A hunter must hunt beasts

Never, forever, the moment that held us together. It had been a sentence etched into Astoria's brain.For her, it had meant that the moments of comfort, of joy she shared with her sister would be everlasting, unmarked by her curse.Never, forever, the moment that held us together. It had been a sentence etched into Astoria's brain.It had meant to Astoria that there was hope, one she could cling to and that wouldn't fail. It had meant that the pain was temporary.As she ran under harsh moonlight, fear overpowering her brain, she could only think that those words were nothing but lies, opium to distract from her future fall.The city they found themselves in was both familiar and alien, dark cobbled streets, poorly lighted areas, an infrastructure that felt alive, that felt oppressive.The air had a different feel, almost a taste to it, one reminiscent of ashes and the familiar metallic tinge of blood."I can't run anymore!" the shout came from Romilda Vance, a muggle-born Gryffindor girl. The usual disgust she would have felt looking at her was nowhere to be seen. It was hard to feel disgust when you knew that the other person no matter their poor origin could be a possible chance of you seeing tomorrow.This was the truth of the matter. They were alone. There were no wizards here, no floo or portkey that would allow them to escape.It was only them, students and beasts that wouldn't hesitate to slaughter them as they had done with the Gryffindor boy.She had always acknowledged all muggle-borns and most half-bloods as lesser. It had only been logical to her but she had never hated them.You didn't hate pigs after all. You acknowledge their Brutish nature and make sure they wouldn't defile what was proper. You didn't let them dirty more than the stables.Why should you hate something that was clearly so lesser, so different? Why should you lower yourself to their filth?Now, she thinks she understood better. She didn't agree completely with what most other Pure-blood thought but how could you disagree when Muggles could act with such bestiality?How could she disagree when she had seen what that muggle had done to the Gryffindor boy?He may have been a muggle-born but he was still a wizard. Wizards shouldn't die in such an unbecoming, inhumane way. Wizards no matter their blood status shouldn't be dying in such a pathetic way.Stories spoke of honour, of beauty even in death but they were wrong, all wrong! There was nothing beautiful to it. There was nothing but cruelty in death. Death may be fair but it didn't mean that it was just."If we don't run, we die!" the other Gryffindor girl, the aggressive one who had put herself on the path of Astoria's wand was reprimanding the Vance girl. She stood over the down girl almost menacingly.She would have orally agreed with the Gryffindor girl if she wasn't such a bitch! Yeah, thinking in such way was uncouth for a noble scion of House Greengrass but right now, she didn't care. Fuck civility and all that useless posturing. She would begin to respect them again if they gave her the possibility of leaving this blasted place."I know that!" Romilda Vance snapped back. Astoria allowed herself to raise an eyebrow. So the girl was indeed a lion and not a sheep in shape of one."If you know that, why are you complaining?! Do you want to die?! Do you want us to die because let me tell you, I won't die in this blasted place!""I know that! I know that." The voice of Romilda Vance was hoarse as she was restraining herself from crying."What is that? What is happening? This wasn't supposed to go this way. We were just supposed to go to class this morning. Nothing else! Nathan wasn't supposed to die, Emily! He wasn't supposed to die."Emily, the other Gryffindor girl had taken a step back. It allowed Astoria to clearly see the tears falling from the eyes of the Gryffindor girl.The girl covered her face with her hands, trying to hide the tears, the ugly sobs even though what was happening was clear.Such display was pathetic, only proof that pure-bloods were superior. She should have thought in such a way. Astoria should be feeling apathetic Yet she didn't.Her body moved like puppetted by a cosmic force. She blinked and found herself kneeling before the Gryffindor girl. Her body had moved without her making it do so consciously."What are you doing?" Ethan Harrison asked her. She would have answered him if she herself knew it."I'm so pathetic. I am crying here like a little girl, holding all of you back." The words of the girl were a mix of a sob and a confession. "You should be leaving me behind. I don't think I could help in any way."Astoria should only be acquiescing with the words of the girl. She should have told her that there was no time left for them to cry but she didn't. It would have only been right to get rid of the dead weight the Muggleborn witch possibly represented.The words came softer than she herself could imagine especially ones toward a Muggleborn "We will all leave even you. I was once told that courage was trying no matter how hopeless seems to be. Maybe we should be leaving you. Maybe you'll show yourself useless but don't you want to at least try?"Pain had been an old companion of Astoria, since the crib until now. The curse she inherited was one when active that twisted her bones, her insides, ruptured them.She wasn't exaggerating in owing her life to the wealth of the Greengrass family. Without it, without the powerful potions it had allowed to be bought, without the consult of magical experts only possible through their wealth, Astoria would have died.Once, she had wanted for all of it to end. What was the point had she thought? What was the point of suffering, suffering hoping for something that probably would never be? What was the point of a cursed life that would probably be cut short early?She had thought about stopping to fight. She had thought about letting it go, letting herself be embraced by the spectre of death.She would have if not for her sister. Daphne Greengrass had probably not realized it yet but she had saved Astoria.While Astoria had tried to die, Daphne had fought for her to live. Giving up no matter how alluring it seems would be an insult not only to herself but also to her sister.So what if Astoria Greengrass suffered? She would still endure! Why would it matter if she met an early death when each minute breathing, each minute living was a victory?Maybe All of this was pointless. Maybe she was mad, delusional, a scared little girl lost in a world of make-believe but it wouldn't change the fact that she would try. Try, sometimes, this was all that was needed.The blonde girl extended a hand toward the Gryffindor, toward the image of a helpless girl, a reflection of the past "Let's try to all leave this place."The Gryffindor girl seemed to look at Astoria's hand as if it was a viper that would at any moment launch itself toward her before accepting it and raising it with the blonde girl.The blonde Slytherin ignored the looks she received from the other two students "We have to find a place where we would able to take our breath without risking our lives and plan how we're going to get out of this city.""It seems more easy than it is. We don't know where we are, still don't know why they are so hostile," Ethan Harrison spoke a thoughtful frown etched on his face."I think I could help you," the voice of a woman spoke. The voice was close, too much close and It wasn't the one of any of them. In their midst was a shadow.She was dressed in ominous dark clothes, clothes that seemed to have been born from darkness and bathed with blood. Her face was hidden by a crow mask, making it Astoria unable to see the facial expressions of the woman before them.More than that, she smelled like blood as if she had been drenched in an ocean of it. Looking at her, Something in Astoria recoiled. She heard something, half of a garbled whisper.Ḧ̴̡̢̭̯̲͕̲̦͉̜̹͓̲̰́̿͜ų̸̨̧̨̢̛̗̩̝͇͇̟̹̝͚̝̹̣̮̤͖̱͎͕̗͈̖̹͙̮́͋̀̐͑̌̀͌̉̄̋ͅͅņ̵̨̯̺̼̫͔̞̠̹̠̥̖̞͕̳̘̮̯̥̠̮̫̝̯̱̟͉̣͍͔͇͚͋̑̋̓̑͌̑͂̈͌̅̊̅͒͌̃́̈́̈́̆̎̀̓͊̈̏͆̓̏͆͐̉̆̈̕͜t̴̢̡̨̢̧̩̞̥̲̮͓̤̥̥͙̻̥̦̱͙̱̫͉̰̲͉̗̍̒̀̍̆͐͋̎̓̂͛̿͐̅̈́͊̽͌̅̐̉̚͘̚͠e̶̡̢̢̧̧̲̜͕̪͚̬̬͓͖̣̙̲͔͖̞̼̥̖̥̥̹̜̻̘͍͈̣͓̻̺̠̪̰̖̒̈́̊̈́͂̌̾͆͒̅̉́̊͒̈́̄͂̿͒͊͊̚͜ͅŗ̷̧̡̨̨͙̞̣̤̼̯͔̟̪̹͔̟͎̲̩̲̲̬̟͗̀̊̏̇̆̈́̔̀͝͝ ̴͙̙̥̼̮̦̓̏̊́͒͆̆̀̔̉͋͗͛͝͝o̸̢̨̡̲͉͍̝̮̫̪̫̯͇̩̫̗̭̺͇̤͎̝̲̻̞̖̣͖̲̥̻̰͇̱̼̳̬̦͓͕̮̗̊͛̉ͅf̴̡̢̧̧̨̛̲̠̩͍̰̲̮͓̬͓̘̱̰͔̻͉̼̣̱̳̼̦͇̩̋̌̆̃́̄͗͌͂̎̉͑̕̕͜ͅ ̷̨̨̧̨̡̛̰̘͔̖̪̼̘̹͍̫̘̻̣̤̳̪͉̣̥̲̗̝͉̯̜̗̘͙̭̠̯̺̩͎̦̯̘̅͆͆̋̀̆̌͋̉̌͂̿͗̏̓̽͂̈́̀̒̉̓̿̉̀̓̀̂͘͠͠ͅͅͅh̷̛͔͖͓̼̞̮͉̖͉̾̒̏̇̌̿̅̎͑̓̀͊̾͗̈́̽͐̎͗͒̎̕͘͝͝͠͠ù̵͕̝͉̫̯̻̳̖͙̲̘͉͓͕̩̜̄͑͗̄̌̀̇̃̌̊͊̈́̿̉͌̔́̽́͗͐̀̔͗̕͜͝͝n̶̢̛̳̭̰͈͕̹̤̠̖̹̞̝͓͓̖͚͚̺͖̯̣̗̺̘͓̐̿̄̂́̎̿̐̍̈́̓̋̑̏̔͗̀͛̃͆̔̈́́̊͂̄̕͘̚͜͜͠ͅt̴̡̥͕̥̰̫͔̱̳̫͉͕̳̮̗͙͔͗̐̔͂̾̏͒̆̅͂̚͘͜͝é̴͓̥̙͎̟̯̬͚̱̹̳̦͖͇͙͖̱͌͗̀̉͜ŗ̵̧̡̧̡̢̛̛̗͙̮̦̹̝̰̝͍̤͓͉͇̬̰͕̹̤̥͉̺̳̹̲̣̻̟̯̠̮͔̠̮̞̮̏̑͊̒̋̅͌̆͂͗̾́͐̋̅̊̌̍͂͊̾͆͋̽̐͂͛̓̀̋̑̿̇͒̉̾̉̂̕͜͝͝͝ͅ ̶̡̣͔͕͎͕͇͎̫̖̙̤͖̜̺̞͉̠͎̰̱̠̙͓̋̏͊̄̅̂̆̃̽͋͂̈́Before them she knew without a doubt was a monster greater than everything they would probably encounter in this accursed city.They were before a predator that could slaughter them, that could have slaughtered them at any moment.The woman had been in their midst for Morgano know how long and if she hadn't spoken, they probably wouldn't have noticed.With a yelp of surprise, the other Gryffindor girl, Emily jumped back away from the shadow, her wand already pointed and firing a spell at the woman.'It would probably be the reason of their death,' she thought mentally not fast enough to do anything to halt any hostility.As if to prove her thought, something silver shone for an instant as radiant as the sun before crashing against the spark of magic of the Gryffindor girl and cleaving through it.Astoria could see how the others were drawing their wands. Her voice rang "Stop!" and fortunately, it worked, the wands of the others still pointed at the woman but with no telltale signs of a spell."It seems one of you isn't as daft as the others." Now that she listened to it more carefully, she could notice how old, how wizened the voice sounded. It made her think of McGonagall and Dumbledore. It was the voice of someone with experience and power.It wasn't something that could be faked the same way A firefly couldn't compare to and imitate a dragon.The lantern behind Emily slid off, falling on the side with a sound akin to steel clashing against steel. It was a clean-cut, one that was probably made when the woman had defended herself and something told Astoria that there was in message In the actions of the woman.I could have killed more quickly than the blink of an eye and you wouldn't have realized until it's too late.There was no point in trying to threaten the woman because she wasn't the prey here. They were.The woman straightened up. "Your arrival made a lot of sound and sound attracted attention."