Rhodes Island does not exist.

Amen...

The bishop placed his right hand on his chest and murmured softly.

This place was once a sacred site where religious matters were adjudicated.

White pillars lined the edge of the hall, and beige floor tiles with marble-like patterns extended from the walls to just above the ceiling, which was topped with bright stained-glass windows.

But none of that exists now.

Minutes earlier, all the jurors and bystanders present had become volunteer painters, using their own blood and flesh to paint this place into a crimson hell, even more filthy than a slaughterhouse.

Even the floor was glued on.

The mangled human bodies were scattered in various corners and places in the room. Some people even hung themselves from the top of chandeliers and pillars, letting the seeping liquid drip down. It is unknown how they managed to do that.

"Don't go in." The captain of the disciplinary army stretched out his right hand, blocking everyone behind him. "His Holiness Bishop Sobrino told us that Agor had arrived... but we haven't seen Agor."

In other words, those Agors may still be in the room at this moment, setting traps and waiting for their prey.

“These horrific scenes… Could the Agorians really have done this…” a punitive soldier said softly, his voice tinged with fear and doubt.

“Don’t underestimate them.” The captain shook his head. “Maybe you’re from the younger generation and haven’t experienced the period of tranquility… but believe me, the Agors, especially those who came from the sea.”

"Alright, divide into teams as planned. First team, follow me, we're going in." The disciplinary army captain raised his mace and shield, taking a step into the blood-soaked room.

"Pfft-"

It was as slippery as a mud pit.

The floor was completely covered with blood plasma and tissue fluid that had seeped out everywhere, and any step on it was a huge challenge to one's balance.

But just as the captain led the group into the first room, and the doctor followed suit, a subtle voice suddenly came from inside the hall.

"hiss……"

That was the sound of inhaling.

It was a rather rapid inhalation sound.

This way of inhaling often only occurs naturally after a good cry.

In other words, someone is crying in the hall.

Or rather, they've already cried.

“That voice…” The doctor held his tongue, a wave of emotion washing over him. “I know the owner of that voice.”

Of course he does.

That was the sound of a child crying.

But he dared not say who it was.

Because he was well aware of Levini's current situation, and also well aware of his own current situation.

But why?

The hall has been turned into this state; there should be nothing red except blood, and nothing alive except bacteria. Why is Levini still alive?

The doctor's gaze swept past the disciplinary army captain ahead, searching around for Levini's whereabouts.

However, it ultimately came to nothing.

In such a chaotic, hellish place, it would be far too difficult to find someone with the naked eye alone.

"There's a living person here!" one of the team members immediately became alert.

“It might be a trap.” The captain shook his head, gesturing to move away from the direction the sound was coming from and to increase vigilance. “Those Agor could come out at any moment.”

“Besides,” he said, raising the hammer in his hand, its thin blade shimmering with a pale golden light, “in a place where normal creatures simply cannot survive, don’t you think it’s quite suspicious that someone is still crying? Absolutely suspicious.”

The doctor thought so too.

But the doctor preferred not to think that way.

Because if you think that way, it means Levini would be the prime suspect for the events that unfolded in the hall.

Such a scene is something the doctor would never want to see, nor would he ever believe.

"Something must have gone wrong."

His thoughts were in complete disarray.

First, he was caught in the act of murder, and now he was faced with this bizarre scene. A sentence from the woman on the beach earlier began to echo in his mind.

Agor knows.

Chapter 92, Chapter 91: Deep Sea Tales, Chapter 27: Invalid Testimony

What did Agor do wrong?

This is not a question worth discussing, nor is it a question with much value for discussion.

It's like everyone knows tigers eat people, but no one knows which tigers eat people and which don't.

No one would make such a specific breakdown of tigers.

Even if you are a tiger that has been raised in a zoo for a long time, you cannot guarantee that you will never betray your instincts.

The zookeepers treat the tigers like their friends, but they dare not put their hands into their mouths when feeding them.

Trust cannot withstand testing, and instinct is even more fragile than trust.

Therefore, since it's impossible to guarantee that some of the tigers won't actually eat people, let's just assume that all tigers will eat people.

Indeed, kindness exists.

However, we cannot designate special rules and treatments for a little bit of kindness just because it exists. Doing so would only give evil people the opportunity to take advantage of that kindness, which would actually harm the kind-hearted.

Therefore, everyone must be treated equally.

The same is true for the Agor race.

Born from the deep sea, they have an affinity for the ocean since birth and can hear the calls and whispers from the sea.

Even if they can refuse the summons and whispers, they cannot block them.

The inability to block it means that one day they may not be able to hold on and will be forced to accept it.

As long as there is even the slightest possibility of madness in their blood, they will inevitably descend into madness.

Therefore... Agor must be expelled.

If Agor doesn't want to be expelled, then let them leave on their own.

Agor knows.

Of course Agor knew.

-

The lobby was thoroughly searched.

The Punishment Army has a member who is highly skilled in detection-type Originium Arts. Under his spells, no life hiding in the shadows can escape his notice.

This time, his measurement revealed that apart from the girl crying in the hall, there was nothing else around.

“That girl is Levini,” the bishop said with certainty, as he was in the know. “She was supposed to be the main person on trial today, but she is still alive after everyone else has died… and she is still alive in such a horrific scene of death.”

