Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

Gad cast a wary glance at him, and Shiller shook his head. "I don't want to get any secrets from you. I just want to know the whole process of what happened. If I were a man of the Pope, knowing the entire process wouldn't mean much to me."

It seemed Gad thought that made sense, and with a sigh, he said, "I'm not any Great Prophet, I was just the most ordinary special affairs investigator."

Shiller listened carefully to his accent, then asked, "Are you Italian?"

"Yes, I am a local Roman. I used to work at the Vatican, starting as a museum guide, then transferred to the archives, and later joined the investigative bureau..."

"What does that department do?"

"It was actually just a catch-all job, but if I have to describe it, it's understanding global religious movements, including the actions of some regional-level bishops. You could think of it as a combination of public relations and personnel."

"And then?"

"Do you know about the hotel incident many years ago?"

"I've heard a bit about it."

"I was new at the time, and I didn't have any connections. The higher-ups wanted to use the incident for publicity, and they sent me to take some photos and conduct interviews."

"You went into the hotel?"

"I didn't intend to." Gad let out a long sigh, "But the photos I took and the people I interviewed weren't to their satisfaction. They wanted me to get more in-depth news."

"I had only heard stories about the hotel being haunted, but I didn't believe them. I thought it was an exaggeration. So, I sneaked into the hotel at night when the police were off duty..."

"And then you discovered the hotel wasn't just haunted; rather, several bizarre events had occurred, and each room had a monster, and it was those monsters that killed the victims?"

Gad looked at Shiller with surprise but nodded, "That's right. But I was lucky. I didn't come across any particularly strong monsters and managed to escape alive."

"Did you tell all this to the Church?"

"Yes, at first they didn't believe me. But then they sent more people in, and the testimony of some survivors was exactly like mine. They had to believe it."

"All these bizarre events happening worldwide, those were created by the Church using the monsters from the hotel, weren't they?"

"That's correct!" Gad got a bit excited and said, "They released the monsters from the rooms to cause catastrophes, and then the Church would step in to handle them. That has built the position the Church holds today."

"Good, I have one last question." Shiller looked at Gad's face and asked, "The hotel tragedy happened around 80 years ago. How old are you this year?"

Gad opened his mouth, "You wouldn't believe me if I said I'm almost 100 years old, but I was indeed born in 1911..."

Gad actually appeared very young, probably just around 20 years old. Shiller remembered that the book also had reports about the Great Prophet. Many believers held him in high esteem precisely because of his decades-long youthful appearance, which made them believe he was truly the chosen one.

If he was born in 1911, and the hotel tragedy took place around 1930, then it was probably after he investigated the hotel that he stopped aging.

Gad pursed his lips and said, "I don't know if you really are a man sent by the Pope, but if you are, you must tell him again that my experience was an accident. He cannot gain a longer life through heretical rites..."

Seeing Gad's attitude, Shiller understood what was probably going on.

The current Pope should be about the same age as Gad, perhaps even older. He is almost a genuine 100 years old this year, a lifespan that is also close to the human limit.

However, clearly, the Pope is a normal old man. In more recent news reports, he's been seen in a wheelchair, nearly losing all ability to move.

But this Gad, who is about the same age, still maintains a youthful appearance and seems like he will continue to do so. Isn't this the eternal life the human race has always dreamed of?

"The Pope wants to extract the secret of immortality from you?"

Gad nodded, "I said I had nothing to tell, but he didn't believe me. Instead, he firmly believes my longevity is related to what happened in that hotel."

Shiller narrowed his eyes and said, "You say it's unrelated, but that's hard to believe, isn't it?"

"It is related, but it's not any sacrificial ritual. He has completely misunderstood."

"What did he misunderstand?"

Gad opened his mouth, scrutinized Shiller's expression for a moment, and finally spoke, "I know you might not believe what I say, but what happened with Faralines was not a coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

"He thinks the tragedy in the hotel was a sacrificial rite and I benefited from the sacrifice, which allowed me to maintain my youth."

"He wants to replicate that sacrificial rite?"

"That's right." Gad nodded, "Do you remember how many people died in the hotel?"

"I remember over 200 bodies were discovered."

"In fact, there were more. Most of the people went missing, and some were witnessed appearing thousands of kilometers away, all driven mad. The total number of victims should be over 500."

Shiller seemed to recall something and said, "So, the Pope also wants to sacrifice that many people to gain the same immortality as you?"

Gad nodded and said, "Yes, that's one of the reasons he frequently creates weird events around the world. He wants to kill, in special ways, those whom he believes should be sacrificed."

