On the verge of insanity

"Ahh, the hunter! Thank you. So, that old girl, you told'er about this place,

right? Well, she don't offer me much in the way of conversation, but still...

I'd rather see'er alive anyhow..." The blind man was telling Surgit as the latter's mind drifted away at all the possibilities he had of saving the poor little girl. He should've waited for her and accompanied her to the chapel. Even better, if he had faced his fears and faced the boar beforehand, the little girl wouldn't have been dead by now. His cowardice led to the death of an innocent orphan.

As if her life wasn't tragic enough, she had to be eaten by that monstrous pig. And what's wrong with pigs in this city anyway? Does everything need to go bad in Yharnam, even the most docile of animals? Surgit looked at the blind man and realized that the latter had been speaking for quite some time. Absorbed in his thoughts, Surgit didn't manage to catch a word of what the not so creepy anymore creature was saying. "Come again?" he said looking at the blind man. "I said if you see anyone with their wits abou'em, send them along to Oedon Chapel. Cause there's nothing to fear here.. hehe… heeh… hehe…heeh…"

The laughter the blind man had, definitely gave Surgit an uneasy feeling every time he heard it. He saw the old lady, sitting in a corner in the chapel, safe and sound. The place was consequently safe for people to come in. He approached the old woman to check on her and the latter immediately attacked him with her sharp words: "Do you think I owe you something? Well, that's a fine lark I'd say. This whole mess that Yharnam's in, it's all your fault, you fidgety outsiders. Our blood's ruined, tainted by your ilk! Don't you come near me! I know your type!"

The woman then turned around, her back to Surgit, and kept on mumbling to herself. Surgit couldn't help but wonder at her words. How is it the outsiders' fault that Yharnam had become home to beasts? He would have to think about it more another time. He was more focused on finding out a way to access the hamlet Gehrman had spoken about earlier. The memory of the little girl's ribbon haunted him. He had to get active and do something.

He couldn't wait for Karla in the chapel. He was afraid that the thought of the little girl getting eaten by that boar would push him to despair. He had to find that hamlet while Karla searched the upper parts of the Cathedral Ward by herself. He pushed the morbid thoughts away from his mind. Or was it the echoes whispering all kind of reproaches to him? He had to get busy doing something and stop overthinking.

After attempting to receive some information from the blind man in the chapel, he realized that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of him. He left the chapel from the left door, the one that led towards the giants and the thing that grabbed him and almost killed him instantly. There was another street leading down to the old church he had seen earlier. Surgit hadn't explored it yet.

The church had a triangular roof and three doors: a big one, large enough to fit a giant, and two small ones on each side. The gigantic door was open while the others seemed to have been shut tight. In front of the church, the remains of a park could be seen. The trees were devoid of leaves and the ground was dry and full of dust. A man-beast was patrolling the park area with his dog, while two others were standing by a bonfire, on the far right of the church. There seemed to be an alley behind the church from that side and the two were guarding it. The darkness in the streets of Cathedral Ward helped Surgit walk around unnoticed. The sun had set and only its remaining rays provided a semblance of light. The bonfire in the park blinded the two men-beasts and Surgit took his time to silently approach them.

While creeping on the two men-beasts, Surgit heard them mumble something. He decided to use the element of surprise to his advantage and finish them off swiftly. But before he went to action, he stopped for a while to listen to what they were saying. "It's a curse…. This is a damn curse…" one of them was mumbling while the other said "This town's finished…. This town is done for…." They seemed to repeat those same sentences over and over again, as if they had some consciousness left within their monstrous body and barbaric way of fighting.

In two swift strikes, Surgit disposed of them and got ready to fight the approaching dog. The latter had reacted as soon as the first man-beast's head fell off. As the dog jumped at Surgit, he shot it in the chest and sent it flying. As it landed, wailing and clearly in pain, its master killed it with a swift strike of his axe then turned towards Surgit. He snarled at Surgit and showed his developing canine teeth. "Cursed beast, you're better off dead!" said the man-beast as he attacked Surgit with his axe.

Surgit shot him as soon as he saw the attack coming his way. It was enough to stagger the poor enemy and bring him down to his knees. Surgit proceeded to destroying his inner organs by inserting his beastly arm deep inside his body. He started enjoying the feeling the visceral attack gave him. He was human, yet he felt like a beast at some moments, like the previous one for instance, and he enjoyed being in control of his beastly side. "Well if you say I am a beast," he said to the corpse of the opponent he had just slain, "I say you're also one. But one that had lost control over his mind, and I shall never do that." He finished his sentence while putting his chest forward, proud to keep control of his mind. 'The fool thinks he's sane…' the voices started laughing in unison. He exhaled deeply. With the voices whispering inside his head, his plea of keeping his sanity had actually lost in credibility. Becoming a hunter was definitely a blessing for Surgit; a blessing that came with its drawbacks nonetheless.

