《Bloodborne》 Prologue The city of Yharnam, a place of healing and miracles, is the destination of many foreign travellers seeking blood healing. The legend says that some type of sacred blood is used to help cure any type of ailment. And so it is that many travellers set sail to seek the sacred city and its great cathedral. In the beginning, the city was ruled by the royal family in Cainhurst. The castle was accessible only through a bridge that connects to Hemwick, a small village by the west of Yharnam. The royal family ruled for many years and with the help of the biggest academy in the region, Bergenwerth, they managed to make great discoveries, thus advancing science and healing. Bergenwerth, which was accessible only to elite students, was a great place of learning¡­ Or so they say, as the place concealed many dubious practices for the sake of knowledge seeking. The head of the academy, Willem lead different excavations into the tomb of the gods that lay beneath the city of Yharnam. In doing so, scholars had discovered a holy medium that allowed them to heal any kind of injury or illness using blood. The source of the blood remained unknown, and the practice of blood healing had created a split within the academy. Willem and his closest apprentice, Laurence, didn¡¯t agree on the use of blood in order to heal illnesses. Willem saw it as cursed practice while Laurence saw in it the fruition of all their efforts in order to bring mankind to the next step in their evolutionary cycle. Both Willem and Laurence were seeking the same objective. Albeit differing on the method to use, both longed for humankind¡¯s evolution into another realm, into godhood itself. The discovery of the tombs of the gods below the city had started an evolutionary movement within the academy. Their theory was that ancient beings inhabited the city of Yharnam beforehand and had managed to make contact with greater beings called the ¡°Great Ones¡±. Great Ones were worshipped as Gods and used to communicate with the Pthumerians, the ancient inhabitants of the city of Yharnam. That communication with the Great Ones allowed the Pthumerians to ascend to a new level of existence, enhancing their physical abilities and allowing them to use powers akin to magic, arcane powers. Furthermore, an average Pthumerian could live longer than humans by a long stretch. Evidence of that was provided when scholars encountered few of them during their numerous tomb excavations. Pthumerians have become only shells, serving to guard the tombs where the gods are buried. Killing one of them takes immense power and reflexes. Many scholars had lost their lives going into the tomb where the first Pthumerian was encountered until hunters came into play. Among the first hunters was Gherman. Some say he was the first hunter, others say that he helped create the order of hunters. Hunters were extremely agile and fearsome fighters. They fought using trick weapons that transform according to the situations they were in. With the help of Laurence, Hunters had discovered an even more powerful tool to make themselves almost invincible: Blood Ministration. By injecting oneself with the blood scavenged from the holy medium discovered by Laurence and his followers, one could heal from any injury instantly by just injecting a small syringe into their bloodstream, making hunters even more aggressive and fearsome. With the help of the hunters, Laurence had split from his master at the academy of Byrgenwerth and set off to Yharnam to create the healing church. The establishment of the church ushered a new age for Yharnamites, nuns administered blood healing to everyone. The process would go as follows; nuns would go through blood ministration and mix Old blood to their own. They would imbibe the blood continuously as long as they are part of the healing church. By mixing her blood with the Old one, a nun can administer blood healing to any and all by simply injecting them with her own blood. And so, the healing properties are transferred to ailing humans but the enhanced reflexes and physical abilities do not pass on to them. Or so the church thought¡­If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. For years, blood was administered at the healing church, and pilgrims from all over the worlds started coming to the city with hopes of healing. The church had gained in fame and power and settled at the top part of the city, called the Cathedral Ward. Getting access to the church became harder and blood started being manufactured. Blood would be then sold in bottles in the Cathedral Ward and in Central Yharnam. The taste of blood was addicting, and at the same time intoxicating. People would rush to consume it in numbers and the number of nuns at the cathedral had multiplied since then in order to face the increasing demand. On the other side of town, the royal family in Cainhurst did not appreciate the fact that the church had started gaining more power. Blood started being venerated as a holy practice and the Great Ones were looked upon as Gods of that new movement. A religion had started to form around Blood ministration and Cainhurst Castle had to step in to reaffirm their position as rulers of the city. Luckily the queen had one of her faithful spies bring back a sample of the blood used for blood ministration. That sample was brought back from Byrgenwerth as the spy had infiltrated the academy as a scholar. The castle started then developing their own method of blood ministration which led to unpredictable consequences. The people at the castle became known as vilebloods for the nature of the blood they had used in the first place. The spy, confusing it with Old Blood had given the queen a forbidden one that changed the people imbibing it into blood starved beings, hungry to consume more. Big feasts were held at the castle and the people invited to go over and attend it had never come back. This led to a big split between the church and the castle, both becoming mortal enemies to each other. In the meantime, tragedy struck the lower parts of Yharnam. Blood healing had begun in order to heal diseases deemed incurable. However, some people in Old Yharnam started manifesting some bad side effects. The more blood they imbibe, the sicklier they become. Coughing blood was the first sign of the side effect, then came extreme increase in body temperature followed hallucinations and aggressive behavior. Gherman, the hunters leader had decided to hunt the aggressive folk and led a small group with him into Old Yharnam. What they saw in the dark streets of the old city had confirmed their fears. There were no sick people, only beasts that come at night to hunt humans. It seemed that by using the Old Blood, humans had brought the wrath of the gods on them, unleashing beasts to feast and punish the sinners. Hunters on the other hand, had the situation in control and ordered the people to hide inside their houses on nights of the hunt. The nights of the hunt happens every full moon, that¡¯s when the beasts show up and the fight begins. Gherman recruited and trained more hunters in order to help with the numerous hunts and blood ministration was given to those chosen hunters in order to enhance their capabilities. Hunters multiplied in numbers but the beasts kept on coming. Yharnamites became used to the hunts and closed themselves up in their houses every full moon night. Gherman and Laurence rose to power and controlled the safety of Yharnam while Queen Annalise in Cainhurst castle retreated and didn¡¯t show her face to anyone ever again. No one knew what had happened to her or why she disappeared. Our story takes place hundreds of years after these events. 1 - A journey to the city of blood Since the death of his mother Surgit had sought the legendary city of Yharnam. Both his parents had died from an incurable disease. His doctor had informed him that unfortunately that ailment was hereditary and he had only two years before succumbing to it as well. An old lady in the clinic had talked to him about the legend of Yharnam and he had spent six months searching for evidence of its existence. Through reading ancient books he had found references to its placement and he set out to find it. In order to reach the lost city of Yharnam, one had to set sail through a stormy sea. The dangerous journey would take three weeks. Arriving to the city was a myth, known to all sailors and everyone attempting to reach Yharnam either lost their lives or never came back to tell the tale. Hence, no sailor wanted to hear about Surgit¡¯s story and his desire to reach a city where his dream of recovery may come true. He became known in the port as the mad one spreading legends about a dangerous myth. Everyone avoided him and thought that he was cursed until one day, a woman approached him. She was wearing a black cloak and Surgit could barely see the face underneath it. It was her voice that confirmed her gender. She spoke in a soft, almost melodious voice: ¡°My master would like to meet you; he¡¯s very interested in your story.¡± She handed him a sealed envelope with a wolf¡¯s head on its sealing wax. ¡°Come to the mansion tomorrow at noon.¡± And she disappeared among the crowd of the filling market. The mansion she talked about was a famous one. It belonged to Francis Kaiman, the richest man in the country. Eight months had gone by and he found himself on a ship, sailing towards an unknown destination. The captain had informed him that only he and some crew members wanted to go on the expedition. Each had different hopes, but a legend is a legend, and no one knew for sure whether the city existed or not. Surgit had had to combine different pieces of information and put the puzzle together in order to draw an estimated route for the fabled city. His contribution was the map. He had neither strength nor money to fund such a dangerous expedition. To be part of this perilous expedition, each member of the crew had to contribute something. No ordinary passengers were allowed. On the ship there were Damian and Paul. Both were mercenaries and hoped to find a greater source of power in Yharnam. The rich man paying for the expedition was Francis Kaiman. He had accumulated billions thanks to his multiple enterprises, but life had become dull for him and he started seeking legends in order to reach enlightenment. He had left his wealth in the care of his children and set out to find enlightenment. He had brought a team of 10 skilled warriors with him in order to keep him secure, including the mysterious woman who had summoned Surgit to the mansion. The captain had agreed to lend them his ship as he longed for one ¡°last adventure¡± as he had put it the first time Surgit approached him. He was Surgit¡¯s last resort. No skilled captain was brave enough to seek the legend of Yharnam. All valued their lives and the lives of their crew members. Only the man known as ¡°The Captain¡± was foolish enough to take on such an enterprise. He had lost his crew to a terrible storm while they were sailing towards a treasure island. Surgit¡¯s request sounded to him like salvation, a way to join his brothers if ever this trip came to a morbid end.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. As legend has it, Yharnam is now inhabited by deadly beasts and humans are scarce. In order to seek blood ministration, one has to find a member of the church and get him to agree to inject him with Old Blood. Money had no value in Yharnam and being rich cannot buy you a blood ministration. Only wits, strength or sheer luck can get you what you seek. Damian and Paul were confident in their ability to convince a member of the church to administer blood for them as they were strong and skilled fighters. Francis on the other hand was seeking the scholars, he was convinced that conversing with them and demonstrating his wits can get him high up in the ranks and give him access to sacred knowledge. Surgit had gathered them that day to share with them all the information he had on Yharnam. ¡°Listen up, we¡¯re getting close to our destination, the mist has thickened and the atmosphere has just gotten heavier. This is happening exactly as I read in all those tales.¡± Everyone was listening carefully. Surgit was their only source of knowledge regarding the expedition. He had read a great deal about Yharnam since he first heard about it. From all the books he managed to find and thanks to the expansive library in Francis¡¯ mansion, Surgit had managed to gather some information, albeit scarce, about the lost city and its legend. He knew the trip towards the city was dangerous, but the information he had read in one of the books still haunted his mind. 2 - Trouble at the dock The atmosphere was indeed getting heavier and tenser; suddenly they hear the captain¡¯s voice: ¡°Land Ho¡±. The majestic legendary city was at last at sight. From the ship, they could make a great towering building through the fog with a clock at its top. In the midst of that tense scene, as Francis¡¯ bodyguards were preparing to strike, a terrible sound could be heard in the distance. It resembled the howling of a wolf, only with a lower pitch that can send chills through your spine. All men stopped in their tracks and their heads turned once more towards the city. Surgit had been observing the layout of the city before the fight had started between the men on deck. ¡°That sound came from where we¡¯re headed, it seems like trouble is meeting us at the port¡±. All men hurried to the bow in order to have a clearer view of what was awaiting them. They saw an old port with only one functioning dock. The wood on the platforms seemed dangerously old but no living soul was to be seen around. Although it was difficult to see anything through the thick fog that formed around the port, the captain managed to bring the ship to a standstill next to the wooden platform.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Everybody had disembarked when the captain announced that there was no way to moor or anchor the ship in the port. ¡°You¡¯ll have to find a rope with which we can pull the ship into the dockyard. It¡¯s a port, there has to be a-¡° as he was shouting his instructions to everyone down at the dock, a cannon ball had hit the ship and the captain was blast into the water by the impact. Fire had already started consuming the boat. Damien and Paul had managed to kill two of Francis¡¯s bodyguards; their qualm with him hadn¡¯t finished yet. When the others had tried to retaliate they took advantage of the second cannon ball that hit the ship to make their escape and disappear from sight. Surgit looked around to find the captain and try to help him out to safety. He saw a man swimming towards the platform and he went over to help him but a third blow by the cannon had shattered the platform and sent him flying backwards. 3 - Wounded and tied up As he opened his eyes, Surgit found himself tied up in a bed. It seemed like a hospital bed; only, his hands and feet were tied up. He tried to test his strength against the shackles binding him and break free but he felt his strength betraying him. Since his sickness started manifesting more than one year ago, he felt the urgency to find a cure for his ailing body. Now with only about ten months to live, his body had become weaker and his sickly appearance was a joke to everyone on the boat. ¡°How did I even think I could survive this expedition?¡± He thought to himself as he struggled to break free from his chains. ¡°I was foolish to believe that I could survive here¡­¡± He felt despair building up inside of him. ¡°Here I am, in god knows where, trying to break from chains made by monsters or possibly, something worse¡­¡± ¡°Just relax and wait for the blood to take effect. I had already injected you with our Yharnam blood. You should feel the kick in a few minutes.¡± The old man said in a mocking tone. ¡°By the end of this, it will all seem like a mere bad dream¡­. Hahhaha¡­..hahahahahaha¡­¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. 4 - Dream or reality? As the old man continued laughing hysterically, Surgit felt heavier with his eyelids closing while he struggled to keep his consciousness and ask the old man more urging questions that came into his mind. How is he supposed to leave Yharnam? They arrived at the night of the hunt? Of all possible nights, that was his worst case scenario. He even planned the trip to start on a full moon in order to reach Yharnam three weeks later. It was too early for the hunt to begin. As all these thoughts and questions were rushing in his mind he lost consciousness and his eyes closed. He opened his eyes once again because of a splashing sound. He was still tied up to the bed. He could only move his head. Surgit turned left to see a big pool of blood next to his bed. The splashing came from underneath it. For some reason, he couldn¡¯t speak nor open his mouth. He looked with horror as he saw a beast, half man, half wolf. It appeared to be a werewolf and it was coming from underneath the blood pool. He tried to move or force his mouth to open and shout something. Maybe the old man may hear him and come to his rescue. Nothing, his mouth was still closed and the beast had emerged from the pool, soaked in blood. It came close to him and extended its claws, as if to touch him. As soon as its claws made contact with Surgit, the beast caught on fire and the whole pool of blood became fire which engulfed the werewolf and consumed it. Surgit didn¡¯t know how to react to this situation. His mouth wouldn¡¯t open still and his arms¡­Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. His arms wouldn¡¯t move but he felt something clinging to them. He looked in front of him to see ghostly forms. White little creature with only an open mouth and tiny teeth on their faces started climbing on top of his body, their tiny hands were clutching his clothes and they were advancing towards him. He could count seven of those tiny creatures on his chest at that moment, and more were climbing the bed to join them. Surgit started shaking his head violently, the only movement his body seemed to allow. Alas the creatures just kept on climbing and going for his head. All he could muster was a scream inside of his head, he lost consciousness again. When he came to his senses, Surgit found himself unchained, still on the same bed and intact. Furthermore, his body felt revitalized. He didn¡¯t feel the sickness that was eating away at him anymore. He felt his body with his hand to discover that he had new, bigger muscles. His body had transformed dramatically. ¡°It¡¯s real!¡± he thought with excitement, ¡°the blood ministration isn¡¯t a myth, look at this body, look at these muscles, I¡¯m a different person now.¡± During the months which consumed his body, he had observed his body shrink in size. 5 - A new hunter arises Before he received news of his illness, he was a tall fit man. He was born in a family of merchants and his education encouraged taking care of oneself. He used to practice sword fighting in the academy and he hoped that one day, he¡¯d become an army general. His physique and look were more than average. His biggest assets were his smile and youthful exuberance. During his days at the academy, he had attracted the attention of army officials, who offered him a job in the army as soon as he graduated. News of his parents¡¯ illness however reached the army¡¯s general who discharged him of his duties. The ashen blood was hereditary and it was only a matter of time before it manifested on him. There was hope that it wouldn¡¯t show on Surgit though and doctors told him that it was a rare occurrence. As months went by and as he observed his parents die after the other, his mental strength gave way and he succumbed to drinking and addiction. The old lady, who appeared out of nowhere in the clinic, gave him hope. A futile hope nonetheless but it was worth investigating. At this moment, the futility of the idea seemed senseless to Surgit. He actually found Yharnam and the negative attitude he had about the place had vanished as soon as he saw the magical properties of blood healing. In his excitement, he found himself jumping around in a room that looked like a library. The bed where he lay minutes ago had chains on its side, only this time, they appeared to have been broken by someone. ¡°Did I do this?¡± He thought to himself. He looked around. It was a circular room. Bookcases with old, dingy books were aligned against the circular wall and in the middle of the room lay the bed, with chains on its sides to hold humans from their arms and feet. Next to the bed there was a bedside table, full of syringes and vials that appeared to have contained blood. ¡°This is definitely where I met the old man. I wonder where he is right now¡±. He noticed two doors. The one on his right was locked while the one on his left that led downstairs and into an ante room. Feeling the urge to explore the place, he went down.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The anteroom had a crumbling wooden floor. On the walls, bookcases were put against them at every corner. On some of the shelves, old books had been arranged. Surgit took one and inspected it. Apart from its leather cover that stayed intact, the content had long disappeared and only yellow papers remained. What startled Surgit was the amount of bloody medical instruments that lay on the shelves. Dry blood and dust was all that remained in this place. On a corner of the room, he saw a wooden chair. The chair had binding belts that could bind a sitting person from their chest, arms and feet. That place was no safe place after all. Surgit left the room to find yet other stairs that led further down. He found himself in a bigger, more open room. There were beds arranged everywhere, in the style of the one he was tied up to upstairs. The scene he was witnessing horrified Surgit to death. Corpses were laying at some of the beds, while on others, there seemed to be only remains. Arms on one bed, legs on another, this place seemed to be an experimental one of sorts, and he somehow managed to survive the experiment. He heard a noise at the far end of the room. It was dark in there and the lights were dim so Surgit made some more steps to see what the source of the noise was, he felt his heart racing as he moved towards it. The more he approached, the more he could see shapes in front of him. He could count two and one was bigger than the other. As he approached the two silhouettes, his heart skipped a beat, a gigantic werewolf, was busy eating a corpse by the floor. Surgit stopped and, realizing the werewolf hadn¡¯t spotted him yet, tried to devise a plan to get out of the place. 6 - To face a werewolf… barehanded Going back up can only lead the werewolf to following him or looking for a new scent of prey to hunt. He could see that there was an exit door in front of where the werewolf was busy devouring the body on the floor. ¡°There¡¯s that bottle, maybe I can hide and throw it to the other side of the room, it will try to verify the source of the sound and I will have a distraction to use for my escape.¡± He thought while he kept his eyes on the werewolf for any sign of it moving towards him. He carefully took some steps back and hid behind a curtain that used to separate two beds and he executed his plan. The werewolf turned around to look at the source of the noise and let out a deafening scream. Surgit could feel his heart pounding against his chest, he had to time his escape perfectly otherwise he might become the beast¡¯s next meal. As it made for the source of the noise, Surgit started shifting slowly towards the exit door. ¡°Cling!¡± he had hit a bottle laying on the floor with his foot. The following actions were a blur in Surgit¡¯s mind. The beast had turned around, seen him and started running towards him, smashing all the beds that were between them. Surgit had used all his willpower to get his legs to move and ran as fast as he could. All he could see was that exit door. He¡¯d go out and close it behind him. After all it seemed like a big oaken door that could hold a beast for some minutes until he could find a way out of this terrible situation. He reached the door and closed it after him. The plan worked, the beast was still pounding at the door. He turned around to quickly find a way out of there when if front him, he saw a man with a big axe attacking him and aiming at his head ¡°thud¡±. Blood filled his eyes and he saw the man¡¯s long teeth, red eyes and furry arms looking at him with fury and delight.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Surgit opened his eyes once more and found himself in a garden, lying face down on the grass. He looked up and saw an enormous moon in the sky, illuminating a huge hill. There was a garden full of white flowers and grass. It seemed like it was the only thing that could grow over there. A curved passageway in the middle of the garden led to a small wooden house on top of the hill. All around the house, gravestones could be seen surrounding it. It made for a harrowing scene. The house looked old. It seemed that no one had been living there for a very long time. Behind the house, Surgit saw tree branches. The gigantic tree lay in the middle of another garden to which access had been restricted by fences and an iron locked door. He turned around and he saw that the hill was surrounded by metal barriers, barring access in and out of it. On the distance, Surgit saw only fog; the place resembled a floating island. Not a living sound could be heard at all. No birds, no insects on the ground and¡­ no wind at all. It felt like the calm before the storm. That place frightened Surgit but at the same time he felt relieved to be there. The gravestones gave the place a sinister look even though its calm and flowers soothed Surgit¡¯s heart. After what had just happened to him, a few moments of silence were all he needed. 7 - The creature in the basin ¡°Did I just die? Where am I?¡± Surgit was at a loss and couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. Was it a dream? Or was it reality? All he could remember were the fearful red eyes of the man who had buried his axe on his head. He walked towards the barriers to have a clearer idea on where he was. As he stood in front of it, his mind was struck with puzzlement. All he could see in front him was a sea of fog. What looked like rock pillars pierced the fog everywhere and looking down; it felt like it was a real floating island. What was this place? Why is he there? Was he still in Yharnam? Or is this afterlife? He decided to walk towards the house; maybe he¡¯d find someone to answer his questions. As he approached the house, He saw a woman lying down opposite a wall next to the front door. She didn¡¯t move at all. ¡°A corpse!¡± thought Surgit. He approached it to look at it more carefully. ¡°The only person to provide me with information about this place is a dead woman, great!¡± He thought sarcastically. The woman was in fact a doll, a real life replica of a human being. She looked like a sleeping beauty. It had ashen hair and wore an elegant crimson dress. Her open surcoat revealed half its bosom and the bodice was tightly laced with golden laces. He could see that the doll was made with great care and attention to detail. It looked almost like a sleeping woman, only her skin was pale and there seemed to be no veins in the body. Surgit stood up after inspecting the doll and looked at his left.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. He saw a basin next to the back door of the wooden house. It was a small ivory fountain. The water in it looked black. No one had touched it in a long time. While he was approaching it to have a closer look, he saw movement in the water, as if it was boiling. From underneath it appeared a small white creature, with a mouth and tiny teeth for its face. Surgit jumped back, that nightmarish creature again. ¡°Is this thing real? I must be hallucinating. It was just a dream.¡± The creature made a sound, as if it was a murmur, indistinct and faint. Surgit felt drawn towards it and he approached. The creature¡¯s only movement was to extend its hands towards him. It seemed like it couldn¡¯t leave the basin. It didn¡¯t talk, or at least Surgit didn¡¯t understand what it was mumbling. Although it didn¡¯t have eyes, it could feel Surgit and follow his movement. He tried talking to it to no avail. He extended his hand to touch it and he felt the cold tiny hands against his skin that sent shivers down his spine. The creature seemed harmless and at last it made a movement. It pointed with its hands towards the house, as if inviting him to go inside. As he reached the front door, a man¡¯s voice could be heard: ¡°Come in¡± said the voice. 8 - New weapons Surgit opened the door to find himself in a big rectangular room with a fireplace in the middle. In front of the fireplace sat a man on his wheelchair. Surgit had so many questions in mind and at last he had found someone to give him some sort of clarifications. Alas, Gherman wouldn¡¯t move. Surgit tried shaking him out of his deep sleep but the old man kept on snoring, oblivious to how he was being hysterically shaken. He looked around and saw many types of weapons hanging from the ceiling. Swords he had never seen the likes of. Long axes, scythes, and big weapons that resembled a barber¡¯s blade were all displayed everywhere. Firearms hung on walls and opposite the fireplace, he could see a workshop where some weapon parts were scattered. He reached for the barber¡¯s blade and untied it. It had a long wooden handle and the blade attached to the handle through a circular metallic device. The device was rusted but it looked like the weapon could be opened and closed. Surgit inspected the blade and saw that it was made like a saw that could cut from both sides. The saw however was rusted too and Surgit felt frustrated. How was he supposed to fight with rusted old weaponry? ¡°The messenger!!¡± he shouted and made for the fountain outside. He remembered Gherman¡¯s words and he went to see the little white creature again. Once he reached it, the creature disappeared inside the black liquid, to reappear a moment later holding an axe. The axe looked bigger than the messenger and Surgit wondered how such a small thing could hold such a gigantic weapon. He took the axe and tried swinging it in the air. It had a good feel and its weight wasn¡¯t too heavy. The handle could be elongated at any moment to make it suitable for long ranged attacks.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The messenger extended his hands towards him and took the weapon from Surgit. He dived into the pool to emerge again holding the saw that looked like a barber¡¯s razor blade. Surgit tried some movements with it in the air and was satisfied with its reactivity. The weapon was light and could be transformed into a longer one at any time by just extending his arm outwards. He could bring the saw back to its initial form by just performing the same movement in the opposite direction. 9 - The werewolf strikes again The messenger nodded its head in approval, with its open mouth and protruding small teeth, Surgit couldn¡¯t understand what the messenger¡¯s nod meant. Before he could say anything to it though, it disappeared again and reappeared holding a pistol. The pistol had a wooden hilt and a metallic barrel coated with wood. The elegant look gave it a feel of a miniature musket. The messenger made a growling sound and shook the pistol in his direction. It seemed like it wasn¡¯t going to give up. Surgit then took it with a sigh and aimed it at a tree bark in the distance. He shot the pistol and he watched the bullet pierce through the bark, travelling further in the distance. He heard then a clicking noise and looked at the pistol. It was automatically reloading itself with silver bullets. Astonished at the power of the pistol, Surgit inspected its hilt and found a magazine holding six bullets in its chamber. The pistol apparently had been altered to allow quick successive shots. This weapon looked more appealing to Surgit at that moment and he decided to keep it. The messenger made another growl and Surgit turned around to look at it. At that moment, the messenger was holding a lamp with a dim blue flame in the middle. Surgit looked at the lamp and felt drawn to it. In the flame, he saw a picture. Small at first, he could barely see the content of the picture, the latter started expanding though and he started noticing some details. It looked like the room where he was chained beforehand in Yharnam. He didn¡¯t understand how he could have such a clear vision from such a tiny flame. He stepped back and looked around. Surgit found himself in the anteroom, surrounded by books and the smell of blood. He was back in Yharnam. It seemed that he teleported to this place by just looking at the lamp and its blue fire. Nothing had changed in the room, the chair and the binding belts were there, shelves full of syringes and blood. The only difference this time around was that Surgit was holding a saw on one hand and pistol on the other. He felt safer and more confident. He thought of the werewolf he had encountered downstairs and he wondered if it was still there. Hurriedly, he looked around the room for some leather straps to make a holster for his pistol. It was growing heavier on his arms and if he had to fight using the saw, he preferred to keep the pistol for emergencies. He managed to attach some strips together on his waste from the binding belts on the chair and made a somewhat convenient holster.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. His only concern now was the werewolf downstairs. Could he fight it? Would he survive this time? What happens if he gets struck again by an axe or by the beast¡¯s claws? As these thoughts raced through his mind, he heard a noise at the door, turning around to look at the source; his feet were immobilized by fear. The werewolf was at the door, baring its fangs at him. There was nowhere to escape to. The only exit was the one the beast was blocking. ¡°Upstairs!¡± he exclaimed in his mind as Surgit made for the stairs leading to the room where he awoke the first time. He ran upstairs with the beast at his heals. He was going to try and close the door at the beast again and then think of a strategy. As he reached the upper floor, he found the door closed. ¡°Oh no¡­.¡± he turned around to look at the beast. He swore he saw it smiling. He tried to move but to no avail. The sight of the beast was unnerving, and looking at it preparing to attack him made his limbs tremble with fear. He could not control his feelings; he knew what was going to happen next. As the werewolf jumped at him, he felt its fangs penetrate his chest. He felt his flesh getting ripped apart and the pain searing through his veins. He felt the werewolf¡¯s fangs bite into his flesh and with a screeching scream and tears in his eyes, Surgit lost consciousness. 10 - A cornered beast He woke up to find himself in the same room again. The bookcases with old medical equipment on its shelves and the chair which used to have binding belts, Surgit felt his body with his hands. Not a single scratch was to be found on his body. ¡°I¡¯m definitely experiencing a very bad dream.¡± He thought to himself. One moment ago, he felt the pain burning though his body as the werewolf attacked him. ¡°The werewolf! It must be still here¡± He still had his saw in his hand and the pistol attached to his belt. This time, he was determined to strike first. He wanted to know what was happening to him and he realized that only by getting out of this place, could he hope to get a grasp of what was going on. He left the room and went down the stairs. The werewolf was patrolling the previously dark room. Surgit remembered how the lights were dimly lit in this place but he couldn¡¯t help but notice that he could see the exit door as clearly as if daylight had penetrated the room. The werewolf, catching Surgit¡¯s scent turned towards him and lunged forward. He was ready this time as he quickly upholstered his pistol and shot the beast on the chest. The force of the impact sent the werewolf flying backwards and with a deafening scream, it bared its teeth at Surgit. ¡°Oh shit!¡± was his last thought. The werewolf moved so fast and sliced his throat open.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Back in the room again, Surgit gasping for breath, inspected his neck and found it intact. ¡°I can¡¯t die¡± He felt confidence surging into his whole being. He felt stronger and ready to face the werewolf again. As he went down, he was prepared to try his saw and see if he could damage the beast. As the werewolf attacked him another time, he noticed something new happening to him. The beast¡¯s movements seemed clear to him. For some reason he couldn¡¯t explain, he found himself side stepping easily and avoiding the werewolf¡¯s first strike. He lunged forward to avoid its jumping attack and found himself behind it. For the first time since he arrived to this place, he felt like he had the upper hand. The beast was now open so he swung his saw at it and felt his weapon tear through its flesh. It was as sharp as a razor and the wound it inflicted was large and deep. The beast let out a painful howl as Surgit stroke again with his weapon cutting down its leg. The beast started limping away towards a corner. Surgit felt the fear that the beast was experiencing and he advanced towards it confidently. With two other swings, he was sure of killing the beast. He felt its fangs pierce his chest. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡± He saw blood oozing out of his body and felt his strength fading away. His knees hit the floor and he felt the beasts fangs clutching against his neck, choking him to death. Never underestimate a cornered beast. He was back in the anteroom again. 11 - Werewolf down Surgit couldn¡¯t die but at the same time he understood that underestimating his enemy would lead him to his demise. He went back down, determined to finish the poor dying beast and pay more attention the next time he encounters an enemy. As he reached the large room, he discovered that the werewolf had also regenerated. He wasn¡¯t the only one who couldn¡¯t die¡­ His morale took a hit. What would happen if he kills it this time? Would it come back to life and attack him again? There was only one way to find out. It hadn¡¯t noticed him yet so he decided to be the first one to strike. With his saw in hand, he ran towards the beast and as it turned around to look at him he struck at its head. The beast retaliated with a swing of its arm. Surgit dodged to the right and cut its left hind leg. The beast was in agony and blood flowed from the injury. It tried to attack again in its pain and fury, but Surgit could see through its attacks and dodged them all easily. He tore down its second leg and an arm. He enjoyed this vengeful feeling as he swung at the beast numerous times until it lay motionless. He was panting and feeling his heart pounding heavily against his chest. He had managed to slice this beast open with less effort than anticipated. The resulting adrenaline rush from this victorious encounter had left him smiling but grasping for breath. He hadn¡¯t felt this way in a very long time. He was soaked with blood, and satisfied. He felt stronger. The blood ministration cured him and gave him new powers. He was wondering if the beast would ever come back to life so he waited.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The formerly dark room was now lit and Surgit could see more details about it that he had omitted. He saw lanterns that hung on the walls, most of them were extinguished except for the one close to the exit door. The room was large and had railings on what appeared to be the second floor. As he suspected, experiments or medical procedures used to take place in there. People used to also observe what was happening at the floor where he stood from above. He still didn¡¯t know if this was a research facility or a hospital. He decided to go out and inspect the area in order to get more information. The werewolf wasn¡¯t coming back. ¡°Now to get my revenge on the axe wielding man¡± he said as he made his way towards the exit door. The door was closed as he left it the last time when he escaped the werewolf. He pricked his ears to make sure that nothing was awaiting him at the other end and opened the door carefully. A cool breeze brushed against his face as he walked outside. He could see that the area outside used to be a well-kept garden. Only at that moment, plants seemed to be dying and only a grayish color remained on some of the bushes around. Contemplating the garden would come later though as Surgit noticed a movement on his far right. The axe wielding man had spotted him and began his approach. Surgit felt his heart pounding again in anticipation of the upcoming confrontation. He didn¡¯t know why the man wanted him dead, all he knew is that he needed to defend himself. 12 - Doctor Iosefka ¡°You¡¯re not welcome here¡± said the man as he widely swung his axe towards Surgit. Seeing through the attack this time, Surgit managed to dodge away from it. For some reason the man¡¯s attack seemed to go on slow motion and it was easy for him to avoid it. Surgit, with one strike from his saw, managed to open the man¡¯s belly and watch him fall back as blood rushed out of his body. Soon, he was inanimate, devoid of life. ¡°This is too easy, something¡¯s not right¡± he thought to himself as he approached his victim. On closer inspection, Surgit managed to have a better look at his previous assailant. This was not a man, but what was he? He definitely had a human head albeit with fur covering his face. He had a long furry right arm and a human left one. It seemed as though he was about to transform into a beast of some sort and stopped right at the middle of the process. He wore a leather jacket and blue trousers. They seemed old and dingy, as if the man hadn¡¯t changed them in a very long time. Under his jacket, he wore what used to be an elegant button-up shirt. It became used and covered with filth and dirt. Surgit inspected his mouth as he remembered seeing something unusual on their first encounter. The old man even had canine teeth. He got up, feeling confused. This man had a deformed appearance. Even though he was capable of speech, everything in his behavior and appearance suggested that he had lost his mind. Surgit felt that this city had more mysteries than what he had anticipated. Now that he had time to have a better look at his surroundings, Surgit noticed that what he thought was a garden, was in fact a graveyard. Graves were organized in a horizontal way. It looked as if the person who used to take care of the place had great respect for it. Some of the tombstones were well polished and faint letters could be deciphered. ¡°Alenka, a loving wife and caring mother¡± read one of the stones while on others, different names of people from both sexes could be read. He turned around to look at the building he had just come out of. On top of what seemed the entrance door hung a wide sign. It read: ¡°Iosefka¡¯s clinic¡±. This discovery surprised Surgit. The last thing he could imagine the building to be was a hospital. Although he had seen the beds and all the medical equipment on the inside, the place seemed too sinister for it to be a hospital. ¡°Well, there must be someone on the inside if this is a hospital. At least the old man who had treated me¡± he thought to himself as he entered the clinic again. By now, he knew the place. So he darted through the large room and made his way upstairs, towards the room where he awoke. He noticed that the door was still closed, he went for the door knob but it wouldn¡¯t budge. It was locked. Suddenly he heard a woman¡¯s voice ¡°Are you a hunter?¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He was taken aback. The closed door now concealed what seems to be a woman and she recognized him as a hunter without even interacting with him. ¡°I recognized you from your scent¡±, she said as if reading his thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m Iosefka and this is my clinic. I¡¯m sorry but I cannot open this door. Upon my Hippocratic Oath, I need to take care of my patients and not expose them to any danger. You¡¯re out on the hunt. I wish you good luck but please understand: opening the door for you would be foolish.¡± Surgit felt confused, ¡°the door was open and I was there just some time ago. How did you get there? And where¡¯s the old man?¡± He had too many questions that needed answering, but at that moment these were the two pressing questions that came out of his mind. ¡°Here, take this, it¡¯s the only way I can help you out on your hunt¡± Iosefka handed him, through a small hole on the door, a vial filled with a red liquid. ¡°I¡¯m a healing church doctor; this blood will help you in times of need. If you feel yourself losing your strength or injured, just inject it into you and it will heal you.¡± She went on, ignoring his questions completely. ¡°Now please go, this is all I have for you.¡± Surgit could hear her footsteps fading away as he pounded at the door. ¡°Wait! Tell me what is going here? Where¡¯s that old man? I need answers goddamnit!¡± He pounded and kicked and tried to force the door open¡­ to no avail. Surgit gave up and sat down on the stairs leading to the basement. He was now alone in this place, his mind full of unanswered questions, each more mysterious than the previous one. After a moment, he decided to leave the clinic and explore the area outside. 13 - You are not welcome here Back at the graveyard, he could see two iron gates. The small one on his right was shut tight from the other side while the big one on his left seemed unlocked. He pushed it, and with great difficulty managed to open it. The door was rusted. It seemed that no one had been around here for a very long time. He found himself in a cobbled street. Carriages and horse wagons were scattered left and right. Some were even destroyed and others seemed to have fallen to their side because of some previous accident. Skeletons of horses were lying next to their cars; some still had some rotten flesh on them. The street was empty and the only sounds he could hear were ones of smoke coming up from the sewers and some fire burning at the end of the street. Across the street, Surgit saw some stairs leading down. At the bottom there was a small opening with wooden benches on each side and an iron barricade in front of him. It looked as though it was a balcony that gave a vista on the city of Yharnam and the crimson sky, an effect of the setting sun. The view that welcomed Surgit was amazing and bone chilling at the same time. In front of him lay a city built on top of a V shaped valley. Tall gothic buildings could be seen towering the ascending streets of the city. To link both parts of the valley, Surgit could see a great bridge in the distance. From the barricades he could see that the city extended downwards. There seemed to be no bottom to that valley. As far as his vision could reach, Surgit could only see rocks on each side and darkness in the middle. No living soul was to be seen around, only fire and smoke could be heard in the distance. He felt lonely, stranded in a ghost city he had almost no information about. He climbed back up the stairs and headed left, the only way available to him. As he made his way through the cobbled street, the sound of fire became more and more vivid. He reached an intersection where he could see an iron gate to his right and a street that took to the left. A stagecoach was parked at the left corner of the street.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The sound of burning fire emanated from behind the stagecoach. As Surgit looked around it, he saw a man holding a torch. He also had an unnaturally long right arm on which he held an axe and a short, humanoid, left arm that held the torch. The man saw him and swung his long axe at him. Surgit taken aback almost took the hit head on. He was lucky that the man¡¯s swing was too wide and missed him by an inch, or was it his enhanced reflexes that helped him escape certain death? He recollected himself and cut the man open with his saw. ¡°You are not welcome here¡± said the man as he fell down to the ground losing consciousness. Surgit looked at the man as he slowly drifted out of this world. What was the meaning of this? The old man at the cemetery had said something similar to him. 14 - In the city of beasts and hunts A noise brought Surgit back to the cobbled street and he saw two other men approaching him in a sprint. The one on the right wore a straw hat and seemed to be a peasant if not for his furry face and long arms. His legs on the other hand were human and he wore simple grey trousers. The man on the left wore a long black coat and had only one elongated arm which held a sword while he held a pistol on the other. The peasant looking man had a sickle and dashed towards Surgit trying to cut him open with it. Surgit dodged to the left and cut the man¡¯s head off with ease. He was still surprised at how agile he had become and how easily he could kill these abominations. ¡°BOOM!!¡± before he could react, the impact of the pistol shot had sent him flying backwards. The bullet had hit him on his left shoulder and blood started already oozing out of his body. He could feel the pain tingling from his bones but he had no time to think about it. The shooter was reloading his gun and preparing to aim it again at him. Forgetting his pain, Surgit got up quickly and dashed towards the man as the bullet left the muzzle. He felt the bullet graze his ear as he buried his saw deep inside the man¡¯s chest. The splashing blood from the man¡¯s body landed on his shoulder and Surgit watched in amazement how his wound healed instantly as it came into contact with it. On all the books that he had read about Yharnam, the recurring theme he came across was the miraculous properties of the Old Blood used by Yharnamites. ¡°So even their blood can heal, it really feels like I¡¯m invincible¡± he thought to himself, astonished. The street was now empty and fallen carts blocked Surgit¡¯s way. He turned back towards the gate and noticed a lever on his left. Simple curiosity pushed him to pull and he watched as a ladder that took to the top of one of the buildings came down next to him. He decided to take the ladder up, at least to get a better view of the city. As he climbed up, a terrifying howl could be heard in the distance, from the great bridge¡¯s direction. Surgit felt Goosebumps crawling up his skin. That was no werewolf howl. It sounded terrible, angry and anguished.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He reached the top of the ladder to find himself on a small square. It looked as if the ladder was a safety exit from the area in case of fires or disasters. Opposite Surgit was a house with barricaded doors. On its right lay a path with stairs taking down. It looked like a pedestrian street that no vehicle could approach. On the left, he could see yet another closed iron gate. ¡°This city seems to have too many closed doors¡± he thought to himself as he contemplated the most intriguing sight of all in that square. In the middle of the place, there was what seemed to be a pole from which hung a lantern. Only this pole was too short for it to be a street lantern. For some reason, he felt drawn to the lantern and he made to touch it. As his hand came into contact with it, blue flames illuminated the small lamp and he felt himself losing consciousness. 15 - More questions than answers Surgit opened his eyes to find himself standing again in that garden with its small house on top of the hill and flowers all around. He saw the doll lying on the ground next to the door as he approached it. He swore he could see a finger twitching but when he looked at the inanimate object again, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He got inside the house to find Gherman this time facing him: ¡°Welcome back¡± he said as he looked at him fixatedly. Gherman looked like a very old man at first. On closer inspection though, Surgit could see that the man sitting on the wheelchair was missing his right leg. ¡°What happened to your leg?¡± he asked before he could repress the thought. ¡°I see that you¡¯ve chosen the saw cleaver as your weapon, nice choice. It¡¯s a swift weapon for sure, not really elegant but who needs good looks when you¡¯re faced with beasts.¡± Gherman had continued his speech as if Surgit hadn¡¯t spoken at all. This feature, common to most people he had met since he arrived started to irritate him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, for now your job is to hunt beasts. So go out there and hunt, it¡¯s for your own good.¡± He went on then fell as sleep instantly as if on a timer. Surgit didn¡¯t try to wake him this time. Those things in the city were beasts after all and he just had to kill them. He decided to take a closer look at the house and get some rest before he headed back to Yharnam.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The house had two entrances. The main one next to which the inanimate doll rested and another one that lead to a smaller garden at the back of the house. In the middle of the house there was a fireplace opposite which Gherman loved to slumber. Opposite to it was what seemed to be a workshop bench with weapon parts on top of it. What got his attention though was an altar next to the back door. There was a white cloth on the altar that was stained with blood. A strange inscription could be read under the cloth. Surgit removed it to read: A special tool is required to use Caryl Runes on this altar. Behind it stood a strange statue: a hooded woman was holding a big rocky tablet which hid all of her body starting from her waist down, inscriptions must have been written on the tablet but now, all the text was long gone as if years of decay had erased it. Next to the statue, Surgit saw something scribbled on the wooden floor. ¡°Seek Pale blood to transcend the hunt.¡± The note was engraved by a sharp object on the wooden surface of the floor. Someone really wanted him or anyone else to find this message. Too many questions and no one to answer them, Surgit started feeling irritated at the amount of mystery this place hid. He decided to take a rest in a couch in the house before he headed back to the city. 16 - The monsters that lurk in the streets The city was calm as usual. The cool breeze that came from down in the valley soothed Karla¡¯s soul. She liked the silence and the feeling of being always hunted. She longed for this adrenaline rush for so long and at last she was there: the city of beasts and blood, the city of healing and miracles: Yharnam. With the help of Francis, she managed to find a new challenge to live for. Those beasts were indeed fearsome and deadly but she knew how to handle a sword and after understanding the nature of her opponents she easily managed to make her way through the cobbled streets of Yharnam. ¡°Wait up, don¡¯t move so fast¡± Francis had trouble following on her footsteps. He was a man of knowledge but he couldn¡¯t manage the strength of these beasts. He had to rely on Karla, his only remaining bodyguard for protection. After those brutes had killed two of them and escaped, the beasts had completed their job. To think that a woman will be the only survivor, Francis didn¡¯t anticipate this scenario, not even in his wildest dreams. But this was no dream, it was a nightmare, these abominations could talk and walk. But they seemed fixated on the idea of killing any living being that crossed their way. Luckily Karla had proven to be a skilled swordswoman. His hunch never betrayed him and hiring her was definitely the wisest choice despite the captain of his guards opposing it. Karla saw that post on the pub while she was just wandering about, trying to find a purpose. The richest man in town was recruiting skilled warriors to join him on a deadly expedition. This alone was motivation for her to sign up but upon hearing the name of the destination from Francis, her heart lit up. Yharnam, a city she longed to visit although she couldn¡¯t fathom why. She agreed to help and even to look for information. After she found that sick man, they finally had the remaining puzzle and could make their way towards the fabled city. No human could match her sword technique and even though the other guards were opposed to the idea of her joining them, Francis made sure that she was well left alone. She appreciated his trust, and that was maybe the only reason she had kept him around once in this city. He was weak and relied on others for protection. She despised weakness and above all she couldn¡¯t stand the sight of cowardice. Francis possessed both.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. They were now headed towards a bridge. They had come across many enemies who tried to eliminate them. All of them repeated the same speech, that they were not welcome in the city. Karla on the other hand danced around them and finished every last one of them with finesse and agility. Her movements were fast, yet elegant. Francis felt as if he were watching a dance. She had managed to scatter a mob of enemies, massacring them all. It was a beautiful sight to behold. ¡°If we want to get any information on Blood Healing, we need to head for the church. The only way seems to be through this bridge¡± said Francis to no one in particular as Karla wasn¡¯t even paying attention. As they reached the bridge, she gestured to him to stop. Carriages were scattered all around the bridge. It seemed that this place was the last stop of many travellers. Only wrecks remained, and horses¡¯ skeletons. He looked in front of him and saw that there were two werewolves patrolling the bridge. ¡°Those two are bad news. I can¡¯t protect you and kill them at the same time. There has to be another way¡± She whispered to Francis as they moved slowly away from the beasts¡¯ sight. ¡°I saw another way to the bridge through another road¡± said Francis, he had observed the layout of the city carefully and remembered another way that gave access to the far edge of the bridge, closer to their destination. ¡°The road seems far though¡± he went on. ¡°I¡¯d rather take that risk than take those two head on¡± replied Karla as she made her way back to the road Francis had pointed. He had no choice but to follow. 17 - A new friend A city on fire, crucifixes everywhere and beasts tied to them. The beasts are also on fire and they seem to howl and wriggle out of their bounds to no avail. People are watching them as they burn and they seem to be laughing hysterically, as if enjoying the scene before their eyes. A man, dangling upside down, hangs from a rope and blood seems to be falling, drop by drop from his neck. Surgit opened his eyes to find himself in the house. Was he dreaming? He could only remember the feeling of dread before waking up, but nothing about the dream. Gherman was nowhere to be found in the house or outside. He had vanished to god knows where and Surgit, feeling the urge to go back to Yharnam to find some more clues about what¡¯s going on in the city decided to pay the messenger a visit. ¡°Hey little one, can you show me that lamp again? I¡¯d like to go back to where I was¡± the ghostly creature pulled out a lamp from the pool underneath it and held it to Surgit. He looked into it and pictured the last place where he saw the lantern pole. He felt some force dragging him towards it and slowly the image of Yharnam started expanding in front of him. A cool breeze brushed against his face. He was back on solid ground, to silence and loneliness. Suddenly, he heard a cough¡­ the sound emanated from the house with barricaded doors. He approached it and shouted ¡°Hello? Anybody here?¡± he didn¡¯t expect to get any answer and he was ready to dart back in case some beast came crashing through the doors. ¡°The window¡­cough¡­cough¡­ come towards the window.¡± Someone was actually alive and answering his question. There was a small window on his left, next to the closed Iron Gate. Once he reached the window, Surgit could see that a lantern was hanging from the top part of the steel frame that was protruding outwards in a circular shape. People in Yharnam apparently used any mean necessary to protect themselves from beasts. ¡°You¡¯re outside on the night of the hunt? You must be an outsider and a hunter to top it all¡± said the man from behind the curtains. ¡°You hunters have a special scent. This is how we can tell¡± continued the man, as if answering Surgit¡¯s inner thought.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. At long last, Surgit had found someone to give him some information about what¡¯s happening in the city. So he decided to stick around and ask him more questions. 18 - A newfound purpose Indeed he couldn¡¯t miss it. The clock tower was visible from the small square he was standing in. When Surgit approached the ladder from which he had climbed earlier, he could see a huge tower on the other side of the bridge. It looked as if he were a child contemplating a faraway dream. The church seemed to be very far away and he had no idea what awaited him on the way there. He went back to Gilbert and thanked him for the information he had provided him. Surgit took the street on his right and descended the stairs. He found himself on a bridge that crossed another street underneath him. That area looked like it had been an old merchant street. With tall buildings on each side of the street, they went up to three of four stories. The tall brick houses were closed off from the top by triangular roofs on which tiles were to be seen everywhere. Long glass windows decorated each floor of the house. Surgit could feel that this city used to brim with life and that this street used to accommodate many travellers. The carriages that were parked on the side of the street were proof enough of that. On some doors, he could make some very old wooden signs. These building were perhaps Inns or pubs to accommodate all the visitors.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Only now, the only sound he could hear was of metal clinking on the paved floor beneath him. He looked down from the bridge to see a mob of what used to be people patrolling the street. He could count at least twelve. Some were holding torches and he managed to make some of the shapes through the mist that covered the lower street. These men seemed to use everyday tools as weapons. Some were holding sickles while others held farming pitch forks in both hands. Getting past them wouldn¡¯t be an easy task and Surgit hoped to avoid them altogether. He crossed the bridge to find that the street led to the right, and from that point stairs led him down towards the street where he had just seen the patrolling mob. He was welcomed by two men-beasts who came rushing towards him. Surgit elongated his saw and with one swoop managed to cut through their flesh with extreme ease. The two fell down at his feet, fighting death. He was amazed at how powerful he had become. 19 - Horror in the town square This blood ministration he¡¯d had not only healed him, it had given him superhuman strength and a miraculous ability to heal and come back to life. He was still unable to grasp the extent of his ability. He decided to continue on his way and watch out for that mob he had just witnessed from above. He went up the street and observed the deserted houses and what used to be Inns and shops left and right. Then he saw them. Crucifixes were fixed on the ground on each side of the serpentine street. These crucifixes were on fire and seemed to hold something that had been long dead. On closer inspection, Surgit observed with horror all the corpses of what looked like men-beasts. These people had bandages on their eyes wore only undergarments to hide their private parts. They were fully transformed into beasts at that point. Only their humanoid body remained. Fur had covered their skin and their open mouths showed canine teeth. They were bound to the crucifixes by nails and chains. He could see a light emanating from a window on his left, and a lantern similar to the one he¡¯d seen on Gilbert¡¯s window hanging at the entrance door of the house. He approached the door and knocked. A man¡¯s voice could be heard on the other side: ¡°Who would open his door to an outsider like you? Be gone from here.¡± This was definitely a Yharnamite. All tales about them being unfriendly was true. Surgit had gotten used to people treating him in that fashion. Though irritated, he decided to carry on. The thought of the patrol still haunted his mind. And all the corpses on fire made him feel uneasy and hunted. He needed to get out of this street and fast.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He reached what seemed to be the end of the street. He could see more carriages parked on each end of it. The street turned left and Surgit, following the road found himself facing a harrowing image. He was standing in what appeared to be the town square. Stagecoaches were parked on the side of the road and in the middle of the square stood an enormous crucifix. A huge werewolf was tied to the crucifix and was being burned. It looked like a witch execution but with werewolves instead of women. Around the crucifix stood around twenty men, all of them were armed. None of them had noticed Surgit. They were all looking at the beast burning. Surgit could see that beyond the crucifix there was a closed door. Something terrible was banging at it. On top of the door, a long bridge seemed to take carts and cars to the other side of the city. ¡°That¡¯s where I need to go¡± he whispered to himself. He started walking slowly backwards and thinking of a way out of the place. He could see two railings surrounding the square. Both of them took to the other side of the big barricaded door. ¡°Click!¡± with the corner of his eye, Surgit saw a man behind him pointing a gun at his head. 20 - How to deal with, or die to a mob ¡°Click!¡± something inside of Surgit pushed him to duck as the shot missed his head by a notch. He turned round to see one of the men-beasts standing behind him and aiming his gun at him. He slashed his weapon at him and turned around again. ¡°Oh shit!¡± the whole mob had heard the shot and was now running towards him. He felt that he could take them on but their number was intimidating. With the corner of his eye, he saw some six more joining the others from the railings. They were all dressed in a similar fashion. It was something special to Yharnam. Black leather long coats and top hats, some even wore straw hats. They all had long beastly arms, some had one while other had the two transformed. He felt the shot before he could hear it. It tore through his left leg. He jumped behind one of the carriages to avoid the snipers¡¯ shots. The men came at him in swarms. It wasn¡¯t going to be a fair fight. He could feel his left leg becoming heavier and heavier. He looked down to see the wound closing around the bullet and the pain sore through his veins. This was no ordinary wound. He couldn¡¯t use his left leg anymore. He clenched his teeth and, remembering the healing ability of these beasts¡¯ blood. He began his attack. The first wave that came at him was constituted of six men: some with axes while others had their forks and sickles. The saw cleaver proved to be a useful weapon to handle crowds after all. After elongating his weapon, Surgit managed to swing his weapon wider and inflict damage to four of the men-beasts in front him. The cuts he inflicted were not deep enough though. The men kept relentlessly coming at him even with blood bursting out of their bodies. He swung his saw again and managed to kill two while another came at him from the right. He saw the sickle missing his nose as he dodged backwards and pointed his pistol at the man-beast¡¯s mouth and released a shot, relieving him of his brain. He shortened his weapon and dealt with the three approaching.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. While he cut the men down in three, nicely executed strikes, six more had already replaced them. His left leg hadn¡¯t healed from the splashing blood and he relied only on his right for balance. He felt overwhelmed by his enemies as he persisted on swinging his weapon at them. He had managed to kill two when he felt pain searing through his ribs. One of the peasant-looking men had stabbed him with a pitch fork. 21 - Miracle in horror square ¡°Oh no¡­ I refuse to die to these bastards¡± He held the fork¡¯s handle with his right arm in order to immobilize the man and shot him twice. The man fell down and, detaching the fork from his ribs, Surgit threw it at one of the approaching beasts. He was then surrounded by eight more men. He could hear the footsteps of the snipers approaching. They were the only remaining enemies to kill. He felt his power fading away. His new body still had its limits but he needed to carry on. He wasn¡¯t going to succumb to these enemies. As the men made to attack him, Surgit held his ground and, seeing through all the attacks, managed to dodge and counter attack. With six swings he had cut down six enemies. Only two remained and were still coming at him. They didn¡¯t show any sign of fear or hesitation. They seemed keen on killing him he could feel their rage and see their baring fangs. They were humans no more. Devoid of emotions, their sole purpose had become to kill and see blood. With one swing of his elongated cleaver, Surgit cut their heads off and fell to the ground. He could hear more footsteps approaching him. He was lying down next to the carriage. It had provided him with good cover from the snipers who appeared to be moving to a better place or even towards him to finish him off. Two more men appeared in front of him ¡°BAM! BAM!¡± with two shots he managed to get rid of them. He had no more power to stand up and he could feel his eyes getting heavier. ¡°Just a few more minutes¡­.¡± He said to himself. Four men appeared in front of him, he could see the two snipers on top of a stagecoach parked opposite him. It looked like an execution. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what happened to all hunters around here¡± he thought to himself as one of the swordsmen approached. He could see the sniper aligning a shot in the distance. With his right leg, Surgit managed to trip the swordsman and used him as a shield. The shot landed nicely on his chest and the man fell on top of him.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. As he struggled to stand up, he heard two more shots, and the men who were trying to execute him started falling like flies. The snipers had shot the men. Were they trying to help him all along? He felt a survival surge inside of him and he ducked to the right the moment as a bullet hit the wall behind him. They had just missed their shots and killed their friends then. He took his pistol to aim a shot at the last standing man in front of him. ¡°Click, click¡± he was out of ammo. He rolled to the side just in time as the axe had hit the ground. With one swing he cut the man¡¯s legs and used him as a shield to protect himself from the snipers¡¯ shots. He was now trapped. His body felt heavy and his leg hurt even more. He suddenly remembered, as one remembers important things during dire circumstances. He fumbled in his pocket until he found the vial that Iosefka had given him before. It was now or never, he injected it in his bloodstream and felt a surge of energy going through all of his body. A bullet came out of his left leg and he could see that all his injuries were healed save for some small scratches. He got up quickly and dashed away from the snipers¡¯ vision. He saw some stairs that led up to the rails and took them. He could see the men aiming their rifles and looking for a sign of life. He crept up behind them and struck the first one on the head, burying his saw deep inside his brain. The second one turned in shock to be punched off the stagecoach by Surgit. ¡°So you can still feel something don¡¯t you?¡± He said as he plunged at the poor beast, slicing it in half. He was soaked in blood again, his clothes but tatters and his saw slippery. But he felt alive. He managed to cheat death again thanks to that miraculous blood healing. 22 - To hunt or face the hunt… Silence fell again in the square and he had now more time to look at his surroundings. The beast burning at the stake in the center looked exactly like the one that attacked him back at Iosefka¡¯s clinic. Only this one seemed bigger and scarier. Did these men kill it? If yes, he wondered at his luck surviving their attack. A noise brought him back to reality. The door under the bridge was still shaking violently. Surgit went closer to inspect it. It was a solid oaken door and the thing pounding at it from behind seemed monstrous. He heard its shout and it was like some type of troll. He went up the railings again and came to an archway beneath the bridge. He traversed it and looked to his right. A big fountain was in the middle of yet again another square. The city used to be filled with amazing gardens and beautiful views. He walked slowly, trying not to attract the attention of whatever was behind that door. He reached the fountain and looked at the source of noise. It was indeed a troll. It was holding a brick and pounding at the door incessantly. ¡°If I¡¯m going to face this thing after all, I¡¯d need another one of those vials.¡± He thought to himself as he made for the archway. He decided to pay Iosefka a visit. As he took the serpentine street again but this time he was going down the slope, he couldn¡¯t help but notice the amount of bodies on crucifixes. What on earth had happened to this city? Where were all the hunters? The streets were full of beasts and he was the only hunter chasing them.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. He reached the bottom of the slope and he was welcomed by a big iron gate. It was the same one he¡¯d seen on his way out from the cemetery. A lever on the left allowed Surgit to open the gate and cross to the clearing where he had observed the majesty of the city and its terrifying darkness. He went inside the graveyard and made his way upstairs in the clinic. The door was still closed so he knocked on it. He heard distant footsteps approaching. ¡°Ah it¡¯s you again¡± said Iosefka with evident surprise in her voice. Damien was hiding behind the fountain when that man had emerged from beneath the archway, soaked with blood. With Paul, he watched in horror and amazement how that man had dealt with that mob. The moment they saw him hit by the bullet, they assumed that he was a goner. Seeing him emerge from behind the carriage mere minutes later, running and disposing of the only two remaining men-beasts astonished them. Since they arrived to this city, they had witnessed many miraculous feats by two people. First there was Karla, they were happy not to attack her after they saw the extent of her power. That city was beyond a doubt the place they were seeking. Monstrosities roamed the streets and although the two of them were skilled warriors, disposing of enemies as these two do required a different skillset. They knew that Karla still protected the old man and they were never going to get her on their side. However, that stranger could prove useful if they ally themselves to him. They decided to wait for him next to the fountain. 23 - Unexpected allies Iosefka had agreed to lend him another vial. She even answered some of his questions regarding blood healing. Apparently all beasts outside possess blood with healing capabilities. The blood though needs to be consumed right away or stored in special vials before it coagulates. Coagulated blood had no healing properties and old blood coagulates quickly after leaving the body. In short, Surgit had to collect blood from corpses before their blood goes bad. Iosefka had lent him an emergency kit containing some empty blood vials. He will be able to restore his injuries quite quickly but this will not cure any damage to his organs nor does it give him extra energy. So he¡¯d need to rest from time to time to avoid exhaustion and he¡¯d need to protect his vital organs. He came back to the town square. The sight of the burning beasts still horrified him. The pounding on the door had stopped and only fire could be heard in this desolate place. He inspected the corpses of the snipers and managed to retrieve some bullets. When he crossed the archway towards the fountain, he saw two silhouettes and his entire body tensed up. It was Damien and Paul. Those two had looked down on him and he wondered if would be able to slice them in half this time around. Damien¡¯s voice broke the silence: ¡°Dear stranger, we mean you no harm.¡± They didn¡¯t recognize him. He was a stranger to them right now. After all, his physical appearance had changed after the ministration. His clothes were but tatters after the previous fight and he was painted red with blood. They would have never expected that from him. ¡°We would like to suggest a partnership. This town hides all manner of beasts. An alliance will increase our chance of survival¡± continued Damien. Paul was sitting on top of the troll¡¯s corpse. They managed to kill him. They were also strong. Were they hunters? Surgit decided to keep his identity concealed and accept their request.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Damien was definitely a talkative guy but looking at Paul¡¯s stern eyes, he decided to keep his mouth shut. Paul didn¡¯t trust Surgit but felt that he could use it to survive this terrifying place. From the square, the trio took the stairs up towards another street. Another patrol of three men-beasts with their dog were struck down before they even noticed what came at them. Surgit moved too fast for a human and Paul felt chills going down his spine as he watched the man fill some bottles with their blood. He threw two at them. ¡®These have miraculous healing powers. Use them when you¡¯re seriously injured.¡¯ Paul looked at the bottle filled with blood and thought to himself ¡®Are we becoming blood thirsty beasts here?