Chapter 2854: Demonic Forbidden Zone (Part 14)

The group discussion time soon ended, and Greed pushed up his glasses, saying, "Now each discipline will start to present their consultative opinions, starting with psychoanalysis."

The arrogant demeanor remained unchanged; he barely glanced at the materials in his hands, simply pausing to think, and then said, "There really isn't much to analyze about Martha's psyche. She can only be described as a rather traditional woman with an elite educational background, a wealthy wife, and a mother doting on her son."

"Her background in elite education made her value etiquette and rules highly, upholding them strictly and conducting herself with a sense of propriety and discipline. After marrying Thomas, she went along with her husband, not interfering with the general business direction of Wayne Enterprises, but with her good educational background, she was able to provide Thomas with some useful advice and significant emotional support."

"She was undoubtedly a woman fond of children, placing high hopes on her unborn child, filled with love and expectation. As for her religious beliefs, she didn't show a particular leaning. Even though she appeared devout for the sake of socializing, she was more inclined towards atheism at heart."

Greed suddenly tapped the table with his documents and said, "You really like to pad out your answer, huh? Get to the point!"

"Fine. Based on the state that Martha displayed in her hotel room, one could tell that she had been experiencing long-term anxiety. I mean, at that point in time, she wasn't really panicking; in fact, she even felt secure," he said.

This was an answer that seemed counterintuitive. The other personality traits looked at Arrogant, knowing well that most of the time, psychoanalysis could be baseless, but they were aware that if Arrogant said so, he must be certain he could persuade the others.

"Let's go over the timeline first." Arrogant suddenly raised a finger and said, "When do you think Martha went to the hotel during the course of her illness?"

"Perhaps it was during the initial anxiety phase when she discovered the monster," Greed suggested a possibility, saying, "At that time, although Martha was somewhat tired, her mental state was still decent; she didn't show any clear symptoms of mania, indicating that her condition hadn't deteriorated yet."

"No, on the contrary," Arrogant proposed an entirely opposite opinion, saying, "It's very likely that Martha went to the hotel when her condition had deteriorated to an irreversible stage."

"Why?" Greed asked with a frown. As an experienced psychologist, he preferred to judge based on experience in diagnosis and treatment because he had to be responsible for his patients.

Experience told him that Martha's condition at that time indeed didn't seem to be very severe, as Greed had seen far too many patients who were beyond help, and they didn't act that way.

Yet Arrogant insisted and shook his head, saying, "I can tell you very responsibly that her state wasn't because she wasn't severely ill, but because she had healed."

"I know you're wondering how an ordinary person could possess such Self Healing Power. I even doubt that the psychologists Martha could have accessed in that era had the ability to fully heal her."

"But don't forget, as you said, this isn't entirely a mental illness. The monster is real, an actual existence that is the root of all anomalies."

"The fundamental reason why ordinary mental patients can't heal themselves is because the monster doesn't really exist; it only exists in their hallucinations. The monster won't leave on its own if they don't recover," he continued.

"But Martha is different from them. The monster she faced was real, meaning if the monster left, the root of her morbidity would be gone, and Martha could enjoy normal life, making self-healing not impossible," he explained.

Suddenly, murmurs arose from below, as everyone started discussing this possibility. At that moment, a person dressed in a Wizard's robe, Shiller, spoke up, "Are you suggesting that Nyarlathotep left, and why?"

"That's something you all should answer," Arrogant said: "Dealing with these abnormal creatures is your job; I'm just telling you from a psychoanalytical perspective what Martha's true state was."

"Wait, I'm not done yet," Arrogant interrupted the person from the Magic Side about to speak, saying, "I'm certain that Martha felt a degree of security in the hotel room. But if you analyze carefully, she must have paid a price for the security she had then, which is why she had that long-term anxiety."

"Trading the future for the present is a common tactic in gambling, so those who do so possess a sort of resolute gambler's psyche. I've seen this trait in Martha," he added.

"Considering what I mentioned earlier, Martha is actually more of a traditional mother. The presence of such a gambler's psyche in her is quite strange, for it doesn't match her educational background and family environment," he deduced.

"Neither the Kane family nor the Wayne Family would teach Martha to be a gambler because they have no need to do so; both families are more in need of a steward, guarding their existing resources. If they had an heir too impetuous, only seeking to gain more from less, it would spell disaster," he opined.

"So where does Martha's gambler's psyche come from? That's the main reason I say Martha wasn't seriously ill but had recovered. Such an ordeal can fundamentally change a person," he said.

