Aiden was struggling to keep up against the attacks of the nun. She was getting faster and more precise. Aiden was almost thrown to the wall thrice. But the whip will always save him from danger.
It seems to have a mind of its own, attaching itself to the nun's waist and then pulling Aiden towards her. Seeing this, Aiden was left with no choice but to put his steel door shield up front and bump it against the nun's body.
"Ahh!!" she screamed in pain. And it's five times now. It was as if, when the whip latched itself to her, she could not move to avoid him.
Aiden finds it strange. He wasn't that strong. Lucien is more stronger, faster and able to adopt more quickly than him. When Aiden watched Lucien fought against her, Lucien is at a disadvantage.
Now… it seems she was at a disadvantage..? Why? Aiden did not do anything. (Lucien: It's your protagonist halo.)
The more the nun was caught by the whip, the angrier she got. She was hit many times in her torso, in her arms and in her legs. Bruises and deep open wounds are visible on her body.
Noticing this close to ripe victory, Lucien did not continue to idle any longer and took the metal plate on the side. He raised it above his head and threw it right in the nun's face.
She noticed it beforehand and dived to evade it. Her disgusting black barren teeth growled at him.
"I'm not finished with you yet!" She turned to attack Lucien. Her body, despite being full of injuries, did not weaken her attacks and speed. Her claws are as sharp as ever. Lucien almost got his throat ripped out if it wasn't for Aiden jumping to get him out of the way.
Lucien landed on the ground with a thud. Aiden was on top of him.
"Kekekeke!" Her claws suddenly grew another five inches. She was grinning and drooling black liquid from her mouth.
"Children are so naughty. Father hates naughty children. If you don't obediently stay down, father will drag you back to the church altar and have you kneel on salt."
"Father is dead." Lucien wrapped his arms protectively around Aiden. Feeling extremely guilty about having a scrawny child fight against her while he himself hid in the corner to read some letters he stole.
Aiden loved the warmth of his body. He did not reject Lucien's embrace and leaned his head on Lucien's chest. He warmed his cheek with Lucien's body heat. Aiden could hear the loud beat of his heart. Adrenaline rush or anxiety, Aiden scrutinized Lucien's expression.
There wasn't much of a change. Except for the sweat that wet Lucien's nape and the unsettled glances he kept throwing out to the outside world, there was no visible trace that he was afraid.
Aiden can't help but smile. How cool. His protector is really cool.
Lucien struggled to sit up and carried the weight of Aiden as he straightened himself. The wound on his shoulder is not completely healed. The hit earlier may have opened some scabs.
He told Aiden to get up first while he tried to distract the nun.
"Father died upstairs." He stated simply.
The nun screamed in a rage and snarled. "You killed him?!" She stomped her foot, causing the ground to shake. Lucien glanced nervously at the wall that shook slightly.
She really is a witch.
"I did not." Lucien fought to keep his voice neutral.
Aiden stood up and helped Lucien on his feet. Then he stuck close to Lucien like a gecko.
"Liar!"
"I do not lie. I am an obedient child."
Aiden: ???
Nun: ....
"Father loves an obedient child."
Aiden trusted Lucien blindly. When Lucien gave him a look, he repeated.
"I am also an obedient child." As he said the next words, Aiden suppressed the urge to spit. "Father loves me."
Without understanding why, this has a reversal effect on the nun. Her face suddenly went slack, as if all the resentment she had before towards them had disappeared. The empty black hollowed socket remained, but she appeared to have returned to her previous state.
"Right… Father loves an obedient child. I am also an obedient mother."
Lucien can't help but react at these words.
"And these are my obedient children." The nun stretched her hand and the other children sitting silently in the hay stack got up one by one. They stood in a straight line behind her.
"These are my obedient town neighbors." The door of the basement swung open and the group of people Lucien saw outside started pouring inside one by one.
They stood beside the children, filling the basement until no more space is left. The nun stretches her two hands.
"The Father loves obedient people. Men, women, children—he accepted them with open arms."
"What about you? You two are obedient children. You should come to us and receive Father's love."
Lucien's hold over Aiden tightened slightly. His fingers were digging into Aiden's bare back. Aiden did not mind. Instead, he pressed himself closer to Lucien. He can sense the other boy is extremely tense.
Aiden could see an understanding in the boy's eyes towards the nun and her queer group that he could not. It was all beyond his knowledge. Hence, Aiden did not try to understand anything and proceeded to enjoy the other boy's body warmth.
"I do not want that superficial forced obedience of yours, Vanessa Aldrich."
The nun tilted her head to the side. Stating as if in a trance, "By Father's accordance, I have not heard of that name here."
Lucien scoffed. "Of course you haven't. That's because you haven't been addressed by your given name since you sold your daughter's family to the demon you serve, have you?"
Nothing in the nun's manner or her expression changed when Lucien said this. But Lucien anticipated this. After all, she wasn't that easy to crack after she did a great job misleading him from the start.