Watchdog of the Old Lords

Surgit stood in front of the gate which led to the last guardian of the Pthumerian Chalice Dungeon. After Karla's death, he found himself mechanically going through the Chalice Dungeon all over again. He'd sacrificed all his echoes and progress to come back in an attempt to save Karla.

Once he saw what happened, he dragged his feet to the dream then entered the dungeon. In his mind, several theories raced through. Going through the dungeons had cleared some of the doubts he had about using echoes to gain more strength.

The tablets he inspected after defeating each guardian revealed some crucial information. For instance, Surgit learned that there are a total of three ranks per attribute. At that moment Surgit was still a Waste of Skin when it came to strength. If he wanted to improve his attribute in order to reach a new title, he'd have to upgrade using Green Echo Clusters.

For each rank, there are five tiers. In order to get from "Waste of Skin" to "Hunter", Surgit will have to upgrade the attribute five times. Each tier requires more Green Echo Cluster than the last. Surgit had to collect as many echoes as possible in order to gain more strength.

His mind started pulling ideas together. As he mindlessly went through the dungeon's interconnected rooms, he thought about what kind of hunter he'd like to become. After witnessing what Gavril could do, he knew that he was simply a beginner compared to what real hunters achieve.

Back then, he couldn't even see him move behind them. It was as if he'd teleported behind them. According to what Francis told him, Gavril was able to finish him with just a shot. That frightening hunter must have upgraded his Bloodtinge to an unfathomable level.

Surgit knew that he relied a lot on brute strength during his fights. That fighting style, he felt, suited him best. Along with strength, Surgit wanted to improve his skill and enhance his perception. However, something about Arcane attracted his curiosity.

He wanted to reach Byrgenwerth in order to find out about the scholar's findings. Losing Karla had really left a sour taste in his mouth. 'If the Byrgenwerth scholars had researched human evolution, they might as well have researched supernatural phenomenon. I might find something in there. Although I might be immune to death now, I cannot guarantee that for a long time.'

The loss he experienced changed his mind about his final objective. The message he saw carved in the dream clearly said: 'Seek Paleblood to transcend the hunt.' There was no mention of leaving. Surgit had experience Yharnam enough to understand one thing. Information was scarce; hence every piece of knowledge contained vague descriptions.

Surgit didn't know what Paleblood was. This information made whoever read it focus on the word Paleblood but not think of what came next. Surgit did as anyone else would do: Assume that Paleblood is the key to leaving this wretched place.

After he'd experienced all these horrors, Surgit learned to take a step back and analyze radically. Transcend didn't mean leave, it meant being in a state above the night of the hunt. It meant being away from the suffering and the stench of blood. It meant being liberated from this endless cycle of misery. It meant transcending human nature as well.

Of course, this was Surgit's suspicion. Although he had no proof of what he thought, he had a strong feeling that he'd find more details if he reached Byrgenwerth. But before doing that, he had to get stronger. He no longer wished to be ambushed by a stronger foe and losing miserably. He wanted to be the one inflicting damage.

As he pushed the gate in order to reach the last guardian of this level of the Chalice Dungeon, his mind cleared up. This was a new fight and he had couldn't afford to drift off. A strange creature looked at Surgit from afar. Its body looked gigantic. Surgit quickly rolled to the right as the beast charged towards him.

The speed this beast had was astonishing. Although it was as big as a three storeys building, it was fast. Surgit almost didn't see the first attack coming his way. The creature had the body of a dog. Its head looked strange though. It had a hexagonal shape. On the top part of the head, Surgit saw that it had empty gaps from which fire exuded.

The lower part of the dog's head displayed a large open jaw with countless sharp teeth protruding from it. Every time the creature charged at Surgit, he would dodge and feel heat building up as the beast's attack went by him. 'This land is not fair to anyone,' he thought as he dodged and tried to find a weak spot.

As Surgit positioned himself in front of the watchdog, he baited its bite attack. Every time the beast took a bite, Surgit would dodge under the attack and hit the beast on the head. He was trying to find a weak spot.

With every hit, came a spark and a wave of heat would burst through his face. He carefully dodged and counter attacked. The more he observed the beast, the more cautious he became. This monster could adjust to its opponents fighting style

As he dodged the attacks and easily countered, the beast quickly jumped back and opened its mouth. Surgit quickly jumped back as fire came out of the dog's mouth. Surgit tightened his grip on his cleaver. He'd brought the rifle spear with him time around. As the fire faded, the beast's head appeared from behind it.

Surgit jumped high and used the beast's head as a platform. He jumped even higher and let the beast run past him. As he performed a roll in the air, his left hand went towards the spear. The beast turned and prepared for another charge.

It would catch Surgit mid-air and slam him on the opposite wall if the beast caught him. Surgit threw his saw as fell and clenched the rifle spear with both hands. He put his feet before the spear's tip and plummeted to meet the beast's charge attack.

His spear went through one of the gaps, and he heard bones crack. The spear planted itself in the dog's head. Surgit held on even tighter as the beast stopped and waved its head in pain. Just the sudden stop the beast performed almost slammed Surgit to the ground. Thanks to his current level of strength, he could barely hold on.

Surgit activated the device on the rifle spear and pulled the trigger. The shot, performed from close quarters, shattered the bones and went through the beast's skull. Surgit lost his grip on the weapon and was thrown away, in the distance.

The beast howled and its head fell to the ground with a heavy 'thud!' Surgit dismissed reaching for his Saw Cleaver and ran towards the fallen dog. He transformed his arm and started pounding at the dog's head with his beastly fist.

One hit, two hits, the beast howled even louder. As it howled, Surgit inserted his hand through the dog's mouth. He pulled a fiery tongue from which lava dripped. If it weren't for his beastly arm, he would have been burnt to a crisp.

As Surgit realized that he'd been using his beastly arm, his hand started shrinking in size. He let go of the hazardous tongue and jumped back. The watchdog stayed on the ground, motionless. Surgit examined his arms bewildered.

In his anticipation to eviscerate the enemy and gain an advantage in the fight, he didn't notice his transformed hand. It was as if he was in a trance. The heat of the fight made him lose all senses. This state of mind made him feel free.

He no longer cared about blood echoes or about his progress. What he wanted was to destroy his enemy. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd come out victorious of the fight. But he didn't wish for victory, he wished to completely obliterate his enemy.

If he hadn't realized that his arm had turned beastly, he probably wouldn't have stopped at just ripping the dog's tongue. It was as if the dormant beast inside of him could take over. If that happened, he was afraid that he'd forget everything in the process.