Ḇ̴̨̡͖͔̬̰͚̲̠̭̙͙̥͙͊̎̽͆̑͛̀͐͆̏̋̈̾̀̓̈͋̾͐͐̅̉̉̏̈̆̿̏̉͂͗̕͘͝͠͝e̴̢̪̐̇̎̄̋͂̈̑̃̑̇͝ą̶̨̢̨̼̺̹̖̝̞̹̜͉͖̭̠̠̥͕͕̟͙̘͉̳̺̯̬̗̤̳̤̺̮̻̱̠̲͉̝̥̬̣̓͑̌̾̅̈́͐͂͐̒͘͝ͅş̵̡̗̩̳̪̼͎̜̲̩̪̜͎͈̪̫̖͗͒̃̈͆͌̈̂̌͆̆̂̾̃̽͆̈́̈́̔̈́͂́̈́̐̐̑́̐̒͂̂̾̉̚͘̚̕͜͝͝͠͝ͅt̸̢̨̫̩̙̦͚͍̪͔̻̫̝͇͙̻͉̫̖͈̖͓̘̩̰̝̩̹̲̗̯̍̎̈̎͒̂̄̿͑̐̀͌͒̆̏̌̌̚͘͝͝͠s̵̛̘̼͆͐̍̎̆͛̀́͌͗́̃̾̽̇̆͑͑͛͋͂̽̏̒̕̕̕͘͝͠"Beasts' attentions?" Astoria asked. It felt natural, right to call the people of this town beasts. It was as if the word had been whispered to her ears by a ghost."You partook in blood. You killed." There was no judgment in the voice of the woman. To the contrary, she almost seemed kind."He had killed one of us and would have tried doing the same with the rest of us.""It is a tragedy that a child of your age had to kill but it's yharnam and there are more tragedies here than sunrises.""What do you want from us?" Ethan Harrison spoke. The half-blood tried to hide his fear behind a veneer of calm and confidence but one look was enough to know what was truly under all his bravado."Like I said before, I want to help you. Children shouldn't be exposed to the cruelty of Yharnam and even more children that aren't from here.""How could you know?" romilda Vance asked."It's simple dear." Astoria could almost hear the smile in the voice of the woman."You weren't the first foreigners to come to this cursed place."*scene*They had followed the stranger, walking steps behind her in the accursed city they had found themselves in, taking seemingly endless turns, walking down seemingly never-ending stairs to go somewhere only Morrigan and probably the woman knew.They hadn't followed her because she was trustworthy. They had followed her, in the dark catacombs because she had been their only reasonable choice, the lone source of reason in this mad city.S̴̛̱̬̘͇̝͖̬͍͓̜̫̼̭̟͖̱͕͂͒̃̽̉̎̈́̊̉̾̔̎̃̽̾͋̏̂͐͋̍͌̀̈́͗͗̇͑́̽̀͐̍́̒͗͒̌̈́̔͘̕͘ͅḩ̶̛̤̣̠͓̜̤̭͈̬̖̞̱̻̗̗̙̖͙̲̪͍̥̝̝̥̺͇͊̒̿̓̇̈́͋́̏̄̒̓͂̓̆̈́̈́͐͒̑̌̾̀̂̚̕͠͝ę̵̢͕̥̳̞̗̦͔̩̺̻̼͍͙̼̳̔̔͛̾̃́̈́́͆̌͗̑̊̉̋̄͌͗̔̀̈́͂͗̓̕̕͘͘ͅ'̴͖̯͛͐ş̴̨̛̣͙̙̗̙̖̠̼̫̯̣̥̮͈͈͂̀̊̐͑̓͊̾̓̍̀̿̇̀̆̿̋̿̑̈́̔̍̍͐̃̏͆̓̈͋́́͋̑̚̕͜͝ ̷̨̧̢̘̫̪̻̼̗͈̯̙͇̜̻̠̳̼̺̻͕͔̜͈̯̥͖̭̮̠̬̱͙̹̭̥̺̥͔̮̩̫̙̬͌̑͗́̓́͌͒̉̀̅͊̚͠͠b̸͍̌̀̅͌͋́̑̅̐͋͌̀̽̅͒̂͑̄̓̿̈́̾̊͠͝͝ȩ̴̤̖̖̬̳̭̝̓͗́͛͛g̵̨̢̡̧͍̲͕̬̦̰͎̺̤͎̼̰͇͕̝̟̭͉̟̠̣͙̩̗̲͙̘̟͉̈́̂̀͑́̓́̌͊̈́̎̓͛̓̌̚͜ͅi̷̛̖͇̳̝͔͓̦̻̙̮̖͚̥̻̝̹͉̝͕͕̺̭̜͉͈͈̓̔̄̿̌́̏̃́̔̓̋̒̈́̉̇̑͊̊́̾̽̇̿̉̐̒͐̓̈́̑̊̚͘͝ͅn̵̘̜̠͂͌̀̐̄̉̉͂́͊͊̋̒̐̎̈̑͂͛́̏̋͋̒̐͒̔̓̑̎̐̅̇̒͛̌̕͘̚͝͝͝͝͝n̷̨̨̪̬̝͓̥̲̠̖̮͈̹͉͚̖͚̯̱̭̲̟̣̎̈́̈́̃̐̈́̀̅́̓̾̔̃̑̈́̌̑̿̈́̚̚͠͝͝į̸̧̡̡̨̛̙̺͙͖̭̪̭̘̩̘̬̙͈̗͉̰̣̗̱̖͔͖̮̘͔͔̩̺̜͙̏́͑́́̔̃̋͘͜͝͝͝ņ̶̨̦͉̯̼̘͉͚͕̰̹̟͑̈́̑̀̍͛̑̒͆ğ̸̡̘͉̹̝̞̳͖͖͇͉͈̲̫̱͎̤̟͓͗͐̓̄̈́͆̀̔͗̔̾͗̀̈́̓̋̎͒͆̒̀̓̈́͋̋̏͂̍̂̕͝͠ ̵̢̨̛͇̬̻͙̖̗̹̜͕̜͖̻̭̟̭̠̗̯̱̯̤̖̱̥͈̺̭͇̟̻̦̑̀̇̽̾̏̓̎͆͋̃̚͜t̵̡̧̧̧̧̡͖̖̭̟̻̦̖̟̼̭͚͚͇͕͙̝͎̼̳̖͕̫͍̘͇̪̣̜̞̣̪̥͉̓͊̃̋͑͊͝͝ͅo̴̧̧̨͚͎͙̹̰̪̟̺̹͇̳͍̲͉͈̳͔̫͖̘͕͚̯̰̮͔̭̳͚̳̞͓͐͋́̀̈͋͗́́̅̅͂͊̌̏̈͂̀͐͂̑͐̀̒̒̋͘ ̷̛̛̖͈̻͕̣̭̤̬̭̗̜̤̼̟͙͙͈̟̭̰̟̣̙͗̈́̽̌̈́̽̈́͊̓̅̌̿̈́͆́̓̐̈́̉̍̅̕̚͠s̶͕̤͓̻̏̊̆̀̾͆͒̔̅̇͐̈́̇̿͌̈́̄͛͐̏̉̍̄̌̿̑̕͘͝͝ě̴̡̧̻̱̗̟͙̪̹̰̮̙̩̪̖̖̲̫̼̫̟̝̤̲͓̯͙̮̬̠̦̬͍̜͕͖̻̫̥͍̈́̍͌͛̈́̍̃̓͘̚̚͜͠ͅͅȩ̶̧̛̰̗̥̰͙̫̥͇̭̬̩͈̖̙͔̠̥̥̭̯̼͕̪̫͚̣̬̥̙̻̪̓̀̏̑̀̔̌̂̈́̓͆͆͆́̊̒̈̑͊́̍̾̄̀̓̅́͒͗̇̋͗̓̃̈̆̀͘̕͘͝They had followed her because no matter how much they didn't want to admit, they were desperate."We arrived," the woman spoke. "This place should be safe enough."They found themselves in an underground chamber, one not weirdly dissimilar from one of the room of the Greengrass manor.It was as if they had by following the woman stepped into another world, one more familiar even if still different, one of nobleness and grandiosity or at least that has been once.The room was sparely decorated, just a few chairs, a chandelier above and a work table. It looked spartan and it gave Astoria an inkling of the character of the woman."It's not much but it is something. Do as if it was your home.""We are thankful for your help," Ethan Harrison said. Astoria let him speak, her gaze fixated on the woman trying to discern more about her through anything whether it was body language or the tone of her voice.S̴̨̡͖̩͚̫̘͓͈̠̬̗͍̦͚̠͓͚̮̟͎̻͔̏̂̈́̈́̑̔͌̆͗̓̐͆̀͆̎͑́͘̕h̴̛͈͎̆̆̆͛̽̈́̃̈́̂͊̀̽͗̓̀̍̈́̕͘̕͠͝͝e̸͕͉̜̙͙̦͐̄͒̆̆̈̀̓̈́̈́̇͑͠͝ ̷̢̢̹̞̖̙̱̪̘͖̯̳̘͕̤͚͓̈́͝s̸̡̨̧̢͇͖̞̫̳̳͕̱̪͈̱̮̝̣̠̲̯̞̞͓̟̻̱̗̗̩̹͍̝̹̦̼̭̫̎̎̀̒̈́̆̋́̌̇̋͛̑̾̄̋͘͠͝ͅͅa̷͕͓̠̩̫̭̣̜̟͔̫̙̻͙͕̬͓̅̅̒͐̏͌̓̆͂̉́̑͗̉͊̔͑̒̐̾̓͘͘̚̕͝͝w̶̨̧̛̬̫̞̲̟̜̬̑̅̈́̈́͐̋͗͋̏̚̕ ̴̨̢̛͙͍͍͇͉̰̻̪̥̤̙͉̯̼̬̥̖͎͇͔̙̮͖̫̪̳̻̦̻̯̯̼̜͔̦̹̈̈̀̎̓̔̑̇̏͐̃̓̈́͗̆̒͋͛̑̀͛̈́́̇̓͊̈́́̍̈̄̉͜͜͜͜͠͝ͅå̸̢̡̨̱̣͚͕̣̱̻̼̣̻̝͎̱̮̱̣̘̹̦̻̀̀͌̿̃̈́͗͜ͅͅ ̷̧̧̢̛̛̛̛̼̪̦̗̞̺͍̘̠̘̯͎͓̔̓̇̓̉́̇͗̊̽͊̈́͑̉̀̋̀͋̊̾̔̽̓̈́̔͛͂͌̄̀̿̕̕̕͘̕̚͠c̷̢̡̢̡͉̘̯̺̗͍̳̪̩̥̪̻̲̹̟̜̰̗̫̝̼͉̲͉̬͇̣̜̹̺̜͚͛͌͊͜ṟ̶͔̝͕̘̯̗̣̞̏̑̊̊̋̎̾̽̎̅̉̔͛͊̍̈́̿̀͜͠͝͠͝ö̴̞́̃̀̈́̓̄̈́̏̉́͗̊̏̒͊̃̿̀̏̀̓͘ẃ̶̰̺͈̘͍͈̩̦̼̪͖͖̫͕̼̟̳͉͖̦̞̝͍͙̫̖͈̘͍͍̤͍̒̍̂̈̎̊͘͝ͅ ̵̛͉͖̰͔̬̳͎͊͋̀͛̍͐̎͌͂̊̽͛̾̃͊̉͛͆̓̎̇̀̍́͒͑̋͘̕̕̕͜͠͝b̶̪̪͈͇̲͕̻̲͖̳̣̗̱̗̲̂̽͌̉̾̈́̑̉̒̃͌̏̂̈̚͝ǎ̴̰̟̳͙̲̻͊͛t̶̢̨̨̨̧̛̳͖̪̬̤͈͈̝̭͔̭͓̗̦̰͈͔̫̪͔̙͇͔̯͕̰͔̩͈̻͚͍̣̜͕̒̈́̈̃͗͗̈́̂̍͗͐̆͑́̓̀͛̾̔̈́͠͝͠ͅh̸̡̧̹̞̱̺̝̙̮͙͉̰͈͈͚̼̘̥̪̜͙̩̹͋̍e̵̢̢̧̧̛̛͙̬̠̦̰̫̻̣͎̣̱̭̗̖̩̖͚͍̯̓̌̀̈̓̋̆̀̅́̊̀̃̂̿̄̂̅̀̀̏̈́̽̎̽̽̊̏̍͌͛́͘͝ͅd̴̢̡̢̪͍̪̞͍̰͉̦͚̠͙͂͊͋̿͑̄͋̎̂̈́ ̴̢̧̢̼͉̹̣̝̮̫̞͙̲̬̯̑̾̈̍̉͐̿͌̌̀̉̈́̍̓̿̊̊̒̾́̎̒̍̀̌͑̋͊̊͘̚͘͠͝͝i̶̜̹͈͆̓́͒͐̆̇͋͒̾̅̒̀̿̽̕̚͠͝͠ṇ̶̡̛̛͎̪͕͈̝͇̼͉͇̼͚̙͓̝͚̟͚͖͓̤̭͕̩̹̈̓́́̑̈̓̏͛̅͊̃͆̓́̀́̋̍͜͝͝͝͠͝ ̶͎͍̯̓̏̓͛̂̚b̵̨̧̧̧̗̜̰͕̦̲̮̦̖̥͉͇͙̣̪̺͔͇̤̼̹͙̬̜̹̪͉͙͖̙̜̈́͐͋͗̈́̂̆͋̅̌͑̀̒̈̋͂̓́͆́̍̿͛͑̓͂͛̏̿͌̅̚͘͝͝͠ͅͅl̸̩̖̱̳̪̦̳͍̫͙͉̙̯̙̠̫͎̹̤̯̜̝̮͍͇̣̲̳̻̥̤̂̽ͅǫ̵̧̡̡̧̛͚̙̣̩̻̼͕̭̦̻͓̖̘̗̰̫̱͙̺̰̰̝̹̩̬̥̺͇͋͌̒̈́̇͋̈́͂͐̍͌̇̄̈́͑̉͒̚̚͜͠ͅo̸͖͖̦͖̓̓̋̎͗̔̌̓̎͋̅͑̍̈͑̾́̇̾̊͌̅̀͋̆̔̀̾͌̓̇͆͛͛͌̚͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͝ͅd̵̡̡̡̨̛̹͕̱̮̫͙͈̖̫̠̫͍̠͈͉͙̤̺̙̭̖̹̯̗̠̠͇̼̬̺̀̈́́̑͐̿͋̈́̾̏̆̋̏͘͘̕͜͜ͅ.̵̨̨̛̠̰̦̦͔̲̲̯͙͉̗͎̰̫̤̹̼͙͍̣͚̮͎̟̼͍̱̘͙̦̱͈̬͚̯̭̅͗̈́̐͆̍̄͌̍͌͊̍̈̑͌̈́̋͜͝͠The Greengrass had never had the best social skills. Her curse didn't help with that.They needed information. They needed to know what was happening because ignorance was the quality of the fool and fools died and Astoria wouldn't die here."Still, I wish to ask more from you.""You want to know more about good old Yharnam don't you?" the woman said. The woman was perceptive, dangerous. Astoria was sure that the the woman had been analysing them the same way she was trying to dissect her and she probably had gleaned more from them than Astoria did from her.The boy stayed silent for a moment, looking as if pondering about his next words. The woman continued speaking before any of them could answer"I'm old but not blind yet." she chuckled. "It's clearly easy to tell. You're clearly not from here.""What makes you think we aren't from here?" The question had been by from Emily, the other Gryffindor girl."Many things dear. Your accent to begin is different. You don't have the same é̶̛̞͚͕̣̥̮͕̳͚̦͎͍̏͒́͑͒̊̓̂͛͛͌̾̊͐̿̋̄͆͗͘̚͝͝y̷̰͛̀̉͂̐̂͋͊̊̆͋͌̈́͌͝e̶̢̢̢̨͖̹͚̯̦͓̘̲̺̮͉̣͔̣̬̺̜͈͛͌͊̃̎̅̔̆̽̂̃̈́͝ͅş̷̛̛̼̖̞̹̟͇̝͍̙̹̗͖̻̩͒̆̆̿͌̔̌͐́͒̾͂͒̊͑͌̂̒̒̚͠͝͠ͅ that the people of this city have even which means there is hope for you But more important than anything, more noticeable than yourLittle sticks, what makes clear you're not from here is because of your appearances, of how clean you are."There was a double meaning in her words. The woman was saying something they both understood and didn't.The woman's eyes swept over them. "Your skin looks healthy, devoid of grime or infection. Your gums aren't blackened or a rotting mess like a lot of people in this city. Your eyes are too clear, not sickly enough. Each one of those things would have been enough to brand any of you as different but all of those things combined? It is clear to any Yharnamite that you're not from here and the only thing that Yharnamites hate more than other Yharnamites are outsiders.""You said we weren't the first foreigners to come to this place," spoke Romilda Vance. The girl was still holding one of Astoria's hands and she hadn't shown any sign to make the other girl stop.Romilda Vance represented an increase of chances of Astoria's surviving this nightmare which meant she wouldn't be non amenable toward the girl. It wasn't because she felt bad for the girl. She was simply using her like any good Slytherin would have."Clever little thing aren't you?" the compliment drew a light blush on the face of the Gryffindor girl. "Let's make an exchange. You tell me about how you came to this city and I tell you how I found myself in this madness. Is it a deal?"The Hogwarts students exchanged glances. They had already seen the cruelty, the barbary the people of Yharnam were capable of. What said that the woman before them wasn't playing a sick game they didn't understand yet? What told them that she would tell them the truth?The worse is that they all knew deep down that the woman before them in case something goes wrong wouldn't be trapped her with them. They would be trapped with her.A silent conversation went between the Hogwarts students before they nodded to each other, some with reluctance, some as if preparing for the executioner's axe."I will tell you how we came here and in return, you will help us understand this city." Astoria tried to project the image of the perfect impassive and In control noble scion. "Before beginning, what may we call you?""The name given to me was Eileen and Very well child, A story for a story.""Very well," Astoria spoke as if she didn't feel like standing before the abyss.