New Gods of North America

After handing over the body to colleagues from the Exorcism Department and rummaging through Roy Stampler's belongings in the monastery, Wayne had a general idea. He shared the information and then took a carriage to find David Mills, based on his conclusions.

The dwelling, not quite a prison but resembling one, contained a neatly handwritten copy of the "Holy Book." A holy emblem was carved on the wall, and many pairs of trousers showed wear from prolonged kneeling, even the corresponding floor tiles were somewhat smoothed.

This wasn't a mandatory exercise in the monastery, but rather the result of Roy Stampler's personal behavior.

Regarding such a believer, you could say he was too deeply "corrupted" or "insanely" devoted to his faith, but it would be unscientific to suggest he ran away and committed suicide.

In the carriage, this time it was Inessa driving.

Wayne was in the carriage playing with the vial containing extraordinary materials.

This extraordinary material from the sacred domain looked like mud scraped from a firefly's rear...

He opened the stopper and fanned it slightly, but there was no smell.

In the domain opposite to "sacred," the detective agency only knew living people from the domains of "wisdom" or "knowledge," such as Lane or Miss Ophelia.

It felt like a good idea to use it as a year-end bonus or for trade.

However, Inessa reminded Wayne from the front:

"Although churches that believe in the Holy Spirit might tolerate a few extraordinary individuals from opposing domains, they would regard 'fallen ones absorbing extraordinary materials from the sacred domain' as an unforgivable sin."

"If you intend to give this extraordinary material to someone, you must strictly keep it secret from the church, and preferably don't tell anyone else, otherwise it might ultimately invite hostility from the church towards that person and all those who know."

Hmm...

This isn't hard to understand; some places have similar simple values, like "a pet dog that bites its owner must be killed."

It felt better to leave it for Lane. The Fiske family was large and wealthy, buying extraordinary materials from the two domains next to "sacred" shouldn't be a problem.

The invisible "eye" within him suddenly opened.

After a while, Wayne couldn't help but ask:

"Inessa, if someone absorbs several different domains of extraordinary power, exceeding the range of 'their own domain and the three relative domains,' what side effects would occur?"

Inessa's voice came from the front:

"The vast majority of extraordinary individuals would directly lose control or go insane; a small number would be in a critical state of imminent collapse."

"According to the currently accepted view in mysticism, before the birth of the Holy Spirit, many gods in ancient mythology possessed adjacent or opposing domain powers. Some myths even believe that as long as one forcibly accommodates the power of all domains, they can achieve true 'omniscience and omnipotence,' rather than simply self-aggrandizement."

"But even with the status of a god, it seems impossible to avoid the result of collapse, and it's better to control a single domain. Therefore, as I told you at the beginning, extraordinary individuals in each domain can only 'safely' absorb or devour the spiritual energy of the three domains opposite it."

Like mutually repelling magnets, even if forced together, they would still separate as soon as released?

Wayne thought for a moment, "Is it possible that this Roy Stampler isn't actually an extraordinary individual from the sacred domain?"

"It shouldn't be."

Inessa continued to answer Wayne's question, "'Softness' and 'light' are relatively iconic features of extraordinary materials from the sacred domain, especially when the two appear simultaneously. Considering that the church previously reduced his punishment, only requiring him to do penance in the monastery, the probability of him belonging to the sacred domain is not low."

After answering the question, Inessa tilted her head slightly, "Why did you suddenly think to ask this question?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of it."

Wayne looked at the extraordinary material that was almost instantly "sucked dry," silently hid the almost empty bottle, felt the small increase in his "mana bar," and then considered how to write his will.

How about establishing a Wayne Foundation?

In the future, scholars from all walks of life would be honored, or ashamed, to receive awards named after me.

In the New World of another world, there once was a famous chaotic prankster who tormented many people with his will.

For example, he gifted his villa to several enemies but required them to live there simultaneously to exercise unlimited usage rights. In the end, after several enemies reached an agreement and went to a remote location, they discovered that the villa had already been sold.

Or, for example, he proposed donating a portion of his property to the family with the most children born in the local area within ten years, ultimately causing several poor families who were frantically giving birth but couldn't afford to raise their children to suffer infant mortality, lose everything, and be disgraced.

Wayne felt that if he died with regrets, it might be nice to play a slight prank on a few priests.

However, Wayne's self-feeling was quite good at this time.

So he couldn't help but wonder again:

"Could there be a special physique that can absorb extraordinary abilities from any domain?"

Inessa thought for a moment:

"The situation of being able to 'safely absorb' shouldn't exist; that's something even gods can't do. However, there is a special case, such as Miss Russell, whom we visited today.

"She didn't seem to have been in contact with the 'lucky coin' for long, but she was the most severely corrupted. However, the 'purification' effect exerted by the church was also the most significant on her—although this made her sicker than everyone else.

"This belongs to the so-called 'spiritual' physique. It is very friendly to extraordinary powers from all domains and can be easily 'corrupted' by extraordinary powers from various domains. Although it cannot actively control extraordinary powers, is destined not to awaken, and is prone to death as a result, it is not particularly afraid of any domain."

As long as I am weak enough, it is equivalent to having no weaknesses...?

Wayne didn't have a strong urge to complain at the moment. Recalling what Inessa had just said about "ultimately inviting hostility from the church towards all those who know," he felt that since his feeling was still good, it was better not to tell her about absorbing the extraordinary material from the sacred domain for the time being.

Inessa's personality sometimes feels like an "honest person," she recognizes principles, and she still has a "shackle" waiting for the Exorcist Association to unseal, so let's not add trouble to her for now, at least wait until it's "unsealed."

Wayne didn't doubt that Inessa would leak the secret, but he was worried that Inessa would "reveal" it because she wasn't good at lying. For example, with some old foxes in the church, you might only hesitate slightly when answering a question, and the other party might be able to guess the answer directly.

In this regard, Lina is more reassuring to Wayne, feeling that she can lie without even blinking an eye.

Back at the academy, Wayne told David Mills about finding Roy Stampler's body and the results of the investigation, stating that it might involve internal personnel of the monastery and that the detective agency was no longer suitable for further investigation.

By the way, Wayne also secretly said that the extraordinary material extracted from Roy Stampler's body had been taken away in advance.

David Mills seemed relieved at first, then seemed to feel vaguely angry about Roy Stampler's death.

Wayne felt that according to the current investigation results, David Mills would at least no longer have to bear the blame. At least the prisoner he had protected was likely "pious."

From the current situation, for the church, "piety" might be more important than "right and wrong."

So Wayne also provided David Mills with some directions for subsequent internal investigations.

For example, investigating who might have handled the wicks of the special oil lamps, and which monks were on duty last night, etc.

Anyway, in Wayne's opinion, since he didn't climb over the wall, the probability of an "inside job" was the highest.

After David Mills finished listening, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and then asked someone to help bring a small package.

Wayne inexplicably took the package, "What is this?"

David Mills seemed to be still thinking about the subsequent investigation at this time.

Hearing this, he didn't care too much, "Oh, this was sent over by Professor Eber Meisel from your academy, it seems to be homework prepared for you and Emma."

What the hell?!

How can you repay kindness with enmity?