¡¯ 24 - A colossal beast appears They were in a pedestrian area that carts couldn¡¯t approach and only stairs led to the upper part of the city. At the end of the street they found the stairs that lead towards the upper bridge. They climbed up to find themselves on a long road that crossed to the other part of the valley. It was a large cobbled avenue with carts and stagecoaches scattered all around. Paul looked on his left and saw that the highway that used to take to the bridge from outside the city was sealed off by a wall. What happened in this city? Why did people seal access to this bridge? On their right, he could see at the far end of the bridge, a big gate that used to accommodate cars going through towards the healing church. The road was decorated on each side with beautiful street lamps and statues of praying women. Surgit motioned them to look forward. Two beasts were walking on all fours. They looked like wolves, only more terrible, and fearsome. ¡°Werewolves, these ones look really strong¡± whispered the man. ¡°We need a plan of attack, these beasts can kill you in one strike¡± he went on as they hid themselves behind a statue, far from the beasts¡¯ sight. Damien had some Molotov Cocktails, he and Paul had improvised them while scavenging a deserted house. They could use the fire as a distraction to separate the beasts and single them out. The man volunteered to take one on his own and advised the two to team up on one. The plan worked like a charm. The stranger rushed towards the beasts and both of them made to attack the other. Damien threw one of his cocktails on it. It caught on fire and howled terribly. The other werewolf, distracted by the fire got his head chopped off by that strange saw the man was wielding while Paul finished the agonizing beast with a strike from his axe. As silence settled down again in the bridge, the trio heard a stronger, more terrible howl in the distance. That screech could make anyone lose hope in life and feel as though anguish had settled in their heart.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Surgit recognized the sound, it was the same one he¡¯d heard while he was climbing the ladder that lead to Gilbert¡¯s house and the dream lantern. He felt uneasy but his objective was in sight. The bridge was clear from beasts and he could see the closed gate in the distance. That big door was for cars though and there had to be a small one for pedestrians to access the Cathedral Ward. Damien was leading the way as they were approaching the sealed gate when an enormous hand smashed him to the ground like a fly swatter does to annoying flies. There were but his clothes and his crushed bones. Surgit and Paul were sent flying backwards by the impact of the hand on Damien. When they came to, they saw the horrible abomination that awaited them in front of the gate. A towering beast, taller than any building in Yharnam, was standing in front of them. It was covered in fur and had a gigantic left arm. Its right one, although thinner than the left, was long and furry. Its feet were big and looked like a Kangaroo¡¯s, bent and ready to jump at you at any moment. The only exception was for the beasts feet which resembled a wolf¡¯s, with claws and paws. Its head on the other hand was a hybrid between wolf and deer. It had a deer¡¯s muzzle but a wolf¡¯s teeth. Its eyes were huge and glowed in red while on top of its head; the beast had grown antlers. Its torso was skinny and Surgit could see the beasts¡¯ bones almost protruding from their rib cage. It had ashen grey skin. It seemed like big trouble. 25 - No guts no glory Upon witnessing this beast, Surgit felt an intense pain in his head. It was no ordinary pain. He almost fainted and fought to remain conscious. Paul on the other hand, had retreated and run away to the other end of the bridge. Surgit was left alone to deal with this abomination. He tried to scan the area in order to use his environment to his advantage. He had learned that while training in the military school. When facing many enemies, always look for ways to use your surroundings to your advantage. He was facing something far worse than a horde of enemies. He had no intention of dying to this beast. Although hunters seem to reincarnate after death, Iosefka had advised him to watch out for recurring death. Her explanation was vague regarding the reason behind it, but what he retained is that hunters may lose their sanity or even their link to the hunters¡¯ dream because of that. The towering giant didn¡¯t give Surgit any time to think his strategy further as it leapt towards him and smashed its left arm at him. ¡°Phew, dodged a bullet there¡± he thought to himself as he rolled forward just in time to avoid the impact. His roll wasn¡¯t perfect though as the power of the smash sent waves of wind in the vicinity which caused Surgit¡¯s body to roll many times further until he smashed his back against a cart. Those attacks were definitely dangerous and as he struggled to raise himself up, he saw the beast¡¯s right, thinner arm coming down at him. He barely dodged it when the beast struck again with the same arm. It went on pounding heavily and repeatedly as if in complete rage while Surgit, with his enhanced capabilities, dodged all its attacks. He felt that he was soon going to run out of stamina while the beast didn¡¯t seem to hold back or give any sign of tiredness. It swept its right arm in a swinging motion and Surgit, with fatigue finally catching up to him, took the hit head on.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He landed on top of a cart. The impact had left him gasping for breath. He inspected his body with his hands, looking for broken ribs or any sign of injury. He had managed to survive this hit by miracle. He couldn¡¯t afford to take any more reckless risks. Dancing around the beast had given him an understanding of his limits. Although he could see its attacks and dodge them easily, he could run out of stamina and meet his demise. It would be easier to come up with a strategy to bring this giant down to its knees. While he was thinking of his approach, he noticed that the giant werewolf hybrid had lost sight of him. His size was an advantage as he could hide behind a cart while devising a tactic. With one pounding movement from its gigantic arm, the beast smashed a stagecoach, reducing it to rubbles. As if reading into his thoughts, it was clearing the area of hiding spots. He had to act quickly. At that moment, it had its back to him. He had an opportunity to get closer. It was reckless but he had to try it. That fur looked like it could be grabbed and the only plan he could come up with was to climb the hulking monster and try to reach its head. He ran towards its legs and jumped on one. He grabbed the fur and started climbing while the beast, feeling something on its legs turned to look at it. He saw its face and heard the harrowing howl. He felt the wind on his face and he knew that he had to hold on for dear life. As the beast jumped high, his only thought was focused on how strong his grip should be. 26 - The Cleric Beast… infuriated! He fell on his back as the beast landed on the ground. The landing was unexpectedly unsettling and he lost his balance. He opened his eyes and looked up, he was lying between its legs and the giant beast was again looking at them to make sure that the insignificant insect had been disposed of. Something had caught Surgit¡¯s eye though. On its right monstrous thigh, the beast had what appeared to be an old injury. ¡°Blood, give us blood¡± murmurs could be heard inside of his head. He felt his heart pounding fast. He couldn¡¯t understand the source of the voices but he had no time for that. He quickly got up and grabbed his gun to try and reopen the wound¡­ His holster was empty! He had lost his gun during the fight somehow. Improvising a new plan of attack, he lunged forward and jumped at the injured leg. He hacked at it with his saw and heard the beast¡¯s roar. ¡°Pain¡­ pain¡­ delicious, now give us blood. Bless us with blood¡± the voices kept on repeating. Was it the beast? Or was he going insane? He jumped and struck the wound with his saw again. Blood showered him as he landed. The plan he came up with by sticking to the beasts hide created an opening he didn¡¯t expect. The beast jumped again and landed a small distance away, facing him on all fours. He could feel its rage. There was no going back, he had engaged a supernatural being and he had to finish it. As the beast made to attack him, two shots could be heard in the distance. Both hit the monster¡¯s head and it held onto it, releasing yet another terrifying howl. Surgit looked back to see a dark shape in the distance, it was the originator of the shots. He had no time to lose though, the beast was vulnerable and it was his opportunity to attack. He lunged forward as the beast fell down to the ground. Those two shots had obviously staggered it and its head was exposed. He swung his weapon at it and was surprised to see that it was thick as steel. He hacked at the wound caused by the bullet then, trying to make an opening and drain the giant of its energy.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. With its horn, the beast rammed Surgit into the sidewalk. Its head was now close to Surgit and he could see its teeth watering, ready to reduce him to minced meat. He had a broken arm and a bone was protruding from his right leg. He was definitely lucky earlier when he landed on top of the cart. He closed his eyes and waited for the beast¡¯s finishing move. He had lost and he should acknowledge it. 27: How did I ever get into this mess? Two more shots pierced its left long ear and the beast turned towards the origin of the shot. Surgit, despite the pain he felt in his leg and arm, got up injected himself with Iosefka¡¯s miraculous vial and quickly went around the monster¡¯s head. His arm had gotten back to its initial position and his leg was functional again. He swung his weapon at its neck and blood came rushing out of it, his heart started pounding heavily again. He saw open teeth in front of him ¡°to the back you fool¡± and he felt his body jumping backwards as the beast¡¯s mouth closed on thin air. He looked at his chest as excruciating pain had shot through his entire body. A fang had torn his chest open. He had a diagonal opening going from his left shoulder to the bottom of his rib cage on the right. Those voices had actually saved him. ¡°Blood, we need blood!¡± the voices kept on going. They were even louder in his head now. The beast was facing him again. It was clearly in pain as he had opened its neck earlier. It opened its mouth again and jumped at him. He jumped on top of the beast¡¯s head and used its antlers to keep his balance on top of it. He hacked with his weapon at the thick hide of the beast. It was like hitting rocks. He was running out of time. Pain was blinding him and if he wanted to heal, he¡¯d have to consume the monster¡¯s blood. ¡°Release the beast, release the beast¡± the voices had gotten stronger in his head and he felt his heart pounding even faster against his chest. His desire to survive this fight and the feeling that he could fell the beast had taken him over. He was focused on only one thing, surviving.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Two more shots and he felt himself lunging towards the floor. The beast fell again to the ground, staggered. He fell head on to the ground, hearing a cracking sound. He got up and saw that his left arm had been broken, he had no more vials and the beast was still alive. He looked at the beast¡¯s exposed head. The shots were so precise that they hit the beast exactly at the previous spot. Blood was flowing out from the source of the injury and the opening was big enough for Surgit to try and make greater damage. That marksman was of great help and bullets definitely had critical effect on these monsters. He started losing consciousness, he had to act quickly. 28: Reunion His body moved before he could know what was happening. His hand was inside the beast¡¯s skull, he had used the wounds caused by the bullet to insert his right hand inside. He watched with horror and surprise as his hand changed its shape. He had a long right arm and claws protruding from what used to be his fingers. He felt himself squashing the beast¡¯s brain as its body wriggled and struggled. His claws had penetrated the squishy organ and ripped it apart. The monster stopped moving and as he pulled his hand back, he felt a surge of energy going through his entire body. ¡°Yes, satiate us, bless us with blood¡± he looked at his hand, which went back to being normal and wondered at what happened. Blood was rushing out of the beast¡¯s head and he started drinking from it immediately. He had no time to lose. He had already lost too much blood. As he drank to his fill, his wounds closed and he regained his vitality. He finally managed to get rid of this monstrosity, no thanks to Paul who shamelessly ran away. ¡°Are you a hunter?¡± a voice said behind him. Surgit turned around, ready for another fight. It was a woman, holding his pistol. ¡°I think that belongs to you¡± she went on, handing the gun back to him: ¡°I wonder what kind of bullets these things have.¡± As he looked at the woman, he realized that she seemed familiar. It was Karla, Francis¡¯s bodyguard. ¡°You¡¯re an excellent markswoman, thanks for your help back there¡± he said containing his shock at seeing another familiar face. ¡°It¡¯s the least we could do, that thing was standing on our way too¡± another voice said from behind Karla. ¡°By the gods, it¡¯s you isn¡¯t it Surgit? I almost didn¡¯t recognize you.¡± Francis had a sharp mind and recognized Surgit from first sight. ¡°I must say, seeing you drinking blood from that beast frightened the living hell out of me¡± continued Francis. Surgit looked at Karla, that woman had always underestimated him. He hated that, and his pride had spoken too fast earlier when he revealed his identity. In retrospect, he regretted admitting going through blood ministration. ¡°Catch!¡± Karla had thrown something towards him. She was searching the beast¡¯s body and had found something. He caught the item and while looking at it, a sharp pain shot through his brain. He held his head with both hands let out a painful cry.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He opened his eyes and found Karla and Francis looking at him. ¡°Are you alright weakling?¡± said Karla in a sarcastic tone. He got up, fighting the headache he had. ¡°What was that thing you threw at me? Were you trying to kill me?¡± He was shouting angrily at Karla. She had her hand on her sword¡¯s pommel and he was ready to strike with his own cleaver at any time. It was high time he taught this arrogant woman a lesson. ¡°You¡¯re still holding onto whatever she threw at you¡± said Francis in a calm voice. He was indeed holding it in his left arm. He looked at the bizarre item. It was a pendant of some sort. His head was still throbbing and he felt like he could faint at any moment. ¡°It looks like a miniature sword¡± said Surgit as he inspected the item. He gave it to Francis. The man had more knowledge about artifacts as he was an avid collector. ¡°This is a healing church relic¡± he started, ¡°I¡¯ve seen an illustration somewhere on the books I had on the ship. I remember it had something to do with the church.¡± He was definitely puzzled as he looked at the item. ¡°What was it doing with a beast then?¡± asked Karla, she was as intrigued as the others. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll find out by standing idly here¡± said Francis as he handed the pendant back to Surgit, albeit with reluctance. 29: Impasse They made their way towards the pedestrian access and Surgit, still struggling with another makeshift accessory, tried to hold his pistol into place. He didn¡¯t want to lose it again during an important fight. ¡°What you need is another set of clothes¡± said Karla, as she was observing him, struggling with his tattered clothes. ¡°And a shower too¡± added Francis. They were right though. Blood had showered Surgit¡¯s body so many times that he felt that his skin had become one with dried blood. The only item he had kept from his clothes was his torn trousers that served only to hide his private parts. He saw yet another dream lantern in front of the gigantic closed gate. It was as if a sign sent to him to get back to the dream and get some rest. They approached the lantern and he inspected it. The other two looked at him puzzled: ¡°What are you kneeling there for?¡± asked Francis. ¡°I¡¯m inspecting this lantern, I can use it-¡°he stopped right in the middle of his explanation. The two were looking at him as though they were speaking to an insane person. ¡°They can¡¯t see the lantern, it¡¯s not part of their world¡± the thought came to him¡­ or was it the voices inside his head again? The headache had definitely blurred all his senses. ¡°Sorry, my headache is giving me hallucinations¡± He finally said to the two. ¡°Let¡¯s proceed to the door¡±. He got up and led them towards the closed pedestrian door.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. They tried to open it but the door seemed to have been closed. Surgit tried to break the door open but the more he hit it, the more his head pounded until the pain immobilized him. ¡°I feared as much¡± said Francis. We found a note in an abandoned house before. He handed it to Surgit and it read ¡°When the hunt began, the Healing Church left us, blocking the great bridge to the Cathedral Ward, as Old Yharnam burned to the ground that moonlit night.¡± The note was cryptic but it confirmed that this way was sealed. They had to find a different one, if there is any. Gilbert may be of help but Surgit didn¡¯t want to speak of him to the others. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this place is Old Yharnam but we really need to find a different way to the ward.¡± Francis was anxious to get to the Cathedral. He aspired to become a hunter and after seeing Surgit¡¯s transformation, he couldn¡¯t contain his excitement. ¡°You go on ahead, I need to rest for a while¡± said Surgit to the duo. ¡°This place is safe enough for me. I will take a little rest then catch up with you.¡± He waited for Francis and Karla to disappear then he inspected the lamp. In no time he was back to the dream with its big beautiful garden and white flowers. That place seemed so peaceful. Surgit needed some rest so he headed towards the house. ¡°Welcome home good hunter¡± a voice said as he made his way inside. Surgit jumped back and clenched his weapon. ¡°The doll, it¡¯s the doll! It¡¯s alive?!¡± Surgit was astonished. His eyes didn¡¯t betray him before. It was moving after all, it was even speaking. 30: A warrior’s experience Damien was a foolish brute, a brother in arms to Paul but foolish nonetheless. After escaping that harrowing scene, Paul didn¡¯t know what to do. He saw his best friend being smashed to the ground by a gigantic monster no human had a chance of defeating. He had to use that mysterious man as bait and run for his life. He was now standing underneath the great bridge. That man was stubborn and kept fighting the beast. He wondered if he was brave or foolish like Damien. He had no time to think though as beasts in the street had been aroused by the fight above and were on their guard. He had no intention of engaging in a fight with them and all he wanted to do was to find a way to the Cathedral Ward. He had seen another bridge in the distance while he was inspecting the surrounding area from the highway above. He decided to make his way over there. He took an alley under the bridge and found himself on a street full of caged dogs. The animals were barking crazily at the sound of the furious fight taking place above. Even the dogs in this city were hideous. Their fur had decayed into ashen white and it started to fall out. He could see patches of pink hide on their bodies. Only their fangs kept their original form. It was his chance to get away from there as the dogs didn¡¯t notice him and even if they did, the cages held them inside.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He walked among the caged animals and crossed a small bridge. He could see an aqueduct under it. At that moment, he heard two shots in the distance, followed by that beast¡¯s terrible roar. It was definitely angry and the ground was shaking as a result of whatever was going on up there. Paul was glad he didn¡¯t linger around for long. From that small bridge, he could make out the other road he had spotted earlier. He¡¯d have to go through the aqueducts to access it. It was fine; he could face any danger, but not that colossus. He heard footsteps behind him and felt fangs penetrate his shoulder as he attempted to step aside. A dog had freed itself from one of the cages and attacked him. The commotion distracted the others, but it had worked both ways. The malformed animal had its fangs firmly installed in his muscles and any movement he attempted, made him scream in pain. He had to act quickly before the others free themselves and kill him. He rolled forward and smashed the dog to the ground. With a small wimping sound the dog stood up and bared its teeth to Paul. He took his axe in his left hand and threw it with all his might towards the dog¡¯s head: ¡°Thud!¡± It was an instant kill. 31: The power of blood The animal was dead and the others were still trapped within their cages. He was bleeding and in pain but he had no time to think about that. He crossed the bridge and hid, away from the dogs¡¯ sight. He looked for something to use as bandages for his wounds. He fumbled inside his pockets and found the vial the strange man had handed him. He pondered for a moment before the pain urged him to do it. He would worry about the consequences later. He feared putting strange blood into his system. But he didn¡¯t act fast, he would lose too much blood. And in Yharnam, loosing blood is as good as accepting death. He injected himself with the blood vial and felt his strength coming back. In fact he felt even stronger, more revitalized. He felt more in control of his body. His muscles felt tenser and his body lighter. It felt as if he was a teenager again. What he scoffed at earlier as he watched the mysterious man filling the bottles with beasts¡¯ blood had saved his life now. Moreover, it made him feel even powerful. One vial of that blood and he felt his strength increase. He wondered what more of this miraculous substance would do for his body. ¡®I gotta get more of this stuff. I need to get more.¡¯ Paul heard a strange noise coming from below. He looked around. In his hurry to get out from the dogs, he had entered a warehouse of some sort. There were boxes and barrels stacked everywhere against the walls. There were stairs leading down and that¡¯s where the noise came from. He went closer to inspect it. The noise grew louder as he approached. Someone, or rather something was breathing heavily. It was like someone suffering from asthma trying to catch any semblance of air while their lungs contracted and refused to. As he climbed down the stairs, Paul saw a shimmering light. The stairs took a sharp turn to the right and as he followed them, he saw it. It was wearing a navy blue coat. What used to be trousers now fit only as shorts. It definitely used to be human before but it had transformed into something inhuman at that moment. The beast had long furry arms and legs. It had an arched back from which spine bones were almost protruding. He could see them through the jacket. It was two times taller than him. It held a torch on its left hand and a crosscut saw on his right. He held the saw, which took two grown men to manipulate, with ease. The beast saw him and came running his way. Fighting that thing on the stairs wasn¡¯t a considerable option. Paul retreated upstairs and waited for the beast to reach him. It was fast for its size and as it swung its saw towards him he tried to block it. Its swing was too fast for him to see through and dodge. His only option was to block. As the two weapons collided, Paul felt his feet leave the ground. He was flying backwards.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The impact of the hit was so strong it almost broke his weapon and his guard. His experience in fighting long and perilous wars helped him overcome his initial fear. He stood up and waited for the beast to swing again. He had come face to face with knights twice his size before and come out triumphant. It all came to using your surroundings to your advantage. He had enough space to dodge and dance around his enemy. Swinging that weapon took stamina and big brutes generally didn¡¯t have enough of it. The deformed man started with a flurry of attacks that almost cut him in half. He shuddered at the thought of getting hit by that saw. He dodged another attack just in time to feel the wind make his hair fly back. Dodging the attacks didn¡¯t feel like it was getting him anywhere. The big beast didn¡¯t seem to falter or tire. He had to come up with an alternate tactic. Most brutes love swinging and don¡¯t think of the enemies¡¯ counterattacks. Their attacks were also simple and had a fixed pattern to them. As it swung at him again, he rolled forward to avoid the hit. Sparks illuminated the room as the saw hit the paved floor. Paul hit the beast¡¯s tendons and sliced them open. Blood came rushing out and the monster turned around to perform yet another attack. With its tendons cut, it was unable to make another move and it collapsed head first to the ground. No matter their size, every enemy has its weakness. Paul learned that during his time as a mercenary. For this case, stamina wasn¡¯t its weakness but simplemindedness. He held his axe with both hands and stood on the beast¡¯s side. With one powerful hit, he cut its head off as it struggled to stand up. He took the empty vial he had kept and filled it with blood. He injected himself quickly with it and refilled the vial in order to keep it when he¡¯d be in dire need for it. This blood had properties he underestimated. His body had gained in strength and in agility. In retrospect, he couldn¡¯t have blocked that hit earlier even if he wasn¡¯t injured by the dog. He felt more in control of his body and his vision became clearer. He needed more vials. He went down the stairs to explore more of that warehouse. By that time, the noise coming from the bridge had quieted down. The beast had finally managed to kill the poor bastard. That abomination was the exception to the rule. Its size was too much to handle, and there was no way he could slice its tendons as he did for the previous one. Its hide looked as pale and hard as rock. He pitied the poor soul who felt foolish enough to try and fight it. At least he was thankful that the mysterious man had told them about the vials. Maybe after two dozen injected, he¡¯d have a chance against that gigantic monstrosity. 32: Traversing dark alleys ¡°Fighting that giant monster alone was foolish. What if you didn¡¯t come to save him? Does he think he¡¯s immortal?¡± Francis had gotten into his chatty habit again. Karla hated that. He liked talking to himself and asking rhetorical questions. She learned to ignore his mumblings by now but it still annoyed her. Yharnam was dangerous enough and attracting the attention of beasts by talking to the air was even more foolish than what Surgit had done. After getting into that dead end, Karla and Francis took the highway back to the fountain plaza. Surgit had cleared the area for them and they had time to catch a breath and scope the place. She was the muscle and he was the brains. The city felt empty and too calm. After the battle they had just witnessed and the commotion it created, they felt strange after the situation calmed down again. Since they arrived to Yharnam, they had been going through its streets with their guard up, wary of every movement. Karla seemed to be in her element. She stalked her prey and danced around it as if she had been doing this her whole life. Francis only knew little of her past. But he decided to recruit her as a bodyguard ever since his advisor endorsed her. He trusted him with matters of recruitment and his trust now paid off. If not for her, he would never have survived that far. They were standing in the fountain plaza. Karla had to deal with strange big crows before they could access the railings at the edge of the plaza. The mutated animals were a frightening surprise to both of them. Karla could hear crows from afar but she never paid them any attention. They were badly surprised when three dark forms jumped on them. The crows could barely fly but their beaks were as sharp as a sword. Karla quickly darted to the left as a beak almost made a hole in her face. It barely grazed her ear but she flinched in pain. In a piercing motion she inserted her sword through the crows neck. As blood flowed down the injured monstrosity, Karla jumped towards the second crow and sliced its neck open. The third and last one jumped towards her but she ducked just in time to slice its belly open and make room for its organs to meet the ground. ¡°You can come out now!¡± She shouted at Francis who hid behind the fountain. ¡°For an old man you¡¯re really fast when you have to flee.¡± She said mockingly. ¡°To each their special gifts¡± he answered nonchalantly. ¡°Mine happens to be evading death¡± he said as he pointed to his grey hair. He advanced towards the railings ¡°Let¡¯s inspect the city from here shall we?¡± Francis clearly wanted to change the subject. Karla was wincing as she tried to bandage her ears. ¡°From here the city looks bigger than I first anticipated¡± started Francis. Karla braced herself; she knew he was about to go into one of his monologues again. But he didn¡¯t say anything. He was squinting and analyzing the layout of the city below. ¡°Aha!¡± He shouted. He had spotted a road that took to what appeared to be another way to the cathedral ward.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Francis had acute observations, keeping him around was the best decision Karla had ever made. Francis pointed to a way on the other side of the great bridge. From the Fountain Plaza they could easily reach the great bridge by taking a few sets of stairs. Accessing the Bridge was easy. They had reached it before but their exploration was put on hold since two werewolves were patrolling the highway. There was no way for Karla to deal with those monsters, even without Francis around. The road that led towards the aqueducts was on the opposite side of the stairs they had come from. Francis had seen it before when they encountered the two werewolves. Since Surgit had taken care of them, they could cross the road and take that way down towards the aqueducts. ¡°In every big city, aqueducts are built to channel water to all main commodities. There have to be different entrances to the aqueducts as they must have needed to make repairs and cleaning.¡± Francis had again launched himself into another monologue. ¡°Francis, shush!¡± Karla¡¯s ears didn¡¯t betray her. Like a scolded kid, Francis bowed his head down in guilt but he soon understood the reason behind Karla¡¯s exclamation. They were on a terrace that overlooked the area behind the fountain plaza. They saw the crucifix and the beast burning. At least twenty corpses were lying in the big square. The floor was as red as the sky and its setting sun. The only sound they could hear was that of their beating hearts and the crackling fire. A gruesome fight had taken place in here before. Who could¡¯ve slain all these enemies? It must have been a team. Indeed there was. On a small alley between two tall buildings, they saw a ladder that took down towards the water channels. They heard a heavy breathing noise in the distance. It certainly came from the aqueducts underneath them. They took a ladder that lead down towards the source of the sound. Francis wasn¡¯t fond of the idea but he followed Karla. He never questioned her decision when it came to facing dangerous situations. She was a skilled fighter and she could get them out of any condition, no matter how perilous it was. The sound grew stronger and heavier as they descended. The reached a platform from which they had a good view over the channels beneath them. Another ladder led down and Karla advised Francis to stay hidden on that platform. ¡°At least you¡¯re safe from what¡¯s down here. And you can get down and follow me in case you see anything coming down at you from above.¡± These were Karla¡¯s words before she took the ladder down. 33: Dark streets lead to dangerous beasts Francis stood on the platform and followed Karla with worrisome eyes. He could see the aqueducts down under. But the layout of the canals was barely visible. It was too dark for him to see clearly. Through the obscurity he could see two platforms on the right and on the left. Cleaners and engineers must have needed them to inspect the water channels. A small bridge in the distance linked the two platforms and Francis could barely make out a ladder that took down. Each ladder in Yharnam had a small lantern attached to it. It was by the flickering light of the lantern that he concluded that a ladder was positioned there. He saw another light though. It was getting bigger and¡­ apparently closer. His eyes widened as he saw the source of the light. A beast two times bigger than Karla was advancing towards her. In the darkness of the aqueducts, it was hard for anyone to see anything. The beast on the other hand was holding a torch on one hand and a crosscut saw on the other. Francis could clearly see it at that moment. It was close enough for him to see the monster clearly. But he had lost sight of Karla. The monster hadn¡¯t noticed her nor heard her. Francis looked for Karla but couldn¡¯t make out where she was. His eyes were fixed once again on the beast. It was wearing a human long coat. Although with its size, the sleeves could barely reach its elbows. Tatters of what used to be a shirt could be seen on the furry chest of the monster and what used to be trousers were now just shorts. Its head was terribly human. Round shaped with long human hair on its head and beastly fur on its face. Francis heard the beast¡¯s heavy breathing. It sounded like the brute struggled to breathe but it did not look injured. With every breath it made it wheezed. Its whole body contorted and its open-mouth showed long and dangerous fangs. He tried to look more at its face and saw a sword coming out of the beasts open-mouth. Francis jumped back. Karla was deadly and silent. That fascinated and terrified him. With one hit, she had silenced that huge monster. She motioned to him to be silent and stay put. There were more of them on the other platforms. He saw a shimmering light in the distance and he understood that it was a torch. He had lost sight of Karla again to see the torch falling to the ground. After disposing of the second monster, she motioned him to come down. They were on the platform and they heard yet another heavy breathing beast in the distance. No torch was on sight though and with the darkness surrounding them it was difficult to make out where it was. They walked slowly and silently through the paved way. They took the ladder down towards the canals. On their left they heard munching sounds. Karla put her finger on her mouth as a sign for Francis to keep quiet. With a sign of her hand, she asked him to wait near the ladder and darted towards the source of the sound. She moved swiftly but made as little noise as she could. The aqueducts still had some water running through it. Every move would make a splashing sound. Karla was nimble and fast though. He heard little splashes coming from all directions. Horrible screams reached Francis¡¯ ears and his body started shaking. He hoped against hope that it wasn¡¯t Karla doing the screaming. The screams subsided quickly and he started hearing quick splashes coming his way. His legs shook harder and he felt a liquid warm his pants. He was always good at eclipsing himself from trouble and evading death. But when he assumed he had no protector, fear immobilized him.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He kept repeating in his head ¡®Move! Move! The ladder is right behind you!¡¯ But he was afraid and in shock. He tried to move, he really did his best but his legs wouldn¡¯t respond. In a matter of seconds, all thoughts came rushing to his mind. He thought of his life and the adventure he has been through. He thought of how he dreaded when his luck would run out. And he thought of how was so close to reaching the secret to immortality¡­. He had accepted his death and waited for it. After all, that¡¯s all he could do. Karla appeared from the shadows and he sighed. He could never have pictured himself be as happy as he was when he saw her. She was covered in blood and dirty. She looked gruesome and smelled awful. But man was he happy to see her! ¡°How did you get your pants dirty old man?¡± she asked. He had forgotten about the liquid he felt in his pants before. His mouth was agape. He couldn¡¯t speak or move. Fear was now replaced with shock. Karla was looking at him puzzled. ¡°Francis, are you alright?¡± she asked. She started getting worried about him. ¡°I¡­ was afraid you were gone,¡± he admitted after he recovered from his state of shock. ¡°I heard those screams then the splashing sounds were getting closer¡­¡± His voice got cut and he took a deep breath. ¡°I thought I lost you there,¡± he said after collecting himself. ¡°I can see that,¡± she said pointing at his pants. ¡°Damn rats almost sliced my throat open,¡± she started as she tried to get the dirt off her cloak. ¡°If sounds in the darkness made you wet your pants, wait till you see those not so little rascals. They had teeth as long as your bony fingers!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°Anyway, we need to stay focused here. This darkness unnerves me.¡± She removed her cloak and shook it, trying to get rid of as much dirt and blood as possible. She motioned to Francis to follow her and they moved slowly and quietly through the aqueducts. As they walked through the darkness, trying not to make as little sound as possible, they heard that rasping sound again. There was no question about it; one of those tall monstrosities was lurking ahead in the obscurity of the water canals. As they approached the edge of the water channel, they saw it. A beast was standing on their left with its back to them. Its breathing made Francis wince. It sent shivers down his spine and made him shake his body to forget the feeling. That only made his skin come in contact with his wet pants and he felt even more terrible. Karla pulled his sleeve and gestured for him to stay still. He lifted his head and took another look at the monster. This one was different though. It had its back to them and since their eyes got used to the darkness, they started making out more details about the monster. The startling difference was that it had no fur on its body and wore no clothes. It had grey hide and its spine bones were visible, almost sticking out from its posterior. Its back was arched and it also breathed heavily like the others. With its huge hands, it was holding a spear and it didn¡¯t seem ready to move anywhere else. Karla made a shush gesture with her hand and motioned Francis to move backwards. From where they were standing they could see that the aqueducts, now void of water, led down to the lower parts of the city. There was a canal that took right towards the bridge they had seen from the fountain plaza. They took the ladder down and reached the edge of the water tunnel. The bridge they had seen earlier was even further down. From that point on they either had to jump down through small wooden platforms or go back up to find a different way. ¡°Shit, now what?¡± whispered Karla. ¡°I can jump down, don¡¯t worry about me¡± answered Francis. ¡°We have no other choice do we?¡± 34: The unsettling feeling of being watched After his last trip to the Hunter¡¯s Dream, Surgit had a better understanding of Yharnam. As soon as he teleported to the dream, he noticed that his clothes had come back to normal as if by magic. What¡¯s more, the blood that stained his body had disappeared completely. Returning to the hunter¡¯s dream felt like taking a fresh shower and getting a new set of clothes. Perhaps the legends told about Yharnam were true after all. Perhaps Yharnam was a city of healing and miracles as most of the books said. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes when he saw the doll moving and talking either. After the initial shock subsided, Surgit realized that she could only speak in riddles like Gherman. Her discourse was limited and somehow¡­ scripted. She told him about the dream and how it was a safe haven for hunters. She asked him to speak to Gherman about matters related to the beasts. She also told him that by fighting beasts, he would collect something called Echoes of Blood which would help him get stronger. After delivering this information to him, the doll kept repeating the same thing over and over again every time he dared ask her about something different. He then went to the hunter¡¯s workshop, where Gherman usually sat. He decided to have a rest and recollect his thoughts before going back to Yharnam. He had to get back to the city to meet Karla and Francis. He had no interest in teaming up with Francis but Karla managed to survive in Yharnam while protecting the old man. She must be an accomplished fighter in order to kill Yharnam¡¯s monsters without getting killed instantly. He needed her assistance in order to reach the Great Cathedral. He knew he had to reach that place in order to find more information regarding Paleblood. That word still puzzled him. He didn¡¯t know why he was stuck in Yharnam nor did he know why Paleblood was the sole key for him to leave this place and resume his normal life. He soon found himself wondering what he would do once he left this nightmarish reality. He fantasized about becoming a wealthy bounty hunter, renowned all over the continent. His thoughts took him as far as becoming a prince after saving a lady in distress who also happened to be the heiress to a wealthy kingdom. He had to slap himself awake. Daydreaming would only make him lose sight of the goal he had set for himself. In order to make his childish dreams come true, he first had to find out what Paleblood meant and where to find it. That was when he decided to get back to the city and catch up to Karla and Francis. But first, he had to pay a visit to an old friend. The lantern he teleported to, was in front of Gilbert¡¯s house: the man who had told him about the great bridge. He was angry at his naivety, believing a stranger who may have sent him to his certain death. He knocked at his window.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Surgit had to concede and give the man the benefit of the doubt. After all, he didn¡¯t want to linger there for too long. Exasperated, Surgit left the small square and walked towards the fountain plaza. He didn¡¯t want to question the man further. He already doubted him so he would take all his answers with a grain of salt. He also wanted to find Karla and Francis and join up with them. Once in the fountain plaza, silence welcomed him. There was no sign of any living soul. He had watched the carnage he caused when he fought the mob of man-beasts. He still couldn¡¯t believe that he was the one who did that. In retrospect, it looked like it was the work of a team of skilled warriors. The abilities he had gained after the blood ministration allowed him to have the strength and reflexes of a hardened warrior only tales and legends speak of. As he stood next to the fountain, he saw three malformed crows lying on a pool of blood. He walked past them and looked down the fences. From there he could see the aqueducts leading to a faraway road. Fog covered the canals below but his eyesight had improved drastically since he became a hunter. He could see through darkness with little to no effort. He saw water channels extending towards what appeared to be a bridge in the distance. This was good enough, Surgit had no other choice but to follow that lead and see where the road will take him. The question that remained was how to get down towards those canals. ¡®Maybe I should get back to the great bridge and inspect the place from there. I might have a better vista from there,¡¯ he thought to himself. He was making his way back towards the bridge when he heard laughter in the distance. He had an uneasy feeling, as if something was watching him from a distance. 35: Never let your guard down From a house at the western end of the plaza, Surgit heard women laughing hysterically. People usually closed their doors and hid inside their homes during the hunt. Laughter would only lead unwanted attention towards them. The feeling of being watched didn¡¯t subside and he approached the house cautiously. He wondered if the women he heard weren¡¯t losing their sanity. The sound got louder and louder as he approached. From the corner of the door a small red lantern hung. It emanated a sweet scent. It reminded him of the one that hung next to Gilbert¡¯s window. Perhaps the women were the ones watching him from a distance, in the safety of their house. As soon as he got closer to the door a woman addressed him from behind the door, barely repressing her frenzied laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t reckon you¡¯re from ¡®round here! Well, pffft, stuck outside on a night of the hunt! Ahh you poor, poor thing¡­¡± The laughter continued stronger and louder. Surgit sighed and decided to get back to the bridge. As the women realized that he¡¯d lost interest in their taunts; they fell silent and tended to whichever affairs they had to tend to. Another sound reached his ears as silence fell upon the fountain plaza. Growling, dogs or some other beast was growling next to those women¡¯s house. He was sure that he had cleared this area of every living being that roamed outside. He followed the source of the sound and found stacked boxes at the west corner of the plaza. The growling sound emanated from behind the wooden boxes. He climbed up and saw another backstreet where multiple cages held dogs, uneasy and ready to bark at any passerby. The street led to a small bridge which seemed to lead into an old warehouse. He jumped down and as soon as he landed, all dogs started barking in unison. Afraid of what their barking could attract, Surgit swung at them all with his cleaver. As he killed the dogs, one after the other, he couldn¡¯t help but notice their deformed nature. Their fur was decaying and patches of pink rotten flesh were seen on their bodies. Their heads were also deformed and only their fangs had retained their menacing aspect. They looked disgusting. They had long lost the look of the loyal hound. Instead, they looked like rotten animals miraculously sticking to dear life. Looking at them filled Surgit with revulsion. He no longer felt fear at the sight of monsters. After fighting that hulking beast and coming out on top, what could scare him anymore? As he crossed the small bridge, he saw another dead dog. That wasn¡¯t his doing. Someone else had been through this area.¡¯ He stood on the bridge to examine his surroundings. Beneath him, he could see faint reflection of the setting sunlight on the water. That was clearly the aqueduct. Behind him he could see another highway that went through a bridge. The bridge seemed to connect to the lower parts of the Cathedral Ward. That was the road he had spotted from the fountain plaza. He was heading towards the old warehouse when he heard a cough. He looked to his left and saw a small house in the corner. A faint light could be seen inside and another red lamp at the door, with sweet scent coming from it, hung outside. He knocked at the door and heard an old woman¡¯s voice: She started ranting again and shouting all possible insults at Surgit. He couldn¡¯t help but feel bad for the woman. But he couldn¡¯t help her so he walked away and left her, screaming and raving.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. He got inside the old warehouse. He saw a lying corpse of a hideous creature in front of him. Someone had cut its head off. Surgit inspected the body to get a better idea of what he was about to face. The beast was at least twice his height and it wore a long coat. The sleeves of the coat could barely reach its elbows and what used to be a coat looked like a small unfitting jacket. Its spine was showing against the coat and he could feel the long sharp extremities of the bones with his hands. They were sticking against the beast¡¯s hide, almost coming out of it. Its legs were long and it had claws on its hands and feet. He wondered if that thing was actually like the man-beasts he had fought earlier. Perhaps that was how they looked like after their bodies went through a complete transformation. ¡®What would make a man transform into such a hideous creature?¡¯ he wondered. He heard a rasping breathing noise in the distance as he walked away from the dead beast. He was on his toes, ready for any surprise encounter. Surgit inspected the place where he stood. This was obviously an old warehouse as wooden boxes and barrels were stacked against the walls. In front of him, he saw stairs leading down, illuminated by a large window on top. On his right, the boxes and barrels concealed a door that used to lead to the upper part of the warehouse. Surgit ignored it and took the stairs. As he descended, heavy breathing in the distance was getting louder. That sound was a bad premonition. As he reached the last flight of stairs, the source of the sound gave him Goosebumps. A beast resembling the dead one he had seen earlier stood with its back to him. It stood among stacked boxes in a place that resembled an old marketplace. Pillars separated different stalls and stacked old merchandise was everywhere. In the middle, there was a square gap which led to the canals. In the zone at the bottom, Surgit saw small boats that used to transport merchandize through the canals and the area where he was. The place served as a warehouse for delivered goods. Surgit could hear the sprinkles of water down below along with the constant heavy breathing of the beast around him. The stacked merchandise offered a good hiding spot for Surgit in order to look around and scope the area out. He looked up and saw that indeed, the door upstairs led to dingy wooden platforms on top. Maybe this place used to be a two story market place. By now, the only sound he could hear in the area was that of hoarse breathing. Small windows on top of the building provided a semblance of light. The gap created by the canal between the platforms provided a significant distance between Surgit and the beast. He was glad the beast hadn¡¯t spotted him yet. He heard the breathing again, but louder this time around. It was coming from his left. He turned just in time to see another beast running towards him, holding a torch on one hand and a crosscut saw on the other. Surgit had enough time to dodge back as the saw hit the ground. Sparkles came out of the cobbled floor and as he was absorbed by looking at them, the saw had hit him straight in the chest. He was sent flying back on the stairs. His back hit the stairs and he heard bones cracking. Extreme pain shot through his entire body and he let out a painful scream. He saw the beast standing tall in front of him. Holding the saw with two hands and hacking at him. He tried to move but his body wouldn¡¯t listen. He broke his back and he was paralyzed. He felt the saw¡¯s teeth cut through his flesh. And the pain¡­ the pain was unbearable. The beast held the saw high again and brought it down on his body. 36: Luck eventually runs out… He opened his eyes and found himself beside the lamp in the small square next to Gilbert¡¯s house. He had died and came back next to the latest lamp he had used. He could hear Gilbert¡¯s constant coughing near him. Beating that giant beast had made him overconfident. He needed that defeat to remind him to stay cautious. He had another chance to get back and exact his revenge now. But for how long would that last? He should remain alert and step cautiously in order to keep his wits about him. Iosefka had warned him about repeated deaths. Even if he had a feeling that she wasn¡¯t entirely honest with him regarding the consequences of repeated defeats, she was still the only person he could moderately trust in this city. He took the stairs down, and was surprised to see the mob patrolling the streets alive and moving again. ¡®What the-?¡¯ He had disposed of all these men before, how come they were all alive? Surgit understood one part of Iosefka¡¯s ¡°conspicuous¡± message. Die once and all the enemies he had disposed of earlier will come back to life. That complicated things. He knew he had to be careful but now he found himself calculating his next move, perhaps overthinking it. He had to catch up to Francis and Karla. But if he had to fight all these monsters and die on the way, he¡¯d lose precious time. His eyes lit up as he decided on his next move. He took the flight of stairs towards the cobbled serpentine street and decided to take down the patrolling mob before they reached their brethren in the big opening next to the crucifix. The last time he had to fight a horde of beasts and he didn¡¯t come out of it unscathed. This time, he decided to trim their numbers to make his traverse easier. There were six of them in there. He dashed forward and cut two heads off before the others realized his presence. He moved like a shadow, unseen to the others, swift and effective. The other four were down before they could even lift their weapons up. After all, that last fight with the gigantic beast had made him learn more about his abilities and his speed. The doll had helped him understand better his power and the special abilities the blood ministration allowed him to acquire too. He reached the square and he disposed of the first sniper that ambushed him earlier. He then took his time to observe the crowd in front of him and tried to devise a plan of attack. The 14 men had their backs to him or didn¡¯t notice his presence at all, including two snipers. They were all watching that crucifix again. He heard a bell in the distance and all the men suddenly turned towards him. Surgit quickly looked for cover from the snipers and found himself running up the stairs leading to the railings surrounding the square. He was soon surrounded by 12 men-beasts with no room to dodge their attacks effectively. The first one to strike at him was the one holding a pitchfork.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Surgit dodged the attack swiftly and held the farming tool in his hand to immobilize the man. He wanted to use him as cover and disorient the others by swinging him around in order to create an opening and escape that deadly situation. The men-beasts though didn¡¯t give him much time to execute his plan. Two hacked at him with their swords, while three others stabbed at him with their makeshift spears. He soon found himself full of holes, blood pouring from every hole his enemies managed to create in his body. The last thing he heard was ¡°You¡¯re not wanted here¡± as he drifted away. He opened his eyes again, back to the same square next to Gilbert¡¯s house. ¡®It was foolish to show myself in front of those bastards. I should have hid and bid my time¡¯ he thought to himself as he felt shame and anger building up inside. He decided to approach the enemies in the square differently and use the element of surprise. He saw the patrolling mob again as he descended the stairs towards the street. Enemies definitely come back to life every time he dies. ¡®That is troublesome¡¯, he thought to himself ¡®I wouldn¡¯t want to fight all these while thinking of a bigger battle ahead, like the one I had with the giant beast. Come to think of it, I really was lucky to ¨C¡® Thud! He opened his eyes again in the small square next to the dream¡¯s lantern and Gilbert¡¯s house. ¡®What just happened? Did I die again? How?¡¯ he was definitely puzzled. He took the bridge leading to the stairs, then to the street. He decided though to stop and scope the area from the top in order to make sure he¡¯s seen all the enemies lurking about the street. He saw an axe wielding man that lagged behind the group of six which patrolled the street below. It was probably the one who had killed him before. He must have come from the area next to Iosefka¡¯s clinic as Surgit remembered opening a doorway leading there from the street. He decided then to deal with that man before swiftly disposing of the other six. He went down and followed the man in silent steps. He cut his head off and prepared himself to head for the others when he heard a noise on his right. From a small street that he hadn¡¯t noticed before came a giant troll, holding an executioner¡¯s great axe. One swing towards Surgit¡¯s head, he sidestepped to the right and tried to counterattack just to see the axe targeting his torso. The agility with which this troll used the axe was frightening. Surgit jumped high to avoid the horizontal swing aimed at his chest. ¡®Oh shit!¡¯ the giant made a circular motion with his axe and smashed it vertically at Surgit. The axe was buried deep within his chest. He felt how his skull cracked and blood oozing out of his nose. He lay there, waiting to drift away from the conscious world. BAM another slam to his body split him in half and sent him back to the square. ¡®Motherfucker!!¡¯ 37: The dormant monster in the inside… Surgit was getting angry. He had the speed and the deadly weapons, but it seemed that either he¡¯d get ambushed or a skilled fighter would come and finish him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t this happen against that huge ass beast? I have to die to these scumbags here? Really?! Get a grip man!¡± He was talking to himself while walking towards the axe-wielding man. Before the latter turned to face him, Surgit flung his cleaver towards the man. The weapon hit the fool right in the middle of his forehead¡­ or rather replacing his skull completely. He went to the lying corpse and wrenched out his bloody weapon, smearing blood and brain matter all over his face. ¡°Great! Now I¡¯m talking to myself.¡± Surgit took the stairs and this time he faced the mob of six. His tactic was clear in his head. The man-beasts were deadly in group but stupid individuals. All he needed to do was attract their attention then use his speed and strength to his advantage. ¡°Hey stupid assholes come here!¡± He shouted at them. The six men-beasts came running at him and attacked from all angles. Surgit jumped high and landed behind them. He quickly slit the throats of three of them in one swoop with his elongated saw. He then disposed of the others before they could turn around and see him. His agility and speed surprised even him. The cobble stones were painted red. Blood flowed through the cracks between the stones. Surgit found himself contemplating the scene without even knowing why this fascinated him. The sight of blood captivated him. He wanted to see more of it. He heard the murmurs in his head again, amplifying, ¡®Bless us with blood! Bless us with blood! Bless us with blood!¡¯ He suddenly felt the urge to hunt, to kill and feel the beasts¡¯ blood showering his body. Slowly, he started feeling the wind blowing on his face. He heard the distant heavy breathing of the giant troll. He saw the buildings surrounding him and realized where he was standing. Contemplating the blood which flowed from his recent victims had sent him into a trance. He slapped himself awake and got ready to make his next move. He pondered for a moment as to whether he should go fight the troll or not. He decided against it. He had more pressing matters at hand, he needed to reach the aqueducts and he was still trapped in central Yharnam. After disposing of the lone axe wielding man and the patrol unit, Surgit rushed towards the central square. He remembered the sniper and dealt with him first. He then took the stairs towards the railings and hid in a dark corner. He¡¯d actually never taken his time to observe the plaza carefully. He had been there twice already. He managed to rush through the area, which almost got him killed. Then he rushed through the area again and actually got himself killed. The crucifix on which hung the giant werewolf attracted all eyes to it. It was somehow intriguing for Surgit to observe the burning beast without being able to avert his gaze. The smell of burning flesh and the blood which somehow still managed to trickle down the beasts body were hypnotizing to watch.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. With great effort he looked away and scanned the area. All monsters were looking at the crucifix, as mesmerized by the sight as he was. He looked around him in order to carefully plan his next move. He knew he didn¡¯t have much time before the others looked away and started moving around the square. During the two times he had fought them, a bell would be heard in the distance then they would turn away from the horrific sight which captivated them. He counted the enemies again. They were twelve standing around the crucifix. He waited for the bell and as soon as he heard it, the mob scattered around the plaza. Three men went up towards the balustrade behind which Surgit hid. He waited for them in the dark corner and silently disposed of them. He became one with the shadows and decided not to approach hordes of enemies from now on without prior planning. He cleared the plaza in no time. Rushing the enemies with no plans and hoping for his skills to do the work for him was foolish. Luck had been on his side from the start. Now that it deserted him, he realized that he shouldn¡¯t underestimate his enemies. He understood now that he could still die and lose all his progress in any area if he wasn¡¯t careful enough. And he had no desire of fighting all the enemies on his way again if he ever lost to any monster. So he pressed on and got ready to fight the troll that Paul and Damien had dealt with earlier. ¡®I wonder what happened to Paul, the coward!¡¯ Surgit found it funny how he was the one making fun of the mercenary now. Not too long ago, he was the weakling everyone scoffed at. The situation had dramatically changed since he received blood ministration. He found himself secretly wishing to meet Paul and pay him back for the bullying he¡¯d suffered on the way to Yharnam. He reached the fountain plaza and he could still hear the troll shouting in the distance and pounding at the door which blocked access from the central square to the plaza. As soon as he made his presence known by the sound of his footsteps; the troll rushed towards Surgit and swung at him with a brick on its hand. Before the brick landed on his head, Surgit took his pistol and shot the troll in the chest. The latter fell on its knees, staggered from the pistol¡¯s shot. ''Bless us with blood! Bless us with blood!'' The murmurs resumed on the inside of his head. Surgit felt the twitch again in his right arm and he watched as his hand transformed into sharp claws. His talons then penetrated the troll¡¯s flesh and ripped his inner organs apart. As he removed his hand from the troll¡¯s inside, Surgit looked at it and saw it transform back to normal. The hole he left on the poor creature''s torso was big enough to see intestines and flesh mingled together in a grotesque manner. Surgit wiped his face with his left arm to clean it from the blood and other matter that smeared it. He then went to the troll and mopped his bloody hands on its clothes. He retrieved his weapon which lay on the ground then got ready to move back towards the warehouse where he''d died before. ¡®What am I?¡¯ He was amazed at the power of this attack, although scared and terrified of what lurks inside of him, the thing that transforms his arm so. 38: A peaceful walk… interrupted! Back at the fountain plaza, Surgit heard something he hadn¡¯t before: the sound of music, faint and distant. ¡®Who would play music here? It must be someone sane and capable of speech¡¯ He decided to investigate the source of the sound. On the eastern side of the plaza stood a closed iron gate behind which the music emanated. Surgit walked towards the gate. He had first to climb some stairs in order to come at the same level as the big iron door. Next to the gate were other stairs leading to the Great Bridge. He¡¯d come through here before with the two mercenaries. In their hurry to reach the Great Bridge, he hadn¡¯t noticed the gate or the faint sound which emanated from the other side. He was now careful and pricked his ears to anticipate any movement. He knew that attackers could ambush him at any time. He learned that the hard way. The gate was closed shut and he could see a lever which would unlock it from the other side. ¡°Of course it has to be from the other side,¡± he mumbled. ¡°Have things ever been easy for me since I arrived here?¡± He then remembered how he brought that giant beast down from their first encounter and swallowed his tongue. The music he heard was soothing to the ears. He wanted to get closer to its source. Hearing music amidst all this chaos and blood was a nice change of scenery for him. Since he arrived to Yharnam, all he had to deal with were deformed creatures and otherworldly monsters. If there was a sane person in this city who could provide him with a safe haven, if only for a few minutes, he¡¯d welcome it with open arms. The faint sound was suddenly replaced by loud growling. His body tensed and he looked around. The dogs in the kennels were trapped on the other side of the plaza. There was no way their snarling could reach him all the way to where he stood. He knew he wasn¡¯t alone. Beyond the stairs which led to the Great Bridge was a small square. He then remembered the dogs and guards he and his previous allies had to deal with before. He didn¡¯t remember how many enemies there were though. Since he had the other two watching him, he was too absorbed in showing off his new powers. He hid behind a wall next to the stairs and took a minute look at the area. The square had a well in the middle, possibly providing water for the two houses which occupied the zone. The eastern girder of the bridge was as wide as a border wall. It was at least 20 feet tall and towered above the houses. The architecture of the city still fascinated Surgit. He had to give credit to the craftsmanship with which it was built. Sturdy brick walls allowed for strong structures to be erected while providing extra protection from natural hazards. For Yharnam, the brick walls provided extra protection against the beasts that roamed about.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. From behind the house that connected to the Great Bridge, Surgit saw a dim light. It was approaching the square slowly but steadily. ¡®It must be one of those guys carrying a torch,¡¯ he thought. After a few seconds of stalking, three man-beasts came into his visual field. One of them was carrying a rifle. ¡®Sniper!¡¯ he whispered. He hated those the most. The one carrying the torch had an axe on his other arm and a dog followed him closely. He hated those dogs. He is a dog lover but the ones he encountered in Yharnam filled him with revulsion. He would pity them if it weren¡¯t for their sharp fangs and their tendency to attack him the moment they caught his scent. And catch they did¡­ The moment the hound next to the torch carrying man-beast started barking, another two appeared from behind the house in the corner. The three deformed men stood alert, expecting something to come at them at any time. But Surgit didn¡¯t make his presence known. Instead he quietly moved back down towards the fountain plaza. He knew where the stairs led him and he had no business going back there again. He had to go down instead of up. He quietly moved between the trees next to the railings, leaving the dogs to bark at the wind. He suddenly heard a harsh caw and jumped back just in time to avoid a piercing attack. Three crows faced him. They were bigger than a normal crow. They were as large as a hound and they appeared to crawl instead of walk towards him. ¡°What kind of grotesque monster are you?¡± He elongated his cleaver and brought it down on the one to his left. Blood gushed out of its shattered head and the two others jumped at him. They made a very strange noise while trying to¡­. bite him? They were actually trying to bite him! He couldn¡¯t believe how strange the creatures in Yharnam were! It was as if everyone had gone through some kind of transmutation. With one swing from his cleaver, he managed to cut their bloated bellies open and spill their guts on the floor. ¡°First I had to deal with a werewolf. Then I see deformed men who, instead of kicking me out of their city, want to kill me just to show how much I¡¯m not welcome here.¡± He was walking towards the house of the laughing ladies while talking to himself. ¡°Then there are those dogs, deformed, decaying but still alive and biting! But worst of all are these crows!¡± he was speaking loudly in the empty street. He no longer heard the dogs which barked at him earlier nor did he hear the women laughing and that should have alarmed him. ¡°I heard tales of crows imitating other birds¡¯ walks until they forgot their initial walk¡­ but to see them crawling?! Well that¡¯s a first!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°And their bellies¡­ Oh my! Their bellies! What have they eaten to have such bloated stom-¡° He dodged to the right in the nick of time. A dog almost bit his left shoulder off. He quickly beheaded the poor creature which dared interrupt his monologue and looked behind him. Two more were running at him. He shot one and sent it flying back. He then smacked the other with his weapon as it jumped at him, showing its sharp fangs. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± he asked the dog which now squirmed on the ground. He planted his cleaver deep within its stomach and blood filled his eyes as it spurted out quickly. He wiped his bloodied face and looked at the dead creature with contempt. ¡°Ruining my crazy monologue, that¡¯s what!¡± 39: A new encounter behind a secret door 39: A new encounter behind a secret door ¡°Now I am walking alone in a foreign land, talking to myself and fighting beasts. Who would have thought?¡± Surgit already reached the warehouse where a monster had ended his lucky streak. He took care of the dogs in and outside the kennels swiftly. He¡¯d noticed a street which took the left from the kennels but he didn¡¯t bother exploring it. He really wanted to track the source of the music he¡¯d heard earlier. Once he got inside the warehouse, he thought of clambering over the stacked boxes and reaching the hidden entrance. The concealed door, he remembered, led to the upper part of the building. A rasping sound brought him back to reality. He knew what it was and he was ready for it. A tall monstrous creature was walking up the stairs while evidently struggling to breathe. Its face was covered in fur and had fangs protruding from its mouth. Its hair was curly and messy and that gave it a daunting appearance. Its eyes had a red glow to them and its arms were abnormally long. It reminded him of the man-beasts he encountered many times in the streets of Yharnam. Some of them had normal human-length arms, while others had one arm that extended far longer than normal. The beast had both arms at that freakish length. The coats he saw snipers wearing served it as a half-sleeved jacket. Its chest was as hairy as a furry animal. Its legs had grown as well which transformed what was, possibly, a man once into a tall frightening beast. Perhaps the only thing that didn¡¯t grow in size was its internal organs. Such a huge body needed big lungs in order to breathe and move about. If its lungs hadn¡¯t grown, it would explain why it had difficulty drawing breath. Then there was its back, arched with bones protruding out of it. They looked as sharp as the crosscut saw it was holding. The saw which normally took two grown men to handle was held by that monster in one hand. A normal saw which should have grown dull by now as it was used by a brute to cut down its enemies; a saw full of dried blood and other foreign matter. Just a small wound from that saw could cause infection and eventual death; a saw that was rapidly approaching Surgit¡¯s face. ¡®Shoot you idiot!¡¯ the voices inside Surgit¡¯s head whispered again. Without thinking twice, he quickly drew his weapon and shot the monster straight into its chest. The monster staggered and Surgit destroyed its small organs with his beastly arm. ¡®Oh! Sweet, sweet blood!¡¯ He didn¡¯t know where these voices were coming from or what they wanted from him. All he knew was that they wanted blood. Killing monsters and shedding their blood shut them up and satisfied him.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Perhaps that was why he was talking aloud in the street by himself. He needed to hear a voice other than the ones in his head. He needed to get rid of those murmurs even if it meant going into endless monologues. ¡°Well, maybe I am getting crazy.¡± He was looking at the dead beast now. Its torch was on the ground and its internal organs were mingled inside its body. His beastly arm had created a hole big enough to fit his head. The powers he had gained after the blood ministration intrigued him. He wanted to know more about them. He had no mentor and the only person who knew about hunting was Gherman, the old man in the hunter¡¯s dream. ¡°That old geezer is only good at snoring¡­¡± he sighed as he thought of how many times his questions were answered by snoring deeply. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how he can fall asleep so quickly,¡± he mumbled under his breath as he climbed over the stacked boxes. ¡°Maybe if I drag his ass out here and show him what beasts really looked like¡­¡± he threw some crates aside as if they were made of cardboard and cleared the entryway, ¡°he would provide me with some answers!¡± he threw the last crate as he finished the last word. He crossed the door and found himself on the upper level of the warehouse. He could see two beasts beneath him. He felt his blood boiling at the sight of the beast that had ¡°killed¡± him earlier. He had to exact his revenge and make that stupid brute pay. He was standing on a catwalk. Merchandize was stacked against walls and some boxes were scattered all around the area. In fact this floor was like a mezzanine for the warehouse where people used to stack unwanted goods. Only few boards survived the passing of time since it was built and all that remained of the floor were catwalks. He scanned the warehouse carefully from above. He didn¡¯t want to fall into the same mistake again. Carelessness had only led him to waste his time. This time, he wanted to avoid stupid mistakes. The beast carrying the torch was patrolling the right side of the warehouse while the grimier one was just standing idly by. It was holding a makeshift spear in both hands. He dreaded being impaled by that weapon. The crosscut saw had cut him into pieces. He was grateful that the pain from his broken back had made him forget how it felt to be cut open. Behind one of the pillars on the far left corner, Surgit saw the extremities of a gun barrel. ¡®Sniper! Again!¡¯ He thought angrily. If he went below without noticing that gunman, he would have had more trouble getting rid of that spear wielding beast. He inspected the mezzanine again to find a good spot from which he could deliver a surprise attack. He saw another door which led somewhere outside the mezzanine. ¡°This place has so many hidden spots!¡± he exclaimed. The rasping below stopped and he could hear the beast below him move. He had to make himself scarce and quick. He didn¡¯t want his enemies finding out about him so darted through the door and found himself outside. On a balcony that looked over the canals of the city, stood a person clad in black clothes. The person was as dark as those crows he had encountered earlier. He or she even wore a cape which was made out of crow feathers. Surgit couldn¡¯t make out their sex since the person was wearing a plague doctor mask. The mask slowly turned towards Surgit and from underneath it, a woman¡¯s voice was heard: ¡°Oh, a hunter, are ya?¡± 40: Eileen the crow The lady looked like a spooky scarecrow. She wore a long dark purple leather coat on top of which she wore a cape made of black feathers. She had black trousers on and black boots. On her head she wore a small pointy hat which looked like it had been stomped upon by a giant troll. What made her look even more forbidding was the plague doctor mask. Her arms were covered in bloodied bandage. She held a hunter¡¯s pistol on one hand and a shiny blade on the other. The blade was the only clean thing she had on her. ¡°Oh; a hoonter, are ya?¡± the woman asked the moment Surgit got closer. ¡°Well, yes I am¡±, answered Surgit, puzzled and glad to meet a sane person. ¡°A hoonter and an outsider? What a mess you¡¯ve been caught up in. And tonight of all nights,¡± she said with a tone of sarcasm in her voice. Surgit didn¡¯t know how to answer that comment. He knew that it was the night of the hunt. He had calculated the date earlier and made sure that they wouldn¡¯t land in Yharnam during the hunt. But here he was, hunting beasts and hearing voices inside his head. The woman saw that he looked puzzled and fumbled in her pocket. ¡°Here,¡± she started ¡°to welcome the new hunter.¡± She handed him some parchments on which a man dangling upside down was drawn. He looked at her puzzled ¡°What are these exactly?¡± he asked. ¡°An ignorant hoonter!¡± she exclaimed with that same sarcastic tone. Surgit started to get irritated by that tone and that accent. He wanted to cut her in half but the voices in his head seemed distressed. The twitching he usually gets when facing enemies stopped. It was as if those voices worked as a talking sixth sense. ¡°They¡¯re bold hoonter¡¯s marks. They come in real handy when ya need to leg it,¡± the woman explained. ¡°Just stick it on yer forehead and up ya go, you¡¯ll wake up next to a lantern.