The Demon Hunters and Dr. William were convinced that the professor was connected to the dark organization in some capacity. His mysterious disappearance was one issue; the fact that they had discovered he, like Aros and the terrorist who bombed the police station, had been involved with a satanist group in his youth was another reason for suspicion. Of course, having a satanist past, or even continuing to hold such beliefs, did not automatically make someone guilty of a crime.

The structure they referred to as the dark organization was unlike any other known terrorist group. A typical terrorist organization could easily be described as originating from the political left or right…

Although organizations may share the same ultimate aims—to divide a country, destroy its unity, kill innocent people, and cultivate an atmosphere of fear and chaos—they despise one another, and cannot even tolerate being mentioned side by side. Many terrorism experts point out that, whether rooted in the right or the left, all terror organizations possess similar traits.

The core arguments of their ideologies can easily become bargaining chips. Their propaganda seeks recruits through narratives built on injustice and inequality. They target those who are financially weak and mentally underdeveloped. They keep members ready for action at all times through emotional rhetoric devoid of logic. They cultivate a myth of leadership—heroes whose absence would shatter the entire structure. They build camps in remote, unforgiving places, not merely for training, but to push individuals toward a state where death begins to look like a release. And many other shared attributes could be listed.

After explaining all these truths to Dr. William, Mark added:

“Normally, right-wing and left-wing organizations would never come together under the same roof. What we are facing now overturns every rule. Look—here we have a professor who never believed in the existence of God, who sees life as a chain of coincidences, and is willing to kill to spread that belief. And in the same structure we find Leheb, who, despite believing in God, targets people he labels as infidels or apostates simply because of slight doctrinal disagreements. How can such opposites march arm in arm under what we call a dark organization? I cannot comprehend it.”

“But we know that a right-wing party and a left-wing party can form a government together,” Süleyman said.

Mark shook his head from side to side.
“Is that really what you meant to say? How can you place a terror organization that legitimizes murder in the same category as political parties that promise peace and prosperity, and operate within the bounds of law?” he asked.
Süleyman paid the price of speaking thoughtlessly with a face flushed by embarrassment.

When the security guard at the Forensic Institute approached them, the group returned to their actual task and began to listen.
“I was relieved when I saw Professor Berisha walk in as if nothing had happened,” the guard began.

“He told me he’d had some serious issues, and that where he had gone there was no phone signal, so he couldn’t notify us. I couldn’t interrogate him, so I simply said, ‘I’m sorry to hear that, sir.’
He first asked about Maxi. I told him Maxi had left and you had arrived instead. Then he asked about you. I said I didn’t know, but that you would be returning because Leheb’s interrogation was ongoing and it wasn’t clear where he would be sent. Then he asked about Leheb. As always, I told him he was in the dungeon cell.”

The guard displayed the camera footage from different parts of the building, showing the sections where the professor and Leheb had been. Everything was painfully clear.
The moment Professor Berisha entered the building, he descended to the basement. He went straight to the cell where Leheb was held and opened the door.
Footage of the two exiting together through the back door made everything plain.

Süleyman asked the guard to rewind the video. He froze the frame at the moment Leheb stepped out of the cell and said:
“Look at that, he’s smiling and saying something. Judging by the professor’s face, he didn’t like what he heard.”

They tried to decipher Leheb’s words from the movement of his lips.
“It looks like he’s saying something like, ‘Thank God, His help has arrived,’” said William.
Mark turned to him and replied:
“You see? These are people of two different worlds, and they rejoice in very different ways. Look— the professor actually winced at Leheb’s gratitude to God.”

“Didn’t the professor know he was Muslim or religious?” asked Süleyman.

“No,” Mark answered.
“He assumed Leheb only appeared religious because it was required of him, but in truth, Leheb believed his actions were a sacred duty.”

“They both thought the other shared the same ideas. But more than that, neither of them truly knows who sits at the top of their organization.”

“But the man I killed—Raşit—had a partner who was a radical priest. How could Raşit overlook such a contradiction? They’re not only from different religions, they also share a mindset that looks for opportunities to enslave or murder anyone outside their own faith. I don’t understand it. How does one not question such a contradiction? And we’re talking about a professor.”

Mark said, “The apparent reason, as I mentioned earlier, is that they assume each other to be religious agents, acting out the roles assigned by the organization. But, as you said, how can a professor fail to see what lurks behind the curtain? I think the real reason can be understood from an experience Süleyman and I went through ten years ago.”

Before William could ask, “What happened ten years ago that you keep bringing it up?”

Mark continued:

“The human mind programs its neurons according to the choices made through free will. Those who prioritize personal gain over cooperation, partisanship over justice, labels over character, and wealth and status over truth and perseverance, constantly reprogram their neural circuits, like a computer updating itself toward new goals and inclinations.