*scene*The girl called Astoria spoke to Eileen of how they arrived here in Yharnam, how they were originally from a place of wonder and magic, one that had never been plagued by the same madness that was plaguing Yharnam.The girl spoke of a place without beasts, without men being ravenous mad by blood. She spoke of an Eden, an utopia, the kind of world the healing church had tried to bring and failed to.She spoke of a teacher, one wielding magic the same way they all did but so differently, but in a so much better, almost divine way.She spoke of crimson hair, of eyes that seemed to held the world itself in contempt like a superior existence watching a flawed one.She spoke of the world changing, made undone and remade to the will of the being masquerading as a teacher.She spoke of a great one, one they could see and feel the greatness but that they couldn't understand. Those children were pawns, playthings on a higher existence and they didn't know.Only her insight allowed Eileen to see it and her, a hunter, slayers of beasts and her own kind felt fear and dread.She saw crimson, destruction and cruelty itself. It crossed gaze with her. With thousand voices, it said one thing.H̷̢̧͓̗̥͇̭͉͖̼̳͇̙̗̱͓̝̃̀̒͆̏͛̃̒͑͛͆̀̐̅́͛̎̆̑̃̅́̄̓́̀̂̇̓̈̓̊̑̕̚̚͝͝͝͝͠ǘ̵̢̪̥͎̩̯͎̖̯̙̹̞͕̀̈́̈̈́̑͒̐̀̈́͋̀͊̈́̏̏̽̒̊̽̋́͜͜͝ș̴̛̛͉̺͉͎̱̫̻̱̪̥̰͚̮̗̜̺̝̣̦̊̅̊̃́̂͑́͒̔̊̍͌̾̈́̏̉̍̄͊̒̍̿͊̋͒͂͌̈́̂͂̈̊͒̓̃͒͊̈̅̈̇͘̚̚͜͜͝͝͝ͅĥ̵̡̨̢̢̬̝̳͚̟̠̻̙̗̘͎͙̞̰̣̥̼̝̬̼̥̘̱͖̖̭̘͓̋̈̆̿̄͒̔͛̉̾͒́͋̐̏̋̑̾̈̐̊̄̎͆́̅͘̕͘͠͠͠Agony struck against her mind. She bit her tongue trying to focus on something else than the eldritch truth she had listened to. Eileen had understood. She would stay silent or the nature of the professor.She listened as the girl spoke of an ultimatum, of a challenge, of a test, one where the failure was definitive, one where the failure was nothing but ultimate death as if they weren't already facing worse. It's just that they didn't know it.Great ones were said to be sympathetic in nature. No one realized what it meant until too late. It wasn't a good thing. It was a warning.She spoke of losing one of theirs, a naive boy unaware of the blow that brought him low. She spoke of some of her comrades fleeing in other places.She spoke of killing the beast who took the life of one of theirs before running. She spoke of exhaustion, of despair, of helplessness until they met Eileen.The girl didn't say it in such words but Eileen was a hunter, puzzles, behaviours and clues as easy if not more to discern than breathing.The others were silent. Eileen's heart ached looking at them. They were children and children shouldn't have such haunting eyes.Right now, she could tell, no matter how much they were fraying at the seams, they tried keeping composure, their calms both for their sake and the sakes of their companions but little things gave it away.The only boy amongst them may have tried to appear as undisturbed as possible but the eyes rarely lied.The Greengrass girl wearing the same colours than the boy was still holding the hand of one of the other girls. Eileen could see how tight she did so.The girl she was holding the hand looked the less composed on them. It was a sad thing to think but had she been alone, Eileen was sure she would have either died at the hands of the people of Yharnam or taken her own life or turned into a beast that would have to be put down.The last amongst them, a girl in colours of red and gold had a challenging gaze directed toward Eileen. The girl didn't trust her at all which was both a good and a bad thing,She would have looked more menacing though if Eileen couldn't hear the sound of one of her legs shaking through her honed senses.It was such a shame that it was now, while Yharnam had fallen into madness that those children, people with such incredible and powerful abilities came to it.She imagined it, the healing church collaborating with those children or their people. She imagined, a world where maybe they wouldn't be fearing the old blood.Nonetheless, there were no points in dreaming in both senses of the term. They were looking at her, waiting for her to comment on what she heard.Did they think she would take for liars? Did they think that now that she had what she wished for, she wouldn't hold her side of the bargain? Yes, they did."Yharnam hadn't always been like that. It had been a kind place, a cradle of civilization, one people would have and killed to come to."None of them tried to hide their scepticism from her not that she could blame them when they had lost one of theirs to the hand of a Yharnamite."It may not seem like it but it was so different, so much that It is almost painful looking at what it became."Eileen could remember it. Children running and smiling in the streets. People who were always happy, always celebrating. A kind and prosperous community. It had truly been a paradise. This is why it hurt so much to see what it had become."You said it wasn't always like that. It meant something happened. What was it?" the only boy asked her."What changed everything was blood, the old blood. The moment it had been found, Yharnam was already doomed."Master Wilhem had been right. They should have listened to him. Fear the old blood. Those words had been prophetic and they had been the fools not taking them in count.*scene*Astoria stopped the confusion she could feel from showing on her face. There was a heaviness to the words of the woman. She wasn't speaking of a mere uncleaned stain of blood but something if she wasn't lying that firstly turned a muggle city into an enlightened one before ultimately changing it into a barbaric and violent one."The old blood was special, capable of miraculous things. The old blood was why everyone in the world had wished to come here, to the city of miracles because this is what the old blood could do, miracles, things I'm not even sure your magic could do.""What made the old blood so special, what made it worthy of being called a miracle, an act of the divine was that it could heal anything."Heal anything. Heal anything. The words repeated themselves through Astoria's head. Had she finally found the solution to her greatest problem and by accident?Was this planned by their teacher from the beginning? Could she trust the words of the woman and even then, even if it was the truth, the way the old woman had been speaking about it, it sounded as if it was both a mighty and terrible thing."Bullshit! I don't believe a word that came from your mouth. Even magic can't cure everything and you're telling me that Muggles had been able to do what magic itself couldn't." The harsh words came from the mouth of the aggressive Gryffindor girl.Astoria wanted to both string her up and nod to her words. It sounded too good. If it was true, this city shouldn't be the way it was."There is actually a magical item capable of healing anything. It is one created with the help of the philosopher stone. It's called the panacea," Romilda Vance softly said."Shut the fuck up Romilda. We don't care right now about any philolosos…philosi…. Whatever you just said!""Maybe you should act more like a wizard and not like a dog Emily," Astoria said coldly to the other Gryffindor girl."I don't like your prissy attitude princess. I think I should take you down some pegs."Cold green eyes met angry brown eyes "You will try," Astoria told her. You would fail were the unsaid words."Girls, we shouldn't be fighting between each other especially now," Ethan Harrison spoke trying to play the conciliator."Who died and made you leader?You know what. I oug-"Astoria felt death. It was close, so very close and at any moment would cut them down. She was scared, so scared she couldn't even breathe "That's enough," Death, no, the woman spoke.They all turned toward her. They had so easily forgotten her presence. They should have known that something able to survive in Yharnam could only be dangerous."The boy is right. You are companions." The voice of the woman changed tone becoming less harsh, more soft yet still as commanding "Don't let yourself fall in the madness of this city."The woman fizzled with one of her pocket, grabbing something Astoria hadn't been able to discern before throwing it at Ethan Harrison.The boy clumsily caught it in the air "this is a blood vial. They were created through experiments and studies on the old blood. Vials like that are capable of bringing back form the verge of death anyone, of healing completely. With the old blood, crippled were freed from their deformities, blind given the gift of sight."The Hogwarts students focused on it. There seemed to be a grandeur to that thing that was clearly not alive yet that felt so different. "You can try it if you want," the woman told them."No, it's fine, we're fine." Romilda at her side violently nodded. Everything Astoria had ever wished for and it was just before her eyes.F̶̰̱̟̂̍̆͠ͅe̷̢̱̬͚͙̻̠̥̮̩̼͍̳͖̹̪̭̾̏̿̽́͛́̓͗̿̐̐͑̏̅̑́͊̉̀͂̾́͒̒̍̊̆̃̕̕͝͠ͅa̸̧̡̢̧̢̧̡̛̟̗͙̯̬̰̱͕͚̙̭̩͎̤̮̺̙͍̹̻͓͖̪̖͚̙̥̪̹̮̠̠̝̦̞͉̗̺̓́̾̓̌͐͌͗̆́̆͒̈́͑̽̌̏̓̃͋̌̀̿̎̇̎͛̇͑͗̌̂̏̈͐̚̕̕̚̕̕͜͝͠͝ͅŗ̷̟̰̝̟̭̜͇̬͔̬̱̩̭̖̥͓̬͖̱̘͔͕̆̔͒̇̔̔̚͝ ̵̡̳̬̟͚̫͓͈͉͕̲̺̬̟̣̝͚̺̳̰̯͎̗̑̇̍̏̄̉̈́̒͒̃̈́̍̈́̀̐́̅͊̍̂̈̕͠͠ͅt̶̢̧̨̢̛̺̗̮̘̲̝͇̤̭̤̲͈̫͙͙̟̜͚̬̥̲͍̱̟̤̥̰̭̩̰̪͍̝̭̪̟͓͔̠̑͋͌̀̀̅̋̽͆͑͆͋̌͂͗̎̅̑͊̌̄̇̆̔̍̄͒̿̋̇̽̈͐̂̋͋̄̇̍̄̍͜͠͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅḩ̸̛̰̰̙̮̦͖̫̣̝̝̜̾̅͊̈̅́̂̅̉̊̈́̽̔́̑͂̄́̃̌̈́̀͑͐̈̂̂̌̐͑̿͜͜͠͠e̷̛̥̖͙̙͇̭̝̲̘̹͎̦̒́̅̊̓͑̈́̅͑̄̐͗̆͒̓͌ͅ ̷̨̡̡̢̧̢̧̧̛̱̞̟̗̝̖̳̪̲̟͚̭̙̩̼͎̫̭̹̙͉̯̬̙̟͖̩̱̮̦̼̺̦͚̜̪̣͓̲͈̭̃̎̎̃̄̋͆͐̽̍̓̒̓̔͗͂̿̏͘̕͝͝͝ơ̶̡̛̙̬̙̗͕̽̐̏̀̽͂̾̊̓̃̀̉́͗̀̇̎͊̍́̈́̆͒̈́̀̉̊̔̓̈́̂͘̕̚̚͠͝ͅl̵̛͙̝͚͇̩̳̱̦͔͓͇̰̖̳͚̮̹͐͋͋̇͐̅̋̍͒͂́̇̓̔͒̾̊̏͑̿̏͊͒͒̈́̔̒́͒͛̋̆́̏̊͑̚͘̕̚̕̕͝͝͠d̷̡̢̧̥̞͍̞͍̙̳͖͕̞̗̖͙̗͉̖̘̹͓͓̰̣͇̗̼͉̃̄͑͛̋̃̿̚͜͝͝ ̷̧̡̛̣̬̬̖̹̝̬̙̮̹̠͎̖̘̝̳̣̻͙͍̬̯̦̰͑͛͐̂͌͆͌̋͛̀͗͂̎̆̔̈́̒̂̐̇̋͛͘͘͘̚͝͝ͅḃ̶̨̡̧̡̛̬͕͖̞͎͍̳͖͉̟̞̫͍̪̦̘̗͖͙̘͖̥̟̠̼̄̄̄͛̋̆̈̓̃͂̕̕͝l̸̛͔͓̳̔͑̀̐̊̐̒̋̀̈̏̔̈́̓́͛͋͒̈́́̅̐͛̑̌͌̏̉̚͝͠ô̸̧̡̖̼̝̺͔̭̘̲͖̥͇̥̺̳̼̫̹̜̺͈̪̝̼͓̳̺͙̌̆̅͛̏ͅͅơ̵̢̟̲͔̩̈́̽͌͐̏̓́̊̔̌͊͌̊̎͛̽̊̄͐̀̌̾͒̀̓͗͒̋̊̆̊̾̽̃̎̽̅̓͘̚̕̚͝͝͝͝͠ḑ̷̛̛̛̛̱̙͕͈̻̙͓̹̮̳̞̠̯̘͙̩̦͙̟̱̖̹̞̙̰͇͓̞̋͂̈̓͑͑̆̒̔̈́̀̋̿̏̉̑̐́̆́̏̀̏̉̔́̋͌͑͐̐̈́͑̋̓̕̚̚̕͘͝͠ͅ ̵̘͓̗͎̤̋̓͋͗̈́͆͌́̿̒͊̂̃̈́͂́͌̿͋̐͂̈̅̋̾̑̽́̿̄̎̾̓͘̕͘̕͝ç̷̨̡̨̻̪̺̦̺̩͈̯̼̲̩̮̬͔̫͈̘̫͙̈́͒̐̐͛́̇̏̋͂̈̆̒̽̍͘ͅͅḩ̴̢̨̻̜̦̙̣̰̱̰̬̞̱͍̼͉̖̜͚̝͉̞̘͉̭̜̗͕̟̟̯͚͔̯̠̾̆̍̏̆̈́͗̄͛̽̈́͒̂̀͂̈́̉̂̄̎̀̑͂̐͊͌́̿̓́̈́̃͗̄̒̿̈́͆̿͌̕̕̚̚͜͠͝į̷̢̢̢̡̧̡͙̞̥̗̳͚̪̟̭̗̝̺̖͈̪͍̮̬̹̖̙͚̳̞̙͚̘̗͇͍͕̜̺͉̣̥̗̥̞͖͈̔̈̾͠ͅl̶̟͕̲̝̣̜̫͔̼̳̲͓̺̻̠͓̳͍̀̏͗͂̆̌̌̔͊̎̓̃͒̂̅͆͒̔͊͌̃͒̓̇́̀̉̓͆̊̈́̾̃͘͘̚͠͠͝d̵̢̨̡̢̢̡̛̘̩͉̰̤͚͈̤̲̖̰͕͓͍̙̲̰̮̩̪͖̗̟̟̫̤̺͈̹͍̽́͒̎̅̅̀̂͆̍̍̓̋͑̓̊̅́̓͊͋̐̊̈́̈̋̇̋̈́͂͐̊̆̋̕͘͘̕͝͝ͅͅ ̷̢̛̯̬̟̼͔̩̙̻͔̮̭͍̪̗͌͋͊͐̃͒̅͐͛̓̽̒̈̋̚̚͜͠l̶̨̧̧̺͉̲̳̟̰͕̟͇͓̳̳̬̘̭̮̘͇̠̠͍̰͈̤̬͈̮͇̝̖̹̳͈̳̲̺͍̜̆̄̇̈͐͑̍̈̃͜͜͝͠͝ͅơ̸̢̛̪̝̙̯̮̞̻͖̠̼̰̼̬̤͙̻͉̻̳̝͎̜̦͙͙̖̺͓̜̟̼̩͎̪̥̭̻̼̳͔͈̺̦͙̰̦̋̽͐̓͗̃̏́̊͌̈́̔͒͘ͅͅv̸̛̥̟̼̲̟̼̳̈́͐͊͑̏̓̇͛͆̏̓͂̄́̆̋̀̓̾̈͝͝͠ͅȩ̴̡̨̧̡̧͚̙̥̫̭͈̱̩͇̘̗̩̦͚̠̩̱̳͉̗̣̼̘͕̖̖̱̪̖̞̦̮̜̖͕̟̲̠̻̰͙͈̒ͅͅd̴̛̛̳̯̲͈͈͖͙̠̪̩͕̀̈́̔̆̇͛͋͑̊͗͑͛̌́̀́̍̓́̃̊̅̌́̍̽̚̕͝ ̶̧̛̛͚̮͔̖̠̙̫̲̩̤̠͔̮̹̣͔̥͔̤̠͚͚̙̺̫̩̖̗̥̣̘̊̒͋̑̂͒̉̎̓͆̍̾̓͂̂́̾̏̈́̈́͆͆̿͒̏̅̑̋̈́͛̔̇̀̈́́̀͂͂͆́͛̕͘̕͜͜͠͝b̴̧̛͉̗̹̻̱͇͖͉̦̭̰̩͇̠̪̮̮͖̼͖̲͎͉̣̹̗̣̳͖̫̭̾͗̇̈̃̏͂̊́̀̿̿̈́̏̂̅̐͐̒͝y̷͚̯̾͒̂̌̍̓́͐̾̃͊̈̍̇͗̈͌́̈́͘͝͝ ̷̧̢̛͍̼͍̤͖̪̘͓̤͚̰̞͔͈̳͕̻̹̀̈̆̎͂̏̋̆͠t̷̢̢̞͚͖͚͇͙̼̻̜͉̻̺̼̣͖̟͙̦̼̙̭̳͔̙͖̮̣̣͇̼̦̥́̕͠ͅͅͅͅh̷̨͓̳̹͖͓̗̺̜̭̦͇̖͔̥̫̟̗͚̠͍͈̤̝̠̳̟̰͖͖̞̖̱̜̊͑̆͑͗͐̿̓́̿̈͛̓̊̇͌̃͐̒̊̒̓͑͂̓̽̒̐̏̄͒͝e̷̛̺̳̠̘̙͆́̋̿̀͜ ̵̭̺̫̫̤̜̺̱̫͍̩̩̈́͌̿̎̏̿̿̄̃͊͗̈́̿̚̚̚͝l̵̢̧̛̠̟͖̗̖̭̮̪͕͓͍̖̦̹̻̼͍̻̦̖̲̹͓̬̰͇̱͚͓͎̣̺̳̥̪̱̖̥͍̩͓̳͇͔̹̣̮̼̿̌̉͂̊̍̉̃́̓͗͐̎̌̍̋̑͐̔̍͌͐̀̓̑̂̍̑̈́̂͆́͒̉̉̏̀̚͘̕͝͠͝ȃ̸̡̢̧̢̝̗̱̲̦͎̟̻͖̠̱̩͇̪̲̣͔̮̬̩̤̩̭̙̞̳͕̹̣͇̰͖͎͙̖̹̺̲͈́̌́̇̔͒͗̕͜͜͜͜͠͠ͅṵ̶̝̥̆̿̈́̽̃́̈́̽̈́̉͘͠r̷̨̨̢̡̠̰͍͇͇̞̟̘͇̻͎̪̹̲̪̱͚̈́͊̾̒̓̏͜͝ͅê̵̛̛̛͎̖̣͔̠̞̝̙̳̋̌̀͗̄̃́̀̅͋̓͋̒̒͗͗̃͐͒̽͛̌͆̓̀̂̀͒̚͘͝͠ĺ̷̡̛͙̫̗̯̞̪̝̰̠̳̬͓͔̻͉̼͕̥̳͍͉͕̹͓̭̘̰̞̌̏̇̔̓͒̄͑͛̔̓̀̋̋̆̍̔̓͋̀̃̄̋̏̐̆̈́̕̕͠͠ͅs̴̨̨̧̛̛͚̤̣̥̠̟̝͔̻̟̳̪̰͉̙̙̯̖͉̝͙̟̜̪̜̜̱͙̳͚̟͖̞͊̓̃̅̿̌͌̈́̑͂̎͋̆̃̏̇̿̊̆̅̉̇́̾̋̓̃͘͜͠͠"You said that something went wrong," Emily spoke. Her voice was calm, too calm devoid of previous aggressiveness. "What happened?"Humans happened. Greediness happened. The members of the school of Byrgenwerth discovered That the old blood could do more than healing. It could evolve humans, strengthen them, make them more. The wisest amongst them saw the danger, the pitfalls in trying to harness and understand a superior truth. The less wises, the majority of them decided to continue to experiment with the blood. This is what created the madness above and let me tell you, children, what you all saw was just a dropin the ocean of blood corrupting Yharnam."More than the tale being fascinating, muggles having found what was clearly a magical cursed object, Astoria couldn't stop thinking that the voice of the woman held too much truth as if she had herself been there when everything unfurled."You were one of those people weren't you, one of those strengthened by the old blood." The way the woman moved, the way she had been able to cut through magic, the way she had seemed as Death herself. The woman was clearly not a muggle. She was clearly something else and her being one of the people changed by this old blood only made sense."You truly are the smart one amongst all of your little friends. Yes," the woman confirmed."I was one of the people originally exposed to the blood, strengthened by it to serve the interests of the healing Church, the ones who decided to study the old blood.""You don't look like a priest to me," Emily spoke.The woman chuckled "Because I wasn't one. No, I was instead one of the people supposed to clean any possible accident.""Wait a minute. Correct if I'm wrong but it is the whole city that is affected," Ethan Harrison asked the woman."Correct," she confirmed."And you speak of old blood." the Boy had become pale as if he had learnt that the end of the world was now."Yes.""Your church, they released a magical plague didn't they?"The eyes of all the other students widened. A plague, a magical one. Astoria truly hoped the boy was wrong.There were records of the black plague, how it had been able to kill both muggle and wizards and witches.The rate of survival had been higher amongst their kind but what was the point when their numbers had always been so little?Astoria now imagined a magical plague, one unleashed on a city full of muggles when even a normal plague could kill a wizard."But how? Plagues always spread through a medium no matter how small or impossible it seems," Romilda Vance spoke.A sigh escaped the woman "the only reason why Yharnam fell Into madness was because the healing church purposefully chose the inhabitants of Yharnam as test subjects. When those test subjects contracted the disease, it was the duty of hunters like me to ensure what came out was disposed of. Unfortunately, we weren't able to contain it. Even we could be affected and we learn it too late.""Worse, blood holds memories, wills and us, hunters by killing the beasts the people of Yharnam had inherited everything that made them but you already experienced it, smart little girl, didn't you?" the woman asked Daphne.G̷̨̡̨̢̧̗͙̬̙̳͚̠̩̲̝̜͔̱͙̟̭̉̓̈́̑̂̀̐͂͛͌̾̌̊̑̈̓̇͘͜͠i̵̛̛̥̗̦͈̗̟̙̤̯̞͗̓́̈́̂͋͋́͆̐̽͒̄̂͒̐̇͋͂̾̉̿̽̈́̏̑͋͗̒̑̃̇̀̆̈́̑͌̔́̇̄̒͝͠͠v̷̧͔͎̜̇͊̽̌̃̕ȩ̵̨̨̡͓̯̦͍̹͎̺̪̲̘̺͚̟͍͎̯͉̫̲̘͕͖̳̝̘̭̮̹̝͓̓͑͑̌̓̔̏̈́̽́̈͗͌̑̅̿̍̑̈̒̔̈́̈́́̎͋̿̿̅̆̒̓̌̀̈́́͐̒̚̚̚͘̚͜͠͝͝ͅ ̶̨̢̧̢̨̢̧̧̛̙͉̯̙̩͎̫͙̮̮͔̣̩͖̯̥̺͚̝̰̼̯̼̪͖̖̩̭̻͓̭͙͍̫̣̤͕͉̬͉͎̉̈̈́̍͆̿̆͊̀̈͛͋͗͐͋̑̌̕͘͜͠͝ư̸̧̧̛̱͍͚̺͍̫̟̫̱͖̬̪̪͐̂̑̎̄͛͗̀̓̎̾̊̀̐̿̎̀̉̓̒̔̈́͌̊̽̐̑̕͜ͅs̷̢̧̢͇̩̖͕̣̬͉̪̖͔͓̰̘͓̙͕̙̞̬̞̣͚̞̺̖̫̘̤̳̹̖̦̲̜̱͚̪̩̟̻͌̏̑̽͊͂͂͆̅̋̌̌̊́̃͗̇͂̑̓̏̄̊̇͒̇̐̃́̀̑̊̒́̆̿̒̅̐̇̀̈́͒͘͘̕͘͝͝ͅ ̴̨̡̢̛̛̙̳͍̲̙̣̜͈͓̗̳̜̺̻̮̖̱͔̫͎̺̦̯̻̖̘͈͔̤̬̻͈͈̉̆̂̄̉̀̍͗͒̑̎́̎̓̈́͒̋̆̒̓̐̀̋͌̾͑̆̉̇̂̃̇͛́̑͊͐͛̚͘̕̚͝ͅé̴͉̙̞̬̳̰̜̫̠̒͐͗̍͆̔̈̊̐̾̿̓̽̕͝ͅỳ̵̡̢̺͎͍͚̤͙̖͇̙͙̱͎͍̑e̶̡̨̨̻̭͉͙͇̳̳͍͈̞̘͙͓̺̯̜̗̘̺͍̲̖̩̰͈̹̯̼̪̼̭̲̱͓̮͚̝̫̙̘̞̟̖͓͍̪͐͜s̶̡̧̡̤̤͕͕͓̯͇͚̘̥̲̬̱͙̙̭̳͖͉̝̩͖̯͕̠͠ͅͅ"Words, things you never know are now the back of your mind, waiting to be called forth. Strength that shouldn't be yours now is. Am I wrong?"Astoria ignored the burning gazes of the other students "you're not," the blonde girl admitted."you are both lucky and strong you know. A lot of us had to be put down on their first hunt when they turned into beasts. After all, a hunter must hunt beasts.""May we ask for your help?" Astoria told the woman."Do tell. I can't promise you agreeing though.""That's all that I need. I want you to guide us at the edge of the city. You know it more than us, how to possibly leave this place.""Don't think there is sense in asking her that. The professor promised to make it all stop at dawn," Harrison spoke the other girls nodding."What if she doesn't? What if she doesn't?," she repeated herself. The others reacted as if she has struck them in the face."I don't want to be stuck here and I'm sure it is the same for you so I'm going to try to put every odds on my side."That shut them up because Astoria wasn't wrong. What proof had they that they could trust the words of their professor when it had been because of her that one of her them died, that it was because of them they were there and not at Hogwarts?"So please, would you help us?" Astoria asked the hunter again.*scene*The woman had accepted on the caveat that they followed her orders. The woman had left them, going somewhere to prepare she had said leaving the four of them alone."It is truly a nightmare," Ethan Harrison commmed with a frown."I knew It the moment I was stuck with all of you," Emily spoke. "If I knew it would happen, I would have missed this class. I could be having so much fun instead of trying to survive with babble, the dumb snake and the ice princess."Take a deep breath. Taking a deep breath Astoria psyched herself "May I know why you have been so hostile since the beginning with us, especially with me?"The two girl's gazes locked "because more than clearly being a stuck-up racist prick, your first instant had been to kill.""If I hadn't, another one of us could have died!" Astoria exploded. "I did not because I like it but due to the necessity of doing so.""You want me to be frank, princess but i don't believe you. We're talking of a man you killed and you are angry instead of being sad."Astoria's eyes shone full of anger "this is the problem with most of you. You don't understand that sometimes things need to be done not because you liked them but because they ought to be! Tell me, paragon of light and justice, what would you have done!""Fuck you, Greengrass! I would have used the body binding spell or something like that!""But you didn't and that's the truth of the matter. You would have done something you said but you didn't. I did so fuck off!"Astoria's eyes widened in horror as she realized that she had cursed. She never had cursed before in such a way especially in front of strangersInstead of being angry like expected, the Gryffindor girl smiled. "There, this is the true you, not the bullshit you hide yourself behind.""Whatever". The girl wasn't worthy of her anger."Do you think the professor would face consequences?" Romild Vance asked. It was clear that the goal was to orient in another way the conversation.This was a question Astoria already had the answer even though she hated it "at worst, she will lose her job but even then, I'm sure the headmaster wouldn't let her go. I wonder if she is some kind of god," pondered out loud the