Shiller and Batman exchanged a glance, immediately thinking of the so-called curse on them: that is, when their mental health value dropped to rock bottom, they would go mad.

"Have you heard of the curse?" Shiller tried asking.

"What curse?"

"The one where, once you witness certain weird events or some terrifying entities, you suffer mental damage, and eventually go mad."

Gad looked at them oddly and said, "If seeing terrifying things doesn't drive you mad, what do you want? To get more excited the more you see?"

"What I'm asking is, have you ever heard of such a curse?"

"No, but what you're describing sounds like an inspiration physique."

"Inspiration physique?"

"Yes, there are some who are born able to see more than others, but when facing unspeakable horrors, they also receive greater harm than the rest."

Shiller caught the fleeting, special expression on Gad's face and asked, "Are you of this physique?"

Gad nodded slowly and said, "That's precisely why I was brought here. There should be several other unfortunate ones like me who will be brought here by him, and then sacrificed."

"Do you mean to say that the Pope believes that sacrificing people with the inspiration physique will grant him immortality like yours?"

"It seems so. He has already done it and seems to have gained quite a bit of life because of it; otherwise, he wouldn't have lived until today."

"But you didn't use that method."

Of course not, Gad sighed and said, "I didn't say I was completely innocent; the methods I used weren't exactly legitimate, but they were acts of desperation. I never want to relive that nightmare again, but he doesn't believe me. He thinks I've gained much more than I've suffered."

"But you don't think so."

"Yes," Gad took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly, he said, "If I could, I'd trade with him. I want to die a peaceful death, not..."

"Not what?"

Gad clamped his lips shut, refusing to speak, but Batman interjected, "He has made a deal with a terrifying entity, to be precise, he's no longer human but a Follower of an Outer God, naturally immortal."

Gad jerked his head up, looking at Batman incredulously,

"Don't mind it," Shiller said. "Theoretically, we are all Followers of Outer Gods. He just had a call with 'Dagon,' and I made a deal with Nya. What's the name of the Outer God in your case?"

Gad stared, mouth agape, his hand motioning in mid-air, struggling to speak, "Wait a second, isn't this supposed to be very taboo and filthy..."

"We've already done it, so there's no point in adding more moral burdens for yourself," Shiller said calmly. "Humans who make deals with Outer Gods don't come to a good end, but before the tragedy strikes, we should maintain an optimistic attitude. Or maybe you can now ask if that Outer God recognizes either of us."

"This is utterly ridiculous!" said Gad. "They are incomprehensible, they, they are terrifying and indescribable..."

"Okay Nya, show him," Shiller snapped his fingers and said.

In an instant, a tall Black man with a book in his hand appeared on the living room sofa, looking at Shiller with golden eyes and said, "Are you really not going to read this novel? Bruce said it's thrilling and is willing to pay for it."

"Can't you see I'm busy right now?" Shiller said with some impatience. "Let's talk when I'm free."

"I knew it would be like this," the Black man said. "That's why I don't want to give you strength in advance."

With that, he vanished.

Gad, on the other hand, looked on in horror, Shiller didn't know what he saw, but it was definitely Nya's old trick of pretending to be mysterious. If Outer Gods had a school, Nya should apply to teach "Scaring Humans 101."

Finally, Gad snapped out of it, his expression complicated, and after a while, he sighed and said, "I thought the things I faced were terrifying enough, but I had no idea about you..."

"Alright, tell us about your 'him'."

"I encountered 'Him' in a hotel, to be more precise, I encountered a symbol. I felt the power within that symbol, and in a moment of crisis, I summoned 'Him'..."

"I saw under the massive dark spires, a cloaked shadow stood, whose head was an irregular black mass, with eyes blinking green light."

"Under that massive cloak, I saw black bat wings, and countless Incubi suckling Milk, fluttering about like gaping chicks..."

"I felt the warmth of a mother's embrace; I desperately wanted to escape from the dangerous Hell and return to 'His' arms, to receive 'His' blessings, so I saw myself sprouting wings as well, flying closer and closer to 'Him'..."

"I became one of those Incubi, feeling 'His' Milk flowing into my stomach, replacing all of my blood, making me feel serene and happy..."

"When I woke up, I found all my wounds were healed, and from then on, every night, I could see Him, wandering in His embrace..."

"Later I realized when I saw 'Him' in my dreams, my blood would leave me to devour other human's Souls, drowning them..."

"The name of 'Him' lingered in my mind—'Ipo Zettel'."