¡± ¡°Thanks I guess,¡± he said while stuffing the parchments in his pockets. ¡®I will need a new garb if I want to hold on to these items,¡¯ he thought. ¡®I seem to get into the habit of losing things lately.¡¯ He was absorbed in his thoughts. The woman¡¯s mask was still pointing towards Surgit. After a moment of awkward silence, she spurted out: ¡°Prepare yourself for the worst. There are no humans left. They¡¯re all flesh hungry beasts now.¡± Surgit looked at her puzzled. ¡°You mean to tell me that those talking creatures down there were actually human?¡± He asked, he was relieved to have his suspicions confirmed. ¡°Well yes but that was long ago. The only humans left are huddled inside their homes. The good that will do them! Heh.. heh¡­¡± Even her laughter annoyed Surgit. Perhaps it was her unnerving mask that kept him on his toes. ¡°Now off ya go,¡± she continued. ¡°A hoonter must hoont.¡± Surgit was relieved to see someone up and about, but meeting a woman dressed in black looking so unsettling wasn¡¯t comforting. She looked terrifying. From her weapons and the pistol she carried he concluded that she was a hunter. But he didn¡¯t want to ask her anymore questions about hunting and the order of the hunters. He had a feeling she¡¯d make fun of him again. ¡°Ignorant hoonter¡± he said, mimicking her accent and making faces. ¡°I¡¯ll show her who¡¯s the hunter.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. He was back at the mezzanine. He stood right on top of the spear wielding beast. In a heartbeat, he had jumped down and plunged his cleaver so deep through the monster¡¯s skull that he heard its spine shatter. He knew the sniper had heard him tear through the creature¡¯s flesh and he was ready to anticipate what was about to happen next. He wrenched his cleaver from his enemy¡¯s body, or rather; he tried to wrench it from its body. The weapon was embedded into the poor creature¡¯s bones. As he struggled to remove his weapon the sniper had already taken aim. With all his superhuman strength, Surgit moved the weapon and the body it was stuck to. The beast¡¯s corpse acted as a bullet sponge while he approached his enemy. The gunman kept shooting at him stupidly even though it didn¡¯t work. As Surgit got closer to the body, he left his weapon where it was and jumped behind the sniper. One punch and Surgit felt his opponent¡¯s ribs cracking. Another punch to the face and he dislocated its jaw. He then took the sniper¡¯s rifle and aimed it between its eyes. Two shots were enough to bring the fight to an end. The shots attracted the beast on the other side of the warehouse. Surgit saw the light from the torch approaching him. He tried to get his weapon out but it was still stuck deep within the corpse¡¯s spine. He ran to where he had landed on top of the monster and took its spear. He turned just in time to see the beast, ten paces from him, making that raspy noise and running towards him. He threw the spear with all the strength he could muster towards his assailant. The weapon penetrated his chest and threw him a few paces back. Surgit ran towards the beast and shot its right shoulder with his pistol twice. The crosscut saw fell down just in time for Surgit to arrive, pick it up and burry deep in the beast¡¯s skull. With both hands, he wrenched it out and slammed it on the dead body multiple times. When he came to, his whole body was painted red. He was covered in blood and flesh. He¡¯d never felt more alive. He went back to retrieve his weapon. With the sniper¡¯s rifle, he shot the beast¡¯s spine multiple times until he broke it. He took his cleaver and smashed the piece of bone which was stuck to it on a wall. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for keeping my weapon.¡± After he calmed down, he came back to see the woman again. He¡¯d forgotten to ask her name. He found her in a peculiar position. She was squatting on the railing and observing the area beneath her. She turned to look at him and Surgit felt his hair stand on end. He was sure that she would be a very tough opponent to fight. ¡°Still lingering about?¡± she asked ¡°A hunter, unnerved by a few beasts?¡± she started to chuckle under that terrifying mask of hers. He was about to say something when she followed up: ¡°No matter, a hoonter must hoont.¡± She jumped down towards the canals, disappearing in the darkness of the lower part of the city. 41: Addicted to blood Blood vials were the only thing occupying Paul¡¯s mind. So far he had collected four of them which he filled with blood from fallen foes. He had tasted what Yharnam had to offer and his body thanked him for it. In fact he felt more powerful than ever. After he heard a bell ringing in the distance, he noticed that all the monsters he had slain before came back to life. He was thrilled by the idea of having a constant challenge at his disposition. Such a strong body needed a continuous flow of enemies to slay to remain in good shape. He had already made his way down the city canals. The darkness in these lower parts of the city provided him with a great advantage. After two dozen injections, he noticed that he could see clearly in the dark. The little creatures in the streets and in the canals were no match for him. He was walking by the water channels, making as little sound as possible, when he heard a sound in the distance. ¡°Why are we leaving the safety of our house again? This is insane!¡± said a woman¡¯s voice. It sounded as if she was pleading to whoever was beside her. Paul hid in a corner and decided to stalk the couple. There was obviously some bad history between these two women. Paul followed them as they tried to navigate the canals and the sewers. It was like getting inside a maze. It was easy to reach a dead end or go full circle. However, finding your way out of them without prior knowledge of the general layout of the maze was almost impossible. Paul had faced that predicament but he was enjoying killing all the creatures he met that he forgot about getting out.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Once he heard the women talking about getting to the Cathedral Ward, he remembered his first objective. If injecting himself with beast¡¯s blood had given him this much strength, what would it feel like if he ever received blood ministration? After all, he considered himself worthy of becoming a hunter. A splashing sound was heard beyond the two women and Eleanor gasped in fear. Cordelia produced a kitchen knife from her blouse and stood with Eleanor huddled to her back. They were both terrified from what would come at them. The splashing sound got louder and louder and Paul saw it before the two widows could. A werewolf was slowly approaching them, probably stalking them before it jumping and devouring them. He saw this as an opportunity to test his skills. The only time he had encountered a werewolf was with that mysterious man. They used fire to kill them but this time, Paul had no intention of using Molotov Cocktails nor did he have them. He ran towards the werewolf and the widows started screaming in unison. He jumped over them and brought his axe down on the wolf. The beast dodged the attack and started running towards the ladies. ¡°Picking on the weak are we?¡± shouted Paul as he ran after the beast. He took some throwing knives from his pocket and threw them at the monster¡¯s posterior. The werewolf let out a howl and slashed Eleanor¡¯s shoulder as it wriggled in pain. Paul jumped on its back and swung at its back. Blood came rushing as the beast howled and fell to the ground. Its spine was broken and Paul made his way towards its head. He took his axe in both hands and with one strong motion, brought it down at its neck. The lycanthrope¡¯s head rolled down and blood flowed and mixed with the water that flew down the canals. The women looked at Paul in amazement and relief. ¡°Are you a hunter?¡± Cordelia asked. She turned towards Eleanor and exclaimed ¡°I told you we¡¯ll be alright!¡± Eleanor however, was looking at Paul with fear in her eyes. The man that had just saved them was smeared in blood. Eleanor couldn¡¯t avert her gaze from Paul. He looked frightening and somewhat crazed. He was in fact getting an unusual urge fill his body with that woman¡¯s blood. The werewolf had wounded her after Paul threw his knives at his posterior. Now after seeing her blood, he couldn¡¯t stop but feel the urge to cut her throat open and indulge in her blood to his heart¡¯s content. When Paul came to, both women were dead his mouth was filled with a coppery taste. 42: What real horror sounds like The image Francis and Surgit had painted to Karla regarding Yharnam was much more enchanting than the real thing. She thought of the job as an easy escort one. She didn¡¯t even think they would reach Yharnam as it was only considered a legend. She wasn¡¯t the kind to believe in legends and fairy tales. She was sure that they would wander around the sea for days until they decide that the city didn¡¯t exist after all. When the Cathedral clock tower loomed large above the fog, Karla felt her hair stand on end. It looked like a bad premonition¡­ Then came the cannon fire and all the deaths. She considered herself lucky. One can only have so much luck before it all runs out. She could have been anyone of the other bodyguards that died to the assault or the ones that were cut down by those two mercenaries. She wished to meet one of those two. Her eyes chanced upon Paul running away from the towering beast when they arrived to help Surgit. She didn¡¯t pay him much attention at the time. But remembering how they took advantage of the commotion to shamelessly kill so many strong and valuable men¡­ That was inexcusable. They were lost in the city water canals. The place was a labyrinth. Francis had suddenly gone silent. He appeared to be deep in thought. Perhaps he regretted following the myth to find himself in a dangerous place. Karla knew that if she¡¯d abandoned him, he would¡¯ve sulked somewhere and awaited death. He was resourceful though, he could use his intellect to get them out of dire situations. After they¡¯d come down and away from the monster that could¡¯ve ended them both, they found themselves in the city sewers. He had concluded that it was still the city canals, but the water had gone so bad that it looked and smelled awful. With his help, they managed to navigate through the maze while avoiding the traps that were supposed to catch the beasts that roamed down there. They moved about, making little to no noise at all. They couldn¡¯t afford attracting any attention to them. The water had long gone still and mud had made it much more difficult to move. They looked for higher platforms to walk around and only used the canals when they had no other choice. They were walking in a dark area, the setting sun rays barely reached them. The tall buildings of Yharnam blocked the sun from ever reaching these lower parts. ¡°I pity the people who had to live in these parts,¡± started Karla in an attempt to break the silence. Even though she didn¡¯t like Francis¡¯ monologues, she felt uneasy when he¡¯d gone quiet. Francis looked at her startled ¡°Come again?¡± he asked. He was definitely absorbed in some reverie. After she repeated her sentence, he scrubbed his chin lightly and said: ¡°Well I pity all the people who have to live through the horrors of this hunt¡­¡± he paused for a moment, showing signs of sadness and depression. ¡°Why did we have to follow such a foolish dream? I never thought that we¡¯d end up in a situation such as this one¡­¡± He was definitely questioning himself and everything he had ever believed in.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Look old man,¡± started Karla, putting on her most serious tone and face. ¡°I know things haven¡¯t been up to your expectations. And I know you feel down about what happened so far,¡± she quickly glanced at the pants he¡¯d spoiled earlier. Her face twitched and she was grateful that the hood she wore concealed her smirk. ¡°But we are on the right path, we¡¯ll soon be at the Cathedral Ward and from there, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll come across a church doctor or a hunter.¡± She didn¡¯t believe in the words she spoke but she had to do something about his mood. She couldn¡¯t afford having him daydreaming like that. In that darkness, they needed to be alert. The smallest misstep might lead them to their demise. She wasn¡¯t willing to die in some dirty sewers. Francis¡¯ face livened up a little. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. We shouldn¡¯t give up yet. Let¡¯s press on.¡± At that moment they heard a chilling scream in the distance. It was definitely in the sewers, but they couldn¡¯t make out its source. From where they stood, there were several branching paths. Francis had advised Karla to stay on the right. The sun¡¯s reflection on the buildings above guided them. They had to keep moving east in order to reach the bridge they had seen from the fountain plaza. The screams chilled Karla to the bone. She looked at Francis and he was frozen with fear. It sounded like women screaming in unison. Karla knew that scream very well. She worked as a bodyguard for many wealthy families in the past. The women would scream at the smallest sign of threat. That sound usually irritated her, but in this town it scared the willies out of her. She knew that two sane women were in danger somewhere in this maze and that danger could come at them after. ¡°We should press on,¡± she said in a cold tone. ¡°We cannot help whoever is screaming over there, but we can avoid whatever came at them.¡± She pulled Francis by the arm and started moving fast. His legs started moving only after he recovered from the shock he¡¯d experienced. ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡± she shouted at him, ¡°We can¡¯t stay here or we¡¯re next!¡± She had to act selfishly. Yharnam was a brutal place. If the only action you¡¯re capable of is screaming then walking outside during such a night would be suicide. The screams stopped and a howl reached their ears. Karla knew that it was a werewolf and quickened her pace. Those monsters were bad news. She knew she was no match for their speed and one mistake would get her killed. Dying in the sewers was bad, but being eaten by a werewolf in the sewers was worse. Another howl, then an agonizing cry was heard¡­ then silence. Karla stopped for a moment. She pondered quickly then pulled Francis and moved faster than before. The old man didn¡¯t even argue. He understood the gravity of the situation and he didn¡¯t even utter a word. They walked for a few steps, in fear and stress. Darkness was their biggest enemy in this case. Lycanthropes had excellent sight, especially in the dark. The women started screaming again. ¡°What the?¡± muttered Francis. ¡°I thought it was over for them.¡± More moans and cries reached them from the other side of the canals. Karla winced every time she heard one of the women scream. ¡°Oh lord!¡± gasped Francis. ¡°It¡¯s eating them alive!¡± 43: Small victories Surgit was back at the ground floor of the warehouse. Meeting that crow lady confirmed that there were at least some people with their wits about them in this godforsaken city. He felt relieved and hoped he could meet with someone less enigmatic and more welcoming. He was drenched in blood and sweat. That last fight had helped him improve a little. He¡¯d learned the basics of sword fighting in the military but he was no expert. His sickness had deprived him of having a career. He knew he had to improve and learn while slaying monsters. There was nobody around to teach him how to do things. It was only by trial and error that he¡¯d get anything done right. He was looking at the canal underneath the warehouse. After the rasping sound emanating from those hulking monsters subsided, he could hear a new intriguing sound. It was definitely coming from below but he couldn¡¯t make out its exact location. The canal below him had two brick platforms on each side. The whole place was built like a small port. Boats would come through the canals to transport merchandize. The hot goods will come up using a pulley and displayed in the market (which was the area where he stood). The heavy products will be stacked in small storerooms underneath the market. It was there that he saw them. Rats bigger than the hounds he had to fight earlier, rats that made him forget the horror of meeting the crawling crows. They were definitely rats. He saw one of them sniffing at the air, with its rodent teeth glistening as the fading sun rays reached them from the windows above. They made an unnerving chattering sound that made Surgit¡¯s skin crawl. He hated rodents, but most of all rats. He didn¡¯t need to go down there though, so he decided to take the door which led from the ground floor to another area in the city. He knew he could reach the canals from that part of town since the boats parked down near the rats had to come from somewhere. He took the door and found himself in a vast area. He saw a bridge in the distance and felt relieved to have found a way to the canals. On the bridge he saw a man-beast walking by. He saw the barrel of the rifle and gritted his teeth. He wished he could eradicate all snipers from existence. He heard the rasping breathing noise. ¡°Oh no!¡± he said in dismay. The hulk that had difficulty breathing was holding a spear. He still didn¡¯t know how they fought. He executed the previous one with such brutality that he didn¡¯t even give it time to react. Before he could make a move he heard a cocking sound. He ducked as a bullet grazed his head. ¡°Phew, dodged a bullet there!¡± Two gunmen were taking aim, he had to move quickly. He moved back at the warehouse. He had to get away from the rifles¡¯ range. The hulk had chased him inside the building. Surgit had to finish him before the two gunmen caught up to them. It all happened in a flash.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. If anybody watched the fight from a distance, they would only be able to see the end result. The beast launched itself towards Surgit with tremendous speed. It attacked in a frenzied way, waving its spear around in random motions. Surgit knew that if he got hit by one of these attacks, he would lose the fight immediately. He shot the beast once but nothing came out of it, twice and it was still dangerously getting closer. There was no way for him to predict where the next attack would come from. His incredible reflexes had suddenly failed to assist him. The movement of the monster was just too fast to read through. The hulk tried to thrust the spear through his right shoulder. ¡®To the left, you fool!¡¯ the voices inside his head murmured. Surgit miraculously escaped the deadly attack. He jumped to the left just in the nick of time. The spear hit the ground and Surgit used the momentum to his advantage. He slid on the ground and made a 180 degree turn. Then he threw himself at the monster¡¯s head. As soon as the beast turned towards his prey, he saw a shadow rushing towards it. Surgit planted both his feet on the beast¡¯s chest and slammed it to the ground. The impact made the monster loose its weapon. Surgit clenched his cleaver in both hands and drove it through his enemy¡¯s neck. He had to slam his cleaver on his foe¡¯s neck twice more before the head came out. ¡®Footsteps at the door, they are coming¡¯ the voices whispered. He retrieved the hulk¡¯s spear and threw it at the first gunman to appear. That was enough to send him flying over the railings and down towards the canals. Surgit didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge the second gunman¡¯s bullet though. It planted itself in his stomach. With great difficulty he jumped behind a pillar in the warehouse and injected himself with a blood vial. He was glad he still had some in his pocket. He stood up and dashed towards the damned sniper. ¡®Bless us with blood! Bless us with blood!¡¯ he heard inside his head as he ran towards his next victim. There were at least twenty paces between him and the gunman. He heard the first click and jumped to the left. The second bullet was loaded and ready to be used when Surgit appeared in front of the poor sniper. With an uppercut, he sent the poor man flying in the air. He waited for him to land on the floor and kicked his gun away. He sat on top of the deformed man¡¯s chest and started pounding at him with all his strength. He wanted to see blood, he wanted to see a man¡¯s skull being ripped apart, he wanted to kill and feel the thrill of ending a life with his own hands. When he came to his senses, the voices in his head had calmed down. He hands were covered in brain matter and blood was dripping from them. He felt a sting at his ribs. He looked at them and saw a hunting knife deeply inserted within. ¡°Damn it, can¡¯t you just die without inconveniencing me like this?¡± He took the knife out and blood came rushing out from the hole it had created. He had to inject his last vial or he¡¯d have to repeat everything. The monster¡¯s blood had been in the open for too long, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it to heal. He injected himself with his last vial and felt his strength coming back as the wound closed gradually. ¡®Next time, fill your vials as you use them,¡¯ a lone voice murmured in his head. ¡®You fool!¡¯ 44: The little voices in his head After disposing of the enemies outside the warehouse, Surgit took his time exploring the area. He was in an alley surrounded by tall buildings. A bridge connected the alley to another one on the opposite side. The setting sun glistened against the cobbled floor and the big colorful windows that adorned the beautiful structures around Yharnam. The city would have been amazing to explore as a tourist if it weren¡¯t for these accursed fiends that roamed about. The alleys were high enough to be above water level. As he looked down he could see that the canals were far below. ¡®I could break a knee jumping from this height, even with my new earned strength,¡¯ he thought. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was his own thought or one that is induced by those strange murmurs. ¡®Well, as long as it doesn¡¯t end with: you fool! I¡¯d take it as my own thought¡¯ There was a ladder leading down towards the canals next to the bridge. On his right, there was a wall that looked like it was hurriedly built. He leaned on the railings and looked beyond the wall. There was definitely a way behind the hastily made barrier. He decided to explore the upper area before heading down. So he crossed to the alley on the opposite side. He wanted to have a good vantage point on the aqueducts. He didn¡¯t want to be ambushed. He didn¡¯t have any blood vials left and he couldn¡¯t afford making any more mistakes. ¡®Fool!¡¯ he heard the voices whispering. ¡®Fooooool!¡¯ at this point they were outright taunting him. He decided to ignore their taunts and moved forward. Their mocking increased and he swore he could hear some of the voices giggling. He was walking through the alley looking down at the canals. He had to scan the area for any rats that could be lurking about. He saw the rats below the warehouse and he didn¡¯t want to be surprised by them once he got down through the canals. He heard the cawing too late. One of the fat ugly crows had stabbed him on the leg with its sharp beak. In his head he heard all the voice roar as if they were an audience to a comedy play. That hurt him more than the actual stab. He beheaded the crow and drank its blood immediately. The taste of blood in his mouth was different tough and his would barely healed. ¡®Fooooool¡¯ he heard them say again. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you!¡± he cried out. Laughter roared again and Surgit felt his ears get hot. His leg hurt but the wound wasn¡¯t bad enough to stop him from moving around. He could limp but he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge effectively. The voices in his head no longer warned him of danger in their usual way. He became confused as to what their use was. Had he really gone crazy? He heard another caw in the distance and noticed another crow crawling towards him. He shot the creature and sent it down towards the canal. ¡°You¡¯re so heavy you can¡¯t even walk. I hope the fall finishes you off,¡± he said as the crow plummeted to its death. He came across another bridge that took back to the alley where he was. He was finally about to discover why that wall was built and what was its purpose. He heard muffled chuckling in his head. It was as if he was walking beside a live audience. Two crows were already crawling towards him when he got closer to the wall. He was ready to face them with his limping leg. One of them jumped towards him, trying to bite him while the second was still crawling slowly. Surgit slowly walked to the left and cut the jumping bird. The crow needed to use its wings in order to jump. It probably thought it was flying but its weight kept it down. After he cut the first one, he immediately turned towards the second and shot it in the head. ¡®Fool!¡¯ he heard again.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He checked his pistol and only one bullet remained. He was running low on ammunition and he had no vials left. ¡°This is great!¡± he said, exasperated. He needed to be more careful about how he handled his equipment and munitions. He limped towards the wall carefully. Against the railings were stacked several boxes and he had a fleeting suspicion that something might be behind them. All the voices in his head grew silent, that¡¯s when his suspicion was confirmed. A black beak peaked at him from behind the boxes and Surgit brought his cleaver down at the boxes. He broke the boxes and the crow¡¯s bones at the same time. The voices in his head remained completely silent and Surgit enjoyed that. When he looked at the wall he struggled to reach, Surgit¡¯s eyes lit up. A corpse laid down opposite the barrier and it held a blood vial; a full vial which he could use. He snatched it from the dead body and immediately injected himself with it. He felt his wound closing and he jumped several times from excitement. He was sick of limping and the thought of meeting a fast beast horrified him. He searched the corpse¡¯s dead body and found several vials, some were empty but there were four of them which were filled with sweet healing blood. He took the vials and stored them in his pockets. He really needed some new garb which would help him carry more bullets and vials. His clothes were not practical. He thought of the crow lady and wished he had a terrifying garb such as hers. There was no other way to go but down from there. He went back to the second bridge and scanned the area below him. The canal below the bridge led to another one below it. There was a wooden platform big enough to close the gap between the bridge and the canal underneath it. Perhaps it was used to close the area which led to the market in cases of floods. The other water channel was wider and deeper. It seemed to lead towards the eastern side of the city. That was where he was headed. He went back towards the ladder to climb down. Before doing so, he searched the headless gunman and retrieved three quicksilver bullets from his pocket. He found the impaled one below and retrieved three more. ¡°Who¡¯s the fool now huh?!¡± he shouted at the whispering voices. He moved quickly through the canals. He knew that there were no enemies below. Once he arrived beneath the second bridge and stood on the wooden platforms, he saw a tall ladder to his right. He got dizzy just from following the ladder all the way up. ¡®Ladder, music. Ladder, music. Ladder, music¡¯ repeated the voices inside his head. The things inside his head clearly wanted him to climb the ladder. He decided to climb up against his better judgment. He didn¡¯t trust those voices but curiosity had taken the better of him. He reached the top and heard a troll moaning in the distance. ¡®Well as long as I keep my distance and shoot on time, I¡¯ll be able to come out on top,¡¯ he thought as he looked around. He was in an alley similar to the ones he had been in earlier. One small street led to a bridge which led to a bigger area. The city was very well connected. It was built and structured vertically. The upper parts had sophisticated buildings while the lower he got, the more he noticed that the houses looked dingy and old. The hierarchy and social status in the city was perhaps dictated by how high a person lived from the ground. Surgit crossed the bridge to reach the small square in which moaned the troll. He heard crows cawing behind him but he decided to ignore them. They hadn¡¯t seen him and if he ever started fighting them, the troll would join the fight and make it harder for him. ¡®His back is exposed, cut it open!¡¯ whispered an enthusiastic lone voice. ¡®Or just make a noise and let him crush you with that big statue he¡¯s holding,¡¯ murmured another. ¡®Oh won¡¯t you just show us the blood?!¡¯ shouted others in unison. Surgit held his head in both hands and shouted. The voices were going to make him lose his mind. ¡®Uh oh!¡¯ said all the voices as the troll turned to face Surgit. ¡®Look at what you just did! You fool! Heh¡­heh¡­heh¡­¡¯ 45: A complicated turn of events Those trolls were dangerously strong. Surgit had trouble concentrating with all the voices mocking him. He tried to parry the troll but mistimed it. The statue hit him on the chest and the impact sent him flying. His back slammed against a wall and stars sparkled in his vision field. ¡®Stand up you fool!¡¯ said a lone voice in his head. He struggled to find his footing and the troll rushed him again. He rolled forward just in time to avoid the statue. It almost slammed him to the ground and finished him. The troll faced Surgit again and jumped at him. The attack was frightening to behold; a frightening giant troll, holding a statue on one hand and jumping towards his foe in order to mash his brains and organs together. ¡®Shoot you fool!¡¯ said the voice again, and shoot he did. The troll fell to its knees before it could deliver the blow. Surgit quickly used his sharp claws to destroy his enemy¡¯s insides then injected a blood vial. ¡°I¡¯m wasting too many healing items and THAT¡¯S BECAUSE OF THESE ECHOING VOICES IN MY HEAD!¡± He had had enough of those voices. He needed to get rid of them but he didn¡¯t know how to do so. The murmurs had gone silent though and Surgit heard the music. It was the same tune he¡¯d heard when he was at the fountain plaza. He pricked his ears to pinpoint its location. It was coming from someplace above him. The square where he fought the troll had a ladder which took up. ¡°This is convenient,¡± he said as he started climbing upwards. The music reached his ears clearer the more he climbed. He finally reached the top and saw the gate that led towards the fountain plaza. It amazed him how the city was well organized. It felt like navigating a maze: a beautifully built one. He went full circle and somehow ended up back at the fountain plaza and he didn¡¯t even know how he got there. He saw the lever he had to pull in order to open the gate but he needed to investigate the music first. He saw a red lantern hanging from a window and heard the music getting louder from that direction. He approached the window and heard a little girl¡¯s voice. Surgit left the little girl and wondered at the mother who would leave her little daughter alone at home on a night like this. He hadn¡¯t met any sane Yharnamite in the streets since he arrived. The only person he met was the crow lady. Her apparel didn¡¯t suggest that she was from the city. People in Yharnam gave too much importance to their looks. Even the mutating men he met in the street wore elegant coats and sometime top hats. He was afraid that the mum had lost her mind and killed herself somewhere in the city. He opened the gate then took the ladder back down towards the canals. He kicked the dead troll¡¯s body as he passed next to it. He almost died to it and felt angry since he missed his first parry. He needed to get better at it.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He crossed the bridge and came face to face with three crows. They were slowly crawling towards him. They still disgusted him but at least he knew how to deal with them. As soon as they tried to attack him, all he had to do was walk around them and behead them. After he dealt with the three deformed birds, he took the other ladder down towards the canals. Surgit took the ladder down to the aqueduct. He reached a wooden platform on top of which he stood, witnessing one of the ugliest scenes he¡¯d ever seen since he arrived to Yharnam. A pile of corpses were thrown down at the bottom level of the water canals. The water was shallow now but Surgit could swear that these corpses have been there for a long time, drowning there until the water level decreased. He jumped down and went to inspect the dead bodies closer. He jumped back as he saw all the bodies, a dozen in fact, crawling towards him. ¡®Heavens! Don¡¯t even trust a dead body here¡¯ he thought to himself, his heart was racing. He looked behind him and saw that the canals were leading towards a tunnel. He decided to leave the crawling bodies alone and head towards the tunnel. They were slow and wouldn¡¯t catch up to him anyway. As he reached the entrance to the tunnel, Surgit heard a strange noise from the other end. He had goose bumps and every voice in his head told him not to go through it. He saw a ladder, attached to the wall in which the tunnel was carved. ¡°Call me a coward but I¡¯m not going in there¡± he decided to take the ladder up. ¡°Great, now I¡¯m speaking to voices inside my head like a lunatic¡± he spurted out as he climbed the long ladder up. As soon as he reached the top, Surgit found himself standing on the bridge he had spotted earlier from the fountain plaza. He was on the right path. He approached the bridge and saw a bloody scene in front of him. Half a dozen bodies were on the ground, with burn marks on them. Was Karla here before? Or was it someone else? He clenched his saw cleaver and advanced. At the end of the bridge there were stairs leading towards what seemed to be an old graveyard. At the top, Surgit saw a dead troll and two other bodies. One of them was still breathing and badly injured. Surgit ran towards it. Karla was resting against a wall, on the verge of death. 46: Healing blood VS Crazing blood The beasts in this city are hideous and the danger that looms around every corner made Francis shake with fear. He was lucky to have Karla with him. She was the best warrior he had ever seen and he was honored to have her at his side. He still wondered why she didn¡¯t abandon him, maybe out of sense of duty or because he was useful to her. In any case, he used her for protection and hoped to reach the Cathedral ward soon. He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t find any live member of the church to administer blood to them though. This fear grew inside of him every time they encountered blood thirsty beasts. What he witnessed at the aqueducts horrified him to death. Starting from those tall monsters to the crawling corpses, there wasn¡¯t a single safe place left in central Yharnam. The pressed on and reached the bridge that he had seen earlier. The voice from the tunnel beneath them still made him shiver at the thought of what laid there. Half a dozen corpses welcomed them at the bridge. ¡°Stay on your guard Francis. I don¡¯t like the look of this¡± Said Karla. She unsheathed her sword and walked slowly, pricking her ears for the slightest sign of ambush or attack. Then they saw him, at the top of the stairs which marked the end of the bridge, Paul was standing, brandishing his axe in the air. Paul dashed towards Karla and kicked her in the stomach. She let out a painful cry as she gasped for air. He proceeded then to strike with his axe at her exposed head. Karla miraculously dodged that execution and retaliated with a quick jab behind Paul¡¯s ear. Disoriented, Paul almost took Karla¡¯s sword in his face. He barely managed to block with his weapon and threw her back, away from him. ¡°You¡¯re a nimble woman, but you¡¯re no match for me. The blood from these beasts made me even stronger.¡± Karla looked shocked at Paul¡¯s statement, the latter punched her hard in the face throwing her backwards, rolling on the cobbled floor. She had lost her weapon, and Paul was standing on top of her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m not going to kill you. I¡¯ll just enjoy seeing you suffer, then leave you to die on your own.¡± He sheathed his axe and began hurling punches at Karla. Francis was horrified at what he saw. Paul had become worse than the beasts they have been fighting. Karla took the punches though without a single grunt. Annoyed at her perseverance, Paul took a hunting knife from his boots and put it on her neck ¡°let¡¯s see you keep calm after this¡± he said in a menacing voice. He started by cutting her fingers, one by one, leaving them hanging only by a thread of skin. He went on to her chest and stomach and started making straight lines that ran from her upper chest towards her abdomen. Francis fell to the ground and covered his ears. Karla¡¯s screams made him want to die and end this nightmare. To add salt to injury, the psychopathic Paul laughed hysterically every time he heard one of Karla¡¯s howls. With the pommel of his knife, he proceeded to breaking her knees. The more she screamed the more he enjoyed himself. ¡°Ah, she passed out! Too bad, I wanted to have more fun with her¡± Said Paul in a placid voice. ¡°You don¡¯t even feel remorse for what you¡¯ve done to her?¡± exclaimed Francis in a shaking voice. ¡°Hahahaha, you mistake me for some lowly human like you, I just wanted to see her suffer as she made us run away earlier. No one humiliates me like-¡° Francis watched with an open mouth as Paul¡¯s head rolled down the ground. He was decapitated in one strike. ¡°I hate this kind of scum. The poor woman, to die like this¡­ Pitiful.¡± Francis saw a silhouette in front of him. He knew that it was a woman from her voice, but nothing from her garb could have suggested her gender. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt with crow feathers covering the sleeves and the collar. She ironically was wearing a plague doctor¡¯s mask and looked like a crow herself. She was all dressed in black and only her gray beak offered a change in color.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The woman disappeared as she walked towards the area where he and Karla came from earlier. Francis sat there for a long time, looking with shock at Karla and Paul. He decided to stand up and check the graveyard the woman spoke about. **** ¡°Please Iosefka my friend doesn¡¯t have much time to live. I really need to save her.¡± Surgit was back at the clinic and was knocking at the door from which he usually speaks to Iosefka. He heard footsteps approaching and was relieved to hear her voice. ¡°What is it good hunter? What happened?¡± Iosefka was genuinely worried. ¡°My friend is gravely injured and I need one of your vials to help her. I already used one on her but the damage she took was far too severe to save her with just one injection.¡± said Surgit, breathless. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, if you injected her already, she will have enough vitality to survive and wait for you to come back. Here, now go and save your friend.¡± She said as she handed him another one of her vials. On his way back from the bridge towards Iosefka¡¯s clinic, Surgit had discovered a shortcut leading directly to the secondary bridge and old graveyard. An elevator had to be activated from below and took Surgit on a plaza right behind Gilbert¡¯s house. The door he had seen the first time he discovered the blue lamp next to Gilbert¡¯s house was locked from the other side. By taking the elevator near the bridge, Surgit had access to the door from behind and unlocked it. He had now a faster way to get to the bridge and he ran as fast as he could to reach Karla. Surgit injected Karla with the syringe and they both watched as her tissues reconstructed and as her skin regained its pinkish color. Karla stood up and inspected her body. She retrieved her sword and gave it a few swings. ¡°Well, their blood is as miraculous as ever¡± she said, although sounding a bit vexed. Noticing the tone of her voice, Surgit replied: ¡°What? You would have preferred to die?¡± Karla took a deep breath and with a cold look replied. She had touched a sensitive spot there. Even Surgit was scared of what he¡¯d become. He still had many questions in mind he had no answers to. One more thing was bugging him though. Karla was indeed lacking strength and found the idea of taking a rest very welcome. 47: Totally worth it! Surgit took the last flight of stairs leading to the old graveyard. As he approached it, he heard familiar breathing noises. He slowed his pace and looked for the hulking beast. He reached a small landing where two tall deformed creatures stood opposite a bonfire. They both produced a rasping noise while breathing. One of them held a spear and looked more menacing than the other who held a crosscut saw. It was certainly because the spear holding one wore just shorts. Even if both had fur all over their bodies and fangs protruded from their mouths, one of them wore human clothes which concealed most of its beastly appearance. The spear holding one looked like a monster trying hard to look human. That was pretty unsettling. They had their backs to him. ¡®If I leave them be, they might become a problem once I get to the area upstairs.¡¯ He decided to deal with them swiftly. He had the advantage, they hadn¡¯t noticed him yet. If he acted quickly and effectively, he could end the fight in a matter of seconds. He silently walked behind the spear holding one and hit its back with all his strength. His cleaver tore through flesh and bone and the monster fell to its knees. The second beast turned to look at Surgit and bared its teeth at him. He quickly used his beastly arm to crush the fallen monster¡¯s spine. He then threw the dead foe at the tall beast. That action helped Surgit jump back and put some distance between him and his enemy. The beast let out a harrowing howl and launched itself at Surgit. ¡®Uh oh! Looks like you managed to make it look uglier than usual. Good luck killing it¡¯ the voices were actually supportive? Surgit couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard. ¡®Foooooool!¡¯ they said in unison the moment he saw the saw coming down at his face. He jumped back just in time to avoid getting his head split in two. Blood poured down on the floor. ¡®Oh no! the fool got himself distracted.¡¯ Surgit wanted to scream at them but he had to stay focused. He avoided the deadly attack but the saw had grazed his chest and injured him. The pain wasn¡¯t unbearable but he was losing too much blood. The monster swung at him again. Surgit quickstepped behind his assailant and quickly injected himself with a blood vial. ¡°Only three left, I must be careful.¡± He jumped back to avoid another attack from the beast. At that point he was just dodging. The monster didn¡¯t give him enough time to retaliate. Another scream and it started swinging fiercely and rapidly. The saw cut through the air and the gap between Surgit and the beast started narrowing dangerously. He shot the beast but it didn¡¯t even flinch. It kept waving its weapon in all directions. He shot it again but the saw and its bearer were still getting closer. ¡°Why won¡¯t you get to your knees you stupid shit?¡± He saw the weapon coming his way. He knew he couldn¡¯t dodge on time and he had to block. He shielded his right shoulder with his cleaver and the hit projected him from the ground and against a wall. He fell to his knees and the beast was already on him. It kicked him in the stomach and its talons penetrated his stomach. He let out a gasp and the voices inside his head let out a ¡®oooooooh, that must hurt!¡¯ He was curled up on the ground and knew that a saw will soon cut him to pieces.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He instinctively rolled to the left as the saw hit the ground and bounced back towards the beast. Surgit took another blood vial shot and stood up. He had to take the offensive or he¡¯d be dead. The beast was flabbergasted as the saw had bounced back from the ground and hit it on the nose. It made a terribly funny, puzzled face as it looked at its weapon. It looked like it wanted to reprimand the weapon for bouncing back at it. Surgit couldn¡¯t repress his laugh. He found the scene grotesquely funny. The beast turned towards him. It looked furious and its face looked funnier. Surgit burst out laughing and that enraged the beast even more. It flung its weapon at him which hit Surgit at his left shoulder. The impact threw him on the ground and with agonizing effort, he managed to wrench the saw away. ¡°Totally worth it,¡± he said as he injected another vial into his bloodstream. The beast jumped at Surgit with tremendous speed. He didn¡¯t even have enough time to recover from the early shock. A punch to the face and Surgit started seeing stars. Another punch and he saw his teeth falling to the ground. He dodged the third punch and delivered one to the beast¡¯s stomach. The beast let out a small cry. ¡°How¡¯s that feel huh?¡± he said as he punched the beast a second time. His third punch was blocked by the monster¡¯s furry arms. It looked straight at Surgit¡¯s face, as if challenging him. The beast clearly had the upper hand. It was taller and tougher than a human. Surgit was no ordinary human though. He was a hunter with enhanced physical abilities. Another punch and the beast blocked it again. Surgit had to change his tactics. After a shoulder feint, the beast moved its long arms towards the left side of its face. Surgit used the opening and quickly took his pistol. One shot and the beast let out a painful cry. He had shot it between its legs. ¡°I wonder if that grew in size after you transformed you freak,¡± he addressed the howling beast. ¡°Oh well! I suppose we¡¯ll never know,¡± he had a mocking smirk on his face. The beast, in a desperate attempt slashed at Surgit with its claws. He barely dodged the attack but another slash filled his eyes with blood. He really shouldn¡¯t have let his guard down again. He blindly shot the beast again and heard another painful cry. After he wiped his eyes from blood he saw that he managed to shoot the beast at the exact same spot. He was amazed at how unfortunate the beast was. At that moment it was wriggling on the floor, screaming murder. Surgit retrieved his cleaver which fell after he was hit by the saw. He brought down on the monster¡¯s head, ending its agony. Blood poured down from his face. The last slash he received had injured him badly. He injected his last vial then took the stairs towards the graveyard. 48: Father Gascoigne The graveyard was filled with gigantic trees that blocked the sunlight from reaching the ground. It looked as though night had fallen and countless stars were illuminating the place. The graveyard was rectangular and large, around a hundred feet wide and three hundred feet long. In the middle of the area there was a statue of what appeared to be a man. The man had a beard that Surgit swore was made of tentacles. It looked like a god of some sort. A small wooden house could be seen at the left corner of the graveyard and, at the right corner, another flight of stairs took up towards a big metallic gate. The gate was closed and Surgit made towards it in order to inspect it. He heard the strange noise again. It was coming from the direction of the wooden house. It was hard to see clearly in the darkness that enveloped the place despite his enhanced vision. As he approached it, he saw the silhouette of a man holding what appeared to be a weapon. He was hacking at something on the floor. As Surgit got closer, he saw the man clearer. He wore a long black coat and a long white shall was wrapped around his neck and hung on his back. The man wore a black leather homburg on his head and black trousers. He had a gigantic axe in his right arm and a pistol hung from his holster. Once Surgit got a little closer, the man turned around and looked at him. He had white bandages on his eyes and he was sniffing the air. The man then spoke ¡°Beasts all over the shop. You¡¯ll be one of them, sooner or later.¡± He dashed towards Surgit and struck at him with his axe. Surgit barely had time to dodge the attack when another swing came his way. He blocked with his cleaver and was sent backwards by the impact of the attack. A shot later and five bullets flew towards Surgit. One hit him in the right shoulder. Surgit, in pain, saw sparkles in the ground as the man dragged the axe and hit him with an uppercut that he blocked again with his cleaver. The impact of the attack left him open and the man shot him again with his shotgun. Surgit let out a painful scream as he felt the five bullets penetrate his chest. He could still move however and he jumped backwards to get some distance between him and the crazy old man. The gun lost power to the number of bullets it produced. Or perhaps Surgit¡¯s skin was just too thick that it slowed down the bullets as they hit him. He was puzzled with regards to the motive of the old man attacking him. He felt the pain in his body and the bullets were in the way, halting his breathing. But he was miraculously still moving. The man swung at him one more time and Surgit sidestepped to the right and attacked him too. With an agile jump, the man made some distance between the two of them and shot him again. Surgit was prepared to dodge it and ducked under the bullets. He dashed forward and tackled the man. As the bandaged man fumbled back, Surgit attacked with his saw and hit him in the chest. The damage wasn¡¯t too great though and the old lunatic went on attacking as if nothing happened.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. His attacks and movements were too fast. Surgit couldn¡¯t see through all of them and had to either block or jump back to get away from him. He felt his strength failing him as the injuries he had suffered started weighing on him. The man surprised Surgit with a jump attack and a kick in the face. Stunned, Surgit saw the man¡¯s axe miss him by a hair¡¯s width then another swing hit him on the right shoulder. His cleaver fell to the ground and pain was blinding him. ¡®The fool wants to fight with no vials,¡¯ the voices whispered. The axe was buried deep in his arm and he could barely keep his eyes open. The man kicked him again in the stomach but Surgit persevered and took the hit without flinching. He had to show those voices who¡¯s boss. He wanted to at least inflict some damage on this surprise attacker. He punched the man in the face and heard a cracking sound. The mad man spit a tooth and smiled at Surgit, revealing canine teeth. Blood poured down from the stranger¡¯s mouth.The sight of blood excited Surgit and he attacked more fiercely. ¡°Ooh what¡¯s that smell¡­ the sweet blood¡­ it sings to me! It¡¯s enough to make a man sick¡± The man spoke again in a whisper and elongated his axe. ¡®A trick weapon! A hunter¡¯s weapon!¡¯ Surgit was in shock, a hunter attacking him? Surgit¡¯s right arm was useless. Every movement he made was painful and breathing had become even more difficult. He was a terrible mess to behold. His vision became blurry and he knew he didn¡¯t have much time. He would pass out and wake up next to the lamp in a few. He hated how the fight would end. He was a fool for messing up with enemies, wasting too many vials in the process. If he could heal, he would still stand a chance against his enemy. The axe came crashing towards his head. ¡®You can still move. Jump and dodge now!¡¯ ordered all the voices in unison. He jumped to the right as the axe hit the ground. Surgit almost lost consciousness once he landed on his injured shoulder. Five bullets penetrated his lower body and he bellowed in pain. The axe finally cut his body open and he felt himself fading from reality. ¡®You fool!¡¯ echoed the voices in his head. In his last breath, Surgit saw the man holding his axe in the air and slamming it again down on his body. ¡°You sick creature. May your rest in peace. Umbasa.¡± Those were the last words he heard. 49: Fireball! He awoke next to the lantern again. Karla was fast asleep next to Gilbert¡¯s house. Although she miraculously recovered fully from her injuries, she would still need to rest for a considerable amount of time. Iosefka had told him as much. Curiosity had taken the better of him and he went to ask the doctor about his sleeping friend. She had told him that in spite of the fact that her muscle tissues had reconnected, her body still needed time to recover and heal the internal damage she had suffered. Karla wouldn¡¯t even budge or move after he appeared next to her. He tried to wake her and check up on her but she just wouldn¡¯t awaken. He decided to leave her be. He had other pressing matters to attend to. That hunter had beaten the living daylight out of him. He had to go to a completely new area without any preparation or any healing items. That was clearly stupid. Iosefka had given him another one of her vials on his last visit to her clinic. The doctor was a lifesaver and benevolent one at that. He looked at Karla and scoffed at her. She mocked him for being too na?ve but if it weren¡¯t for Iosefka¡¯s miraculous blood, she would be eternally sleeping by then. He had to get more vials but didn¡¯t know which blood would have the healing properties he wished for. After the conversation he¡¯d had with Karla, he dreaded the consequences of imbibing too much blood that emanated from the beasts slayed. He had ten empty vials in his pocket. The man-beasts he faced in the streets of Yharnam had blood that didn¡¯t seem to affect him too much. Perchance it was because he was a hunter who had already received blood ministration. Blood that emanated from certain beasts healed and invigorated him. He needed to have enough healing blood in order to face that old lunatic. He knew what he had to do. He went to the street which led to the crucifix square. He killed the axe wielding man then finished the six that patrolled the street. He had filled his ten vials when he heard the voices again: ¡®Why don¡¯t you kill that executioner over there? It would certainly be a good exercise before your next battle.¡¯ He pondered for a moment then another voice spoke: ¡®the fool is too craven, leave him be. He just wants to pound at the weaklings that roam the streets.¡¯ That was enough to convince him to face the executioner. At first sight, the beast resembled a troll. It was a troll that wore an executioner¡¯s hood and wielded a giant executioner¡¯s axe. All in all, the sight alone could drive any sane man to turn tail. As soon as the monster saw Surgit, it brought its axe closer to its chest. It was on the defensive and that was a good sign for Surgit. He got closer and made to attack his foe. Despite its size the executioner¡¯s attack were very fast, too fast in fact. Surgit welcomed the giant axe with open arms as it hit him straight in the chest. He knew that his body had departed the ground and with his only open eye, he could see blood raining down on him. ¡®Heh¡­heh¡­heh¡­ foooool¡¯ echoed the voices as he his unanimated body fell to the ground. He woke up again next to sleeping Karla. That last encounter left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. ¡°Damned voices¡­ You really had to go and listen to them, didn¡¯t you Surgit?¡± He shouted at the top of his lungs. He kicked a wall near him and winced as pain calmed his frenzied state. He looked in fear at Karla. She already suspected him of being a beast. He didn¡¯t want her to think of him as a lunatic either. He sighed in relief since his outburst didn¡¯t even shake her from her slumber.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He still had his ten vials and didn¡¯t even have the chance to use one against that executioner. He was indeed too na?ve. He despised the fact that he didn¡¯t learn from his mistakes despite repeating that instruction in his head countless times. ¡®Where are you now devilish voices?¡¯ he asked in a whisper. He had died foolishly but nobody was mocking him anymore. He tried to bait their taunts as he approached the axe man and danced around him, avoiding his attacks with complete ease. The voices didn¡¯t come though and he was forced to execute the poor creature. He dealt with the six men patrolling the streets and walked towards the executioner. The voices were right. If he managed to defeat this monster, he would stand a chance against that hostile hunter. He was facing the beast when it ran towards him. He was taken aback but a voice inside his head snapped him out of his reverie in the nick of time. ¡®Fooooool!¡¯ He dodged the first axe uppercut and saw the momentum of the attack throwing the executioner off guard. The weapon was too heavy and it would drag him along if he ever missed his attack. Surgit dashed towards his enemy and slashed once. He got back just in time as a swing grazed his nose. ¡®Fooool,¡¯ the voices said. He was getting irritated but he had to keep his cool. Those voices served only to annoy him and seldom threw nuggets of advice his way. The executioners nimbly jumped at him and brought its axe down towards him. He dodged it to the left and punished his assailant for being too hot headed. The beast had plump small feet. This surprised Surgit as he cut them open with his cleaver, depriving his enemy from the ability to walk. The executioner rolled around in the ground and waved his arm around. It looked like a turtle that fell on its back and struggled to regain its usual position. ¡®There¡¯s no time to laugh¡¯ he thought to himself as he jumped up to avoid a reckless swing from the axe. The executioner still had the strength to swing his weapon around despite losing too much blood. He plunged his knees on the executioner¡¯s chest as he landed. Its fat cushioned his landing and he still managed to empty his enemy¡¯s lungs of air. He held his cleaver with both hands and sawed the executioner¡¯s head off. By the time he was done, his whole body was sticky with blood. ¡®Fool nonetheless!¡¯ said one voice to which another replied: ¡®don¡¯t mind him, he¡¯s just bitter about losing a bet.¡¯ Surgit felt confident enough to face the old man. He took the stairs near Gilbert¡¯s house and headed for the elevator. On the way, he had to dispose of two troll which didn¡¯t trouble him much. All he had to do was to shoot them and stagger them in order to crush their insides. As soon as he came down, he found himself on the bridge where he¡¯d found Karla earlier. ¡®Well, that wasn¡¯t here before,¡¯ he thought as he saw a mob patrolling the bridge. ¡®What a pain in the bottom,¡¯ he thought irritated. He got ready for a difficult fight and elongated his cleaver. Two of the man-beasts patrolling the bridge held swords. Another one held an axe while the one next to him held a pitchfork. The one behind the group had a wooden shield on its hand. That amused Surgit. A wooden shield would be of no use against beast nor would it be efficient against the hunters¡¯ strength. He dashed towards them and jumped back just in time to avoid a pitchfork to the face. He strategically baited them in a line and started hacking at them one by one. He knew he didn¡¯t stand a chance against a mob that surrounded him. And so he used a hit and run strategy. He would punish every fool who dared swing too wide and jumped back to get them to follow him. He was too absorbed in executing his strategy that he ignored the voices shouting ¡®HOT! HOT! HOT¡¯ at him. He looked up just in time to see a giant fireball rolling at a dangerous speed towards him. He was burned to a crisp and sent down towards the canals below. His body slammed against the floor and he swore as all the voices roared with laughter inside his head. 50: Father Gascoigne – Round two He was back at square one. That stupid trap had gotten him while he was executing such a flawless tactic. He was expecting a voice to taunt him by then but nothing happened. He shrugged and dashed towards the bridge again. He had to get back and finish what he started. The only advantage dying presented him was to anticipate future traps. He ran towards the patrol and baited them. They all ran towards him and he repeated the same tactic he undertook before. He knew what he was doing this time around though. He caught the sight of a small flame with the corner of his eye. He shot one of the man-beasts then jumped on the bridge¡¯s railings just in time to avoid the big fireball that swept everything away. ¡®Oh the fool has made a smart move!¡¯ the voices suddenly spoke in unison. Surgit was startled. He had enjoyed silence during the whole trip to the bridge. He sighed in regret and moved towards the stairs at the end of the road. A troll was standing guard at the landing on top. Next to him stood a man-beast, holding a wooden shield on one hand and a torch on another. ¡°So it was you who burned me to a crisp earlier eh?¡± he shouted at them. The troll rushed him and was met with a bullet to the chest which brought it down on its knees immediately. Surgit eviscerated the poor beast and moved on to the next target. He was tired of wasting his time dying stupidly to these monsters. He took the next turn to the right and climbed the stairs up towards the graveyard. As he approached the two hulks, he slowed down his pace and sneaked around them. He had no intention in losing his precious healing blood to these fiends. As soon as he reached the graveyard the old man charged him. It was as if he was waiting for him to get back there again. Surgit easily dodged the axe uppercut and the bullets that followed. He was slightly getting used to how the man attacked. He dashed towards him and with a feint, pushed the man to jump back. He shot him in the leg and hit his knee. The bullet penetrated the bone but the man still ran towards Surgit as if nothing happened. He was a hunter alright. They don¡¯t get affected by conventional damage. The old man delivered a flurry of axe swings towards Surgit, forcing him to keep moving back. He felt his heel grazing a hard surface and with a glance, realized it was a tombstone. He performed a somersault and landed behind it. ¡®Well, I really am pretty athletic!¡¯ his body transformation still amazed him. There was no time to be absorbed in his reveries. The man had also jumped towards him and almost created a big opening in his body from head to toe. He jumped to the right to avoid another dangerous swing. He had to do something. He couldn¡¯t stay on the defensive. He had to risk it. He closed the gap between him and his foe and dodged again a dangerous swing. He could feel the wind being cut next to his ears as he moved around the old man¡¯s attacks. He punched the man in the stomach and that slowed him just enough for Surgit to deliver a front kick strong enough to knock him down.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Gun!¡¯ he jumped back just in time to avoid five bullets flying his way. That old man¡¯s fighting style was very aggressive and the shotgun he had didn¡¯t make the situation any easier. He got closer to the hunter again and tried to attack. A preemptive strike could give him the advantage and flip the situation over. The old man dodged and shot blindly, hitting Surgit in the left leg. He felt a bullet in his knee but that didn¡¯t slow him down. He still hadn¡¯t sustained enough damage to be completely immobilized. He shot the man with his pistol as well. That served just to stop him from making one extra step towards him. That didn¡¯t bother Surgit as that was all he needed. He rushed, jumped and slashed at the man¡¯s chest. He landed behind him and rolled forward to avoid any possible retaliatory bullets. The hunter slowly turned towards him and elongated his axe. He was slightly bleeding from his chest and it looked like it excited him. ¡°Ahh¡­, the sweet stench of blood. Just¡­ just marvelous¡± the man ran towards Surgit and attacked again relentlessly. The axe finally found its target and ironically hit Surgit in the right arm¡­ again! ¡®Fight, kill, Give us blood¡¯ those voices again started inside Surgit¡¯s head. His right arm was bleeding profusely and he had to fight with the left. His attacks didn¡¯t do much damage but he had to press on. He wanted to use his blood vial to heal but he couldn¡¯t create an opening long enough for him to use one. With the long axe, the man now had a comfortable distance between him and Surgit. He continuously slashed at Surgit and the latter dodged and tried to reduce the distance between them. He couldn¡¯t attack if it remained like this and he¡¯d soon lose consciousness from the injuries he¡¯d suffered. He then took his pistol and with a well-timed shot, stunned the man and brought him to his knees. Surgit¡¯s injured arm twitched as he approached the man and he ripped the man¡¯s flesh apart with his beastly arm. As he pulled his arm back, blood spurted out from the man¡¯s body and he was thrown backwards. His arm hurt even more than before. Transforming to the beastly form and back again caused his injury to grow in size. At least he managed to land a counter attack on that mad hunter. Surgit watched as the man withered in the ground, trying to fight back his inevitable fate. That attack was really handy. Surgit¡¯s eyes widened and his gaping mouth couldn¡¯t close as he saw the old man standing up. He was holding his head with both hands and seemed to struggle with something. Then a blinding light forced Surgit to cover his eyes and before him stood a beast. It still had the man¡¯s clothing on it but its body was all covered in fur. It grew in size twofold and its arms had claws and its face¡­ A human face though furry and with protruding fangs. It was a hybrid between man and werewolf. Surgit felt the fear crawl through his entire being. For the first time since he met that werewolf at Iosefka¡¯s clinic. He had the time to be afraid while looking at an abomination like this. His feet wouldn¡¯t budge and he saw as the beast turned slowly to look at him. It jumped at him so fast that his eyes couldn¡¯t follow the movement. The beast ripped Surgit¡¯s chest apart and bit at his neck. He felt his skin and muscles depart from his bones as the beast bit and feasted on him. He was being eaten alive and there was nothing he could do but to feel the beast¡¯s claws and teeth tear his whole body apart. Tears filled his eyes as the pain became unbearable, then he lost consciousness. 51: Gruesome death…again Karla was taking a rest next to the gate leading to the elevator. Surgit saw her sleeping and she heard his footstep, she stood up and unsheathed her sword. ¡°Oh it¡¯s you. You scared the hell out of me. I didn¡¯t hear you coming till you got close.¡± Karla had no idea that he¡¯d just resuscitated right next to her. All the best for him, he didn¡¯t want her to know that. ¡°So what did you find?¡± she asked. ¡°An old graveyard and a closed metallic gate, I¡¯ll look around here to find a key or another way in. There has to be something we could use to open it. You should take more rest. I¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡± He was too ashamed to tell her of what happened to him against the old man. And he didn¡¯t know how to explain to her that he can¡¯t technically die. ¡°Alright, thanks for this, I owe you one.¡± She said and she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She was in no condition to help him either. That hunter was fast and deadly. One attack from him could finish her in no time. What¡¯s more, her clothes were all in tatters. She couldn¡¯t be expected to move around the city while most of her body was exposed. He thought about doing something about but he decided to leave the matter for later. He suddenly remembered a fact and woke her up. When Karla reached the bottom of the ladder, he had already taken care of the axe wielding man-beast. He led her towards the clinic and advised her to rest in the anteroom next to the door where he usually meets Iosefka. ¡°I will leave you now. I will close the door to the clinic as I leave. Stay on your guard though, the beasts here are unpredictable.¡± She nodded and lied down on the wooden floor. Surgit went back towards the lantern then took the elevator down and went through the bridge. He saw half a dozen men-beasts standing in front of him, barring his passage. He marched forward and got ready to dispose of them. They ran towards him in an organized manner. They attacked in group and synchronized their movement. They didn¡¯t leave him any opening to strike at. ¡®It¡¯s as if they too learned from our previous encounter,¡¯ thought Surgit. He was just dancing around their attacks, waiting for the opportunity to obliterate them. It was crucial that he¡¯d lead them in a straight line. Then with the corner of his eyes he saw a light coming towards them. It grew larger and it was heading their way. A gigantic fireball was rolling at top speed, he rolled to the side but the other men-beasts didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge it. It hit them all on the back and killed them instantly.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡®Now to the bastard who organized this ambush¡¯ He looked up and saw a troll standing at the top of the stairs. If it weren¡¯t for his enhanced vision and quick reflexes he would have been back next to the lantern again. He disposed of the troll easily and proceeded back to the graveyard. That man transformed into a beast right in front of him, he was really afraid of becoming like him. He wondered at the hunter¡¯s first words before he attacked him. ¡®I¡¯ll become a beast too? Is that what he hinted at?¡¯ he thought. ¡®Possibly..¡¯ answered a lone voice in his head while others chuckled. As he entered the graveyard, he was ready to move faster and dispose of that beast as fast as possible. Lingering around for long will only make the beast deadlier. What he found in there was not a beast though but the old man, standing in front of him, looking at him with murderous intent. The man released a shot from his shotgun and as Surgit dodged it, he took the axe swing right in the chest. He was sloppy again and let the man hit him first. His feet felt weak and he struggled to stand up and regain his form. The old man didn¡¯t leave him any moment¡¯s respite, he struck him again with his axe and Surgit watched with horror as his left arm lay in the ground motionless. He received a blow to the jugular with the pommel of the hunter¡¯s axe and as he staggered back, the weapon sliced his throat open. He gasped for air as the man watched him lose consciousness. He then heard him say ¡°Afraid to show your true face eh¡­ But a sporting hunt it was.¡± **** Francis was glad that whatever was in the dark, killing those poor men-beasts hadn¡¯t noticed him. His fear from death was driving him forward. He didn¡¯t want to meet the morbid end Karla did. He saw the gigantic closed metallic gate. He tried to open it to no avail. He made some noise trying to force it open and he heard that the thing downstairs had stopped hacking and slashing. ¡®Maybe he¡¯d noticed me. I need to move fast or I¡¯m minced meat.¡¯ He climbed the gate and dropped on the other side. He didn¡¯t know he managed to climb those metallic bars, without anything to grab onto but he was on the other side. His desire to survive had won. He found himself in front of a tall building. Three or maybe four floors; he couldn¡¯t tell as he was clearly standing in front of the back door at the bottom floor. The door was open so he went through. It looked like a basement and storage facility. Barrels and sacs were scattered all around. He saw a ladder leading to the upper floor. ¡®Yes this is definitely the basement.¡¯ He climbed up and opened a trap door, revealing a library. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not a hunter, yet you¡¯re sane. How did you worm your way up here?¡± He turned right and saw a woman, fully clothed in white from neck to toe. She had long dark blonde hair, a thin nose and small lips. Her chin was pointy and her exposed neck looked long and pale. She looked like one of the ladies he¡¯d met during the numerous balls he used to host in his mansion, aristocratic and pretentious. The kind he hated but the ones he could easily manipulate. He climbed from the ladder and closed the trap door. 52: The need to get stronger Francis turned towards the woman and began speaking. **** ¡®Oh my god, when is this going to end? I must have died to this man a hundred times. I lost count at ten.¡¯ Surgit started losing hope at beating the old man. He was agile and fast and the more he fought him the less effective he became at countering his attacks. In fact Surgit had lost to him twenty four times already. He was getting tired of that situation. Either he wasn¡¯t strong enough or he needed to improve his fighting skill. He thought of asking Karla for help but he preferred to keep the whole affair hidden from her. What bugged him though was the fact that every time he resuscitated, Karla was sound as sleep. She¡¯d always wake up to his footsteps and get startled. It was as if he was living in a broken world where the same events repeated themselves over and over again. The only difference was that his death was different every time. That man had so many ways to kill him that Surgit had enough of tasting his own blood every time he bit the dust. He was back at the clinic talking to Iosefka. He noticed that she also didn¡¯t tire from his countless visits, requiring blood vials from her. Either she was the nicest person in all of Yharnam or she didn¡¯t notice that he¡¯d visited her on so many occasions.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡®You had to blow it you stupid shit,¡¯ he reprimanded himself for the way he ended the conversation. ¡®Looking forward to it too? What do you think you were doing? Closing a business deal?¡¯ a sarcastic voice commented in his head. He was clearly not satisfied with the way their conversation ended and those damned voices weren¡¯t making it any easier. He was afraid that he¡¯d offended her. He tried to erase that embarrassing moment but the voices were still mocking him for it. Karla was still sleeping in the anteroom. She sat in a corner leaning on the wall behind her. ¡®How long is she going to sleep?¡¯ she had suffered enough damage to kill a person so he decided to leave her alone. He also wanted to find some change of clothes for her. What Paul did to her was inhuman. Her breasts were almost exposed and the hood that concealed her head before was used now to cover her chest. On closer inspection Karla looked almost like a woman from a fairy tale. She had long red hair, a fine pointy nose and big eyes. She was as tall as he was and she was slender. She reminded him of those ballet dancers he used to watch back when he was at the academy. On his days off, he¡¯d spend the day going to the opera house or the theatre. He enjoyed artistic performances. He preferred ballet shows the most though: how they moved gracefully with their long legs, muscular thighs and thin upper body. Karla had fair skin, too fair as a matter of a fact. A sleeping beauty, that could cut you open in two strikes. He felt drawn to her and at the same time he dreaded being on her kill list. Surgit then had an idea. He could go to the dream and ask the doll or Gehrman how he could get stronger. As he peered into the blue flame in the lamp, Surgit felt his body getting lighter and no time, he found himself standing in the middle of the gigantic garden. The doll was standing right next to the front door. She didn¡¯t move or bat an eye. Her sight was fascinating yet disturbing. She looked like those upper class women who always dress up when they leave their homes. No matter the errand they had to run. She wore a wood brown cape that extended down to her waist. Underneath the cape she wore a brown bodice with golden laces on them and on her head she wore a brown bonnet ornamented on the right side by flowers. She also wore a black long skirt that extended under her knees and leather brown boots with golden laces. She had ashen hair and big almond shaped eyes. She was taller than him and her voice was melodious and sweet. 53: The echoing will of the dying ones ¡®This is just plain stupid¡¯ he thought as he executed her instruction. He then saw it: fire, too much of it, burning beasts, alive, and around half a dozen hunters surrounding them looking at the fire as if in trance. The scenery changed again and he saw a man or woman, he couldn¡¯t tell, hanging from their legs while from the neck, blood was seeping drop by drop. A white aura glowed around Surgit¡¯s hand as the doll inspected his echoes. It looked like a magic spell of some sort. But of course, Surgit couldn¡¯t see that. He could only hear a hypnotic sound emanating from the doll and soothing sensation enveloped his hand. Her melodious voice made him obey every instruction she gave. When she was done, she looked at him with the same emotion ridden, yet beautiful eyes and said: ¡°You don¡¯t have any blood echoes good hunter.¡± ¡®Great, I have none¡¯ he said in a faint whisper as he opened his eyes. Well, at least now I know the nature of what almost drove me crazy. He thanked the doll and went back to the city of horrors and beasts. As he was about to leave though, the doll called out to him from where she stood. ¡°You can always check how many echoes are within your mind by using your third eye.