Chapter 174: Chapter 178: Friendly
Duncan cautiously observed the old man’s expression before him. The eerie feeling had not dissipated since it had begun, and he could clearly tell that there was something off about Morris’s current state. Unfortunately, he was not a doctor.
“Should I look for a doctor?” he asked with concern. “How are you feeling now? Do you have dizziness or nausea, or perhaps you feel mentally absent?”
Morris rubbed his forehead.
In his ears, Duncan’s voice seemed to mingle with a thousand overlapping screeches, and alongside the sound waves entering his ears came dazzling, colorful “information” which seemed filled with knowledge incomprehensible to humans. Each moment tested his mind, but even on the brink of the Madness Threshold, he managed to maintain his sanity and slowly shook his head, “I’m fine, I just need a little rest…”
This being before him, whose true nature he did not know, had shown him concern. However, Morris dared not ponder what the “true situation” under this facade of care might be. Perhaps a thousand eyes were watching him, or swarms of wriggling teeth and tongues? Were those caring words whispers from Subspace, or howls from the Mysterious Deep Sea? He thanked God Rahm for this moment of foolishness, sparing him from overly focusing on that truth.
He simply tried to respond normally, on a human level.
Meanwhile, he attempted to actively shut down the “Eye of Truth” he had opened upon alighting from the car—a divinely endowed ability that followers of the God of Wisdom beckon when exploring the world. However, it seemed now… its cost was indeed worthy of the dangers bestowed by the four gods.
He failed. The Eye of Truth had opened and could not be closed in a short time—and what use would closing it be? His mind, sinking into Madness Threshold, wouldn’t simply recover upon closing his eyes…
Morris thought sluggishly, pausing a while before slowly beginning, “I… just came to say thanks… Oh yes, thanks— for my daughter, once again I thank you for your help in the museum, she asked me…”
He suddenly stumbled, hesitating for several seconds before continuing, “She asked me to bring a letter over, it’s in my pocket.”
The old man groped, taking out a carefully sealed envelope from his pocket and handing it to Duncan who opened it in front of him. It contained a report on Nina’s physical and mental health along with “doctor’s recommendations.”
This was a summary Heidi had made after hypnotically treating Nina last time; she had mentioned her intention to send a letter specifically about it, which Duncan remembered.
“No need for so much courtesy. At that time, stepping in to help was my instinctive reaction,” Duncan put away the letter, earnestly speaking to Morris, “Also, please thank Miss Heidi for me—Nina’s been much better since the hypnosis session, and she hasn’t had those strange dreams these days.”
Morris nodded, pressing his temples with his fingers, guiding himself to not stare into Duncan’s eyes while forming his words, “And how have you been these days?”
“Me? I’m doing well,” Duncan felt a bit perplexed, thinking the way the old man started the conversation was odd, “Healthy, spirited, good spirits—just that today’s awful weather is a bit depressing, nothing else is wrong.”
Weather?
Could this minor change in weather really make an Evil God feel “depressed”—was this the latest joke in Subspace?
Morris felt a bit better than before and even found himself inwardly murmuring to these words from Duncan. Meanwhile, he heard Nina’s voice not far away, “Uncle! I’ve parked the bike and closed the shop door! The wind is getting stronger… How is Mr. Morris doing?”
“He’s much better, but he didn’t tell me about any discomfort just now,” Duncan looked back at Nina approaching, “Maybe later you can stay with the old man, and I’ll send an ‘express message’ or a telegram to Miss Heidi to come over…”
“No, no, no, I’m fine,” Morris suddenly raised his voice, waving his hands urgently before Duncan could finish, “Don’t make her come over, it’s just an old problem, I just need to rest for a while.”
Duncan was startled by the old man’s sudden intense reaction, and after surveying Morris and confirming his condition and demeanor, he nodded, “Alright then, I won’t go. Nina, go upstairs and make some soup, a warm meal might make Mr. Morris feel better.”
