NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Man In Romania
Chapter 1 - Man In Romania
1952.
In a remote corner of Romania, a strange scene unfolded at a secluded monastery.
Late at night, two nuns walked cautiously through the monastery's crypt passage, carrying oil lamps.
The corridor was lined with countless crosses, as though placed there to prevent some indescribable evil from escaping.
At the end of the passage stood a wooden door, old and worn.
Clearly visible on its surface were the words God Ends Here.
The implied meaning was that beyond this door lay the domain of the devil.
The two nuns had come there to force the demon inside back to hell.
After the elder nun finished explaining their mission, she took the sole oil lamp, pushed open the wooden door, and stepped inside.
The younger nun, standing outside, nervously clasped her hands and stared into the darkness.
But soon, disaster struck.
The elder nun, bloodied, crawled back out through the door.
Halfway into the corridor, she thrust a simple, slightly worn key toward the younger nun.
With urgent desperation, she warned, "The demon inside needs a body to escape. We mustn't let it succeed…"
Swish!
Before the elder nun could finish speaking, something grabbed her ankle.
Amid a harsh scraping noise, she was dragged back through the door and into the darkness.
Her shrill scream echoed through the narrow passage.
Terrified yet resolute, the younger nun snatched up the fallen key and fled.
However, it seemed whatever lurked behind the door had no intention of letting her go.
Even after escaping the crypt and returning to the church, she felt an icy chill on her back, as though a malevolent presence stalked her every step.
A quick glance over her shoulder revealed a horrifying silhouette in the shadows.
Realizing she could not escape it that night, she tightened her grip on the key.
To prevent the demon from possessing her body, she fashioned a makeshift noose out of a coarse rope and slipped it around her neck.
When she looked back again, she saw the ghastly entity rushing toward her on a chilling gust of wind.
Tears streaming down her face, she climbed onto the windowsill at the front of the church—and jumped.
The window was wide open.
A cold breeze stirred the translucent white curtains, and moonlight beamed into the church.
The rope snapped taut with a loud crack.
And thus, the young nun lost her life.
…..
A nun hanging herself within monastery grounds was a shocking event in a society still deeply shaped by religion.
According to Catholic doctrine, suicide was a grave sin, condemning the soul to be barred from heaven.
This tragedy had happened three days prior.
"It happened so close by?"
"I heard the place was called St. Carta Monastery?"
"Wait—Romania… St. Carta Monastery… a nun hanged herself…?"
"Holy hell, it's that demon nun?!"
In a remote village, in front of a modest fruit stall laden with tomatoes and potatoes, stood a young man in a simple outfit.
His name was Roy.
Behind this unassuming façade, however, Roy held a secret identity: he was a transmigrator from another world.
He had arrived about a month ago, having come from what he thought was just a parallel universe.
His original plan was to earn some money and then leave Romania.
But the harrowing events of three days ago made him realize this world was not what it seemed.
The mention of that monastery and the hanged nun exactly matched the story of The Nun from the Conjuring universe he recalled.
Most crucially, the demonic entity—Valak, one of Solomon's 72 demons—appeared to have broken free of its seal.
Nearby villages in the orbit of St. Carta Monastery had been devastated.
Unfortunate residents had taken their own lives, burned themselves to death, or were stricken blind.
Roy wanted no part of that fate.
Though he was a transmigrator, Roy lacked any supernatural power.
He knew his limitations well.
"Let's get out of here," he muttered.
Even though Sister Irene and Father Burke from the Vatican eventually subdued the demon nun in the movie, Roy believed it was safest to put as much distance as possible between himself and such malevolent forces.
Better to stay alive than fall to an untimely death.
As he hurriedly packed up his produce, a rakish young man sauntered over and greeted Roy with playful familiarity:
"Hey, Roy! You got any tomatoes left?"
Roy glanced up and recognized him immediately.
It was Frenchie—the hapless deliveryman from the movie.
He was the very fellow who would later join Father Burke at the monastery, nearly losing his life battling the demon nun.
"You like tomatoes that much? Perfect timing—I'm closing up shop," Roy said.
"One hundred Leu for all the tomatoes I have left."
Leu was the Romanian currency.
"One hundred Leu?" Frenchie blurted out. "Are you nuts, Roy?"
Given the exchange rate, about one U.S. dollar was 150 Leu.
Frenchie realized he was basically getting the tomatoes for less than a dollar.
He couldn't believe Roy would sell so cheaply.
"Do you want them or not?" Roy replied, waving dismissively.
"Heh, of course I do!" Frenchie laughed, scooping the tomatoes into the front of his shirt as if worried Roy might change his mind.
After paying, he finally asked in bewilderment, "Roy, why the rush?"
Roy didn't bother hiding the truth.
"I'm leaving. If nothing goes wrong, I'll be gone tomorrow."
If this village weren't so remote, he'd have bolted that very day.
"What? You're leaving?" Frenchie said, genuinely surprised.
Though he hadn't been in the village long—working odd jobs to fund his budget travels—he'd grown used to Roy's stall.
They'd gotten along reasonably well. Now Roy's abrupt plan to leave felt like a shock.
Then Frenchie seemed to remember something. "Roy, is this because of what happened three days ago?"
He was referring to the nun's suicide at St. Carta Monastery, discovered just three days prior.
Frenchie knew the story better than most—he was the one who had found the nun's body while making a routine delivery.