Beltira's words plunged Gawain and Bercetia into thought at the same time. It was like a flash of light, suddenly guiding Gawain's attention to certain details he had not noticed before amid the chaotic, tangled clues—
If those cultists deep within the wasteland were no longer "human," no longer concerned with the "great plan" carried out by their brethren beyond the wasteland, no longer concerned with the outside world, then why would they continue cooperating with the actions of the "external church"? And since they had continued cooperating with the external church for seven hundred years, that meant...
"They had been providing us with data all along, even helping us infiltrate the Sentinel Towers. For centuries, they acted like loyal colleagues, which made us overlook the abnormalities lurking beneath the surface. We never considered whether such 'brethren,' physically and mentally mutated as they were, still shared values similar to ours," Beltira's voice came from beside him. "Not until False God's Body lost control and everything turned to ashes, the church beyond the wall collapsed, and I finally had the chance to stand here, calm down, and think without interruption, did I have the chance to see the problem clearly..."
"They weren't helping you. They were only helping themselves," Gawain said gravely. "The only explanation for their cooperation all these years is that this 'cooperation' benefited them, or that you possessed something worth exploiting... Think carefully. Among all your plans, what might those cultists deep in the wasteland have been able to use? That may help us uncover their purpose."
"Too many things: bioengineering, environmental modification, divine factors, godspawn... We carried out too many projects, and every one of them could have been useful to them," Beltira said thoughtfully. "The environments inside and outside the wasteland are completely different, which means