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Once in Yharnam, he used his newly discovered ability to inspect how many echoes he had. He couldn¡¯t believe what the doll had just told him. He was used to hearing too many voices in his head. But then again, they all went silent the moment he resuscitated. After some failed attempts, he could finally perceive, or rather ¡®know¡¯ what the number was. It felt like when someone gets a d¨¦j¨¤-vu feeling. Or when they just happen to know something and imply that it was their great sixth sense that bestowed upon them such unexpected knowledge. It felt like he was alone, swimming in a dark void. He confirmed that he had no echoes. He then concentrated on reducing the amount of beasts that roamed the streets. He knew he had to become stronger in order to face that hunter. The old man was better than him in every aspect. He was faster, brutal, and more importantly, he could transform into a hideous beast that tore Surgit to pieces every time. The voices multiplied in his head, each advising him to do a different thing. He almost died to an axe wielding man once because the voices were fighting to decide on his best plan of attack. He did his best not to pay them any heed and concentrated on the task at hand. He was soaking with blood and minced meat adorned his whole body. But he was satisfied. He had managed to clear most of the streets of dogs, man-beasts and disgusting crows. He was ready to go see the doll and see how the voices in his head could be used. He was most of all curious, if they¡¯d ever shut up at all. He used his insight this time to see if he can discern how many echoes he had. The feeling came back to him, but more intense. He was no longer swimming alone in a dark void. Shapes in different sizes surrounded him. They looked like a distant star light as observed from the ground. The light had a faint green glow to it. He couldn¡¯t approach it but he could hear the echoes¡¯ voices. They all had something to say and the more he concentrated on one of them, the stronger its voice became. The chatter among all the voices became too loud for him and he opened his eyes. He was back at the city and ready to get rid of them. He went back to the doll and she was the first to speak. Surgit liked the sound of that. He asked the doll to channel his echoes and strengthen his body first then his skill. When the doll was done with the channeling, he felt his body with his hands and there were definitely some changes. His muscles were thicker and tenser. His whole body felt invigorated as if he had just received the ministration for the first time. The doll advised him to use insight again and inspect his status. He did as he was asked and titles popped up in his trance state. It looked as follows: Name Surgit Insight level Narrow minded Strength Waste of Skin (2) Skill Skillful (1) Bloodtinge Blood Hungry (1) Arcane Blind (1) 54: Gearing up for the big fight **** Karla woke up and felt her heart racing against her chest. She had a bad dream she couldn¡¯t remember. Surgit was nowhere to be found. He must have gone looking for the key he spoke about earlier. She still felt tired and her bones hurt. The memory of what Paul had done to her still haunted her. She realized how weak she was against enemies who use that blood to enhance their bodies. It seemed like some kind of drug to her. She couldn¡¯t fathom the idea of letting something foreign into her bloodstream. But she had no choice earlier, it was either that or death. She inspected her sword as she sat on the wooden floor in the anteroom. She had a long curved sword. The blade wasn¡¯t broad and it fit her fighting style perfectly. When she trained to become a swordswoman, not even her father had given her a chance at succeeding. In retrospect, it was her spite against the men who belittled her that drove her forward. She found pleasure in humiliating the men who sparred against her. It was like she had a gift for sword fighting. She leaned back on the ground and the memories came flowing back. A man in the street had tried to come in too hard on her and even threatened to cut her throat open with a machete. She refused even though the fear that ate at her very soul urged her not to. She was surprised to see herself dancing around the man as he hacked at her with his weapon. At that time, the need to survive drove her to action. She took the machete from his hand and cut him too deep. He never walked the same again and from that day on, Karla decided to learn how to fight. If it weren¡¯t for her attacker¡¯s recklessness and stupidity, she would¡¯ve been dead before she even tried to get away from his swings. Her father tried to dissuade her but after seeing her determination, he had to cave in. Five years later she had become the best sword fighter in the kingdom, to the awe and envy of many. It took hard work and determination. She would train alone at night, hidden from her family¡¯s sight. She knew of their disapproval and that drove her forward. There were too many dangers around the world and she wanted to be ready to face them all. Her master often called her obsessive. He taught her all he knew nevertheless and his face gleamed with pride the day she got a position within the place. She was affiliated to the royal guard, following the princess everywhere. Soon after, she had become her personal bodyguard and confidant. She looked like an innocent child who was waiting for the perfect suitor. While on the other hand, she hosted men in her chambers in secret. She knew every secret and every lover the princess had. Yet she grew bored of that mundane life. She felt that her skill was wasted and that her father, through his connections to the higher ups, landed her what he thought the safest position in the castle. And indeed it was, until the day Julius came in the picture. He was among the many lovers the princess had. Her thirst for lust was insatiable and she looked constantly for new adventures to have in bed with different men, and women. Julius came and changed everything. The princess fell for him and wanted only him. Karla didn¡¯t like him one bit. Call it jealousy or intuition; she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. She warned the princess and asked her to be on guard, if the man ever acted strangely, she just had to call out to her. One morning, Karla came in to kick the man out of the princess¡¯ bedchambers. They all had to leave early before the king¡¯s servants saw them and reported to him. Karla found a bloodied bed and the princess¡¯ head on a silver platter in the middle of it. Her shock was as big as her fear. She thought of her whole family getting slaughtered in front of her eyes and the torture she¡¯d have to endure. So she ran, as far as her feet could take her. She knew that her family would suffer the consequences but she didn¡¯t have time to warn them. She shamelessly got away from the kingdom and finally found herself under the wing of Francis. She wondered what happened to the old man, there was no sign of him anywhere. Even Surgit had confirmed that he didn¡¯t see any corpses that looked like him. Could he be still alive? **** Surgit¡¯s body was drenched in blood. He had managed to clear all of central Yharnam from the beasts lurking in it, except for two. The first one was the old man who¡¯d killed him countless times. The second one was the thing lurking within the tunnel down in the aqueducts. He never dared go in there. The grunts and wails that came from there didn¡¯t encourage him to go forward. One thing was bugging him though: if the old man came back to his original form each time Surgit was killed by him, and if the beasts in the city came back to life every time he died, doesn¡¯t that mean that the gigantic beast he¡¯d fought earlier should be back by now? He decided to inspect the great bridge, even though he really didn¡¯t feel like it, but he had to know. As he reached the great bridge and the closed great gate, he saw the blue lantern and no sign of that giant fiend. He sighed in relief but still wondered why its corpse wasn¡¯t even in there. He returned to the dream to see the doll and get her help.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Now that he had echoes, he could get even stronger and face the old man. He couldn¡¯t accept the title he was given. ¡®Waste of skin?! What is that supposed to mean? I will not fight such a deadly foe with a shameful title like that!¡¯ He had just realized how weak he was. After the blood ministration, he not only regained form but also gained in strength and perception. That was enough to make him think he was capable of defeating any enemy that came his way. All he needed was to be skilled enough to come out victorious. He realized by now that this was far from truth. The ability to come back from the dead wasn¡¯t the only thing that allowed him to learn and become better. There was something else, something deeper and more powerful. Back in the dream, Surgit decided to upgrade his strength and skill. He knew that he needed to have enough perception to dodge all of the old man¡¯s attacks and strike back at him. He also needed strength as his attacks didn¡¯t always damage him and he needed that fight to end quickly. He inspected his echoes before talking to the doll. In the darkness that enveloped his trance-like vision, he saw a light in the distance. It was the same as his previous vision. The echoes¡¯ voices produced wails, laughter and even shouted in despair. They were all huddled together and the cluster they made shone in a green light. That vision took him to a place which felt like he was floating in open space, surrounded by darkness. Only those clusters of echoes provided a semblance of light far away in the distance. He could see other lights, straying away from the bright cluster. Their murmurs were too faint to make out what they had to say though. All he could hear were cries of agony and despair. When he spoke to the doll, he learned that the echoes he had could only upgrade his skill, arcane or bloodtinge but not his strength. As to the information on how he could know the necessary amount of echoes needed in order to upgrade his skill, the doll had just one answer ¡°Use your insight good hunter.¡± He retorted that the only thing he could see were lights when he used his insight. The doll then suggested he looks for the needed information in the various books in the hunters¡¯ workshop. Upon inspecting the books, Surgit realized that he couldn¡¯t read a word of it. He was, after all, a foreigner. He thought of asking the doll to clarify things for him. She was the one who channeled the echoes. That meant that she could actually tell him how it worked. He anticipated what their conversation would amount to: ¡°Use your insight good hunter,¡± he said in an outrageous imitation of her melodious voice. The little inside his head giggled then it dawned on him. He used his insight while holding the book and to his surprise, some of the letters on the books were visible. He read the title of the book he was holding. It read: ¡°How to pick up fair maidens.¡± He silently put the book down and used his eye to look for another one that could be of actual use to him. ¡®Hunters weren¡¯t really popular with the ladies, were they?¡¯ an echo was happily asking the others as they chortled at his lame joke. Surgit ignored and picked up another book. ¡°Increase your strength and become the beast slayer you¡¯re meant to.¡± He sat on a sofa and began his reading. By the third page, the letters became unintelligible. His head throbbed and he had to stop using his insight. In fact, he was forced to stop. He got a little familiar with the ins and outs of hunter fighting techniques. If that crazy hunter had more strength and skill, it would mean that he also had great defense against weaker attacks. He had to match those in order to deal some significant damage. Among the interesting pieces of information he came across was that the messenger in the bath didn¡¯t only serve to transport him back to Yharnam but it also sold items and equipment. Surgit returned to the messenger¡¯s bath. The little white creature looked at Surgit and waited for his instructions. ¡°Show me the things you have for sale little man, I understand you sell stuff,¡± said Surgit. The messenger instantly disappeared into the black pool and soon after that; a screen appeared on the liquid. There was a list of different items, written in gold. All he had to do was touch one of the items and it would display if he could purchase it or not. He needed echoes to finalize the purchase but it was much simpler than dealing with the doll. Each item displayed on the black pool had a YES or NO written next to it. He still didn¡¯t understand how echoes worked precisely but at least the messengers were pretty straight forward with him. Surgit touched the top left corner of the screen and the items displayed changed. The messenger also offered different types of body armor. Everything that was displayed could be bought using echoes. Surgit decided, with the echoes he had collected, to buy new set of clothes for himself and a long black leather coat for Karla. He went back to the clinic and found Karla, sound as sleep as usual. She woke up as soon as she heard his footsteps. ¡°I almost didn¡¯t recognize you with that new outfit of yours, where did you get that from?¡± she said in a startled voice. He wore a long dark brown leather coat with a black cape on his shoulders. On his head, he wore a triangular cap, similar to the one privateers used to wear. He also sported a gray shirt on top of which he wore a leather vest ornamented with a belt that attached diagonally to his body. The belt was there to hold his ammunition and blood vials. He also wore dark brown trousers and black leather boots. The outfit he chose fit the traditional attire hunters usually sported on nights of the hunt. ¡°I got you something too.¡± He handed her the coat he got from the dream. ¡°Where did you get this? It fits nicely.¡± She was obviously pleased by the coat he handed her. ¡°I found them while searching in the city for that key we need.¡± He didn¡¯t want to tell her about the dream, it wasn¡¯t her concern and she shouldn¡¯t know about it. ¡°Did you find it then?¡± asked Karla. 55: Take 36. Ready, Set, Action!! Surgit stood in front of the graveyard, ready for another round against Gascoigne. He¡¯s been clobbered to death, eaten, torn apart and even shot to death. He wondered what else the old man still had in stock for him. The last time he went to face him he was so sloppy that the fight finished in two swings. When he came back from the dead, he decided to clear his mind and went on a rampage around the city. He cleared it of all that roamed about except for the thing that wailed in the tunnel by the canals. He still didn¡¯t feel like going in blind and risking another humiliation. He couldn¡¯t take it. Gascoigne was enough. He had already accumulated enough echoes to upgrade his skill a little. His skill tree now read: Name: Surgit Insight level: Narrow minded Strength: Waste of Skin (2) Skill: Skillful (2) Bloodtinge: Blood Hungry (1) Arcane: Blind (1) Even though the change looked small, he actually felt like the monsters in the city moved slower. He could read through their movements with ease. He even found himself mechanically predicting their next move. He wanted to improve his skill more but so far, he was still unable to read the book he found for a longer time and the information wasn¡¯t too helpful. His new attire also had some interesting use. First, he had extra pockets in which he could store medium sized objects. He had put the music box the little girl had handed him earlier in one of the pockets. Secondly, the belt that aligned diagonally from his chest to waist was useful to quickly access bullets and blood vials. And he finally had a proper holster for his gun and a unique kind of sheath for his weapon. It wasn¡¯t a proper sheath per say as the cleaver was not even a conventional weapon to be sheathed. Instead, he had a strange strap on his back which was ornamented with little magnets. All he had to do was throw his weapon at his back and it would attach automatically. Surgit stood at the entrance of the graveyard and took a deep breath. He had to finish the hunter now. Karla started insisting on going with him and he started running out of excuses. In fact she looked better and felt like she could fight by his side. The last time he spoke to her, he¡¯d asked her to regain more of her strength. He promised that if he didn¡¯t find the key that time, he¡¯d take her with him. That was the only way to keep her at the clinic. If he ever brought her to fight the hunter, she would get herself killed. Surgit was a hunter and he had trouble dealing with the old lunatic. He couldn¡¯t imagine how Karla would be able to match Gascoigne¡¯s speed and deadly attacks. When he made his presence known in the graveyard, Gascoigne dashed towards him. He shot him with his shotgun and as Surgit dodged, he saw the man¡¯s axe right in front of his eyes. It was as if time had slowed down. He dodged the first swing that was aimed at his head then bent backwards. The back of his head almost touched the ground while the horizontal swing missed his chest. Surgit rolled backwards then jumped at the man, bringing his cleaver down on him. Gascoigne blocked the attack, holding his axe with both hands. Surgit didn¡¯t stop at that and kicked the man so hard in the stomach. He sent the hunter flying only to be smashed on a tree. His strength had increased considerably. The blood echoes were a real life saver. Gascoigne stood up then dashed towards Surgit. The kick didn¡¯t affect him much, he kept his usual speed. Two strikes from his axe missed Surgit as he dodged in the nick of time. He could see clearer through the old man¡¯s attacks. The only thing left now was to find an opening and damage him badly. Gascoigne took his shotgun in order to shoot Surgit but the latter had read through his movement. He kicked the firearm away from the man¡¯s left hand and, as he spun, elongated his cleaver and struck Gascoigne on his right ribs. The saw was buried deep within his ribcage but Gascoigne just looked at Surgit and smiled. That smile which could immobilize a person from fear. He had canine teeth and his eyes were bandaged. It felt like a demon was playing with him and giving him room for a first hit before he finished him. Surgit jumped back and readied himself for another flurry of attacks from Gascoigne. The man dashed towards Surgit and attacked furiously. He could see through all his movements though and it appeared to him that they were slower than before. He saw that the bleeding hadn¡¯t stopped and perhaps, Gascoigne didn¡¯t feel the pain. It was like he didn¡¯t realize that he was injured. Gascoigne elongated his axe and performed a spinning attack. Surgit jumped behind him just as the axe grazed his legs. None of them noticed the music box falling from Surgit¡¯s pocket. The box fell down and opened, it played some kind of lullaby. Surgit looked as the old man stopped at his tracks and held his head with both hands. The music affected him in some strange way. Surgit was too absorbed by the fight to make a connection between the music box and the hunter¡¯s reaction.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It was his chance to finish the fight at last. He ran towards him and struck him with his elongated cleaver. The weapon hit him on the left ribs and the impact placated Gascoigne on the ground. Surgit¡¯s saw was dripping with blood but that still didn¡¯t stop Gascoigne. The hunter stood up and rushed Surgit again. The latter dodged his attacks which seemed to slow down a little. With his left foot, Surgit almost tripped on the music box and the axe missed him by a hair¡¯s width. ¡®If I use that music again, I might finally finish him and bring this fight to an end.¡¯ He dodged another flurry and picked up the box as he rolled away from a large swing. He opened it again and Gascoigne held his head in pain again. Before Surgit could approach the struggling hunter, a blinding light forced him to jump back. ¡®Oh shit!¡¯ The beast jumped at Surgit and tried to rip his body apart as it did earlier. Surgit rolled forward and avoided the attack. He turned back towards the beast to see it relentlessly running at him. He saw its claws missing him by a whisker. The music box didn¡¯t affect the monster anymore. So he stood in place, dodging all the beast¡¯s attacks until the latter performed a slam that forced Surgit to jump back. ¡®His attacks are dangerous. I need to find a way to knock him out or something. There has to be a way to bring him down.¡¯ He could already see that the wounds he had inflicted on him earlier had slightly closed and the bleeding stopped. He baited another slam attack from the beast and jumped to avoid it. He kicked the beast as hard as he could in the head. He was aiming to knock it out but the beast didn¡¯t even react to the attack. ¡®Its strength and speed have increased and the kick that sent him flying earlier had no effect on him. I need to find another way.¡¯ As the transformed man came at him with a new flurry of attacks, Surgit drew out his gun and went for the counter attack. As he shot the monster and saw it down on its knees Surgit heard the echoes in his head again ¡®Bless us with blood¡­ GIVE US BLOOD.¡¯ The voices were too agitated and their screams gave Surgit a headache. He winced from pain and couldn¡¯t move for a little while. When he came to, the beast had recovered and kicked him in the stomach. Surgit felt the claws penetrating his abdomen and as he flew backwards, blood came rushing out of his nostrils. A huge tombstone stopped him on his tracks and he felt some bones breaking. The beast was running towards him again and Surgit had barely enough energy to take a blood vial from his pocket and inject himself with it. The healing effect helped him regain some of his power and he managed to stand and run away from the beast¡¯s next series of attacks. The old man always attacked in flurries or with body slams. The kick was a new attack but all in all, Surgit started to see a pattern there. He injected himself with another vial and regained his strength completely. The beast repeated another slam and Surgit was ready for it this time. He shot the old man in the chin as the latter landed with all his body weight on him. That shot was enough to stagger him. Surgit fought against the pain induced from the screaming voices in his head and tried with all his might to attack the beast and finish it off. The beast was already recovering from the stagger and was about to stand and attack again. There was no time for a visceral attack. He threw his cleaver on his back, which attached immediately to the magnets. He had both his hands free at that moment and he inflicted a rapid and strong series of blows on the beast¡¯s face. He felt the adrenaline rushing through his body. He felt the excitement of battle and the feeling that he was about to win the fight pushed him to punch even stronger. Pain came searing through his ribs as the beast had caught him with both hands and slammed him to the ground. His punches were still too weak to bring the old man down to another stagger state. The man stomped at Surgit¡¯s face twice and he started feeling himself losing consciousness. ¡®Blood, bless us with blood!¡¯ The voices in his head were getting less frenzied. All he wanted to do was lay in there and rest. It felt good to be plummeted to death and he knew that he would have another chance at thinking of a way to bring the man in a flash, using the box. With a jolt of pain, he felt the beast¡¯s teeth wrapped around his right arm, Surgit took his gun from the left and shot the beast in the face. As the old man was stunned by the shot, Surgit took two vials and injected himself with it. Surgit didn¡¯t lose time as he started hacking at the beast¡¯s left leg. In three strikes, performed in a Z movement, Surgit cut its leg off. He followed this strike with a kick to the other leg. He heard Gascoigne¡¯s howls as he fell to the ground. He enjoyed hearing his tormentor scream in pain. He finally had the chance to give him back some of the pain he inflicted upon him. He used the momentum of his kick to take his cleaver from its sheath. He elongated it then brought it down on Gascoigne, tearing apart flesh, bones and muscles. The sight of blood gushing out from the beast¡¯s body excited him even more. As he pulled his weapon back, Surgit saw Gascoigne¡¯s insides gushing out of his body. He then took his pistol out and shot the man twice in the head, the only part of the beast¡¯s body that hasn¡¯t been affected by the cleaver. He slowly walked towards the hunter¡¯s axe and took it, throwing his cleaver on his back in the process. The beast was drawing its last breath but it was still trying to stand up. Surgit elongated the axe and held it with both hands. He brought the weapon on the beast¡¯s head with such force that he split it in half. ¡°Well, there is a brain inside this grotesque skull after all,¡± he shouted as he brought the axe down on the beast again. He hacked at the corpse multiple times until he felt satisfied. He had finally brought down the nemesis that blocked his progression towards the Cathedral Ward. ¡®Blood! Sweet, sweet blood!¡¯ shouted the echoes. 56: Beasts all over the shop Gavril, in his meditative state received a vision from his queen. The message was clear: ¡®seek the new hunter, and recruit him to our cause.¡¯ Excitement filled the old knight. It had been long since he heard her thoughts. His queen was concealed from them and that pained him tremendously. The bridge connecting to the castle to the village had been long destroyed. In order to reach the castle now, one needs to have a special summons made in their name. Only the queen can seal the summons in one¡¯s name. The manner in which the summons was sent to the one worthy of an audience was not known even to him, her most loyal knight. It pained him even more that the queen didn¡¯t summon him to the castle. If there was one worthy fighter in all of Yharnam, capable of freeing her from captivity, it was definitely him. But the queen saw something in some unknown hunter who had just risen. He knew he had to train him to be capable of reaching the castle. He despised that he was transformed into a mere trainer. Perhaps the queen shunned her knights for not being able to protect the castle. But years of exile and atonement would surely be enough for her to forgive and forget. She was not the kind of person to forget easily though. He knew that this would be his permanent status and it would never change. Gavril wore a regal black coat adorned by intricate gold needle work. The stitching was extremely detailed and brought to mind the pomposity way knights of Cainhurst loved to dress. Underneath the coat, he wore a crimson vest ornamented with golden locks that brought the two sides of the clothing together. Black knee height boots concealed the rest of his black trousers. On his hand, he wore red leather gloves and the bracers he wore were golden with intricate engravings on them. The man was old, too old. He had white hair and a pointy nose. Despite age, his face still kept noble features. He looked younger than any normal middle-aged man nonetheless. He decided to get a change of clothes first. If he ever had to train a new hunter, he needed to look familiar to him. Besides, Yharnam was too big of a place to be wandering about in his knight garb. He didn¡¯t wish to soil them with profane beasts¡¯ blood. He left the peace and silence of his tower and descended to the village. There were too many dead hunters in there anyway. The women had done a great job hunting down any poor soul that dared explore the hamlet. He was sure to find some dead hunter to loot for an appropriate attire and weapon. *** Surgit looked at the dead body which lied next to his feet. His body shook violently after the fight was over. The adrenaline rush was exhilarating. After a moment, he regained his senses and started analyzing the situation he was in. The hunter he finally managed to slay was mystery. He didn¡¯t know who he was or why he relentlessly attacked him on so many occasions. ¡®Use your insight good hunter,¡¯ said the echoes in his head, imitating the doll. He used his third eye and too much information popped up in front of him.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The first thing he learned about the hunter was his name. ¡®Father Gascoigne¡¯ the insight had showed him. His third eye showed him the hunter laying on the ground in his human form, not the beast he¡¯d just hacked to pieces. The man had hands crossed over his chest and held two items. The first one had a crimson glow and upon inspecting it Surgit realized that it was the hunter¡¯s core. The information he received looked like crudely written letters that flew on top of the item or the person he inspected. + Gascoigne¡¯s core: give to the messengers to receive a gift. The other item which Gascoigne held glowed a green light. He inspected it and it read: + The echo of a man hunter. Pop to receive echoes. Another item shone on Gascoigne¡¯s pocket. He inspected it and knew immediately what it was: The key to unlock the closed metallic gate. + Oedon tomb key: use to unlock the gate towards Oedon Chapel. Surgit opened his eyes and massaged his head. Using insight for too long always caused him to have terrible headaches. He had finally beaten the hunter and even got the key in the process. He looked at the music box and smiled. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the gift that little gir-¡° he stopped mid-sentence. The thought that came to him surprised and horrified him at the same time. The girl had told him that her mother played the tune to her father when he forgot about them. Surgit inspected the box and on the bottom, he could read two names which were engraved in the metal casing: Gascoigne and Viola. His whole body shivered at the thought of what he had just done. ¡®If you had used your insight before¡­.¡¯ Some of the echoes whispered. ¡°Not now voices!¡± Surgit shouted. He had just orphaned a little helpless girl. What¡¯s more, her mother was nowhere to be seen. He decided to explore the graveyard before he headed back to Karla. The first thing he did was open the big metallic gate. The key worked and his paranoia calmed down. He couldn¡¯t trust everything the echoes or the insight told him. He had to learn this as some of the echoes led him to his demise many times before. He returned to the graveyard and went to the place where he had first seen Gascoigne. As he got closer to the dark corner, a horrifying scene awaited him. Many man-beasts were on the ground, in pieces. Gascoigne was hacking them all using his axe. Surgit was still holding on to that weapon. He liked how it handled despite it looking crude and heavy. With his hunter¡¯s strength, using that weapon wasn¡¯t going to be too much of a hassle. He was standing next to an old cabin. Perhaps that was where the graveyard keeper used to live. He tried to open the door but it wouldn¡¯t budge. He slammed his shoulder on it and a fetid smell made him stop his attempt. Gascoigne had actually been killing every beast that came his way and cleared his space by throwing them inside. Blood trickled down on Surgit¡¯s forehead. He looked up and saw a corpse¡¯s arm dangling from the roof. Surgit jumped up and inspected the body. A woman wearing a black dress was lying face down on the roof. She had dark blond hair. Surgit squinted at the woman¡¯s hair and his heart skipped a beat. A red jeweled brooch was attached to the cold corpse. He took it and hoped against hope that what he dreaded didn¡¯t come to reality. He flipped the item and on its back a name was engraved. He didn¡¯t need to use his insight to inspect the item. It was clear whose ornament it was. ¡®Viola¡¯, the name gave Surgit the shivers. The poor helpless girl had lost both her dear mother and her hunter father. He dragged his feet back towards the clinic to see Karla. 57: The horrors of the Upper Cathedral Ward Francis and the woman were watching the fight from the closed gate above. They heard a lot of noise from below earlier: too many gunshots. They wondered whether the hunter down in the graveyard had been disposed of or not. Finally they decided to go down and have a look. From the closed gate, they saw the hunter transform into a hideous beast that launched furious attacks at Surgit. The sane hunter on the other hand fought well and disposed of his enemy in the bloodiest possible way. As Surgit walked out of the graveyard and went back towards central Yharnam, Francis turned towards the woman and said. And with these words, the woman walked through the open the door Surgit had left open. She turned around and looked at Francis from the other side. ¡°I guess this is farewell, be careful on the way up to the great cathedral, the key I gave you will only grant you access to the upper ward, getting there will be dangerous.¡± She said with a grave tone in her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be careful, I survived this far, I guess I can make it there if I stay vigilant.¡± Francis was scared at the idea of making his way to the upper cathedral ward alone but at the same time, he had to gather all his courage and get to the top. The information he and the woman shared motivated him to receive the blood ministration and look for ways to elevate his thoughts. He heard a great deal from Surgit about the snippets he managed to gather about Yharnam and Byrgenwerth. And with the additional information he received from the healing church doctor, he was even more excited to find out the truth about the city and what its scholars had been searching for before the city fell to the beastly scourge. So he headed upstairs and found himself at the second floor, above the library where he conversed with the doctor. He found himself in a chapel. Jars were put everywhere, next to the walls, around the altar, next to the numerous statues that decorated the place. Next to the altar, a strange creature sat down, not minding Francis¡¯ presence. He also saw three doors, each led somewhere outside the chapel. ¡°Hi there¡± he said, addressing the sitting creature, hoping that it was capable of speech. The doctor told him that there was no danger in the chapel as incense warded off beasts. And the jars he saw were full of burning incense. ¡°Can you tell me which door takes to the upper cathedral ward?¡± The strange creature turned slowly towards Francis. It had while eyeballs, as if it were blind. It wore a long red robe that extended to the floor and its skin was ashen gray. ¡°Hey there, I didn¡¯t hear you come in. Yes the upper cathedral ward must be accessed through the door on your right.¡± The creature had a man¡¯s voice and it seemed friendly. Francis didn¡¯t have much time to waste talking to it though as he knew that Surgit will eventually make his way up to the chapel. He didn¡¯t want to see him. He wanted him to think that Francis had died when Karla did. He found the door, went through it and closed it tight. From all the three ways leading out, that one was the only one that had a door that could be closed off.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. He turned back and took an elevator to go up. He found himself in the last floor of the chapel. There was a sleeping old man on a wheelchair. ¡®I know what you are, sir, trying to lure me in, faking your sleep then shooting at me with your gun.¡¯ He¡¯d been in a similar situation with Karla in Central Yharnam and he wasn¡¯t about to be fooled again. He walked on tip toe to avoid alerting the man of his presence. There was one door leading out of the chapel into a bridge connecting to a tower. The ascension was going to be hard. That much he knew. But he didn¡¯t expect to see so many enemies roaming about and patrolling the tower. The doctor had given him a concoction which is supposed to make him invisible. The blue elixir could numb one¡¯s senses and needed to be used with extreme caution. She had only one to spare and he didn¡¯t have time to try it out yet. ¡®Well, I won¡¯t have any second chances at ascending this tower. I should just keep my concentration. How hard could it be?¡¯ He drank half the vial and felt all his muscles tingle. The strange sensation almost made him faint and it was with great difficulty that he managed to move. The lady doctor warned him not to move too quickly and to plan his path before he started walking towards it. He did so and walked slowly through the bridge. No one had spotted him yet. He saw a couple of snipers on the level above and a man-beast patrolling the floor he was headed to. He got inside the tower without any problems. He realized that he could¡¯ve died without the help of that lady. Five more enemies were inside the building, waiting for any intruder to make his way in. He saw stairs that took to the upper floor and took them. With each step he took, he felt his heart beating heavily against his chest. The effect of the elixir would ideally last for two minutes. He counted the seconds in his head and hoped that the two minutes would suffice him to reach a safe place, away from the beasts that would cut him to pieces if they ever spotted him. He reached the second floor and managed to get outside. There were no more stairs leading up but he knew that he had to get to the top, and that was in the floor above. A troll was patrolling the second floor along with the two snipers, and as he managed to slip past them, he found a ladder leading to the balcony of the last floor. Francis went up at the most opportune moment as the effect of the elixir had worn off. He decided to scout the area and make sure that there are no enemies. He didn¡¯t want to take another sip of the elixir. It could come in handy once he reached the upper cathedral ward. He sneaked a peak into the room and saw two more old men on a wheelchair. They wore plague doctor masks that reminded him of the woman who killed Paul. He went back next to the ladder and took an empty bottle he had seen on the floor. He threw it on the opposite side of the balcony and the men on the wheelchair went looking for the source of the noise. Francis then ran in, he saw a closed door and made for it. He used the key the lady had given him and unlocked the door. The men had noticed the ruse and were coming back towards him. He closed the door behind him and locked it. Those two had no way of getting inside without the key. He looked back and found himself next to another bridge. It connected towards a mansion that had a triangular dome and two conical towers on each end. Mist surrounded the mansion and made it look petrifying and at the same time thrilling to look at. He needed to use extreme caution as the place felt ominous. A woman¡¯s voice could be heard in the distance, singing as if in an opera. The voice made the place even more terrifying. ¡®Why is there a woman singing? And why is her voice this strong around here? I haven¡¯t heard a thing until I came through here.¡¯ Suddenly, Francis felt a terrible pain immobilize him. His head started shuddering and he couldn¡¯t move or say a word. His muscles started contracting and he thought that he was going to die. The pain seemed to last for eternity and he couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. He finally managed to let out a terrible scream and fell to the ground, unconscious. 58: The katana called Chikage When he came to his senses, he found himself in a vast room. He was lying down on a comfortable queen sized bed. The most comfortable thing he had the pleasure of using since his arrival to Yharnam. ¡°Finally awake huh, welcome back to the world of the living.¡± A woman¡¯s voice said from afar. Francis got up and looked at the place where the voice originated. A tall woman, fully clothed in white was looking at him. ¡°It¡¯s a wonder a mere human like you managed to get here. How did you worm your way to the upper cathedral ward?¡± her voice was authoritative and he didn¡¯t want to upset her from the beginning. ¡°I met a lady doctor down at the cathedral ward who gave me the key to access this closed down area. She told me that I can get access to blood ministration here¡± said Francis after deciding that honesty would be again a good option to get on this woman¡¯s good side. The woman smiled and inspected Francis from head to toe with her eyes. ¡®Am I this trustworthy? In any case I need to find a way to use insight to my advantage.¡¯ He decided then to ask the woman Francis was glad he met that lady doctor back at the chapel. Thanks to her everything went well for him. He couldn¡¯t stop but think of what could have happened to her. He knew that insight gives one the ability to see things usually unseen to normal human beings. The more one gains, the more he could see and understand about the unseen. They spoke about other worlds that humans couldn¡¯t access and other dimensions in which other creatures live. He knew that to be a hunter would mean that he¡¯d have to kill beasts and fight to survive. But that would also mean that he¡¯d get access to more insight and more knowledge about the unseen. He always had the feeling that humans live in a dimension where everything seemed so harmonious and logical. But on the other hand, what they couldn¡¯t see or explain, they explained it with faith, religion or magic. They never tried to acknowledge that there could be stronger things that control our existence: That we could be just tools for others as domestic animals are used by humans for sustenance and other purposes.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. As he was absorbed in thought, the woman came back with a set of tools. Syringes, bottles and vials filled with blood. ¡°Now just lie down and relax. The process is painless. You will lose consciousness and wake up anew.¡± The woman then used a needle connected to a tube and inserted it into Francis¡¯ bloodstream. The tube was connected to a vial filled with blood, and it started slowly mixing with his. He felt his head getting heavier and he drifted away, losing consciousness. The woman was still there, looking at him cautiously and clenching a weapon in her right hand as he opened his eyes. ¡°What happened? Did I do something wrong?¡± he asked as he saw that the woman was stressed and ready to attack at any moment. She relaxed once he spoke and said: ¡°The administration doesn¡¯t go as planned on some occasions and we need to dispose of the patient before it¡¯s too late for them and for everyone else. But yours seems to have gone well. How do you feel? Did you have any bad dreams?¡± she was still apprehensive although she had relaxed her grip over the weapon. ¡°I dreamt that I was flying above the city, looking at it and admiring its majesty. The dream was wonderful actually.¡± Francis had dreamt something different, but he decided to conceal it from the woman. ¡°Strange, I¡¯ve never heard of someone having such a dream. You really are a special case. Come with me, it¡¯s high time you got used to that new body of yours.¡± She stood and headed towards the door. Francis stood and inspected his body. It felt like he regained his teenage body but with more tone. His body had new muscles and he didn¡¯t feel the pain in his bones anymore. He felt lighter and stronger. ¡®The blood ministration is a real blessing, it¡¯s better than what I expected¡¯ he thought, thrilled at the idea of becoming more powerful than ever. He followed the woman into a bigger room. It was spacious enough and it had different types of weapons. ¡°You can choose the one you like in here and we will train with it. You need to know how to use your new strength.¡± The woman was excited to help Francis. Spending a long time alone in a mansion like this can get a person to go crazy. Francis looked around at the arsenal presented before him. He liked katanas and he always imagined himself fighting with one. He found one and took it. It was heavier than what he thought, the blade looked extremely sharp and the pommel had some strange inscriptions on it. ¡°Nice choice, the Chikage is a powerful weapon, it uses blood attacks and it can-¡°The woman wasn¡¯t able to finish her sentence as her head was cut off with one swift strike. ¡®I like this body and this weapon already¡¯ thought Francis. ¡®I thought that she¡¯d fight back but she just stood there and took it. Lack of practice I guess, no matter, time to explore this place.¡¯ And he went outside, ready to explore the mansion and unlock its secrets. With his newfound powers, he knew that he could face any danger. Moreover, he had a place to go to, that dream he had was really illuminating. 59: Oedon Chapel Dweller After coming back to Karla, Surgit gave a short account of the fight he had to have with Gascoigne. ¡°I found the key in his trousers¡¯ pocket. We can now access the Cathedral Ward.¡± He said as Karla observed him with wary eyes. They observed each other for until it became apparent that one of them had to say something. Karla spoke:¡± God you look scary!¡± After the fight, Surgit was drenched in blood from head to toe. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just tell you that I had to fight a horrific beast?¡± He asked. Karla shrugged and continued: ¡°with your new attire, seeing you bathed with blood gives me the creeps.¡± Surgit gave her a look that suggested he was offended. The only thing Karla could see was a bloody face making grimaces. ¡°Would stop making faces please? That only accentuates your horrific look! If you could see yourself in a mirror, I bet you would scare yourself with those faces.¡± Surgit turned around and said: ¡°would it be better if I spoke to you like this?¡± Karla laughed and retorted: ¡°It¡¯s alright. We are in a city filled with blood and beasts after all. I must get used to seeing your bloody face.¡± Karla was making jokes and that surprised Surgit. He always took her for the serious type. He never expected her to be making any jokes except when she wanted to demean a person. He hated past Karla but liked the present one. He couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Oh you¡¯re just testing my limits here Surgit. Please do not make any more faces I beg of you.¡± Disheartened at the misunderstanding his appearance caused, Surgit kept a stern face and announced that they should get moving. They moved through empty streets and Karla whistled as she saw the pile of corpses lying on the road that led to the graveyard. ¡°Was this your doing mister hunter?¡± she asked in apparent sarcasm. ¡°Oh miss deadly thinks she¡¯s witty.¡± He retorted and kept moving. Although he liked Karla¡¯s witticism, he disliked the fact that it was aimed at him. They took the stairs up towards the graveyard. ¡°This is where I fought the hunter before,¡± he announced to Karla. Karla looked around her. She saw smashed tombstones and traces of claws on the floor everywhere. ¡®What is it that he fought?¡¯ she thought to herself. Surgit had told her that he¡¯d fought a man, not a beast. But from what she observed, it looked like a beast had been in the graveyard. Realizing Karla¡¯s acute observational skills, he commented: Surgit reiterated the story of the little girl to Karla. He could see it in her eyes. She wanted to make a comment on how he managed to deprive a helpless girl from her parents but couldn¡¯t. Or possibly it was just his paranoia talking. Karla looked away from Surgit, she obviously felt bad for the little orphan. Yharnam was indeed a cruel place. But the same could happen to anyone, anywhere and anytime. War could ravage a country and bring misery and despair upon the homes of so many innocent people. What happened in Yharnam was tragic just in a different manner. Instead of blood thirsty warriors, there were blood starved monsters.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. A statue of an old man, wrapped in some kind of cloth from shoulders to toes, stood in the middle of the graveyard. It looked like a mummified corpse. The corpse¡¯s head looked peculiar though. The old man had a long beard but instead of having hair, he had tentacles. ¡°It¡¯s either bad art, or a messed up imagination on Yharnamites¡¯ part,¡± Karla was still looking at the statue as she commented. ¡°In some civilizations, people erected statues of saints, angels or even gods. Maybe this statue signifies one of these to the people of Yharnam.¡± Surgit suggested. ¡°If this one is a saint,¡± started Karla before she pointed to another statue. ¡°Then what do you think this one is?¡± Surgit looked at the statue she pointed at. A veiled person held both hands in a prayer position. The person looked towards the sky. The face was covered and the feet were merged to stone. The whole sculpture looked strange and scary. ¡°I¡¯m chilled to the bone standing in this graveyard. Shall we move and get to the next place please?¡± Karla pleaded. Surgit nodded and they took the stairs towards the gate. One thing puzzled him though. On the second statue, where the feet were merged to stone, messengers from the dream were sculpted. Did Yharnamites know of the existence of the messengers as well? Or was this done by some aspiring hunter artist? They went through the gate and found themselves in the basement of some building. Barrels and sacks were scattered all around. One ladder took upstairs so they took it. As Surgit opened the trap door at the end of the ladder, he found himself in a library. He inspected the place with Karla. They were looking for clues regarding Francis¡¯ survival as he hadn¡¯t found any corpse during his exploration of Central Yharnam. ¡°The Byrgenwerth spider hides all manner of rituals, and keeps our lost master from us. A terrible shame, it makes my head shudder uncontrollably.¡± Karla read out loud a note she had found on a table. ¡°That sounds extremely cryptic, what do you think it means?¡± she said as she faced Surgit. ¡°I have no idea to be honest. This city has so many secrets that I get the feeling that it will take us ages to just scratch its surface. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll find anything in here, let¡¯s go upstairs.¡± The pair took the stairs to the upper floor and found a closed door. Upon opening it, they were welcomed with a wonderful scene. They were inside a tall building. The ceiling was almost impossible to see as it was too high up. Surgit could see spherical lanterns hanging from it and pieces of long red cloth encircled them all. Smoke was emitted from the lanterns. Some of the cloths extended to encircle even other lanterns. On the ground, they were standing on a circular area. Jars were aligned around them and they could sense a sweet scent coming from them. They were like gigantic candles burning and letting off a sweet scent all at the same time. They both felt extremely safe in that place. Karla and Surgit moved around to have a better look at the place and understand where they were. They saw two doors leading outside and another one on their right, locked. Karla tried to push the door open but to no avail. Surgit in the meantime was inspecting the jars from which incense burned. He jumped back as he saw a creature wearing red sitting amidst the jars, not moving or making a noise. In his surprise, Surgit broke one of the jars. Karla turned at him and saw that he looked troubled. She joined him to look at the creature that sat in front of them. 60: Separated ¡°Aah, a hunter are ya? Very sorry, the incense must¡¯ve masked your scent¡± said the weird creature in front of them. It could speak although it appeared devoid of that ability. It had a triangular long face. Its skin was ashen gray and it wore a log red robe. It had white eyes and a wide gaping mouth. Looking at it felt like looking at a ghost with flesh and bones. It had long fingers, twice as long as a human being¡¯s. Surgit didn¡¯t like that creature one bit. ¡°Who are you?¡± said Karla. She was as stunned by the creature as Surgit. Surgit and Karla looked at it, still bewildered at its existence. They moved aside, towards one of the doors leading outside and started discussing what to do with the creature. ¡°That thing looks a bit crazy but I don¡¯t think it can pose a threat to anyone. It¡¯s blind and it doesn¡¯t look like it can move¡± said Karla in a whisper. Surgit agreed, he preferred not to kill anyone who didn¡¯t deserve to and this creature, although creepy, didn¡¯t pose any threat. They came back to ask him more urging questions, Karla spoke first. Karla tried to open the closed door again to no avail. She was frustrated but at the same time surprised that Francis had made it all the way there. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the way was blocked earlier?¡± she looked at Surgit with distrustful eyes. ¡°And the door leading to the place where Francis went was open too. How he managed to get through locked doors is beyond me. We need to find another way around.¡± He was willing to help Karla as he was curious to know how Francis had made it all the way up to the chapel and then through that closed door. Karla went back again to the blind one and asked him: ¡±is there any way around to that Upper part? I really need to get there.¡± She was getting more and more restless. ¡°Not that I know of, but there are many secret passageways in the Cathedral Ward, if ya explore it well enough, I¡¯m sure ya can find a way in.¡± The blind man willingly and calmly answered. They decided to take one of the doors leading outside. The one they took led them behind the chapel. They found a cart parked right next to the door. Behind it stood a tall man, with pale skin, wearing a top hat looking at them. He let out a growl and moved towards them. He was holding a cane and on his neck, a bell hung from it as if it were a pendant. The man made to attack and before his cane could reach any of them, they both cut him open in two perfectly timed strikes. He collapsed on his knees and let out another growl before it died. ¡°Oh I see you¡¯re using a new weapon.¡± Karla observed. ¡°I took it from the hunter I fought earlier. It handles pretty well so I decided to give it a try,¡± Surgit answered. In addition to the strap he had on his back, Surgit had another one on his right leg. It was useful to strap in smaller weapons and even though the axe was gigantic when elongated, it could be shortened and fit the strap nicely.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. They looked ahead and saw some stairs leading towards a gigantic metallic gate. ¡°Everything needs to be closed by gigantic gates in this city¡± said Karla in a frustrated voice. They went up and met with two other tall pale skinned men. They took care of them and tried to open the gate, to no avail. ¡°I can squeeze through the bars and open it from the other side¡± said Karla. She was slim enough to actually fit in between the bars. She reached the other end of the gate and made for the lever but before she could touch it, two tall men attacked her. She dodged and danced around them. Their attacks were too synchronized for her to find any kind of opening though. Surgit clenched his axe tightly, he wanted to help but the bars were too narrow. He tried to fit in but to no avail. He saw two more incoming attackers coming towards Karla from a distance. The situation could turn from bad to horrendous in a flash. He inserted both arms between the bars of the gate and held his axe firmly. He threw it with all his might at one of Karla¡¯s assailants. A ¡°Thud!¡± was heard as the axe buried itself deep within the tall man¡¯s skull. Karla barely had enough time to finish the second one before the others were in attacking range. ¡°Get out of here!¡± Surgit shouted. ¡°I will find a way around to the upper ward. If not, let¡¯s meet back at the chapel in a couple hours. Stay on your guard, these things are deadly in groups.¡± Karla nodded and ran towards the darkness. Her speed and agility helped her eclipse herself and get away from danger. The two assailants tried to catch up to Karla but she had disappeared before they could move away from Surgit¡¯s vision field. He made towards Oedon Chapel but before he turned around, he saw a peculiar scene. Beyond the gate, where he¡¯d killed the tall man with his axe, messengers of the dream appeared as if rising from the ground. They grabbed the axe and disappeared immediately afterwards. ¡°What the fuck have I just witnessed?¡± he shouted. He had to get back to the dream to investigate what happened but he also had to catch up to Karla. He decided to investigate the side of the chapel then get back to the dream. He was worried about leaving Karla alone in those dark streets. Back at the chapel, he took the other door and found himself in a square. In the middle of the square there was a well. He could see two ways that led out of the area. The first one was a set of stairs that took up while the other, right in front of him, took downstairs. He turned left towards the stairs that took him up and saw two of the tall men coming his way. One of them held a strange lantern on his left hand and a cane on the right. They both wore while leather long coats and black trousers. They both had the bell pendant around their neck and the top hat on their heads. The one holding a cane alone attacked him and Surgit shot him right before the hit landed. The man fell to his knees and Surgit used his beastly arm to eviscerate his opponent. The other one soon followed, in the same fashion. Surgit wondered at the cerebral capacities of his opponents. It seemed to him that they weren¡¯t capable of thinking strategically. They would see him dispose of an enemy in a way, right in front of their eyes. Yet they would repeat the same mistake and get killed in the same fashion. Surgit then saw, next to the stairs and under a tree, an chest that drew his attention. He went for it and opened it, nothing. ¡®Well that¡¯s disappointing,¡¯ he said. Then it hit him, he had to use his third eye. Inside the chest he found a set of clothes, hunter¡¯s garb from its appearance, and a top hat. He tried the top hat and it fit him perfectly. He liked it a lot and, as he was swapping his actual cap with the top hat, he heard a strange noise. He looked in front of him and saw a mini vortex. Stars and nebulas could be seen in the vortex and Surgit couldn¡¯t help but wonder at the beautiful scene in front of him. He felt absorbed by the scene and felt that either it became bigger or that it got closer to him. He then felt hands grabbing him, invisible ones. The vortex disappeared and he tried to free himself from the grasp of the invisible thing that was holding him. He felt his feet depart from the floor and he saw the tree and the whole square from above. The grip around his body got tighter and he felt that he was going to be squashed by its strength. His head started hurting badly again, and his eyes widened. He saw a shape, although invisible. He managed to see some sort of gigantic spherical cage with holes all around it. That was all he could witness before he felt blood rushing out of his veins and exploding outwards. The pain was so strong that he fainted. When he came to, he was on the ground, back in the square, his heart beating faintly. 61: A giant above the Great Bridge Surgit had to use two of his blood vials to feel his feet and start walking again. ¡®What was that thing? I almost died by just looking at its invisible shape¡¯ He was in shock but he was positive that there was something there, looking at him, observing his insignificant existence. He went up the stairs to explore more of the area. He heard a stomping noise in the distance and clutched his weapon tight. He was standing next to a two way street that took either up or down. Surgit didn¡¯t know which way to take but little did he know that the path would be chosen for him soon, without his consent. As he stepped forward he saw to his left, the source of the stomping noise. It looked like the pale tall men he killed before. But it was as big as a two story building. It had the bell pendant and it held a huge axe in both hands. The giant attacked instantly and Surgit jumped backwards to avoid the strike. He had to make some distance between him and the giant in order to devise a plan to put the thing down and quick. He ran up the street and tried to observe the giant better. His movements were thankfully slow and he didn¡¯t need to run far. Its legs looked frail and barely supported its weight. He decided to go for the legs and bring it down to its knees before striking at the head. The head was always a weak point. He tried to move towards the giant¡¯s legs but every time he got closer, the latter would perform a sweeping attack that drew an imaginary line that blocked Surgit¡¯s way. He was forced to jump back every time that happened until he found himself at the top of the street, with his back to yet another gigantic gate. The gate looked fantastic with decorations on its bars, which were shiny as if someone was taking care of them. In the middle of the gate, Surgit saw a sigil. He didn¡¯t have enough time to look at it in detail as the giant was nearing him and preparing to attack. Surgit had to act quickly, he was cornered and that giant had long reach and a surprising speed to his attacks. He jumped backwards and placed his feet on the sigil, using the gate as his departure point. He propelled himself forward, increasing his speed, in a suicidal attempt to get behind the hulking beast. He felt the gigantic axe miss his feet as passed between the pale giant¡¯s legs. He performed many rolls on the ground as the velocity of the propulsion was hard to control. When he stood up, the giant was left behind and Surgit pondered for a moment before deciding not to fight it. The way he came from was closed and he could easily backtrack and outrun the giant if need be. He went down the street and to the point where he first met his previous opponent. He went through an arc, downwards. He saw an open gate and a lever that could be used to close it. Closing the gate would mean that the giant wouldn¡¯t be able to reach him, on the other hand he¡¯d be trapped if the street he was taking led nowhere. The giant was coming back and Surgit, feeling the impending fight coming his way pulled the lever down and closed the gate. The pale beast looked at Surgit then sat down, opposite the gate as if it was telling him: I¡¯m not going anywhere. Surgit felt shivers running down his spine as he watched the giant fixing him with its big black eyes. He turned and resumed his way down the street. He soon came into a clearing and saw two trolls patrolling the area. He quickly disposed of them then took his time to look around. The sun had completely disappeared from the sky and only crimson clouds remained to announce the end of the day and the approach of darkness.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The area where Surgit found himself was pretty large. It was a pedestrian street that gave a view over all of Central Yharnam. From the place where Surgit stood, he saw the great bridge where he fought the giant beast underneath. From where he stood he could look at the Great Bridge from above and see where the road led on the other side. The Great Bridge was a highway that led in and out of the city. Surgit surmised that it was called great because it was the main and biggest structure that led towards the Cathedral Ward. The highway extended towards the horizon and Surgit assumed that it was the main road through which merchandise was transported directly to the church from neighboring cities and countries. Yharnam in its glory days was a popular destination for tourists and miracle seekers. It had to live up and its reputation and it over delivered. The city was a wonder to behold. It had few main roads that branched into multiple paths and streets which led everywhere around Yharnam. Surgit still wished he could visit Yharnam and see how it was in the past. Anything would actually be better than present day Yharnam. The street where he stood contained numerous houses. Most of them were closed off and not a single sign of life was to be sensed around there. The city had become desolate, save for a few sane people scattered around Central Yharnam. He remembered the old lady who asked him about a safe place and wondered if it were a good idea to send her over to Oedon chapel. He decided to explore the street and find a way to rejoin Karla before heading back towards Central Yharnam. He had to pay Iosefka and the little girl another visit anyway. At the end of the street he saw another pale giant. The latter appeared to be sleeping and Surgit didn¡¯t want to have a confrontation with him. So he walked silently, trying to get to the stairs behind him that appeared to lead downstairs. To his horror, the giant noticed him and stood up slowly, hiding what remained of sunlight from Surgit. The pale giant held a metallic boulder in his hands. It appeared that he was a prisoner of some sorts as the big ball was attached to one of his ankles. ¡®This is going to be very difficult, these things hit hard and fast¡¯ he thought to himself as the giant prepared to attack. The pale beast held the chains with both hands and started slamming towards Surgit. He jumped backwards and started thinking of a way to reach his legs. The reach the metallic ball had was far longer than the axe the other giant used. Surgit soon found himself back to the starting point where he disposed of the two trolls. He had to find a way to bring it down to its knees and fast, otherwise he risked to be thrown off towards the bridge or even lower. He wasn¡¯t ready to die to any beast in the city yet. He had enough of dying. He took his pistol and shot the pale giant in the head twice. He hoped that it would have the same effect it had on the other beasts. The shots connected and he saw a white liquid come out of the giant¡¯s head. The giant let out an enraged scream and started pounding with his ball heavily on the ground. The attacks weren¡¯t aimed at Surgit though. The giant appeared to be in pain and attempting to bring down anything that came near him. After a few strikes, the giant came to its knees, tired and breathless. Surgit immediately dashed towards it and performed his beastly attack, ripping the giant¡¯s head open. As he removed his hand forcefully from the pale beast¡¯s skull, the giant was thrown backwards on its back. Surgit was full of what appeared to be his opponent¡¯s blood, a white liquid that was still seeping through its head. Surgit was breathless but delighted that he found a way to bring these monsters down. ¡®Just get them to lose their stamina and then attack relentlessly, or finish them with one of my visceral attacks.¡¯ He started enjoying the beastly feature he possessed. 62: An odd encounter At the end of the square where he¡¯d met the giant he just killed, he saw some stairs leading down. He found himself in a room filled with empty jars. They looked like the ones that filled Oedon chapel but these ones were empty. This used to be a safe place, for a long time before the people who were here ran out of incense. He saw a door in the room and tried to open it. It was shut tight and Surgit didn¡¯t manage to open the heavy door, despite all his strength. After pounding and kicking the door with frustration, he finally gave up and sat down to catch his breath. He noticed a closed chest next to one of the jars and he went for it. As he opened it, he saw at its bottom a red gem. It looked like a snowflake that had blood veins in it. The veins were pale and the edges of the flakes were pointy and sharp. It looked beautiful and at the same time dangerous. After all, nothing in this city looked beautiful without having a horrific side to it. He remembered that he could use insight to inspect items and enemies so he inspected the gem. ¡°Radial blood gemstone(1), infuse in weapons to strengthen certain aspects on them. Most radial gems have effects that bear upon physical attacks¡± In an inner voice, akin to a whisper, Surgit heard the description of the item he was holding. He put it in his pocket and decided to ask the doll for more information about it. Back in front of the metallic gate, Surgit saw that the giant who was waiting for him had fallen asleep. He didn¡¯t trust that anymore. Moreover, he knew that once he¡¯d open the gate the giant would wake and come at him. So Surgit pulled the lever to open it and right after, used his gun to shoot the giant¡¯s head through the metallic bars as the door open lifted. Enraged, the huge monster slammed his axe to the ground as an attempt to swat off the annoying thing that dared attack it. Noticing that it was Surgit, the pale giant stopped and waited for the gate to open. ¡®So you are capable of thought after all¡¯ thought Surgit, regretful that his strategy didn¡¯t work out. As soon as the gate was half open, Surgit dashed from underneath it in order to surprise his foe and attack his legs. He found himself hugging the back of the great axe as the giant had anticipated his move. He was propelled and slammed against the raising gate. His back ached and he felt himself breathless, losing consciousness. In a split second he had to decide on his next move. If he fell down, he would meet an inevitable and painful death. Time slowed down for Surgit for a moment as he struggled to retain his consciousness. In a miraculous show of willpower, he use his legs to propel himself towards the giant as fast as he could. It was a suicide attempt but he had no other choice. He used his cleaver to slow his descent as he struck the giant¡¯s chest with it. The poor brute didn¡¯t see the attack coming and howled as his entire torso was cut open. Surgit found himself immediately between the beast¡¯s legs. He slashed at them as quickly as he could. He was surprised to find out that he could deal at least five quick slashes with his cleaver before the enemy could retaliate. The giant didn¡¯t have time to retaliate though as his right leg gave way and he stumbled to his knee.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Surgit jumped on its back and used his cleaver to cut the beast¡¯s back open, ripping his flesh and breaking his spine into little segments. The giant let out a terrible howl as it fell down to the floor. It was in pain and unable to move and Surgit observed its body, devoid of red blood. Only white liquid ran through it and that explained its pale skin. He decided to finish it by hacking its head off and walked back towards the chapel. The street he left led nowhere. He couldn¡¯t see any other way to access the upper part of the chapel. He was back at the square outside. He stood next to the well in the middle of the place. He still sensed something watching him, somewhere above the building. The event he experienced before was very unsettling. He didn¡¯t know what grabbed him or why his blood just happened to explode out of his body. It was a painful experience. He used his insight in order to inspect what was stalking him from above the chapel. To his surprise, there was nothing. He was positive he felt a gigantic hand grab him and squeeze his body. He swore he had seen some kind of monstrous shape, but even his insight couldn¡¯t perceive it. He opened his eyes and went right, to the street opposite the chapel. The road led down towards a gigantic church where several man-beasts were stationed, patrolling the area. He looked around him but didn¡¯t see any way which could lead him towards the upper-Cathedral Ward. He decided to get back to the chapel and think of another approach. The door to the right of the chapel either led up towards a closed gate or down towards a church. He came back to the door where he and Karla got separated but there was no sign of her. She might have found a way to escalate the tower. She could also have faced some dangerous enemies and had to hide, or worse. He felt trapped, so he decided to wait until the two hours were up. He promised to wait for Karla at the chapel so he decided to deliver on his promise. ¡®I might still take a little stroll down at Central Yharnam.¡¯ He decided to go and pay Iosefka a visit. Her vials were of great help to him. Besides, visiting her always calmed his nerves. Having a sane human being to talk to was refreshing. After all the hardships and beasts he encounters, he loved paying her a visit and hearing a melodious human voice from behind that door. He also thought of the lady who asked him about finding her a safe place. Oedon Chapel had ample incense to ward off beasts and that could help the old lady remain out of harm. He thought of the little girl who had lost both her parents. He didn¡¯t know how to deliver the bad news to her. As he made his way back underneath Oedon chapel, Surgit couldn¡¯t help but think of the shady blind man or creature he encountered earlier. Could he be trusted? The place seemed safe enough but his presence gave Surgit an ominous feeling. Maybe the blind man wouldn¡¯t dare attack him since he¡¯s a hunter but what about defenseless people who would come to the place seeking refuge? He was prepared to beg Iosefka to forget about her Hippocratic Oath and at least offer asylum to the people in Central Yharnam. The area was deserted as he had cleared it already from all the beasts that roamed its streets. He reached the clinic in no time and found himself knocking at the door, as usual. A woman¡¯s voice was heard from behind the door: ¡®Huh?¡¯ 63: Hard truth ¡®This is convenient, too convenient in fact¡­ What¡¯s changed?¡¯ thought Surgit. She sounded a bit different to Surgit so the latter decided to end the conversation at that point and head outside. He left the clinic. He couldn¡¯t help but think of the last interaction he had with the doctor. How come the doctor who was so adamant about letting anyone inside her clinic was now willing to admit survivors? He was ready to beg her to let the little girl and the old woman in but now, he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore. He had to go see the little girl first and announce the bad news. He would worry about choosing a safe place for her later. The matter that presented itself to him now was how was he to announce to the little girl that she was now an orphan. He made his way through the empty streets of Central Yharnam, towards the girl¡¯s house. The city seemed deserted and silent. Without the beasts that roam the streets, Surgit felt uneasy and extremely lonely. Only the sounds of crackling fire and smoke coming out of the sewers were to be heard. He still wondered at what caused these nights of the hunt to occur. The fact that hunters were scarce and that he was the only hunter he knew of in the city also haunted his thoughts. Information was rare to come by and the people capable of speech in the city either didn¡¯t know a thing or concealed what they knew from him. If there was one thing he learned during his time in Yharnam, it was that he¡¯d always need to be on his guard; that the ones who speak could be more dangerous than the ones who attack him. At least he knew what his enemies wanted from him. He reached the house and called out from the window where he first spoke to the little girl. ¡°Hey little girl, are you in there?¡± He heard some footsteps in the distance and soon after the girl spoke to him. ¡°Yes mister hunter. Have you found my mum?¡± The question wrenched Surgit¡¯s heart as he struggled to find the courage to announce the news to her. ¡°I found her yes, and I think I found your father too.¡± He felt himself speaking those words mechanically, as if reciting something he had learned by heart beforehand. ¡°Your father had unfortunately lost his mind, even the music box wouldn¡¯t bring him back to his senses¡­¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Surgit stopped for a while, trying to catch his breath and tell the girl about what happened between him and her father. He decided to tell her the truth, as he knew that children would always appreciate it better than elaborate lies made not to hurt their feelings. The little girl spoke first: ¡°You had to dispose of him, didn¡¯t you mister hunter? I understand, my father had become a danger to everyone. What about my mum? Was she there?¡± Surgit was surprised at how calm the little girl was regarding the decay of her father¡¯s mind. ¡°Yes I had to fight your father and set him to rest. Your mother was there too, I recognized her from the brooch I found on her hair.¡± He took out the brooch from his pocket and knocked at the window with it. The little girl opened the window and took it from Surgit. The look on her face saddened him greatly. Tears streamed down her face and as she looked at Surgit with her innocent crying face, she couldn¡¯t retain her sobs. ¡°Mister hunter¡­ was it really her? Mummy¡­ Mummy¡­ Don¡¯t leave me alone¡­ I¡¯m alone¡­ I¡¯m scared¡­ it¡¯s not fair¡­¡± As the girl continued crying, Surgit remained there observing the sad scene. The girl had a beautiful white ribbon on her head and she wore a nice beige dress. She managed to take care of herself even though her mother wasn¡¯t at home. The hope that she would return to her and bring her father back with her had kept her going. Surgit was sure at that moment that the little girl shouldn¡¯t remain alone in the house. He had to decide about a safe place for her, and fast. ¡°I don¡¯t think you should stay here alone little girl. Do you know of Oedon Chapel?¡± The girl was still crying but he didn¡¯t have much time to spare. ¡°Yes¡­ mister hunter¡­ is it a safe place for me to stay?¡± The girl said in between her sobs. ¡°It¡¯s the safest I could think of. There is enough incense to spare in there and beasts will not come near you.¡± For some reason, Surgit¡¯s instincts told him not send the girl to the clinic. ¡°Thank you mister hunter, I love you as much as mum and dad¡­ and granddad.¡± said the girl in the end, cheerfully. Surgit left the girl alone in the house and made his way towards the old lady. He told her about the chapel too then decided to take the aqueducts and head towards the graveyard, then to Oedon chapel. As he came close to the ladder which took to the secondary bridge, he heard that horrifying noise that came from the tunnel again. He still felt uneasy at the thought of what lurked down there and decided to leave it alone. ¡®No one in their right mind would go in there after hearing such a noise¡­¡¯ He thought as he climbed the long ladder up. He reached the graveyard where he fought Gascoigne then he noticed the lamp he hadn¡¯t activated before. He was with Karla and he didn¡¯t want to check it in front of her. The last time he inspected the lantern, Karla and Francis looked at him as he had lost his mind. They couldn¡¯t see it and he didn¡¯t want Karla to know about the dream. He still had some more time to spare before meeting Karla. He inspected the lamp and felt his body losing its senses, as if he was about to go unconscious. He came to and found himself in the garden, facing the old house and the doll. 64: Enigmatic Gibberish ¡°Welcome home good hunter. What is it you desire?