Mon3tr, which had been eager for action for a while, used its sharp claws and the barbed hooks on its tail simultaneously the moment it appeared, tearing the people closest to it and the tentacles behind Kal'tsit completely to shreds.
The blood turned into a fine mist that filled the air, making the already salty ocean stench in the town hall even more unbearable.
Because Kal'tsit was positioned near the main entrance, with Mon3tr's agile figure and sharp claws, it completely blocked the doorway. Nobody had a chance to escape through the front entrance, and the surviving Abyssal Cultists went from excitement to shock, then to panic, scrambling toward the back of the town hall.
From the dark corners and adjacent rooms, various bizarre-looking creatures continuously poured out, rushing toward Kal'tsit's location while covered in disgusting slime.
Ten minutes later, Kal'tsit, who had been motionless like a statue, finally raised her head to look in the direction of the back hall. Surrounding her, the bizarre creatures from the deep sea littered the entire hall. Only Mon3tr became extremely excited after a satisfying slaughter; it waved its dual claws and walked in front, clearing a path for Kal'tsit.
"Nice Originium Arts. I'd guess this directly connected the entire town hall to somewhere in the ocean, which is why there were so many deep-sea things!"
Walking to the back hall and finding that those who had been arrogant earlier were now huddling together in despair and shivering, Kal'tsit spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
Seeing that the one entering was not the "deep-sea brethren" they had hoped for, but rather the enemy's terrifying monster, everyone showed expressions of horror.
"What a pity. This kind of art must have its own flaws. Let me guess! Well, while maintaining this spell, you probably have no way of leaving this place either!" Kal'tsit folded her arms and gently tapped the Originium Particles on her shoulder.
"So why not just be decent people instead of going to worship monsters that aren't even beasts!" Under Kal'tsit's command, Mon3tr began the final slaughter. For these "Abyssal Cultists," since she had already made a move, Kal'tsit had no intention of leaving any survivors.
"Monster! You have the nerve to call us monsters, what about you! Hahahahaha, you're not human either! You'll die too, and the final victory will surely belong to the deep sea!" Finding that they could not escape, those people looked at Kal'tsit with hateful gazes, letting out a final roar before death.
"Noisy!" Facing the bloody scene before her, Kal'tsit's eyes didn't show a single ripple. The situation in Rock Bay Town was even worse than she had imagined, and she just wondered how things were over at the monastery.
Of course, she wasn't worried that Kanna would get into trouble; rather, she worried that Kanna would act without thinking and strike too ruthlessly, giving the opponent an opportunity to make a fuss.
Accompanied by the death of the very last person, a terrifying roar echoed from the dark place. Then the air gradually grew dry, and the light shining in from the windows was no longer dim. The spell surrounding the town hall finally ended, and Kal'tsit and Mon3tr returned to the Rock Bay Town hall.
The flesh and clothing torn apart by Mon3tr also remained forever in that mysterious deep sea along with the disappearance of the spell.
Turning around to walk back to the hall, just as Kal'tsit expected, there were no corpses left here, because all living life had been purged by her. The hall became exceptionally empty and desolate. Feeling the light falling from overhead, Kal'tsit closed her eyes and bathed in it. After a long while, she slowly opened her eyes and walked outside. At this time, the bizarre odor inside the town hall was completely gone, leaving only a clean, empty space...
After stepping outside, she found that it was already afternoon, and there were no other guards or management around, so she hadn't faced any questioning or interrogation when she came out.
Originally, she had been prepared to return to the monastery after coming out, but at this point, a sensation that made her feel rather uncomfortable came from the direction of the ocean. She looked up at the orderly lives of the Rock Bay Town residents around her, turned around, and walked toward the lighthouse once more.
On the other side, having waited until the afternoon without seeing Kal'tsit return, Ilena felt a bit uneasy. She went up to the third floor to find Kanna.
Kanna looked at Dona sitting inside like a wooden figure, then walked out the door.
"Don't worry, Sister Ilena, Kal'tsit isn't as weak as you think! Compared to Kal'tsit, I feel like the people downstairs are the ones about to lose their patience."
As time dragged on longer and longer, the atmosphere within the crowd grew increasingly oppressive. Coupled with the Abyssal Cultists weaving through and colluding within it, although the situation in the square currently looked passable, it was actually like a powder keg filled with gunpowder, needing only a tiny spark to detonate the crowd.