"If she hadn't been through it, she would have had no reason to develop such a gambler's psyche, unless something forced her to make a last stand. From her everyday life, apart from an actual monster beyond theory pressuring her to this extent, I can't think of any other possibility," he concluded.

"Something new has emerged within Martha's personality," Arrogance spread his palm as if to illustrate. He said, "The impact on her character is quite profound, it's as if the flame of the soul had been reignited. I prefer to call it a great maternity, a force I often see in Wanda."

When Wanda's name was mentioned, everyone's expressions became grave, clearly recognizing the character traits of the Scarlet Witch to be incredibly strong and powerful.

"Martha has completely transformed," Arrogance finally said. "She has survived a terrible disaster and likely used her wisdom to win a small battle, or rather, in a battle that was utterly unequal, her frail body managed to gain a small respite for herself."

"The opponent may think of Martha as a fragile, ordinary person, allowing her a brief respite without affecting their own plan, but these extramundane beings hardly understand what kind of mighty being such great maternity could create."

"The actions Martha took in the hotel were not the result of an erratic attack during a mental breakdown, but were rather calculated, making the most of the precious breathing space to mount her final form of resistance, imbued with astonishing power."

"This is not a disaster, but a masterpiece," Arrogance said, raising his voice slightly, "just like what we once were."

The meeting room fell silent briefly, clearly recalling the Bishop's metaphors. They were born from a great pregnancy, and Martha was a true mother. The abnormality fostered by her final power could not solely be horror and strangeness; it must also contain her resistance, and perhaps even her vengeance.

From this perspective, the hotel cannot be simply interpreted as a contaminated site; it may be part of some plan of Martha's.

If all the anomalies in the hotel are seen as the work of a behind-the-scenes manipulator, it is easy to conclude that the delicate yet fragile balance there is no coincidence, but was deliberately designed to be so.

If it is indeed Martha who has fashioned the hotel this way, with the aim of resistance and revenge, then within this delicate balance there must be secrets lurking, which might be the key to solving the hotel's problems.

"Let's now talk about Little Bruce," Arrogance continued. "Since I haven't seen him in the hotel, I can't judge his current mental state, but there's something I've been pondering. Is Batman really taking the chase by the Joker that seriously?"

Greed, who had also thought about this question, said, "The fundamental problem with Little Bruce is that he is not pure enough. He wants to use the power of the Evil God to solve Gotham's contamination, but in reality, he doesn't truly want to be subservient to the Evil God, nor does he want to accept the Evil God's methods."

"It's evident that although this Batman does kill, he is also an anti-hero like Night Devil. His goal is still to save people, but I don't think he can be as indifferent to killing as the Punisher, because under the premise of Gotham's contamination, criminals can also be innocent. Without the contamination, who knows if they might be good people?"

"So I think Little Bruce is so distressed because he always harbors a sense of guilt," Greed scribbled on the paper, and then said, "Even if Jerome is just doing his job, or simply trying to trouble Batman, and his actions aren't all that noble, he still avoids conflict as much as possible, even feeling ashamed to use the name Batman."

But Arrogance shook his head and said, "I think you're still being too empirical. If it were the ordinary Batman, maybe that would be the case. But don't forget, his mother Martha may have been contaminated during pregnancy. Could the child born from that really be normal?"

"I've observed Little Bruce's behavior patterns before. At that time, he was still quite young with an undeveloped personality, but he was already extremely irritable. His emotions were not stable. Although he claimed he was pretending, I could see that his personality was on a downward trajectory."

"Collaborating with the Evil God could just be a manifestation of his personality issues. He thinks he has the capability, but in reality, most Batmans would not take such a risk. This inclination towards more extreme choices is actually very covert, but I believe it's precisely the best way to influence a person's destiny."

Greed looked towards Manipulation, who was seated at the far end, flipping through notes on paper—memories from a more distant past, days from when Little Bruce was at the Magic Academy.

Soon, Manipulation spoke up.

"This Batman may indeed have inherited some genes that predispose him to emotional instability, but his decision to collaborate with the Evil God must have come after being subjected to even more hidden influences after his birth."

Almost all the personalities perked up their ears.

"What do you think? If all this is Martha's plan, and she deliberately left behind brainwaves, where would she let her ghost wander?"

Greed instinctively wanted to answer the hotel, because that's where the anomalies were now appearing, and Martha had been to the hotel, but Manipulation seemed to think otherwise.

"The problem still lies with Wayne Manor."