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.
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.
"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.
- "Francis, please!" she had said at last, "Do you want to be eaten by one of those things? Keep it down a little."
- "You're right, you're right, I'll keep my mouth shut from now on."
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.
- "I was sure of it. A city as big as this one can't have only one way into their main district."
- "How do we get there though? I don't see a way through to that road."
- "The aqueducts down there could lead us to that bridge"
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.
- "We're not alone in this area, we must hurry towards the aqueducts" said Karla in a whisper.
- "There, behind us! There seems to be an entrance." Replied Francis in the same tone.
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.
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