"?" Anthony could not help turning back to glance at Alice. He felt as though he had heard something utterly blasphemous—as evidenced by the air stained with night.
Alice stopped walking and stood where she was, covering her mouth with a hand.
Anthony stood stiffly in place. At that moment, he deeply regretted not stopping Alice when she had insisted on coming down with him, though he did not think he could have stopped her.
Fortunately, covering her mouth worked. The night dissipated amid the silence. Alice sighed in relief, lowered her hand, and only spoke to Anthony after vigilantly scanning the area.
"Let's go."
This isn't something I can interfere with... Anthony opened his mouth, gave up on warning her, and turned to leave.
After returning to the upper level, Anthony vaguely said to the others, "The intruder may indeed have died after coming into contact with the Sealed Artifact."
After bringing up the matter vaguely, he offered no explanation and instead ordered:
"No matter what, this matter must be thoroughly investigated. The intruder likely had accomplices!
"To infiltrate St. Samuel's Church without causing much of a disturbance means the target was very familiar with this place, with the recent rotation schedule of the Internal Watchers, and with the handover process of the Nighthawks. They also possessed an ability or item for changing appearance. Furthermore, they received help from a Beyonder holding a holy item of the Darkness Pathway—or that holy item belonged to them.
"Taking all those conditions into account, investigate whether any servants or priests were subjected to inconspicuous spirit mediumship or manipulation. Investigate whether any bishops have betrayed the Goddess. Investigate the regular churchgoers and the districts where those believers live. Perhaps they did not leak information intentionally, but had it stolen from them. As for