"Mister Luke... Your Excellency, do you know my sister Zoe?"
Seeing that Luke did not answer, Irene quickly stepped forward and pressed him further.
"I don't know her, but we'll be eting her soon enough."
Luke did not elaborate further. If there was a place where anomaly points could be obtained, he would definitely go.
Irene grew even more confused and secretly gathered the courage to study Luke more carefully.
Suddenly, Luke stopped in front of the dimly lit church hall.
Caught off guard, Irene walked straight into him.
"Ouch~"
So hard!
Irene clutched her chest, feeling as though she had slamd into an indestructible wall.
The firm muscles beneath his clothes felt as though they contained endless power.
Father Burke's eyes twitched slightly. Considering the mysterious origins of Kamar-Taj and Luke, whose presence even surpassed that of the Pope, he wisely pretended not to notice the scene.
Ahead of them stood a nun with her back turned toward the group.
Father Burke touched the Bible in his hand and took a deep breath, as if drawing courage and strength from it.
He stepped forward and asked, "Hello. I am Father Burke from the Vatican. I am here to investigate the recent deaths at the convent. May I ask what exactly happened here? The Church needs to understand the situation."
The nun continued praying to Jesus with her head lowered. She appeared to be an exceptionally devout nun. Even with outsiders approaching, her prayers remained uninterrupted.
Soon, the elderly nun spoke in a hoarse voice. "Nothing has happened here. Everything is as it has always been."
"So you an to say you know nothing about this?"
Father Burke frowned, his tone growing harsher. "The body of the nun who committed suicide is currently stored in the ice cellar. Unless there were circumstances beyond her control, no nun would ever choose such a near-blasphemous act as suicide."
"Please call the others out as well. I need to speak with them. Only then can I guarantee this place's safety on behalf of the Church."
Those who committed suicide could not enter Heaven, not even the Lord's most devout followers.
Their only destination was Hell.
This was a well-known doctrine, especially for an officially ordained nun.
The elderly nun fell silent for a mont before continuing, "I'm afraid that will not be possible."
"They will send more people here soon. And when that happens, they will no longer be diplomatic representatives of the Church."
This ti, Father Burke's words carried an unmistakable threat beneath them.
Naturally, he was not the Church's main force. If real danger was confird, those who would arrive next would be bishops, nurous exorcist priests, and the police.
If this had been several hundred years ago, there would also have been the far more violent Papal Knights, but as for the modern Holy See... it was better not to ntion it.
The old nun fell silent once more before finally speaking again.
"If you seek answers, I can give them to you."
"However, it is already late. According to the rules of the convent, we will maintain silence until dawn."
"Return tomorrow, and you shall receive all the answers you seek."
"There are accommodations inside the convent. You may stay wherever you wish."
After saying this, the old nun fell silent once more.
Father Burke gently touched the Bible in his hands, clearly displeased by the old nun's evasive, riddle-like attitude.
Still, he respected the convent's rules.
However—
Father Burke turned toward Luke.
At the mont, Luke appeared distracted, as though he had not been listening to the conversation at all.
"Your Excellency Luke, tonight we..."
Before Father Burke could finish speaking, Luke walked straight forward.
"Wait, Your Excellency Luke. This place is under the Lord's gaze, we—"
Irene tried to stop Luke's rude behavior. Interrupting the silent prayers of devout believers so abruptly was inappropriate.
Luke paused slightly before speaking aningfully. "The Lord's gaze?"
"Are you referring to that statue of Jesus filled with evil energy?"
"Or perhaps you an the inverted cross over there?"
Luke pointed toward the cross hanging along the hallway wall. Unlike the crosses elsewhere, this one was hanging upside down.
Generally speaking, only cultists and heretics used inverted crosses, as they were often associated with the Devil.
Father Burke and Irene looked in the direction Luke indicated and imdiately saw the inverted cross.
Instantly, both of them felt a chill run down their spines.
Father Burke hurriedly gripped his Bible tightly.
Irene's face turned pale as well. Although she had not yet completed the final rites to beco a nun, she still understood what this symbol represented.
This was not so holy place under the gaze of Jesus. It was clearly a nest of demons.
What kind of place would hang an inverted cross beside a statue of Jesus?
It was blatant provocation. Pure blasphemy.
"Devil, stop pretending. Your illusion ans nothing before these eyes of mine."
"The decay, death, and stench clinging to your body cannot be hidden beneath a nun's robes."
Luke walked behind the old nun on his own, holy light gathering within his right hand.
The old nun remained silent. Then, under everyone's watchful gaze, she slowly turned around.
Instead of the kind elderly face they had expected, what appeared before them was a shriveled mummy.
The mummy stared at them with cloudy, deathly white eyes, its voice ancient and frail.
"You should never have co here. He has already descended!"
"Who is 'He'? And where are the others?" Father Burke pressed urgently.
"Dead. They are all dead!"
The old nun suddenly let out a piercing shriek and instantly transford into a walking corpse, lunging straight at Luke.
Luke did not even blink. He casually released a burst of Holy Fire, instantly reducing the old nun to ashes.
No anomaly points?
Trash.
Luke frowned slightly before continuing deeper into the convent.
Wong raised two golden rings, prepared to enter battle at any mont.
Irene and Father Burke were completely stunned by the scene.
Wait... was that real? He actually knew magic?
"Father, does the Holy See possess powerful magic as well?"
Irene asked expectantly.
After all, as servants of the Lord who had existed for thousands of years, surely the Church had so extraordinary abilities.
Father Burke fell silent for a mont before shaking his head. "No."
Irene asked unwillingly, "Then what do you have?"
Burke lifted the Bible in his hand and gave it a slight shake. "We have the Bible."
"Then... can the Bible perform exorcisms?"
"...No."
Faced with Irene's relentless questions, Burke felt utterly defeated.
Seeing the disappointed look on the novice nun's face, he quickly added, "But we do possess many holy relics capable of driving away these damned devils!"
"And after death, we can ascend to Heaven and listen to the Lord's teachings."
Hearing this, a glimr of hope appeared in Irene's eyes.
However, a faint scoff sounded from ahead. Although it vanished quickly, Irene could clearly tell it was Luke's mocking laugh.
"Your Excellency Luke, is sothing wrong?"
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