Bloodborne

"Do you think they"re still there?" Karla asked.

"No," Surgit replied. "Their mission"s accomplished. They already went back to their hiding holes."

"What hiding holes?" Karla asked.

"I"ll show you later," Surgit replied. "How about we truly explore the place this time?"

Karla nodded. "That hunter left me with the taste of ash in my mouth," she said clutching her hand into a tight fist. "I"m craving some action."

They left the cave and soon wound up in the vast clearing. Surgit still had difficulty dealing with daylight. After spending so much time in the darkness of Yharnam, daylight felt unnatural.

They dealt with the first beast that sat in the clearing then looked ahead. Two road led down from the clearing and toward two different directions. Karla pointed ahead, at a marble stone.

"What"s that?" She squinted.

"That"s a tombstone," Surgit said. "I"ve seen them back in the Forbidden Woods."

"It"s the size of a building," she said. "What do you think"s buried underneath it?"

Surgit shrugged. "Giants?" he said with a weak smile. "I wouldn"t be surprised if it was the case."

"Neither would I," Karla said. "The roads converge by the tomb. I"ll take the right, you take the left one. We"ll meet by the tomb."

Surgit nodded. He drew his sword and advanced. Karla jumped down the road and drew her Saif. It was a much better weapon compared to her sword. Hunters were truly beasts in human form. She was sure that she wouldn"t lift the Saif hadn"t she received blood ministration.

Ever since Surgit told her they could become even stronger, she couldn"t stop thinking about the voices inside her head. Then there was that doll in the dream. How did Gehrman accomplish such a thing?

The sound of growling s.n.a.t.c.hed her out of her reveries. She looked up, and spotted the most disgusting creature she"d ever laid eyes upon. It was more like a mishmash of bodies, tangled together in black, sinewy goo; a grotesque, living and breathing meat stew.

One giant hand protruded from its back, while tiny faces occupied its front. They growled and complained as though their mere existence hurt. She slowly approached it, testing the waters. The blob"s gigantic hand lashed at her, but Karla"s reaction was faster.

She dashed forward as the unnatural hand brushed her hair. She reached the beast before its hand could retract. One swing from her Saif, then she retracted it. The momentum carried her backwards as the beast"s hand retracted.

Her sword hand shot upward just in time to intercept the extended limb. She cut it clean, and a deformed hand wiggled beside her feet. It tried to catch her from the foot, but Karla stomped on it so hard black sinew splattered everywhere.

She jumped at the beast once more, and cut it to tiny pieces. When she was done, tiny whispers in her mind told her she"d earned ten Blood Stone Shards. She did as Surgit had taught her and activated her insight. She saw the shining item at reach and collected it.

When she reached the tombstone, she found Surgit standing at its foot. Another beast with a silver coat lay on the ground, lifeless.

"These ones can send jolts of electricity through their bodies," Surgit warned as soon as she came into his field of vision. "You gotta finish them quick, lest they become a real nuisance."

He stood and showed her his torn trousers. His entire left leg was exposed.

"Almost fried me, the son of a b.i.t.c.h," he said. "It freaked the h.e.l.l out of me."

"I guess you can still be surprised," Karla said with a light chuckle. "Where to next?"

Surgit raised a finger to the air. "Do you smell that?" he asked.

Karla raised her nose and sniffed the air. Her eyes narrowed to slits. "Hunters," she hissed. "There was no bell this time.��

"This only means they live here," Surgit said. "We"re invading their territory."

"What?" Karla asked, confused.

"I"ll explain later," he replied. "You stand back. I want to show you something."

"It"s two against one," Karla warned. "Are you sure?"

"What"s the worst that could happen, die?" he asked with a sly smile.

Karla chuckled. "Go on, champ," she said jerking her head at the hunters" direction.

Surgit threw his sword behind his back and attached it to the Kirkhammer. "Watch and learn," he said. "You"ll understand why the doll"s so important."

Beyond the marble tomb stone lay a wide bridge. There was a deep trench that ran underneath the hunters and led toward the depths of the Nightmare Frontier. Surgit took a quick glance at the trench below as he crossed the bridge. A purple stream led toward the darkness in the depths. Falling from the bridge looked fatal.

Two hunters were heading toward him. By their pace they"d reach him by the time he crossed the bridge. Surgit threw the Kirkhammer over his shoulder and walked toward his foes. He closed his eyes and activated his insight.

"Beast are you here?" he internally asked.

"What do you want?" the beast asked. It sounded grumpy.

"Watch this," Surgit said. "It"s thanks to you that I learned this new trick after all."

"Humph!" the beast spat. "Show me what you"ve got!"

Surgit had crossed the bridge by then. The two hunters approached from different angles. Surgit spread his legs and held his ground. With his third eye active, he could sense threats a hundred feet around him.

The hunters slowly circled around him. One of them held a Tonitrus, while the other had a Saw Cleaver. The first one swung his Tonitrus in the air and sparks ensued. Bolts of electricity swam around the sphere of the Tonitrus. Surgit suppressed a grin. The hunters had given him ample time to prepare.

As they dashed forward, Surgit brought his hammer down. It hit the ground in a loud boom. Then a shockwave, ten feet wide, exploded out of the hammer. The hunters were blown away, each landing in a different position. Surgit was disappointed n.o.body flew down the trench.

He ran toward the closest hunter. In this case it was the one to his right. He imbued his Kirkhammer with more of his Arcane energy than brought down on him. The hunter didn"t have time to dodge. The hammer broke his bones and smashed his insides. It sounded as though somebody had just squashed a giant fly.

The other hunter had recovered by then. He stood and ran toward Surgit. The latter detached his sword, imbued it with some more energy, then hurled it at his opponent. The sword traveled at astonishing speed. It pierced the hunter then propelled him backwards until sword and hunter collided with a solid rock.

Surgit turned to look at Karla, who was watching from the other side. Her jaw had dropped. Her eyes were open wide. She blinked, rubbed her eyes then looked again.

"How about that?!" Surgit said. He was panting heavily, but he looked like the happiest man on earth.