Some neuroscientists claim that each neuron functions like a bio-receptacle, capable of selecting good or bad electromagnetic waves based on its preferred frequency. If we consider that religious figures were exposed to such frequencies and wavelengths for a long time, causing mental blindness, then I would say this theory holds true.

Moreover, divine revelation speaks of hearts being sealed. So, I believe this scientific notion and that spiritual expression converge.

In short, because the Professor and Leheb cultivated misguided aims and philosophies, their minds tuned themselves to the frequency of evil, and their reason went blind.”

Dr. William could no longer contain himself and raised his voice:
“For God’s sake, will you tell me what happened ten years ago? Forgive me, but you sound like chickens clucking with no eggs in sight.”

Süleyman grinned and replied:
“We lay eggs so rare that only the wise can see them.”

Mark added, “There is a confidentiality order regarding the incident, and unnecessary knowledge only brings unnecessary trouble, so I cannot tell you everything. But I’ll tell you the part connected to what we’re dealing with now.”

“I don’t know how the author learned about it, but Adem Noah’s novel The Pearl of Sin: Haçaylar recounts exactly what we experienced. If you’re curious, read it there.”

“They even say the writer is some kind of creature. Judging by the name, he seems human, but where he comes from or where he lives is impossible to guess.”

“Anyway,” Mark said, returning to the matter at hand.

“Years ago, a researcher named Ricky traveled to the deserts of South Arabia, where the large ants lived, hoping to understand how they communicated through their antennae. Using a device he had built—capable of detecting frequencies beyond human hearing—he conducted research there for days.

I won’t go into detail, but I will say this: the man unknowingly made contact with the devil.”

Mark didn’t continue, not wanting the story to stretch on and derail the main discussion.
“The part that concerns us,” he said, “is that the man was killed by someone.”

“And that ‘someone’ is you—and that is why they call you the demon hunters,” William said.

Mark remained unfazed and continued:
“The relevance to us is this: when the man died, people assumed the devil died as well. They were mistaken.”

“How could you know whether it died or not?”

“We couldn’t,” Mark replied. “What I mean is that the devil was forced to leave the dimension we occupy.”

“And I still don’t see how this has anything to do with us,” William said.

Mark drew a deep breath.
“The man had a young son. He and his mother set out for a remote monastery, far from prying eyes. Just before reaching the monastery, their car was found at the bottom of a ravine. The bodies of the mother and the driver were found burned, but despite all searches, the child’s body was never recovered.

Years passed. No trace of him was ever found.”

After a brief silence, he added:
“The case was closed. Until Leheb’s number was deciphered.”

“Alright, while solving Aros’ riddle, you discovered that the 11-digit number Leheb gave corresponded to ‘MURPHY’ in the English alphabet. But how does that connect to the child?”

“That was the name of the boy’s father—Murphy. The boy— or rather, the devil—spent years preparing to take revenge. He built his dark organization, and designated its cipher as ‘Murphy.’”

“So, when the researcher Ricky fell under the devil’s influence, he changed his name to Murphy?” William asked.

Mark answered with a single word:
“Yes.”

Süleyman and Mark felt their skin crawl, as if they were reliving the events of ten years ago.
Süleyman glanced at the relic of that final day—a prosthetic replacing the leg that had been shattered—and remembered the struggle with the demon.

A call on his phone dragged him back into the present.
Seeing Maxi’s name on the screen, he immediately assumed the matter concerned Leheb, and answered without hesitation.

“So who gave you the nickname ‘Demon Hunters’?” Maxi teased, then asked, “Does your man Leheb have a twin?”

“Not that I know of. Did he escape from here, or did you catch him?”

“You know I’m working in border security now. Our guys raided a suspicious house, and they caught him. If we hadn’t arrived in time, he would’ve bled out.”

“What do you mean? Did you injure him, or did someone else?”

“Brace yourself. My answer will surprise you,” Maxi said.
“It must have been Professor Berisha from the Institute who stabbed him.”

“What happened to him? Did you catch him? If he stabbed Leheb, he must be alive somewhere,” Süleyman said.

“We’ll never know,” Maxi replied.
“The man opened fire on the police during the raid. He died in the shootout. Judging from the fake ID and passport he carried, he was planning to leave the country—either through illegal channels or under someone else’s identity. But what could have happened between the two of them? Why stab him? And not just a minor wound—without us, he would’ve died.”

Süleyman exchanged a meaningful look with Mark and William.
“We know the reason,” he said.
“They realized they could never stand side by side once they learned each other’s true ideology. Which means neither of them joined for money or power—they joined for a cause.”

After receiving treatment, Leheb recovered, and Maxi took him along, heading back to the Forensic Institute.

Mark, however, insisted that the task he had assigned Süleyman be carried out without fail.

