Demon Bible

Chapter 161: Inner Eye

Hearing Nemus's words, Fass couldn't help but pause.

His aversion toward Al faded significantly.

For an Intern Holy Knight to dare pry into the Church's financial affairs took genuine courage.

For that bravery alone, Fass had to give Al a modicum of respect.

"So this is why Lord Nemus chose this place as our landing zone?" Fass's mind worked quickly, immediately grasping the core of the issue.

If all of this was connected to the Church, then there had to be an issue with this location. It was highly likely tied to the Church's abnormal financial flow.

As for the information Nemus had just casually revealed, Fass paid it little mind. For the Construct Protocol to remain hidden from the Church for this long, they naturally had their own people embedded within its ranks.

"It is merely a guess," Nemus replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.

During his past half-year in the Church, aside from gaining initial control over a few Holy Knight squads, Nemus had been steadily cultivating a network across various other departments.

And what people referred to as "charisma" was nothing more than a combination of unwavering conviction and shared interests.Aside from retaining the necessary resources for his Cultivation, Nemus never indulged in worldly pleasures. He eschewed luxury, abstained from alcohol and women, and poured every last coin obtained from his smuggling operations back into the Church.

Furthermore, he was famously generous with his guidance.

Countless Holy Knights had received his pointers on Sword Art, and just as many Priests had engaged him in deep discussions regarding Spells.

Under such circumstances, even if Nemus were one day branded a traitor to the Church, many would step forward to dispute the claim, firmly believing he had been framed.

It was precisely this "charisma" that inspired numerous individuals to quietly align themselves with him. Whenever they discovered an issue, they would promptly pass the intelligence along to Nemus.

Not long ago, during a meeting, Nemus had suggested that there might be an issue with Rhine.

Shortly after, Nemus received a covert slip of paper detailing an anomaly in the flow of finances.

Years ago, the heretical Floating World Society had colluded with a Noble family, digging deep water wells across various estates on the outskirts to refine the Golden Elixir.

After Nemus led a raid to shut it down, he ordered the estate sealed and the alchemy wells filled.

Since then, that estate had been largely abandoned. Aside from the occasional person stopping by to inspect the premises, there shouldn't have been any issues.

However, the financial discrepancy detailed on that slip of paper clearly pointed back to that abandoned, sealed estate.

Given these circumstances, Nemus naturally sensed that something illicit was happening there.

Thus, this trip served as a form of probing.

"There's a high probability that either Al or I have been marked. Now that we're here, Isabella will likely track us down very soon." Fass immediately grasped the intricacies of the plan.

Even though they hadn't interacted much, and Isabella had only been around for less than two weeks, he already respected her.

She was someone with firm convictions. The moment she discovered a problem here, she would undoubtedly blow the lid off the whole operation.

"So that's why they want to kill me!" Fass realized the most interesting part of the situation.

The arrival of Fass and Al had forced those people into a dilemma.

This area couldn't withstand a search. If Fass managed to escape, Isabella and her team would search the vicinity and inevitably uncover the truth.

Therefore, they had no choice but to fight, hoping to kill Fass instantly so that Isabella's team would only find a concluded scene upon arrival.

"Except, with Isabella's sharp instincts, she will probably notice the inconsistencies anyway."

"Like why an unknown Iron Rank Cleric suddenly appeared in the outskirts."

"Or why I deliberately used spatial transference to get here."

"So if that person doesn't try to kill me, Isabella will just search everywhere for my tracks." "But if they do step out to kill me, they won't be able to explain their own presence here."

"They might try to use a 'secret mission' as an excuse, but that will only fool ordinary people. It will absolutely never trick Isabella."

As Fass figured this out, a rush of excitement coursed through him.

Regardless of whether he could successfully complete his own metamorphosis today, managing to drag a major Church figure down with him made his entire life worthwhile!

Driven by this thrilling thought, Fass felt his entire spirit riot.

This riot caused his Berserk Accessory to fluctuate in tandem.

These fluctuations naturally emanated outward, triggering a reaction with the Soul Component embedded within his body.

Instantly, Fass felt a terrifying swelling sensation, as if his entire body was about to tear apart.

A chaotic jumble of other sensations crashed into his mental state like relentless tidal waves.

One moment, he felt a freezing chill on his left and a blistering heat on his right.

The very next second, the two sensations completely reversed.

Then, an eerie sensation washed over him—it felt as though his own eyes had grown all over his entire body.

It was as if the flexing pull of every piece of flesh, or the microscopic gaps between every bone, were being intimately observed by these newly sprouted eyes.

"To think he's manifesting the Inner Eye, a phenomenon exclusive to Iron Rank Spellcasters?" Nemus closely monitored the situation from the sidelines.

An Iron Rank Spellcaster could inject their Mental Power into their physical form, using their mind to forcibly command their body. To achieve this step, they first had to undergo the sensory mutation of the "Inner Eye".

This was, in reality, the preliminary phenomenon of Mental Power beginning to interfere with the physical body.

Of course, that was only the positive aspect. On the flip side, Nemus noticed that Fass's mind was exhibiting extreme instability.

It threatened to splinter at any given moment.

"Is it because The Number hasn't truly converged together?" Nemus soon pinpointed the actual root of the problem.

It was similar to how Lesser Demons, even after gathering enough souls and flesh essence, were unable to utilize The Number within. They had to rely on the Abyssal Will to refine it.

"There are barriers between different sources of The Number. These barriers must be shattered before absorption is possible."

"And right now, Fass's problem is that The Number he obtained through the swarm symbiosis cannot be fully integrated."

"Furthermore, the Soul Component has become an obstruction in this process." Nemus carefully scrutinized the unfolding complications.

Oftentimes, these types of issues were extremely difficult to replicate in a laboratory setting.

Because Fass was currently in a state of true desperation, the intense emotions and shifting Cognition he experienced were of an entirely different nature.

Take this exact moment, for instance.

Nemus had observed that under normal circumstances, the Soul Component successfully helped Fass stabilize his mental state.

But during critical moments, Fass's Mental Power became heavily flooded by his own "subjective Cognition". This Cognition was an advantage at a time like this, allowing Fass a certain degree of reality-bending power.

However, in this specific scenario, the Soul Component ended up restricting this subjective Cognition.

"In other words, it suppresses the peak potential, making it incapable of handling explosive surges in power." Nemus made a mental note of this. As long as he continued down his path, there would inevitably come a day when his Faith experienced explosive growth.

If the Soul Component was to be utilized in the long run, the functions it had to bear would only multiply.

These were all issues he would have to confront in the future.