"What do you mean, sir?" The captain frowned slightly. "She's the culprit behind all this?"

“Although she is not Agor but Felin, the possibility is very high.” The bishop nodded. “After all, with this foreign doctor as a suspect, the people who entered the country with him may also be accomplices… But before that, we must first find the whereabouts of those Agors.”

"When the guards came to report, they said that ten Agors had appeared in front of the courthouse square. Why can't we see any of them now?"

"A disciplinary soldier asked."

“Perhaps they escaped, or perhaps they achieved their goal. In any case, they have no reason to remain here and face the Punishing Army and the Papal Knights after everyone in the Inquisition has died,” the bishop pondered. “Let’s go and pull the sinner Levini out of the mountain of corpses first.”

"Yes."

Several disciplinary soldiers, enduring the nauseating environment of the hall, stepped into the ankle-deep, thick sea of ​​water and dragged the sobbing little girl out.

"—!"

Looking at Levini, who was covered in blood and filth, the Doctor wanted to call out to her. But given his current imprisonment and the oppressive environment, he ultimately had no way to speak.

“Miss Levinie.” The bishop’s gaze was stern, fixed on her as if she were a lamb stripped naked. “Are you still conscious?”

"Waaaaah...waaah...I..."

But Levi was incoherent and just kept sobbing.

After experiencing such a scene firsthand, probably only a very few people can remain sober, let alone a child like her.

"Cuff him and take him back to the trial prison." The bishop waved his hand. "It seems the courtroom is unusable for the time being. Let's clean it up first, and then ask the residents in the surrounding residential areas if they have any information. In any case, let's get out of here first."

"Yes."

The expressions on the faces of the punitive soldiers softened considerably after hearing these words.

It seems that even they can't stay in such an environment indefinitely.

-

An hour later, the trial began in prison.

The church is not a place with its own dungeons and punishment rooms like a courtroom; it is simply a place for believers to pray, eat, and live together.

But there must always be a place to accommodate those who have committed religious and legal crimes, and there must be a place for those who have been chained by the courts. This is the function of the trial prison.

"I've said it so many times... so many times."

The doctor leaned back in his chair with a sense of despair, a white light bulb hanging above his head, and in front of him was the unchanging face of the disciplinary army commander.

To be honest, from the doctor's perspective, whether the captain's expression is angry or serious, it's essentially the same expression.

“After saying goodbye to the bishop this morning, I went for a walk in the city, but I got lost. When I finally got back, I saw the priest kneeling in front of the square with a knife in his heart, and then you saw him.”

"Okay, so where in the city did you go? Are there any local residents who can testify for you?" the captain asked. "If not, then your testimony is invalid, and you will still be the prime suspect."

"I……"

The doctor blocked it.

It would be great if we had one.

He didn't even know how he got in or out. And now, if he told the captain that he had actually just taken a stroll along the closed beach, it would only make things worse for him.

Because the seaside = Agor.

This case also originated with Agor.

"No, is that so?" The captain shook his head. "But it doesn't matter, the little girl will definitely admit it anyway."

"What do you mean she'll definitely admit it? What are you planning to do to her?!" Upon hearing about Levini, the Doctor immediately became agitated. "This has nothing to do with her, she just—"

"Stop, stop, stop." The captain of the disciplinary army gently pushed the doctor away, signaling him to calm down. "Whether she has anything to do with this or not is not for you to decide. Did you see what happened in the hall with your own eyes?"

"……No."

"As the sole survivor of this tragedy, she can't possibly escape her connection to this case," the captain said. "Whether she killed those people or not, she can't escape it."

“Think carefully, Doctor.” The captain glanced at him. “Think about why she was the only one who survived.”

Chapter 93, Chapter 92: Deep Sea Tales - Chapter 28: The Pain of Reason

"...Then, after that person's head exploded, ferocious beasts kept emerging from...the corners of the hall...emerging...many, many of them...emerging...and eating people."

Levi hugged her legs tightly, huddled in the chair, and recounted her memories.

Every word she uttered was a torment and lashing at her own heart.

"Later...later, after those wild beasts finished eating the people, they went through that...that...the hole they came out of...and all of them disappeared...sob."

As she delved deeper into the conversation, she couldn't suppress the fear lurking in her soul and broke down in tears.

“Listen, this is her testimony.” The bishop looked at the doctor in the white coat beside him and shook his head apologetically. “No matter what you ask, she will only give this answer.”

“But I’ve already taken people to the scene to examine it, and I’ve also seen the body parts you collected from the scene… To be honest, it doesn’t match what she said at all.” The doctor frowned. “Not to mention that there are no traces of holes being drilled inside the hall, the cause of death for those body parts is definitely not caused by wounds from wild animal bites.”

"What is that?" the bishop asked.

"It's horrific, far more horrific than a simple case of being torn apart by a wild animal." The doctor shook his head. "Even in all my years working for the Inquisition, I've never seen a corpse with such a bizarre death."

"The cervical vertebrae were twisted and broken with tremendous force, and then the bones inside the body were forcibly pulled out... and those pulled-out bones had very obvious and rough wear marks, as if they had been used as blunt instruments. But most importantly... those corpses really did have many blunt force injuries that corresponded to the wear marks on the bones."

The doctor's tone became increasingly strange, and by the end, it was almost indistinguishable from telling a ghost story.