¡± The melodious voice of the doll welcomed Surgit as he approached her. Her face, devoid of emotions, still looked noble and extraordinarily attractive. Surgit wondered who the doll was inspired from. He would have loved to meet the person who inspired such a wonderful art creation. He wanted to upgrade his skill and strength but was unsure of how the doll would react to the echoes he had. When he inspected them with his insight, he could see the same green cluster of light in the enveloping darkness. He didn¡¯t know what that meant exactly. He didn¡¯t even know how many echoes were enough for him to develop his skills more. He inspected his status using his insight again. It read: Name Surgit Insight level Narrow minded Strength Waste of Skin (2) Skill Skillful (2) Bloodtinge Blood Hungry (1) Arcane Blind (1) Since the doll was enigmatic regarding how he could upgrade his skills, Surgit decided to use a different approach. He addressed the doll: Surgit did as he was asked. After a while, the doll rose and informed his that he can only upgrade his bloodtinge and arcane. ¡®If I can only upgrade my bloodthing and arcane, that means that the cluster I see serves to help me get only one improvement.¡¯ Surgit was deep in thought. ¡®This means that those echo clusters serve as some kind of badge to get me promoted through some kind of ranks.¡¯ He was thinking methodically, trying to understand the whole system in a logical manner. ¡®Then this means that I need more echoes, which would lead me to forming more clusters.¡¯ He had to clear all of Central Yharnam in order to accumulate one cluster. If he had to repeat the same process again and again, he would have to clear all of Yharnam before he could even hope to get a better grade. And how big was Yharnam? How much did he have access to? Would clearing all streets be enough for him to be strong enough to end the hunt? All of these questions raced into his mind to the point that it almost drove him to desperation. There was so little information and so much mystery. If only there was someone who could at least give him a hint to what he should do. He felt lost and alone. The only sane hunters he¡¯d met were that lady crow and the sleeping old man. ¡®And here we are again with more enigmatic gibberish.¡¯ Surgit dragged his feet up towards the workshop. Gehrman was his only hope at finding out some more about the echoes. The books he read only detailed information about beasts¡¯ strength and the way a hunter could deal with them. Besides, reading for too long would only give him terrible headaches. He didn¡¯t want to make it an occurring experience.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. He went inside and found Gehrman sitting in front of the fireplace again. He wondered where that man could disappear to, although limited in his movement with his wheelchair. The old man heard Surgit¡¯s footsteps then turned towards him. He had that faint smile about him. Surgit didn¡¯t know if it was out of malice or genuine simplicity. The old man started speaking before Surgit could utter a word. He had that annoying habit of going on monologues and not giving Surgit space to place a single question. ¡°The moon is close. It will be a long hunt tonight.¡± Gehrman was speaking in a serious tone. Surgit started noticing that a lot of people started telling him about this hunt being long, as if it were an exception. ¡®Here we go again with this enigmatic gibberish¡­¡¯ Thought Surgit, somewhat frustrated. ¡®Well, at least I got an answer to one of my questions this time¡¯ thought Surgit as he watched the old man sleeping. He turned towards the bench. He had seen it before, the first time he was in the dream and was looking for a weapon to kill the werewolf with. He had the gem and he needed now to find a way to use it on his weapon. He took his cleaver and put it on top of the workbench. As he inspected it, he found three faint symbols on the blade. Two of them had the shape of a flake, matching the gem he had and one had the symbol of a crescent moon. The symbols were engraved on the saw and he tried to place the gem he had found on one of them; to no avail. He closed his eyes and decided to use insight in order to see what his bare eyes couldn¡¯t. A murmur could be heard in his head, ¡®You need the blood gem workshop tool in order to upgrade your weapons using gems. You can fortify your weapon using blood stone shards too.¡¯ The murmur ended and Surgit opened his eyes. He had neither shards nor the blood gem tool. He had to go back to Yharnam and search for them. 65: The thing that snarls at the dark tunnel As he got back to the graveyard, he noticed the heavy silence again weighing on him. He was never the type to prefer solitude but this city forced him to face its dangers alone. The graveyard was dark and only the sound of faint wind was there to let Surgit know that there was still life somewhere around. He climbed the stairs and went towards the chapel. As he got to the library underneath the chapel, he saw a small chest he hadn¡¯t noticed before. He inspected it and found an item resembling a corkscrew. He inspected it using his insight and to his delight he heard its description ¡®Blood gem workshop tool, use it to upgrade your weapons at the hunter¡¯s workshop.¡¯ That was very convenient, as he had no idea where to find it. He climbed another flight of stairs and found himself inside the chapel. ¡°Ahh, the hunter.. Alive and well, are ya? This here¡¯s a safe place, stay as long as you like.¡± The voice of the blind creature came from Surgit¡¯s side. Surgit inspected the chapel with his eyes and couldn¡¯t see any sign of the little girl or the old woman. ¡®This is fishy¡­ The man acts as if no one came around here.¡¯ Surgit started thinking about the possibilities of the two people he¡¯d sent here being lost. He didn¡¯t have the time to think it through as the blind creature spoke again. ¡°I know I shouldn¡¯t be asking you this but¡­ next time you¡¯re out on a hunt, remember what I asked: If you find any sane survivors, tell¡¯em to seek shelter at Oedon chapel. Cause there¡¯s nothing to fear here¡­ hehe..hee¡­hehe¡­¡± Surgit left the chapel and went back to Central Yharnam. It was deserted and silent as he had left it. No sign of danger for any of the survivors, and no reason for them not to reach the chapel. He ran back towards the old lady¡¯s house as it was the closest one on his way. He knocked at the door and he heard the old lady¡¯s voice. His relief to find her alive soon turned to anger: ¡°Well whaddya know? a hunter who¡¯s still checking on an old lady. Don¡¯t you have work to do? I know of your safe place and I¡¯m leaving to it shortly. Go slit some throats, get this mess done with!¡± Surgit didn¡¯t reply and left the old lady to her occupation. He was relieved that she was still alive but at the same time irritated at her attitude towards hunters. What did hunters do to this lady to deserve such adversity? As he made his way towards the little girl¡¯s house, he saw the silhouette of a person in the distance. It looked like trouble and Surgit took his saw and got ready for a fight. The silhouette soon became a body and Surgit saw that it was humanoid. The person wore a strange outfit. On the head, the person wore a plague doctor¡¯s mask and a triangular hat. And the torso was covered in a black garb, ornamented with crow feathers. It looked like a moving, humanoid crow, an ominous sight to say the least. He then heard the lady crow¡¯s voice before she fully manifested in front of him. Surgit kept looking at the strange looking woman as she disappeared in the horizon. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with all of you in here? Everyone speaks in riddles. Can¡¯t you just answer one question directly?!¡± He screamed at her and at all of Yharnam. He grew tired of the mysteries this city seemed to hold so dear, unwilling to share it with outsiders like him.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. He made his way through the aqueducts and up towards the little girl¡¯s house. As he reached the window, his heart skipped a beat when he saw that the lights at the window were turned off. He knocked at the window and screamed for the little girl; no answer. He stood there, his mind racing with ideas and possibilities. What could have happened to her? Did she get lost and found herself in a different place? That wasn¡¯t actually possible as he knew Central Yharnam so well. The only places he couldn¡¯t visit were due to the fact that huge metallic gates barred the way. And he couldn¡¯t think of a little girl forcing her way through them where he failed to do so. Then it hit him. The tunnel he decided not to explore on so many occasions because of that terrible noise. Could it be that the girl went through it anyways? He decided to head there and to explore it. At the entrance he heard that noise again. It resembled grunts and snorts but more terrible. He walked slowly inside the tunnel and got ready for an attack at any moment. It was dark in there, even for his eyes and enhanced vision. He was walking on shallow water and he didn¡¯t like the fact that his steps were loud enough for any enemy to hear and be alerted to his presence. He saw a figure in the distance. It was gigantic and resembled some kind of animal. As he approached it, trying to muffle the sound of his steps as much as possible, he heard a terrible snarl. It resembled the sound of a pig being tortured. The shape he had seen was actually a gigantic boar, and it was running his way at top speed. It rammed him and he felt his feet depart from the floor. As he landed on his back, he slid many paces away on the shallow water of the aqueduct. He was sent outside the tunnel by just one hit from that big abomination, and it was running towards him again. It was ten times bigger and larger than a normal boar. Its skin was gray and it looked decaying. Its muzzle exuded smoke and the thing looked furious. Surgit stood up, the hit had stunned him a bit but it didn¡¯t damage him too much. As the beast charged at him again, he jumped high, attempting to land behind it in order to land a visceral attack. He miscalculated the length of the monster and found himself on its back. The beast started jumping around, like a mad horse, trying to knock Surgit out of its back. The latter jumped again and landed just behind the boar as it was jumping and kicking. A lucky hit caught Surgit right in the face and he felt blood rushing out of his nose and mouth as he stumbled back, gasping for breath. The pig turned around and faced him. It let out another scream and Surgit felt suffocated as the beast graced him with its putrid breath. He had his doubt about it being poisonous but as his nose and mouth were already filled with blood, Surgit didn¡¯t really have time to think of the effect of the air he had just inhaled. He punched the beast as hard as he could in the head, sending its head wobbling to the left. Surgit immediately injected himself with a blood vial and felt his body rejuvenating. He quickly stepped behind the beast and charged his attack. He hit the boar on the back as hard as he could. As it felt the hit, the pig stumbled on its knees and fell down on its stomach. Surgit used his beastly arm then and performed the most disgusting attack he ever had to perform. He inserted his arm through the boar¡¯s anus and crushed its intestines with his claws. The beast let out a terrible scream as it struggled to move, as if it would help with the pain or even stop it. As Surgit pulled his arm out, he noticed that something was stuck in his hand. He was disgusted by it at first but as he saw what he had in his hand, he felt horrified. He was holding a bloodied ribbon. It was what used to be a white ribbon, identical to what the little girl wore on her head. ¡®So she took the tunnel after all¡­¡¯ He thought as sorrow gripped his heart. 66: On the verge of insanity ¡°Ahh, the hunter! Thank you. So, that old girl, you told''er about this place, right? Well, she don''t offer me much in the way of conversation, but still... I''d rather see''er alive anyhow...¡± The blind man was telling Surgit as the latter¡¯s mind drifted away at all the possibilities he had of saving the poor little girl. He should¡¯ve waited for her and accompanied her to the chapel. Even better, if he had faced his fears and faced the boar beforehand, the little girl wouldn¡¯t have been dead by now. His cowardice led to the death of an innocent orphan. As if her life wasn¡¯t tragic enough, she had to be eaten by that monstrous pig. And what¡¯s wrong with pigs in this city anyway? Does everything need to go bad in Yharnam, even the most docile of animals? Surgit looked at the blind man and realized that the latter had been speaking for quite some time. Absorbed in his thoughts, Surgit didn¡¯t manage to catch a word of what the not so creepy anymore creature was saying. ¡°Come again?¡± he said looking at the blind man. ¡°I said if you see anyone with their wits abou¡¯em, send them along to Oedon Chapel. Cause there¡¯s nothing to fear here.. hehe¡­ heeh¡­ hehe¡­heeh¡­¡± The laughter the blind man had, definitely gave Surgit an uneasy feeling every time he heard it. He saw the old lady, sitting in a corner in the chapel, safe and sound. The place was consequently safe for people to come in. He approached the old woman to check on her and the latter immediately attacked him with her sharp words: ¡°Do you think I owe you something? Well, that¡¯s a fine lark I¡¯d say. This whole mess that Yharnam¡¯s in, it¡¯s all your fault, you fidgety outsiders. Our blood¡¯s ruined, tainted by your ilk! Don¡¯t you come near me! I know your type!¡± The woman then turned around, her back to Surgit, and kept on mumbling to herself. Surgit couldn¡¯t help but wonder at her words. How is it the outsiders¡¯ fault that Yharnam had become home to beasts? He would have to think about it more another time. He was more focused on finding out a way to access the hamlet Gehrman had spoken about earlier. The memory of the little girl¡¯s ribbon haunted him. He had to get active and do something. He couldn¡¯t wait for Karla in the chapel. He was afraid that the thought of the little girl getting eaten by that boar would push him to despair. He had to find that hamlet while Karla searched the upper parts of the Cathedral Ward by herself. He pushed the morbid thoughts away from his mind. Or was it the echoes whispering all kind of reproaches to him? He had to get busy doing something and stop overthinking. After attempting to receive some information from the blind man in the chapel, he realized that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything out of him. He left the chapel from the left door, the one that led towards the giants and the thing that grabbed him and almost killed him instantly. There was another street leading down to the old church he had seen earlier. Surgit hadn¡¯t explored it yet. The church had a triangular roof and three doors: a big one, large enough to fit a giant, and two small ones on each side. The gigantic door was open while the others seemed to have been shut tight. In front of the church, the remains of a park could be seen. The trees were devoid of leaves and the ground was dry and full of dust. A man-beast was patrolling the park area with his dog, while two others were standing by a bonfire, on the far right of the church. There seemed to be an alley behind the church from that side and the two were guarding it. The darkness in the streets of Cathedral Ward helped Surgit walk around unnoticed. The sun had set and only its remaining rays provided a semblance of light. The bonfire in the park blinded the two men-beasts and Surgit took his time to silently approach them. While creeping on the two men-beasts, Surgit heard them mumble something. He decided to use the element of surprise to his advantage and finish them off swiftly. But before he went to action, he stopped for a while to listen to what they were saying. ¡°It¡¯s a curse¡­. This is a damn curse¡­¡± one of them was mumbling while the other said ¡°This town¡¯s finished¡­. This town is done for¡­.¡± They seemed to repeat those same sentences over and over again, as if they had some consciousness left within their monstrous body and barbaric way of fighting. In two swift strikes, Surgit disposed of them and got ready to fight the approaching dog. The latter had reacted as soon as the first man-beast¡¯s head fell off. As the dog jumped at Surgit, he shot it in the chest and sent it flying. As it landed, wailing and clearly in pain, its master killed it with a swift strike of his axe then turned towards Surgit. He snarled at Surgit and showed his developing canine teeth. ¡°Cursed beast, you¡¯re better off dead!¡± said the man-beast as he attacked Surgit with his axe. Surgit shot him as soon as he saw the attack coming his way. It was enough to stagger the poor enemy and bring him down to his knees. Surgit proceeded to destroying his inner organs by inserting his beastly arm deep inside his body. He started enjoying the feeling the visceral attack gave him. He was human, yet he felt like a beast at some moments, like the previous one for instance, and he enjoyed being in control of his beastly side. ¡°Well if you say I am a beast,¡± he said to the corpse of the opponent he had just slain, ¡°I say you¡¯re also one. But one that had lost control over his mind, and I shall never do that.¡± He finished his sentence while putting his chest forward, proud to keep control of his mind. ¡®The fool thinks he¡¯s sane¡­¡¯ the voices started laughing in unison. He exhaled deeply. With the voices whispering inside his head, his plea of keeping his sanity had actually lost in credibility. Becoming a hunter was definitely a blessing for Surgit; a blessing that came with its drawbacks nonetheless.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He felt as if multiple people were watching him and commenting his every move. He felt like a character in some novel with the readers approving or disapproving of his actions. That feeling unnerved him. ¡®There he is, losing his cool to a bunch of murmurs in his head,¡¯ whispered one of the voices mockingly. ¡®The foooooool¡­ hah¡­ hah¡­ hah¡­¡¯ The other voices picked up on that remark and started laughing again, bombarding his mind with a multitude of sounds that actually gave him a terrible headache. ¡°Gods I need to get rid of you!¡± he shouted at the echoes. ¡®Go on, use us. Get stronger! Become the beast hunter you¡¯re supposed to be! Or become the beast for all we care!¡¯ answered the voices. Since his arrival to Yharnam, Surgit started noticing a pattern. Everyone seemed to think of him as a beast in humanoid form. Except the people he had traveled with to Yharnam, everyone seemed to be keen on seeing him dead. Yharnamites saw him as a threat and did their best to dispose of him while calling him different names. Gascoigne had transformed into a beast in front of him and that was due to the poor man losing his mind. Perhaps it was after he had killed his wife. Blood foraged from beasts could heal him of injuries and he found himself at times, thirsty for more blood. He concluded that he was indeed a monster like the others, but a monster with a brain and morals. He vowed to never let anyone make him doubt that. From that moment on, he knew what being a hunter meant. Hunting beasts in Yharnam meant hunting the ones that had lost their minds to become something different, either beasts or giant abominations. It was the hunter¡¯s duty to keep a level head and put those poor creatures to rest. He took the alley at the back of the church. He decided to search every corner in every place to dispose of all possible enemies. He found himself in front of some stairs that led towards the top of the church. At the top, stood a man with a top hat, Surgit recognized him as a sniper just from his stance. He ran as fast as he could upstairs. He was focused on not getting shot by the man as the effect of the bullets on his body was sometimes worse than he anticipated. As he heard the first shot and dodged by quickstepping to the side. He saw two dogs running at him. ¡®Perfect, a hunter with his dogs¡­ how stereotypical.¡¯ He thought as he shot one of the dogs with his pistol and slashed the other using his saw. He was standing in front of the sniper in no time, the other still aiming his gun and preparing to shoot again. Surgit seized the gun from its muzzle and held it up. The shot was sent upwards and Surgit kicked the poor sniper between his legs. The latter let out a squeak and, laughing, Surgit finished him off with a swift beheading. ¡°I always wondered if they¡¯d feel pain from that kind of kick¡­ didn¡¯t expect such a sound though.¡± He said aloud, still amused at what had just happened. ¡®And to say he vowed to keep his sanity¡­¡¯ Surgit swore he heard one of the echoes mumble in his head. He saw the dog he shot earlier struggling to stand up. He elongated his cleaver and with two hits, managed to silence the suffering animal. At the top of the stairs, Surgit saw a door leading inside the upper floor of the church. He opened it and got inside to find himself in an empty room. It was spacious and looked like it used to be the loft. In front of him, Surgit saw another closed door, and to his right, he saw a balcony that gave a vista on the ground floor of the church. From where he was standing, Surgit saw a huge tomb in the middle of the ground floor. The tomb was made out of marble and a statue of a mummy crossing its arms on its chest was lying on its back on top of it. ¡®So it¡¯s a mausoleum after all¡­¡¯ he thought. Surgit noticed a lever to his right and decided to pull it. As soon as he activated he heard a noise coming from the tomb¡¯s direction. He watched as the marble monument moved and revealed stairs that led underneath the building. ¡®A secret passage, I feel like I¡¯m in some exciting adventure story¡¯ thought Surgit as he watched the tomb come to a halt. He went back to the closed door he noticed earlier and opened it. He soon found himself in an alley that led towards a strange statue. It was a tall statue of a woman whose head and face were covered completely by a veil. An altar was organized in front of it and a man was kneeling down in front of it, apparently praying. Surgit approached slowly. He knew that the man wouldn¡¯t attack. If he were to attack, he would¡¯ve done it much earlier. Surgit approached with more confident steps as he saw the man rise to his feet and face him, welcoming. He was wearing a gray cloak that covered all his body. It looked like a religious robe of sorts. He wore a long shawl that enveloped his neck and covered all of his back. His garb looked fancy and the man looked serene. He had blond hair and a fine sharp nose. He looked like those upper class kids who have been promoted in ranks thanks to their upbringing and the family they belonged to. ¡®At least he has the courtesy of introducing himself.¡¯ Thought Surgit as the man was about to continue his monologue. 67: Hunters not wanted here He still had issues trusting the strangers he met in this city. But Alfred looked like a simpleton he could take advantage of. He seemed to know many things about the city and Surgit will need his assistance to gain knowledge about the beasts that roam the streets. Moreover, this man was part of some sort of organization. His master must have told him at least some stories regarding the healing church and what became of the other hunters. He had so many unanswered questions. He thought that by gaining Alfred¡¯s trust, he could extract some valuable information from him. Little did he know that Alfred had trusted him already and was willing to share with him any snippet of knowledge he possessed. ¡°As you may know, the healing church is the fountainhead of blood healing.¡± Surgit nodded in agreement, he read that much in the past when he was staying at Francis¡¯ mansion. ¡°Well I¡¯m a simple hunter, quite unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the institution. I have heard that the holy medium of blood healing is venerated in the main cathedral. And that councilors of the old church reside in the high stratum of the Cathedral Ward. If you seek blood healing, and the church is willing, you should pay them a visit.¡± After finishing his monologue, Surgit was left with more questions than answers. He had never heard about councilors living in the Cathedral Ward, nor did he know that the church was restricting blood healing to the ones they approve of. He felt very lucky that the blood minister had agreed to administer blood for him the moment he reached Yharnam. Or was he? Maybe receiving blood ministration only made his life harder as he was stuck in the city, fighting all sorts of beasts. It could have been better to reach the Cathedral and just ask for blood healing then remain in the city to recover, like Gilbert. After all there was no point in thinking about the matter at that moment, he was hunter and his duty was clear: to clean the city from the beasts that roam it. Surgit left the man and returned to the ground floor of the church. The hidden stairs led down towards a dark area. Surgit had a hard time adjusting to the darkness as he was going down the stairs, despite his enhanced vision. He reached a spacious room where he could see shapes of jars that used to have incense in them. The place used to host people for shelter apparently but judging from the darkness and the silence that surrounded the place, Surgit concluded that the safety in that place had long ceased to exist.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. He noticed a chest and made for it. As he opened it, dust filled his nostrils. It was clear that no one had been there in a very long time. He found a small cylindrical object. It was hard and cold, almost freezing. He closed his eyes and inspected the item using his insight. ¡®Blood stone shard. You can use it to upgrade your weapon and make its damage greater.¡¯ The murmurs stopped and Surgit opened his eyes. ¡®At last I found the item needed to make those imprints on my weapon stronger. I just need to know how to use them. Once I¡¯m back to the dream, I¡¯ll try them out.¡¯ His eyes by that time got used to the darkness and he could see clearly the path leading down through more stairs. He went down and found himself yet in another opening. It was bigger this time and had two huge pillars in the middle. It was spacious and cold. Surgit noticed some small windows on the top corners of the area. He was underground. He saw a door on the other end of the room and as he headed towards it, he heard a strange noise behind one of the pillars. He jumped back in time to avoid the lunging attack from a werewolf. The beast had stalked him and was waiting for the right opportunity to attack. With a swing from his cleaver, Surgit elongated it and managed to graze the beast¡¯s head. It let out a scream and jumped at him again. Using his speed, Surgit quickstepped to the right and kicked the werewolf in the throat as the latter bit the air. Using his saw, Surgit hacked the monster¡¯s back and cut his right hind leg. Slowing them down had become Surgit¡¯s method of disposing of them. They were agile for their size and letting them attack with full strength was dangerous. He wasn¡¯t going to leave anything to luck. The beast, limping, turned towards Surgit and slashed at him with its claws. It was easier for him to dodge the attack then retaliate with another. He buried his saw in its face. He proceeded through the door and found himself in a dark building. Stairs led further down and Surgit was wondering at his unknown destination. ¡®I should find some torch. The darkness in these places can be very dangerous.¡¯ He thought as he went down the first flight of stairs. He found himself then in front of a ladder and as he descended, he pricked his ears for signs of enemies beneath him. He could only hear his feet as they hit ladder steps, one by one. Darkness enveloped the place. Even with his enhanced vision, there was nothing to be seen if not even a bit of light penetrated the room. He felt uneasy at the idea that he couldn¡¯t see clearly around him and as he reached the bottom of the ladder, he stood and used his insight to try and scout the area. Nothing happened! He fumbled with his hands in the walls surrounding him and touched what appeared to be books. This place was perhaps a library, a tall building that used to accommodate avid learners. He found a railing and followed it with his hands. He took another flight of stairs down and found himself at the bottom of the building. He saw some light emanating from a door and as he emerged onto the other room, he saw an extinguished lamp. ¡®The hunter¡¯s dream lamp, hunters used to come here.¡¯ He knew that by touching it, he would light it and even find himself back in the dream. He decided to use the little light a small window at the top of the room allowed, and the one emanating from two torches on different corners to scan the place instead. He only needed small lighting to see very well, as if it was clear as day. He was in a large place, with a gigantic triangular dome on top. A big wooden door seemed to be the exit from the area. Surgit approached it and found a note stuck to it. ¡°The town is long abandoned. Hunters not wanted here.¡± 68: Trapped between two deadly beasts The Cathedral Ward was more dangerous than expected. Karla started regretting splitting up with Surgit. She was grateful for the opening he created earlier. She knew she had to meet up with him again but she couldn¡¯t accept the fact that the man she considered a weakling had saved her life twice already. She didn¡¯t want to get back to the chapel until she had a clear idea of where Francis was. She always fought by herself and thought she could handle herself just fine in Yharnam. On the other hand, the enemies in the area she found herself in after she split up with Surgit were deadly. One wrong step and she would be cut to pieces. From pale skinned giants to other strangely looking men who carried crucifixes as weapons, Karla had had a hard time defending herself against the different dangers the city had in reserve for her. Most times, fleeing the scene was the best option She was standing on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the Cathedral Ward. She had a clear view over the streets of the city. From there she could spot any strange movement that occurred. She didn¡¯t know for how long she had been searching for that senile old man. She felt responsible for his life and although they got separated and he abandoned her, she didn¡¯t blame him. He was a coward after all, unable to stand straight in front of danger. Let alone defend himself. She tried all possible actions in order to reach the place where Francis was last seen by that blind man in the chapel. She tried jumping from different roofs in order to reach the chapel, she tried looking for underground hidden paths that could lead to where Francis was. Her only success was spotting a tower that connected to the roof of the chapel. She thought that Francis could¡¯ve gone through there. So she sat in that roof, observing the bridge connecting the tower and the chapel, while looking for any movement down in the street. She wondered where Surgit may have left. The Cathedral ward was big and it was easier to get lost in it. Thanks to her speed and agility, Karla managed to get away from most of the dangerous opponents by using the roofs to her advantage. She was used to climbing to the top of buildings and navigating its roofs. She had to keep the princess safe and she always scouted the areas around while the latter was busy with one of her lovers. She came back from her daydreaming as she saw a shadow move below in one of the streets. She jumped quickly through tiled roofs and followed the suspicious movement. She had lost sight of it and she was trying to assess which way it could have gone to. It was too fast for an ordinary enemy roaming the streets. It must have been Surgit or someone else, maybe something else. ¡°Are ye looking fer me?¡± said a woman¡¯s voice from behind Karla. ¡®When did she appear behind me?¡¯ Karla jumped back and unsheathed her sword. ¡°Easy, I¡¯m not looking fer a fight woman. I¡¯m merely curious. Why would anyone chase after me in this god forsaken city?¡± The woman in front of Karla looked frightening and skilled. She wore a black garb, ornamented with crow feathers. She had black leather trousers and long black boots. She even wore a plague doctor¡¯s mask. Karla was intimidated by her appearance. Not only that, she managed to appear behind her silently. She could¡¯ve killed her easily but she chose to talk. ¡°I¡¯m looking for an old man. He was supposed to have come around here. I saw movement in the street below me so I was inspecting its source¡± said Karla after trying to regain her composure. ¡°I¡¯m also lookin fer an old man, very old. I heard he¡¯d gon mad an¡¯ I¡¯m tryina pinpoint his location. But I doubt we¡¯re lookin for the same person, are we?¡± The killing intent emanating from the woman made Karla shiver, she had never met someone with such a frightening aura around her. Before she could say anything, the woman went on: ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen ye somewhere before though. I rarely forget the faces o¡¯ people I met before¡­.¡± The woman put her hand on the chin of her mask and seemed thoughtful for a while then said: ¡°No matter, I¡¯m an old lady. I¡¯m allowed to forget some things once in a while. I saved an old man from certain death before. This brute got too fulla himself, thinking he was a hoonter after imbibing some blood. He tortured a poor woman to death and was about to strike at him. I believe that old man was lookin for a way into the Cathedral Ward. Is that the one yer lookin fer?¡± she asked. The woman liked emphasizing her vowels, pronouncing them for longer than they needed to.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Yes have you seen him anywhere around here?¡± Karla was excited to know that the man lived, and happy to understand how Paul was disposed of. ¡°Nope, haven¡¯t seen im ever since. But beware,¡± the woman¡¯s tone became serious. ¡°If ye meet an old fella wearing golden hunter garb, don¡¯t ye approach him. Make for a swift escape and try ta find me. He¡¯s an old hoonter who¡¯s gone mad; approaching him, would be the death of ye.¡± The woman then jumped down to the street below and continued her roaming. Karla watched the woman disappear in the dark streets below her. She was glad to hear that Francis was saved and that he could be still alive in the Cathedral Ward. The faint hope she had of finding him alive earlier had changed into a real one. They were both looking for blood ministration. She wanted more strength in order to claim her land back and right the wrongs that had been done to her. Francis on the other hand wanted to reach Enlightment. His purpose was to reach the scholars of Byrgenwerth and converse with them regarding evolution and breaking the limits of humankind. She had to find a way up towards the tower. She wanted to see if he was still alive and if he managed to reach his objective. He was a coward, but a lucky coward nonetheless. He survived while all his strong bodyguards died. She was even on the verge of death while a complete stranger came and saved his life. If it wasn¡¯t for Surgit who offered her a second chance, she would be among the dead Francis left behind. She was sure now that he had survived and found a way to undergo blood ministration. She gradually became against the idea after seeing the effects blood had on Surgit. It made him a cold killer, almost inhuman. She admired the strength blood could give a person but she dreaded losing her humanity and resort to drinking others¡¯ blood for sustenance. She went back to the rooftop on which she was before spotting the movement of that crow looking woman. From there, she took another look at the tower. It was the second tallest building in the city. The biggest and tallest building was the one behind the Great Cathedral, the place where Francis presumably went. Approaching it meant dealing with hordes of monsters thirsty for your blood and Karla for some reason didn¡¯t seem to think Francis capable of going there. She squinted as she spotted some movement on the bridge connecting the chapel and the tower. Heads flew and bodies fell to the ground. The one executing them was fast and efficient. ¡®If Francis went that way, it means the person in there must know something about him. I have to find a way to get there,¡¯ she thought to herself. The shadow reflected by the fading rays of the sun, re-entered the tower and soon disappeared inside. Karla was now determined to find a way into the tower. ¡®If there is no way to get to the tower from up here, then there must be another one from down there.¡¯ She looked down, trying to see where the tower connected to the ground. The tower extended to the lowermost parts of the city. Karla thought that if she couldn¡¯t access the tower from the top, she could try getting to it from underneath. From where she stood, she couldn¡¯t even see the bottom of the tower. ¡®Just how deep this city can go down below?¡¯ From the roofs she has scouted earlier, Karla had found access to a balcony which led to an elevator. The elevator took down to the lower parts of the city. An inscription on the wall next to the device said as much. The balcony could be accessed by a ladder which was destroyed at the moment she had come across it. The ladder could have stopped beasts from accessing it, but it wouldn¡¯t stop her. She could easily jump from one roof to another and reach it. Karla pulled on a lever and she heard the platform of the elevator moving upwards, toward her. The sound came from deep underground. ¡®Now, let¡¯s find a way to reach that old coward.¡¯ 69: Trapped between two deadly beasts – Part 2 When she arrived to the lower level, Karla found herself in what used to be an old poor neighborhood. The shining streets were replaced with unpaved ones. Dust and ingrown grass were everywhere on the ground. Only few cobbles were to be seen here and there, reminiscent of an era where people used to care for that place. The streets were dimly lit and silence enveloped the place. Karla moved carefully, pricking her ears for any upcoming enemy. ¡°Cling!¡± she jumped back as she realized she had hit an empty bottle with her leg unintentionally. The silence in the place had instilled unrest in her and that bottle confirmed how tense she was. She tried to relax and move more carefully while keeping a cool head. As she walked through the street, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. It must have been at least three people coming her way. She unsheathed her sword and hit behind an old cart that contained half a dozen sacks and waited. Three men-beasts accompanied with a dog soon emerged from a corner. Their garb was different though as they looked like farmers. They wore straw hats and large blue trousers. Two of them were holding pitchforks while the other held a torch on one hand and an axe on the other. A dog was following them from behind, sniffing for any sign of danger. The dog caught her scent quickly and started barking. The other three ran towards her, as if they could communicate with the animal using telepathy. They quickly encircled her but Karla was too quick for them and managed to slice one¡¯s stomach open and blocked a pitchfork stab with her sword. She then pulled the pitchfork towards her and snatched it from the man¡¯s hands in time to throw it at the lunging dog. The dog fell down on the ground wailing while Karla buried her sword deep in the unarmed man¡¯s skull. All of that happened before the axe wielding man-beast could attack. As she faced him, he was aiming at her with his torch, trying to blind her before swinging at her with the axe. She jumped to his right and relieved him of one arm. While he was crying out in pain she kicked him in the back of his knee, bringing him down and beheaded him. It was a perfectly executed attack and Karla was satisfied at how fast she had become at dealing with those abominations. The street was silent again. Karla could hear somewhere in the distance some heavy breathing. It was unlike the one she heard in the aqueducts of Central Yharnam. Something new was lurking around, and that gave Karla a bad feeling. She cleaned her blade on one of the men-beast¡¯s shirt and went on her way. She soon reached a cross road where she could either go right or continue straight forward. The road on the right looked dark and long while the one in front of her seemed to lead into some dead end. She decided to keep going straight. After all, she could always come back and explore the previous street once she was done with the dead end in sight. She reached an opening with a dead tree in the middle; behind the tree, Karla saw a strange cloaked being hunched down on a corpse. She readied her weapon and walked as silently as she could, trying to get a preemptive strike. As she got closer, the creature stood up and faced her. It had gray skin which looked harder than steel. It took off its cloak revealing a strange head. It had big white eyes and only holes in its face instead of a nose. While instead of hair, the creature had a blobby forehead that extended to the back of its head. The end of the blobby feature on its head was pointy and it seemed that the creature could control it as it was moving it right and left, as if it were an antenna.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. It walked slowly towards Karla and with every step, its feet made a squishy sound, as if it was walking on water. Its hands had five fingers that were attached to each other with patches of gray skin. Suddenly the creature let out a harrowing scream and started running towards her. It was faster than any other enemy she had encountered before and it caught her before she could move. She watched with horror as the antennae in the monster¡¯s head became hard and aimed for her head. Karla had to act quickly so she kicked the creature as hard as she could; trying to stun it back. The beast staggered a bit but didn¡¯t let go of Karla. She still had time to hit it on the face with the pommel of her sword and the strange looking creature finally let go. If she took one hit from it, she was afraid that she would be a goner. She knew that she couldn¡¯t risk being caught by the beast so she jumped back to keep her distance. Unfortunately, more footsteps were heard behind her. She turned around to see a freakishly tall man coming her way. Calling it a man isn¡¯t doing it justice as the one standing in front of her at that moment had only the physique of a man, everything else was different. It had dark purple skin and six long fingers on its hands. It was wearing a long brown cloak and it held a gigantic sack on its back. Karla found herself trapped between two dangerous opponents. As she heard the squishy footsteps behind her, she jumped back as high as she could; performing a backflip, avoiding the grab attack and landing behind the creature. The two enemies were now facing each other and the tall man attacked first. It used its sack to hit the pale monster and the latter didn¡¯t even flinch from it. Karla retreated back in order to watch the ensuing fight. The best case scenario would be if the two could kill each other. The tall man attacked again using its big hand. It had hard nails that resembled claws. They hit the pale cloaked creature and scratched it a bit. The other let out a scream and held its hands up. A blue aura formed and soon after, they projected themselves towards the tall man. He was struck with it head on and Karla watched in amazement as the big guy was bound by the blue aureole like things. The pale creature then ran fast towards the big man and jumped on its torso, holding it with both hands. It hardened its antennae and buried it deep in the tall man¡¯s skull. The antennae then appeared to suck on the beast¡¯s brain and the latter screamed in agony. No sooner had the pale creature let go of the tall man, than he screamed in rage and a red aura formed around his body. ¡®Is this some kind of magic?¡¯ Karla was amazed to see the fight happening in front of her. If it wasn¡¯t for the lucky encounter between those two, Karla was sure that she would¡¯ve died. She had no idea that this kind of magic existed and if she got hit by one grab attack from that pale beast, she would have been a goner. The big man¡¯s attack became faster and Karla could barely see its movements. The gray skinned beast was instantly pierced by the man¡¯s hands. She could see a big purple hand coming out the back of the poor pale monster. In no time, the fight had ended and the tall man had his eyes for Karla afterwards. She felt her knees shaking as her opponent approached her. She had to find a way out of that situation and fast. The purple skinned man jumped at Karla and aimed at her head with his gigantic hand. Its nails were as hard as steel, and taking one hit from them could mean death, especially in that enraged state he was in. She rolled forward and avoided the attack miraculously. As she tried to stand up and find a quick way out of the place, she felt a heavy hit on her back that flattened her to the ground. She knew that she had to run away from that encounter but that last slam was too strong. She tried to stand up and run but her knees failed her. Her arms were shaking and she could hear the man approaching her slowly. She rolled on her back and looked at the one who was about to finish her. Darkness enveloped her eyes and she lost consciousness. 70: The new Francis The village was devoid of men, only crazy looking women inhabited the area. They screamed and wailed as they looked for unsuspecting victims. From the map Francis had inspected earlier in the upper Cathedral Ward, this village led to the castle. He had to reach it and find his destiny. That vision he had during his blood ministration had given him a new sense of purpose. He had to reach the castle and find the source of all evil that contaminated the city. His only clue was to reach this village and find a way from it towards his destination. The way towards the hamlet was filled with traps and a different breed of dogs. These were fierce and monstrous. Bigger than the ones he had seen in the city. If it weren¡¯t for his new abilities, Francis was sure that he would never be capable of advancing any further within Yharnam. In retrospect, he managed to reach his objective and the money he had invested in this expedition had finally paid off. He knew the risks but he never imagined how deadly the city was. In fact, he was following a myth that no one believed in; not even himself. He was an old man on his way to his grave after all. His children were waiting for the moment he would die in order to inherit his expansive wealth. The meeting with Karla, and later on with Surgit, had given him a new breath of life. He was always interested by the origins of men and scientific evolution. He funded a few institutions back in his country for scientific advancement, but the results were slow and he didn¡¯t have the time to wait for further results. All he wanted was to find a way to cure people from the different sicknesses that ravaged mankind. He yearned to achieve human ascension to immortality so that everyone could live in peace and harmony. His vision showed him a place where knowledge had been buried, where he could find the answer to all the questions that raced through his mind. At that moment, he was standing on top of a hill that gave a good view of the town. It wasn¡¯t as beautiful as Yharnam. The village was built over a multitude of small hills on top of which houses were aligned in a disorganized manner. Houses were built out of wood and the streets were dirty and dusty. Most of the buildings had tile roofs and were composed of just a ground floor, except for bigger ones that seemed to have an industrial function. Lights were seen in some of the big buildings and thick gray smoke protruded from their chimney pots. In the street below him, Francis saw two women patrolling and letting out painful screams from time to time. Their heads twitched before they screamed and the little white hair they had left made them look like insane inmates who have recently escaped from the asylum. They held sickles in their hands and wore long gray robes. From what he observed, Francis concluded that some activity was still in order in the village. The snipers and dogs outside the village were guarding it in order to chase away any intruders from finding out what was going on inside. The women on the other hand, must have been in charge of the production of something of value. His business trips from long ago taught him as much. If there¡¯s anything of value produced in a small hamlet, the men would protect it with all their might while women were the laborers in charge of manufacturing. He had accumulated his wealth from exploiting such poor areas and providing them with manpower and means to protect their assets. After all, becoming rich wasn¡¯t about intelligence alone. Francis had to use whatever means he could in order to protect his valuables, and assert his position in the market. Finding the castle could wait a little bit more, Francis wanted to know what was so valuable that even women in the streets were ready to fight in order to protect. He went down in the streets and faced the first two enemies that patrolled it. Their fighting style was sloppy to say the least. All they did was aim at his body and strike with their sickles. Disposing of them was easy, all he did was dodge a few of their attacks and cut off their heads in one swift move from his Chikage. The weapon he chose was sharp and extremely deadly. He was happy with his choice as the latter responded well to his will and seemed to go where he wanted it to go. It was as if he formed a certain bond with it. He walked through the dusty street and soon emerged into a clearing. It looked like the main square of the town where villages gather to celebrate different cultural holidays. The houses that surrounded the square were simple wooden huts. Most of the doors were closed and silence seemed to be the main theme of Yharnam and its surrounding villages. He didn¡¯t feel in danger in this place, but he felt uneasy. Something terrible must have happened in this village to give it this eerie atmosphere. He saw an open door to one of the huts and went inside. He almost fainted as a putrid smell penetrated his nostrils. He lit a torch he took from the upper Cathedral Ward and waited for his eyes to adjust to the new light. Sacks were scattered all over the hut. They were no simple sacks however as they were long and seemed to conceal something humanoid.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. With his sword, Francis cut one of them open and discovered that the hut concealed dozens of corpses. They were all mummified and had one common feature. None of them had eyes, as if they were extracted before the mummification. That explained the smoke coming out of the buildings. Maybe some of them were still active and still burning corpses on slow fire. He had seen this kind of process before and found it disgusting. Some cultures would burn their dead on a slow fire in order to conserve their humanoid appearance. Dry skin and protruding mouths were the only thing left to be seen on the mummies. Francis was never a fan of this kind of ¡°burial¡±. After he got acquainted with Yharnam¡¯s atrocities, he found what he was looking at fascinating. There must have been a use for this. Perhaps mummification was the way Yharnamites use to bury their dead. And if smoke still came out of some buildings, someone must be sane enough to make sure this process didn¡¯t stop. His thirst for knowledge pushed him to explore the village further. He wanted to know everything related to Yharnam and its surrounding areas. It was his way of finding out more about the history of the place and purpose of the creation of the healing church. He knew that it had a connection to the old blood, as the doctor Oedon chapel had told him before. But she didn¡¯t have enough information as to the source of the old blood. Some said that it was Old One¡¯s blood. Others said that it was taken from a holy medium. No one knew of its exact nature. The knowledge was long lost in the annals of history. He came back to the main square and proceeded onward, towards the biggest building in town. He went through a narrow street. Houses surrounded him and he felt trapped. If a horde of enemies ambushed him, he wouldn¡¯t have any way of avoiding the attack. He remained on guard and moved slowly. He heard some footsteps in the distance, heavy ones that shook the earth beneath him. At the end of the street, he saw the source of the noise. A hulking giant wearing a black hoodie and holding a gigantic axe was patrolling a small clearing among the disordered houses. The space Francis had was narrow so his movement would be limited when confronted to this enemy. Francis knew that he could use his insight in order to get to know more about his opponent. The woman doctor told him that hunters and church doctors used an item called madman¡¯s knowledge in order to obtain insight. This gave them the ability to see extraordinary beings and eventually communicate with the great ones. The item however, was extremely rare and finding it meant that its owner was in luck. Francis found one in the possession of the woman who had administered blood to him and used it instantly to gain insight. He suffered from a terrible headache soon afterwards but after a short rest, he felt even more powerful. He also learned that by using his ¡°third eye¡± he could gather more information regarding his foes. For instance, their names and their fighting ability were told to him in a form of murmurs. The one in front of him was an executioner. He wore a steel armor on his chest and the black hoodie hid his face. On top of being huge, he was also fat and large. His fighting ability was assessed as high and extremely tenacious. The executioner held his great axe to his chest in both hands, as if to protect himself from any upcoming attack. He walked slowly towards Francis, assessing his opponent and trying to look for an opening. Francis stood firm in his position, awaiting the executioner¡¯s first move. The latter didn¡¯t dally for long and swung at him with his axe. Feeling the wind blow his gray hair backwards, Francis stepped backwards, enough to avoid the attack and stay within range to counter attack. The swing was wide and left the executioner¡¯s left side open. He stabbed the executioner, aiming for his ribs. A ringing sound was heard as he hit the armor and his arms slipped, causing him to lose balance. His aggressive opponent struck again with a slam from his axe, directed towards Francis¡¯ head. The latter rolled forward and avoided the deadly attack in the nick of time. It didn¡¯t occur to him that his weapon could not pierce armor, he was used to the ease with which he disposed of his foes earlier. He had his back to one of the huts and the giant foe was running towards him, shaking the ground as he moved. Francis waited for his horizontal swing and he jumped high in order to avoid it. He took his gun and shot the executioner in the face. The fat man stumbled back, giving Francis enough time to slip behind him and cut one of his legs. The executioner tried to swing his axe as he was falling down. His fighting spirit didn¡¯t wither; in fact he was more enraged. Francis got hit by the back of the axe and was sent flying. He crashed on a door, breaking it and landing on top of another pile of corpses. The executioner, bleeding and huffing, used his axe to support himself and hopped towards Francis. The old man stood up, almost choking from the smell of rotting corpses and exited the hut. A strong slam welcomed him as he went out. He avoided the attack by quickstepping to the right and shot the giant in the injured leg. The executioner let out a painful scream and fell to his knees. It was Francis¡¯s opportunity to finish him. He climbed on top of him and as if slaughtering a sheep, cut off the fat giant¡¯s head. 71: A Mysterious Host Francis was huffing and puffing. That fight gave him an adrenaline rush he hadn¡¯t felt since he killed that poor lady in the upper Cathedral Ward. He wiped his bloody hands and the Chikage on his foe¡¯s hoodie and as he looked up, he saw at least twenty women surrounding him. The commotion from the fight had attracted unwelcomed visitors. They all came at him at once. Some were holding sickles, while others had sledgehammers on their hands. His speed and skill outmatched theirs, but their number was going to be a problem. He quickly tore a piece of cloth from the executioner¡¯s hood and tied it around his face to hide his nose. He went inside the hut he had broken into and waited for them. He wanted to thin the number of enemies that came at him. After two strikes, two women fell on top of each other and blocked the entrance in front of him. The others had to step on the corpses in order to reach him. Dealing with them had become easier but his breathing started to shorten. Although he managed to mask the corpses¡¯ smell, he was still breathing unclean air. He had to finish that fight quickly. He heard a crack in front of the hut and soon after, fire engulfed the corpses that lay in front of him. Some of the women had cocktail Molotov and were throwing them his way. That was a smart way to flush him out of his hiding spot. Francis jumped out of the hut as fast as he could. With the lying corpses inside, he couldn¡¯t risk fire catching up to him. As soon as he was out, four women jumped at him, trying to finish him off. He tackled one with his shoulder and slashed three in one swoop using his sharp Chikage. Their number was intimidating but not to the current version of Francis. He realized that a mere mob wasn¡¯t enough to finish him off. He noticed three women on top of some huts, filling their Molotov and preparing to throw them his way while at least five were rushing towards him. They were relentless but sloppy. Francis jumped quickly on top of one of the old houses and found himself facing one of the women who had just finished filling two bottles. He killed her swiftly and jumped towards the other two; finishing each one of them in one hit. At that moment, the remaining women from the mob, about twelve, had gathered in the small clearing between the houses. Francis took all the explosives he could get his hands on and threw them on the women below. He stood on top of the houses, watching all of his foes screaming as they caught fire, and as their lives faded away painfully. Francis took off the piece of cloth that bound his face and took a deep breath. That was a close one. Although he managed to contain the situation intelligently he made a mental note not to rush enemies too fast the next time. He jumped down from the top of the hut and continued on his way towards the big building he had seen before. As he reached it, he noticed that it was built out of bricks, not wood unlike the other huts in the village. That must have been the most important building in town although he still didn¡¯t have the opportunity to explore the whole area. It was a three story building. It was as large as five village huts aligned one next to the other. The front door was shut tight and Francis, despite his efforts and enhanced strength, couldn¡¯t force it open. He started looking for another way out and noticed an open balcony on the first floor. He used his strong grip to hold onto some holes in the outer wall of the building and reached the balcony in no time. The extra strength and agility he had gained from blood ministration helped him overcome too many difficulties. He had become even stronger than Karla, who he admired. And he understood Paul¡¯s attitude when he discovered the healing properties of the blood. However, he understood that there were still other enemies far stronger than him and he wanted to find ways to become more skilled and powerful.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The room he found himself in was clean and organized, as if someone took the time to take care of it and cleaned it daily. There was a small fireplace in the middle of the room, two large bookcases aligned at the walls and a small bed, tidy and untouched. ¡®Someone must be still living here. I should be on guard.¡¯ He moved about and inspected some of the books on the shelves. Most of them contained information about the history of Yharnam and the healing church. He could stay in that place for days and wouldn¡¯t even feel the time go by. But first he had to explore the rest of the building and make sure that it was safe to let his guard down. As he finished his thought, he heard the door of the room open. A man walked in, clothed in a gray suit, brown polished shoes and wearing a black tie. He looked like an educated gentleman, save for the cane he was holding which concealed a weapon. He had black hair and a thin beard. The man looked like he took care of himself and kept to his hygiene seriously. The man didn¡¯t seem to be the talkative type but Francis assessed that he was of no immediate danger to him. He thanked the man and went to the room he pointed out to him. It was a simple place. A big comfortable bed occupied most of the space. A desk was arranged next to the door with an oil lamp on top of it. That could be of great use for Francis whenever he decided to read for an extended period of time. After all, he had no need for sleep or food, all he required was a bit of blood once in a while in order to rejuvenate his senses. He took a book he borrowed from the library and started reading: ¡°The healing church or how mankind stepped forward in their evolutionary cycle.¡± 72: The valley hamlet, home to beasts and abominations After reading the note on the door, Surgit pondered for a moment then decided to go back for the extinguished lamp. He wanted to try something he had in mind for some time. He looked at the lamp and closed his eyes. With his insight he started seeing the shape of the lamp, as it were a distant thing in a dark field. He touched it and a blue flame appeared. It was the only thing he could see and upon opening his eyes, he was still in the building. He knew that there was a way to light it without automatically getting transported back to the dream all the time. He went back to the closed door and stopped in front of it. He had no other place to go to and this seemed like the most likely place that would lead him to the hamlet Gehrman had spoken about. He opened the big door, pushing with both his arms as hard as he could. Dust filled the place as if the door hadn¡¯t been touched in a very long time. It creaked and resisted Surgit¡¯s push but in the end it let the faint remaining sun rays penetrate the previously dark lit room. Surgit found himself standing in the middle of a large plaza. The sun had set and only its faint rays remained in the sky. He looked above him and saw the great city of Yharnam high up. He managed somehow to get deeper into the valley on top of which the city was built. He could see on his upper left, Central Yharnam and on the right, the Cathedral Ward. The great bridge that connected between the two sides of the city cast its large shadow upon the valley underneath. The air was damp in the area and Surgit felt heat building up on his body. Upon looking around him, he was reminded by how horrific this place was. The plaza was circular and on one end, there was a small bridge that connected to the other side of town. In the place where he was standing, crucifixes were scattered all around. He could count at least twelve, all of them containing humanoid beasts which were on fire. The fire seemed to be burning constantly and the beasts appeared to have been dead for a long time. All of them had heads slightly bigger than a human¡¯s. The heads were hairy and their open mouths showed canine teeth. Their bodies were charred and what remained of them showed traces of burnt hair and scars all over the body. Their hands had claws on them and their feet were as small as a human¡¯s. Surgit had seen the same crucifixes in the serpentine street leading from Iosefka¡¯s clinic towards the large fountain plaza in Central Yharnam. He wondered at the nature of these beasts as they seemed less dangerous to him than the ones he had encountered so far. What drove people to put them on these crucifixes and burn them? As he moved towards the bridge, he heard a movement from the other side. He stopped and clenched his weapon. Smoke was hindering his eyesight so he waited for the thing that was moving behind the smokescreen to move forward. To his surprise, it looked like one of those creatures that were crucified. As soon as it saw Surgit, it ran towards him and slashed at him with its claws. Surgit avoided the attack and kicked the creature in the stomach, sending it flying backwards. It rolled on the ground and held its belly in pain. It laid down on the floor whimpering and covering its face, in fear of its assailant. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have attacked me my friend¡± said Surgit as he drove his saw deep within the creature¡¯s chest, aiming for its heart. Suddenly, he heard a deep ringing voice in the distance. It felt like it came from everywhere around him. ¡°You there! Hunter! Didn¡¯t you see the warning? Turn back at once. Old Yharnam, burned and abandoned by men, is now home only to beasts. They are of no harm to those above. Turn back¡­ Or the hunter will face the hunt.¡± The man stopped talking and silence settled back in the area. ¡®So this is Old Yharnam after all. I¡¯m sorry old man but I¡¯m not willing to back down.¡¯ He thought to himself as he crossed the bridge. He started getting used to facing unknown enemies and that fact didn¡¯t unsettle him anymore. After all, he was immune to death and he could come back and hunt whoever tried to kill him before. It didn¡¯t matter how many tries it would take him, he vowed to clear the place of all danger. Moreover, he had to find the chalice hidden in Old Yharnam. That was his objective at that moment. He had to have something to strive for in order to forget the little orphan¡¯s incident. As he crossed the bridge three beasts came rushing at him. Surgit elongated his cleaver and, putting some distance between him and the three in order to anticipate their jumping attacks, cut them open in three quick strikes. Their hide was tougher than expected and two of them still came at him despite the injuries they suffered. He shot one of them in the head, staggering it and finished the other. He then retracted his weapon to its original form and attacked the remaining foe with all his strength, cutting it deep enough to cause it to stumble to the ground, gasping for air. He looked around him again and inspected the town. He had a clearer view over Old Yharnam and the first thing he noticed was the difference in architecture. The buildings in the new part of Yharnam had a gothic architecture while the ones in the old part of the city had square roofs and smaller buildings.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He was at the uppermost part of the old town. He could see the city extending downwards, full of open areas and larger streets. The city had more squares and the only two tall buildings were a clock tower in the distance and a large cathedral behind it. He decided to aim for the cathedral as it was more likely the place to host the hidden chalice. The streets were still filled with crucifixes and the never fading flames filled the place with smoke. He walked further and came upon some stairs that took downwards, towards another square. It was an open area where more beasts stood, holding their heads as if in pain. Surgit noticed that they struggled to breath and its sound was similar to the fully transformed tall beasts he had fought in the aqueducts. Statues decorated the square. More like haunted it in fact. They looked eerie as they were of veiled women holding their heads as if in pain. From underneath the women, there appeared to be incomplete bodies forming at their feet. Some of them had the small messengers at the women¡¯s feet, holding their hands together in a praying gesture. The strange sculptures reminded him of the ones he had seen in the graveyard where he fought Gascoigne. He shook his head, trying to chase away the morbid thoughts that rushed back to him. He had to keep moving. He went down the stairs and approached the unsuspecting beasts. There were six of them. He wanted to surprise them but a claw tore down his right sleeve. A humanoid beast wearing a veil, which hid its head and most of its face, was hiding behind one of the statues and almost killed him in one hit. Their claws were sharp and Surgit had let his guard down. With one swing from his cleaver he hit his enemy on the head. Surgit¡¯s weapon hit its mark but it slid down as it made contact with the beast¡¯s tough skull. The latter stepped back but came at him again. They were definitely tougher than they appeared to be. As it tried to attack him again, Surgit shot the beast and staggered it. He prepared to deliver a visceral attack but the others had heard the shot and rushed towards him. He stepped back and got ready to face them all. It was going to be a tough fight if all of them surrounded him so he had to act fast. The veiled one appeared to be the toughest. Surgit led the horde towards him, up the stairs and jumped behind them. He hacked at the veiled one who lagged behind and cut its head off, aiming for its neck this time. As the others turned to face him he tackled two, throwing them to the ground and shot another; One of the remaining beasts, still capable of coming at him, jumped towards him and aimed for his neck. Surgit avoided the swing and punched the beast in the face with his left hand. He then swung with his cleaver vertically at the beast, opening its chest. While two were struggling to stand up, two attacked Surgit relentlessly. He jumped back and elongated his cleaver, hacking at both as fast as his limbs allowed him. After five strikes, he was breathing heavily and soaked in his enemies¡¯ blood. He rushed the remaining three then as he had more stamina left to dispose of them before they regained their composure. He kicked the first one, knocking it against the stairs. He then crushed another¡¯s skull using the pommel of his saw. It took him three strong hits in order to break the poor creature¡¯s defense. He then jumped at the other, imitating their jump attack. He came down at the poor beast with full force in a vertical attack. As blood poured out of it he turned and finished the agonizing one whose bones had been broken by the impact against the sharp ends of the stairs. Surgit stopped for a while to catch his breath. The humanoid beasts in this village were definitely more powerful than the ones in the streets of Central Yharnam and the Cathedral Ward. He would need to stay on his guard and not underestimate his foes. One wrong step could mean his death and despite the fact that he was immune to it, he didn¡¯t want to feel all the pain that comes before losing consciousness. From the square where he stood, Surgit could see the clock tower and the big cathedral far away in the distance. He would need to descend through the streets beside him and find a way towards yet another plaza that preceded his objective. He started inspecting one of the statues in the square. They stood out from the general style of Old Yharnam. The stones looked well-polished, no cracks or dents were to be seen on them. He wondered if the man who had spoken to him earlier was the one taking care of the statues. And what was their symbolism anyway? The one he had in front of him was clearly a woman, veiled in a manner that hid even her face. Her back was bent forward and her hands closed together in a praying gesture. With the establishment of the healing church, perhaps new religious beliefs sprung up in the city and people erected those statues to symbolize their faith. There was a startling resemblance between the woman in the statue and the veiled creature that almost killed him earlier. Could it be that it was a woman that transformed into a beast? After all, Surgit started seeing a lot of similarities between humans and beasts. Something in Yharnam must have triggered these transformations and over time, everyone either succumbed to it or died fighting it. Or at least that was Surgit¡¯s general assumption of what had happened. He heard the voice ringing in the distance again: ¡°You are a skilled hunter. Adept, merciless, half-cut with blood; as the best hunters are¡­ which is why I must stop you.¡± A loud noise could be heard from the direction of the clock tower and as Surgit looked at it, he saw sparks flying towards him. He rolled just in time to hide behind one of the statues. Bullets started destroying the previously well-polished statue and Surgit had to find a way out from that situation. The man had a Gatling gun on top of the clock tower and was raining bullets at him from a distance. The situation was very dangerous. If he managed to completely break the statue, Surgit will be filled with wholes. A painful death he wasn¡¯t ready to experience. ¡®That¡¯s very cheap old man, I¡¯m going to get you, mark my words.¡¯ 73: Do not disturb the woman while she rests Surgit was pissed so he started scanning his surroundings in order to plot a way out. Back in the days when he was at the military school, Surgit developed a habit of reading fantastic stories where the characters could use some kind of psychic power to get a sense of their surroundings and detect signs of life around them. He loved to fantasize about having special powers. He used to imagine what he could have done if he was in the characters¡¯ shoes. That was his way of spending most of the cold snowy days, stationed on a far-away watch tower no one ever came next to. He wondered if his insight could give him the same kind of abilities. Surgit decided to give it a shot. He closed his eyes and used his insight. He didn¡¯t want to be surprised by any enemy on his way down. Fighting something while bullets rained his way was out of the question. He could only see darkness, it either didn¡¯t work that way or he didn¡¯t know how to use the ability. Another idea suddenly hit him. Gatling guns always overheat and need some cool down time before they could be used again. Surgit then ran out from behind the statues he was using as cover and triggered the man to shoot him. He immediately slid behind another statue and waited for the bullets to stop. Chunks of rock rained down on him as the impact of the projectiles destroyed the sculptures. As soon as the bullets stopped, Surgit emerged from behind the statue and ran towards the street that led down to his objective: what he assumed was the city center. He started his descent and saw that the street was filled on both ends with different old carts, parked on the sides; A nice coincidence that provided him with cover from the Gatling gun¡¯s continuous storm of bullets. The street led down towards a broken bridge though. ¡®I guess I can¡¯t be this lucky¡¯ thought Surgit as he hid behind one of the carts which almost succumbed to the successive shots. He needed to move fast before he got killed. He saw an open door towards a building, and against his will he went inside. ¡®This old man must have sharp eyes. Being able to spot me from that distance¡­¡¯ Once inside the building, the shots stopped and silence ensued. Surgit enjoyed silence for the first time since he arrived to Old Yharnam. It was a sign that danger had subsided. He took a look around and saw that the building had stairs that could lead him down towards another lower floor. He went down and found himself in an old flat. The only furniture that remained was a big wooden chair and a dusty fireplace.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. On the chair sat what appeared to be a gigantic lady. The lady was fully clothed in a beige robe, veiled with her face hidden. She was bigger than the one he had encountered in the square above. She stood up and Surgit saw her eyes glowing red through the thick veil. It was no normal enemy. She jumped at him, trying to grab him. Surgit jumped high in order to land behind her and surprise her with a backstabbing attack. In the heat of the moment, he didn¡¯t take into consideration his enemy¡¯s height and the room he was in. He slammed his back against the ceiling and fell down flat on his stomach. ¡®What a stupid person I am¡­¡¯ He thought as he struggled to stand up and regain his posture. ¡®The fool recognizes his foolishness,¡¯ whispered the echoes. ¡®Perhaps he¡¯s getting wiser¡­¡¯ whispered another. ¡®Oh shush! When did wise men ever slam their backs on a roof?