"Giving orders to the demon to wreak havoc certainly explains the current situation," Carlo said. "But then the question arises: who gave the orders?"
"Instead of that, let's go back to the third of the three questions you just raised: why didn't the City Police Force discover this? Because they didn't actually encounter that demon; the demon was in Spirit Body form."
"So, you can't see it without activating your Spirit Vision?"
"To be more precise, you can't actively detect it without activating your Spirit Vision. But this type of Spirit Body, like the vengeful spirits you encountered before, can actively manifest itself or forcibly pull those who come into contact with it into Half Spirit Vision state."
"The principle is that although most people's spiritual vision is in a passively closed state, when a dangerous Spirit Body approaches, their spiritual instincts become aware of the danger and they can no longer ignore its presence. Thus, they enter a state of being forced to activate their Spirit Vision, focusing mainly on the approaching Spirit Body itself, accompanied by symptoms such as tinnitus, dizziness, and blurred vision."
Isaac realized that his recent tinnitus and blurred vision were caused by his spiritual response to the demon's approach, which forced him to activate his Half Spirit Vision.
The cognitive and memory interference inherent in demons, when combined with Half Spirit Vision, makes them more likely to destroy a person's sanity than ordinary vengeful spirits.
Carlo continued, "As I just said, it's a pity you can't see my perspective. From my point of view, it's quite interesting, because when you opened the door, I saw it was tucked away in the ceiling."
"----Hidden there?"
"That's right, it looks like a chandelier, but it's a pity it doesn't light up."
"It didn't move until you walked into the room. First, it closed the door, then it moved closer to you, as slowly as if it had just woken up and didn't even know where the alarm clock was."
Isaac, neither lunging at him immediately nor showing obvious hostility—though its inherent effects were enough to constitute an attack, which seemed to imply two things.
First, the order given to it was not unconditional killing; it was programmed to attack only under specific conditions. Otherwise, let alone waiting for me to arrive, even if it were the City Police Force, it would be torn to pieces like everyone else in the corridor.
Second, the fact that it reacts to itself, but the City Police Force officers clearly did not encounter it, suggests that it has something about itself that attracts demons.
Isaac shared his guess, and Carlo clicked his tongue and said, "It seems that the demon fell in love with you at first sight."
"Well----"
"But it could be something else," Carlo said. "Let's get back to the second question, whether that thing has always been here or was brought here by someone. I have a theory now."
What guess?
"We need to confirm a few things first. The director's office is on the fourth floor. Go take a look."
Isaac, seeing no movement, walked to the top of the stairs and started going up.
The layout of the fourth floor was similar to the two floors below. He walked along the corridor and saw a copper plaque hanging on a door, which read "Dean's Office".
He grasped the doorknob, pressed it, and locked it again. It was probably because after the dean was taken away, the City Police Force simply locked the office to save themselves the trouble of having someone watch over it.
The door's about to open again; do I have to deal with the neighbor across the hall again?
As Isaac was pondering this, he heard Carlo say, " Asa, say something."
"Say what?"
Just say, "Go and unlock the lock in front of me."
2
"Ah?"
"Hehe, what are you staring at? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would joke around at a crucial moment?"
"Why doesn't it look like it?----"
Isaac cleared his throat and whispered, "Go and unlock the door."
There was no response, no movement. Just as Isaac was about to say it seemed useless, a click came from inside the door lock.
The lock is open.
"----What happened?"
"Because we have a new friend."
"Hey buddy?"
" The Sanity Save only suppressed the cognitive and memory interference caused by that demon and the forcibly activated Half Spirit Vision, but the demon itself did not disappear. Guess where it is?"
Isaac paused, realizing the meaning of those words.
The demon had been beside him the whole time, but he couldn't see it now. The lock he'd just opened had clearly been opened with the demon's help.
"Tsk tsk, look how scared you are. It hasn't done anything, and it even helped us unlock the door."
Isaac was speechless for a moment.
"So you'd better get used to having something watching you from behind, and it will keep following you until—who knows how long."
Why is it following me?
"Maybe it's the 14 o'clock charm kicking in? But the answer might be in the office. Go in and look for any records, like the guest register, to see who used to live in that devil's cabin."
Isaac took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and walked into the office.
The bookshelves against the office wall were crammed with folders and brochures. Isaac approached and scanned the spines of the books; there were ledgers and purchasing lists, as well as some brochures labeled "Employee Files" and "Visitor Records."
He took down several booklets labeled "Check-in Registration," placed them on the table, and opened the most recent one.
This record, dating back to the beginning of this year, includes details such as admission date, name, gender, room number, and remarks. Given the actual situation at this nursing home, Isaac suspects it was specifically created to audit the accounts of unsuspecting donors.
He flipped through a few pages and noticed that the guests were all assigned to the first and second floors, but there were no entries for the third floor. He continued flipping through the book, but there were no entries for the third-floor guests in the entire book.
Isaac picked up the previous book, the records from the previous year. The situation was similar: the first and second floors were functioning normally, but the third floor was still blank.
He flipped through five or six volumes, until he reached one from seven years ago. In that year's records, there were occasional guest names on the third floor, but only a few scattered ones.
As for that room, it remained unoccupied.
By the eighth booklet, the handwriting was noticeably different from the later records, and the name in the dean's signature column had changed, indicating that the dean had been replaced seven years ago.
He flipped to the corresponding page on the third floor, and this time, he finally saw who had moved into that room.
Nehir Elesha.
Isaac's gaze shifted to the remarks section, which read: Suspected dementia, unable to communicate normally, occasional panic attacks. Referral from the City Hall Welfare Department, with assistance from the City Police Force Third Precinct. No family contact records; long-term care recommended.
"This person----"
" Elesha, I see."
"Hmm? You know him?"
"I know him. He wrote to me nine years ago, asking for my help, but I never saw him or received any more letters from him. I thought he had died somewhere, but I never expected him to be living here."