Vance girl."Gods don't exist. Only powerful wizards who tricked others in worshipping them," Emily spoke."Can you still say the same thing after her having brought us to this place?"Ethan Harrison hoped it wasn't truly the case, that they were wrong and that the teacher was simply a very powerful but still mortal wizard than a true deity. It would be more than troublesome if she was actually a goddess.Steps echoed from the corridor where the hunter had disappeared before. The woman hadn't changed clothes yet she looked prepared, almost ready for a war."Before we go, I have to make sure that in case we are separated or anything happen to me, you would have a chance to survive. Follow me," she said before seemingly going back to where she came from.They exchanged glances before following after the woman. Astoria wished they hadn't when they reached where the hunter had been waiting for them.There were humanoid things chained to a wall, monstrous things looking at them with anger and hatred that only seemed to want to butcher them. They had pale greyish skin and a head with a permanent, expressionless face, with their mouths wide open. Additionally, they possessed tall and thin frames, though something told Astoria they still retained great and powerful strength. Looking at them hurt.T̵̢̛̮̖͕̖͎͉̫͓̱̤̗͉̙̥̗̱̥̣͙̔̑͛́̃̋̆̐̋̽̈́́͒̏̔̋̓̽̉̐̍͋̓̂͋̄́́̆̐̒̂̽̂̀̿̽͌̾̉͆̚͜͝͝ḩ̵̺͈̲̼̫̞̱̲͈̹̹͚̖̖͙̼̻̤̼͖͈̬̟̯̙̜̟͔̼͙̘͈̝̫͇͇̂̔̃́̈̇̿̓͐̀̂̌̊͗̀͂͑̊̐͋͌͛́̍̔̋̽̑̿̒̀̃͗̏̚͘͘͜͜͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͠ȇ̶̡͔͎͖͕͈̯̫̜̏̈̍͂̚ͅ ̴̢̧̡̥͎̫͓̤̬̻̪̩̼͎̪̝̭̯̫̦͖̰̞̝͖͇̱͑̍́̎̍̈̍̐̓͆̀͌̆̒̎̅͒̿̑͑̏͆̂̈́̋͊͗̚ͅc̵̡̨̛̺̮̮̙̳͈̝̤̼̙̥̱͕͓̞̻̐́̒̈͜ͅh̴̨̧͉̖͚̖͚̝̪͎̼͖̣̗̥͉̤̝̯̥͉̘͍͓̻̲̥̤̰͎͈̦̺͕̖̰̟̣̳͖͎̘͍̼̭͈̖̬̅͌̍͗͌̏̈̒̓̐̌̇͒̌͌̽̀̏̂͑́͛͛̉̑̏̕͠͝͝͝i̵̧̢̨͙͇̱͎̼̹̳͔̰͚̞̟̫̥̘̱̝̤̱̬̙̪̜͇̼̯͋̌̀̂̓̿̍̈̃̌͆͒̉̔͋̔̎͊̈̔͂̍̎̂̂̊͛̉̎̅͛̃̒͌̈̌̀͊̃͜͜͜͝͠͝l̸̦̣͗̇̈̂̆̽̄̆̽̀̒͂͂͋͋̍̄̽͠͝d̴̡̨̨̛͇̮̤̠͖̞̝̘̤̠̗͓̲͉͓̫̗̤̩̬̲̤̺̰̘̖̤̹̜̱̥̞̈́͗͛̎͊͒̀̐̽͆̑̀̎͊͐̊̀̿̓̈́̀͂́̉̽͛̀̄̊̂̒̉̎͆̽͊́́̉̏̆̇̚̚̕͝͝͝r̴̨̛̳̯̻̱͓͎̘̥̍͒͛̉͐̈́̈̈́̐͑̌͌̿͋̑̅̅̽͆͌͋̕͘͘̕͝͝ę̸̡͍͈̦͖̲̞̲̣͕̜͚̯̼̝̫̠̩̻͖̞̓̈́̏̿̈́̍̑͑̌͋́̂͂͒͌̅̊̽͌̿͐͋̀͛̒̍̊̿͜͜͝͝͝͠n̵̨̡̝̘͕̙̙̟̻̣̜͈͖̈́́̑̑̾̌̏̏̍̋͌̄̓̉̓͑̾̈̒̚̕͘͝͝ͅͅ ̶̧̲̦̺̘̘͎̯̥̜̗̟̰̩̣͕͎̗̠̥̭̥͖̮͈͓̖̪̞̥̬̮̣̺̝̻͖̰̖͋͂̈́̌̈́̋̋̃͌̿̏̾͋̇̎̂̓̔̆̚͘̚̕̚͝ͅͅơ̷̡̥̗̹̥̠̠͇̫̖̘͐̌̂̿̅͆̾̇̈́͋̈́̄̇̍̾͘͜͝f̵̨̻̣̩̩̹̩̪̻̫̳̥̩͋͒ ̷͕̠̲͔̯͚́̽̋̑͑̏͂̽̿̈̌͂̑̄̋̓̿̽͂̾̽̏͒̊̔̀̈́͑̇̈́̍͐͗͊̓̿̎͘̕̕͝͝͝͝t̸̨̟̥̳̯̳̀̈́̏̑́̊̊̐̃̉̀̄̃͘͠ẖ̶̛̬͚̟͖͍͉̪͕̦̓̋͛̓̆͑̀̆͒̽͂͒̚ȩ̷͈̦̟̣̗̜̲͈͓̤̞̀̈̌̾͌̽̆̓ͅ ̵̨̡̙̼̠̝̮̰̬̩̤̝̩̺̻̖̼́̍̎̆̇̃͋̀̾͋̾̑͂͒͌̄̈́͑̅̂̌̚̕͜͝͠ͅg̴̢̡͔̼̰̭̰̘̭̪͍͇͈̰̮̗͍̬̗̭̖̘̱̠͍͓͐̃̋͆̿̈́͆̇̆͌̉̆́͑̋̔̄̿̍̏̊̒͜͠ǫ̷̧̛̞̳̙͇̲͈̪̤̪͙͍͕͓̦͉͎̠̦̩̟͂̐͗̽̈́̈̊̆̑̋̽̈́̑́̀͋͊̍̃̐̂͊̍̍́͑̑̿̅͊̕͜͜͝d̵̡̟͍͕͍͇̝͎͌͒͌̇̀̀͒͂̒̇̍̆̊͋̽́̑̈́̍̌̐͐͆́̆̑́̑̉̋̆̿̂̐̕͘͠͠ş̴̢̨̢̡̨̺͖̳̘̗̫̯̼̮̌̈́̑͌͐̊̍͒̑̈͋́̀̏̎͛̆̄̍̽̊̌̓̅̇͘͝͝͠͠͠͝͠"Those are pthumerians, the original users of the old blood and predecessors of humans at least in this place.""Your goal is to kill them to access their blood echoes, their experiences, to make all of you stronger," the hunter told them."Are they alive?" Romilda Vance asked her. Are they people just like us the little girl was asking in other words."The same way dogs and bears are," the woman answered them.The students exchanged dubious glances. They couldn't sense falsehood in the words of the woman but the idea of killing those helpless still didn't feel right yet if they didn't, what said the woman, Eileen would help them?It was either possibly infringing on their morals to have a chance to survive or to not do so and most likely die before dawn in Yharnam. There wasn't a choice at all.Astoria calmed her heart and froze her panic. Don't hesitate. She pushed down the melancholy She could have sworn to have seen sadness in the eyes of the creature before her wand lit up. *scene*Don't hesitate. Don't hesitate. Those words had been the ones to save Astoria's life. They hung up like a veil, both blinding her to anything else and yet connecting her to something akin to divine because what else could be more divine than fighting to survive?They hadn't expected to be attacked even less by someone moving so much like the woman who was helping them.Things had been going well at first. Monsters, beasts straight out of nightmares were slaughtered by the hunter more quickly than a heartbeat.Things had been going well until they didn't. The woman had been right. Without the alien strength inhabiting their bodies, without how much more powerful their magic felt, they would have been slaughtered, torn apart by what Harrison and Romilda Vance had called a gun.The beast before them may have the shape of a man but it was nothing like one. A man, a muggle shouldn't be able to cross Olympic distances with one step.A man's slashes shouldn't turn gravel and asphalt into powder. A man shouldn't be able to slip and move like a shadow.Astoria's wand blurred into her hand, the blonde girl tracing invisible shapes in the air, her surrounding crumbling and following the tip of her wand to take the shape of a giant needle.She focused on it. 'Remember the class of Mcgonnagall.' It was something that she had or she would die.Gravel wouldn't be enough to hurt the beast clashing against Eileen. Stone wouldn't be able to breach his skin. It would be the same with normal steel.What Astoria needed to do was imagine, think of something, a matter that could help, that could hurt the beast in shape of a men.She focused on the fight pushing down the fear she felt as the world around her stopped making sense and came undone due to the clash of two titans.It was brief but she caught it. The beast dodged and sometimes evaded the attacks of Eileen, more precisely her blades.Sharp blades that shone like silver under the moonlight. She needed to reproduce them and if not, at least, their composition.It would have been so much more easier if she knew of what they were made because swords shouldn't be able to part through stone as easily as Ronal Weasley did with cake and pies.The beast ducked under a slash of Eileen. The woman moved with calm, her blades already poised to block and counterattack.It would have been a perfect way to take advantages of an overextended strike if the target of Henryk had been her.Henryk may have turned into a beast but it didn't mean that he lost his instincts of hunter and when hunting, you don't target the those who are strong but those who are weak!The man had reappered at Astoria's side, one of his blades moving toward the back of the neck of Romilda Vance.Astoria tried to push herself, the unnatural might she gained in this accursed city allowing her to do so but even then, she knew it wouldn't be enough.Moving her wand, casting a spell would take too much time and right now, she didn't have the monopoly of it.Romilda Vance's gaze crossed with the one of the Greengrass girl. There were no acceptation in it. There was only fear and despair because it was painfully clear that Romilda wanted to live.Was the world so cruel that it would give make Astoria care about someone only to end them before her, not giving her any possibility of doing anything?The blade of the beast cut into the flesh of the Gryffindor girl in an agonizingly slow way. It wasn't fair. 'It wasn't fair!' Astoria thought as Romilda Vance's head was separated from her neck.Seemingly animated with a wrath akin to the one of a slighted Greek god, Eileen's blades rushed toward the neck of Henryk, cutting through everything both material and immaterial.Unfortunately, the beast was quick. The trust that should have pierced through the brain of the beast was deflected, a bullet shot at the perfect moment to redirect the attack away from the beast.A disturbing grin split the face of the beast as his blade moved in an arc with the goal of bisecting Eileen. The woman was unbalanced and even though Astoria knew way less about battle than her, she knew that every instant, every error could count.What stopped the beast in shape of a man was one of those he had deemed as weak, as preys. In his madness, he had forgotten something, made an error. Animals were at their scariest when they were cornered."Depulso!" the voice of Ethan shouted full of rage and anger. The half-blood was scared but even scared snakes could bite.What came out of the wand of the boy was a wave of force. It was power, gravity itself shifting against the beast.The banishing charm had been the first spell they had been taught by the charms professor at the beginning of this new school year.The banishing charm in principle was a spell that should only release an invisible wave to push objects or people away. It was a charm not supposed to be lethal, that shouldn't be possible to be held continuously yet this impossibility, this anomaly, this prowess was being accomplished by Ethan Harrison.Magic could fluctuate. Magic could change, evolve and devolve. Yharnam and its old blood had proved it to them. Right now, the anger, the fear, the hatred of Ethan Harrison empowered him strengthening him enough to do a miracle, to gather power, the power that in another universe a conqueror would have used to bring low a lord of darkness.The debris and the gravel floating were pushed toward the beast crushing against him violently turning to mist due to the force, the brutality of it.It would have been a good thing, a hopeful thing if Henryk wasn't moving forward, grit teeth pressing against each other as the beast in shape of a man disregarded everything that should and shouldn't be.F̶̧̱̱̞̤̖̭̤̼͇̱̗͕̯̥̼͔̝̯͉̯̙̌̈́̏́̉̇̍́̐͐͒̔̍̅̾́̈́͗̀̍͒͊̂̀̋̐͌͆͊̅͛̀̎̇̐̃̔͒̉̆̀̈́̕̕̕̕͘͝͝ͅē̵͈̞̣̈́̍͑̿́̕̕͜ą̷̡̢̡̨̡͖̮̟͎̮͈͕͎͖̰͖̳̟̦͚͚̟͇̫̦̗̦̹̪̬̪̱͎̦̞̰̿͂͂̿̂͒̇̉̄̃̀͘͜͝ȓ̷̡̛̤̙͓̼̫͎͕̩̜͕̻͉̞̹̗̠͚͙̞̞͉̼̳͂̀͆̑͂̆͛̋̔̊̽̉̀̾̆̔́͌̓̍̌̀̀̇͂̉̓͗̐͒̏̈́̚͘͝͝͝ͅͅ ̸̢̧̧̧̢̨̛̛̯̙̳̺͙͚̲̣̬͚͕̫̝̫̮͓͕͕̯͙̝̺̞̰͇̺̺̹̭̬̹̙̲̪̳̥̱͆̈̿͗̌̿̒̿̃͌̉̓̿̓͐̔͐̐̎́̒́́̑̐͗̏͑͑͑̔͑̑̂̋̓̚̚͜͝͠ͅt̷̛̗̝͔͎̻̠̝̖̘̪̘̺͇̞̝͖̲͐̽̅̊͌̃̇̿̏̇̌̈̄͗̍͗͆̔̾͌̇̓̾̈́̕͘͘̕̚͝͠͝͝ͅḧ̷̡̩̰̬̤̟̠̤̺̱̭́̏͐̀̒͋̈́̽̅̉̀̿̇͒̈́̏́̉̔͒̔̏͐̀́̏̆̚̚͠͠ͅě̷̡̡̳̙͍̯͉͓̼̙͔͈̦̫̟̫̪͙̱̙̗͈͍̻̝͂͒̋̽̅͋̋̂̿̿̈́̚͝͝͝ ̷̧̝͇̙̞̪͈̞̹̱̰̝͔̘̫͈̦͇̟̭̳͙̯͉̀͆́͆̈́̌̊͋̐̋̓̈̅͊̕͠͝ȍ̶̡̨̧̢̡̘̥̯̘̠͕̝͍͇̙̘̬̜̰͇̘̲̥̤̟͚̥̥̺̬̙͕̼̥͖͎̫̮͕̝̯͔̭̥̐̿͆̇̅̋̓͊̏͑̏̅́̔͘͜͜ͅͅļ̴̢̢̡̮̲͈̖̤̫͉̫̯͇̻̠̹̲͎͓̠̗͉̙̝̼̞̜̻̫̩̈̏͑̓͑̐̃̓́͂̏̓͗̀̃͘͘͜͜͠͝d̴̨̦̟̈́̋́̉̓̾̐͑̽̂͋͛̍̇͊͌̃̅͆̌̅̓̍̍͊͛͋̅̓̀̈́̀̓̔͌̏̃̌̌̕̚͘̕̚͘͝͝͠͝ ̵̧̥̫̝̩͈̜̟̥̪͖͍̟̭̖͙̲̤̞̝͎̣̏̉̀̃̍̒̋̔̊̾̌͗̈̅̒͐̉͘̕b̶̧̛̠͔͍͖̜͎͉̟͖̦͇͖̫͍͓̠̺̥̫̯͚̲̟̓͋̈́̄́̃͋̓̋̄̐̆̍̃̎͛̊͌̓̿̈́͑̊͒̔͊̉͆̓̓̉͊́̌̏̆͑͗̏̾͛̈́̍̒͐̑̕͝͝ͅl̵̛̖͚̠̭̮͈͔̤͓̩̀̓̇͑̅̿͊̓̔͊̃͛̒̍̒͒̀̓̏̈́̀͛̇͋̽̌̚͜͝͝ͅȯ̶̜̼̓̈̽̀̓͘o̴̧̡̼͍̝̥͇̻͉͔̼̲̮̫̜͓͉̺̠͈̘̫̰̝͖̥̱̞͎̭̬̲͕̣͕͖̰̘̺̦͍̒̀̏͛̿̍̏̓͆̓̿̔̈́̈́̀̆͗̿̏̒̊͊̄̈́̾̈̄̍̏̆̍̀̀̕̕̚͜͠͝d̸̛̹̺̺̱̤̺̰͖̯͉͓̭̻͖͖̘̲͓̝͉̰̯̫͙̙̦̈̇̈́͛͑̇̓́̚͜͜͝ͅ.