Demi-human Girls Completion Manual-Chapter 38 - 36
38: 36.
Soul Loss
38: 36.
Soul Loss
“Mr.
Fisher, welcome.”
It turned out Philone’s laboratory was not inside his mansion but in a courtyard outside, specifically in a modest-sized room marked “Philone’s Laboratory” at the entrance.
By the time Mr.
Fisher was led there by the maid, Philone had already shed his suit jacket, revealing the leather straps covering his body, designed to secure his prosthetic arm and gas mask.
If not for the somewhat terrifying gas mask on his face, he would have indeed been a graceful Nali gentleman.
Even after some tidying up, the room still appeared somewhat cluttered.
On the lab table at the back, resembling a workshop, many large steam machines were placed.
In front of the workshop, there were two huge bookshelves filled with books.
Fisher scanned the titles and, with a keen eye, recognized one of his published works named “Good and Evil: A First Look at Ethics.”
“Ah, Mr.
Fisher, this book of yours took me a long time to study, especially your views and interpretations on classical utilitarianism…”
Philone, noticing Fisher’s gaze, then took down the modest dark red-covered book and said with some emotion, “Who would have thought the author of this book of wisdom was once just a student at the Royal College?”
“It quotes a lot of thoughts from teachers; I merely connected the dots…”
Fisher, scanning the book filled with many notes, knew that Philone had read his work many times.
At that time, although many scholars had discussed ethics, represented by the many professors at the Royal College, there was no book that synthesized their views and discussions.
Consequently, Fisher spent a semester attending all the social science professors’ classes, compiled the notes, and wrote this introductory text on ethics.
Although the professors were pleased their representative views were compiled into a volume, they couldn’t help but bristle at Fisher’s critical “author’s comments” at the end of the book.
They were a group of lovable old men.
“Ha ha, Mr.
Fisher is too modest.
I would like to discuss ethics with you more in the future, but for now, let’s talk about the disease we mentioned before…
I prefer to call this disease ‘Soul Loss’ rather than Blue Madness.”
“Soul Loss?”
Fisher took a chair and sat down next to his desk, looking at Philone, who pulled out a small stack of manuscripts from under the desk lamp.
Fisher saw the human anatomical diagrams penciled on them.
“Mr.
Fisher, how much do you understand about the patients’ condition?”
“After the onset, their blood turns blue, they are basically unconscious, have a tendency to attack living beings…
no, it should be living humans, and the Magic Circuits in their bodies completely disappear.”
Philone nodded, handed the manuscripts to Fisher, which contained many densely recorded experimental case studies.
The conclusions were roughly the same as Fisher’s, but Philone had also investigated a lot about the patient’s history before the onset of the disease.
“You refer to these patients as having Soul Loss; do you believe in the theory that Magic Power originates from the soul?”
“It’s not about belief, Mr.
Fisher, it’s a fact…
On the South Continent, there has long been a belief in soul theory.
At first, I thought the souls they believed in were just like the illusionary Spiritual Bodies created in circuses using magic, but a previous exploration showed me the reality of the existence of the soul…”
Philone raised a finger, continuing,
“When I first arrived on the South Continent, I was just an external scholar accompanying the expedition.
I accidentally got separated from the team, and got lost in the wilderness.
The wilderness was cold at night.
Just as I was about to freeze to death, suddenly several flickering demi-human shadows appeared in the sky, speaking to each other, although I couldn’t understand.
I thought it was a dying hallucination, so I followed the direction their fingers pointed and found the scattered team by the river.”
Fisher tapped his fingers on the desk, pondering Philone’s words.
“The most critical part is, I’ve personally witnessed those souls performing engraving magic.”
“Engraving magic?”
“Yes, they were engraving warming spells for the demi-humans foraging in the wild, so they would not freeze to death.
They had Magic Circuits capable of releasing engraving magic power; the patients’ Magic Circuits, however, had completely vanished because the soul had taken away their Magic Circuits.”
Fisher’s expression changed, as all current Magic Theory indicated that the ability of living beings to perform engraving magic originated from their own Magic Circuits.
Many scholars also believed that Magic Circuits existed within the body but were simply unobservable for the time being.
However, if Philone’s words were to be taken into account, the fact that souls could use magic suggested that Magic Circuits were not within the body but rather on the soul.
This could also explain why the Magic Circuits in those patients completely disappeared—the true principle of the disease’s onset did not lie in the Magic Circuits but in the soul.
The disappearance of the Magic Circuits was merely a manifestation of the vanishing soul.
As he conversed more deeply with Philone, Fisher gradually understood the soul theory that he had researched.
In front of Philone’s years of experimental data and evidence, Fisher found it nearly impossible to refute any point.
“If the principle of the disease’s onset is that the soul has gone, then what causes their souls to vanish?”
Philone raised a finger and explained,
“It’s despair…
You see, before each patient fell ill, they had all undergone a major life tribulation.”
“La Basher, robbed of his wealth by bandits; his daughter killed by a Maid…”
“Jack, his wife was unfaithful, and her lover absconded with all his property…”
“….”
Philone recited the experiences of various cases, then said, “It seems they have no connection, and according to traditional pathology, they could not have come into contact with any suspicious items.”
Fisher suddenly thought of the group of humans he had met before in Kree’s cave.
Their Maid had also fallen ill, and according to them, her only daughter had died in Nali’s textile factory before she became sick.
So that’s how it is…
Fisher’s gaze flickered for a moment, then he continued Philone’s words,
“The reason souls disappear is that the despair generated by the brain creates an unstable condition, and then some external force takes advantage of it to steal their souls…”
“Exactly, that’s my speculation.”
“Now, there are three problems: how the souls are being taken away, who is taking the souls, and what is the purpose of taking the souls?”
Fisher scrutinized the pathology closely.
Although he had a hypothesis, he felt it was increasingly absurd.
Based on the current deductions, it seemed less like a disease and more like a deliberate act by someone.
If the perpetrator was an intelligent entity, it would likely only be humans or demi-humans.
But considering that human academia hadn’t even acknowledged the existence of souls, where would the means to take their souls come from?
Given the current primitive state of demi-humans, it was even less likely to be them.
Moreover, according to the cases of Philone and Keken, many incidents occurred simultaneously and were separated by thousands of kilometers.
Who could possibly have the power to commit such acts over such distances?
They probably could have destroyed all three countries of the Western Continent.
“Ever since humans started entering the South Continent in large numbers, I haven’t seen those demi-human souls that guide people through the wilderness for a long time…”
Philone’s gas mask released some steam, and he leaned back in his chair, then sighed,
“Who could take away so many souls at the same time, in multiple places?”
Fisher was slightly taken aback by Philone’s words, then looked up at him but couldn’t see his eyes due to the reflection of the desk lamp on his glasses.
Why was it that he only focused on who was taking the souls, and ignored the other questions?