"Do you have any ideas?" Hearing Kanna's words, Ilena looked at the square below and also felt it was somewhat troublesome. Although she temporarily suppressed the situation using her identity as an inquisitor, she was ultimately an outsider here and completely lacked a trustworthy person, so she currently relied entirely on the prestige accumulated by inquisitors over the years to keep the present situation down.
However, this kind of suppression wouldn't last long; as soon as the opponent discovered her weakness, it would be very easy for them to seize the initiative.
"First of all, let Lucy pick two people to clean up the corpses. Leaving them lying there like that means everyone can see them. After all, there are still quite a few ordinary people, and naturally people's hearts can't stay calm when standing alongside corpses." Kanna had also observed the situation downstairs for a long time during this period, which was why she dared to offer suggestions.
"Why Lucy? Isn't this person an enemy?" Ilena was somewhat puzzled.
"Although they're all enemies, they're a group of people rather than a single individual, so they're bound to have their own thoughts, right? Didn't you notice? That Lucy has always stood at the very outer edge of the group. Judging by how quickly she could order two people to murder that innocent nun, I certainly don't think she's just an ordinary opponent. Logically speaking, she should at least be someone in lower-middle management. Since she's in management, instead of being inside with the others trying to figure out how to deal with us, she's constantly stayed outside, acting as if she's deliberately avoiding something. Don't you think there's a problem with that?"
Kanna motioned for Ilena to look toward the direction of the crowd and spoke.
Hearing this, Ilena recalled the events, and it was indeed as Kanna said. Ever since everyone had gathered, she had seen Lucy pass before her eyes more than once, looking like a helpful assistant cooperating with her to manage this gathered group of people.
Chapter 117: Divide and Conquer
"As for these people in the square, how do you think it would be to have Brother Malfo organize and manage them?" Kanna looked at the restless crowd and spoke.
Hearing Kanna's words, Ilena was startled for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. Given the current situation, this really could be considered a good method. After all, given Ilena's status, she was running out of ways to suppress these people, so if she wanted to keep the crowd obediently staying put, she had to rely on their own people.
Moreover, Dean Green was likely connected to the "Abyssal Church," so he was clearly not within Ilena's scope of consideration, and she wasn't familiar with anyone else.
The only person among everyone present whom she understood to a degree and who openly had conflicts with the other higher-ups was Brother Malfo.
The fact that he could manage a massive choir that frequently changed members and still hold a high rank within the church proved that his administrative capabilities were definitely exceptional. Coupled with the fact that during the daytime conflict, it was obvious his relationship with the others wasn't very good, having him manage things could be considered the best possible choice.
As for whether he might be a covert plant deliberately sent by the other side, Ilena didn't need to consider this aspect; even if Malfo was the opponent's person, her current situation wouldn't become any worse than it already was. But if he wasn't, then he would become an important pillar of support for her subsequent actions.
Thinking of this, Ilena glanced at Kanna sideways. She hadn't expected that this little one, who looked silly on the surface and often liked to infuriate people half to death, possessed such scheming depths, coupled with her extraordinary strength. No wonder Kal'tsit kept her by her side.
Thinking of this, she pushed off with her legs, landing lightly on the ground amidst the gasps of the people in the square.
Seeing the inquisitor land and walk over without changing expression, the noise within the crowd quieted down a lot, clearly stunned by her move.
Walking up to the crowd, following Kanna's previous suggestion, she briskly arranged for Lucy to lead two monks, one male and one female, to clean up the corpses downstairs and in the upper corridors.
Then she called out Brother Malfo from the crowd—a man looking weathered and seemingly beaten down by the morning's events to the point of not having recovered yet—and appointed him as her deputy to help manage the crowd in the square amidst everyone's astonished gazes.
Hearing this, Malfo prepared to refuse, but before he could, Ilena spoke up. "What is this? Are you expecting Dean Green, an old man approaching seventy, to do the work? As a member of the Rock Bay Town monastery, don't you have any sense of responsibility at all!"
Instead of being alarmed when Malfo refused, Ilena was inwardly delighted. Clearly, judging by his expression and tone, he hadn't been "contaminated" yet. In the current situation, every person advantageous to her own side appeared crucial, and thus she rebuked him unceremoniously.
