Quinlan gathered his things quickly and went over to Bas’s room.
There was no one inside. Only pieces of clothing scattered around everywhere. Both Bas’ clothes and what seemed to be a nun’s robe.
"That bastard really did it. But where did he go?" Quinlan murmured.
Jonah was beside him, observing the room. He picked up the nun’s robe. It was still warm.
"Who did you meet?" Jonah said.
"I beg your pardon?" Quinlan’s eyebrows furrowed.
"Who did you meet when going inside?" Jonah repeated. This time it was almost a shout.
"A nun named Nora and the Mother Reverend. What’s wrong?"
Jonah took a deep breath. "Follow me. You’ll understand."
The corridors of the monastery fell into darkness. It didn’t have any lit torches at all. The iron holders mounted to the wall were ancient and filled with cobwebs.
It wasn’t before. The corridors were filled with flaming torches that illuminated the hallway.
"What’s going on..." Quinlan murmured.
He followed Jonah to the refectory of the monastery, the dining hall where the nuns and priests of the convent would have their daily meal.
"There were twenty-three people in this monastery. If we counted Mother Reverend, that would be twenty four. Seventeen of them were male priests. Seven of them were female nuns.
Get a look yourself."
Jonah pushed the door to the refectory open. Inside, twenty-three bodies were hung at the neck from the ceilings above.
They had died for a long time and their bodies decomposed into grotesque features.
Quinlan covered his mouth and forced himself not to throw up.
Jonah’s eyes opened wide. He had noticed the changes.
Mother Reverend’s body was hung in the middle of the dining hall. But it disappeared now.
But the rope was there. A bloody rope that leaked blood continuously. Under the rope was a circle with a five-winged star inside.
"Her body is gone. How can this be?"
Jonah and Quinlan looked at each other. They knew what the other was thinking without saying a word.
They needed to get the hell out of there.
This time, Quinlan led the way. The pair made their way to the main gate, the path that Quinlan used to get inside.
This place had become too dangerous for them to stay in. Quinlan didn’t know what happened to Bas and he could care less.
Bas was a spirit swordsman. Whatever happened, he had a better chance of surviving than Quinlan.
What Quinlan needed to do was to save himself first.
"What the?! HOW?!" Quinlan’s lips quivered.
The pair went into the wooden gate of the monastery. The exit to the outside world and their survival.
But similar to what Jonah had experienced, the gate had disappeared once more. Now there was only a stonewall at where the gate should be. Find the newest release on novel-fire.ɴet
Quinlan slammed on the stonewall but it was futile. It couldn’t be budged one bit.
"We’re doomed..." Jonah murmured.
A growl came from behind them. The pair turned back to see the pale creature from before had returned.
Quinlan quickly unsheathed his short sword. His hand trembled at the handle.
"You know how to use that sword, bandage man?" Jonah gripped his wooden stick tightly.
Quinlan shook his head in silence.
"Fuck! I am too young to die!" Jonah said.
"Whoever is on the other side. You better get away from the door."
A glimpse of hope shined upon them as they heard the voice of a man on the outside.
Quinlan and Jonah quickly jumped away. The wall behind them exploded.
The stonewall was destroyed and from outside, a man in black entered.
He wore an all black attire with a straw hat on top. His face and hair were covered by a long piece of scarf.
In his hands were a bow and an arrow, ready to be pulled.
The man looked at the distraught Quinlan and Jonah then looked at the pale creature from afar.
"Pale skin. Sharp teeth. Gold eyes. I didn’t expect to see a ghoul here." Siderius said.
"Who even are you?" Jonah said.
Siderius glanced at him but didn’t respond. The ghoul bolted at Siderius’ direction.
The hunter scraped the obsidian arrow head on his silver bracer. The fire spark ignited the arrowhead and illuminated the room.
With one swift motion, Siderius pulled the bowstring, releasing the screaming arrow at the ghoul.
It was a perfect shot and the arrow went inside the ghoul’s left eye. The fire continued burning inside its head without stopping.
The arrowhead was dipped in slagpaste. It wouldn’t be extinguished that easily.
The creature wobbled on its feet. It turned back to try and get away.
Siderius wouldn’t let it do that. He still had two other arrows in his draw hand.
With two continuous motions, the next two shots were fired back to back. Each arrow pierced at the muscles behind the creature’s two knees.
It dropped to the ground without any chance of escaping. Siderius had made sure to destroy its mobility.
He switched to his assassin’s knife and approached the beast.
"Let me end your suffering." Siderius plunged the knife at its neck.
The creature’s skin and flesh was extra durable. It wasn’t something an ordinary human could withstand.
The ghoul squirmed under him but Siderius made sure to hold it down tightly. After a month of training, his body was no longer in the fragile state of what it used to be. Holding a monster down was lightwork.
Because of its thick flesh, Siderius had to saw his way through its neck. It took him a little bit to completely decapitate the ghoul.
The ghoul was resilient and was able to survive even when its brain was pierced by the arrow. The only way to kill it was flame or decapitation. Siderius had done the second.
He stood up from the creature and kicked it a few times to make sure it was dead. The blood of the creature dripped down from his black hunter uniform.
"And you two are?" Siderius turned toward the pair of survivors.
"What happened here?" Siderius approached them. He wiped the serrated knife with some piece of cloth before sheathing it.
"I would love to tell you what happened. But I suggest we get the hell out of here first!" Jonah jumped through the hole on the wall that Siderius had made.
"I wouldn’t do that if I were you." Siderius said.
Jonah didn’t stop and continued running away. His head collided with an invisible barrier that knocked him to the ground.
The circle on the ground lit up.
"What’s going on?" Jonah slowly got up, holding his head. He hit himself pretty hard.
Quinlan joined Jonah outside. He dropped down to examine the part of the circle on the ground.
"Is this a witch’s magic circle?" Quinlan said.
"Ah. You seem to be knowledgeable about it." Siderius joined the pair outside.
"Not really knowledgeable. But I do know a little bit about Eldoria’s witches." Quinlan said.
"How are we going to get out now?" Jonah said.
Quinlan didn’t answer because he himself didn’t know. The man turned his gaze toward Siderius, hoping the hunter would have the answer.
"It’s simple. Just kill the witch that made this."