Catch Me If You Can

The moon's light illuminated the castle's polished floor. Despite the years that went by, without a sane soul inhabiting the big palace, the servants never stopped attending to their duties. Their heads fell down one by one, painting the clean floors red. Francis and Surgit danced around, sword in hand, slashing and decapitating every living soul they encountered.

The two finally reached a tall tower from which a vista over the castle presented itself to them. Cainhurst's castle, majestic and deserted, seemed to hibernate under the effect of the snow. "There, that's the elevator that takes us from the dream lantern to the library," Francis pointed to a spot next to the main gate. "If you look carefully, there used to be some sort of hall, staircase or road that took up high above."

For a hunter, seeing that far ahead wasn't difficult at all. "I can see the traces of a destroyed path. But I just don't see where it's leading. There's just an empty roof up there." Surgit was right. There was nothing for them up there.

"How about we place a bet?" the old man asked.

"What's at stake?"

"If we get there and we find a way to the throne room, you'll help me deal with the Queen. If not, I'm not going to bother asking you to take me where you're at now," Francis had felt that Surgit was hiding something. He never tried to press the matter though.

"Let's raise the stake a bit then, shall we?" Surgit answered, startling the old man. "I'm a big gambler, and it's been a long time that I didn't have any fun. You clearly started exploring this palace before me. I'd wager that I can reach that hidden roof, without your assistance. I'd even wager that I can reach it first without you guiding me around."

"What's in it for me?" asked the old man.

"You've allowed me to see this fabled world. Never in my life did I dream of seeing such magnificent sights. This castle is horrifying and deadly sure, but it's awe inspiring nonetheless. If you beat me to the roof first, I'll tell you where I am right now. If we find the throne room in there, I'll take you with me. The scenery is quite different, but beautiful nonetheless," a sly smile was stuck on Surgit's face while he spoke of his wager.

"Deal!" Francis said. Without a word the old man jumped from the tower. "Motherfucker! That sly old man has some guts," Surgit cursed as he ran down the stairs. He didn't want to risk dying in the castle. To Francis, death would only slow him down. But Surgit didn't activate the lantern at the castle's gate. If he died, he'd resurrect in the Forbidden Woods.

In a way, their wager was a race where Surgit had a major handicap. Surgit had memorized the general layout of the castle from above. Although it seemed clear enough from atop the tower, reaching that roof was no easy task. The moment Surgit left the tower he was welcomed back by the tall walls of the castle.

It was like looking at a maze from above. One could easily find the center. But if one had to enter the maze and find their way through, they'd mostly get lost on the way. Francis had the upper hand. He had been through the castle twice. He knew the area better than Surgit.

Surgit on the other hand wasn't willing to give up. He followed the wails of ghosts and the flapping wings of those ugly gargoyles. If there were enemies on the way, it meant that neither of them had been through the area before. A flawed plan to say the least, but it was better to follow one's instincts in this situation. Surgit knew that he needed to keep going north of the tower if he wanted to reach the roof.

He encountered two gargoyles that almost knocked him off a narrow railing he was running on. Surgit tried to use the nimble approach. He wanted to reach the rooftops. It was impossible to access them from the tower for two reasons. Firstly, because it was too damn tall. Secondly, it was because there were no other structures near the tower. Surgit didn't even know how Francis could have survived that fall.

He didn't.

Francis' plan was to die, reset all the monsters in the area and confuse Surgit. He wasn't willing to lose the bet. It wasn't for the prize, but for the sake of winning. Francis' ego was simply too inflated. He'd never let anybody win against him in any fight. The loss against Gavril had only reinforced his narcissistic behavior. He was adamant on becoming stronger. He wanted to repay that fake master tenfold, a hundredfold. Every time he thought of his loss, his resolve strengthened.

Surgit ran through the buildings, crossing covered bridges that connected one pavilion to the other. He learned that gargoyles attacked using sound waves. That was the worst attack against a hunter with sharp senses. The first time he experienced the attack, it took him three vials to restore his hearing.

He also learned that gargoyles were extremely vulnerable to quicksilver bullets. One bullet was enough to send them wiggling on their backs. It was an amusing sight that Surgit repeated as many times as he could. Whenever he encountered a gargoyle, he'd shoot it in the head then execute it. 'That roof isn't easily accessible. If that was the case, the old man wouldn't have accepted to bring me along, no matter what.'

Surgit finally reached a balcony from which he could see his destination. He was closer than he had anticipated. He heard footsteps coming from above. He dodged at the perfect moment. Francis landed with a "thud" on the spot where Surgit stood seconds ago. "I guess it's a race then," Surgit said as he dashed forward.

They had to run on a narrow railing, attached to the balcony. Surgit cursed under his breath. The old man was extremely fast. He suspected that he'd become even stronger than him. Two gargoyles flew from above and landed on each end of the railing, surrounding the two hunters. Surgit smiled, he hoped that Francis didn't know about the sound wave attack.

He shot the gargoyle in front of him before it even landed. The poor beast lost its footing on the railing and fell down, into the darkness of the night. Surgit shot through like an arrow, wind hissing against his ears. 'I won't let that old man get ahead,' Surgit also enjoyed the wager more than the stakes.