¡¯ answered another to which the echoes seemed to unanimously agree. Surgit had had enough of their live commentary on his mistakes. He had to find a way to shut them up. He tried to get up but his movement was hindered by a foreign body grabbing him. He felt a hand grab him from his leg and soon after, he was dangling upside down. The veiled creature was holding him from one of his legs and inspecting the stranger that had just barged in. He tried to take his pistol in order to shoot her but she anticipated his move and slapped it away from his hand. She knew that he was hostile then and she prepared to punish him. A punch to the stomach with her free hand sent sparkles of electricity around all of his body. These creatures were strong, too strong. Another punch and Surgit let out a terrible scream. Despite his strength and vitality, the creature could still damage him. But she wasn¡¯t satisfied with just a scream. She slammed him on the floor twice, as if she was removing dust from an old carpet. Moving while dangling upside down was an arduous task. Surgit tried to swing his cleaver at the woman but his swings were too wide. For every attempt, he got a punch to the head. Three hits were enough to make him lose the will to fight back. He felt dizzy and blood started pouring out of his nostrils and ears. He knew that another hit would mean that he¡¯d lose consciousness, but the hit didn¡¯t come. Instead, the woman used her claws to tear his garb open and cut his exposed chest. Three vertically aligned cuts were performed in the slowest fashion possible. Surgit felt sick and he lost his voice. He couldn¡¯t scream anymore and the woman finally let him down. She sat back down on the chair and watched as he struggled to stand up again. His knees shook and his vision was blurred. He started vomiting and blood rushed out of his mouth. He was surprised at the amount of blood he still had in him. He started feeling numb and his eyes slowly closed down. ¡®I guess the bitch poisoned me¡­¡¯ 74: It’s raining bullets! He woke up next to the lamp. To his surprise, his garb was intact, as if it resuscitated with him. ¡°When you told yourself to be careful, you managed to make the worst miscalculation of your life. Good job Surgit.¡± He was talking to himself, frustrated at how he didn¡¯t think of the ceiling on top of him as he tried to jump over the veiled creature. He waited for the echoes to comment on what he just said then remembered that they all get lost if he ever dies. He sighed in relief. ¡°Now you have to go through all the monsters you¡¯ve slain before, and probably, the old man will be shooting at you at the same time.¡± He was still beating himself up as he went through the big wooden door and accessed the hidden town. By that time, he knew what to expect as he crossed the first bridge. He took care of the first three enemies that came at him and found himself in front of the square with the creepy statues. As soon as he started climbing down the stairs, bullets started raining his way. He was ready this time as he jumped on top of the railings and ran down towards the beasts patrolling the square. He jumped high as soon as the first bullet hit the railing and landed among his opponents. If he had to get away from the flurry of bullets that rained down on him, he had to use his enemies as shields and escape the open areas as fast as he could. The beasts didn¡¯t have time to attack him as they started to drop like flies and Surgit used the commotion to eclipse himself in the street that led down towards the building he died at earlier. The Gatling gun soon followed him, but he was faster this time and hid inside the building just in time. He prepared his plan of attack with the lady monster downstairs and headed to meet her. ¡®Remember, she¡¯s poisonous so don¡¯t come too close.¡¯ He repeated in his head as he came face to face with his foe. The woman quickly dashed towards him and made to grab him. Surgit dodged backwards and punished her predictable move with a slash of his weapon towards the extended arms of the beast. He managed to scratch the hide of the beast but the injury wasn¡¯t too deep to make a clean cut. The poisonous enemy then slashed with its claws towards Surgit to which he retaliated with a series of five swift and quick blows to its limbs. He managed to stagger it and she fell back. Surgit pressed on and, with a vertical slash using the elongated version of his cleaver, made a deep cut on her chest. The woman let out a deafening scream and her eyes glowed red. She was enraged. She attacked Surgit with her claws in a series of unstoppable slashes. He kept his calm like he had learned earlier while fighting hordes of monsters, and concentrated on reading the patterns of the attacks. He danced around the almost invisible arms as they moved too fast for a normal eye to follow. As soon as the beast stopped to collect its breath, Surgit shot it twice in the head and attacked with all his strength, aiming for the neck. Three strong attacks were enough to open the woman¡¯s throat and blood started gushing out. Surgit stepped backwards in order to enjoy the show and see the woman gasping for breath. He wanted to witness the same thing that happened to him earlier. That didn¡¯t happen however as the beast still kept coming at him, struggling to move but willing to attack and kill him nonetheless. Surgit jumped back as a vertical slam headed his way. He shortened his weapon and hit the hand that just tried to strike him. Another hand came crashing his way so Surgit dodged and shot the dangling head. That was enough to bring the fight to a halt as the beast collapsed and stopped moving. ¡°That was a close one. I didn¡¯t think they could still move with an injury like that.¡± He was out of breath, more from the surprise he had just endured than from jumping and moving around the attacks.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡®The fool has recovered us!¡¯ said the voices inside Surgit¡¯s head. He forgot that he could actually recover his echoes after slaying the last beast that killed him. He mumbled something under his breath that clearly signified his displeasure at their presence. As much as he enjoyed the strength they potentially offer him, as much as he hated their constant murmurs and taunts. He inspected the apartment in which he had just fought the beast. There was a closed balcony and he decided to inspect it. From the looks of it, it was positioned at an angle that wasn¡¯t on the field of vision of the man with the Gatling gun. From there, he observed again the city below him and tried to plan his route. He discovered that the city extended way lower than the clock tower and the big cathedral. The darkness that engulfed the valley was still terrifying to Surgit. He couldn¡¯t fathom what would lurk down below. Old Yharnam¡¯s layout sure was strange. The street through which he¡¯d come down led down towards the square. If it weren¡¯t for the destroyed road, he would have been able to reach the place easily. He then remembered the barrage of bullets that welcomed him every time he was out in the open. That was enough to convince him that he would¡¯ve chosen the building regardless of the state of the road. From another door in the apartment, there was another exit. The street outside led towards another building that seemed to give access to the big square before the clock tower. He would need to plan his move carefully once he reached that building. Otherwise, the gun¡¯s bullets would pierce him full of holes. He knew for instance that once he¡¯d be down at the dark alley below him, the man would be ready to fire at him even blindly. Once the monsters attack him, it would be a signal for him to fire, even if it was carelessly done. After all, the street was narrow and he didn¡¯t have much room to dodge or hide. There was no time to dwell on too much planning anyway, he decided to go down and improvise. He went to the ground floor and opened the door that led towards the narrow street. He ran towards the closest enemy and raised him up with both arms. They were small and light, lifting them and holding them from their backs allowed Surgit to avoid their claws too. As he ran forward, the other two noticed him and dashed towards him. He tackled them using their friend as a shield and as he heard the gunshots, he braced himself for impact. The other two died instantly and he felt his body being pushed backwards as the other monster absorbed the bullets. He knew that he had only a few seconds left before its body got impaled and the bullets reached him. He pressed on and saw the opening that led towards the other street and then towards the next building, towards safety. BOOM! An explosion sent him flying several paces away from his previous objective. He was in great pain but he didn¡¯t have much time to dwell on it. Surgit stood up, rolled to the side and picked up a corpse from the ground. He repeated the same manoeuver and, with all his strength, he pushed the succumbing beast-shield forward until he reached the opening. As soon as he glanced at the open space, he rolled to the side. He ran as fast as he could towards the building as bullets hit the ground beside his feet. Silence fell as he was finally inside the building, panting. His body ached and every movement was followed by intense jolts of pain that immobilized him. The adrenaline rush he experienced and the will to survive were the only things that kept him moving after that explosion. Surgit peeked from the door through which he had just come. In the dark street, clay jars were displayed on the ground in a peculiar fashion. ¡°The bastard had already installed some explosive shit in there!¡± screamed Surgit. He was faced to a cunning and very dangerous man. He injected himself with a blood vial and turned around. He had to reach the clock tower and bring this nightmare to an end. 75 - When nothing goes right… turn left! The adrenaline rush had left him breathless but happy. He loved the excitement that dangerous situations brought out of him. In fact he loved surviving dangerous situations and the euphoria that followed it. He was now at another checkpoint and he knew that what followed would be the hardest part before he reached the clock tower and be done with the dangerous Gatling gun aimed at him. The ground floor of the building he was at was spacious. He came from the back door and the main door, opposite him, was wide open. He could see some trees in the distance. It was definitely that square and what scared him most about it was its size: a large open area that leads directly towards the clock tower at its end. He would have to fight his way around, dodge and hide in order to reach it. He wanted to survive that trip and find his way as quickly as possible towards his destination. He made for the wide open door and as he was half way towards it, he felt something jump at him from the side. He jumped back in the nick of time and saw another giant woman monster in front of him. Her veil hid her face and red eyes glowed from behind it. He knew what to expect: a long and strenuous fight. This time around, he had enough space to jump around the beast and wear it down before finishing it off. As the woman dashed forward to attack, Surgit executed his plan and jumped behind her, he landed a vertical attack as he came down, slashing her back. The woman turned around and attacked with two rapid strikes. He dodged to the right and attacked again. The beast was dumb and followed him. He was leading the pace of the fight. The simple beast followed his movements and attacked relentlessly, repeating the same pattern of attacks over and over. She would first start with a horizontal swing, then follow it up with a jumping attack if he ever put too much distance between them. If he stayed closer, she would slam both her fists to the ground. He dodged every time and attacked once to attract her attention. After a few spins, the beast became dizzy and stopped attacking for a while, leaving herself open for Surgit¡¯s counter attack. He jumped at her and kicked her with both his feet on the chest. She fell down on the back and Surgit stood on top of her, hacking with his saw as hard as he could. It was brutal take down, akin to a butcher, mercilessly killing his poor preys. He was then done with his enemy and made again for the main door. As soon as he made his first step outside, he heard the shots and jumped back in. ¡®The bastard knew that I would come out this way.¡¯ The shooting stopped but Surgit knew that he was being hunted. He also understood that one wrong step would mean instant death. He suddenly had an idea. He dragged the body of the dead enemy he had just disposed of and threw it with all his strength out the bid door. The stench of blood would attract any nearby enemy and the horde would provide for a good cover from the bullets. He knew that his hunter was sympathetic towards those poor beasts and hoped that his shots would become irregular if ever the horde was big enough. He would have to survive among them though but he would rather take a group of enemies coming at him than a flurry of bullets.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The plan worked and at least twenty enemies were coming his way. He ran towards them but bullets stopped him on his tracks and forced him to go back inside the building. They were about to reach him and he didn¡¯t like the idea of fighting them all inside that ground floor. The main door was big enough to allow at least four enemies at a time. He waited for them to cramp up against the entrance and ran towards them again. This time, he jumped over them and landed behind the horde. The man must have figured out his plan and started shooting again; Surgit didn¡¯t stop though and kept on running towards the clock tower. Bullets grazed his skull as he ran as fast as his feet allowed him to. From the square where he was, he used the trees as cover from the bullets as he zigzagged through them. He soon traversed the whole square and found himself in another open area, right beside the tower. The horde had increased and they were all following him. The bullets were still chasing him and in front of the street leading him to safety, he saw a hunter. ¡®Crap, now I¡¯m really trapped.¡¯ He thought as he saw the hunter coming at him, and the horde behind him closing in on him. He couldn¡¯t stop because of the bullets aimed his way. He had to make a decision and he had only a split second to do so. Running towards the hunter would mean engaging in a fight and getting his body pierced with countless bullets. Ignoring the hunter and running past him to escape the bullets would mean that he¡¯d have to fight all the beasts and the hunter. He figured the odds were not in his favor either if he ever took this option. He had to improvise a new kamikaze plan. He turned the opposite way from the clock tower and ran towards a building at the other end of the square. It was the base of the building where he hid before, that was a dead end. He knew that because he had seen that from above earlier. He cursed. In his desperation to get out of the helpless situation, he didn¡¯t think that the building he ran to led to a dead-end. ¡®Looks like the fool has really gone through with his kamikaze plan,¡¯ the echoes still taunted him and Surgit hated that. From the corner of his eyes he noticed a ledge that he could jump to. He knew it was the only option he had left. The ledge was on the left side of the building and seemed to lead to another structure, far away from the Gatling gun¡¯s reach. So he increased his speed and jumped. As he landed, he felt the platform giving way to his weight, he noticed another platform below and jumped to it as the latter fell down and crashed on a hard surface below. He turned around and faced the danger he was exposed to earlier. He was hidden by a corner of the building so the bullets couldn¡¯t reach him. The other hunter stood facing him from the other side while the horde of enemies was heading back to whence they came from. ¡®The fool dodged bullets there I guess¡­¡¯ an echoing voice commented. 76: Bar Fight! The platform on which he stood appeared to be used for renovation work some long time ago. They remained there ever since, which allowed Surgit to escape certain death. He was never one for planning his attacks and that was a weakness he was well aware of. He started wondering at his luck and when it would run out. In fact, it had run out many times before but he always managed to rise back from the dead to attack again. As he jumped towards the platforms earlier, he thought of the possibility of dying and dreaded going back through all the trouble again. That was what tortured his mind and kept him going, fighting death. From where he stood, he saw a catwalk he could jump down to and from there, a ladder that led to a terrace. It gave access to the same building where he died earlier to the veiled lady, but to its lower floors. As he stepped down from the ladder, he saw an extinguished torch on the floor. He picked it up and inspected it. It looked like it was still in a state that could be lit. He fumbled on his back and took a lighter he had found earlier during one of his visits to the dream. He somehow thought it to be useful for him and now he knew that his instinct was right. He went through the only door that gave access to the building and found himself in a dark room. He lit his torch and the room slowly revealed itself to Surgit. It was an open area that looked like an old pub. It had wooden floors and the remains of an old counter were to be seen at one dark corner of the room. On the other corner, Surgit saw the shadow of one of those big women while he heard other whispers coming from the upper floor. Wooden stairs led upwards and as Surgit looked up, he saw an extinguished chandelier hanging from a ceiling, three floors above. The area was large and would allow Surgit to move more freely as he fought the enemies in that place. He decided to try one more thing before he engaged all of his foes though. He closed his eyes and used insight. The knowledge came to his mind instantly: ¡®Beast patient, female.¡¯ They were female after all. Surgit didn¡¯t know what to make out of the title ¡°patient¡± though. That would mean that they were sick at some point but the people decided to abandon them and leave them to their sorry fate. It was either that, or everyone had turned into a beast without anybody to cure them from that state. He remembered what Iosefka had told him about not fearing the beastly scourge, that people needed healing, and that her job was to help them overcome this terrible situation. He also remembered the crucifixes scattered around Central Yharnam. Perhaps the people in the city found out that fire was the only way to cure the poor beasts and lay them to rest. His job though, as he had concluded was to hunt the beasts, and clear the city of the madness which inhabited it. He didn¡¯t know how to cure them and dwelling on ways to save them was of no use to him. He readied his cleaver and moved towards the beast patient. ¡®Foooool¡­ and after you survived the worst¡­¡¯ whispered the echoes in his head. He mentally brushed their comments aside and advanced towards his prey. She heard his steps and turned around. As soon as their eyes met, she let out a terrible scream and all the other monsters above responded to it. He heard footsteps coming from everywhere, even from behind. He turned around and saw that at least six other enemies were coming towards him. They were apparently sleeping and rose as soon as they heard the cry for help. He couldn¡¯t see them before because of the darkness. The situation instantly became helpless, he was surrounded and at that rate, he would have to forfeit the torch and fight in the dark. ¡®The door! It¡¯s small and it will limit the ones coming at me.¡¯ He thought as he jumped over the beasts that ran from behind him then went outside. The beasts turned around and came at him one by one. What surprised him was that the beasts were now afraid of approaching him.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The monsters were afraid of the torch in his hand. Or in other words, they were afraid of the fire. With a smile on his face, Surgit advanced towards his enemies and reduced their numbers. The first five fell down without a hitch. As he stepped inside, he saw more enemies advancing towards him. They were afraid of the fire he held, but they gathered their courage and attacked relentlessly. As soon as they would come near him, Surgit would strike at them and injure them, pushing them back. They couldn¡¯t come at him in great numbers as they hesitated at the sight of fire. From amidst the group of enemies, the female beast made her way through and stood tall in front of Surgit. She didn¡¯t seem to fear the fire. It was mostly because of that veil that covered her face. She screamed again and the other beasts cowered back in fear. And so, Surgit and the female beast patient were standing face to face, in the middle of a ring made of the other smaller beasts, like in an arena. Surgit made the first move, he had the opportunity to kill the leader and inflict fear upon the others who seemed to be watching, waiting for the outcome of the fight. He dashed towards the beast¡¯s legs, aiming to break one of them in order to limit the female patient¡¯s movements. The latter, reading through his plan, kicked him and managed to hit him in the stomach. He stumbled back and as he tried to regain his composure, she dashed towards him. She slammed at him with both arms. He rolled back then jumped right after his feet made contact with the ground. Thanks to his agility and creativity, Surgit found that he could turn the tides of battle using his wits. Yharnam¡¯s beasts lacked the intelligence hunters had. And he intended on making good use of that advantage. He jumped high and towards the beast patient. He landed on top of his foe, sitting on top of her shoulders. He threw the torch on the ground and held his cleaver in both hands, trying to strangle the female patient with it. As he drove the saw cleaver towards him, he felt it penetrate and cut the beast¡¯s flesh. The latter struggled and kicked all around, hitting some of her minions and creating chaos. The others started fleeing the scene and fire caught on some of them as they fell on the torch which was lying on the ground, still lit. It was like Surgit was attempting to ride a wild horse. The ride was difficult and required extreme agility. Surgit managed to avoid the beast¡¯s hands that tried to grab him, and as his saw went deeper and deeper into her neck, her movements became sloppier. She finally fell to her knees and Surgit felt that victory was finally close. He pulled on the weapon with more strength until he heard a loud crack. The head was finally detached and he fell on his back as there was nothing to pull on anymore and he lost his balance. He stood up and immediately went for his torch. The fire was almost gone but the enemies were already scattered around the building, afraid of the new monster that came in to hunt them down. Surgit ran towards the first group that was still in the ground floor, there were about five of them. He finished each one of them in two strong strikes and proceeded to the upper floors. In no time, he managed to clear the whole place. He sat down on the stairs next to the last two beasts he had just dealt with. The place was now calm and he took his time to recollect his thoughts and catch his breath. He used his insight on one of the dead small beasts. It showed that they also were beast patients, but male. The inhabitants of this city had then succumbed to some sickness that transformed them into theses abominations. He understood the meaning of the bandages on their heads and around their eyes by then. They must have been under treatment before the sickness took over the whole city. They no longer appeared sick, or human for that matter. He wondered at the source of the sickness that ravaged this place. Was it before the discovery of blood healing? Or was it the only sickness blood couldn¡¯t heal? He didn¡¯t know what to think of this situation but he decided to press on, and find a way towards the clock tower. 77: Finally out of reach Surgit was still not out of danger. He just took a break from it. He went down to the floor where he fought the bigger beast in order to make sure that he didn¡¯t miss anything of value. The lower floor didn¡¯t contain anything of great value, just some old trinkets that showed that the place was actually a pub. What he found on the second floor though was more interesting. On an old dusty table, there was a note, engraved on the wood. It read: ¡°The red moon hangs low, and the beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other choice, than burn it all to cinders?¡± The beasts seemed to rule the streets at that point, but there was no moon yet. The sun had just set and its rays still brushed against the sky and the remaining clouds. He couldn¡¯t help but think of the originator of that note. On closer inspection of the place, Surgit noticed something else, a corpse. It was a dead hunter, Surgit could tell from his attire. Most hunters used a similar style when it came to their garb: long leather coats, and hats similar to those of pirates. What confirmed his theory was the weapon the latter was holding. Surgit took it and inspected it. It was a short spear which had a strange handle. The handle was made of wood and under the tip of the spear laid the barrel of a gun. He inspected the barrel but he couldn¡¯t find a way to insert bullets in it. The main hilt of the spear was made of two wooden parts, elegantly stuck together using a metallic sphere. When he looked at the spear¡¯s handle though, he saw that under the main hilt, a type of extension was attached. The extension could be pulled towards his body and as he did so, the sphere holding the two wooden parts of the main hilt opened and extended them, making space for the extension to be added. It was a sophisticated piece of weaponry as not only did the spear extended and allowed for more range, the extension also had a gun trigger and a chamber in which the user could reload bullets. It was a spear and a gun at the same time: a rifle spear. He stored it on the sheath on his back and moved on. ¡®I wonder what happened to the axe I lost before¡­ Next time I¡¯m in the dream, I must pay a visit to the messengers.¡¯ He thought, remembering how some messengers appeared out of nowhere and snatched his weapon. That reminded him of Karla as well and he wondered if she was waiting for him at the chapel. He had no time to think of her at that moment, he had a Gatling gun, ready to pierce his body as soon as he was out in the open. At the top floor, Surgit saw another dead hunter. His garb looked burned and charred and he was tied to a chair. It was as if he was tortured by someone. Perhaps it was the man atop the clock tower¡¯s doing. He feared being caught by him. Dying to his flurry of bullets was one thing, but being tortured by him may lead him to lose his mind, thus losing his connection to the dream and end up like those two hunters he had just found.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It was still unclear to him how some hunters died and never came back to the dream. He wanted to know what made them lose that contact and how it could eventually happen to him. Too many questions were left unanswered and it annoyed him even more than the impending doom that was waiting for him outside. If the hunters were in fact tortured by that Gatling man, he must know where Surgit would come out of and would be ready to fire at him as soon as he appeared out of his hole. After all, he protected the beasts of this city. He should be familiar with its ins and outs. In retrospect, it seemed to him that he was led to jump down that platform and be trapped by the beasts in the old pub. There was a window from which he could jump and get outside. He kept reminding himself to check for ambushes and to plan his way ahead. He didn¡¯t want to fall for another trap as he was pretty sure that the Gatling gun was aimed his way, ready for to spot and fire at him. He observed the area outside carefully. The window led down to a small terrace. Stairs led upwards and when he looked at the destination they took to, he saw the plaza where he was trapped earlier by the hunter. He was close to the clock tower, speed and the element of surprise may come in handy for him at this point. Despite his doubt regarding a possible ambush, he decided to jump down and run as fast as he could before the shots could be fired at him. The faster he ran, the more time he would buy for himself. And so he ran, up the stairs and into the open plaza where the other hunter stood guard right beside the clock tower. The latter saw him first then bullets started raining down on him. This time, the beast patients were pretty far away and their reaction time would buy him some time to dance around the hunter and run for safety, away from the bullets¡¯ reach. The hunter attacked him with a weapon similar to his saw cleaver. Surgit dodged the attack and kept running towards the big Cathedral. As soon as he reached the foot of the tower, shots stopped being fired and he slowed down, coming to a complete halt a few paces away from the plaza. He was standing near the entrance the cathedral¡¯s entrance. He saw a door that led inside but he decided not to go there right away. He had a score to settle. He had been running away ever since he arrived to Old Yharnam. It was high time he stood his ground and fought back. He turned towards the hunter that was running his way. He knew that fighting the hunter would be harder. He had that experience with Gascoigne before and knew the risks of taking on a hunter head on. But if he ever wanted to become stronger, he would have to fight dangerous foes. This one didn¡¯t seem to be the talkative type, he just wanted to fight and kill. 78 - Karma strikes back Surgit was standing at the foot of the clock tower. The beast patients hadn¡¯t come looking for him but he was faced to another type of danger. He was faced to a hunter who stood a few paces away from him. He seemed to screen him and assess the best way to attack him. Surgit felt uneasy and analyzed the hunter too. The weapon he was holding was slightly different from his saw cleaver. It looked like a giant barber¡¯s knife too, with a wooden handle and a blade attached to it on one extremity. The blade was folded and it looked pointy, unlike his saw which was flat. The hunter stood still though, unwilling to make his first move. ¡°I get it now¡± he said to the hunter, ¡°You¡¯re waiting for me to get there and get filled with bullets from the Gatling gun guy up there. Nice plan, but it won¡¯t work.¡± The hunter didn¡¯t reply or move, which confirmed Surgit¡¯s suspicion. He took his gun out and shot at the hunter. The latter dodged the attack and looked at Surgit, as if telling him: Is this all you can do? Surgit was irritated since he couldn¡¯t get the silent hunter to move and he was afraid of turning his back to him. He decided to use the same strategy that was used against him. He turned his back and headed towards the cathedral. He heard footsteps approaching him from behind but decided to keep moving as if he had lowered his guard. As soon as the hunter came close enough to attack, Surgit ceremoniously performed a somersault and landed behind his assailant. With a swift swing of his weapon, Surgit elongated it as it emitted a metallic clicking sound. ¡°Let¡¯s dance!¡± He shouted at the silent hunter. The battle promised to be difficult and heavily reliant on skill. The hunter was agile and extremely fast. Surgit had barely enough time to finish his sentence when a vertical swing brushed his right shoulder. He had dodged the attack by a hair¡¯s width. Surgit retaliated with a horizontal swing from his elongated cleaver. Using the long version of the weapon was useful in close quarter combat. The opponent didn¡¯t always have enough time or space to dodge its reach. But Surgit was facing an adept hunter who jumper above the attack and shot at him. Surgit quick stepped to the left and shot the airborne hunter. The shot connected and threw the mute hunter to the ground. Surgit quickly jumped at his foe and slammed his saw towards him. Sparkles flew off the ground as the saw made contact with the cobble stones. The hunter had quickly rolled backwards and avoided Surgit¡¯s attack. ¡°Well, that¡¯s promising. He¡¯s pretty good. But not as good as Gascoigne.¡± Surgit dashed towards the hunter and swung his cleaver in a Z motion. He knew that the hunter would dive under the first attack so the lateral swing would be enough to immobilize him. And immobilize it did. The lateral swing cut the hunter¡¯s chest open while the last horizontal attack grazed his knees and brought him to the ground. Surgit smiled as he stood on top of the hunter. He held his saw with both hands and prepared to execute the poor soul.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Intense pain stopped him on his tracks. It felt like when you miscalculate a jump, land and break your leg. You do not realize that you have broken it at the moment, but only when the adrenaline rush subsides. Then panic and pain bring you back to reality. You check your leg and find it folded in a weird angle. Then you realize: Oh shit I broke my leg. Surgit had at least three bullets inserted between his legs. He didn¡¯t hear the shots as he was concentrated on finishing his opponent. The latter had kept his cool despite his fatal injuries and shot Surgit to the balls. Surgit howled and wimped like a dog that had just been thrashed would. ¡°You shot me in the balls!!¡± he shouted at the silent hunter. Surgit swore the hunter was smiling underneath that scarf he wore, which masked half of his face. Surgit immediately injected two blood vials in his bloodstream. His wounds closed but his organs didn¡¯t grow back. ¡°I hope for your sake that these grow back once I¡¯m back at the dream!¡± He shouted at the hunter as he slashed at him relentlessly. ¡°Otherwise, I will look for you in the underworld, I will find you, and I will kill you!! Again!!¡± Surgit was drenched in blood. He had gone berserk and didn¡¯t even notice it. The hunter lay at his feet, motionless. He didn¡¯t even know how he had managed to dispose of him or how much time it took him to do so. All he knew was that he was kicking a head that had been decapitated while shouting all manners of insults at it. He took out his gun and emptied it on the mangled corpse. ¡®No amount of bullets would replace what you have just lost¡¯ said a lone voice in his head. ¡°I¡¯m really not in the mood to listen to your taunts right now!¡± His voice came back to him in echoes. He was standing at the foot of the clock tower; the cathedral¡¯s entrance just a few steps away from him. He stood next to a railing that gave a vista over the valley below. The hollowness of the valley echoed his voice. After silence had settled over the place, he felt lonely again. He was surrounded only by beasts or humanoid beings that wanted him dead. He missed human contact and intellectual exchange. At least when he was sick and looking for a cure, people had reacted to his appearance. They either shunned him or pitied him. He hated that but at this moment he started missing people¡¯s reactions. His sickness was a curse, but how is getting healed and receiving blood ministration any better? He switched from being spurned by people to being attacked by beast. Their ship had sunk and he had no other way of leaving the city. The only clue he had was to find something called Pale Blood. He didn¡¯t know what that meant and the rare sane people he¡¯d met in the city didn¡¯t know anything about it. Unlike Francis, he wanted to get better and leave the city. He wanted to resume his life in his hometown. Now he had to fight beasts and find more information about a mysterious blood no one had ever heard of. On top of it all, in the process of seeking this Pale Blood, he managed to orphan a little girl, get her killed. As if that wasn¡¯t enough to make him feel bad about how he managed the situation, he had to lead Karla to an uncharted area and get separated with her. ¡°And now I have lost my balls¡­ can this day get any worse?¡± 79 - Lamenting the dead Before he reached the door of the cathedral, Surgit saw a ladder leading up towards the clock tower. He decided to climb it and go have a little chat with the Gatling gun owner. The climb was long. Every step Surgit took, he felt his trousers scratching the empty space between his legs. He still mourned the loss he had just suffered and dreaded coming back to the dream and finding out that he¡¯d lost his pearls permanently. He couldn¡¯t afford dying though as he knew that Gatling man will be waiting for him again. He had to get rid of him first. That was the only way he could imagine himself traversing the hamlet in peace. But when the finished climbing the long ladder, he started doubting his ability in terminating the defender of Old Yharnam¡¯s beasts. He found out that he hadn¡¯t reached the clock tower yet. He was standing in some sort of gallery. The gallery led to another ladder on Surgit¡¯s left which ascended towards the top of the clock tower. On Surgit¡¯s right, he saw a quick access leading towards an open window that apparently led to the upper floor of the Cathedral. The Gatling man didn¡¯t make any move to look for Surgit. That unnerved him a little. He had two theories in his mind. Either the man on top had complete confidence in the abilities of the hunter downstairs, or he was just waiting for him to climb on top. He imagined the man hiding and waiting for Surgit to pop up then send him down, whence he came from. He couldn¡¯t afford losing to that man yet. He didn¡¯t want to make the trip all the way back. He thought of the promise he had made when he found out about the poor little orphan. ¡°I¡¯m not running away from a fight!¡± He spoke out loud as if speaking to the world. ¡°I¡¯m just exploring other alternatives to get rid of my foes.¡± He decided to leave the Gatling man alone for the moment and explore the cathedral. He hoped to find some other access towards the clock tower from the inside. Perhaps there were some stairs that took upwards from the inside. The ladder, after all, looked like an emergency exit in case of fires. He went inside the Cathedral through an open window and found himself on a wooden platform that crossed a hall and led towards the ceiling of the main building. The high wooden roof of the cathedral offered Surgit a good hiding spot and a good vision over the place. The nave below was full of beast patients. They were all crying in unison and their voices sent chills down Surgit¡¯s spine. It was as if they were mourning the loss of someone, or something in this case. There was an altar at the end of the spacious hall, and something shiny was placed on top of it. Surgit saw an open door behind the altar. He made a mental note of it. If he wanted to access that are from below, he would need to find a way to access that door below. At that moment though, he decided to move through the catwalk and discover more about the place. There was a chandelier below him. It was large, as large as the ones he used to see in the big opera house in his hometown. He found himself reminiscing about the past and the civilized world. He blinked as if to bring himself back to the reality he was living. The chandelier had long lost its magnificent look. The wood on which it was attached started getting moldy and threatened to collapse at any moment. From where he stood, he could make out something hanging under the chandelier. He moved further towards a large wooden platform on the other side of the catwalks. He had to move slowly and carefully. One misstep would send him down to his doom. And given the quality of the wood on top which he walked, he had to be twice as cautious. From there he turned around and had a better look at the thing that was hanging from the chandelier. When he thought that he could not be shocked by anything in Yharnam anymore, something new came at him and distorted his standards.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. A new kind of beast was hung on the ceiling. Its arms were chained and linked to each extremity of the chandelier. A pool of blood formed underneath it and the beast was pale as it was emptied from its blood. Its flesh looked strange. Its body looked lean and very muscular. Its skin had a purple color; the kind of color you see on a suffocating person¡¯s face. Something in the beast¡¯s appearance was off. Surgit had a feeling that he was missing some important detail. Upon inspecting the beast¡¯s head, Surgit saw something extremely peculiar. It looked like it had a red veil on top of its head which hid its face. It resembled the kind of veils the female beast patients had on. On second inspection though, Surgit understood that the veil was actually its skin as he noticed the shapes of arms and legs on the fake cover. It appeared that the beast had been flayed and emptied out of blood, then hung on the chandelier to provide an example to whoever opposed the one that killed it. The purple color he mistook for the beast¡¯s skin color was actually a result of muscles being emptied out of blood and left to rot. The cries of the beast patients down below made the scene even more terrifying. Surgit wished he could travel back in time and understand exactly what had happened in here. It seemed that at some point, beasts and men were fighting each other, but Surgit couldn¡¯t know who came out victorious. Surgit came back silently towards the first hall he had crossed earlier through the first catwalk. The beasts in the nave were numerous, and dropping down amidst them would mean his imminent death. He didn¡¯t want to be surrounded by those beasts. Even though they were not very difficult to dispose of, being outnumbered would mean his imminent death. The torch he had before became extinguished and he couldn¡¯t light it up again. He abandoned it in the old pub when he decided to run for the foot of the clock tower. He jumped down at the crossing below and found himself faced to three veiled beast patients. All three of them were the size of the male beast patients though, they were less dangerous than the big ones, but he still decided to remain careful. Blood vials allowed him to heal, but being hit by the claws of those poisonous beasts could mean death before he could reach for his vials. Besides, poison gets into the blood stream, and he wasn¡¯t sure that more blood could eliminate the poison; it could just buy him more time. He dashed at the first enemy and killed it with three swift strikes from his saw. The more blood his weapon had, the more efficient it became at killing beasts. It was as if it his weapon yearned for more blood. The more he killed, the easier it became to dispose of other. It was either that, or he became more efficient at disposing of the beasts in the city. The other two beast patients posed no problem for him to dispose of. Surgit kept on walking and soon came across some stairs leading down towards the main hall. He went down and was greeted by a dozen of crying male beast patients. They all held their heads and moaned, as if mourning a big loss. They didn¡¯t seem to pay him any heed. The moans and laments that came from women in funerals back in his hometown used to give him the chills. Now Surgit was witnessing a similar scene, but performed by beastly creatures. He felt his hair stand on end. He had a very bad feeling about the situation he was in. ¡®The fool feels it too¡­¡¯ said one of the echoes. ¡®The live ones lament the dead. Who do you call beasts now, good hunter?¡¯ asked another echo. Surgit was standing, motionless by the door he had spotted from the catwalks up above. Something deep inside told him not to move a muscle. Fright had taken over again. He felt fearful but didn¡¯t know the reason behind it. He was more afraid of that feeling, of the unknown. Fright led to indecision, which in turn led to inertia. Surgit slapped himself awake and decided to move. It was fright that got that little girl killed. It was fright that stopped him from facing Gatling man. He wasn¡¯t going to let it control him. The sound of the slap attracted the attention of one of the beast patients. As soon as it spotted him, it screamed in loudly. The shrill scream sent Goosebumps down Surgit¡¯s spine. Soon after, the laments and moans of the other beasts stopped, and they were all running towards the source of the scream. He was facing a new horde of enemies. Twice as big as the one he had faced at Central Yharnam¡¯s main square. 80 - Sitting atop a pile of corpses More than forty beasts were running his way. Surgit had to decide fast on what to do. Retreating would only lead him back to the crossing or even towards the clock tower. Having this number of beasts to fight and the other hunter to worry about was synonymous with death. Advancing to the middle of the nave would also mean a fast death. The more he thought about it, the more time he was losing as every beast in the place was getting closer to him. He decided to rely on his newly learned fighting skills and on the enhanced properties the blood ministration had offered him. He ran towards the first group of enemies that had spotted him and began fighting them. While he attacked two at a time, taking advantage of the length of his elongated cleaver, three more came at him. He didn¡¯t know how he managed to dodge those attacks or how his body moved to strike his enemies down. It was as if he was an external observer, watching over his body as it moved by itself. His weapon had also become deadlier, the more enemies he killed, the less time it took him to finish off the others. He would kill two in one strike and immediately duck to avoid some jumping beast patient then jump to the side to avoid the charging gigantic female beasts. It was a chaotic situation and he was in the middle of it. Everyone wanted a piece of him and they charged at him at the same time. His only focus was to survive this fight, and so the whole situation seemed hazy to him and seemed to go on slow motion. He dodged and attacked and jumped. Blood filled his body and even his nostrils. All he could see was red; all he could feel around him was death and agony. The more he killed, the less he felt human. It felt like a massacre, was he too good for these poor creatures? Was that the feared power of the hunters? Or was there something else to it, something more terrifying? As these thoughts crossed his mind he felt his feet depart the floor as a powerful blow from one of the giant female beasts hit him right in the chest. He landed on top of a pile of corpses and, with difficulty, managed to regain his footing. His body was tired but he knew that he had to keep going. Falling to these enemies would mean going back to the start and he couldn¡¯t take the risk of doing another run through the streets of Old Yharnam while the gun chased him. Perhaps that was the reason why the first horde of beast patients in the square didn¡¯t chase after him. They relied on the beasts in the cathedral to finish him off. He wished he could find another lantern that would save him all the trouble. ¡®No, my mind is getting weaker. I can¡¯t let these thoughts cross my mind.¡¯ He had disposed of more than half of the enemies. His mind had been in a trance, focused only on one task. It was like climbing a mountain, your body feels tired and you focus only on your steps in order to forget the pain and reach your objective.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. There were three giant female beasts amidst the remaining crowd. Many male patients were making their way towards the pile of corpses on top of which Surgit stood. The second round of fighting was about to begin. Surgit jumped towards one of the female giants and hit her head with his cleaver as he flipped around in the air. He then landed in front of the other monsters. Surgit swiftly disposed of two male beasts and turned to face the giant. She held her hands together and slammed the ground with her fists. Surgit read through the attack. He dodged in advance and pushed a male beast towards the trajectory of the attack. The poor beast died instantly to the blow and the female giant got enraged. The other two closed in and joined the battle. He danced around their attacks and got himself out of trouble. He was aiming for the smaller enemies, trying to thin the crowd. He ran for the ones that stood the farthest from the giant foes. He had killed six of them before the others caught on. He jumped again and hit the same giant in the head, in the same fashion. Wearing them down was a good plan. If he could get tired, it should be the same for the others. The fight had been going on for a long time and Surgit wondered if it would ever finish. After some more jumping around and dodging attacks, he was finally left alone with the three female patients. The closest one to him ran his way in an attempt to grab him. Surgit shot her in the chest before she could get her hands on him. The stagger that followed allowed him to perform a visceral attack and kill her on the spot. One of the remaining foes was badly hit in the head. Surgit had repeatedly swung at her thick head with his cleaver. All that was left was to bring her down to the ground. As the healthier one dashed towards him and attacked with her claws, Surgit jumped over her and used her back as a platform to jump from. He leapt towards the weaker one. He kicked her in the knee, putting all his bodyweight and momentum behind the attack and broke her leg. She fell down, screaming painfully. Surgit finished her by cutting her head in three powerful and bloody swings. It wasn¡¯t a pretty execution. He then turned toward the standing one and baited her attack. As soon as she swung at him, he shot her twice in the chest, causing her to stagger and finished her with another visceral attack. He sat down on top of his last victim, catching his breath. Despite the difficulty of the fight, he felt bad for all these poor creatures. He took his time to catch his breath and stood back up. He walked towards the altar where he had seen the shiny object before and inspected it. It was a copper bowl filled with blood. The blood was surprisingly still in liquid form and seemed strange. He inspected it with his insight, hoping to find some more information. ¡®Ritual Blood: one of the basic ingredients used to satiate a holy chalice is this incoagulable blood. When all is melted in blood, all is reborn.¡¯ The knowledge that flowed into his mind stopped and Surgit opened his eyes again. He remembered Gehrman speaking about a holy chalice and realized that this kind of blood could come in handy later on. He left it in place and retraced his steps. He had a score to settle with the Gatling gun wielder and he wasn¡¯t about to leave him wandering around. He promised himself not to leave any danger loom around as long as his heart could still beat. 81 - Insight Surgit went back to the cathedral and through the door behind the pedestal where he found the ritual blood. He had explored the area behind the cathedral and found a way that led further down the valley. Old Yharnam was as big and awe inspiring as the new city. Surgit realized that his new habit was imagining the city before it was struck with this beastly scourge. Somehow he started getting the feeling that the night of the hunt was no longer a monthly occurrence. Old Yharnam was devoid of people. Only beasts roamed the streets and the only talking person he encountered was the Gatling man. Central Yharnam had its share of lit houses. He could hear murmurs beyond the doors as he walked past some of the allegedly inhabited houses. He rarely tried to knock at a door and inspect if the people inside had their wits about them. Somehow, he anticipated their reaction. They would either insult him or mock him for being outside. Yharnamites, after all, didn¡¯t take kindly to strangers. Old Yharnam on the other hand was overwhelmed with beast patients. Surgit¡¯s theory was that the people in the city had all transformed into beasts and drove the few survivors away. The door he had opened before accessing the old hamlet was dusty. Rust had taken over the hinges of the big gate and they emitted an irritating noise as he pushed the door open. No one had come to that settlement in a long time. The silence that fell over the cathedral and its back porch was unsettling. Gatling man had lost sight of Surgit as he was at least two floors below the clock tower. He had found a tightly shut door that led towards the top of the tower from the inside. ¡®The old man had really thought about everything, leaving his enemies with only one access,¡¯ he thought. He wanted to reach the top of the tower, but not if that entailed his guaranteed demise. He vowed to clear his way of every enemy, but engaging in a suicide mission was stupid, not dutiful. He decided to explore the cathedral more before moving on to the next area. He didn¡¯t want to miss out on anything. Leaving things unnoticed could cost him greatly if he ever had to go back all the way to the lantern by the big gate. The sight of the beast hanging from the chandelier still chilled his bones. He remembered the note he had found in the old pub. Was this the doing of the town folk? Or was it the hunters? He knew that there was some kind of purge in the city. It was apparent from the crucifixes and the fire. Even beast patients feared fire to death. The only plausible theory his mind could accept was that hunters raided the city before and tried to contain the scourge. Once the situation became hopeless, they decided to burn the city and its beasts then seal it off. "When the hunt Began, the Healing Church left us, blocking the great bridge to Cathedral Ward, as Old Yharnam burned to the ground that moonlit night." He remembered the note Francis had given him after Surgit and Karla disposed of the colossal beast. Old Yharnam must have been sealed shut by the hunters after the hunt began. But if it had begun only the night Surgit arrived to Yharnam, why was the door so dusty and difficult to open? The locked door and dust accumulated on it was proof enough that the city was sealed away for far too long. The people who were left behind must have transformed into beasts and exterminated any threat that came their way. It would make sense to see intruders as enemies anyhow as people were the ones to exterminate them and seal them off in this isolated valley. What didn¡¯t make sense was the door that looked ancient. Something didn¡¯t add up. Surgit didn¡¯t bother asking where he was anymore. It became a question of ¡®when¡¯ he was. Had the hunt just begun the night he arrived to the city or is he and all the inhabitants of Yharnam trapped in some time loop, unable to break free of it? If that was true, was he living in reality? Or was it just a dream? That would certainly explain the nomenclature given to the hunter¡¯s workshop. Surgit¡¯s head started aching. He already had too many unanswered questions¡­ Having more of them with no hope to reach a plausible answer made his situation worse. His headache got suddenly intense and he held his head and howled in pain. ¡®Oh insightful hunter¡­ Perhaps there is some hope left for the fool¡­¡¯ echoed the voices in his head. This made him think of all the beasts he encountered in Yharnam. Were they human before? How could he explain the colossal beast he had fought when Paul and Damien accompanied him? Or the giant ones in the Cathedral ward? Was it possible that even their size changed? After all, what happened in the city was still unclear to him. All he knew was that these beasts wanted him and every other human dead. He needed to dispose of them even if he felt bad for them. He felt like one of those secluded hunters he read about in old books. The ones who would live in big forests and live off the game they hunt. They didn¡¯t hunt for sport but for necessity of survival. And they always felt bad for the living creature they had to kill. He found the analogy amusing though as his way of killing was bloodier and more brutal. He advanced through the back door of the cathedral and found himself on a cobbled street. From a marble railing, Surgit looked down and saw a flowing river down below. He was finally getting to the bottom of the valley. The frightening darkness he had witnessed before from the area beside Iosefka¡¯s clinic had become clearer.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. The valley was indeed deep and Old Yharnam was apparently built around a river, as all thriving cities were. The architectural advancement and the building of the aqueducts above in the newer areas of the city proved how wealthy Yharnam had become after the discovery of blood healing. If the tales he had read were true, visitors from every corner made Yharnam their destination in search for miracles. And that led to the development of the city and the advancement of its technology and economy. No wonder the cathedral ward seemed pretty and clean. It was the area that hosted the Great Cathedral and pilgrims from every corner of the world sought it. As for Old Yharnam, it seemed like it was a well-kept secret. It was the area that hid the ugly part of what hunters did or had to do. He advanced through the silent dark street. The only sounds he could hear were his footsteps and that of the water flowing in the river, some distance away from him. He soon found himself in front of a tower next to which, a street took deeper inside the town. The tower had a single ladder that took somewhere upstairs. He decided to go up before inspecting the uncharted area the other street led to. Once he reached the top of the tower, he opened a metallic door that led him right next to the entrance of the big cathedral, and the clock tower. A convenient shortcut in case he needed to go back through the area one more time. He took the ladder down again and went through the street. As he walked, silence and darkness enveloped him and he felt uneasy. He reached a square full of pillars that could hide any manner of threats. He needed to be on guard and make sure that nothing could surprise him and cause great injuries. As the thought crossed his mind, he felt some movements behind him. He turned to check the source of the faint noise and saw a shadow moving between the pillars. He advanced towards it slowly then felt that something else was lurking behind him. Wherever he turned, he felt like he was being watched. He was surrounded. He clenched his cleaver hard and advanced towards one of the pillars. As he reached it, his instinct pushed him to jump back as a male beast patient jumped down on him. He almost took the hit head on if it wasn¡¯t for his hunter senses. But that wasn¡¯t enough as another beast jumped at him from behind and scratched his back with its claws. He fell to his knees, staggered by the surprise attack while the other one who almost hit him earlier punched him in the stomach. Surgit screamed in pain and struggled to keep his consciousness. Their hits were still hard to endure and he remembered why he made sure to avoid all their attacks. Two more beasts appeared from the shadows and Surgit rolled to the side to avoid another attack from his enemies. He quickly took a vial from his belt and injected himself with it, regaining his strength. He was facing four enemies in front of him but he still felt some more coming from behind. He was surrounded with no source of light. He had to improvise and get out of that dreadful situation. He remembered having two weapons that could be of good use for him. He took the rifle spear from its sheath on his back and threw it at one beast, impaling it to a pillar. He jumped at the nearest one he could see and hit it with his cleaver with two horizontal swings, injuring it badly. He couldn¡¯t manage to finish it however as he saw another beast jumping at him. He swung his cleaver diagonally and caught the beast midflight. The latter got stuck in the saw due to its own velocity and body weight. Surgit was happy that he upgraded his strength as the impact didn¡¯t stagger him or slow him down. In fact, he elongated his cleaver, throwing the stuck corpse away from his weapon and swung it at the remaining two that were coming his way. Meanwhile, two more beasts came running at him from behind and jumped at him. Surgit performed a horizontal swing, slashing the two beasts in front of him and quickly rolled backwards in order to avoid the jumping attack from the other two. He felt that once he got into a fight, his senses became sharper and he could perform feats he wasn¡¯t aware of. It was as if he had gained some new skills thanks to the numerous fights he had been in. He had five enemies in front of him, one of which was badly injured and incapable of movement. The other four still moved towards him, trying their best to coordinate their attacks. His assailants were aligned in a two by two line. The uninjured ones were first then came the other two he had hit earlier with his horizontal swings. The healthy ones attacked first. Surgit prepared to dodge the first one and execute the second. His plan was interrupted as a bloody beast patient jumped on him from above. Not only did they have amazing tenacity, but they also had great agility. He dodged the slamming attack and was welcomed by a beast behind him, ready to dig its claws deep within his back. He instinctively performed a back flip and landed behind the monster. The healthy couple of beasts were already running at him when he landed. He dodged the first monster¡¯s attack and jumped back. They were leading the pace of the fight. Surgit gritted his teeth. He had to do something in order to reverse the tide. From the corner of his eye, as he was dodging yet another flurry of attacks, Surgit noticed the spear, stuck on the pillar. He jumped to the left and snatched the spear, albeit with some difficulty. He underestimated his strength. Perhaps it was because of the title he was given. The beast patients were quickly advancing towards him. He had created a small distance between him and his attackers when he jumped for the spear. But the little instant it took him to take the spear away was enough for them to regain it. With a thrusting motion, he attacked the beast to his right. The monster dodged the obvious attack and Surgit used the opening he had to jump at the injured beast behind. The poor thing didn¡¯t see the attack coming. In no time, the spear pierced his torso and came out the back. Surgit then hurled his weapon at the other injured monster. The hit connected and the beast fell down as the spear had made a new hole in its skull. He turned in time to see the other fit monsters attacking. He dodged the first one and shot the second before its attack could land. He quickly inserted his beastly hands and destroyed its internal organs, killing it instantly. He was then faced with only one enemy. The latter tried to flee the scene but Surgit showed no mercy. He ran towards him quickly and decapitated him. There was no room for mistakes. He had to kill every single enemy on his way. 82 - In need of rest and silence Silence came back and Surgit felt somehow safer. The uneasiness he felt before lifted, and he could finally resume his exploration. ¡®It¡¯s funny how silence affects me in this place,¡¯ Surgit thought. ¡®There are moments when the silence is completely unsettling, and there are others when it seems like a heavenly bliss.¡¯ He was right. What he hadn¡¯t realized though was that his ability to sense danger around him increased. It wasn¡¯t the impression silence gave him, but more about his sixth sense developing. The square he was in led to a larger street. It looked like the main road of the city, large enough to accommodate carts and vehicles. He stood in the middle of the boulevard, which split in two. The path to the right led towards a dark area he wasn¡¯t keen on exploring yet. The one on the left led towards a bridge that crossed the river. He was finally down at the bottom of the valley where the river was attainable. From the bridge came two werewolves. Surgit spotted them before they could see him. Facing two of those at the same time could prove deadly so he decided to take the street on the right and bait at least one of them. He ran through the dark street and soon found himself opposite a large wooden gate. It seemed like it was the main door that gave access to the city a long time ago, when traders would come inside the city through a security check. The door wouldn¡¯t budge despite his efforts to open it. It looked like it was locked from the other side. He turned around and saw one of the werewolves heading his way. ¡®Well, at least it¡¯s just one. I could¡¯ve had a very bad time if it were the two of them.¡¯ As soon as he finished his thought, the beast spotted him and let out a deafening scream. The other one came rushing towards his comrade, crashing on the wall that signaled the sharp turn the road took. The scream was a cry for help. The newcomer bared its teeth at Surgit, not really fazed by the hit he just took. ¡®Well, to hell with this, next time I¡¯ll control my thoughts too.¡¯ He ran towards his two enemies. Attacking first could provide him with an advantage. The two beasts ran towards him on fours and prepared to attack. As one of them swung at him with its claws, the second rushed at him, trying to bite him. The beasts seemed to have developed a habit of synchronizing their attacks to finish their enemy. Old Yharnam was closed tight for a reason. Surgit jumped and landed on the back of the second werewolf and buried his saw deep within its vertebrae. He knew that their attacks were deadly. He also knew that their hides didn¡¯t provide for much defense. So he tore through the flesh of the beast while it struggled to push him off its back. Surgit used the saw, which was buried inside the beast¡¯s back, stood up and stomped on the monster, flattening the poor beast to the ground. He jumped just in time to avoid the other one¡¯s teeth. They were on top of each other as the latter¡¯s attack missed him and it landed on top of the injured werewolf. He observed them from above as he was falling back down.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Surgit came down on the beast with full force and buried his saw vertically on its back. He pierced the werewolf¡¯s body until the saw came out from its belly, almost touching the beast underneath. As it howled in pain, he slowly pulled his weapon away. Blood poured down on the beast below. Its comrade had died in agony and it knew that it was next on the list. It whimpered in pain and fear as it observed the hunter walking slowly around and facing it. It watched as the saw came crashing down on its head and darkness fell around its world. Surgit was again soaked in blood. His whole body ached and he felt that he was about to collapse from fatigue soon. Blood sure cured him from his disease and saved his life multiple times, but it couldn¡¯t battle fatigue for him. He tried to inject himself with a blood vial in order to see its effect on his body. He felt a surge of energy fill his body but he felt that he was still not in full control of himself. The effect was similar to drinking coffee while one hasn¡¯t slept for three days. It could give back some energy, but it wouldn¡¯t replace the sleep deprivation. He crossed the bridge where he had seen the two werewolves patrolling earlier and stopped next to a tall building. The tower rose from the bottom of the valley to reach for the entrance of Old Yharnam. ¡®It would be very convenient if I could access this building and reach the entrance door. I could really use a rest at the dream.¡¯ His only concern was the dark street on his left. He wanted to try and break open the big wooden gate sealing the building. But he was afraid of attracting more unwanted attention and risk getting killed. He felt that his body had almost reached its limit. His thought processing, consequently, slowed down. He was only focused on getting to the lantern somehow and get to the dream. As he moved towards the gate, he heard a noise coming from behind. In a split second, he saw the door being broken to smithereens and a werewolf appearing from behind. It was as if the scene happened in front of him in slow motion. Debris was sent flying all around, and the werewolf¡¯s figure, hanging in the air, was visible to Surgit. He dodged the biggest part of the door that flew his way and jumped at the beast, catching it midair. He managed to cut his enemy deeply but it wasn¡¯t quite dead yet. The slow motion effect had stopped and the beast attacked Surgit with all its speed. Surgit dodged the biting attack to the left and stroke with his weapon again, aiming for the neck and the finisher. The beast¡¯s head rolled down the street and blood filled the holes in between the cobbles. ¡®That does it, the door is open and this beast wasn¡¯t very difficult to deal with. I should get moving.¡¯ He got inside the building and found himself in a tower. Serpentine stairs took to the uppermost floor and Surgit climbed them mechanically. It was as if his brain refused to work anymore. He knew that he was in need of some rest in order to restore all his motor skills to normal. He reached the top and found a metallic door. As he opened it, it screeched, giving the impression that it hadn¡¯t been opened for a long time. He found himself on a small lane leading to another ladder which took him atop another tower. It seemed to Surgit that the city had too many towers, in order to look for any intruders coming by sea or through the river and anticipate any surprise attacks. From the tower, he noticed that he could jump down to the town square near the entrance of Old Yharnam. He went through the small plaza and through the big wooden gate, towards the blue lamp. A minute later, he was in the dream, facing the doll: ¡°Welcome home good hunter, what is it you desire?¡± 83 - A new voice in the dream Back in the dream, Surgit took a long nap and regained his strength. He was glad that he managed to get back to the dream in one piece and without dying to any beast on the way. What made him happier was the fact that he had found a way back to the bottom of Old Yharnam without having to dodge the bullets of the Gatling gun. He wondered if the man atop the clock tower bothered to come down and look for him at all. He had managed to clear the town from the beasts roaming it. He had the feeling that he was close to finding that chalice Gehrman spoke of. He searched for the old man again in the dream but there was no sign of him. He then went to the doll in order to upgrade his attributes. He closed his eyes and made to check his echoes. He was back at the empty dark space. It felt like he was floating serenely in pure emptiness. He didn¡¯t feel as he would in his waking state. It was as if he was transported to another world where the normal senses were dulled. The dream suddenly shifted to empty dark space. Dots, far away in the distance, shone dimly. As he concentrated on them, he realized that he approached them. There was no need to will his body to move. All he had to do was concentrate on a dot to be transported next to it. Ghostly figures danced around to form a big sphere. As he got closer, the doll had slowly transformed into a ball. The shapes produced strange echoing sounds. Some were moans. Others were laughter, while most of them just whispered: ¡®Bless us with blood. Bless us with blood.¡¯ Surgit, in his meditative state, could observe the echoes and even discern some of their speech. He concentrated on silencing the voices. To his delight, the sound was muted and he could only see the ghosts moving in a circular motion. On another side of the vast dark space that engulfed him, Surgit saw another dot. It was similar to the one he stood next to. They shared the same green color. He opened his eyes since his head started throbbing. Excessive use of insight led to head splitting headaches. ¡°Now I have two green dots whereas before, I could only see one,¡± Surgit said pensively. He went to the doll to ask about the attributes he could upgrade. It was his way of processing the way he could improve. He decided to analyze the situation by process of elimination. The previous time he knew he could only upgrade his bloodtinge and arcane, but neither skill nor strength. He decided to have a chat with the lovely doll: ¡°Tell me dear doll, what attributes can I upgrade?¡± The doll inspected Surgit then reported that he could upgrade all his skills. He decided to upgrade his strength then inspect his echoes afterwards. He felt a warm, invigorating sensation take over his whole body. When he opened his eyes, he saw that doll was standing again, motionless, in front of him. Surgit felt his body with his hands. There was no considerable change in his physique. He felt stronger nonetheless. He clenched his hand on his cleaver. Even his grip on the weapon felt firmer. With that much strength, he was sure he could finish off the beasts in Old Yharnam with more ease. He decided to inspect his status, eager to see if any change had occurred in his titles. Name: Surgit Insight level: Narrow minded Strength: Waste of Skin (3) Skill: Skillful (2) Bloodtinge: Blood Hungry (1) Arcane: Blind (1) Nothing changed in his titles but he still noticed a certain change. Each time he upgraded an attribute, he would gain an increased number next to it. That meant that he was progressing albeit slower than he hoped for. His insight level still felt insulting. The doll didn¡¯t help him get any new information though. As far as he could tell, she knew as much about echoes and insight as he did. He inspected his echoes using his third eye. Nothing manifested in the dark space he was floating in. The green dots he had seen before had completely vanished. ¡°So every dot represents a certain amount of echoes I can use to get stronger,¡± Surgit was thinking aloud. ¡°The first time I needed only one dot in order to upgrade my skills. That explains why Arcane and Bloodtinge were still an option for me when I had just one echo dot.¡± He was crisscrossing the hunter¡¯s workshop. ¡°Now that I had accumulated enough echoes, two green dots formed in the echo space.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Walking back and forth from one end of the room to another helped him think better. ¡°I could upgrade my strength. This means that I would probably need the same amount of echoes to develop my skill.¡± He stopped for a moment and tilted his head up, towards the ceiling. ¡°I wonder how many echoes I need to upgrade my strength even more. Where would I possibly hope to get more echoes to become stronger?¡± He shrugged then continued walking. ¡°I guess I can just die and kill the beasts again. It would cost me more time but it sure is an option.¡± He decided to stop pondering on the matter. He had a basic idea of how he could develop his attributes. He would give it some more thought once he collected more echoes. He remembered that he could also upgrade his cleaver. He put the weapon on the workshop¡¯s bench and fumbled in his pockets. He had a blood shard and the tool to insert blood gems on his weapon. It was high time he started experimenting. He tried to insert the blood gem on the flake shape his cleaver had. The slot on which the shape was engraved didn¡¯t look deep enough to fit the blood gem he had. He took the tool he had and tried to insert the gem into its respective slot. Nothing happened. ¡®I guess I have to start learning with no basis to go from.¡¯ He crossed his arms and looked at the weapon. The books in the hunter¡¯s workshop only detailed some beasts and their fighting style. He couldn¡¯t find anything related to upgrading his weapons or his attributes. He took the blood shard and looked at it. It looked like crystallized blood. Even blood was strange in Yharnam. He found a bowl filled with blood that refused to coagulate. Rust had built up on the hinges of the door to Old Yharnam and dust accumulated on the stone railings of the city. Blood, on the other hand, didn¡¯t solidify. And there he was, holding some form of crystallized blood. He knew that he had to infuse it into the weapon in order to make it sharper. He rubbed the shard on the surface of the saw. The crystal started shrinking in size and the weapon began glowing. It worked like a charm. The more he rubbed, the shinier his weapon became. As soon as he finished, he noticed that the slot for blood gems was deeper. He took the gem and inserted it with the help of the tool he had picked up. ¡°That was easier than expected,¡± said Surgit in a cheerful tone. He gave his weapon a few swings. It had become slightly lighter. He didn¡¯t know if it was due to his increased strength or the blood shard infusion. It would be best if it were the two of them. He decided to compare his cleaver to the spear he had picked up. If the slot for blood gems on that weapon was faded, it would confirm his suspicion. He threw his arm towards his back in order to get his spear. His arms waved stupidly above his shoulder as he slowly realized that the spear wasn¡¯t there anymore. ¡®What the hell is going on?¡¯ he was taken aback. He thought he had his spear on him when he came to the dream. He started doubting his memory. He swore he had it when he arrived to the lamp. The only explanation he had was that it vanished during his teleportation, from the dream to the city. ¡°Those damn little creatures!¡± he swore as he descended the stairs towards the messengers¡¯ fountain. The messenger in there welcomed him with a low howl. ¡°Where is my axe?¡± he asked furiously. ¡°I saw you take it earlier when I was with Karla; you and other little ones that looked like you!¡± He stopped for a moment. He realized it might not even be the same messenger that took his weapons. ¡°Where are my weapons?¡± he shouted. It was more of desperation than frustration that he screamed. The messenger dived inside the dark water pool and a screen emerged. The screen detailed the names of the weapons he had. Weapon: Hunter¡¯s axe. Echoes acquired to unlock: NO Weapon: Rifle spear Echoes acquired to unlock: NO Surgit looked at the screen. From the way the screen functioned when he wanted to buy items he knew that in order to know which item he wanted, he needed a yes or a no. He assumed that the messengers knew how many echoes he held and told him if he could afford one item or another. Surgit had used all his echoes on upgrading his strength. This meant that he couldn¡¯t unlock the axe yet. But why were they locked? Perhaps it was because the weapon didn¡¯t belong to him before. He hoped that those weapons would be cheaper and better than the ones he saw on sale in the messenger¡¯s shop. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯m done here.