Hearing Ilena's words, Malfo opened his mouth and didn't retort further. As for the ordinary people among the rest of the crowd, they completely agreed with this, because firstly, Malfo, as a high-ranking figure here, had lived in Rock Bay Town for several decades, and everyone was familiar with him. Moreover, the younger generation had mostly dealt with him and his choir, leaving them with an exceptionally good impression, and he was also a popular candidate among the populace to succeed Dean Green after the latter's retirement.
However, the Abyssal Cultists in the crowd felt a trace of ominous foreboding.
Although this Malfo was also a member of the "Abyssal Church," he had zero interest in spreading faith or corrupting the populace, pouring his heart and soul entirely into his damned music.
Because of this, his relationship with other believers of the "Abyssal Church" wasn't very good. This election hadn't originally considered him; he was only placed among the choices "temporarily" because of his high popularity. Originally, they had planned to make this person disappear for a period of time or suffer some "flaw" to lose his qualification before electing a new dean, but they hadn't expected that at this critical juncture, Inquisitor Ilena and her party would suddenly arrive, forcing them to temporarily postpone the plan.
As a result, the man had caught the eye of the inquisitor.
Although they believed Malfo wouldn't easily reveal the secrets of the "Abyssal Church," precisely because he had little communication with their faction, he was very likely to unwittingly trip them up during the upcoming operations.
"Tonight, taking advantage of the dark, I'll go find Malfo to talk. This inquisitor must be driven away, and we must resolve Dona as quickly as possible; otherwise, in the event of exposure, everyone dies!"
Because Ilena's words had been heard by everyone, Green had no way to stand up and say he would continue managing this big family, because denying Malfo's capability in front of so many people would only expose his own faction even faster. After a brief internal deliberation, he decided to contact Malfo under the cover of night. He had to make the other party join his side's plan; otherwise, the longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable the situation would become for them.
Little did the people standing down below know that all their actions were being observed by the little cub sitting on the balcony railing, holding a cup and drinking glup-glup-glup with a grin.
Amidst this noisy crowd, although Kanna couldn't hear what they were saying, knowing who the opponents were allowed her to stare at the people around that individual to see who exactly would contact him. Through their reactions during contact, Kanna easily locked onto most of the enemies within the crowd.
As for how she locked onto them, let's not forget that Kanna was capable of easily seeing two Originium slugs "fighting" clearly from several kilometers away; the lip movements of these people when speaking were crystal clear before her eyes.
She only needed to translate the general lip-reading content to obtain the corresponding intelligence. As for lip-reading, it was a skill Scout had taught her after losing several competitions previously. Although she wasn't very proficient at using it and the success rate was less than half, it was already completely sufficient to handle the current situation.
Standing above and looking at those petty actions she had clearly identified below, Kanna suddenly understood a saying she had once heard: "It's not that a teacher doesn't know what small actions students are doing in the classroom; a lot of the time, they simply can't be bothered to care."
As the sky grew increasingly dark, Ilena had no choice but to arrange for everyone to enter the monastery; otherwise, with the sea breeze blowing at night, it was likely that quite a few people would catch a cold by tomorrow with just a single night.
Food was also a major problem. In the end, after consulting with Malfo, he arranged for several gardeners and cooks to prepare dinner in the back for everyone. In his words, the monastery itself was an important wartime reserve center in the town, and the food here was completely sufficient for the current population to eat for several months, so there was no need to purchase anything from the outside.
Because quite a few nearby residents who came to the monastery had been detained, and many people had come to inquire upon seeing that their families hadn't returned when mealtime arrived, Ilena was currently standing at the entrance with her weapon to deal with these incoming residents.
The reason she chose to do it herself was also because she didn't know whether there were heretics hidden among the crowd.
Chapter 118: Convergence and Schemes
Only by personally sitting here and cutting off the connection between the monastery and the outside world could she ensure the situation inside wouldn't be exposed externally.
Thus, even if the opponent knew something was wrong with the monastery, without knowing the cause and result of the problem, it bought Ilena enough time to arrange subsequent matters.
Before nightfall, Kal'tsit finally returned to the monastery.