Both men had put something to bet on out of basic rules, nothing more. The race made them experience something human once again. After all, they'd been hunting beasts and abnormalities non-stop ever since they became hunters. They'd forgotten what it meant to experience the little things normal human beings took for granted.

They no longer ate food, drank tea, fell asleep after a long tiring day. They were stuck in one night, cleansing the streets of vile beasts. That wager had put some life back into their dull hunting. Surgit soon found himself in a room filled with ghosts. Francis was hard at his heels. 'That old rascal never gives up, doesn't he?' he thought as he slashed the ghosts with his shiny sword.

Surgit spotted a decapitated ghost in the distance. He remembered Francis' warning and headed to take care of it first. The old man also noticed Surgit's action. He shot the ghost before Surgit could reach it. Unluckily for Surgit, that shot caused the ghost to let out a shrill scream. Surgit was instantly trapped, an ethereal circle bounding him on the spot.

"See ya later slowpoke!" Francis shouted as he headed towards the stairs at the end of the room. Most of the ghosts were attracted by the scream. They all headed in an orderly fashion towards Surgit. "Fuck you old man! I'll get you for this." Surgit was angry. It was fair game though, the old man didn't attack Surgit directly, he merely used the environment to his advantage.

The ghosts suddenly screamed in unison then turned towards Francis. Surgit looked in surprise at the event that unfolded before his eyes. He was still stuck, the spell immobilized him.

A servant had hid itself on top of some book shelves. They had reached another library, bigger and larger than the previous one.

The servant shot Francis with a blow dart. The effect of the dart surprised the old man and Surgit. A sign showed above Francis' head. That symbol seemed to enrage all the ghosts that were present in the area. They all suddenly moved towards the old man, completely ignoring Surgit.

Surgit heartily laughed after the effect of the spell subsided. He ran towards the stairs, ignoring Francis' calamity. "Karma has a strange way of acting, don't you think old man?" Surgit shouted at Francis as he drove his sword through the servant. He couldn't afford being trapped like the old man.

He ran upstairs while Francis fought his way out of his predicament. Surgit found himself in a large area, at least a hundred yards. Books were stacked in neatly organized shelves while other servants worked hard, polishing the floors and washing the windows. Surgit ran, not daring to approach all the enemies. 'It's better if I leave some behind to slow Francis down.'

Francis had barely come out of the fight victorious. The ghosts were deadly when they attacked in unison. His recent upgrade played a major role in his victory, especially that he didn't have any time to heal during the fight. He ran upstairs following Surgit.

In the distance, he saw Surgit running towards a broken railing. 'This library is immense,' the old man thought as he ran in pursuit. 'I need to come back here and explore the area.' Francis had an unquenchable thirst for books. He'd collect them all, read them once, then repeat them if the content interested him.

The servants that were chasing after Surgit turned towards Francis the moment he showed up on the upper floor. 'I shouldn't have triggered that spell for Surgit. It only brought me misery.' Francis didn't try to slow Surgit down this time. His speed was far greater than Surgit's after all. He quickly reached the servants, disarmed them then killed them using their own rapiers against them.

Francis saw Surgit use the momentum of his run to jump high and reach a ladder that led to the second floor. The old man followed suit and reached the second floor in no time. Surgit had a slight advance, one that Francis was confident in crossing. He ran after Surgit, climbing some stairs that led outside.

They both reached the roof of the library and stopped. Three gargoyles surrounded them the moment they arrived. Francis was more focused than Surgit. He moved like lightning, striking the red eyed gargoyle. It looked like the strongest one. Francis didn't want to leave it behind. 'Every strong monster must be dealt with swiftly. Otherwise they'd chase after us indefinitely.'

Francis slashed with his katana, aiming at the beast's neck. One strong swing would behead it and he'd be on his way to the roof. With the corner of his eye, Francis noticed a shadow running forward. Surgit had somehow disentangled himself from the gargoyle's formation. He was heading towards the roof that appeared a few paces away from them. They only had to cross a visible bridge, beneath the roof, in order to reach it.

"MOTHERFUCKER!!!" shouted the old man for the first time since Surgit had met him. Surgit's smile widened even more when he saw another gargoyle jumping on Francis' back. The creature dug its teeth deep into the old man's throat, emptying his blood vessels. Surgit was already standing on top of a conical roof of an adjacent tower. He was about to jump when he saw a terrifying sight.

Francis had activated some kind of spell. Red skulls surrounded the old man, attacking the gargoyles in the process. Francis quickly stood up, sheathed his sword then blood showered the whole roof. 'What amazing power!' Surgit thought as he jumped down, running towards the opposite side of the bridge.

Francis quickly disposed of the three gargoyles then ran. He used all the strength he could muster not to attack Surgit when he saw him. 'That little shit got me good this time.' He still had some distance to cross. To Surgit it looked like a gale had swept by, carrying an old man with flowing white hair towards him. "Can you be as fast on a ladder old man?" Surgit asked as he climbed up.