¡± He didn¡¯t have the echoes to unlock his weapons. He didn¡¯t want to dally for too long in the dream either. He wanted to find the chalice Gehrman spoke about. He felt that he was getting closer to his objective. He wanted to get the item then head back to meet Karla. As he headed towards the messenger¡¯s fountain in order to find his way back to Old Yharnam, he heard a strange noise in the distance, within the dream. It was the first time he had heard something of the sort. The dream was usually silent, too silent in fact. The smallest noise could make anyone uneasy when one gets used to complete silence. Surgit clenched his saw and ran towards the source of the noise, to his surprise, he saw a person. ¡®A new hunter? It must be, no one can have access to this place unless they are hunters.¡¯ He advanced slowly towards the new person then he heard the man speak: ¡°Ah Surgit! I¡¯d hoped to meet you here.¡± Francis looked different, and what¡¯s more, he was alive. Surgit couldn¡¯t utter a word. 84 - Insightful conversation Francis was standing opposite Surgit who didn¡¯t know how to react. Francis had gone missing and Karla had risked her neck searching for him. Francis broke the silence. ¡°Surprised to see me alive and well I see, well I found a way to receive blood ministration and here I am. This place sure is a haven for hunters.¡± Francis had a habit of talking too much, and he didn¡¯t stir away from it. ¡°Karla looked for you everywhere. I guess she¡¯s still out there trying to find you.¡± These were all the words he could muster. ¡°Is she still alive? I thought that she died during that fight against Paul. She was completely immobile when I left the place earlier.¡± Francis was surprised at hearing the news. ¡°I found her lying on the ground next to Paul¡¯s corpse. I guess that was after you left. Was it you who did that to him?¡± Surgit still couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. ¡°I wish it was me. I despised that man for killing all my men and almost making all the trouble I went through go to naught.¡± Francis spoke in a bitter tone, remembering all that happened between him and the two mercenaries before. ¡°A woman wearing a crow garb appeared from nowhere and beheaded him. I can¡¯t say I felt bad for him at that moment. He got his hands on a blood vial and blood had made him go crazy.¡± ¡°I guess that was my mistake, I teamed up with him and Damien before I fought that giant beast when I met you and Karla in Central Yharnam. I guess I thought of them being of good use to me.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not dwell on the past now. Since we are both hunters now, I guess we could cooperate in order to achieve our objectives.¡± Francis started speaking in his courteous tone again. ¡°And what would your objective be right now? I guess you have had the old blood administered to you. What else would you want?¡± Surgit never liked this old man. In fact he felt used by him since the beginning of the expedition but he didn¡¯t mind as long as he secured his place aboard that ship. He was a man of his word after all. ¡°First of all, I have a debt to repay you. You saved us the trouble of fighting the cleric beast back on that bridge. Yes the name of that abomination you fought is the cleric beast.¡± He said his last sentence as a response to Surgit¡¯s raised eyebrow. ¡°Okay, and what would your form of payment be?¡± Surgit still had trouble trusting the old man so he used sarcasm to hide his insecurity. ¡°Information, the only valuable resource in here apart from blood echoes is information. And I¡¯m willing to share with you some of what I found out exploring Yharnam. But first let¡¯s make ourselves comfortable inside the workshop. I guess the old man isn¡¯t around?¡± Francis¡¯ tone had changed to patronizing, almost giving Surgit the illusion that he felt superior to him.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. They went inside the workshop and settled in front of the fireplace. Francis was the first to resume the conversation: ¡°I must say, this place is peaceful but I¡¯m not willing to linger around here for long. So tell me Mr. Surgit, what peaks your interest?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, how about you tell me about the blood ministration and who gave it to you?¡± He had too many questions in mind, but he didn¡¯t know what Francis knew or didn¡¯t know to begin with. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯d like to waste the valuable information I¡¯m willing to give you for free, to get an answer to this specific question?¡± Francis was the sarcastic one this time around. ¡°Pray tell me then, this information you claim possessing, how did you come across it? And who provided you with it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you this tidbit for free. I came across a nice man in a village outside Yharnam, he gave me access to his expansive library and I learned a great deal about how this world functions. So now, what would you like to know about Mr. Hunter?¡± ¡°Do you know anything of Paleblood?¡± The notion came back to him, and Surgit hoped to find at least a clue leading towards that. ¡°Aha, interesting that you¡¯ve heard about Paleblood too. I¡¯ve seen it mentioned in only two books. And it seems that it has something to do with Byrgenwerth.¡± Francis had an intrigued face and rubbed his white goatee while contemplating Surgit. ¡°And how do I reach Byrgenwerth? Do you know of a way?¡± ¡°I do know of a way but I¡¯m not willing to convey this information to you. I said that I would repay you and I did. My payment has been fulfilled.¡± ¡°Typical, a businessman even when money has no more value.¡± ¡°We give value to what we desire and quantify it with means of payment. Don¡¯t you buy strength from the doll and weapons or items from the messengers in the fountain? If there¡¯s no money, there¡¯s barter.¡± ¡°Well, thank you sir for your valuable information. If you¡¯d excuse me now, I have places to go.¡± Surgit stood up and with his ceremonial words made for the door. ¡°You can use your insight to summon other hunters from times long past into yours, they may help you fight the monsters that may cause you trouble. Well, they ¡®may¡¯ help.¡± Francis said, as Surgit reached the door. ¡°As long as you have a summoning bell that is.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that information was valuable?¡± Said Surgit as he turned around facing Francis. ¡°Well it is, I just had a smaller debt to repay you, for saving Karla.¡± Francis stood up and left the workshop too, heading towards the doll. Surgit remembered having found a bell in an old drawer in the workshop. He didn¡¯t know what its use was but he kept it in his pocket. He took out the bell and inspected it with his insight. Knowledge came to him immediately: Beckoning bell: Great old bell discovered in the underground labyrinth. Its ring resonates across worlds, and the first hunter used it as a special signal to call hunters from other worlds to cross the gap and cooperate. A human must use insight to ring this uncanny bell. But the benefits of cross-world cooperation are many. ¡®The hell is that supposed to mean? Other worlds, are there other worlds such as this one? Damn that old man¡¯ Surgit took the bell and pocketed it. He headed back towards the doll and met Francis who was on his way out from the dream. ¡°One last thing, legend says that if you find Paleblood, you can transcend the hunt, which means that you can leave Yharnam and keep those special powers of yours. We may not meet again for a long time. So long Mr. Hunter.¡± Francis disappeared in from of Surgit¡¯s eyes. It looked like a mirage that once dissipated, revealed a messenger holding a blue lamp. ¡®Leaving Yharnam and keeping my full health huh? Very interesting¡­ For now, I¡¯ll take a rest then head back to Old Yharnam.¡¯ 85 - Beast Blood Pellets Surgit was back inside the building preceding Old Yharnam. He was still in search of the chalice Gehrman had spoken about and he was pretty sure that it was in this town. Yharnam had too many secrets that were well concealed and Surgit had the feeling that he was about to uncover some of them. Despite moving forward and having a goal to reach, Surgit couldn¡¯t brush off the uneasiness he felt towards his future. The conversation he just had with Francis made the feeling even worse. Pale blood was rarely talked about, even in the pseudo expansive library Francis had found. That type of blood represented his only way of getting out of this place. He was trapped in a land filled with beasts and mystery. He didn¡¯t know where the chalice would lead him next. All he knew is that he needed to take small steps towards his goal. Overthinking would only lead him to despair. That seemed worse in his mind than turning into a beast. He decided to go look for the item Gehrman asked him to seek. Perhaps it held some answers. As the blue light of the lantern shone next to him, Surgit puffed his chest and threw his shoulders back. He was pretty confident about finding the chalice. He had reached the bottom of the valley. It indicated that he was getting deeper inside Old Yharnam. Gehrman said that people used to worship the holy chalice deep in the valley hamlet. Everything seemed to indicate to Old Yharnam. ¡°There must be some other place of worship where the chalice is placed,¡± he was thinking out loud. Surgit started developing a ¡°Francis habit¡±. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t find anything on that big cathedral, I might as well search every corner of this village.¡± He moved towards the open gate as he his mind drifted towards the things he¡¯d learned about being a hunter. For starters, blood ministration allows people to become hunters. Hunters acquire special powers that let them absorb blood echoes from any enemy they kill. Blood echoes on the other hand allow hunters to become even stronger and tackle more fearsome opponents. This results in the hunters being more capable of treading dangerous areas and getting closer to reaching Paleblood and transcending the hunt. Was this the reason why he couldn¡¯t find any hunter around with the exception of a few such as Francis, Eileen the crow lady and Alfred? He wondered if he was about to find more of them as he progressed through more dreadful areas. At the moment he had to focus on finding the chalice and uncovering the secrets it concealed too. He left the building and headed towards the tower he used as a shortcut to Old Yharnam¡¯s entrance. Getting back to the gate of the first tower was harder than he thought. He had jumped from a high structure before. Now that he was on his way back he realized that in order to jump upwards, he would need to have beastly legs to spring up. He decided to look around in order to find a way down towards the tower. He noticed a broken railing next to the gallery he used before. He looked down and found a way to jump down towards the top of the tower. ¡°Bingo.¡± He jumped down and found himself in a small square preceding the building he needed to reach.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. On the square, he met two female beast patients that came at him as soon as he landed. Two strikes for each enemy took care of the situation. Upgrading his skill was also useful to spot the weak spots of the enemies and strike at them. Behind one of the corpses, Surgit spotted a small treasure chest. He opened it and found a torch. ¡®This thing could be useful, I¡¯ll keep it.¡¯ He held the torch in both hands and realized that the wooden stick had some nice decorations on it. He inspected it using his insight and discovered that it had a name: Hunter¡¯s Torch. The wood seemed to be sturdy. It didn¡¯t rot even though it had been stored in that chest for some time. He stored the torch next to his pistol¡¯s holster and moved forward. He dropped down towards the tower and soon found himself back at the bottom parts of Old Yharnam. ¡®Very useful shortcut indeed, I didn¡¯t have to go through the raining bullets again.¡¯ He thought as he moved towards the shady alley opposite the door he came out of. He remembered seeing something in there that didn¡¯t seem right to him. He was tired back then and not in the mood to explore the unknown but at that moment, he felt rejuvenated and ready for anything to come at him. The streets had become darker as the sun completely sank below the sky and its rays departed from Yharnam¡¯s gloomy world. Surgit relied on his enhanced senses and vision to tread along; there was no need to use the torch for the time being. The narrow street widened and Surgit saw a house to his right, nothing special was happening around there. In fact, the comforting silence had become a bit unnerving. He decided to inspect a small impasse behind the house. He was there after all; it wouldn¡¯t harm to be thorough in his search. He found a corpse lying opposite a wall. There were traces of claws on the body and bites on its neck. ¡®Something bad had happened to this poor soul.¡¯ Surgit noticed that the dead person was holding something on their hand. He inspected it and found a tissue that contained three red pills. As he made an effort to inspect them, he heard some footsteps behind him. ¡®I knew it! It smelled fishy around here.¡¯ It was a werewolf. It hid somewhere as the streets were dark and it was harder to notice it if it was silent. Surgit didn¡¯t have time to think his strategy through. He was trapped with little space to maneuver in. The beast walked slowly towards him, as if it was sure of its victory. ¡°Bring it on you stupid monster. You all think you¡¯re so powerful!¡± He shouted at the beast, trying to provoke it to attack mindlessly, and it did. It jumped at Surgit, trying to bite his head off. It was the attack he was waiting for as it was the easiest one to read through. He quickly grabbed his pistol and shot the beast in the face. The werewolf instantly fell to the ground, staggered. Surgit advanced quickly towards the beast and destroyed its face with his visceral attack; dragging its spinal cord along as he pulled his hand out. ¡°Mindless beasts! You don¡¯t learn, do you? There¡¯s a difference between innocent victims and Hunters that can rip your heads off, don¡¯t you know that?¡± He was shouting at the inanimate corpse of the werewolf. His heart was beating fast. The little ambush gave him an unexpected rush of adrenaline. ¡°And now I¡¯m speaking to dead creatures, how amazing! Surgit you¡¯ve officially lost your mind!¡± He moved back towards the main street where the tower stood. He took the tissue out of his pocket and inspected the pills he had picked up from the dead body with his insight. ¡®Beast Blood Pellet: Large medicinal pellet supposedly formed of coagulated beast blood; Banned by the Healing Church due to their unclear origin. It grants a spurt of beasthood.¡¯ ¡®Interesting, a blood related item banned by the church, it must have some cool effects then. It may be dangerous, but I¡¯ll give it a shot sometime.¡¯ 86 - Exciting fights Surgit had only one way available to him, and that was opposite the bridge, deeper through the dark streets of Old Yharnam. He walked slowly through the cobbled boulevard. The cobble stones on this one remained well polished and put in place. This street didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the fights above and stayed intact. It was perhaps due to the fact that the Gatling gun couldn¡¯t reach this area. As he progressed through the streets, he heard heavy breathing followed by a terrible scream which caused him to clench his weapon hard. The screams came out at steady intervals; Surgit walked even more carefully and tried to pinpoint the source of the noise. The street took a sharp turn to the left as Surgit reached a bloc of tall buildings. Opposite one of them, there was a small shrine that split the street in two. On the right of the shrine, the road led down towards another bloc. On the left, the only thing Surgit could see was smoke. The screams came from behind the thick smoke screen, making its source even more terrifying. Surgit wasn¡¯t really afraid of what lurked behind the smoke but he was uneasy at the fact that he couldn¡¯t see or know what was in there. Another scream was heard and from the right side of the street, Surgit saw a werewolf coming his way. This one had eyes that glowed red. And as soon as it saw Surgit, it came running towards him. ¡®This one seems to be enraged and ready to see blood. I¡¯ll show you blood if that¡¯s what you¡¯re searching for.¡¯ The beast immediately started swinging at Surgit with its sharp claws. He dodged the attacks and counter attacked with a kick to the nose. The werewolf stepped back a few feet, looked at Surgit and bared its fangs. It was angry. The beast stood on both hind legs and towered over the hunter, looking down on him. ¡°Well, that¡¯s new. Let¡¯s see how I fare against a standing one. Give me your best shot red eyes!¡± The werewolf¡¯s attacks increased in speed and ferocity. Gone were the easy to read attacks and bites. They were replaced by nimble jumping, kicks and swings that could tear one¡¯s flesh apart in one hit. Surgit had to concentrate very hard in order to avoid the werewolf¡¯s fast attacks. Every time he tried to retaliate with his cleaver, the beast would jump over him and land right behind. Every time he tried to shoot the beast to slow it down, it would swiftly dodge the bullet and come right at him with a relentless flurry of attacks. If he were a normal person, Surgit would¡¯ve succumbed to fatigue and given his life away. If he had been the one he was before in Central Yharnam, he was sure that he would¡¯ve been killed by that beast. At that moment, Surgit started enjoying the fight. It was a challenging opponent for sure, but an opponent he could hold his ground against. He needed to find a way to slow its movement down a bit, otherwise, the stale mate could last for a long time until one of them gets tired or makes the wrong move. The beast didn¡¯t look like it was willing to make any wrong move though. Surgit elongated his cleaver to allow for long range melee attacks. He swung at the werewolf and it instantly jumped back. Surgit, for the first time knew what his foe would do so he jumped after the beast as soon as its feet departed the ground.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Once the werewolf landed far back, it found Surgit right next to its left hind leg. He hit the leg as hard as he could with his cleaver, cutting the thighs open. The feeling of blood raining atop his body put Surgit in a state of euphoria. He loved this tough fight, and he enjoyed the feeling he got when he saw victory getting close. The werewolf howled and aimed a kick with its right leg towards Surgit. He knew that this attack was coming his way too so he jumped towards it and over the kick. He knew that the leg had to come back to its place so that the werewolf could maintain its balance. Its left hind leg was injured and it had to keep standing in order to have a chance against the aggressive hunter. Surgit was preparing a strong attack. He clenched his weapon hard and prepared all his body to perform a strong and swift cut. Surgit realized that the connection he started having with his body increased his effectiveness. He was engaging all his muscles in order to deal significant damage. His back gave his swings more power while the positioning of his legs gave him more stability. Using his arms alone in a fight wasn¡¯t enough to break through tough hides or As soon as the werewolf brought its leg back, Surgit hit it with all his might, cutting it clean in one hit. The beast lost its balance at last and fell down face first to the ground. Surgit didn¡¯t waste any time and stood on top of the beast¡¯s back and drove his saw through its exposed neck. As the werewolf¡¯s head rolled down the cobbled street, Surgit heard again that scream and turned right to see a giant female beast patient coming towards him. ¡®At least I didn¡¯t have to fight them both at the same time.¡¯ The beast patient also had red eyes and it was walking slowly towards Surgit. The sight of the decapitated werewolf didn¡¯t affect her in the least. Surgit dropped down from on top of the werewolf and walked towards his new opponent. He wanted to make that encounter quick, he knew its attack patterns and he wasn¡¯t willing to make the fight last longer than needed. As they were in an appropriate range to start attacking, Surgit ran and slid down, past the beast¡¯s swings. He found himself between her tall legs and shot the right one four times. It was enough to create a big hole in her calf and the beast patient screamed as hard as her vocal chords allowed. Surgit cut off her leg with his cleaver, aiming at the hole he had just made. The beast hopped on one leg, fighting the pain and trying to get its revenge on Surgit. It slammed her body against his, trying to squash him into a pulp. Surgit read through that desperate move and dodged to the side, letting the beast patient fall face first on the ground. Surgit took his pistol out again and short the beast at the back of her head multiple times until it lay down, immobile. ¡°Well, that was fast. I¡¯ve got to find more bullets though, but it was fun emptying my pistol in her head, hehe.¡± Surgit took a deep breath and decided to move forward. Those two fights made him get a better understanding of the upgrades he had made on his weapon and on himself too. He felt like a machine being upgraded to perform better tasks. The machine had become indeed better and stronger. He could read through his enemies¡¯ attacks and he didn¡¯t rush to fight them back as he did before. He knew the limits of his body and he acted accordingly. The fight against the standing werewolf was very exciting for him. He loved the challenge and enjoyed knowing that he had a way out of it, a strategy that could allow him to win and move further. The feeling of blood gushing out of his enemies and their screams, a clear indicator of their suffering, made him euphoric. What was once fear and careful anticipation, became now excitement and joy to come out victorious of any challenging fight. 87 - The blood starved beast He found himself climbing some stairs that led towards a small square. Statues of the creepy women filled the square again. The women had arched backs and a veil covered their entire face. Their hands, held together, were a sign of prayer. And as usual, little messengers were clutching at the women¡¯s robes, looking up to them. Surgit didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind those statues, all he could conclude was that messengers were also linked to Yharnam, not only to the dream. From the square Surgit could see a building far in the distance, at the end of a vast field. Stairs led down towards what used to be a park. The only thing that remained from the park was dying trees, leafless and withering. He went down the steps and as soon as he reached the vast expanse, he heard a strange faint noise. It resembled a bell ringing in the distance and he couldn¡¯t find the source of the sound. He moved around the field while keeping his eye on the building in the distance. It resembled an old church. Bonfires were lit around the park, next to some trees, which illuminated the area a little, giving it a gloomy look. Fire crackled in the distance and wind blew softly, pushing what resembled dying grass on the ground softly. The soil was dry and with every step, Surgit could hear his feet cracking the ground beneath him. No living soul was to be seen around; only fire, dying trees and an old church in the distance. Surgit inspected the area and tried to look for the source of the sound of the bell ringing. He wasted his time searching for it to no avail. He then decided to head to the only possible destination: the old building in the distance. As he stood in front of the open door, he noticed that the ceiling had crumbled away long ago and the doors were destroyed and non-existing. He looked up and saw way above the church, the shadow of the great bridge, linking Central Yharnam to the Cathedral Ward. He was at the bottom of the valley after all. He felt like an ant observing humans from below. The buildings around him were large and gigantic. Unlike any other city he¡¯d been in, Yharnam extended upwards. Its vertical layout gave it a majestic look. Towers shot up towards the sky while smaller houses hid behind the big structures. Just standing next to a church or a tower made Surgit look extremely small. Every door to important buildings was large enough to fit a giant. Surgit didn¡¯t know whether that was actually meant to allow giants in or show the magnificence of the city. He got inside the church and walked along its nave. Benches had disappeared long ago and the pillars that stood on each side looked old and crumbling. The slightest damage could bring them down and the church along with it. He made his way towards the aisle and saw a figure in the distance. He didn¡¯t know if the figure was getting bigger or if it was moving towards him. Suddenly he realized what was going on as pain shot through his brain. He was gaining insight for witnessing something extraordinary and the thing he was witnessing was the blood starved beast. Its name was whispered to him in his mind quickly. The beast resembled the one he had seen chained to the chandelier in the other church, behind the clock tower. It had a red mantle which was attached to its back and covered its head. Surgit knew that the mantle wasn¡¯t made of cloth but instead made of its own flesh. The beast was flayed and instead of seeing flesh on its limbs, Surgit could only see muscles. The beast¡¯s muscles were purple, as if devoid of blood, which would explain its name as a matter of a fact. The blood starved beast ran on all fours and was coming towards Surgit at breakneck speed. He elongated his saw and got ready for battle. He wanted to keep the beast at a comfortable distance in order to get familiar with its attacks. Seeing his action, the monster stopped and looked at Surgit. There were still some paces that separated both of them and Surgit wasn¡¯t willing to make the first move. The beast opened its arms as a sign of welcome, or taunt, as if asking the Hunter: Come at me, I can take you.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. In a flash, the monster disappeared. Surgit didn¡¯t know where it was until he felt himself being lifted away from the ground. The beast moved too fast for his eyes to follow and came right in front of him, grabbed him with its arms and opened its mouth. It was wide and filled with teeth. Its breath was nauseating and Surgit couldn¡¯t move, the beast was also too strong. He soon found himself in its mouth, being chewed to death by its sharp teeth. His leather garb managed to reduce the damage he took from the bites. However that was not enough to stop the beast from chewing harder as it held him firmly from both sides. His arms were caught in the grab and he couldn¡¯t move at all. His legs, the only part of his body that stayed outside the beast¡¯s mouth, moved up and down which showed his desperate need to get out of that situation. His face got scratched and his head started bleeding from everywhere. Finally, the beast stopped and threw him away from its sharp teeth. He landed on his back and started coughing blood. He tried to stand up but his legs couldn¡¯t support his weight and his vision became blurry. ¡®I guess I got poisoned again¡­ damn it¡­¡¯ He fell to the ground, foam and blood gagged his mouth as he died in agony. ¡®That was unexpected¡­¡¯ Surgit inspected his body and his belongings. He managed to come across a bigger challenge this time around. He died and all the monsters in Old Yharnam had been reset. ¡®Great, just great, die and come back again to fight small fry to weaken you and prepare you to die at the hands of the stronger enemy. I need to be more careful and take the blood starved beast seriously. Attack is the best defense, is it not?¡¯ He was devising a plan of attack in his head in order to tackle the beasts in Old Yharnam and reach the old church as fast as possible. He dropped down from the plaza at the entrance of the town towards the tall tower, leading to the bottom of the city. The shortcut he had unlocked proved useful once more as he was going to avoid dealing with hordes of enemies while dodging the endless barrage of bullets coming his way. He soon found himself in the main cobbled street at the bottom of the city, faced to the werewolf which attacked him from behind the tower¡¯s door earlier. The night sky provided him with good cover as he slipped behind the beast and decapitated it in no time. He knew that he shouldn¡¯t get overconfident with any of the enemies present in the area. Confidence led to mistakes, and mistakes led to wasting blood vials. He needed the vials he had stored for the fight against the strongest enemy in the area. He was prepared for the worst, and his mind was lucid. He ran towards the end of the street and jumped on top of the shrine that divided it in two. The smoke coming out of sewers hid not only the screaming female beast patient but also Surgit. He waited for the patrolling red eyed werewolf to pass by and jumped down on him, driving his saw cleaved deep down its thick skull. The beast died instantly. Surgit immediately turned around and saw that the beast patient had spotted him. As she let out her scream, Surgit dashed forward. He jumped on top of the beast and placed his saw at the beast patient¡¯s neck, in a choking fashion. He pulled the saw towards him while the female patient struggled to get a hold of him. He had to act quickly, lest he got caught by the monster¡¯s sharp claws. He pulled the saw harder and moved it in a horizontal motion. He was trying to cut the beast¡¯s throat open. Surgit was forced to come down though as the beast had almost pierced his eyes with its claws. He jumped behind the female monster and slashed her muscular calves open. The beast patient let out a howl and Surgit shot the open wounds, making the howls even louder. ¡®Click! Click!¡¯ The pistol ran out of bullets and Surgit cursed under his breath. He put the gun in its holster and rolled forward just in time to avoid a body slam. The female beast patient turned around immediately and swung both her arms at Surgit. He jumped over the predictable attack and landed a few paces away from his attacker. The damage the woman had taken slowed her down. Surgit used the opportunity to quickly finish the fight. He jumped above the hands that tried to grab him and kicked his foe in the face. The beast patient fell to the ground. Surgit¡¯s kick was strong enough to knock her down. He smiled as he drove his cleaver down the beat monster¡¯s throat. Blood splattered all over his body. He couldn¡¯t get enough of the feeling. Killing beasts and feeling their warm blood on splash all over his body had become addictive. The main street was cleared and Surgit followed the road in order to reach the church. He decided to clear just the area that preceded the important fight he had before him. He hadn¡¯t forgotten about the promise he made to himself before, about getting rid of anything that could endanger living human beings. But he figured that if he died again against the blood starved beast, his prior fights would go to waste. Besides, he would lose all the blood echoes he had collected before and he didn¡¯t see a point in wasting his time and energy fighting. He reached the clearing and heard the sound of the bell again. He didn¡¯t know where it came from or what it was for but he decided to press on. He had an important fight to undertake. 88 - What doesn’t kill you Surgit entered the church and saw the beast running towards him. He decided to buy some time and used the pillars as cover, in order to force the beast to chase after him and close the distance. He felt more comfortable knowing that their fighting distance would be close. He assumed that he could read better through its attacks that way. In no time, the beast was right in front of Surgit. They were on the east aisle. The beast had long arms and sharp claws. Surgit knew that its putrid breath was in fact due to its poisonous nature. He wasn¡¯t willing to get hit by the monster and taste an agonizing death once more. The beast¡¯s claws came close to Surgit¡¯s body several times. He managed to barely dodge the flurry of attacks that were coming at him. For a short time, he thought that he had a way of winning against this one. The attacks weren¡¯t hard to read, and although their speed and strength were dangerous, he could dodge them. The beast suddenly jumped back, realizing that its attacks were inefficient. It opened its arms again and Surgit knew what was coming, he instantly rolled to the right as the beast appeared on the spot he was in seconds ago, hugging the air. Its attacks were fast and dangerous indeed. Surgit looked back towards the beast and saw only pillars. It disappeared from his line of sight, despite being four times bigger than any werewolf. He felt claws ripping through his back as he was propelled forward from the impact. He landed face first and tasted dirt and blood. He rolled forward and faced the direction from which the attack came. The beast was standing licking the blood from its claws. It was starving indeed, and it was his blood it needed. Surgit quickly injected himself with a blood vial, alleviating the pain he felt. He then ran towards the beast that was still licking blood from its hand, and waiting patiently for its prey to get closer. As he got within range of attack, its hand slammed the floor. Surgit dodged to the right and kept running towards his enemy. The other hand came towards him in a stabbing motion and Surgit jumped and landed on top of its arm. He used the extended limb as a ground to elevate himself more and jumped at its head. He grabbed his cleaver in both hands and drove his weapon down towards the beast head. Sparkles flew around as he hit a concrete part of the church¡¯s floor. The beast had jumped back and avoided his attack. Surgit looked up to see the beast running his way, ¡®don¡¯t blink, don¡¯t blink!¡¯ he kept repeating in his mind as his enemy got closer and closer. Surgit saw an arm swinging his way and dodged to the side in order to avoid it, keeping his feet firm on the ground. He was waiting for his opponent to get closer and within range of attack. The second swing from the other arm came at him almost instantly. He dodged it too but didn¡¯t see the stabbing motion the previous arm had performed. He managed to avoid it in the nick of time as the beast¡¯s sharp claws tore through his leather garb but left his body unscathed. That soon changed as Surgit had diverted his eyes from his enemy for a second, which was enough to be punished for. A slamming attack smashed him to the ground so hard that his body bounced off the concrete. As blood rushed out of his ears and mouth, and he was propelled into the air by the impact of the slam he had just received, Surgit felt an uppercut tear through his abdomen propelling him even higher. He wished he could lose consciousness and wake up again next to the lamp but the suffering was far from over. As gravity pulled him back towards the ground, the beast was prepared, assembling its claws together in a pyramidal shape. He felt his spine breaking and his flesh being torn apart as the beast¡¯s arms went through his body. He was skewered thanks to gravity¡¯s help and his previous distraction. The beast threw him against a pillar and started licking the blood out of its arms. He remained down there, unmoving.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Well, that was humiliating.¡¯ Surgit sat down next to the lamp, thinking back on his previous fight. He needed to know what went wrong and he needed to figure out any sign of weaknesses that he could¡¯ve spotted. The beast was fast and relentless. It was aggressive and it didn¡¯t give him the slightest opportunity to observe and buy time until he could see an opening. The good challenge he craved for turned into a headache. He thought that he could enjoy a hard fight. He realized though that he enjoyed coming out victorious, not spending too much time trying to figure out a way to fell a monster that no human could ever hope to defeat. He stood up and headed towards his new nemesis. He knew that the only way to win the fight was to engage it over and over again until he could find a way, a dim clue as to how to deal with that annoying abomination. He was back again at the vast field that preceded the old church where the blood starved beast apparently resided. He noticed something he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to however, and it concerned the bell ringing sound he was hearing all around. The sound was similar to the whispers he heard whenever he inspected an item with insight. The sound then, must be inside his head and it activated whenever he came to this place specifically. He didn¡¯t want to think about it more than necessary however as he had a beast to kill and he had to figure out a way to do so. He got inside the church and was welcomed with his opponent. The flayed flesh that dangled on top of its head made it look even more hideous. And the screeching sounds it made that were apparently its screams were not only frightening but enough to freeze one¡¯s blood in one¡¯s veins. Surgit advanced towards the monster and recited in his head his plan of attack. He knew that if he managed to strike first, he would have a slight advantage at reading through some of the attacks of the beast. ¡®No one can have an endless attack pattern, not even a beast. It swings and stabs and it alternates between the two. Don¡¯t forget about its speed and its grab attack!¡¯ So he ran, he dodged the first barrage of fast swings and avoided the sharp claws. He ducked under a stabbing arm, which put him in a runner¡¯s pose, before they propelled themselves for the race. He jumped towards the beast¡¯s chest in full speed and slashed at it with his cleaver in an upward motion. The monster¡¯s flesh was cut open and purple blood splashed against Surgit¡¯s chest. ¡®First successful hi-¡®with a back hand, the beast placated Surgit against a pillar. He struggled to remain conscious and grabbed with his arms, which bended backwards, against the pillar. He put his feet on the pillar and jumped high, landing behind the beast. He got a good start and he wasn¡¯t willing to lose his advantage, even if he was in extreme pain. This time around, he was slightly faster than his opponent. He landed another hit at its back, injuring it once more before it could turn around and retaliate. Two more missed swings and the beast jumped backwards. Creating a distance between the two of them was its advantage and it knew it. Surgit was prepared though and ran after the beast in order to close the recently created distance. He found himself in front of the beast¡¯s hideous face and it tried to bite him. He avoided the attack at the last minute by jumping backwards. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have done that¡¯ was the thought that crossed his mind before he received a hard punch to the chest that made him spit blood and fall to his knees. The beast slammed both its arms at Surgit in an attempt to crush him down. He rolled to the side and stood up. He quickly injected himself with a blood vial and ran towards the beast. He found himself running towards empty space however as it teleported again behind him and punched him in the back, sending him face first towards the ground. As he tasted dirt and blood, he felt the beast¡¯s claws holding him down from the head and pushing his skull against the floor. It was as if the beast was trying to squash his brain and end him there and then. Surgit took out his gun and aimed blindly at his violent oppressor. Click! Click! ¡®Oh man! I forgot to get more bullets¡­¡¯ was his last thought before his head exploded under pressure. 89 - Beckoning a hunter ¡®This is Gascoigne all over again. I can¡¯t let this go on forever.¡¯ Surgit went back to the lower parts of Old Yharnam and cleared the streets in order to gain some more echoes which he used later on in the hunter¡¯s dream in order to buy some more bullets from the messengers. He found out that his pistol could take six bullets at a time and that he could keep in his possession twenty bullets in total. His hunter outfit fittingly had a back pocket for storing bullets in which he placed the extra ones he had. Surgit also remembered that he had gained more insight, which confirmed his theory. Headaches which are a result of witnessing creatures such as the blood starved beast or the cleric beast are a sign of more insight. ¡®Speaking of insight, I forgot that Francis told me I can use it to ring the bell. Wait a minute, what if I use this bell before I get inside the church? Maybe that¡¯s why I hear bell ringing in that area.¡¯ He went back to Old Yharnam and found himself in the vast clearing in front of the old church. He rang the bell and soon after, the ringing in his head stopped. ¡°Splendid, I guess you need my assistance then¡± Said a voice behind him. Surgit turned around and saw a blond hunter standing opposite him. The hunter wore a gray robe and held a sword on his right hand, and a massive firearm on his left hand. On his back, a gigantic hammer was attached. He looked tougher than when he first met him. ¡°Alfred, so the bell really summons hunters to aid others in their journey.¡± Surgit was pleased to meet someone he knew, and most of all, a hunter who helped him gain valuable information before. ¡°Yes, it summons the ones willing to help. There are other bells capable of summoning the ones willing to harm you however. Let¡¯s not tarry for long, we may have unwanted company soon. So what could I do for you?¡± Alfred had something new about him though, he had a blue aura that enveloped his whole body and gave him a ghostly appearance. Surgit couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Before we go, can you tell me what that blue aura around you is?¡± to which Alfred smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a sign that I¡¯m a phantom, here to help you. This is not my real body but a replica of it. You¡¯ll have yours made if you ever ring a small resonant bell. Your astral presence is projected into the world of the one you wish to help while your physical body remains in the area where you left it. You¡¯d better choose a safe place before you ring that bell though. So, shall we get moving?¡± Alfred was getting impatient and Surgit didn¡¯t want to linger there for long either. They both got inside the church and faced the blood starved beast. ¡°A nasty creature you¡¯ve found yourself against. Let¡¯s work as a team then. One of us should distract it while the other strikes at it and weakens it¡± said Alfred while advancing towards their opponent, alongside Surgit. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that¡± answered Surgit and ran towards the beast. After three defeats, he finally had a plan that could prove useful, and with Alfred¡¯s help, they may come out victorious this time. He rushed and found himself facing the monster. He had the timing of its swings and stabs memorized so all he did was dodge and avoid the attacks while Alfred snuck behind the creature. With the corner of his eye, Surgit saw Alfred inserting his sword into the pommel of the gigantic hammer he had on his back. He then slammed the hammer with all his might at the back of the beast, staggering it.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Surgit knew what to do then. He transformed his right arm and ripped through the exposed chest of the poor beast, while Alfred did the same to its back. It was a perfectly well timed attack that left the beast lying on the ground, struggling to stand up again. ¡°Well, I guess all that¡¯s left to do now is the finisher,¡± said Alfred in a playful tone, ¡°I¡¯ll let you do the honors.¡± As soon as Alfred finished his sentence, Surgit held his saw high and prepared to deal the finishing blow to the beast. The latter let out a terrible scream and fumes exuded from its body. Surgit knew what it was and jumped back, away from the poisonous cloud. Luckily, Alfred was a seasoned hunter and understood the danger immediately. The blood starved beast stood up again and put its feet firmly on the ground. It opened its arms and screamed again, a screeching sound that made the pillars of the church vibrate. ¡°I think we just made it angrier¡± shouted Surgit at his fellow hunter while the poisonous cloud dissipated from around their purple opponent. The beast quickly turned towards Alfred and attacked so fast and so relentlessly that Surgit thought his helping partner was about to meet his end. Seeing that he could hold his ground, Surgit ran fast towards the beast and jumped on its back. He landed with force, in an attempt to halt the beast¡¯s speed for a while which helped only to make it angrier. It tried to swat him away, as if he was an annoying fly. Surgit avoided the backhand and descended from the beast¡¯s back. As he was dropping down however, he drove his saw through the beast¡¯s back, making a big vertical cut through it. Instead of purple blood though, fumes came out from the area Surgit had cut and he inhaled a big portion of it. The beast screamed and turned towards Surgit whose vision started to become blurry. ¡°Hey! Forgot someone?¡± said Alfred as he smacked the beast to the face with his massive hammer. The beast fell to the ground, stunned. Alfred ran towards Surgit and gave him a white pill. ¡°Take this! Otherwise your life will wither away in no time. There¡¯s no point helping a dead person, is there?¡± He smiled at Surgit, revealing perfectly aligned white teeth. Surgit crunched the pill in his mouth and thanked his cooperator. ¡°It¡¯s an antidote, useful for this kind of situations. You should look for more.¡± The beast stood up again and let out a painful scream. It was definitely in pain and it struggled against two hunters. Purple fumes came out from its body, as sweat comes out of humans when they exert themselves. Alfred took a cloth out and hung it around his face, hiding his nose. He nodded at Surgit and ran towards the beast. As it tried to swing at Alfred, Surgit had an idea. He took out his gun and shot the beast moments before the swing could reach its opponent. The beast fell down, staggered and Alfred took care of the finishing visceral attack. The beast fell to the ground, motionless. ¡®Prey Slaughtered¡¯ the knowledge came to Surgit¡¯s mind. ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s that. Thank you for inviting me over to this amazing fight. We should cooperate more.¡± Said Alfred as his phantom dissipated in a light blue light. Surgit was left alone in the old church, his hands trembling with excitement. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit disappointed. He had to rely on external help in order to defeat this one. ¡®Is it going to be this way all the time? I must get stronger and better at fighting these abominations. I can¡¯t always rely on others.¡¯ Although he felt grateful for Alfred¡¯s help, he vowed once more to get stronger and take care of his own problems, with his own two hands. Surgit inspected the dead beast with his insight and saw a green glowing item. He took it and a message notified him. It was the same way he received knowledge about items and monsters using his insight. The message read: + Blood Starved Beast¡¯s core: give to the messengers to receive a gift. + The echo of a starved beast: Pop to receive echoes. + Pthumeru chalice: Use at the tomb altar to access. He had another core from Gascoigne he hadn¡¯t checked. In fact, he also had Gascoigne¡¯s echo. He decided to get back to the dream. He found a lantern behind the church¡¯s altar and headed to the workshop. 90 - The hunters’ dream Francis, before he found his way towards the hunter¡¯s dream: After reading a few pages regarding the history of Byrgenwerth and the discovery of healing blood, Francis concluded that the books containing information about blood healing were written by the church and had no valuable information about Yharnam¡¯s secrets. They only contained general information about blood healing and the different ministers and vicars that oversaw blood ministration and blood healing, nothing of great interest to him. He diverted his attention then towards books about the hunt and the origin of the beasts inhabiting the city. He gathered that beasts started roaming the city¡¯s streets at nights when the moon was full, shining in the clear night sky. People soon started closing their doors and protecting themselves from the beastly scourge that affected the city. Anyone caught outside could and would be executed for fear of being affected by the bad blood. Hunters took to the streets and church doctors assisted them in their hunts. Being a hunter himself, Francis wanted to know more about the hunters and how they came to be. He found another book that spoke about the first hunters and their struggle to clean the city from beasts. They all trained under a certain hunter called Gehrman, whose name was mentioned only once and in an old dingy book. ¡®The order of hunters must be as old as the creation of the healing church. No other book mentions this generation of first hunters by name. They only call them the old hunters. Interesting¡­¡¯ Francis was deep in thought when the retired hunter came into his room. ¡°May I come in?¡± he said as he peered from the door. ¡°Please, by all means¡± answered Francis as he gestured to an empty chair by his desk on which the man sat down. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you a question dear Francis, but since information doesn¡¯t come cheap in this place, I¡¯m willing to trade with you.¡± ¡°What could you possibly have that is interesting to me then?¡± ¡°Valuable information of course, the more I get from you, the more I¡¯m willing to give. To the extent of my knowledge of course. By now, you should¡¯ve figured out that the books in my library contain but standard material to work with.¡± ¡°Fair enough, so what is it that you¡¯d like to know?¡± ¡°Has anyone taken the old man¡¯s place at the dream?¡± Francis was puzzled at the question. Which dream? And which old man was he speaking of? He wanted to get more from the retired hunter as he seemed knowledgeable; he needed to be cunning and mysterious then. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a retired hunter? Why would you want to know about that?¡± ¡°Simple curiosity, it¡¯s not easy for a hunter who was used to battle and dancing with death to sit idly for a long time. It is strange indeed, to know that death is a valid option for me now.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Said Francis before he could refrain from asking the question.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°It seems that you are a new hunter to me. Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t even know what the dream I spoke of was?¡± The man had a wide smile on his face. He knew that Francis had no information whatsoever regarding the dream. ¡°I must admit, I was taken aback when you spoke of that dream.¡± Francis bit his lip and cursed his eagerness. ¡°Well, that changes things. But let me ask you, how did you get your blood ministration? And when?¡± ¡°A doctor in the upper Cathedral Ward administered blood to me. That wasn¡¯t long ago though. I¡¯m just discovering my new abilities.¡± Francis said, losing his superior tone. The retired hunter smiled and asked Francis another question. ¡°And may I know what happened to that doctor afterwards?¡± ¡°I killed her. I had no further need for her.¡± ¡°Excellent! You did well, those church doctors are an abomination that doesn¡¯t deserve to live. For that you have my thanks and respect dear Francis.¡± The man showed real gratitude which surprised Francis. ¡°Why do you think so?¡± Francis didn¡¯t understand the animosity the hunter had for the doctors. But that explained why the one he met in Oedon Chapel feared meeting Gascoigne. ¡°That is not a question I can answer. It will be up to you to form your own opinion about them.¡± The man diverted the subject then instantly. ¡°So you haven¡¯t been to the hunter¡¯s dream, have you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that something such as the hunter¡¯s dream existed in the first place.¡± Francis felt disappointed at his ignorance. ¡°That just means that you are a strong and skilled fellow. From all the beasts you have encountered here, none of them was strong enough to kill you. This counts for something.¡± The retired hunter, feeling Francis¡¯ disappointments tried to comfort him with his words. ¡°How do I reach that dream you speak of then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. All you have to do is die.¡± The retired gentleman burst into an unstoppable laughter as soon as he finished his sentence. ¡°You jest! I didn¡¯t come all the way here to die.¡± Francis was upset and felt like he was looked down on. The man whipped a gun from his back pocket and shot Francis multiple times in the head and in the chest. Before he could move or attempt to retaliate, blood covered Francis¡¯ face and he felt himself losing consciousness. As he drifted away from the world of the living, he heard the retired hunter say, ¡°Sweet dreams old man, and say hello to the doll from me.¡± And he burst into laughter again as darkness welcomed Francis into its arms. Francis opened his eyes and found himself lying face down on a big flowery field. The grass that grew in the place looked pale and had a mix of green and yellow in its colors. The flowers were all white and seemed to give the place a feeling of serenity. The garden was vast and extended towards a hill on top of which an old wooden house stood. A stone way led towards the house from the middle of the garden. Francis stood up and looked around him. Grave stones were placed around trees and on the extremities of the garden. Further down, he could see a metallic fence that blocked entry towards the place. He inspected the fences and after looking over them, he realized that place seemed to be elevated above clouds, or at least that¡¯s what he could fathom. Everywhere he looked, there was no way to leave the place unless you jump away from the fences. ¡®That bastard surprised me and killed me, backstabbing son of a bitch. I knew I shouldn¡¯t trust anyone in that place.¡¯ He felt angry at remembering how the retired hunter laughed as Francis fought against death. ¡®What to do now? Is this the dream he was speaking of?¡¯ Francis turned around and walked towards the wooden house atop the hill. He saw branches of a gigantic tree that grew behind the house, extending over its roof. As he reached the main door, he saw a woman standing, looking at him intently. As he approached her, she spoke: ¡°Good hunter, I am a doll, here in this dream to look after you. Honorable hunter, Pursue the echoes of blood, and I will channel them into your strength. You will hunt beasts. And I will be here for you, to embolden your sickly spirit.¡± Francis looked at the doll intently. 91 - Observe, Learn, Adjust and Overcome The doll was taller than Francis and had incomparable beauty. She looked alive although her hands were clearly mechanical and not human. ¡®Things are getting even stranger in this place.¡¯ He looked at the house behind the doll and turned to ask her: ¡°What are the echoes of blood?¡± The doll tilted her head to the side as a sign of puzzlement then answered: ¡°As you hunt beasts, you gather their echoes within you. Come to me, and I will channel them into more strength for you.¡± ¡°And how do I know that I have these echoes?¡± ¡°Use your insight good hunter. You can see me, can you not?¡± ¡®Ah so you must be another extraordinary thing that we can see only while having insight?¡¯ Francis closed his eyes and saw that he had no echoes at all. ¡°How come I have no echoes while I¡¯m sure that I have slayed so many enemies before landing in here?¡± he asked. He was confused. ¡°If you have died before arriving here, then the one who had killed you must have collected them in your stead. Kill them, and you¡¯ll retrieve your echoes.¡± ¡°And how do I leave this place in order to do so? There doesn¡¯t seem to be a way out of here!¡± Francis was even angrier at the hunter. Not only did he backstab him, he also robbed him of his hard earned rewards. ¡°Speak to the messenger by the fountain bath. He will provide you with a way out. But beware, if you die again on your way to retrieve your echoes, you will lose them forever.¡± The doll pointed him to a fountain in the distance, next to the back door of the wooden house. Francis walked towards the fountain. A black liquid, akin to stale water, filled it. The liquid soon started to boil and from underneath it appeared a small white creature with only an open mouth on its face. It pointed its long pointy fingers towards Francis and moaned. ¡°The doll told me that you can send me out of here.¡± The messenger disappeared again under the black liquid and remerged, holding a lamp which had a blue flame in it. Francis instantly felt drawn towards it and saw the big building in which the retired hunter lived. What looked like a small picture, a replica of the place, soon became bigger and more real. Seconds later, Francis found himself standing in front of the building, back in Hemwick. He blinked his eyes, like someone who felt dizzy and tried to come back to his senses. Opposite Francis, he saw a blue lamp, dangling from a small wooden pole with miniature bells on top. ¡®So the dream is real after all. Does this mean that I¡¯m impervious to death? I guess I¡¯ll find out soon.¡¯ He climbed the wall and went through the balcony. The hunter was sitting on a chair, holding his cane and awaiting Francis¡¯ return. ¡°Welcome back!¡± he said with a smile on his face. ¡°So, is the old man still there?¡± Francis was enraged by the nonchalance the hunter dealt with him, as if he were but an insignificant insect. He drew his sword and walked towards him ready to cut him in pieces. The retired hunter however didn¡¯t move. He only spoke in a threatening tone: ¡°I must warn you old man. Although you¡¯re a hunter and you have immense strength, I too am a hunter. And I am far stronger than you. I advise you to sit down and have an intelligent conversation about what happened.¡± Francis stopped and looked the man in the eyes. He didn¡¯t doubt his strength but the anger and shame he felt for being humiliated before urged him to attack and deal with the consequences later on. The retired hunter sensed this and went on. ¡°Listen, I know you¡¯re angry at what I did. But if you think about it, I made you discover the dream. Thanks to that, you¡¯ll become stronger.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Moreover, I¡¯ll offer you a deal. I hold your echoes. You can retrieve them by killing me. But if I kill you before that, you¡¯ll lose everything. What¡¯s more, I hold even more echoes that could help you become a strong fighter. But how are you going to go about it, with strength, skill or bloodtinge?¡± ¡°And judging from the weapon you hold, bloodtinge is your best bet. But you don¡¯t know anything about that, do you? I¡¯ll train you, and in exchange you¡¯ll kill me in an exciting fight. That¡¯s the way I want to go.¡± After the hunter¡¯s monologue, Francis sheathed his katana and sat down. ¡°Alright,¡± he said ¡°tell me about the skills I can fortify to make myself a better hunter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll teach you how to become a better fighter. You¡¯ll choose your own path as a hunter afterwards. I couldn¡¯t care less about what you want to do with your life.¡± ¡°Why do you want to die then? And why did you retire?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t choose to retire. It rather chose me, or in other words, it just happened. You¡¯ll understand it one day. So tell me, is the old man still in charge?¡± ¡°I was decided to come back here and kill you that I didn¡¯t even look for that old man of yours.¡± ¡°This means that he didn¡¯t choose to show himself to you. He¡¯s a sneaky old bastard. I guess we can start your training then.¡± ***** Surgit was still looking at the chalice he had earned after defeating the Blood Starved Best. Pthumeru Chalice: ritual chalice found in the church of the good chalice. ¡®So this is what the old man spoke about.¡¯ Surgit knew what to do next. He had to go to the dream and speak to Gehrman, if he was around, in order to know what to do with the item he had just found. A lamp had appeared in the church right after he had killed the blood starved beast with the help of Alfred. He inspected the church further and found a corpse in a corner, far behind the church¡¯s altar. On inspecting its belongings, Surgit found ten antidote pills. ¡®Thanks for nothing. This could¡¯ve been useful before.¡¯ He stored the pills in his pocket and headed to the lamp. He lit it and went to the hunter¡¯s dream. Back at the dream, Surgit decided to put some order in his belongings and think about what to do next. He got inside the workshop and sat down on a chair in front of a desk. Gehrman was sleeping opposite the fireplace and Surgit didn¡¯t try to wake him up. He was planning on doing so once he organized himself. As of that moment, he managed to get his hands on the chalice that Gehrman had spoken of before. He still didn¡¯t know what to do with it. All he knew was that it was useful. From the note he had seen in the dream and the conversation with Francis, the new hunter, Paleblood is the key to leaving Yharnam. He had to find a way to reach Byrgenwerth and Alfred may be able to help him regarding this matter. He seemed to have some knowledge regarding the healing church, he must have some information regarding the location of the greatest academy mankind had ever seen, or so the tales say. He inspected some of the books that were thrown in a disorderly manner on top of the desk. They were too old and none of them was legible anymore. Among the rubble, he managed to snatch an empty notebook. He fumbled in the drawers until he found some ink and a pen and started scribbling notes. Since his arrival he had observed many events and heard many tales about Yharnam and blood healing. From the beasts he had to fight to the statues he had seen in Old and Central Yharnam, he knew that he had to take notes in order to keep track of all the information he was subjected to. He needed to observe Yharnam closely. He hoped that by gathering enough information about the city he was thrown into, he would have an easier time remembering the events which unfolded before. By understanding, he could learn more about the hunters and the beasts, which would make slaying them easier. He knew he had to adapt to the way this city forced him to live. Not only did he have to survive, but he also had to find a way to access Paleblood and escape this nightmare. He also knew that information was the key to survival in Yharnam. The more you know, the more chances you have of surviving. And so he wrote, about the people he met and the beasts he fought... 92 - Looking for Karla - Part 1 Surgit divided the information he had and organized them by columns. On the one regarding the people he met, he wrote. Iosefka: a healing church doctor who helped me overcome many difficulties, especially at the beginning of my journey. She saved my life and Karla¡¯s too. I am eternally grateful for her assistance so far. I noticed a slight change in her attitude after I reached Oedon Chapel. She seems more willing to help the sick while she refused to let anyone in before. I¡¯ll take it as a good sign and keep an eye out for any infected in need of treatment in the future. Oedon chapel dweller: a creepy man who dwells inside the chapel. His voice suggests his sex but everything in his appearance shows that he¡¯s far from human. He provides a safe place for people in need and even though I do not completely trust him, he hosted the old lady who seems to be safe and sound. Old lady: ungrateful woman who seems to hate outsiders. Alfred: a hunter who appears to derive from the healing church. His shawl perhaps shows that he belongs to the church. He¡¯s kind and willing to share information with me despite the fact that I have nothing to give in return. Moreover, he helped me in the fight against the blood starved beast. He has my thanks and I will make sure to repay the debt one day. Francis: the man who made my trip to Yharnam possible. He managed to become a hunter and has an agenda of his own. I¡¯ll keep a close eye on him until I figure out his motives: Neither a friend nor a foe. Karla: skilled fighter who doesn¡¯t need blood ministration to overcome Yharnam¡¯s atrocities. Although I won¡¯t be sure about her chances against abominations like the cleric beast, I hope she¡¯s doing alright by herself now, location: unknown. The crow lady: a hunter who appears to be ruthless and skilled. She killed Paul in one strike while Karla had almost died to him. I need to be on my guard against her, motives: unknown. Once he was done writing down the information he had about the people he had met, Surgit moved to the items in his possession. He then classified them as key items to be stored in the dream for later use and consumables that he can keep in his possession when needed. He found the fire papers that Alfred had given him before. He had completely forgotten about them. He also had extra weapons that could be useful as a way to immobilize fast enemies. He just had to have enough echoes to unlock them. The rifle spear had been useful against the werewolves and the beast patients. He had a torch too and some antidotes. While for key items, he had the church hunter badge that allowed him to get more weapons and consumables from the messengers in the fountain. He also had the beckoning bell and the Pthumeru Chalice. After classifying his possessions, Surgit stood up, stored his notebook in a drawer among some old books and went to Gehrman. The old man opened his eyes as soon as Surgit stood in front of him.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Aha, you¡¯re back. Did you get the chalice?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes I did, I had to struggle to reach it, let alone get it from that terrible monster.¡± Surgit held the chalice in front of Gehrman as if he held a trophy. ¡°Very well, now you can perform a ritual at one of the altars outside in order to break the seal to the labyrinth. The doll will give you more guidelines on how to do so.¡± By then, Surgit knew that Gehrman wasn¡¯t the type of person to speak too much. He nodded to him and prepared himself to leave. Gehrman however went on. ¡°The healing church and the blood ministers who belong to it were once guardians of the hunters. In the times of the hunter¡­ Ludwig¡± Gehrman seemed to have difficulties remembering names. ¡°They worked, and forged weapons in their unique workshop. Today, most ministers don¡¯t recall the hunters. But they have much to offer you. And so, heed the message of your forebears. Ascend to Oedon chapel.¡± ¡°Huh? What does that even mean?¡± exclaimed Surgit. ¡°Ascend to Oedon chapel. From there, you will find the church workshop.¡± Gehrman immediately fell asleep and left Surgit wondering again. It was as if Gehrman enjoyed puzzling him and leaving him with more questions than answers. Surgit exited the workshop and walked towards the doll. He asked her about the chalice¡¯s function and she explained that he could use the sacrificial altars in order to access the sealed labyrinth of the Gods. The chalice was the most important component used in unsealing them. Surgit still needed to get his hands on ritual blood in order to do so. And he knew exactly where to go in order to find it. He had left a bowl full of it in the big church behind the clock tower in Old Yharnam. The doll explained then that what appeared to Surgit as giant tombstones behind the workshop were in fact the sacrificial altars. Each stone gave access to one part of the labyrinth. Unlocking the seal required a chalice and the one he held gave him access to the first level of the labyrinth alone. All he needed to do in order to get to the others was to finish each dungeon and slay its guardian who resided in the darkest corner of the labyrinth. Surgit was curious about exploring the tombs of the Gods. He read about the tombs being the source of blood healing as scholars from Byrgenwerth had explored them before. This action led them to discover a holy medium that enabled blood ministration. Gehrman spoke about blood ministers being above Oedon chapel. Surgit also wanted to go meet them. He still remembered the old man who allowed him to have another chance at life. He wondered if he could meet him there or if, along with the other ministers, they still lived there at all. There was also the matter regarding Byrgenwerth. He was excited at the idea of leaving Yharnam and resuming his life, back at his native city. Paleblood was apparently the key to unlocking a passage out of Yharnam and resuming his normal life, away from beasts and from the sickness that haunted his life for years. He decided to go to Oedon chapel in order to check on Karla in there and find Alfred. He could provide him with enough information regarding Byrgenwerth. He also had to visit Iosefka and check on her before he went on his way towards Byrgenwerth and the church workshop. The tombs of the Gods could wait until he managed to find a way towards Byrgenwerth. At that moment, he felt that he had so many places to go to, but he had to remain focused on his objective. Deriving from it could lead to complications and stretch his stay in Yharnam for longer than expected. He went towards the messenger and asked him to transport him towards Oedon chapel. The old lady still sat on her chair, frowning and talking under her nose. The dweller still asked Surgit to send sane people over if they ever needed as safe place to hide in. There was no sign of Karla. 93 - Looking for Karla - Part 2 Surgit looked around the chapel and found out that the door that had been previously locked inside the chapel was open. He made a mental note to come back and see what¡¯s inside once he paid Alfred a visit. So he went out, in the direction of the church under which the hidden passage to Old Yharnam was. As soon as he stepped outside, he noticed that the streets had become darker. The sun had completely disappeared and the night sky covered the city with darkness. It was all for the best, Surgit preferred hunting in darkness. The beasts are unsuspecting of the shadows in which hunters lurk, waiting to strike their prey down. In the square outside the chapel, Surgit managed to easily dispose of two enemies. Tall pale men who wore long black coats and trousers. Their skin was so pale that he wondered if they ever had any blood in their system. In fact as he struck both of them down, only patches of red were mixed with white liquid. ¡®What are these things made of I wonder?¡¯ He moved on and reached the park in front of the church leading to Old Yharnam. Men beasts were patrolling the area. One of them, holding a pitchfork saw him first and came running at him. Surgit used his insight in order to check those enemies¡¯ names. He was tired of calling them men beasts. Huntsmen ¨C weak, the knowledge came to him in the form of faint whispers. ¡®Yeah, you¡¯re telling me! Too weak would be more appropriate¡¯ he thought as he dodged an upcoming attack and beheaded his enemy. He took care of the rest of the huntsmen and their dogs then climbed up the stairs leading to the church¡¯s second floor in order to reach Alfred. The man was praying at an altar in front of the strange statue. From its figure, the statue looked feminine. It had a conical helmet that covered its face and extended upwards. It was as if it wore a pyramid on top of its head. ¡®What weird god are you worshipping Alfred?¡¯ thought Surgit as he approached the man. When he heard Surgit¡¯s footsteps, Alfred stood up and faced him. ¡°Oh-hoh! Good to see you safe. That was an exciting fight back there. It was an honor providing you with assistance.¡± ¡°The honor was mine. Thank you very much for your help, I¡¯ll be sure to repay you one day.¡± ¡°All in good times. Now let¡¯s think up something to discuss. Just tell me what piques your interest.¡± ¡°In fact, I wanted to see you not only to thank you but to also ask you about Byrgenwerth. What do you know about it?¡± asked Surgit. To this question Alfred smiled and started talking in a slow and monotonous voice. ¡°Byrgenwerth is an old place of learning. The tomb of the gods, carved out below Yharnam, should be familiar to every hunter. Well, once a group of young Byrgenwerth scholars discovered a holy medium deep within the tomb. This led to the founding of the Healing Church, and the establishment of blood healing. In this sense, everything sacred in Yharnam can be traced back to Byrgenwerth. But today, the college lies deep within a tangled wood, abandoned and decrepit. And furthermore, the Healing Church has declared Byrgenwerth forbidden ground. It''s unclear how many of its scholars remain alive...¡± Alfred stroked his chin for a moment, as if thinking seriously about something. He lifted his head towards Surgit and continued ¡°but only they know the password that allows passage through the gate.¡± ¡°Do you know why access to the woods was forbidden?¡± Surgit was left, once more, with more questions than answers. ¡°I¡¯m but a simple hunter. I merely repeat the words that were delivered to us long ago by our masters. As to why it was declared forbidden ground, only church officials would know about it.¡± ¡°And do you know of anybody who can lead me to the forbidden woods? Or someone who knows of the password giving access to it?¡± Surgit was desperate. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t. But I encourage you to go to the Great Cathedral, you may find someone capable of giving you further guidance in this matter.¡± Feeling that he could no longer get any additional information from him, Surgit thanked Alfred and took leave of him. ¡°Thank you Alfred, you¡¯ve been of great help. Until I see you again, I wish you a fruitful hunt.¡± ¡°I bid you farewell. It has been a pleasure. May the good blood guide your way.¡± Surgit walked back towards Oedon chapel, thinking about all the information he had just received. ¡®What a funny prayer Alfred has¡­ May the good blood guide your way. What¡¯s good or bad blood in this place anyway?¡¯Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He went back to Oedon Chapel and asked the dweller if Karla had come by at any point. The dweller simply informed Surgit that he hadn¡¯t sensed her presence in the church at all. Disappointed, Surgit decided to get back to the dream and get some more echoes from the items he received fighting Gascoigne and the Blood Starved Beast. Back in the dream, Surgit went to the workshop and took Gascoigne and the beast¡¯s echoes. They had an ethereal form to them. Holding them in his hand felt like he was holding white smoke. They were soft to the touch and felt very cold on Surgit¡¯s skin. He was holding Gascoigne¡¯s echo on his right hand and the beast¡¯s on his left. He squeezed his right hand and felt the smoke bubble burst into white smoke that enveloped his body, then it disappeared instantly. He did the same with the beast¡¯s echo and the smoke dissipated from around his body as soon as he popped the soft bubble. Surgit used his insight then to inspect his echoes. He was again floating in a dark space. Small dots in the distance signaled the presence of echoes of the blood. Surgit approached each one and saw that each cluster had a green color to it. He opened his eyes and headed towards the doll. ¡®So now I have four echo clusters,¡¯ he was analyzing how best to use the echoes he had gained. ¡®I¡¯d better inspect my status before deciding on anything.¡¯ He closed his eyes again and focused on his fighting status. Soon after, within that dark space he floated in, Surgit could make out letters and words that constituted his current level. Name: Surgit Insight level: Eye Can See Strength: Waste of Skin (3) Skill: Skillful (2) Bloodtinge: Blood Hungry (1) Arcane: Blind (1) He opened his eyes again, surprised at his recent discovery. His insight level had just changed. He was no longer narrow minded. His title seemed strange though. Was it bad word play or did it actually mean something? He decided to try it out later on by reading more of the books that detailed monster types. He had four green echo clusters he could use in order to develop his strength or his skill. ¡®I could also unlock one of the weapons from the messengers. Hmmm¡­ what to do?¡¯ Absorbed in thought, he was tapping his leg on the ground as he stood opposite the unnaturally beautiful doll. The doll tilted her head to the side, puzzled by Surgit¡¯s mannerism. ¡®I¡¯d better check the messenger¡¯s bath and see what I can get from there. Besides, I have two items to offer them.¡¯ He headed towards the messenger and asked the faceless creature to show him what he could get with Gascoigne¡¯s core. The messenger disappeared inside the stale water and a screen appeared. + Gascoigne¡¯s set: "Hunter attire worn by Father Gasoigne. Similar to hunter garb created at the workshop, only these are tainted by a pungent beastly stench that eats away at Gascoigne. "Father" is a title used for clerics in a foreign land, and there is no such rank in the Healing Church ¡°This is very convenient,¡± said Surgit out loud, happy to see his effort being rewarded. ¡°What about this one?¡± He held the Blood Starved Beast¡¯s core and handed it to the messenger. Soon after, another message appeared. This time, the message contained two items that Surgit had to choose from. - Antidotes: a set of ten antidotes for the ailing ones. - A hunter¡¯s bell: Ring at a specific spot to be summoned by others in need. Hunters rely on the messengers to relay their thoughts. Ring this bell and others can call upon you to aid them in their arduous journey. For the hunt is long and unchanging. ¡°I¡¯ll take the bell, it certainly beats the antidotes. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need them anyway. All I need to do is avoid getting poisoned.