NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Father Burke Missing!?
Chapter 7 - Father Burke Missing!?
Hearing Sister Irene's scream, Roy and Father Burke exchanged alarmed looks.
They immediately stood up and rushed out of the room, heading straight for the source of.
When they arrived, they found Sister Irene collapsed on the floor, her face pale as a sheet.
"Hey, are you alright?" Roy crouched down, gently patted Sister Irene's head, and spoke with concern.
She appeared deeply shaken, her eyes vacant.
Only after Roy patted her head a few more times did she snap out of her stupor.
Seeing Roy kneeling before her, worry etched on his face, Sister Irene instinctively wrapped her arms around him.
Terrified, she clung to the first steady presence she saw.
Still trembling, Sister Irene explained what had happened:
She'd been about to go to bed when she heard a radio playing outside.
Thinking another nun might still be awake, she lit an oil lamp and went to check.
But after leaving the room, she found no one—only flickering candles and a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Instead of feeling reassured, Sister Irene was overcome by a sense of dread.
Suddenly, a large black shadow appeared behind the statue.
It slid across the wall and vanished into a nearby mirror.
When she looked directly at the mirror, a hideous face clad lunged at her, as if it intended to devour her.
The next thing she remembered was Roy standing in front of her.
After hearing Sister Irene's story, Roy and Father Burke exchanged knowing glances.
It seemed Valak had wasted no time making a move.
"It's alright now; whatever it was has disappeared for the moment," Roy murmured, lightly patting Sister Irene's back in comfort.
Strangely, the moment Roy reassured her, the terror that had seized Sister Irene's heart began to fade.
Gradually collecting herself, she realized she was pressed against Roy's chest.
A faint masculine scent reached her nose, and her cheeks flushed pink.
"Um… Mr. Roy, thank you," she said, her voice still quivering.
Though she felt embarrassed, she disentangled herself from Roy's arms.
Roy didn't mind.
In fact, he couldn't help noticing the faint, milky fragrance clinging to Sister Irene was she bathing in milk or something? he wondered.
Caught off guard by his gaze, Sister Irene blushed even harder.
At that moment, she noticed something amiss.
Glancing around, she frowned.
"Where's Father Burke?"
Roy turned to look behind him.
It struck him only then that Father Burke who had been right next to him was nowhere to be found.
A bad feeling sank in.
"This isn't good. Come with me!" Gripping Sister Irene's hand, Roy helped her to her feet.
Without further explanation, he led her out of the Monastery grounds.
Before long, they arrived at the monastery's cemetery.
A dense fog drifted among the tombstones, and the night felt cold and foreboding.
Tall crosses and markers loomed in the haze, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
"Mr. Roy, why…why did we come here?" Sister Irene asked, her voice trembling.
She tightened her hold on Roy's hand in alarm.
Noticing her mounting anxiety, Roy spoke gently. "Sister Irene, you're the only one who can sense Father Burke right now."
"He might be buried in one of these graves."
"What? That can't be!" Sister Irene exclaimed, baffled by Roy's suggestion.
But judging by his tense expression, he wasn't joking.
Drawing a shaky breath, Sister Irene let go of Roy's hand and pressed her palms together.
She closed her eyes, preparing to focus her thoughts hoping her heightened insight would guide her to Father Burke's whereabouts.
Just then, an eerie rasp sounded from above, like the wheeze of a broken bellows.
"Huh?" Roy and Sister Irene both looked up.
Sister Irene's eyes grew wide with horror.
Perched in the crook of a large tree branch was a decaying nun's corpse, its face mangled beyond recognition.
A disturbing grin stretched across its rotted features.
Before Sister Irene could react, the ghastly corpse dropped from the tree, hurtling toward her head-first.
She screamed, bracing for impact.
But the instant before it struck her, Roy sprang into action.
The stigmata on his right palm flared with a crimson glow.
He slam his palm into the corpse's abdomen.
BANG!
The force of his blow sent the undead nun flying.
Even then, the stigmata's power was so intense that the once-animate corpse broke apart upon impact.
Its body fell to the ground in charred pieces, releasing a nauseating smell of burnt flesh.
Staring at Roy in stunned disbelief, Sister Irene took a moment to process what had just happened.
Meanwhile, Roy lowered his hand and flexed his fingers as though the force of his punch had jolted him.
"Don't just stand there," he reminded her calmly.
"Find Father Burke."
"Ah… r-right!" Snapping back to the present, Sister Irene clutched her hands again.
Closing her eyes, she concentrated intently, praying her heightened senses could locate Father Burke.