yet just now, he encountered a different ice-blue-eyed devil—and another one inside the church!

"How many devils are there on this island?"

"And all of them with ice-blue eyes? Are they from the same family?"

"No wonder she's the Mother of All Things—even devils can be her children, an entire litter!"

"..."

Various speculative thoughts, accompanied by those pairs of ice-blue eyes and the name Naporedisli, echoed in Lumian's mind, leaving him with the sense that all his prior investigations and deductions had been utterly off track.

The devil legends of Hanter Island were far more complex and mysterious than he had imagined.

"No, there were still gains and value…"

"Guessing itself is a bold hypothesis, careful verification; being proven wrong is a normal outcome. Elimination remains a vital method of reasoning…"

"Which unsolved case was ever fully guessed right from the start? What matters is using newly acquired information through investigation and falsification to continuously discard wrong paths and find the correct one…"

"Heh, if I had taken the 'Reader' path, playing the 'Detective' would've been relatively easy—unmasking conspiracies is one of the Detective's main duties…"

Lumian comforted himself, shaking off the shock brought by the two ice-blue-eyed devils, regaining clarity and reason, no longer feeling dazed or confused.

Bathed in the scorching sunlight, he quickly noticed a problem:

"In the vision I saw through the 'Eye of Secrets,' the blood-colored devil was being pulled by an invisible force—but that force was only one, and the ice-blue eyes staring at me were only one pair…"

"Only one ice-blue-eyed devil is truly closely linked to the blood-colored devil: the old man Bosaeri, who confessed before the 'Holy Symbol of Life'? The others—including that ice-blue-eyed clergyman—are its descendants, children left behind by nuns when it used Hanter Island's monastery to 'regain youth' and assume a new identity?"

"Yet when the ice-blue-eyed clergyman mentioned Bosaeri, he showed no sense of speaking about his father, grandfather, or ancestor—more like discussing an uneasy friend…"

"And he himself called himself Naporedisli…"

"Is this a surname? An important surname among Abyssal devils?"

With these doubts, Lumian boarded the 'Berry' and returned to his first-class cabin.

At this moment, Lu Jianuo was enjoying a lavish lunch with Ludwig.

Seeing Lumian, the 'Physician' chuckled awkwardly:

"I thought you'd be eating local specialties on the island, so I didn't wait for you."

Lumian sat down, picked up a piece of fragrant wheat bread, chewed slowly, and asked thoughtfully:

"What do you know about the abilities of the 'Planter' path?"

Lu Jianuo hesitated, then answered honestly:

"At Sequence 9, 'Planter,' I gained immense strength, can predict weather over the coming days by observing clouds and wind, excel at identifying seeds and cultivating them, and find farming tools more natural than knives or guns."

"At Sequence 8, 'Physician,' the main ability is healing: through 'Spirit Sight,' I can diagnose a patient's exact condition, possess outstanding surgical skills—suturing severed limbs, transplanting organs—and directly gained the supernatural abilities 'Cure Severe Illness,' 'Heal Wounds,' 'Suture the Soul,' and 'Grant Life.'"

"As far as I know, the next sequence is 'Harvest Priest,' primarily promoting biological reproduction and growth, bringing harvests through supernatural means…"

Hearing this, Lumian suddenly interrupted Lu Jianuo:

"'Suture the Soul'?"

"How is that achieved?"

Lu Jianuo smiled slightly embarrassed:

"I haven't actually used this ability yet. It's for healing soul trauma—you know, some supernatural abilities can attack the soul and prevent its self-repair. When the victim opens their mind and body, offering no resistance, I can perform a soul-level surgery, stitching the wounds shut."

Lumian wasn't interested in how to suture the soul—he had another question, which led to a new theory about the devil legends of Hanter Island.

He swallowed the bread, drank a sip of golden liqueur, and said:

"If you can suture the soul, then logically—can you also cut it?"

Lu Jianuo fell silent. After ten or twenty seconds, he replied:

"Theoretically, yes—but the person must fully open their mind and body, leaving the soul unprotected. If the body no longer exists, that's even better."

The 'Physician' hesitated, then added:

"This could be an attack on the soul, but it's also a healing method. If a patient's soul is partially corrupted by a curse, you can cut away the corrupted portion, allowing the soul to slowly heal itself."

Hearing this, Lumian laughed and softly clapped:

"Excellent. Very well said."

Even someone as thick-skinned as Lu Jianuo couldn't help feeling embarrassed, blurting out:

"That's just my speculation—I haven't tested it."

Lumian ignored him, began cutting a small lamb chop like Ludwig, carefully and deliberately.

