Just as Kanna and Ilena reached the third floor, they suddenly heard a scream. After exchanging glances, they rushed to Dona's room and found her sitting up in bed, apparently also drawn by the scream outside.
The three walked out and stood on the balcony, seeing a nun lying in a pool of blood downstairs.
With just one glance, Kanna recognized the girl as the one she had just spoken to at the entrance. She abruptly looked up to the third floor, directly above where the nun had fallen.
A torn strip of cloth hung from the iron netting outside the balcony.
She observed the two nuns standing nearby, noticing that while their expressions were surprised and their faces showed fear, their eyes were as calm as stagnant water, utterly unlike those of truly frightened people.
These two were the culprits; Kanna understood it in that instant.
"Heh heh, I knew it. They've gone mad. Now it's her, next it's me, then it's all of you… No one will escape!" Dona also recognized the person in the pool of blood. Her eyes filled with despair, and she retreated step by step into the room.
At this moment, the two nuns opposite also noticed Kanna's gaze. They flashed an eerie smile before walking towards the staircase at the other end.
Seeing that provocative smile, Kanna instantly snapped.
It had always been a case of 'a mantis trying to stop a chariot'; she had never heard of mere crickets daring to provoke the majesty of thunder.
With crackling sounds erupting around her, Kanna was already in front of the two women before Ilena next to her could react.
Her small hands now possessed boundless strength. She grabbed them by the back of their necks, one in each hand. Before they could react, she brought her outstretched hands together forcefully, pulling the two women towards the middle and instantly squeezing them together.
Then, she leaned back and, with a perfect head-first dive, plunged them directly into the stairwell.
By the time Ilena reacted and rushed to the edge of the stairwell, she only saw the two utterly disfigured corpses within the stairs.
"Kanna, you!" Seeing this bloody scene, even an Inquisitor who had experienced hundreds of battles felt a discomfort in her stomach.
"They killed that person. I'm just upholding a simple principle: a killer shall be killed."
Despite the gruesome scene, Kanna had no blood on her. She jumped onto the balcony, looked at the crowd streaming out of the church, snorted, and walked towards the bedroom.
"But you can't just kill them like that. Since we knew these two were problematic, wouldn't it have been a better choice to use them to catch the bigger fish behind the scenes?" At this moment, Ilena shivered remembering the scene just now. Kanna's series of actions took less than a single breath. Even if it were her, she would probably have met her end there. No wonder Kal'tsit wasn't worried about Kanna's safety; it turned out she was the most dangerous one.
"Only a few of us are up here. Besides you and Dona, no one saw me make a move. The rest is up to you, Inquisitor sister." Kanna said as she walked back through the corridor.
Although Dona had seen Kanna's actions, she was still immersed in the image of the girl's death and hadn't recovered. It wasn't until Kanna walked up to her and patted her shoulder that she let out a cry of "Ah!" and then rushed back into the bedroom, slamming the door shut.
"Ah!" Just as Kanna walked back into the room, terrified screams erupted from downstairs on the other side of the corridor. The bloody scene in the stairwell had been discovered by people coming up from below.
The nun at the very front saw the stairwell full of blood and flesh, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted. It was only because someone behind her caught her that she didn't fall directly into the pool of blood.
But looking at the crimson blood flowing down the stairs, no one dared to go further up.
"Clack, clack…" Footsteps came from upstairs, and Ilena walked into their sight amidst everyone's terrified and wary gazes.
"In the name of an Inquisitor under the Iberia Church, I declare that I suspect cultists have infiltrated our ranks. These three nuns were all killed by cultists. Therefore, from now on, everyone is to gather in the square outside. Remember! Everyone!"
Having no other choice, Ilena decided to seize the initiative, using her identity and authority as an Inquisitor to control the escalating situation.
The reason she let Kanna go back was Dona. Since the other party would kill an ordinary person for an unintentional remark, Dona would certainly not be spared by them. Now that Kanna was known to have the strength to protect important targets, given the current shortage of personnel, even Kanna's somewhat extreme actions could be tolerated by her. After all, compared to Kanna, the Inquisitor's methods of tormenting Abyssal Cultists in that prison were far more brutal.
As for any uncontrollable consequences Kanna's actions might bring, they were also within Ilena's tolerance. After all, compared to seeking justice for two individuals suspected of being "Abyssal Cultists," jointly confronting the "Abyssal Church" was the top priority for every Inquisitor.
Accompanied by a flurry of footsteps, the people outside, having heard the shouting from the dormitory, also came up.
"Dean Green, we have a traitor among us. I now declare the Monastery to be in a state of war, and I, as an Inquisitor, will take full charge. First, in the name of an Iberia Inquisitor, I order you to immediately seal off the Monastery. Everyone is to gather together, eat and live together from today onwards. Anyone leaving, even to use the restroom, must report it!"
Looking at Green, who was coming up from below, Ilena felt a deep disgust in her heart. However, she still suppressed the urge to draw her longsword and strike him, giving out orders from an Inquisitor in a firm tone.
Looking at the blood dripping down the stairs, how could they not know what had happened? Those two had been temporarily assigned by them. Now, looking upstairs, it was clear they had met a terrible end, which made these people's faces turn extremely grim.
But in the current Iberia, an Inquisitor's words held supreme authority within the Church. Any church had to unconditionally obey an Inquisitor's arrangements during wartime. So, when Ilena first declared a state of war, the entire Monastery's authority was temporarily transferred into Ilena's hands.
Brother Green involuntarily took two steps back upon hearing Ilena's words, thankfully being caught by the person behind him before he fell.
He looked at the stairwell with trembling hands, his lips constantly quivering, and his face extremely pale. "How could… how could this happen…"
At this moment, he seemed to have aged considerably, looking like an old man who should be around seventy.
"What are you standing around for? Do you want to defy orders!" Ilena drew the longsword from her waist and slashed it across the wall, leaving a deep sword mark that made everyone look at her in terror.
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