The girl looked frightened by the sudden change in the priest’s expression.
“Why… why do I have to take off my clothes?” she asked cautiously.
“The evil demon has entered your body,” the priest replied patiently.
“I must purify it with holy water. Only with your body fully exposed can the infusion of sacred power be completed.”
The girl nodded hesitantly, her fear easing a little.
She reached up to unbutton her dress.
Bang!
The door to the secret room slammed open with a violent kick.
A tall, imposing shadow filled the doorway.
Alexander stood there, his gaze sweeping across the disturbing chamber and the hypocritical priest.
“Coaxing young girls is one thing,” he said coldly, “but you want to play this kind of game too? You really know how to enjoy yourself, old man.”
“Who are you?” the priest demanded, panic flashing in his eyes.
“This is a restricted area of the church! Are you not afraid of the Lord’s punishment?”
Alexander’s smile was thin and chilling.
“Even if Jesus himself showed up today, he wouldn’t be able to save you.”
The naive girl tried to defend the priest.
“You misunderstand… Father only wants to help expel the demon from my body.”
Alexander looked down at her with an unreadable expression.
There was no point trying to explain everything to someone so deeply conditioned by faith.
The girl opened her mouth to protest, but Alexander’s intense gaze made her shrink back.
She fled the room without another word.
Now alone with the priest in the sealed chamber, Alexander raised three fingers.
“Three questions.”
“First: Where did you learn how to deal with werewolves?”
The priest’s face twisted with anger.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is a church. You are not a believer. Leave at once!”
Bang!
“Arrrghh!!!”
A gunshot echoed.
The priest clutched his thigh and collapsed, screaming in pain.
He stared in terror at the smoking revolver in Alexander’s hand.
“I don’t like that answer,” Alexander said calmly.
He opened the cylinder, emptied five bullets, and left only one before snapping it shut.
“You have five chances. Answer wrong, and I pull the trigger. Let’s see if your Lord protects you.”
He pressed the muzzle against the priest’s forehead.
“Same question. Where did you learn how to deal with werewolves?”
“It… it was a divine revelation from the Lord!” the priest blurted desperately.
Click.
“Four chances left.”
The priest broke instantly.
“It was the village chief! He told me!”
“Why would he tell you?”
“Because… because I saw him leaving the village at night and bringing supplies in from outside.”
Alexander narrowed his eyes.
That was interesting.
Everyone claimed leaving the village meant certain death by werewolves.
So how was the chief doing it safely and why keep it secret?
“Last question,” Alexander said, gesturing around the grim room full of restraints and torture instruments.
“How many people have you brought in here?”
The priest froze, unable to give a clear number.
Alexander lowered the gun and aimed at the man’s crotch.
Bang!
“Arghhh!!” The priest’s agonized wail filled the room.
Alexander shook his head.
“You should have picked a more reliable boss. Looks like your Lord isn’t very effective after all.”
He hadn’t rigged the gun, there really had been only one bullet.
The priest’s luck had simply run out.
Alexander turned and left the secret room, holstering the revolver.
His original body may have been a Christian believer, but he had always walked his own path.