Demon Bible

Chapter 135: Savior Complex

This naturally included Isabella.

In Isabella's eyes, Bishop Rhine was actually somewhat unqualified.

The advice he gave when they first met had some underlying issues.

The Redemption Department was also under his jurisdiction, and for it to end up in its current state clearly indicated that there was something wrong with Rhine.

Isabella had quietly investigated the matter. The Redemption Department provided the Church with a massive amount of wealth, and a large portion of those funds had been transferred away by Rhine under the guise of funding the Church's operations.

However, when Isabella tried to dig deeper, she found she lacked the necessary clearance to continue her investigation.

Now that Nemus was also raising suspicions about Rhine, Isabella could not help but feel that perhaps Nemus was truly innocent, and the real problem lay with Rhine.

Of course, the investigation needed to proceed carefully. She could not jump to conclusions too early.

For now, the primary focus had to remain on the Construct Protocol.

Soon, the personnel relevant to the Construct Protocol investigation were summoned.This included Gabriel, Al, Brent—who was currently out on patrol—Galen, and a few other clerics who had previously crossed paths with the Construct Protocol.

As these individuals were brought together, Isabella and Morkania also joined their ranks, forming a temporary ten-person investigation squad dedicated to the Construct Protocol.

Just as they were about to head out and begin their investigation, Nemus approached Isabella, asking her to pay special attention to Al within the team.

"Have you ever heard of the Savior Complex?" Nemus asked.

"No, I haven't." Isabella shook her head.

"When a person suffers from prolonged malice and their personal circumstances remain consistently terrible, their mindset can shift in one of two directions," Nemus explained seriously.

"The first is that their own thoughts become filled with malice, fostering a desire to take revenge against everything in the world."

"The second is that they transform, developing an extreme, almost absolute benevolence."

"Al falls into the latter category." Nemus wore a solemn expression as he said this.

"Isn't benevolence a good thing?" Isabella paused slightly before asking.

"Anything taken to such an extreme has the potential to become harmful," Nemus said, shaking his head. "Al served under me as a trainee Holy Knight, and I observed him for quite some time."

"He holds goodwill toward everyone. Much like you, he is capable of empathizing with the tragic experiences of others."

"But the difference lies in the source. You empathize because of your innate talent, while he does so because he has endured those exact same sufferings."

"Because of this, he developed the mindset that since he could not be saved, he must go and save others, acting much like a savior."

"And this mindset is incredibly stubborn."

"Stubborn to the point of pure idealization."

"He didn't choose to kindly save others from their misery because he truly understood suffering. On the contrary, because he could neither resist nor accept the suffering, he chose to idealize it."

Isabella gradually began to realize the severity of the issue.

Ideals were necessary, but one could not simply idealize everything. Doing so would only make things worse.

To idealize suffering was to trivialize it, completely ignoring the sheer effort and endurance required to actually overcome it.

Consequently, it also meant ignoring the sacrifices others made in that struggle.

After her conversation with Nemus, Isabella went to check Al's files and found that it was exactly as described.

Al held himself to the standards of a literal saint.

As a trainee Holy Knight, he strived for perfection in everything he did, maintaining an impossibly high moral standard for himself.

This moral standard inherently placed immense pressure on those around him. As a result, he had barely made any friends within the Church.

While Al wasn't so socially inept as to directly point out people's minor flaws, he would take it upon himself to quietly fix their problems in his own way.

"It seems like a minor issue on the surface, but it's actually a massive problem," Isabella murmured as she flipped through the incident report regarding Al and Fass. It was a prime example of Al's Savior Complex.

He independently decided what was right and made choices on behalf of others, completely ignoring the practical obstacles of their reality.

The inevitable result was that those obstacles ended up crushing the very people he tried to help, while Al remained baffled as to why it happened.

This lack of understanding was the purest manifestation of his inability to accept the existence of true suffering.

Holding Al's files, Isabella then turned her attention to the other problem child—Morkania.

He had been entirely the victim of an unprovoked disaster.

A young man harboring feelings for the girl next door was incredibly normal; such youthful infatuation was an ordinary part of growing up.

And he had bravely stepped forward, using the very limited means at his disposal to try and protect Xiaobi.

Unfortunately, he had protected the wrong person.

Ever since then, he had been despondent, trapped in a state of deep self-doubt.

Xiaobi's accusations still echoed endlessly in his ears.

His youthful, blossoming feelings had been twisted into proof of his perceived sins.

Now, with a lesser demon sealed within his body, he had even begun to loathe himself.

Although he had managed to blend into the ranks of the clerics, he did not consider it a stroke of luck.

Isabella thought for a moment before walking over to offer Morkania some words of comfort.

The trauma of another person could not be unraveled with just a few sentences, but words could at least offer a bit of solace and remind him not to shoulder the blame for everything.

Afterward, Isabella led Morkania and pushed open the door to the room assigned to them by the Cathedral.

Several people were already gathered inside.

Gabriel, Al, and Galen.

Since Brent was still out on patrol, he had likely just received the notification and had not yet made it back.

In addition to them, there were three other clerics connected to the matter.

Paladin David, with a power value of eight. Over a month ago, he had encountered a strange demon and allowed it to escape. It was now suspected that the bizarre creature had a high probability of originating from the Construct Protocol.

Priest Huck, with a power value of seven, skilled in Discipline Spells. A few days ago, he had used a Discipline Spell to subdue a peculiar individual. After being controlled, the person erupted with intense mental fluctuations. Current assessments indicated that the individual was likely a member of the Construct Protocol.

Priest Lina, with a power value of nine. Her connection to the Construct Protocol stemmed from her daughter.

It had already been confirmed that her daughter had joined the Construct Protocol.

These individuals made up their dedicated investigation squad for the Construct Protocol.

Looking at the varying expressions of the group, Isabella offered a warm smile, greeting everyone before taking charge to lead their first internal meeting.

Because of her unique sensory abilities, combined with her success in capturing Xiaobi and exposing the underlying issues with the Construct Protocol, she had proven her competence.

So, despite being a newcomer, these factors—along with Nemus's official recommendation—had resulted in Isabella being appointed as the squad's captain.

Once the internal meeting concluded, Isabella's unique charm successfully unified the team for the time being as they initiated their preliminary investigation.

And the crucial first step of their investigation began with the strange demon that David had failed to capture.