(A/N: There is some gore and violence in this chapter.)
With one last look, Lucien left Aiden on his own in the basement. The whip is heavy on his hand. His heart was heavy in his chest. Yet his body appeared to be in its best state.
The demon attached a heavy chain lock in the basement. His food is safe and secured in the room, nothing to worry about. Now the demon will have one of the best moments of his life.
The child in front of him is obedient and docile. The child can run amok the church, but in the end, he has no where to run. Docile children are always like that. They don't dare disobey.
"Go on," The demon crooned. "Run,"
Lucien nodded expressionless and started running in the opposite corridor. The demon smiled in an insidious manner, his vicious laughter filled the whole church. He hummed to himself as he counted to twenty.
In the distance, he heard the little boy's running feet. When the count reached one, he began to take a few steps towards the kitchen first. The aroma of thick blood and dismembered limbs filled his nose.
"Ah~ such a tasty meal." He licked his lips, remembering the taste that filled his mouth when he was devouring these children.
"They are bad children. Bad, bad, bad. Papa is nice. Papa loves obedient children. "
At the foot of the table, there is a half eaten torso with the ribs and flesh cut open. The blood has been drained and fleas started to feast on the flesh. The demon moved the half torso aside and kicked it with his shoes. Then he remembered the first child's face as she saw her.
He smiled wickedly and stepped on the half torso. "Bad children will be eaten. Good children will be kept in the storage." The terrible laughter of the demon became louder in the quiet dead of the night inside the church.
Meanwhile, Lucien hid inside the rooms of the second floor. It was the very room where he heard the shrill screech of the demon arguing with the nun. The room is dark. The door opens without a sound.
Lucien was careful to not make a sound in closing it. He gazed upwards and saw the triple latch attached to the door. The metal latch was heavier than he thought.
One hour. That's how long he needed to hide from the demon's claws. Maybe he only had a few minutes to try to investigate the secrets of St. Louis Church.
Lucien was careful to not light a candle or make a creaking noise on the floor. His eyes were searching for the desk of the nun. Sets of letters stamped from the neighboring village entered his eyes.
Lucien frowns. Instead of taking a look, he stuffed the letters into his inside pocket. The set of brown jackets he found and wore in the nun's room has an inner pocket sealed with a zipper.
He scanned through the dates and names. It all came from the 'Father' who traveled to another town for a meeting. Lucien deduced, judging by the frequent exchange of letters, that they were discussing the children's well-being and the church's financial situation.
Yeah, there seems to be a shortage of food supplies.
Lucien gathered all the letters. The letters alone amount to one hundred fifty nine. And the exchange is within the span of one to two weeks. This seems strange. Do you usually exchange letters that much if the matters discussed only involve current affairs of the church?
Lucien tried to be open minded. For example, the nun and father could have a romantic relationship kept secret. That's the most common scenario in movies.
Lucien turns around abruptly and almost bumps into the bookshelves behind him. A slight creak filled the room as his feet squeaked.
Crap.
Lucien waited for a few minutes. Nothing happened. The moonlight shone on the book's neatly arranged spine. He casually reach out a book and open the contents.
"Demonic Suppression"
That was the title of the book.
Lucien felt his heart skip a beat.
What is this?!
Curiosity burned his brain, and he was itching to read the contents. From the title alone, one can infer that it's about defeating and conquering demons. Perhaps this also contains ways to kill them.
Before Lucien could open the book, something large slammed itself against the door. He sucked in his breath. He stuffed the book in his inner pockets and climbed to the window.
[System alert: Host cannot leave a single inch from the house in the span of forty eight hours.]
Shit!
Lucien ran back and hid behind one of the closets. After two critical hits, the door rattled and crashed to the floor. The demon hurriedly entered.
In the dimly lit room, there was no electricity, and all the lights were off. A single ray from the moonlight outside shows the interior of the room. There was the bed behind the bookshelves. The table on the other side and the window. The closet is situated right beside the door.
Lucien crept behind the closet. His heart is ramming against his chest, holding on to his breath. The demon is right opposite him, only a few meters away.
Go on, get inside. Go, go, go. Lucien cheered in his heart. But the demon stayed in the doorway. His nose is sniffing in the air, his eyes turn blood red. He bared his two fangs in the air. He was excited and went completely still in place.
At that time, Lucien sense there's something really wrong.
After only a few minutes, the demon turned to look at his side, his gaze piercing straight to Lucien's crouching figure.
One bated breath. Two bated breath.
Lucien wriggled out of the closet to escape. At the corner of his eyes, huge claws mercilessly struck the closet and pulverized the wood into broken pieces.
Lucien crouched down. He turned to look at the door, but it was completely blocked by the demon. He also can't jump out of the window.
Shit! He's trapped.