Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Dusk Bell's headquarters in Switzerland were situated in a remote suburb.

This was a colossal church, its architecture bearing a distinct ecclesiastical style, yet not so obviously, instead revealing a rebellious streak.

The overall tone was dominated by black, and many of the sculptures also possessed an inexplicable sharpness.

In the last century, Bishop Matthew led the majority of hunters in breaking away from the church, crossing over six thousand kilometers to take root in Switzerland, and forming alliances with many consortia at the time.

Of course...

The Dusk Bell Church was hunter-oriented and had never changed the rules set at the beginning because of those consortia.

Inside the church, soft candles burned brightly.

Looking up, on the second floor, there was a massive table about six meters in length and three meters in width, but there were only sixteen chairs in total.

The leading position was left vacant, only a black cross placed there.

In reality, there were only five people present, among whom four wore expressions of cold indifference, their eyes devoid of any trace of warmth, chilling and numb, not at all resembling normal humans.

The last person was about forty years old, dressed in a suit, sitting upright and formal.

His deep-set eyes housed profound, tranquil azure pupils, and his lips always bore a smile that could easily engender goodwill in others.

His demeanor was also extraordinary, somewhat similar to Du Wei's, but not completely the same.

Under his calm and gentle exterior lay a hint of violence and cruelty.

But everyone else sat at positions far away from him, clearly wary of him.

The atmosphere was silent.

After a long while, someone spoke first, "Federer and another hunter died in Massas City, Mr. Lecter, what is your view?"

The man in the suit kept his smile unchanged, "Are you referring to the church's view or Dusk Bell's?"

The other replied, "Both... and I hope that when you mention Dusk Bell, you add 'our' before it, to reflect your sense of belonging to Dusk Bell, rather than being an outsider. Do you understand, Hannibal Lecter?"

This time, he used the full name.

Hannibal crossed his arms, "As you wish."

He continued in an elegant tone, "Federer's death in Massas City is a loss for us, but not for the church. They have always wanted us to return to the church, which is a favorable outcome for them."

This time he used 'us,' as though he truly considered the interests of the Dusk Bell Church, integrating himself into it.

Someone asked, "Do you also think it was done by someone from the church?"

Hannibal smiled, "Does it matter? The man is already dead..."

The others looked at each other and remained silent.

Hannibal continued, "The church is already locking down Massas City, stationing exorcists in the vicinity. It seems this city won't see further trouble for a while. We don't need to invest too much of our energy at the moment. Let's just do what we need to do and continue to observe for some time."

As he said this, he suddenly smiled, asking in a low voice, "There ought to be some of our people inside the church, right?"

The person sitting opposite him nodded, "Indeed there are, but their identities are confidential, and even I am not clear who they are."

Hannibal lightly tapped on the table, pondered for a moment, and then said, "If that's the case, then there should also be people from the church among us. Release some information, say that Dusk Bell is extremely angry about Federer's death, that an important decision has been made internally to thoroughly investigate this matter. This will certainly prompt the church to take some measure."

The person opposite frowned, "What if the church doesn't react?"

Hannibal smiled at him and didn't speak.

The latter's face darkened, shaking his head, "Okay, I get your point. If the church doesn't react, then that means among those of us here, there are people from the church. If the church takes action, then let them wear themselves out."

Hannibal laughed as he stood up and left with steady steps.

In fact, he hadn't spelled everything out, no matter whether there were members of the church among the others, there would only be one outcome.

If there were no members of the church present, then the church would definitely take measures.

And if there were, the church would also do something deliberately to protect that person.

Of course...

This had nothing to do with him, as he had now focused all his attention on the patient named Ryan brought back from Hill Psychiatric Hospital by Dusk Bell Church.

More than ten minutes later.

Hannibal arrived downstairs at the church.

The lighting was bright, infusing the area with a modern vibe.

The underground of the church had been completely hollowed out, and, in fact, this was the core area of the Dusk Bell Church.

Soon, he arrived at a door.

Pushing the door open, what he saw resembled the scene of a hospital room.

A bed, a table, and a matching stool; besides that, there was nothing else, making it look very spartan.

At that moment, a man in a white coat, resembling a doctor, stood up from the stool. He put down the book in his hand and said dissatisfiedly, "Why didn't you knock? Don't you, as a patient, know how impolite it is to disturb a professional psychiatrist?"

Hannibal replied with a smile, "Mr. Ryan, the reason you insist on believing you're a doctor is that you're afraid to accept the real you. It's a pain for you. You could completely accept my help; I won't hurt you, because we're the same kind."

Ryan said disdainfully, "I've seen many patients like you. Although I haven't found a way to treat you yet, I will think of one eventually. Once I cure you, the director will definitely promote me to be his assistant."

Hannibal's smile deepened, "I too look forward to you curing me, but first you must accept my help and reveal your true self."

This psychiatric patient was very special; by the time Dusk Bell Church found him, he was already undergoing Evil Spirit Transformation and nearly incapacitated a hunter, turning them into an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, after that incident, he reverted back to his delusion, stubbornly believing himself to be a doctor, making communication impossible.

For Dusk Bell Church, turning a hunter into an ordinary person was a terrifying yet tempting prospect.

Because once one became an ordinary person, there would be no more worries about the dangers of Evil Spirit Transformation.

Essentially freeing oneself from all troubles.

Of course, some hunters would rather solve the problem while still retaining their abilities, instead of being incapacitated.

However, Ryan's case was completely out of control. Dusk Bell Church had tried many methods but failed to cure his mental illness, preventing him from becoming a hunter who could interact normally, not to mention triggering Evil Spirit Transformation.

Even when thrown into an area where an Evil Spirit resided, he never felt fear, let alone underwent transformation, even when he was nearly killed by the Evil Spirit.

As a result, the person currently in charge of Ryan was the former psychology Ph.D. turned Cannibalistic Ogre, Hannibal Lecter.

Hannibal was certain that there was another personality within Ryan, and he sensed the aura of his kin on him.
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But neither hypnosis nor psychological suggestion could awaken this other personality.

He could only attempt to treat Ryan to communicate normally, administering some psychiatric drugs, trying to cure his mental illness sooner.

It was a lengthy process.

And Hannibal had all the time in the world...

Although he also faced the issue of Evil Spirit Transformation, it wasn't severe...