Jonas, Fadyr and Steinhardt take the assassin to a basement room in the palace for questioning, while Gergesene goes to ensure Ruthven is alright.
The Khatta raves, answering indirectly, if at all, and exhibiting violent behaviour to himself and everyone else. He quotes extensively and randomly from the Principa Mechanica, one of the cornerstones of Chronotopian faith. Several times he tells Fadyr, "You know". Fadyr, worried and angry about something, goes to get the knife and Steinhardt joins him. Gergesene returns and some sense is made of the cat's ramblings; It seems he was conducting some sort of experiment to test the purity of Ruthven. The panther begs repeatedly to be allowed to repeat the experiment, so everyone present can observe the results.
Jonas suggests putting the panther out of his misery, and the Landsknechts refuse. Gergesene counter suggests that the panther be left in the care of monks, who may be able to heal his mind, and then goes to fetch guards to take him there. Fadyr, still disturbed, decides to conduct the experiment as the Khatta describes. Jonas and Steinhardt stand ready to stop him, refusing to leave the room. Gripping the knife, Fadyr has a strange vision of Boschian machinery, and the panther slowly being disassembled. The assassin begs the knight to "Restore Order', and Fadyr does so by touching the Khatta with the blade. Not a part of his vision, Jonas and Steinhardt just see the knight step forward, and kill the assassin. Gergesene returns, and shocked, they all ask Fadyr what happened. He shows them the symbol that marks the knife as a consecrated weapon of Precision, and states, "What had to be done.