̸̛̛̛͇͉̖̣͇̦̩͒̍͛͋̀̉͊̒̂̌̅̇̇̂̽̍̃͛͂̌̆̀̽̀͑͆̅̌͋͑̄̄̾̓̓̚̚͘͠͝ ̶̧̢̛̺̦̹̯̥̩͎͚̗̺͙͔̱̭̖͎͇̼͕̹̜̫̫͕̲͎͖̬͈̇͌͂̑̀̋͒̅͆́͌̍̃̓̈͌͑̊͑̏͊͛͆̊̿̑̐͂̅̑͆̆͐̉̊̄̅̃̌̓̒̕͘͘͘̚̕͝͝ͅHow couldn't it be the case when it could create such monsters?Another wand was pointed at Henryk "Duro!" shouted Emily as she cast the hardening charm.Astoria wondered if truly the girl was stupid. The hardening charm only worked on objects turning them to stones, not on people.Astoria realized that she may have hastily judged the Gryffindor girl watching as the clothes of the beast took the dark hue of stone.Even then, the beast was still walking forward. Romilda's head was still in the air, Eileen was rebalancing herself but Astoria knew by the time the woman would be poised to attack, it would be too late, The beast would already have reached her comrades.This was if Astoria did nothing. The beast had his back turned toward her and she still had a floating needle.With a shout of anger, of hatred, The blonde girl banished the blade at the unprotected back of the man.Her hatred fuelled her spell, the sound barrier breaking under the ridiculous speed of the needle.Henryk had still kept his hunter instincts. This is why instead of going directly through his heart, the spear stopped before touching it, a coating of blood surrounding and protecting his heart. It still made the beast stumble.It's at this moment that Eileen chose to come back into the fray, shadows leaking from her form, a sign of the use of one of the sacred arts of the hunters, a fist launched toward the cheek of the hunter turned into a beast.The cheek of the monster crumpled under the blow, skin, veins and flesh evaporating at the shock of the impact, the bones of the beast broken before he was sent ragdolling away, his shape disappearing toward Yharnam before a sound akin to thunder was heard.Time seemed to resume its course, the feeling of rain, gravel and blood splashing against her skin. The her of before Yharnam would have probably been crippled if not worse but she felt no pain, at least not in a physical sense.Death they said was merciful, a friend who shouldn't be feared, who should be accepted but how could Astoria accept it when it had taken in such a brutal fashion someone she had begun to care about?The terrified eyes of Romilda Vance greeted her as she looked downward. "Astoria," the headless body whispered maybe in fear, maybe in understanding, maybe begging for something she wished could be but wasn't hers to give before the eyes of the girl lost their light.On the corner of her vision, she could see The body of the girl moving, taking steps seemingly unaware of its condition before it fell.Astoria looked at the beheaded body of Romilda Vance and wanted to s̷̮͓̺̥̾̈́̎̅̀͆̏c̷̡̮̖̯̮͔̠̞̭͈̉̆ͅr̴͚̺̔ȅ̷͙̫͖͙̠̊͋͊̀͝a̶̞̻̜̰̽̌͝ṁ̶̢͙̜̘̪̞̦̼̦̟̼ͅ."I am sorry. I had thought that being with me would only increase your chances of surviving this night but I was mistaken," said Eileen. The voice of the woman was surprisingly soft, in a mourningly way the same way people were at funerals.Astoria had been young but she remembered when her mother passed away. The people back then had been speaking to her father, Daphne and her the same way as if they were a fragile cup of glass that could break at any moment.Astoria's mouth opened but she stayed silent. Spoken words dead before they left her lips. What could she say?!Thank you? That it wasn't necessary? Romilda Vance had died before Astoria, helpless! Romilda had died when Astoria had promised her that they would all die or leave together in this accursed city."I hadn't been able to apologize," the last Gryffindor girl whispered. Watching with empty eyes the corpse of her comrade, her lifeblood seeping through cracks and mixing with the rain."I was too harsh on her. I reproached her of being scared when I was probably more than her. I told myself I could make it up to her later, apologize after we're all out of this hell." A broken laugh escaped from the lips of the girl, too similar to the ones the people of this town had for Astoria's comfort. A laugh reeking of madness.Astoria didn't try to comfort the girl. What would be the point? She was right. Romilda Vance was dead, her soul departed from her body hopefully in a better place.This was the tragedy with death. Death was a cessation of everything. Regrets, hopes, love, hatred, they disappeared with it leaving a gaping wound behind on the ones who had survived."It would be better for you to stay here. This place would be devoid for a while of beasts. Dawn would be coming soon and if the words of your teacher, the great one are true, you'll finally able to leave this place," spoke Eileen. Astoria caught something in the words of the woman, a farewell."You're speaking as if you were leaving us," Ethan Harrison said. It seemed the half-blood had also been able to catch that."Yes. Powerful beast like Henryk are seldom affected by anything else than a proper beheading. To win against foes like such, you would either need to do so or damage them so much that their prodigal regeneration wouldn't matter. I am a hunter of hunter and no matter how much I wish to stay with you, my duty is to hunt. I already failed you. It is something that I can't allow to repeat and this would be only possible through Henryk's death."She stepped on the ledge, her form tethering over the abyss "Goodbye. May you all wake up in a world without nightmares," and with those words, the woman, the hunter of hunter disappeared. Away, the sound of steel clashing against steel made itself heard.Astoria kneeled before the head of Romilda Vance. She didn't care about how she must have been looking, her clothes plastered with mud, blood and rain. She probably looked like everything her father despised.It had merely been hours Astoria was sure yet it felt like a lifetime. A part of Astoria had always wondered how her sister could be so close of Tracey Davis, a half-blood with a muggle name.Astoria could understand now. Pure-blood, half-blood, muggle-born. Those titles, those notions didn't matter in the end. They all had the same magic in their veins. Death was indiscriminate not choosing to lay low lessers over betters. The world was cruel to them all. In the end, wizards and witches were all the same no matter their origins.'I am sorry,' she wished to say.'I didn't want it to end this way,' she wanted to add.If only she could think! If only she could compose herself! If only the rain didn't make her vision blurry.It was near the end of this nightmare. Eileen had told them. Dawn would soon be coming and with it, they would be able to leave yet Astoria didn't want for it to end like this.Astoria wanted vengeance, to pay back in blood, an eye for an eye. Somewhere in the city, Eileen was still fighting against Henryk. What proved that she wouldn't lose, that she wouldn't be knocked out of balance like she had been not minutes ago and this time, be the one to pay with her life.Astoria was tired of being the prey, the one being hunted. The girl rose from her knees, her eyes losing themselves in the dark city under. Astoria would become the hunter.C̴̨̡̦̩͇̥̞̟̑͐͐̂͆͐̇́̀̄̚͝â̵̛̟̳͙͔̺̓̉̂̉̄̇̊̑n̴̖̏̓̈́͑̑̋̊́̈́̇̓͝ ̵̛̭͙̩̝̣͔̯͎̯́̾̉̊͋̎͋̒̾̿̈́͜ỹ̸̨̭̟̹͋̒͋̅̌̒̋̊̚͠͝ͅǫ̵̨͙̱̬͔̬̭̋̈̋̃͌̚ų̵̡̗͕͚͕̤͈̖̗͕̭̆̅͊̑͐͘͝ ̴̨̼̻͍̂͊̾̄̄̐͜͝h̷̫̝̤̱̜́̔̃̆͠͝e̴͍͔̺̖̔̔͊̿͋͠a̷̜͎̬͙̤̩̩͔̣̤̹͉̍͐͌̍̏̈́r̸͚͍̎́̅͑̋͝ ̸̨͉̹͍̏̆͆́̎͆̂̽͝͝t̸̜̬̬̃̍͂͒̒̏̆͘h̵̞̞̟̭̒̽̄̍̑̽̑ḛ̴̬̈́̒̑̉̈́̐͆̂̈́̑̃ ̸̬̀̽́̈́l̸̢̲̪̥̜̯̮̊̈́̅̽̉̃͘̚a̷̛͙̣͈͐̽͗̆̈́u̵̞̖͇͉͍̜͉̫̘̪̯̎̆̈͑̑́ŗ̸͔̙͎̈́̅̊͗e̶̠͍͍͎̜̞̘͑̓͐̍̓̓l̸͕̪̣̯͚̉͐͌͂̀́̅̀̄̆̇̕s̴̝̒͋ ̴̢̢̧̙̹̞͕̯̠͇̑́̾̋̚ͅw̶̖̪͖̅̊̈̊͛̓̿͑̽̓͊̒ȩ̷̧͆̇͗̿̓̀͆͛̒͗͝ê̶̱̞͖̜̈́̍̈̕p̸̨͖͈̝̘͖̳͛̀͐̈?̵̦̝͇̼͓̦͇̙̘͖͉̍͆̈́̉̓͐͜Crying, regretting wouldn't bring Romilda Vance back. What Astoria could do to honor her though was making sure nothing but dust was left of her killer."What are you doing Greengrass?" asked the other slytherin behind her. She didn't turn to look at him, to looks at them. If she did so, if she saw the despair and weariness in their frame, if she saw again the headless body of Romilda, the blonde girl didn't think that she could keep her resolve.Her grip on her wand tightened, her nails biting into the flesh of her palm, making her blood fall and drip on her wand and the ground "Making all of this right. Romilda is gone but her killer isn't.""Are you mad Greengrass? We are completely outclassed. We have almost won. Soon, we will be able to leave!" shouted the last Gryffindor girl.It was kinda of ironic. Gryffindors were seen by other houses as idiots rushing into things they probably shouldn't have. Slytherins to the the contrary were the ones always supposed acting with a clear calculated mind but at that moment, the roles were reversed.The snake was the brave and the the lion was the one cautious. "Maybe I am mad," Astoria admitted. Yharnam seemed to bring it out of everyone stepping in it but even then "But I am not delusional enough to count this as a victory. I'll count myself victorious only when I'll be able to look at myself and think I did the best I could do."There! Astoria's eyes had finally been able to catch the forms of Eileen and Henryk. Now, she just needed to reach them.She knew she wouldn't be able to do so by running. They were too far away and more than that, moving too fast, never seemingly staying in the same place.What Astoria needed to do was warp the distance between them, make it null, inexistent and Astoria only knew one way, one that could end with her being split apart, her body brutally scattered. Astoria needed to Apparate.She had been apparated in the past. She knew the sensation of it, how the world seemed to close on every side as if to crush you. She knew what would most likely happen to someone like her who had never been trained to do so.Astoria took a deep breath, trying to remember the feeling, the sensation of crossing space and time through magic. Astoria took a deep breath and thought of how Henryk and Eileen moved through the World like shadows.She thought about them and Astoria Greengrass' magic surged before she leapt disappearing with angry shadows and a sound akin to a thunderclap.