Give Them a Little Banshee Shock

"Castel ran into some minor trouble before, so the cathedral's design might be somewhat unique." Nini did not explain in detail and instead seemed somewhat evasive.

Helena narrowed her eyes and carefully examined the fortress walls. Sure enough, she soon found something.

The fortress walls varied in age. Some sections had clearly been repaired, but repairs always left oversights.

Helena quickly found several inconspicuous marks at the base of the wall—scratches and puncture marks.

It seemed this place really had seen battle.

But this place...

Helena raised her head and swept her gaze around. This was practically the core of Castel, with even more concrete fortifications outside. If the flames of war had reached all the way here...

Helena crouched down, extended a hand, and pressed hard against the concrete where the scratches were.

She could not scratch it.

Her brows rose. She increased the force in her hand, gouging a small amount from the sturdy concrete, but blood also seeped from her fingers.

Helena paid it no mind. She crushed the concrete she had gouged out, then lowered her head to look at the scratches she had left behind.

Her scratches were extremely shallow. The old scratches beside them were at least twice as deep, while the puncture holes were so deep she could not see their bottoms.

Helena's expression turned grave.

Without drawing attention, she walked over to Ignati, handed him the bloodstained concrete in her hand, and pointed at the scratches on the wall.

"Patriarch."

Some of the Buriers nearby had also noticed what was unusual about the fortress. After a discreet exchange, the Buriers of the Silent Temple all looked at the fortress with complicated expressions.

"Are all your cathedrals like this?"

"Empire Truth's are like this, though not quite this extreme. This is Castel, after