Iberia, a coastal city, and the suggestion not to use combat methods other than melee and close combat. All these conditions combined already hinted at the enemies they would likely face.
Kanna merely licked her lips, gazing towards the sea. Although the creatures in the sea looked a bit strange, it was well-known that the weirder they looked, the better they tasted. She just wondered what the texture of these seafood would be like.
At this moment, Kal'tsit glanced at Kanna, seeing her drooling at the sea, and thought she was craving food again. She just shook her head and didn't say much.
After all, compared to Kanna suddenly wanting to eat seafood, the missionary girl who abruptly appeared on the road caught her attention more. Before leaving Rhodes Island, Specter kept holding her hand and mentioning Rock Bay Town and the Abyssal Church, indicating that the situation in Rock Bay Town might not be optimistic. It was Specter's sudden mention of the Abyssal Church after The Great Silence, when even the Aegir themselves had lost contact with the deep sea, that sparked her idea to come here.
So, at this moment, just as they were about to enter Rock Bay Town, the sudden appearance of the girl made things feel particularly strange and ineffable.
"Achoo!" Kanna suddenly sneezed, making Kal'tsit involuntarily glance over. What had this little one discovered now?
She had been focused on her mission log earlier, so she hadn't noticed. But once Kanna's attention shifted, she suddenly sensed an additional scent in the car—a smell similar to seawater, but more complex. If Kanna's nose wasn't so keen, most people would probably have overlooked this scent amidst the sea breeze.
Without turning around, she knew from the breathing sounds that the girl who had fainted on the road was in the back seat. So, this new smell naturally came from the girl.
Considering that people living by the sea often carried the scent of the ocean, Kanna didn't pay too much attention. At this moment, her mind was still filled with thoughts of cold-tossed crazy flowers, blanched exotic eggs, and other new seafood... About half an hour later, after rounding a bend, the sight of Rock Bay Town appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Rock Bay Town is one of the few coastal towns that still has a lighthouse. Or rather, it wasn't originally close to the sea. It was after The Great Silence, when the sea level rose, submerging all the areas in front of Rock Bay Town, transforming it from a lakeside city into a coastal city." Looking at the city before them and the gleaming lighthouse within, Ilena introduced it to Kal'tsit and Kanna, who were visiting for the first time.
"Let's go to the Monastery first. We can drop this child off there," Kal'tsit said.
Hearing Kal'tsit's words, Ilena nodded. "Alright. That's good. We can use the Monastery as our base for the time being. Whatever you need to do, Ms. Kal'tsit, having a stable rear will always be comfortable."
"Okay! Then I'll leave the communication with the Monastery to you, Ilena." Kal'tsit was noncommittal about this.
But they didn't notice that when the Monastery was mentioned, the unconscious girl's body suddenly stirred.
The vehicle quickly drove into Rock Bay Town. Upon seeing Ilena in the car, most people appeared very nervous, then grabbed their playing children and headed home.
"Are you that scary in these people's eyes?" Kanna asked, looking at the quickly emptying street.
"Alas, there's nothing that can be done. After all, the Abyssal Church is causing chaos everywhere. To clear out these cultists, The Inquisition has always adopted a high-pressure policy. As soon as members of the Abyssal Church are found in an area, a very strict search is carried out there. Although this kind of search leaves the Abyssal remnants with nowhere to hide, it also brings considerable fear to the common people." Although Ilena's voice carried a hint of a sigh, her tone was steady and firm, and she did not believe The Inquisition's actions were wrong.
"The Abyssal Church?" Kal'tsit had some understanding of this organization, but hearing it from Ilena, the cult's influence was far more powerful and stubborn than she had imagined.
"This church was a cult founded in Iberia by the Seaborn and their worshippers after The Great Silence. By the time we discovered it, it had spread throughout Iberia.
They believe that compared to humans, the collective consciousness of the Seaborn is a higher life form, and individuals should selflessly dedicate themselves to the 'species' to achieve the evolution of the Seaborn collective. These cult members refer to each other as 'compatriots.' Their ultimate goal is to expand the 'ocean's' borders and assimilate all land-dwelling races into the Seaborn.
For this purpose, they secretly establish human experimentation bases at various strongholds, conducting cruel human experiments, seemingly attempting to combine humans and the Seaborn to cultivate more powerful individuals." As she spoke the latter part, Ilena gritted her teeth slightly.
"Then your official response is indeed quite lacking," Kanna grumbled, looking at the empty street.
After all, for the common people who hadn't seen the true face of the Abyssal Church, they would only perceive it as a nascent sect, and The Inquisition's strong suppression would merely be seen as a conflict of religious beliefs.
Moreover, after The Great Silence, Iberia's economy almost collapsed, and the government was powerless to attend to many areas. When survival faced a dead end, only a little food was needed to easily make a group of 'ignorant people' change their faith.
The current situation is that the country has no money to lift those impoverished areas out of destitution. Under the pressure of survival, people naturally turn to believing in the 'cult' that can help them live. The government, time and again, forcefully suppresses the 'cult' without explanation. With just a little incitement from someone with ulterior motives, the rift between The Inquisition and ordinary people will only grow wider.
It eventually led to the current situation where ordinary people dread The Inquisition. It was meant to protect them, yet it alienated them further. This situation can only be attributed to the upper echelons' poor judgment. Simple communication could resolve the issue, but they insisted on being arrogant and enigmatic to prove their capability, ultimately leading to an unpleasant outcome for everyone.
In Kanna's view, if everyone in Iberia, from top to bottom, were practical, blunt individuals like W who disliked riddles, then this troublesome Abyssal Church would have long been driven back into the sea.
However, riddles are a part of Terra, and Kanna was used to them. For example, the old furball next to her often bullied her for not being quick-witted, deliberately messing with her by using various allusions she'd never heard of and stopping mid-sentence.
This was also why Kanna often did things along the way that made Kal'tsit uncomfortable, even to the point of digging several Rhodes Island-sized holes with her feet.
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