*scene*It had been a good thing that her mask hid her facial expression. Eileen didn't think she would be able to hide perfectly the pain she was actually feeling.Eileen had gotten old, both a blessing and a curse in her line of work. She was so much more slower, unable to hit as hard as she did in her prime.Her adversary wasn't as limited as her. Maybe if Henryk hadn't turned into a beast, the odds would have been in her favour but the way things were, saying that she wasn't overwhelmed would be a bold-faced lie.The beast had healed from the blow she had inflicted on him, his face as pristine as it was at the beginning of this disaster.The old blood was miraculous in itself but one thing most forgot that miracles were in themselves terrible things. Miracles and curses. They were the same things.The addiction, the madness that came with it seemed to be linked with its potency, its strength and concentration in the bodies of humans and beasts.Henryk was even if hard to believe striking against her with more power than at the beginning.It was one of the sign that the thing she had hoped wouldn't happen was happening. Beasthood progressed in several steps.In the first one, sanity was removed leaving behind an aggressive beast in the shape of a human. This was the most advantageous moment to slay a turning beast because if you didn't and the beast was allowed to wander around, feed, fall deeper into madness, the changes would progress until they became physical and this was what was happening with Henryk.His arms had taken an elongated shape, his legs having bent to take a hind-like form. Short Dark Claws glimmered under the moonlight, short enough for her to know that it wouldn't impede the movement of Henryk but long enough for her to know she would have to worry about them.Eileen's instincts screamed at her, urging her to move and she followed their instruction without hesitation, her form sliding to the left.A moment after, a blade struck the spot she where she had been standing, the bridge they were standing on cut in a clean line, separated from the other side of the street her mind categorized.Eileen used the momentum that she had gained from quickening, her blades of mercy cleaving toward the beast.The beast who had once been Henryk didn't try to block, the beast abandoning his grip on his sword, the physical world losing its grip on his shape as the beast quickened, appearing just behind Eileen, a gun pressed against the back of her head.The beast pressed the trigger, gunpowder being set ablaze and reinforced with mysteries of old and blood.The bullet should have gone straight through Eileen's brain. It was a point-blank projectile reinforced with the bloodwork of one of the most powerful hunters.Fortunately, even though Eileen had gotten old, she still was a hunter of hunters, someone who had lived long in a profession where most died so very quickly.The woman's head moved out of the way of the bullet, the projectile grazing against her mask before crashing against a far away wall and making it explode outward.Eileen was already moving, her blades of mercy joining together to stop the claw rushing at her unprotected back.The ground cracked under the sole of her feet as the claws of Henryk clashed against her blade. She still had her back turned and it was something that needed to change and for that, she would need to be bold.For a brief instant, she abandoned her grip on her blade of mercy. She pushed down the unease she felt as she separated herself from a weapon she saw more as a limb than anything else.She ducked under a strike that probably would have removed her head from her body, her gaze focused on a falling piece of silver.Her hands fell on the ground, supporting her, pushing her body at the right angle, allowing her to move like a ballet dancer, one of her feet pushing against the knob of still floating the sword Henryk had abandoned.The sword flew straight toward its owner piercing through one of his eyes as if to avenge the fact that its owner had let himself fall into madness.The beast snarled in pain, taking two steps back away from her, its claws closing around it to try to pull it out.This was all the time Eillen needed to regain her balance, finally able to turn to face the monster."Oh no. You don't!" the hunter shouted before she brutally punched forward the back of the sword with her left hand, making it go even deeper and making the beast screech even more.This was her win she thought as her right hand closed over the combined form of the blade of mercy, her form poised to strike and bisect the beast from the top of his head to his middle.Eileen had won. She had bested the beast.It was truly unfortunate that This would have been the case if growth was a concept that only limited itself to a select few.F̸̞̙̑́̄͋ę̶̼̣̼̤̖̫͎̮̺̃̾̋ḁ̵̧͕̼̣̜̜̮͔̋͌r̷̢̡̺̯͔̭̫̣̠̼̀̀͒̎̊̇̄͋̾̓̕ͅ ̸͓͔̺͌̓̃̈́̈́̈́̚̕͝͝t̷̨̺͇̯̮̣̭̠̪͕̄͜h̵̡̢̻͚̺̦̅̇̃́̆̈́̓̕e̷̢͚̺̲̗̞͉͉͌̔̋̑͛͒̇ ̷̡͇͚̭̭̕o̸̢̗̱̪̬͉̞̝̔̈́͐͛̒́̂̓͒͜ḽ̵̨̻̯̼́̂̏́̈́̎́͒͐ḏ̷̨̧̠̫̙͕͔͖̺̘̇̋̈́͋̔̿̀̂͒͘͝͝ ̷̢̭͙̤̺͖̼̳̙͍̖͒b̸͚͐̑̄͐͝ḽ̵̬̹͓̗͎͔̰̺̊͂͊͆̽͊̊̚͘̚͠o̵͓͉̯̩̖͒̿̅̈̽͂͑̃ͅo̶̡͑̈́̂̔̅͘͝d̵̖͔̐́ ̷̧̩͇͖̝̲͍̖̬̬̄̽̑̽͛̀̂̄̈̚͝ͅȉ̸̩̳̦͕͎͕̫͎͕͇̹̐́͝ṱ̸̟̚ ̵͓͆͐w̷̞̦̥̱̲̣̰̖͋͒̒͊̂͂̌̆̃͘͜a̴̗͇͈̱̪͕̗̫̥̜̳͒̏̓̈͌̃̆͑͝s̴̫̉͋̋̈́̇̔̕͘ ̶̢̡̙͉͕̬̙̳̥͙̎͛́͐͆̈́͛͠ͅs̵͖̼̙͙͕̙̠̣̘̃̈̈́̒́͂͒́͘͜à̸̡̩̰̻̲̹͎̩̮͇̪́̋̒i̴̢̛̮͖̩̩̬͂͂̈́͌̀͐͊͝d̴̞̊̃͌̚.̸͎͍̜͔͉̖͔̬̭̖͑̆̌̈́̈́̐̎̑̽͒͠ ̵̡̣̟͓̩̰͖̦̪́́̐̈́̇̑͗͂̉̀͗͜͜ͅThere was power in blood, memory, will. Blood was what strengthened hunters and beasts. Blood was what made them undone. Blood was will, echoes of a life now gone. Blood echoed in the cosmos like a singing choir in a cathedral.Romilda Vance had died at the hand of the beast who had once been Henryk and blood begetted blood. The students of Hogwarts had gained lifetime memories and skills, unnatural strength that had been supposed to make them survive.Why would it be different with Henryk? The beast opened his palm in the direction of Eileen, his palm shining like the birth of a new star "Incendio," the beast croaked before hell rushed toward Eileen.Only Eileen's instincts saved her life. She had been able to use the quickening to appear in an empty house that had been at the edge of her vision and that had luckily not been destroyed by their clash. Outside, it seemed as if Dawn had come early to Yharnam. It didn't mean that Eileen had been able to escape unscathed.She looked at her side at the blackened ruin that remained from one of her arms. She would have probably lost it had she not been wearing her hunter clothes and using her hunter arts.Eileen would probably die against Henryk. It was clear to her. The beats who had been Henryk was growing stronger too quickly, changing too much to keep up.She wondered how had things gone so wrong? Gherman, Lawrance, henryk, Gascoigne, they had all fought for such a beautiful dream, for such a beautiful thing. It was such a shame it turned into such a nightmare.Her body felt heavy, her eyes begging her to allow them to close but she didn't. She knew that if she did, she wouldn't open them again.She was a hunter. A brutal Death would be her final vestment but it didn't mean she couldn't go while doing her best to drag with her in hell the beast.She would be damned if she let the beast hurt others while she still breathed.A hunter needed to hunt she reminded herself as she pushed her body to stand no matter how agonising and exhausting it was.A hunter needed to hunt she repeated to herself as she tightened her grip on the her blade.With a deep breath, she quickened, her form disappearing in ashes and smoke to reappear on the street below.The gaze of the beast instantaneously moved toward her. While she had been hiding, the beast had continued its transformation, mangled hands growing from his back, palms opened as if to cup the sun between them.Those fleshy appendages shone from the inside with all the colours of the mortal spectrum. They looked like twisted wings, one that caught you attention whether you wished it or not.The beast screamed, dozens of mini mouths lining the inside of his mouth adding to the terrible noise. It felt like hell.The beast jumped toward her, it's bulging and towering form crossing half the distance in an instant.The only reaction of Eileen was to change her stance. There could be nothing else "Let's end this old friend," she