Looking at the closed gates, Kal'tsit's expression wasn't too grim. After all, since she herself had been attacked outside, whatever Kanna and Ilena encountered inside was well within her expectations.
Judging from Ilena standing guard at the front gate like a temple guardian with a cold face, their condition was fairly decent.
As for Kanna, she wasn't worried; based on her understanding, if the little one were truly angered, the one suffering losses definitely wouldn't be their side.
Seeing Kal'tsit walk in, Ilena breathed a sigh of relief. Although Kanna maintained an indifferent attitude, Kal'tsit had been out for so long without any news, and Ilena had been extremely anxious.
The two exchanged words about the day's events, and Ilena said in shock, "Then you killed everyone in the town hall?"
Kal'tsit nodded. "Obviously, that spell could only be lifted if one of the two sides completely perished. Fortunately, those 'Sea Creatures' didn't count among the opponents, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to get out either."
Ilena couldn't imagine how Kal'tsit, a Feline who looked so soft and delicate, managed to completely wipe out an entire town hall along with countless supporting Sea Creatures.
"What about on your end?"
Since Ilena was standing here, it proved that things hadn't been entirely quiet at the monastery; rather, the news had simply been blocked and hadn't spread outward.
"Things haven't been too problematic on our side, all things considered." Ilena informed Kal'tsit one by one about the nun's death and Kanna's subsequent actions. Kal'tsit rubbed her chin and nodded.
"You guys did well. Based on my observations, the two largest strongholds of the enemies in Rock Bay Town are the town hall and this monastery. The town hall has already been cleared out by me, so the majority of the remaining people on their side should be right here."
"But with so many people disappearing from the town hall, won't it cause panic?" Ilena said worriedly.
"That's for certain. As far as I know, you should have communication methods to contact the outside world, and you couldn't possibly have gone this long without contacting them! The upcoming situation isn't something the two or three of us can resolve simply." Kal'tsit was somewhat speechless regarding the current situation; originally, she had only wanted to conduct a secret investigation and let the inquisitor resolve the local matters herself, but it had ended up requiring her to take direct action.
Ilena nodded. "I already contacted Lord 'Saint' this afternoon, and he has arranged for the Grand Inquisitor and an inquisitorial band to come reinforce us, but according to him, the closest ones won't be able to rush over until tomorrow noon."
Kal'tsit breathed a sigh of relief. Since "Saint Carmen" had arranged for reinforcements, their group only needed to hold out for one night. The difficulty of this dropped significantly.
"Still, we can't lower our guard. The matter at the town hall can't be concealed and will definitely spread here. If the cultists inside find out the town hall is gone, there's no telling what crazy actions they might take, so we must be careful tonight. By the way, where is Kanna?"
Ilena pointed toward the third floor. "Since the church side had no alternatives, it's being managed by their own people. Kanna is in Dona's room on the third floor. She said since she wanted to wait by the stump for a hare, she'd just station herself right by the stump."
Kal'tsit stretched her shoulders. "Then let her stay stationed there. With her strength, Dona won't have any problems. On the contrary, it's us and the ordinary people staying in the church—the longer it drags on, the greater the danger for us."
Just as the two were chatting at the entrance, a nun walked over with a nervous expression. Ilena frowned and looked closely; it was one of the two people Lucy had chosen earlier in the day to collect the corpses.
"Didn't it say everyone must stay inside their rooms? Why did you come out?"
The tip of the sword in Ilena's hand pointed straight at the other's brow.
"Brother Malfo sent me over. There are no dedicated resting supplies in the church, and he hopes to arrange for a few people to go to the dormitories to get some bedsheets. After all, there are quite a few elderly people in the church, and spending the night like this is likely to cause problems."
Hearing her words, Kal'tsit and Ilena exchanged a glance.
"It's Malfo's idea?"
"No, it should be Dean Green's. I saw him say something to Brother Malfo earlier, and then Brother Malfo had me come make the inquiry."
Hearing this, Ilena put away her weapon.
"That's right, Dean Green is so old; having him sleep in his clothes isn't proper. Tell Malfo to arrange for ten people—five men and five women—to go to the dormitories to fetch bedsheets, but they are not allowed to enter the third floor. Kal'tsit, could you trouble yourself to go guard the third floor?"
Kal'tsit nodded and walked toward the dormitories, while the nun panicked and hurried back inside the monastery.
