While examining Andaherr with various magic measures, Hasse asked Teuton, "Where did you find her?"
"Under the tower. She was already like this when I found her loitering in the open space next to the tower," Teuton replied.
Hasse stretched out his hand and waved it before the eyes of Andaherr; there was only a blank expression on her face. After a while, she suddenly walked away, came before a broken banquet table, and rummaged through a pile of rotten food on the ground.
Hao Ren was startled for a while before he realized that she was 'foraging.'
Hasse immediately stepped forward, stopped Andaherr. He gave her a packet of his ration. Andaderr did not respond to Hasse, but instinctively took the food and skillfully opened the package and wolfed it down her throat.
Hasse handed a bottle of water to her. She took it and knew how to open the lid.
"She could still take care of herself, but seemed to have lost most of her sensory and communication ability." Vivian had noticed the cues. "It seems that she has been in this condition for a month," she said.
"How is that possible?" Y'zaks was surprised. "Doesn't the Shade of Chaos only drive people insane? It makes people stupid?"
Lily wagged her tail, and a funny thought came to her mind. "She's also the ancient one. So could she be having dementia like Battie?" she asked.
Vivian glared at her. "Don't drag me into that! I am only forgetful, not demential!" she said.
While Lily and Vivian had a shouting match, Hasse had found something on Andaherr using his diagnostic magic. "Wait a second. The Shades of Chaos didn't cause her condition, it was the Mind Shackle spell, and the spell caster was Andaherr herself," he said.
Hao Ren was stunned. He looked at Andaherr, whose face emotionless. "Mind Shackle?" Hao Ren asked.
Vivian hemmed, and then said, "It is a mind-retarding spell."
Though it sounded funny, the mind-retarding spell was a real and common spell, which the demon hunters, some human sorcerers, and the otherworldlings known as the Night Demons practiced. This kind of magic was used against intelligent creatures to interfere with their perception and weaken the ability to think. A more powerful spell caster could even make the subject to lose their thinking ability completely. The effect of this magic varied greatly depending on the skill of the caster and was also affected by the mental resistance of the subject. It was not a strong spell, because the subject might suddenly think of his or her spouse or other people's spouse, and got free from it.
However, when a spell caster used the magic on him- or herself, the effect would be long-lasting because self-suggestion had suppressed mental resistance right from the beginning.
The mind-retarding spell caused Andaherr's condition and she was the spell caster.
"Why did she even do that to herself?" Y'lisabet grabbed her horn with a strange look on her face. "Did she beat herself up when she couldn't find anyone else after the Shades of Chaos deranged her?"
"No. She did it to herself because she didn't want to hurt others!" Hao Ren said. "Do the Shades of Chaos affect people with an unsound mind?"
"It seems they won't," Hasse said. He finally figured it out. "The danger of the Shades of Chaos is that they could infinitely magnify the sense of anger and hostility in people. When one cannot even think, then the shadows would not be able to inflict their influence."
"Is it possible for a third party to disarm the Mind Shackle spell?" Y'zaks asked.
Hasse's brows knit together. "It would be difficult. The most special thing about this spell is that its effect is not only dependent on the skill level of the spell caster, but also influenced by the mental resistance of the subject. It is something purely to do with the mind. There used to be cases where a defenseless beggar had successfully resisted the magic of a master demon hunter. There was also a case where a cold-blooded killer succumbed to the Mind Shackle spell of an apprentice and became a retard for the rest of his life. Andaherr cast her spell. When her sense of resistance was zero at that time, the effect of the spell would be the strongest. I'm afraid that there is no way to defeat the spell from the outside."
Hasse took the hassle to explain in detail the function and principle of the Mind Shackle spell to make a point of the level of difficulty in lifting this spell. Y'zaks, however, saw a glimmer of hope. "That is to say, the subject could still be capable of resistance, but the consciousness is blocked, right? So as long as she could actively invoke her conscienceness, she could still become sober, right?" he asked.
"In theory, yes." Hasse looked at Y'zaks with a puzzled look. "What are you going to do? Her soul is locked away in the depths of her soul, and she can't hear outside voices."
A uniquely green evil fire rose in Y'zaks eyes when he guffawed with a hoarse voice. "If you don't mind—I can speak directly to her soul."
"You mean extracting?" Hasse and Teuton were stunned when they understood what Y'zaks meant. Teuton objected. "No! Working with the otherworldlings is an unprecedented compromise. Letting a demon disturb the soul of our elder would be crossing the red line."
"No extraction," Y'zaks said slowly. "Dive into her spiritual world and say a few words to her. I guarantee that this female demon hunter would be safe, and I wouldn't do anything to her soul."
Y'zaks was sincere, but the problem was his appearance; he had a face only a mother could love, and it was scary despite his kind words. Both faces of Hasse and Teuton turned green; neither of them dared to consent to the suggestion.
Blame it on the notorious reputation of the demons. Though there were various types of demons in the worlds, they all shared a similar character and behavior. They all were good at fiddling with people's souls, especially like to use their talent evilly. There had never been any demons, when had a chance to fiddle with people 's soul, would leave it alone undisturbed, let alone during a psychic ritual. A kind-hearted demon like Y'zaks, whose only daily routines were reading the People's Daily and carrying old ladies crossing the streets, was lucky enough to have been adopted by Hao Ren. Otherwise, he would have been sent to the lab for scientific dissection.
Vivian became impatient with Hasse. "Do you have any better solutions?" she asked.
"I'm thinking."
"We can't afford to waste time." Vivian turned aggressive. "You have thirty seconds. Hao Ren, start the countdown," she said.
Hasse forced a smile. "You are being—"
"Twenty-five seconds."
At this time, White Flame interrupted. "Teacher, I think we should give it a try," she said.
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say that power is just a tool and tool is neutral, good or bad, it all depends on how we use them?" White Flame said in a serious tone of voice. "If the situation calls for it, demon hunter may use poisons and surprise attacks to save lives. Then why can't we use its psychic power in saving lives?"
Hasse did not answer. Vivian patted White Flame on the shoulder. "You've got a bright future, lass. At least, you're more open-minded than your teacher," she quipped.
Hasse did not expect that his student would embarrass him at a crucial moment. But deep inside he knew White Flame was right; he had taught her that. He could only nod. "Then let's give it a try. If things go wrong, stop it immediately," he said.
The other demon hunters began to doubt his decision, but Hasse just shook his head. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. We should first let Elder Andaherr recover."
While saying, he looked at Vivian, hinting that the living fossil was the one making the ultimate decision. The demon hunters noted. They gave in. No one wanted to go against Vivian's will because the last thing they wanted to hear was Vivian yelling "When I whacked your father, grandfather, great grandfather, they didn't even complain!"
Of course, a more important reason was that the hostile instinct had disappeared. The demon hunters could think more rationally, unlike in the past where they would have an entirely different reaction.
As there were no more objections, Y'zaks immediately began to perform the psychic ritual on Andaherr.