Running out of time

After speaking with the doll, Surgit realized that most of her speech was general. She never spoke about anybody in particular except for Gherman and the little messengers. As for the hunters who have gone through the dream before him, the doll was of no great help.

She only pointed at the numerous gravestones that covered the field around the hill and told Surgit that they were there as a memorial for old hunters. Surgit saw countless gravestones. Surgit found himself fantasizing about the place having numerous hunters.

At that moment, Surgit no longer wished to be part of a big order where seniors would give him pointers. He even started enjoying the solitude. 'All I need is a talking doll and beasts to kill.' Surgit no longer felt lost when it came to getting stronger. He knew exactly what to do in order to gain more ranks.

First, he'd need a place where he could get enough Blood echoes. The best case scenario would be if he could find beasts that drop blue echoes. Second, he also needed stronger runes to help him increase his ferocity. 'If I am to fight beasts, then I must become an even more terrifying beast.'

He teleported to the Chapel then went towards the tower. After exploring the abandoned old workshop, Surgit was sure that hunters had something gruesome hidden from public. He couldn't put his finger on it just yet, but he was sure to find out if he kept exploring until he reached Byrgenwerth.

He had a score to settle first, that kidnapper from the lower parts of the city had played a number on him before. He vowed to take revenge on him. He descended to the foot of the tower while jumping from one wooden plank to another. As soon as he reached the bottom, he rushed towards the door.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that the beast he fought before didn't come back to life. This matter puzzled him a bit but he brushed the thought off then kept going. He was holding Gascoigne's axe while wearing his garb. After he activated the beast rune using the tool Francis had given him, he left the tool at the altar then took Gascoigne's garb from his inventory.

If he wanted to be a beast, he would have to look like one. Gascoigne was the one that reminded him the most of a hunter turning into a beast. He no longer cared to fight the beast inside of him. He embraced the fact that something was dormant inside of him. After his last fight with the watchdog, he realized that his beasthood started manifesting more and more.

Only by getting stronger and reaching new ranks, could he hope to suppress the beast inside him. For now his objective was to use beasthood to his advantage and obtain as many blood echoes as possible in a short period of time.

Surgit ran through the dark streets in the lower part of Yharnam. He heard his enemies approach before he saw them. As soon as three huntsmen with their dog showed up, Surgit elongated the axe and struck the three hunters with a horizontal swoop.

Three heads rolled to the ground and the dog barked. It jumped at Surgit who casually retracted the axe towards him as he jumped back. The axe went through the dog's head without any resistance. He briefly looked at the fallen bodies then ran towards the kidnapper.

He remembered where he was attacked by the snatcher. He wanted to get a preemptive strike this time around. Surgit stopped right before he reached an intersection. The snatcher was visible in the distance, patrolling the intersection. Surgit silently walked to a dark corner. He used darkness to surprise his enemy.

As soon as the kidnapper turned around Surgit followed and struck the axe at the beast's back. The kidnapper fell to his knees and Surgit used the beastly arm to claw his way into the beast's internal organs. Not only did Surgit eviscerate his enemy this time, but he also left a big hole in his body.

Surgit's transformed hand was twice its original size. This startled him at first. But after he realized its destructive power, he let out a mischievous laugh. It was dangerous for him to let the beast possess him, but it was also efficient to deal with stronger enemies. It would have taken Surgit two visceral attacks to kill a kidnapper if it weren't for the increase in size and strength of his beast form.

After he disposed of the kidnapper, Surgit went back to exploring the dark streets. He soon found a device that could take him from the lower streets to an area high up. His curiosity led him to take the elevator which led him to the Cathedral Ward.

He was standing on a balcony that overlooked the area where he was separated with Karla before. The gate that separated them was open though. Francis had opened it when he wanted to come back to Oedon Chapel. Surgit jumped down and looked around. He was waiting for the church doctors who attacked Karla before.

Sure enough, two tall men with pale skin appeared. The wore a shawl like the one Surgit had on and had bells hanging on their neck. This amused Surgit as it reminded him of his grandparent's farm. His late grandfather used to hang bells around his cows' necks. With the black garb the doctors wore and the while color of their pale skin, Surgit found the resemblance at moment uncanny.

His reverie was cut short as one of the doctors growled as he pointed at him. Since they were freakishly tall, they didn't need to run. Two steps were enough for them to fill the gap and reach Surgit. As the first one who arrived attempted to attack Surgit, the latter shot him then destroyed both doctors using his beastly arm. "This is amazing!" Surgit shouted, he loved how powerful this transformation made him feel.

From where he stood, Surgit had two ways to take: one on to the right which led to some stairs, and another right ahead of him which led to a plaza with even bigger stairs. After pondering for a while, Surgit decided to take the one to his right. If the road ahead of him led to the big stairs, then the steps should lead to the Great Cathedral.

The stairs he took though took to a back alley behind the Great Cathedral. He suspected that the main stairs must be heavily guarded. He decided to take the back alley in order to scout the area before engaging.

His hunch was correct as he found out that some church doctors were lying in ambush, waiting for anybody to climb the stairs. They would come out of their hiding then and ambush the unsuspecting person. Surgit had the upper hand however as he backstabbed one of the doctors. This one used a scythe as weapon, opposed to the canes other doctors usually have.

Surgit had no problem disposing of the first doctor. But when the back alley ended and he had to get back to the main road, Surgit was faced with three doctors and a giant holding an axe. One of the doctors was a sniper. Surgit had developed a sixth sense towards snipers. After being ambushed by them on so many occasions, he was now able to detect them from behind a horde attacking him.

He rushed between the giant's legs and attacked the sniper first. His axe felt like an extension of his arm. It was deadly and it was also thirsty for blood. Every time Surgit attacked, the axe would cut through flesh and bone then dismember everyone it attacked.

Surgit had to dodge the giant axe crashing down towards him as well as fend off the other two that attacked. He easily disposed of the one doctor however as one extension of his axe was enough to split his face in two. Surgit danced around the giant's legs again and reached the last church doctor remaining.

As the latter trying to swing his cane towards Surgit, a bullet pierced his chest. Surgit's arm transformed again and this time, he used the sharp claws to cut the doctor down. Surgit immediately jumped at the giant's legs and cut them with his beastly claws. An image of the beast flashed in Surgit's mind.

That image flashing through his mind made him pause for a second. He felt like the area around him just got darker. One second pause was enough to allow the giant to smash his axe towards Surgit. At the last minute Surgit took one step back and the axe crashed right in front of him. The shockwave the impact emitted didn't affect Surgit one bit.

In fact Surgit wasn't affected by anything anymore. His eyes were completely red as he looked up at the giant. He jumped and in a flash, he was in front of the beast's face. He opened both his arms as if to taunt the giant. He then slapped them both together on the beast's face. Blood seeped down the giant's head as it got cut to six even slices. Surgit looked at both his arms in amazement. This time both his arms transformed and six sharp claws protruded from each hand.

His chest was hairy and legs felt stronger than ever. His body started morphing back into his human self. "I'm running out of time."