Nina blinked, slightly confused as she scanned between Duncan and Morris, feeling an odd atmosphere but soon nodded obediently, “Oh!”
The girl cheerfully ran up the stairs, her footsteps gradually fading away.
And as Nina left, Morris also felt a slight decrease in his mental pressure—although compared to the immense pressure brought by Duncan, this relief was almost negligible. Yet, he still sighed in relief.
Subsequently, the elderly man who deals with history daily paused for a moment, then cautiously chose his words before saying, “Was my behavior just now inappropriate?”
Duncan’s eyes remained focused on Maurice’s changes. Initially, he found the other’s words and deeds peculiar today, but gradually, he seemed to discern a familiar “feeling” from the old man’s reaction. While recalling where this sense of familiarity came from, he casually replied, “It was indeed strange, so what’s the matter?”
Maurice fell silent for two or three seconds before he spoke again, his voice low and cautious, “My profession often deals with history and knowledge, which makes my mind occasionally quite sensitive.”
He was just trying to probe, to see what the attitude of this “Subspace existence,” who always appeared amicable and hadn’t caused any trouble here, was really like.
Upon hearing this meaningful statement, Duncan immediately furrowed his brows; suddenly, he knew what that familiar feeling was about!
Maurice’s strange reaction had also occurred in another familiar “person”… A Dog!
The Abyssal Hound beside Sherry, that Profound Demon with the special “True Sight”! A Dog was similarly terrified and anxious when it saw him—because it could see some “true circumstances” beneath his human exterior. However, the difference is that A Dog is a Profound Demon with a very high resistance to corruption, whereas Maurice is a fragile human, making the latter’s reaction more intense, which means…
Duncan faintly guessed the truth and immediately looked up into Maurice’s eyes, “You saw something you shouldn’t have, right?”
Maurice gently inhaled a breath of cold air.
But the next second, the anticipated apocalypse did not descend—quite the contrary, he felt the mental strain he was enduring quickly diminishing, even to the extent that he could bear it as a human without the protection of Rahm!
Without a sound, Duncan transferred his “main consciousness” to the Homeloss, controlling the antique shop’s shell through “remote” techniques used only within the Spirit Realm.
Through the practice over this period, he could still command the distant body and sense its surroundings, even while remotely controlling it; the only effect was that the power he could employ was somewhat weaker—but there were no enemies here anyway.
He wanted to see if this could make Maurice feel a bit better.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Duncan’s deep, gentle voice arose from the side, startling Maurice back to awareness.
The elderly man quickly looked up and saw Duncan’s stable, clear, and harmless human form, while, from the corner of his eye, he noticed that the surroundings had also stabilized.
The chaotic lights and shadows had disappeared, the noise was gradually subsiding, and the torn houses, flowing flames, and wriggling, distorted dark entities had all vanished from view—his mental state was rapidly recovering, and the dangerously close Madness Threshold showed signs of improvement.
He looked incredulously at Duncan, who then nodded apologetically, “I’m sorry, I hadn’t expected a human to have such a ‘keen eye’—I’ve only ever scared a Profound Demon before, but their nerves are much tougher than humans’.”
“I… am much better,” Maurice swallowed, finding recovery not particularly pleasant as he could feel his heart beating as if it would burst, but nonetheless, it did restore most of his cognitive abilities—and allowed him to extract useful information from Duncan’s words, “I… Ah, I hadn’t thought I’d see your true form, I’ve become too complacent in life away from my faith over the years…”
Duncan paid no mind to Maurice’s mutterings.
He was thinking rapidly, considering how to resolve the situation at hand.
After all, this great historian was no A Dog… While the latter could be frightened into compliance, such brusque tactics would not work with the old gentleman.
“I’m curious,” he suddenly said amid his thoughts, “why can you see?”
“I…” Maurice opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then honestly confessed, “I am a follower of Rahm, the God of Wisdom.”