He felt as if multiple people were watching him and commenting his every move. He felt like a character in some novel with the readers approving or disapproving of his actions. That feeling unnerved him. 'There he is, losing his cool to a bunch of murmurs in his head,' whispered one of the voices mockingly. 'The foooooool… hah… hah… hah…' The other voices picked up on that remark and started laughing again, bombarding his mind with a multitude of sounds that actually gave him a terrible headache. "Gods I need to get rid of you!" he shouted at the echoes. 'Go on, use us. Get stronger! Become the beast hunter you're supposed to be! Or become the beast for all we care!' answered the voices.

Since his arrival to Yharnam, Surgit started noticing a pattern. Everyone seemed to think of him as a beast in humanoid form. Except the people he had traveled with to Yharnam, everyone seemed to be keen on seeing him dead. Yharnamites saw him as a threat and did their best to dispose of him while calling him different names.

Gascoigne had transformed into a beast in front of him and that was due to the poor man losing his mind. Perhaps it was after he had killed his wife. Blood foraged from beasts could heal him of injuries and he found himself at times, thirsty for more blood. He concluded that he was indeed a monster like the others, but a monster with a brain and morals. He vowed to never let anyone make him doubt that. From that moment on, he knew what being a hunter meant. Hunting beasts in Yharnam meant hunting the ones that had lost their minds to become something different, either beasts or giant abominations. It was the hunter's duty to keep a level head and put those poor creatures to rest.

He took the alley at the back of the church. He decided to search every corner in every place to dispose of all possible enemies. He found himself in front of some stairs that led towards the top of the church.

At the top, stood a man with a top hat, Surgit recognized him as a sniper just from his stance. He ran as fast as he could upstairs. He was focused on not getting shot by the man as the effect of the bullets on his body was sometimes worse than he anticipated. As he heard the first shot and dodged by quickstepping to the side. He saw two dogs running at him.

'Perfect, a hunter with his dogs… how stereotypical.' He thought as he shot one of the dogs with his pistol and slashed the other using his saw. He was standing in front of the sniper in no time, the other still aiming his gun and preparing to shoot again. Surgit seized the gun from its muzzle and held it up. The shot was sent upwards and Surgit kicked the poor sniper between his legs. The latter let out a squeak and, laughing, Surgit finished him off with a swift beheading. "I always wondered if they'd feel pain from that kind of kick… didn't expect such a sound though." He said aloud, still amused at what had just happened. 'And to say he vowed to keep his sanity…' Surgit swore he heard one of the echoes mumble in his head. He saw the dog he shot earlier struggling to stand up. He elongated his cleaver and with two hits, managed to silence the suffering animal.

At the top of the stairs, Surgit saw a door leading inside the upper floor of the church. He opened it and got inside to find himself in an empty room. It was spacious and looked like it used to be the loft. In front of him, Surgit saw another closed door, and to his right, he saw a balcony that gave a vista on the ground floor of the church. From where he was standing, Surgit saw a huge tomb in the middle of the ground floor. The tomb was made out of marble and a statue of a mummy crossing its arms on its chest was lying on its back on top of it. 'So it's a mausoleum after all…' he thought.

Surgit noticed a lever to his right and decided to pull it. As soon as he activated he heard a noise coming from the tomb's direction. He watched as the marble monument moved and revealed stairs that led underneath the building. 'A secret passage, I feel like I'm in some exciting adventure story' thought Surgit as he watched the tomb come to a halt.

He went back to the closed door he noticed earlier and opened it. He soon found himself in an alley that led towards a strange statue. It was a tall statue of a woman whose head and face were covered completely by a veil. An altar was organized in front of it and a man was kneeling down in front of it, apparently praying. Surgit approached slowly. He knew that the man wouldn't attack. If he were to attack, he would've done it much earlier. Surgit approached with more confident steps as he saw the man rise to his feet and face him, welcoming. He was wearing a gray cloak that covered all his body. It looked like a religious robe of sorts. He wore a long shawl that enveloped his neck and covered all of his back.

His garb looked fancy and the man looked serene. He had blond hair and a fine sharp nose. He looked like those upper class kids who have been promoted in ranks thanks to their upbringing and the family they belonged to.

- "You're a hunter, aren't you?" Asked the man in an enthusiastic tone.

- "Yes I am" replied Surgit and before he could utter another word, the stranger spoke again.

- "I knew it!" his excitement didn't fade out, "That's precisely how I started out."

- "So you're also a hunter?" Asked Surgit, somewhat surprised. The man didn't look like a bloodied hunter he imagined encountering.

- "Oh beg your pardon, you can call me Alfred."

'At least he has the courtesy of introducing himself.' Thought Surgit as the man was about to continue his monologue.

- "Protégé of Master Logarius, hunter of Vilebloods. So, what say you? Our prey might differ but we are both hunters. Why not cooperate, and discuss the things we learned?"