“You know the type. Nothing we do will make him talk. And then we’ll have to deal with bizarre brain disorders—confabulation, amygdala absence… we won’t even know if he’s telling the truth or lying. I don’t want another puzzle adventure. As I said, we need to prepare a surprise for him here. And pray that the surprise works in our favor.”

To ensure nothing was left to chance, Süleyman immediately set out to find the people he needed.
Meanwhile, Maxi arrived at the institute with Leheb. The moment Dr. William and Mark saw him, they escorted him straight to the MRI room.

They began studying Leheb’s brain scans on the screen before them. Dr. William examined the frontal, axial, and sagittal sections with clinical precision.

During the scan, however, Leheb kept moving—deliberately distorting the image clarity. Both Mark and Dr. William had suspected he would try something, and the scans confirmed their doubts.

His efforts to conceal himself were useless. The beating he received during the scan, and being tied down with ropes, were the only things he gained from the attempt.

After reviewing the images repeatedly, Dr. William said:

“There is nothing abnormal in this man’s brain. His frontal lobe is intact, and so is his amygdala. There is no pathological formation, nor evidence of surgical removal.”

“So you’re saying there’s nothing that could cause epilepsy. You said parts of the brain are sometimes removed during treatment.”

“No. His brain looks immaculate. I’m wondering if there’s a tiny abnormality I’m simply missing.” He measured densities across different areas of the brain, yet none of the values deviated from standard averages.

“Could there be a mistake—during the scan or reconstruction—that caused you to misinterpret the results?” Mark asked.

“I know MRI machines very well. Every original image must be stored here—unless the professor deleted them. If we can retrieve the raw images he captured, we’ll have our answer.”

Mark recalled that the cybercrime unit could recover deleted files from seized computers and phones. After a few calls, a digital forensics officer arrived and, with specialized software, restored all deleted data.

When Dr. William reconstructed the raw MRI files and examined the slices again, he said:

“These images are normal as well. There is no difference between these and the ones we captured today.”

The forensic specialist said, “Gentlemen, I’ve found new images—and a deleted program—that I think will interest you,” and began explaining through the visuals on the screen.

“This image is the original scan. And the one next to it is the edited version—the final product. In short, the man used an image-manipulation program to fabricate fake MRI results.”

“There are phone apps that add moustaches or beards to photos. So you’re saying the professor used software like that, but instead modified the scan to make it look as though part of the frontal lobe and amygdala had been removed,” Mark said, trying to articulate what he understood.

“Exactly,” replied the specialist.

“Your deceitful professor saved the doctored images on the computer and attached them to Leheb’s MRI report. He deleted the originals. And because no one imagined the professor capable of such fraud, everyone—including the doctors who saw the scans—believed that Leheb was ill.”

Seeing that the MRI images were fabricated, Mark voiced the possibility that came to his mind:

“Could Aros’s MRI also be fake? Does he actually have an amygdala?”

Dr. William examined the newly captured scan of Aros, taken in prison, and said:

“These images show that Aros does not have an amygdala—and there is no tampering.”

He added,
“The fact that the dark organization actually performed brain surgery on Aros, just to deliver instructions to Berry, shows how dangerous they are.”

Mark shook his head.
“Their main purpose was to strip Aros of fear—to ensure he delivered the mission without hesitation. And they had another goal.”

“When Süleyman and I learned that Aros had undergone brain surgery, we never questioned whether Leheb suffered from confabulation. They wanted us to believe in his condition. They couldn’t afford risks. That’s why they didn’t forge Aros’s scan. They needed it real.”

After thinking for a while, Mark slowly nodded, like a student who had just found the answer to a difficult question.

“There’s nothing mysterious about it. The professor somehow knew the organization would send instructions through a fake patient with confabulation. Considering that every mentally unstable refugee is brought to this forensic institute, it would have been impossible for Professor Berisha not to see Leheb and examine him.

From his answers, he realized that Leheb was faking the condition. In order to diagnose a fabricated case of confabulation and prepare the report, he didn’t let the technician conduct the MRI—he did it himself, which was unusual.

That way, he gained the opportunity to alter the images.

The force behind this plan had calculated that we would be assigned to something bizarre like confabulation. In other words, they deliberately drew Süleyman and me into this mess,” Mark said, summarizing the situation, then looked at Dr. William.

“You were right. The organization delivered its orders through Leheb, but they also planned to take revenge on you and us.”

“The kid isn’t exactly wrong—you did kill his father,” William said, half teasing.

Mark replied in kind,
“And was it your place, as a doctor, to expose the fossils as fakes? You brought this on yourself.”

But William gave an answer Mark did not expect:

“If God is pleased, and if I’m certain it benefits people, what else matters?”

Mark felt as though he recognized those words from somewhere.
Despite the insistence of his frontal lobe, the memory center remained silent, offering nothing.

At that moment, Süleyman entered the room—accompanied as if by an entire tribe.