The instant the eyes on the head opened, a chill wind suddenly whirled through the basement.
The candles, oil lamps, and even the sole electric light went out.
The entire basement plunged into darkness.
Only two crimson points bloomed with a savage glow.
Those were... the head's eyes!
"Watch out!"
The sudden change startled John, but it did not frighten the sheriff into inaction. He drew his flintlock revolver and fired at the head while pulling the old nun behind him.
John had not forgotten his promise to Lidd to protect the old nun.
However, things turned out somewhat unexpectedly.
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Three shots in a row struck the head squarely in the forehead.
Although the surroundings were dark, the glow from the head's eyes provided John with the best possible illumination, like a "guiding light."
Yet the head was completely unharmed!
Other than throwing off a few sparks, the bullets had no effect at all.
Instead, an icy sensation traveled from his hand and swiftly spread throughout his body.
Not the hand holding the gun!
It was... the hand holding the old nun's.
"Could it be?!"
The ominous suspicion rising in his heart made John instinctively try to let go.
But the hand holding the old nun seemed to have been glued in place with powerful adhesive. No matter what he did, he could not release it.
And that coldness sank ever deeper into his bones.
Along with the cold came a slick liquid running down his neck. He did not need to touch it; with his experience as a police officer and that foul, bloody stench, he could tell it was blood.
Then, the head appeared before John.
Their necks touched, their four eyes met.
It looked exceedingly intimate.
But if he had any choice, John would