Meanwhile, he recalled his initial sensation when attacked by the ice-blue-eyed devil:

He had seen different versions of himself: one filled with hatred, one drowned in pain, one consumed by lust, one caught in various desires and emotions…

The idea that had formed in his mind while listening to Lu Jianuo's description of soul-suturing and soul-cutting became clearer:

What if, using high-sequence abilities of the 'Planter' path, you cut out the soul's different aspects tied to distinct desires?

Could it be that Hanter Island's ice-blue-eyed devils are truly only one being, but its soul was split by saints—or even angels—of the 'Mother of Earth' Church, each fragment becoming a separate person, yet still spiritually one whole? That's why only one invisible force connects to the blood-colored devil?

Now the question was: why would the 'Mother of Earth' Church do this?

To restrict? To protect? Or both?

Lumian quickly recalled the blood-colored devil's state: constantly sinking into black sludge, only to be pulled back up by invisible force.

"Is soul-splitting a form of protection for the ice-blue-eyed devil, preventing it from being corrupted by the black sludge?"

"Wait—could the ice-blue-eyed devil actually be the uncorrupted portion of the blood-colored devil's soul? The 'Mother of Earth' Church's treatment plan: the whole is beyond saving, but parts remain healthy, so they cut out the healthy soul fragments, giving them new forms tied to different desires?"

"The sealed valley, the black sludge, and the forest of the blood-colored devil show the cycle of birth, growth, corruption, death, and rebirth… The multiple soul fragments split from the blood-colored devil were granted new lives, using this cycle of birth, growth, aging, death, and rebirth to resist the corruption spreading from the original?"

"And simultaneously, the healthy fragments pull the blood-colored devil back, preventing its total descent?"

"Aged soul fragments are more vulnerable to the original's corruption, while newborn ones remain healthiest—that explains why the old man Bosaeri and the ice-blue-eyed clergyman differ in condition…"

"This rebirth: the soul is devilish and powerful, but the body is human—weak. Yes, this matches my observations of Bosaeri: a frail, aged body wrapped around a powerful soul thick with malice…"

"This… this is a perfect sealing and salvation method, perfectly aligned with the 'Mother of Earth' Church's abilities…"

At this thought, Lumian felt a sudden clarity—and only then did he realize he had been relentlessly cutting the lamb chop's bones, producing a grating, teeth-chilling sound.

Lu Jianuo pretended not to see or hear it, focused entirely on his meal. Ludwig didn't care at all—he saw only the food.

Lumian lowered his gaze, happily poured himself a glass of 'Paha' red wine. His earlier confusion, chaos, bewilderment, and despair had significantly faded.

As he sipped the wine, he mused calmly:

"This theory best fits the current details—but I can't verify it, and I dare not try. Without validation or results, the drug's digestion yields no feedback…"

"Forget it. The experience and lessons I gained today are far more valuable than any future digestion attempts."

"Why does the 'Mother of Earth' Church protect the blood-colored devil? And if they've already cut out healthy soul fragments and granted them new lives, why not destroy and purify the corrupted original entirely, eliminating the threat?"

"This likely involves deep secrets of the world…"

"Is the blood-colored devil the true, the greatest Naporedisli?"

Is it the one seeking a bargain, targeting the "devil descendants" of Hanter Island? Can it influence healthy soul fragments to make someone like me or Flanca—a mid-sequence adept—kill the real devil?

The more Lumian thought, the more curious he became—but he ultimately restrained himself.

For a novice of his level, this matter ends here. Next, he would wait until leaving Hanter Island, compile his findings and deductions, and report them to the 'Magician' lady, to see what the Major Arcana of the Tarot Council thought.

Free from the burden of investigation, Lumian felt light and spent the rest of the day leisurely strolling through Hanter Port.

He was astonished to discover that this remote, storm-battered island city, far from the Fennepot Kingdom's mainland, had no true casinos, no human trafficking or other evil industries—clean as if purified by the 'Eternal Sun' Church.

After playing cards like 'Evil Combat' all afternoon, winning or losing no more than one Jin Lisuo, Lumian finally understood why:

The ice-blue-eyed devils, unable to control themselves, targeted violent criminals, making them vanish into the forests beyond the city.

Over centuries, Hanter Port became known as the City of Sunshine.

Of course, innocent victims were still killed—like Antonio Elias.

Late at night, in the first-class cabin of the 'Berry.'

In his sleep, Lumian vaguely saw again the land burning with sulfurous flames, and the blood-colored devil lying in the black liquid.

PS: Regular updates begin today~

(End of Chapter)