Malfo was currently busy arranging nighttime matters, while Green had used the threat that "if the inquisitor discovers this, everyone dies" to force him to agree to the other party's request and ask Ilena for permission to go to the dormitories.
After all, Dona was in the dormitories. If their side couldn't even get past there, then there would be no way to carry out the assassination of Dona.
Before long, the person sent to find Ilena returned to the room, bringing back news favorable to the "church": the other side had agreed that their faction could go fetch bedsheets, but only ten people were permitted to go.
Green and his subordinates looked at each other, then spoke in low voices with murderous intent in their eyes.
"That inquisitor is currently guarding the entrance and definitely can't slip away. Up on the upper floor, aside from Dona, there's at most her friend and that little kid. Ten people from our side will launch a surprise attack, using arts to drag them down into the underground karst caves. Once inside the caves with so many Sea Creatures helping out, Dona and those two can't possibly be your match, and then you can directly use the effects of the arts to hide away in the subterranean caves. That way, even if the inquisitor realizes something is wrong, she won't find anyone."
Hearing Green's words, the others nodded in agreement.
"But aren't we not allowed to go to the third floor? There's no obstruction between the dorms and the main entrance; once someone heads to the third floor, it'll be very easy to get caught, won't it?"
"We won't need to go to the third floor. We'll launch a surprise attack directly from the second floor, from beneath Dona's room. They would never suspect that our route of attack isn't the front at all. I watched this building being constructed with my own eyes; the floor partitions aren't thick, and with our strength, any one of us can break right through them. They could never imagine we'd launch an unexpected strike from below." A confident expression appeared on Green's face.
Soon, under Green's "arrangement," the ten people sent to retrieve supplies left the monastery and walked toward the dormitories.
Chapter 119: Hungry Dragon Enters the Canteen
Kanna and Kal'tsit were out on the balcony.
"Sniff sniff! Wow, Kal'tsit, you smell so stinky!" As soon as they met, Kanna began complaining. Although she hadn't witnessed Kal'tsit's battle with the deep sea, the rich, fishy stench unique to the ocean lingered heavily on her for a long time.
"Cut it out. Did you find anything? Don't tell me you just sat here all day." For a brat like Kanna, the solution Kal'tsit thought of was simply not to follow the other party's lead; you say your thing, I'll say mine. I'm the adult, and in the end, you still have to listen to me.
"Of course. Although those people thought they were being pretty sneaky, they were actually seen completely clearly by me—it's just that there were too many people, so I couldn't say it, and besides, there was no evidence. Based on my observations, the suspected Abyssal Church members number around twenty-odd people, accounting for about a third of the total. Of course, I can't be sure if there are others hiding very deeply who haven't shown their faces yet!"
Pointing toward the square outside, Kanna's tone carried a hint of mockery.
"Then you'll share a room with Dona tonight. Ilena and I need to keep watch over this crowd. If I'm not mistaken, when the news from the town hall arrives, they will definitely launch a counterattack. Dona's life and death are up to you."
Kal'tsit looked toward the direction of the church, where an opening was slowly forming, and a dozen or so people were walking out from inside.
"What are these people up to?" With just a glance, Kanna immediately called out oh boy, as all ten people coming out were suspects she had identified as Abyssal Cultists today.
"There are quite a few elderly people trapped inside this time, and Ilena permitted people to be sent to the dormitories to fetch some bedsheets for everyone to spend the night. Is there a problem with these people?" Kal'tsit caught the anomaly in Kanna's tone.
"All of them are problematic, alright! It looks like they want to use this opportunity to make a move." She didn't even need to think; with the opposite side consisting entirely of enemies, they were bound to lose patience and strike.
"Then go into the room, protect Dona's safety at close quarters, and leave the outside to me."
Kanna looked toward the shadows behind Kal'tsit. Mon3tr was lurking within the darkness, its sharp claws like a drawn bow ready to fire; the moment these people showed the slightest abnormality, it would unceremoniously tear them to shreds.
Pushing open the door and stepping into the room, Dona was sitting by the bed in a daze.
Glancing around the room, Kanna's eyes lit up. She walked over to Lucy's bed and picked up a case from it—a case she was very familiar with, which was precisely the one used to hold a violin.
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