¡± Surgit had an idea as soon as he read the bell¡¯s description. He wanted to explore the chalice dungeons but he was afraid that it would take him too much time. He also wanted to meet up with Karla, but so far, she didn¡¯t show up. He had to find an alternative. He didn¡¯t want to waste time. The more time he wastes, the farther he becomes from reaching the academy and getting information about Paleblood: his only hope to get out of this nightmarish reality. He went first to check on the doll and upgraded his skill. He then went back to the messengers and unlocked the Rifle Spear. He checked his echoes but found nothing. ¡°Humph! As I suspected, the echoes are hard to come by, but easy to spend away¡­¡± Surgit had one more thing to do before he departed up towards the healing church workshop. He went back to Oedon Chapel headed towards the chapel dweller. ¡°Hey there feller, do you remember the lady that came with me the first time I arrived here¡±? ¡°The strong girl? Yes I don¡¯t think she came here. I¡¯d remember her, if only by scent.¡± The dweller seemed eager to speak to someone. As if nobody had addressed him in years. ¡°Please, I must ask a favor of you.¡± Surgit took the beckoning bell from his pocket and handed it to the chapel dweller. ¡°Please give her this if she ever comes here.¡± ¡°Oh, I s¡¯pose I can do that.¡± The dweller¡¯s mouth twitched into some grotesque form of a smile. ¡°Next time I see¡¯er round ¡®ere, I¡¯ll sure hand it to¡¯er.¡± The blind dweller¡¯s long and bony fingers closed on the bell. He pocketed it and looked in Surgit¡¯s general direction. ¡°If you find any sane survivors, well, send them along to Oedon Chapel will ya? Hee hee hee¡­¡± Surgit took his leave and headed towards the newly open door. Before getting inside, he rang the bell he had just earned from the Blood Starved Beast¡¯s fight. He hoped that Karla would still be alive somewhere, trying to reach the chapel. He had to tell her about Francis, and she had to stay away from the city¡¯s beasts. Some of them he had no doubt she could defeat. But if she ever met some strong abomination, her chances of victory would be close to null. ¡®Let¡¯s see where this will take me.¡¯ He thought as an elevator took him upwards. 94 - What Happened to Karla Karla opened her eyes, she was still alive but her whole body was aching and she was barely capable of movement. She looked around her and found herself in a cage. She was captured and imprisoned by that beast that was more than capable of finishing her back there. She cursed her luck and tried to stand up. Death would have been mercy and an escape from this dreadful place. Instead she was in a cage, sitting on a cold and dirty floor. The area was dark and the only light that reached the place emanated from the ceiling. The prison had numerous spacious cages with metallic bars that were supposed to keep prisoners from escaping the place. However, the cages looked old and decrepit. The very high ceiling was composed of bars too. They replaced the skylight and covered the entire surface of the upper part of the floor. Faint light got in between the thick bars and Karla could barely see what was around her. After a while her eyes got used to the darkness and she started noticing more details within the dark cages and beyond. She was thrown in a large cell. There were two bodies next to her. On inspecting the first, she noticed that it used to belong to a hunter. Judging from his attire and the pistol he was carrying, he must have sustained too much damage to survive the trip to this prison. As for the second, it was all bones and tatters, save for a strange long cage that was placed on the skull. It looked like inmates used to be tortured in the prison too. The cage didn¡¯t seem to only hold the head still but it was long enough for the torturer to insert other object from above to encumber it and torture the poor souls even further. Karla wasn¡¯t willing to stay imprisoned for long. The cages appeared to be fragile and she thought it possible to break through some bars and escape. She was too weak however, and every movement cost her too much energy. She went to the bars in front of her and tried shaking them in order to see how much strength would be required of her to break free. The bars were sturdy though and she needed to strike them with all her force if she wanted to budge them even a little. After kicking at one of them long enough, Karla was out of breath and too dizzy to stand still. The bar didn¡¯t move at all and she felt discouraged. She leaned on the door of the cage to catch her breath and fell backwards on her back. The cage was open and Karla didn¡¯t even try the obvious choice before she used force. She was lying on her back, her bones aching and some veins on her head felt like they were going to explode soon. She was bound to encounter some enemies soon and she knew that her chances at survival were close to nil. She had a blood vial in her pocket and she hesitated to use it. She really didn¡¯t like the use of those things and if it weren¡¯t for Surgit who had snuck it in her coat¡¯s pocket, she would have never taken it. She decided not to use it even if her entire body begged from some relief from the pain she was experiencing. She stood up with extreme difficulty and looked at the bars high above in the ceiling. There was another floor on top and she could see the shadows of some creating moving in there. She had no torch to help her have a better look at her surroundings but her eyes were well accustomed to darkness at that point. Against some wall, she could see big mirrors that were covered with a long piece of cloth. The cloth was wrapped in chains and the chains had numerous padlocks sealing them. ¡®Why would anyone bother sealing up mirrors?¡¯ Karla was puzzled at what she saw but the splitting headache didn¡¯t allow her to give the matter too much thought. Next to one of the mirrors, Karla saw another skeleton. The body looked shorter than any normal human being but the skeleton was definitely human. The previous owner of the body died sitting on a chair with the same long cage attached to its head. What Karla found inconsistent with her theory of torture was that the person sat on the chair unbound. She inspected the skull and she couldn¡¯t see any sign of injury that could¡¯ve been inflicted to it. ¡®What a strange city we¡¯ve found ourselves in. I¡¯m trapped here and I don¡¯t even know where I am at the moment. Beasts roam the streets and humans are scarce. What in the world have you dragged us into Francis?¡¯ Karla was worried about Francis but at that moment, she was more worried about herself than anyone else. Her legs shook from exhaustion. She hadn¡¯t had anything to eat in a while. She was sure that at least one of her ribs had been broken by that giant man¡¯s attack. She was bleeding from her head and if she couldn¡¯t find a way to mend her wounds, she would soon lose consciousness. She walked through the corridor, between the cages and found some stairs leading further down into the dungeon. As she approached the chairs, she heard voices. They belonged to three men and a woman, and they appeared to be arguing about something. Karla hid behind one of the sealed mirrors and started eavesdropping on their conversation.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°But we can¡¯t just venture out there, you know how dangerous it is.¡± Said one of the men¡¯s voices. ¡°Sitting idly in here means our death. You know that as much as I do. Movement is life, the moment we stop is the moment we forfeit our lives.¡± Another man said. ¡°I agree with him Arthur¡± said the third one, ¡°I know that those beasts had almost killed us and we faced only two of them. But we need to find a way out of here. Isn¡¯t it our duty as church doctors to rid the streets of abnormalities such as these?¡± ¡°Let us pray to the gods, they¡¯ll keep us safe.¡± Intervened the woman, her voice clearly showed fear. ¡°Oh would you stop it Adela?¡± Said the first man, ¡°no one can help us here but ourselves. I¡¯m moving out of here, I can¡¯t wait for death.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going with you Arnold,¡± said the second man ¡°I really don¡¯t see how we can survive by just sitting here.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go too.¡± Said the man called Arthur with a sigh. ¡°As much as this place scares me, the thought of what those creatures could do to us if they come back chills my bones.¡± ¡°This is folly!¡± exclaimed Adela ¡°You go on ahead, I¡¯ll stay here and pray for safety. The gods have always been sympathetic and merciful.¡± Karla was observing the scene from above. The four people were standing in a circle. Two of them held torches that illuminated the area around them. Karla couldn¡¯t help but notice how many sealed mirrors were scattered all around the place. It seemed that that floor was a storage place of some sort. No cages were to be seen, just mirrors and four people. They were all clothed in black and had white shawls around their necks which extended to the lower portion of their backs. They seemed to originate from the church as the woman named Adela spoke of prayer and the gods to which Karla couldn¡¯t help but snuff out her laughter. She decided it was time to show herself to them before they confused her with an enemy and attack. In her state, she was in dire need of some assistance. She walked down the stairs, and at the sound of her footsteps, the four stopped their conversations and turned towards the source of the sound, unsheathing their weapons. ¡°Relax, I¡¯m no enemy¡± said Karla as she moved towards them with her hands held above her head, showing that she held no weapons. ¡°I¡¯m merely looking for people to team up with in order to leave this place.¡± ¡°Good god! Look at the state she¡¯s in!¡± one of the church doctors cried out. 95 - Church doctors in action Karla was standing in front of four church doctors. They all looked at her in apprehension. ¡°Are you a hunter?¡± shouted one of them. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid Arthur! Since when did hunters seek help from church doctors?¡± answered the man called Arnold. ¡°He¡¯s right, I¡¯m no hunter¡± said Karla ¡°I was kidnapped just like you and brought here by those giant men.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look too well. Are you injured?¡± Asked the second man whose name was still unknown to Karla. ¡°I was injured fighting one of those things. I¡¯ll be fine once I mend some of these injuries.¡± She replied. ¡°We have some extra blood vials, they¡¯ll invigorate you instantly.¡± Said Adela to the frowns of the other three. ¡°I thought you were church doctors. Don¡¯t you know how to mend wounds without using those cursed vials?¡± Karla never liked the use of blood. But from the look of things, it seemed that she would be forced to use them after all. ¡°Listen,¡± started Arthur ¡°We are doctors who work in order to prevent the scourge from further spreading in our city. We roam the streets looking for the sick and we cure them from their fatal disease. Blood is our only cure. But if you¡¯d like to take a chance at dying painfully to one of the beasts up there, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be willing to aid you on that endeavor.¡± The other two nodded in agreement while looking at Arthur. ¡°If you survived a fight against a kidnapper that means that you can fight. We¡¯ll need your help in order to get out of here. But we won¡¯t risk protecting an injured woman who can barely move.¡± This time, it was Arnold who reinforced his friend¡¯s point. ¡°You have a point I guess. I¡¯ll need to be in full control of my body if we are to bring down at least one of those things without getting killed.¡± She turned then towards Adela and said ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that offer for blood vials.¡± She took three vials from Adela and injected herself with one. Instantly, she felt the pain in her ribs relieved and the headache dissipating. ¡®This blood can really heal anything.¡¯ She thought in amazement. ¡°Now, what¡¯s the plan?¡± She asked the four doctors. ¡°I¡¯m not moving from here. I¡¯m confident in my faith in the gods, and they will protect me.¡± Said Adela in a resolute way. ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn Adela. You¡¯ll just end up as food for those cruel kidnappers.¡± Said the man whose name was still unknown to Karla. ¡°Leave her be Bernard. We¡¯ll come back for her once we find our way out. She¡¯ll be convinced by how unsympathetic the gods are then.¡± Said Arnold in a mocking voice. ¡®Alright, his name is Bernard. Finally, I won¡¯t have to ask for anyone¡¯s name¡¯ Thought Karla in relief. ¡°Mock me all you want. You will die an agonizing death and I will be here safe and sound.¡± Replied Adela in a scornful tone. ¡°Alright lady,¡± said Arnold facing Karla ¡°Let¡¯s move out. Do you have a weapon on you?¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Karla checked her sheath and realized that she had dropped her sword while fighting the kidnapper earlier. She felt even weaker without her trustworthy sword. Arnold took a sword which was hanging by his belt and presented it to her. ¡°We¡¯ll need all the help we can get. I have this extra weapon that I found earlier on a hunter¡¯s corpse.¡± It was a long sword but not a very heavy one. Karla estimated that it would take her sometime to get used to it as it was heavier than her previous weapon. ¡°This will do. You have my thanks.¡± She placed the weapon on its sheath and buckled it to her waist. Adela remained hidden behind some of the mirrors and sat on her knees, murmuring some prayers. The four of them then moved upstairs, towards the prison where Karla had woken up. With the help of the torches Bernard and Arthur were carrying, Karla could see better in the dark dungeon. More skeletons with long cages on their heads sat on chairs or were lying down on the floor, no torture signs were to be seen on them. ¡°Do you know what those cages are for?¡± She asked, addressing the three men. ¡°They must be some kind of torture device¡± replied Arthur. ¡°This place really is terrifying¡± said Bernard with his deep shaking voice. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about those chants I hear. Am I the only who hears them?¡± asked Arnold. In fact, there were some chants in the distance. Their sound, however faint, was bone chilling. It seemed like a choir singing something of a diabolical nature. They went through a big door that used to seal the access in and out of the prison. The door was not locked though and the four people went through without a problem. They found themselves in a corridor with serpentine stairs that led upwards. The stone walls were composed of bricks that started withering and the whole place looked to be falling apart. The more they climbed up the stairs, the louder the sound became. They reached the second floor where they saw a door leading down to some dark chamber. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for us to split up yet. Let¡¯s take a look at the area at the top of this place first. It might be our best chance of escape.¡± Said Bernard, to which the others nodded quietly and continued their ascending. They soon reached the end of the stairway and found themselves in a large room. It looked like a church at first sight. The room was spacious and had pillars on each side. The ceiling extended to reach a height which made making out its patterns impossible. The building was gigantic and gave the impression that it was majestic at some point in time. The floor of the room though was composed only of bars, tightly stacked together to reinforce its sturdiness. From there, Karla could see the cage in which she was imprisoned before. Karla bumped into Arthur¡¯s back who suddenly stopped in his tracks. A kidnapper, tall and menacing, was walking towards them. Arnold immediately asked the others to surround their foe in order to make him lose focus. They surrounded him and each time he made to attack one of them, the other three jumped at him in unison. The kidnapper was fast though and managed to dodge their attacks. Karla was still getting used to the strength she had to use in order to swing her weapon properly. She missed each attack by a long shot. The kidnapper came at her and Arthur this time managed to cut his leg and cause a deep injury. The tall beast let out a scream, and red aura enveloped its body. ¡°Beware, it¡¯s getting angry!¡± shouted Bernard. The kidnapper ran quickly towards Arnold and struck at him with an uppercut. The movement was so fast that it looked like he teleported from Karla¡¯s point of view. Arnold however managed to dodge the attack and pierced the kidnapper with his sword. It was time to move forward, and Karla and the others ran towards their common enemy. The tall beast was still capable of movement and with its backhand, swiped Arnold away. The poor man rolled numerous times on the ground and only one pillar managed to stop him. The other three surrounded the kidnapper and Karla, swinging her new sword, managed to injure its other leg. The beast fell down on its knees and Arthur pierced it again with his own sword while Bernard shot the beast in the head using his large firearm. The kidnapper fell to the ground, finally dead. ¡°No matter how big they are, if you pierce and shoot them, they¡¯ll eventually die,¡± Arnold said as he moved back towards the others and retrieved his sword from within the beast¡¯s chest. ¡°With the four of us, I think we have a chance of getting out of here.¡± Bernard was finally cheerful. 96 - Bad Teamwork As they stood in the middle of the large building that looked like a cathedral, the church doctors and Karla were listening to the terrifying chant that could be heard everywhere. It was as if invisible people were singing around them and they were unable to pinpoint their exact location. The voices were deep and women and men partook in the singing. The voices grew louder since they had climbed the stairs earlier. Down below, they could barely make out the strange noise. By the time they had reached the gigantic building, the voices were loud and clear. The language they were using in their chant was foreign however, and no one from the group could make out what it was about. Bernard pointed with his index finger to the opposite direction of where the group was standing ¡°What is that?¡± he said. All of them turned and saw that more stairs led to the top part of the building. The building was indeed built like a cathedral, but anyone observing it wouldn¡¯t give it that nomenclature. In its large expanse, the building had pillars on the right and left parts. Anyone looking at those tall pillars would think of a church or cathedral¡¯s ails. The middle, bigger and wider, part of the building looked like a nave devoid of chairs where people would gather and sit during ceremonies. The group was looking at what appeared to be the choir stalls and instead of seeing an organ up in the middle, they saw a strange statue. It appeared to have a humanoid body. It was very tall, taller than a three floors building. It had long legs, and six long arms protruding from its back. Its gigantic hands had six fingers and its long toes appeared to be sharper than claws. What intrigued them most was the head of the statue, a spherical cage with hexagonal pores all around it. That thing appeared to be of extraordinary nature and may have been worshipped in this building. As they looked in amazement and terror at the imposing statue, a kidnapper appeared in front of it and looked at them. It must have been patrolling the area upstairs. As soon as it noticed the group¡¯s presence and its fallen comrade on the ground, the kidnapper let out a shout and jumped at them from the balcony. Karla avoided the slamming attack by a hair¡¯s width. The attack, combined with the kidnappers weight shook the bars that served as ground and the other church doctors lost balance and fell to the ground. Karla was facing the kidnapper alone and any false movement at that moment could mean her death. The kidnapper was clearly enraged by his fellow¡¯s death and it was ready to unleash its full force against the group. Karla had to buy time while the others regained their composure and joined in. The kidnapper didn¡¯t lose anytime and struck at Karla with its heavy bag which is used to transport the people they manage to beat.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She dodged to the side and instantly had to jump backwards as the kidnapper tried to stab her using its sharp fingers. Although their hands looked humanoid and even had five fingers, their sharpness could be compared to that of claws and could pierce a human body in one strike. The kidnapper immediately followed Karla¡¯s movement and ran towards her, performing an uppercut with its claws again which left a fresh cut on her right cheek and relieved her of some of her hair. She was struggling alone against that enraged beast and if she didn¡¯t find an opening, she would be on the ground, meeting the fate that she struggled so hard to avoid. With its right hand which held the kidnapping bag, the beast swung horizontally at Karla, hitting her on the side and sending her rolling on the ground until she hugged a pillar. She heard her bones cracking again and blood filled her mouth. The kidnapper had broken from its usual slow walk, it was running towards Karla in order to finish her and move towards the others. Karla couldn¡¯t believe that the attacks she had to dodge and the one she took were executed in mere seconds. All she had to do was buy some time. A few seconds at best so that the others get back on their feet and surround their foe. She looked at the kidnapper who seemed to take an eternity to reach her. She knew that her body wouldn¡¯t listen and her vision had gotten darker. She closed her eyes and waited for the finishing blow to connect. As the chants in the background became louder, Karla didn¡¯t hear the gunshot that staggered the kidnapper and halted its advance towards her. Arthur had shot it and Bernard and Arnold advanced towards it, each striking at a different knee. The kidnapper extended its arms on each side, swiping the two away and fought the pain to stand up again. It was in pain but it clearly wanted to take its revenge on the group. It was as if that beast was capable of thought and emotions. Karla opened her eyes to witness the scene in front of her. Bernard and Arnold were on the ground, struggling to stand up again while the kidnapper ran towards Arthur with shaking knees. The chants seemed to get even louder and it intensified the terror of what was happening to them. Karla remembered the blood vials and their immediate healing effect. She fumbled in her pockets and took a vial. She injected the blood to invigorate herself and got back on her feet. The kidnapper was swinging violently at Arthur and Karla knew that she had but seconds before he fell to the unending barrage of attacks which were overwhelming him. With her long sword, she struck at the kidnaper¡¯s knee then avoided a quick swipe of the beast that tried to immediately retaliate. The tall monster finally fell to the ground face first, as its leg was broken. Karla struck down at its head with all the strength she could muster and smashed the beast¡¯s brain. Arthur nodded at her in thanks as he was out of breath and too pale to be able to speak. The chanting stopped and silence came back. The group gathered and climbed the stairs in silence and went to inspect the strange statue. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not life size¡± commented Bernard as he looked at the giant sculpture. ¡°I just hope it¡¯s not real¡± said Arthur ¡°We almost died to one kidnapper, let alone this¡­ thing in front of us¡±. Arnold was still silent. He looked intently at the statue and didn¡¯t utter a word. 97 - Yaharg’hul, the terrifying village ¡°I think we should be more organized in our attacks.¡± Karla was still shaken by how close they came to death. ¡°If we stick to our strategy and surround our enemies, we should be able to dispose of them easily.¡± She said in an attempt to cheer them up and bring back their fighting spirit. Arnold turned towards her and gave her a stern look ¡°Do you really think that we stand a chance against those things? We were lucky we had to face only one of them. If the one that had been patrolling this area here earlier had seen us, they would¡¯ve been the ones standing by now.¡± He was clearly shaken by the previous battle and his morale which seemed high earlier had been broken. ¡°Except we aren¡¯t, and they¡¯re the dead ones now¡± intervened Arthur ¡°this woman here saved my life while you two were struggling to get back on your feet.¡± Feeling that a fight was about to break between them, Karla tried to calm them down. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on getting out of here and learning from our mistakes. I think that two of us can easily take a kidnapper out. Their legs are clearly their weakness. If one manages to attract their attention, the other can bring them to their knees and with our joint forces we can kill them quickly before they could counter attack.¡± Bernard and Arthur nodded in agreement while Arnold looked at her, unable to find words that could contradict her. He turned towards the statue again and said: ¡°I heard from a hunter before that kidnappers used to take people at night and bring them to a jail in a hidden village called Yahar¡¯gul. I¡¯m sure that this is what he was talking about. He said that the people in the village used to partake in strange rituals which required human sacrifice.¡± He turned and looked at the others who were intently listening to what he was saying. ¡°Legends say that they worshipped some kind of god, or gods, who demanded sacrifice in exchange for granting them extreme powers. I wonder if this sculpture here is what they imagined as their god.¡± Karla looked at the statue and felt shivers running down her spine. ¡°This looks like a terrible god. I wouldn¡¯t want to meet something that looks like that, or even worship it.¡± As soon as she finished her sentence, the chants resumed and the four of them jumped, startled. They left through the main entrance of the building. The choir chants resumed even louder. As they stepped outside, into the village, an even more terrifying view welcomed them. The street where they stood was cobbled and large enough for three big carts or wagons to drive by, side by side. The buildings, in what was supposed to be a village, were as tall as Yharnam¡¯s and looked even more sophisticated. The cone shaped roofs were decorated with dark green tiles and the tall buildings all had large colorful windows. The houses seemed empty and no light was to be seen on any window. Night had fallen and the streets were darker, save for few poles that illuminated only some parts of the large avenue they were in. Statues were scattered in a disorderly fashion, as if to break the organization that this place had. The statues were big and large. They depicted human bodies tangled and mixed with each other to form only one praying woman, veiled with both her arms holding something against her chest. Karla looked at the sculpture then heard Arthur¡¯s voice behind her: ¡°They have a strange taste for art.¡± She turned around and saw the three men looking at the statue as well, trying to figure out its meaning. ¡°This place seems to be well organized apart from these statues that are present almost everywhere,¡± commented Arnold, to which Bernard answered: ¡°Everything here looks old apart from these sculptures though. It¡¯s like they have been made after the city was established. And this singing makes these things look even more sinister.¡± Karla nodded and agreement and added, ¡°I think we should move, spending more time here will make me go crazy.¡± The others agreed and turned away from the statue, in the direction of the large avenue. They walked through the cobbled avenue and looked at the wagons that were stationed everywhere on the side of the road. The wagons were large enough to accommodate a big number of people. They all had small barred windows. They seemed to have been used to transport prisoners, or in this case people who have been kidnapped and dragged to the village in order to perform some kind of ritual.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Only the wagons remained and there was no sign of life within them. Arthur tried to look inside but found nothing. They walked further until they reached the end of the street. The road ended in front of a square which had a huge circle drawn on the ground. ¡°It looks like there was a plan to build a fountain over here, but it never came to fruition¡± commented Arnold as he pointed to a hole in the middle of the circle. In front of the circle, stairs led down towards another bigger square. The group stopped in front of the stairs and looked at the abomination that was climbing the steps, coming in their direction. ¡°Is that a pig?¡± asked Karla, not able to contain her surprise. ¡°That¡¯s a man eating boar. They¡¯re boars which were fed humans, then transformed into abnormal creatures. They¡¯re very fast and dangerous. Let¡¯s spread out!¡± Said Arnold and everyone immediately obeyed. The boar let out a deafening strange scream, and ran towards Bernard who was left in front of it to bait it. As soon as the boar came close to attacking Bernard, Arthur shot the beast twice on it muzzle. The attempt to divert its attention didn¡¯t work however and Bernard was sent flying and crashed against a parked wagon. Karla ran towards the beast and struck at its hind left leg. She had gotten more used to handling the sword and managed to injure the beast pretty badly. The pig, with a surprisingly swift attack, turned and hit Karla with its bleeding muzzle. She was surprised to see the beast¡¯s neck extend in order to reach her. She underestimated its attack¡¯s reach and she was rolling down the stairs. She started feeling dizzy as her head hit a few steps before she finally reached the bottom. She stood up, bruised and bloody, and looked up. Arnold was on top of the beast, trying to keep his balance and striking at its back with his sword while the shadows of the others appeared to be kicked away only for them to stand up and fight back. She injected herself with another vial and ran upstairs to lend them a hand. The beast¡¯s screams mixed with the choir¡¯s chants made Karla feel like she was living a nightmarish scenario. She reached the top of the stairs and avoided the boar¡¯s hoofs as they brushed up against her left cheek. It was jumping around trying to get rid of the one standing on top of its back. Karla stabbed the beast from behind through the only thing that remained tiny from its transformation, its ass hole. The beast screamed at the top of its lungs then fell to the ground, calm and breathing steadily. The three church doctors took care of finishing the poor animal and the fight was over in no time. ¡°What a mess this is. This village is no good news. We need to find a way out of here and quick.¡± Arnold was out of breath and struggled speaking those words out. ¡°I glanced a big gate down there when this disgusting pig threw me down the stairs¡± said Karla. ¡°Great, let¡¯s check it out, it could be our way out¡± replied Arthur who was also impatient to leave the village. ¡°These chants really add to the creepiness of the place¡± commented Bernard as the four of them took the stairs which were leading down. As soon as they arrived to the bottom of the stairs, they saw a big closed wooden gate. It seemed that the gate led further into the village, but the group wanted to just move and find a way out of the place. They looked around and saw two more wagons parked in the street preceding the gate. There was another road which led directly towards the gate that came from the southern part of the village. ¡°More wagons must mean that this place is either the entrance to the central part of the city or the exit¡± said Karla in a murmur, as if she was talking to herself. ¡°There is only one way to find out¡± replied Arnold ¡°we¡¯ll just have to push that gate open and see what¡¯s behind it.¡± They all went towards the gate and as soon as they approached it, a creaking sound announced that the gate was being automatically drawn. The chants became louder. The church doctors and Karla stopped and looked at the gate as it slowly revealed to them what lied beyond it. It was as if the chants came from behind the door. The more it opened, the louder the chants began. The three doctors held their heads as if to protect their ears from the loud sound. Karla observed in surprise as the three of them screamed in pain and fell to their knees. Their screams mixed with the extremely loud chants filled her heart with terror. Bernard was hitting his head on the floor while Arthur hit his with both hands as if he tried to make the pain stop. Arnold pulled on his hair and howled in pain. Karla observed them but didn¡¯t feel any pain. She was just terrified at what she was witnessing. The door finally opened completely and the chanting stopped. The three doctors stopped screaming and looked at the gate while sitting on their knees. Karla looked and saw just the expanse of the village. It was the city center after all. She looked back at the men to ask if they were feeling better. All three of them bowed down to the ground and put their foreheads on the floor, as if they were performing some kind of prayer. Karla approached them and called each one of them by name. None answered or moved. They just knelt there, immobile. She checked their pulse individually. They had all died. 98 - No home to return to Surgit had visited Iosefka at her clinic and exchanged a few words with her regarding blood healing and the possibility of curing people from the beastly scourge. Her speech about healing patients was pretty ambiguous and Surgit felt that Iosefka hadn¡¯t been acting like her usual self. Since he came back to see her after his fight against father Gascoigne, she had changed her beliefs about not letting anyone inside her clinic and accepted to allow the ill in order to receive more treatment. What struck Surgit as odd was that Iosefka wasn¡¯t willing to open her door under no circumstances. That was also aligned with what Yharnamites did during the night of the hunt. Her sudden change of heart surprised Surgit even if he felt that it was a positive move. He thought about Gilbert and how the poor man couldn¡¯t stop coughing. He was on his way out from the clinic and was heading towards Gilbert while he was processing all the information received from the doctor. As he reached Gilbert¡¯s house, he knocked at the window from which they usually talked. He heard intense coughing from behind the curtain and the sound intensified as Gilbert approached it. ¡°It¡¯s you¡­*cough cough*¡­I¡¯m glad you¡¯re still breathing¡± said Gilbert in between his fits of coughs. ¡°Hi Gilbert, I see that your coughing has intensified.¡± Surgit couldn¡¯t conceal his worry towards the sick man. ¡°You needn¡¯t concern yourself with me now¡­¡± and Gilbert started coughing again violently unable to speak again for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re the first person to ever help me in this foreign city. I owe you a lot Gilbert. I think I have a way of helping you defeat that illness that¡¯s eating away at you.¡± ¡°As I said before dear hunter, you shouldn¡¯t concern yourself with me¡­ *cough, cough*¡­ I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m of little help to you now. But before you go¡­¡± Gilbert disappeared from behind the curtain and went inside his apartment. When he came back he opened the window and handed an object to Surgit. ¡°Take this¡­ I made no use of it, but perhaps you¡­¡± And the heavy coughing resumed again, halting his speech. ¡°Gilbert there¡¯s this doctor, Iosefka¡¯s her name. She has a clinic near your house. She can help you get back on your feet again. I can escort you there and keep you safe.¡± Surgit was almost pleading to him. He really didn¡¯t want to lose any more people who have helped him in Yharnam. ¡°What inflicted me was incurable¡­¡± Gilbert started speaking again after his coughing fits had stopped. ¡°But this town gave me hope. Their strange blood bought me time¡­ I was most fortunate, unharmed by the plague of beasts. I can even die human. I¡¯m no longer looking for a cure for my affliction good hunter.¡± ¡°But¡­ you¡¯ll finally be able to leave this city and live your life anew. This doctor, she¡¯s good and she oversees a clinic full of afflicted humans. I¡¯m sure she can help you.¡± ¡°I have nowhere to return to. I prefer to end my days in peace, in this house. Thank you for your offer good hunter, but I¡¯m no longer seeking that miraculous cure people spoke of before.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Surgit¡¯s mouth was open, he tried to say something but didn¡¯t find the words to use in this situation. ¡°I had a home once,¡± started Gilbert before coughing stopped him on his tracks. ¡°I never felt welcome there. Because of my sickness, people shunned and avoided me¡­¡± Gilbert¡¯s coughing intensified even more. Surgit felt the pain Gilbert had been through. ¡°When I set sail to retrieve the city of miracles, I never thought I could walk among humans, without feeling like an outsider. This city was brimming with foreigners, seeking refuge and healing. Even though Yharnamites didn¡¯t like us, we had each other. I could finally walk in peace and observe the sun, setting beyond the valley.¡± *cough* *cough* *cough*¡­ Gilbert¡¯s words left Surgit speechless. He patiently waited for the man to regain his composure. His story didn¡¯t seem too unfamiliar to Surgit. ¡°I am grateful for the second chance I had in this city. It is here that I could feel the wind against my face without worrying about others¡¯ judgmental eyes. It is here that I could laugh with others wholeheartedly. It is here that I lived a normal life, and it is here that I wish to die. This is my home.¡± *cough* cough* cough* ¡°I wish you a fruitful hunt good hunter, the night of the hunt is long. It even feels¡­. Unending.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Surgit took his leave from Gilbert. His heart felt heavy and his soul crushed. Gilbert had arrived to Yharnam and managed to get his treatment. Despite all of that, blood didn¡¯t stop what illness had befallen him. ¡®What makes one worthy of blood ministration? Why wasn¡¯t Gilbert given a hunter¡¯s blood transfusion?¡¯ Surgit didn¡¯t know what made him worthy of the blood ministration he received. Or is it that they all get the same transfusion? But only the worthy get chosen? His mind was racing. At every encounter, every conversation, Surgit felt that Yharnam had gotten even more mysterious. He needed to understand more. He wanted to know more. He felt helpless without information to explain what had happened in Yharnam. He had to explore more of this city¡¯s past. Surgit started seriously considering exploring the Chalice Dungeons. It was there that most of Yharnam¡¯s secrets were buried. He hoped that Karla would use the bell to summon him when she arrives to Oedon Chapel. Using the bells would mean that he could be at two places instead of one. That helped convince him more to get the material required, perform the ritual at the altar and open a path to the tomb of Gods. Surgit looked at the object Gilbert had handed him. It was a flame sprayer, useful to put distance between him and hordes of enemies. He thanked the sick man for his gift mentally. There was nothing else he could do in Central Yharnam anymore. He kept in mind that if he ever came across anyone in need of medical attention, he would send them immediately to Iosefka¡¯s clinic. Oedon chapel was for sure a safe place for any sane human who sought asylum from the beasts, but if the person was sick, it would be better to send them to Iosefka who would know how to deal with their disease and take care of them. He walked through the dark streets of Central Yharnam. Night had settled and the moon started to rise in the sky. The sky had cleared, unlike the stormy weather during which they had arrived to the city. The memory of their arrival to Yharnam seemed like it happened ages ago to him. As he walked, he thought of the people who accompanied them on their journey and the end they have met. Was it fate that the captain had died as soon as they landed? Was it luck that caused him to meet that blood minister who accepted to administer blood to him? After all, he had no special gifts or talent. At that time, he was just a dying man who could¡¯ve died during the first attack that welcomed them into Yharnam. As memories came back rushing to his mind, he remembered that he was blasted away by cannon fire and left unconscious in the street. No one cared to help him apart from that old minister. His companions didn¡¯t think much of him and didn¡¯t even bother checking on him or dragging him along to a safer place. He only gained Karla¡¯s respect, or in other words her fear, after he became a hunter. As for Francis, he always knew that he cared only for himself and now that he became a hunter, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder at the nature of his agenda within Yharnam. If he had given him the information regarding Paleblood and the way out of Yharnam, it must mean that he had no intention of leaving the city. And what about Karla? After they had gotten separated earlier, he hadn¡¯t seen her anywhere, not even in Oedon chapel. He knew that she was a good fighter, but he feared for her life against the bigger beasts that await at every corner. ¡®What am I doing concerning myself with other people¡¯s lives? They don¡¯t even care about my own existence!¡¯ He thought to himself and stopped in his tracks. He was already in the graveyard where had fought father Gascoigne. ¡®I should pay more attention to my own well-being and development. And I should find a way out of this city as soon as possible. I don¡¯t think I can take it in here longer than expected.¡¯ He had reached Oedon chapel and found the dweller and the old lady, tending to their own needs. The door that led upwards was still open and he went through it. He stepped on a round platform that served as an elevator and went upwards. The platform went further up until it came to a full stop in front of an open door. He went in and found himself in a large room with a door leading outside. He could tell that it led to an open space as strong winds came through it. He heard a creaking noise and turned right to see a man on a wheelchair approaching him. As soon as their eyes locked, the old man stopped and started turning a device which was attached on his wheelchair. Surgit saw the device and ran quickly towards the old man. The wheelchair had a mini gun attached to it and the old man was definitely trying to kill him. As soon as Surgit heard the first sound of exploding bullets leaving their barrel, he jumped high to avoid them and landed behind his attacker. In one swift strike, the old man was dead and the shooting stopped. ¡°Fool me once¡­¡± he said as he inspected the mini gun and tried to detach it from the wheelchair. The firearm was tightly attached to the chair and it was impossible to take it off without breaking the mechanism that could make it work. ¡®Damn¡­ it won¡¯t work!¡¯ cursed Surgit. The first time he came through this room, the old man had surprised him and pierced him with bullets. He hoped he could use that weapon too. ¡®I guess I¡¯ll have to wait until I get a hunter Gatling gun¡­¡± 99 - ‘Ascend Oedon Chapel’ Surgit turned away from the dead old man and walked around the room, trying to find anything that could be of use to him. He found a box full of quicksilver bullets that could come in handy for him in time of need. He filled his pocket with bullets and made a mental note to come back there anytime he was short on ammunition. He saw a chest under a large window that gave a nice view over Yharnam. Surgit realized how high he had climbed when he saw the tall buildings below, between which he walked before. The structures looked small from where he stood. He opened the chest and found a piece of cloth on which a strange inscription was embroidered. Feeling that it could be an important item, he inspected it with his insight. ¡®Communion: a secret symbol left by Caryll, runesmith of Byrgenwerth. This rune represents the Healing Church and its ministers. Blood ministration is, of course, the pursuit of communion.¡¯ Surgit remembered seeing something related to runes at the hunter¡¯s workshop. Those must be the symbols that one can engrave within their minds. He also knew that he needed a special item in order to use them, but he had no idea where to find said item. He kept the cloth and left the room by going through the second door which led outside. He was standing on a bridge that led from the uppermost part of Oedon Chapel towards an even taller tower. Surgit looked up and observed the majesty of the tower that displayed itself to him. The top floor of the building was four stories above where he stood. Surgit could see through the railings of the bridge. He noticed that the base of the building was concealed deep down in the darkness. Surgit heard two shots in the distance then felt the bullets penetrate his chest. He rolled backwards despite the intense pain and hid inside the room where he previously fought the old man in the wheelchair. He leaned on a wall and fumbled quickly in his blood vials pocket, took one out and injected himself with it. The bullets that were previously embedded in his chest were thrown out and his muscle tissue was renewed. ¡®Freaking snipers; I should¡¯ve known better!¡¯ He peered into the tower and saw two gunmen watching him, aiming at the door. He was spotted and there was no way for him to avoid a confrontation at that moment. From within the tower, Surgit saw a huntsman coming out to inspect the source of the noise. One of the gunmen pointed towards the door and emitted a sound which was close to a growl. The huntsman ran towards the room, sword in hand. Surgit then ran towards the wheelchair and waited for his enemy to get inside. ¡®Time to pay you back with your own tools.¡¯ As soon as the huntsman got inside, Surgit activated the device and watched as the man had numerous holes made into his body. The huntsman, after struggling with the barrage of bullets that completely destroyed him, fell to the ground. Surgit then adjusted the mini-gun to point upwards and pushed the wheelchair towards the door. He crouched and hid behind the chair and activated the device. Once the bullets started firing towards the two gunmen, they evaded and hid behind some pillars by the large balcony on that floor.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Surgit then ran as fast as he could and crossed the bridge before the two could know what happened. He was standing on the floor underneath them and observing the room he was about to enter. The snipers had no clear shot at him. He could plan his next move slowly. Two huntsmen were standing side by side, facing the wall and exposing their back to Surgit. ¡®This is odd. They don¡¯t seem to have heard the commotion outside.¡¯ Surgit saw it as an opportunity to strike first and entered the room. As he got ready to go for the attack, he saw that he was surrounded by four other huntsmen who concealed themselves. ¡°Oho, you think you¡¯re being smart. I¡¯ll show you smart!¡± He shouted in frustration, he¡¯d fallen for another obvious trap. The two who were facing the wall turned towards him. He swore he¡¯d seen a smile on their face. The room in which he found himself was circular and had serpentine stairs that led upwards. On the stairs, another sniper was aiming at Surgit. The hunter dodged the bullet aimed at him in the nick of time. For an outsider watching the fight, he would¡¯ve seen a shadow moving so fast while the bodies surrounding it fell one after the other. Surgit knew that his speed was his biggest asset in that situation. Dodging the bullet was a lucky strike, or perhaps a reflex he picked up during the numerous ambushes he¡¯d been a victim of. He rushed towards the first two who were facing the wall. They were the furthest enemies from where he stood. Running towards them would mean that he¡¯d be able to put some distance between him and the others trying to ambush him. He ran fast and got in between the two unsuspecting huntsmen. His speed had become far greater than before and to these ¡®normal¡¯ enemies. He closed the distance between him and them before they could even realize what happened. He cut the first one open from the chest. His saw went through like a knife cutting through butter. The improvements he had made into his saw cleaver had made his attacks even bloodier and more effective. With a second swing from his weapon towards the other huntsman¡¯s head, he cut it off. Surgit turned back towards the other four who hadn¡¯t even started following him. He jumped to the side as another bullet hit the hard floor and rushed towards his remaining foes. He used his speed to slide on the floor as a sword was thrust towards his face. Surgit swung with his cleaver, elongating it in the process. The huntsman got his leg cut down and fell to the ground. Another one slammed at Surgit with his pitchfork. Surgit rolled to the side, in the direction of the amputated huntsman. He slammed his weapon on his chest and used the impact to lean on the weapon and stand up quickly. Then he swung his weapon violently while performing a 360 turn towards the other enemies and cut them down in one swoop. He shortened his weapon and brought it to his face as a bullet hit the saw and ricocheted to the ground. He ran up the stairs and tackled the sniper from below, flipping the poor huntsman behind him before turning around and slamming his weapon at him, smashing him into the hard stairs. His heart was beating fast. He loved the adrenaline that came after defeating a horde of enemies. He had become more skilled at fighting off groups of enemies and he enjoyed slaughtering them while being showered in their blood. ¡®Moments ago I was feeling bad for the afflicted people in this city and worrying about Karla and now I¡¯m enjoying this blood bath. I think this city can really turn people into mad killing machines.¡¯ 100 - The Holy Blades Surgit went up the stairs and found himself in another circular room. He had spotted another man in a wheelchair trying to ambush him. He disposed of him before he could even fire his gun. Once he was sure that the room was devoid of any other enemy, he took his time to look around. The room was vast and had a high ceiling. Trick weapons were hung from it and it reminded him of the hunters¡¯ workshop back at the dream. The place must be the church workshop Gehrman had spoken of. The floor had tiles on it, darkened by years of neglect. He noticed that he didn¡¯t explore the floor below and went down to see if he had missed anything. The room was similar to the one above it. Trick weapons were hung on the ceiling and the floor was dirty and unkempt. He noticed though that there was a metallic bar on the floor which barred access downwards. He looked for a lever that could allow him to open the trap door but he couldn¡¯t find anything. So he went back up to the second floor. The stairs stopped at that level and Surgit had only one way to go to, the balcony where the snipers who ambushed him were. He was pretty sure that they haven¡¯t seen him run past the bridge and he wanted to surprise them. ¡®Revenge is a dish served cold. I¡¯m not waiting for it to get cold, I¡¯ll show these two snipers what a hunter can really do.¡¯ He took the wheelchair, on which the old man he disposed of sat, and pushed it towards the door. As he reached the door, the dim rays that came from the faint light of the rising moon was obscured by a gigantic figure. A troll holding a big brick on his hand was barring his way. Surgit jumped backwards ¡®change of plans! I didn¡¯t see this one coming.¡¯ The troll charged at him, brandishing his brick in the air as if it were a sword. Once the troll brought his arm down to strike at Surgit, he shot him with his gun staggering him. With a visceral attack, Surgit destroyed the troll¡¯s insides and left him on the ground, bloody and immobile. He was certain that the snipers had heard his gun shot and would be expecting someone to come out of the door. He kicked the wheelchair out onto the balcony and turned it towards the snipers position with his feet. He was leaning behind a wall and snuck a peak to make sure that the snipers were indeed in the position he assumed they would be in. A shot almost took his eye out. They were definitely waiting for him to show up. He took his gun and shot the device on the mini-gun, breaking it and unleashing hell on the ones who were trying to ambush him. He got out as soon as the bullets started being fired and pushed the wheelchair, looking for the snipers who were trying to get behind cover.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The balcony went around the whole floor, as if hugging the tower. And the snipers were trying to get behind the wheelchair in order to have a better shot at Surgit. He didn¡¯t give them any time to do so though, as he followed them and filled them with bullets as they tried to run away. He shot again the device and broke the chain that delivered bullets into the mini-gun. Silence settled in and Surgit was faced with a clearer view over Yharnam. The city expanded more than he imagined. Central Yharnam and the Cathedral Ward were but parts of the city that expanded beyond the horizon. Surgit could see water in the distance, in the northern part of the city. The blood minister must have dragged him a long way from the port to Iosefka¡¯s clinic. He didn¡¯t want to think about those memories any further. Instead he headed towards a ladder he had seen while chasing the two snipers. He went up and found himself in another floor, similar to the two below it. This time, as he entered the circular room, two men on wheelchairs approached him quickly trying to attack him. He killed the first and jumped backwards as fire almost engulfed him whole. They had flame throwers and he almost got killed in an agonizing way. He disposed of the other man and turned to look at them. He thought he had seen something unusual about them and he was right. The old men with mini-guns wore straw hats or nothing at all on their heads while those two were wearing plague doctors masks. He inspected them with his insight and got the message ¡®Wheelchair huntsmen¡¯. ¡°This is no fun, I thought you were something new¡± he commented as he looked, disappointed, at the corpses. He looked around the room and saw that this one had an additional corridor. At the end of the passageway, Surgit saw a door and made for it. He tried to open it but to no avail. He pushed and kicked and tried to force it open, no results. ¡® Locked¡¯ even his insight had to budge in and let him know that there was no way for him to open it. He walked back towards the balcony and noticed a chest he hadn¡¯t seen before. He opened it and found a pendent: ¡®Radiant sword hunter badge: one of the badges crafter by the healing church. The radiant sword indicates the heirs to the will of Ludwig. These hunters, also known as Holy Blades, are what remain of an ancient line of heroes that date back to a very early age of honor and chivalry.¡¯ Surgit¡¯s insight had kicked in before he even thought of activating it. ¡®I guess my insight is improving then, it¡¯s triggered without my need for willing it to activate.¡¯ He thought as he contemplated the badge. He closed his eyes and inspected his status using his supernatural sight. Name: Surgit Insight level: Eye Can See Strength: Waste of Skin (3) Skill: Skillful (3) Bloodtinge: Blood Hungry (1) Arcane: Blind (1) 101 - Descend Oedon Chapel Surgit found himself in an impasse. Did Gehrman ask him to ascend the tower only to find this badge? He doubted that and he started looking for a way to unlock the closed door. He looked around the three floors in search of a hidden chest or some hiding spot for a key. He went outside towards the balcony on the third floor, looking around some crates that were stacked near the ladder. Nailed to one of the wooden crates, a note written on a small piece of paper was dangling. He snatched it out and read the content: ¡®The sky and the cosmos are one. The choir.¡¯ The message seemed cryptic and unclear to Surgit. The choir must have been some code name for someone or even a real choir. ¡®If there¡¯s a church in this city, there has to be a choir too wouldn¡¯t it?¡¯ he thought to himself as he climbed the ladder down towards the second floor. He couldn¡¯t find anything and decided to give up on the search. He was on the first floor where he was stupidly ambushed by the huntsmen earlier. He walked outside towards the bridge and realized that he hadn¡¯t checked the balcony on that floor. The balcony was similar to the ones above him, circular and hugging the whole tower. As he reached the back of the building, he saw that the balcony had been destroyed and the debris had perfectly fallen below, allowing him access to the lower floor. Jumping down there would mean trapping himself on the lower floors with no way to get back up. There was no ladder leading back to the upper floors nor were there any stairs. He pondered for a moment the implications of jumping down there. Going down would mean that he¡¯d get to explore more of the tower. Gehrman had asked him to ascend, not descend the tower. However, by going up, the only things he found were a locked door and a radiant badge. In the Cathedral Ward, all gates leading further towards the great cathedral were closed and he wasn¡¯t as skinny as Karla to be able to squeeze between the metallic bars. Furthermore, climbing on top the gates and jumping down in order to open them from the other side would inevitably mean his death. The gates were too high for him to jump down without getting hurt. Dying before opening the gates would also be pointless. He sighed at the inevitability of the choice presented to him. He had no other choice but to descend the tower. He jumped down and reached the balcony below. As he walked around it, he found a door giving access inside the tower. The inside was dark with no windows on that lower part. Not even the faint light emanating from the rising moon could get inside. He took his torch and lit it using a lighter he had found in the dream¡¯s workshop. He stood at the door and extended the arm which was carrying the torch. The light emanating from it showed him a decrepit building, falling apart and dangerous to walk around. He looked around him and saw that the tower and all its lower floors had been destroyed before. Only few platforms remained intact and horizontal wooden pillars which used to support the floors before stood as a reminder of an old sophisticated tower. Some were big enough to look like wooden bridges, linking the walls of the tower. Others, beneath him, looked small enough for both his feet to stand on if they were squeezed together. Surgit used the pillars as cat walks and treaded carefully on top of them. His torch offered limited visibility, enough for him to be able to jump down towards visible platforms or other thin wooden pillars. As he walked on top of the wooden catwalk, he felt nervous and tense. Any false movement would mean his fall to death and he definitely didn¡¯t want to die free falling towards darkness. Surgit took his time scanning the area, squinting and looking into the visible platforms in order to assess their sturdiness. As soon as he¡¯d see a platform deemed strong enough to support his weight, he would jump and brace for impact. He hated being in that place. It looked old and decrepit. ¡®Why did I even get here? I should¡¯ve gone back to the chapel. Or even better, I should¡¯ve gone to the dream and accessed those Chalice Dungeons¡­¡¯Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! He wondered how the upper floors managed to remain intact while the lower ones had been almost completely wiped out. What had happened in this floor? Was it a big battle, or was it deliberately destroyed in order to bar access to something supposed to remain in the shadows? He must have jumped down four floors. He was standing on what remained of that floor¡¯s ground and held his flickering torch to scan the place again. Two floors below him, he saw a door linked to a small wooden board enough for only one person to stand on. The door was closed. From where he stood, Surgit could only see its contours. They looked like they were nicely decorated. Surgit felt the urge to jump towards that door and open it. He was always a curious person. ¡®That¡¯s what lead me to this dark place! Curse my stupid curiosity!¡¯ If something was worth investigating, his soul would urge him to run as fast as possible towards it and find out its secret. He hated this character trait of his. It was his curiosity that led him to investigate Yharnam. It was his curiosity that converted him into a beast hunter. It was his curiosity that led him to be trapped in this city. For some reason, he felt that the door concealed something important behind it. The jump towards the door seemed improbable, especially from where he stood. ¡®If only I could climb back up.¡¯ He saw a way to jump to it from two floors above. The landing could be dangerous but his mind urged him to go look into the matter. He tried to find a way to climb back up and attempt the dangerous jump but to no avail. ¡®I guess I¡¯ll have to return to the tower from above and jump down towards this door.¡¯ He gave up on the idea of jumping towards the door at that moment. From where he stood, he needed to run and jump a long distance, almost twenty feet by his calculation. He needed to have some momentum for that and the small platforms he had jumped over didn¡¯t allow such a feat. He looked at his torch. The flames were swaying and flickering. ¡®Wind, I must be close to some exit. There are no windows around here that would allow wind to get through.¡¯ He looked below him and saw a wooden plank on top of two wooden pillars protruding from the wall. From there, he would be able to jump further down and reach the source of the wind. He jumped down and landed on the platform that emitted a loud crack. The old plank gave way under his weight and shattered. The whole thing happened too fast for Surgit to react in any way. His torch slipped from his fingers as he tried to regain his balance and find something to latch onto. His body went through the plank and dove down in free fall. He felt his legs, on which he had no control anymore while free falling, hit a wooden pillar and crack. That was enough to flip his body around for him to hit another solid object with the back of his head. The impact sent his body rotating the other way and Surgit landed on his face, on a bunch of sacks and crates that were stacked on the floor. Bloody and dizzy, Surgit tried to stand up and searched around him for his torch. Perhaps it had fallen to the ground with him. His eyes emitted red sparks and the whole place was turning around him at a dangerous speed. His right leg hurt and he could feel that he broke at least two ribs. He sat on top of the pile on which he abruptly landed and tried to catch his breath. Slowly, his vision started to get back to normal and his breathing became steadier. He took out a blood vial and injected himself with it. His bones went back into place and muscle tissues reconstructed. His breathing though hadn¡¯t slowed down. It seemed to have grown louder and heavier. He put a hand on his chest to inspect it and found that his lungs were inflating and deflating at a steady rate. Why was his breathing so loud then? He understood what was happening when he looked around him. The pile on which he landed was stacked on what appeared to be the ground floor of the tower. The ground was intact and circular. In the distance, he saw a tall dark shape coming closer to him. He had gotten used to being alone that the idea of another breathing living being didn¡¯t even occur to him. He took his saw from the sheath he had on his back and squinted to have a better idea of what was coming towards him. He descended the pile of sacks carefully and stood in front of it waiting for his incoming enemy. 102 - Beast It was a beast, as his mind had always imagined beasts when he used to read old stories back at school. It looked like a werewolf, furry and with deadly fangs. Its hands had long sharp claws and to top it all, it had two bull horns protruding from its head. Its body was one of a muscular tall person, big chest and chiseled abdominals. It was walking towards him, breathing heavily and preparing for the attack. It stopped a few paces from Surgit and bared its fangs. It let out a scream then held its right arm in the air, as if holding an imaginary object on it. Soon after, a fireball appeared on the beast¡¯s hand, growing bigger every second. The beast flung its arm towards Surgit and the fireball was propelled towards him at full speed. Surgit jumped to the side on time and the ball hit the pile of sacks, reducing them all to ashes. He looked at the impact of that demonic attack and understood that he could not allow himself to be caught by one, lest all his effort be for naught. He dreaded making that descent once more, unless he was forced to. And he wasn¡¯t going to be forced into it by that beast. Another fireball was hurled towards him and Surgit dove to the ground to avoid it again. Then a third, aimed at him lying on the floor. He rolled on the floor and watched as a big hole was carved out from the impact. He stood up as quickly as he could and jumped above another fireball. He landed behind the beast which was fast enough to turn and face him. The beast was smarter than the other werewolves he had fought before and it swung at him even faster. He managed to dodge some of the swings and blocked others with his blade. The beast then used both its hands and performed a slamming attack on Surgit. He had no time to dodge that one so he blocked the attack with his blade, holding it upwards with both arms. They stayed like that for what appeared to Surgit as an eternity. It was a fight of strength and endurance. If he gave up at that moment, he would be shredded by the beast¡¯s sharp claws. He was glad that he had upgraded his strength and skill that much. After a moment of struggling and pushing, the beast started clapping its sharp teeth towards Surgit. It could¡¯ve chopped off his arm if it wasn¡¯t concealed beneath the large blade of the saw cleaver. The beast finally let go of its tight grip on the weapon and Surgit didn¡¯t let the opportunity slip. With his left arm, he pushed his cleaver quickly in order to elongate it. The saw penetrated the beast¡¯s chest, right above the abdomen and Surgit pushed even more with his arms in order to cut deeper. He jumped back as the beast¡¯s fangs missed his neck by a hair¡¯s width. The monster was bleeding heavily and it was angry. It swiped its arm towards Surgit who felt the urge to jump back even if he was well away from the arm¡¯s reach. A fire surged again from the beast¡¯s palm and followed the trail of the swipe. ¡®If I stood there, I could¡¯ve been roasted by that fire¡¯ he thought as he ran back towards the beast.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He knew that he shouldn¡¯t leave too much distance between the two of them. Otherwise he¡¯d be an open target for its deadly fire attacks. As the beast swung at him again, trying to force him to jump back and put some distance between them, Surgit slid on the floor and hit the beast¡¯s enormous right hind leg. Blood rained on the floor as the beast fell on its bloody knee. Surgit stood up quickly and held the werewolf hybrid by one horn, twitching its head sideways. The beast tried to fight back but with two injuries and the loss of blood it suffered, its efforts were weak. He retracted his saw cleaver to its original shape and proceeded to cutting the beast¡¯s throat, slaughtering it as hunters should do to their prey. He stood next to the beast¡¯s corpse and tried to breathe steadily in order to regulate his heartbeat. That fight was exhilarating to say the least. He enjoyed winning difficult fights and he found himself craving them when things became too quiet. Perhaps that was the reason he jumped down, knowing that he had no way to climb back up once he found himself on the lower parts of the tower. He heard the murmurs inside his head again: ¡®Beast: You have acquired the rune ¡®Beast¡¯ by slaying one of their kind.¡¯ Runes again, he knew that they had some kind of purpose and that they could be used. He also knew that he needed a special item in order to carve them into his mind back in the dream¡¯s workshop. He just didn¡¯t know where to find the item. He proceeded towards a door he had seen from the corner of his eye while fighting the beast. He pushed the door and found himself back in the streets of Yharnam. The place where he stood was dark and quiet, eerily quiet. He looked up and saw the tall buildings of Yharnam surrounding him wherever he looked. Lights were lit in some houses far up. The moon light couldn¡¯t reach the street in which he was, only the lights emanating from the houses above provided some semblance of guidance, illuminating the ground for him. Instead of the usual cobbles on the ground, Surgit was surprised to see that the road had been destroyed. Only few cobble stones remained, leaving way for dirt and ingrown grass. Every step he made appeared to be loud for him. His boots squished the grass or crackled the dry floor. His breathing, although faint, appeared to be louder than a machine working at full speed. He walked among the deserted buildings and empty houses. No living soul was to be heard or seen in this lower part of the city. Surgit found himself in an intersection, a road taking left led towards a bonfire in the distance, while the one on the right looked dark and grim. He took to the left, knowing full well that he¡¯d encounter whatever had lit that bonfire on his way to it. Halfway through, he saw a tall man, cloaked in black and wearing a hood that concealed its face. As he stepped next to the fire, his features became more apparent. It was no man but some kind of hybrid between man and beast. It had a humanoid form but nothing else in its appearance suggested any other human trait in it. It had dark purple skin. Its hands were large and its fingers as long as Surgit¡¯s forearm. Its feet were as big as his arm and its face was long. Its eyes were white, no pupils or irises. On one arm, the tall man held what appeared to be a heavy bag dangling from its back. It pointed with its long finger towards Surgit and emitted a sound similar to a dog¡¯s growl. The man disappeared and before Surgit knew what was happening, he was hit by the bag on his head. The impact was so hard that Surgit fell on the ground, smashing his head against the dirt. He started losing consciousness and felt that he was being dragged away, from his feet. ¡®Beasts all over the shop¡­¡¯ He thought of Gascoigne¡¯s words before he passed out. 103 - A memory he couldn’t recall Surgit opened his eyes and found himself lying on the cold floor. He stood up, trying to remember what had happened to him earlier. He remembered seeing that odd hybrid of a man and remembered his head being smashed to the ground. The beast was too fast and he was dead before he could even realize it. The thought of having to go back through all those catwalks and jumping down in the darkness filled him with sorrow. To make matters worse, he had lost his torch somewhere and relying on his eyes in the darkness of the tower could prove very difficult to deal with. He looked around him and realized that something had changed inside of Oedon chapel. The incense pots have disappeared and even the odd chapel dweller was nowhere to be found. It took him sometime to realize that he wasn¡¯t in the chapel anymore. The bars surrounding him made him realize that he was in a different place altogether. It appeared that he was dragged to this place by that beast that smashed his head to the ground. His belongings hadn¡¯t been confiscated though. He still had his weapon and his blood vials. He injected himself with a blood vial to gain his strength back. He must have lost his consciousness for a long time. He looked up and discovered that the cage in which he was held was at least twelve feet high. The bars looked weak and prone to breaking. High up above, he could see faint light emanating from what appeared to be a skylight. Even the door barring his access looked withered. He went for the door and inspected it. He tried the silliest thing every prisoner usually does and pushed the door. To his surprise, the door opened and gave way. He stepped outside and looked around to have a better idea of where he was. The place was strange, filled with alien artifacts he had never seen before. Big wooden frames which appeared to be antique mirrors were covered in cloth and chained. As if the chains were used to keep the cloth in place no matter what. Other cages were aligned in the place. All of them were devoid of living souls, only corpses and skeletons. Surgit inspected some of them and to his surprise all of them were human. Their skulls had human features and their hands were too small to belong to any hybrid or werewolf. Some skeletons however, were small. They couldn¡¯t have belonged to grown men. The only possibility that Surgit could think of, was that those tiny prisoners were children. They had strange long cages closed on their heads. No sign of bounding was to be seen on their ankles or wrists though. They were just skeletons, sitting on a chair, unbound but with a long cage around their heads. It appeared strange to Surgit to see these tiny remains. He didn¡¯t expect to see children dragged into dungeons, but then again he had sent a helpless child to her death, although unintentionally. What surprised Surgit most wasn¡¯t the existence of corpses of children in the cages. It was mainly how it didn¡¯t affect him as he thought it would. Seeing death and blood around him for so long had made him immune to shock from this kind of scenes.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He started thinking that he had become heartless, a blood thirsty hunter who relishes killing beasts and rejuvenating at the sight of their blood. If he was presented with the opportunity to save the children, he might have done it. But looking at their skeletons didn¡¯t disgust him nor did it make him angry towards whoever had done that. He was just witnessing the product of Yharnam¡¯s decay into the city of beasts it was known for. A voice in the distance caught his attention and brought him back from his ruminations. In fact they were voices, singing in choral some odd chant. The voices were dim and the words were hard to make sense of. He walked out of the cage he was in. He saw in the distance to his right, some stairs leading up. On his left, among the chained mirrors, there were other stairs leading down. The voices were a curious thing, he hadn¡¯t heard as many people talking in the city, let alone chanting in unison. He wanted to know what it was all about so he took the stairs on his right and went upwards. The stairs were circular and led to two floors above. They appeared to be annex staircases. In the first floor he¡¯d reached, he saw a door leading towards a larger room. The chants didn¡¯t appear to come from there so he decided to go higher. As he climbed the stairs, the voices became clearer. The words he heard were foreign to him. The chant had a grim tone to it. It gave the place, reeking of the smell of death, an even gloomier atmosphere. The stairs ended and gave way to a spacious room. It looked like a cathedral with a very, very high ceiling. From his estimation Surgit could¡¯ve easily given it a height of 60 feet. Such a structure must have been built by expert stonemasons and designed by master architects. The ground was made of metallic bars, aligned vertically and horizontally on top of each other. The little space that was left between the bars gave way for some light to be filtered and reach the lower floor. On inspecting it, Surgit saw the prison in which he was thrown. The light that allowed him to inspect the lower floor emanated from this part then. He looked around him and saw a door further beyond from where he stood. Behind him, where the stairs ended, there was another flight of stairs leading to a higher platform on which a statue was erected. Surgit went up and looked at the big strange sculpture. Its shape reminded him of something he had seen before. It was like an apparition in his dreams or during the period of his death and reanimation. He couldn¡¯t tell when or where he had seen something similar before. The notion escaped him. As if trying to remember someone¡¯s name; though you¡¯ve heard it before, your mind seems to refuse to accept that it knows of that memory. The statue was tall. The body had a torso and six arms, three on each part. Two arms were linked to the shoulders and the other four protruding from the back. The creature was sitting, crossing its enormous legs. Its head was its strangest feature. It had an oblique shape and resembled a cage with hexagonal holes on it. It had a very skinny torso and its limbs were also as thin as its upper body. Its head however was gigantic, almost too heavy for the body to bear it. The statue was at least 20 feet tall and covered a third of the building¡¯s height. The singing continued and Surgit felt the hair on his back stand as the voices increased their volume and pace. It was as if he was trapped in a bad dream, where some bad people were trying to perform some type of dark magic. Only, all of Yharnam was a strange place and felt like being in a bad dream. He was thrust in an unforgiving world where he had to kill or be killed. Good or bad became obsolete notions for him at that point. If he had to kill to ensure his own progression, he would do it without hesitation.