spoke softly before launching herself at the descending beast.Her blade bit into the flesh of the beast making it shout in pain. A hand tried to crush her skull in fine mist. It was an error and it was one she made the beast pay for.She moved in the air almost as if having invisible wings, with a grace born of decades of hunt.The other side of her blade butted against the hand, not stopping it but redirecting under her, giving her the possibility of using it as a platform.She jumped, floating above the beast, her blade of mercy dancing, turning and following her fingers before she launched it as if it was a spear at the back of the head of the beast.The two flesh wings in the back of the beast extended, growing unnaturally fast to protect the beast.It should have worked. It would have worked had it been someone else than Eileen, her form blurring as she used her quickening to push herself down with the force of a meteor, using her whole body to push the blade through the back of the head of the beast.It worked sturdy flesh pierced with a sickening wet sound "I got you!" the woman screamed. It was now or never! Beasts and even experienced hunters had survived worst. If she wanted to win, she needed to severe the head of the beast from the neck.Behind her, she could feel the wings of the beast glowing. It felt as if being closed of a storm, soon to be swallowed and shredded by it.She didn't try to dodge or leave the back of the beast. She had already made peace with dying.She tried to remove her blade to finish the work but she felt resistance. Her eyes widened as she saw why. The beast had trapped the blade between its two palms, making sure she wouldn't be able to remove it.It was so easy to forget that the beast before her had once been Henryk, one of the greatest hunter that Yharnam saw.Unfortunately for the beast, the blade of mercy was categorized as a trick weapon for a reason. Most of the time, what made you win against beasts wasn't how good you were.It was how many things you had prepared to ensure that in any case, you would win. Honour didn't have a place in a hunt after all.Eileen activated the hidden mechanism of her weapon making it split in two blades and one of those blades was one free of the grip of the beast.She drew it in a great arc, shifting her grip on the weapon to make sure that even with one hand, she wouldn't falter.Eileen's remaining hand moved, the blade with it in an arc of silver as siderite began to bite into flesh.She had almost done. She had won. Eileen had wo-A flash of red was the last thing Eileen saw before her world was consumed by pain. She felt herself crash through things again and again and again and again.She opened her eyes or at least tried to. Only her left eye answered. Her gaze met the one of a statue of Lawrence "I am truly cursed that the last thing I will see is you," the old hunter hacked painfully.She could only feel agony. Agony and nothing else. She knew that if she tried moving her body, she wouldn't be able to. She could after all see her organs coating the statue of the founder of the healing church.She should have already been dead but the world hadn't been that merciful. It was now only a question of time."I should have listened to Gherman and left the moment I woke up from the dream Lawrence but I didn't. Even though I hated you, even though I hated what you brought for I still believed in your dream, in your ideal."She was a dreamer once, being able to remove herself from death's cold fingers. She remembered a doll, a workshop. The memories were so vivid yet distant.She remembered how she had been exhausted, how she had wanted to leave, to escape from Yharnam, to definitively wake up from the dream.She remembered how she was given what she had wished, how broken Gherman's eyes were as he swung his scythe down to free her. She had abandoned him and the worst was that in the end, it was for nothing because she didn't leave when she should have. She was just a tired old woman who should have died a long time ago.The ground shook as the beast came closer. It would be only a matter of time. She just hoped she would be dead before she was found. Eaten alive wouldn't be a pleasant way to go.She let her eyes close, finally stopping to fight their heaviness. The steps were closer and the overpowering stench of the beast, a combination that seemed to be born of rot, blood and tar informed her that she had been found.She could feel a shadow towering over 'I'll see you see all of you soon Gascoigne, Lawrence. I hope you reserved me a place in hell at your side.'Claws extended, cutting through stone and concrete before falling."Incendio!" a voice shouted before hell consumed everything from Eileen.*scene*Following Eileen and the beast hadn't been easy. They moved too fast and more than that made the world around them crumble as if it was made of paper.It should have only dissuaded her. It should have made her see reason and go back. What chances did she have?Only the blood echoes she had gained in this accursed city had allowed her to glance at the forms of the hunter and the beast while fighting.What she was doing was akin to putting herself in the middle of a fight between the headmaster and the dark lord.It was ridiculous, ludicrous yet she didn't because her anger and hatred burned brighter than her fear.It wasn't only because Romilda Vance died. Affirming it would be a lie not that she hadn't been hurt by the death of the Gryffindor girl.No, the reason why Astoria hated the beast, was willing to bet her life to avenge someone she had never truly been close to before was because Romilda Vance had reminded Astoria of her.When she thought of Romilda Vance, when she thought of the scared Gryffindor girl, she thought of the little blonde girl in the Greengrass's manor who had only lived because of her sister.Don't hesitate her sister had told and not hesitating she would even though she was sure that this wasn't what her sister was thinking about.She wasn't naive enough to think she could win by herself. Even more after having seen the beast use magic, wizard's magic and send Eileen's ragdolling.Her only chance was the woman herself. With another step, she disappeared to reappear in another city block. She had given them a potion to demonstrate the power of the old blood, a red vial she had said was able to heal anything and that they hadn't used.The red potion was the answer to everything that plagued her. She had wanted to keep it, to not use it, to bring it back home with her, to finally be able to be free.The world could be evil the Greengrass girl thought as she began to cast a spell toward the back of the beast "Incendio!" she shouted with all of her hatred, anger and despair using it to fuel the spell.It acted as if coming from a flamethrower and bathed the beast with fire. Screams of rage akin to shockwaves came from the burning beast.She felt exhausted as if she had run done the most straining physical exercise. She fought against the wish of her knees to buckle and used her bastardized version of the apparition to teleport at the side of Eileen.She pushed the down the bile that rose at the sight of the woman and apparated again this time with the woman even if it would be more truthful to say her remains.They appeared on a roof and Astoria's fell on her knees. Her body screamed at her, as if she had straight up injected poison in her veins.Later, she would rest later because the truth was that no matter how much the odds were against Astoria, she intended to win. They said victory favoured the bold. Astoria hoped they were right.Astoria removed the potion at her waist. She truly hoped it would work especially with the state Eileen had been left at.The hunter was missing her two legs and one hand. The remaining hand was a blackened mess it seemed that would be falling at any moment.A giant gash had been opened at the level of her stomach giving Astoria the displeasure of catching a glimpse of intestines out of a human body. The worst was how messy it was, how red and disgusting it all was, how she could easily see the yellow fat under the skin, the veins the torn muscles and everything else.Astoria wasn't a healer but it seemed as if the woman was lacking some organs, as if they had been removed forcefully.The damage didn't end here. The woman had lost her mask and with it some of the protection it had clearly offered. Astoria could see that the woman had silver-grey hair with a pale blue eye. The left side of her face had been peeled away leaving viable behind only cracked bones. The other side had weirdly been untouched.The woman looked dead. She should have been dead yet she wasn't. She could touching the neck of the hunter still feel a pulse.It meant that Astoria had a chance to save the woman before her. 'Was this truly the best idea?' she mused while looking at the red vial.Probably not she confirmed to herself before opening it and chugging its dark content down the throat of the woman.*scene*Eileen opened her eyes when she honestly didn't expect to. She had expected death but it seems the world has acted against her expectations like usual, for the first time working in her favour.She turned her head softly on the side. You truly didn't appreciate what you had until it was gone.She never wanted to feel as much as pain as she did but knowing her luck, she probably would. Her being healed didn't after all meant that everything had ended.The beast still hadn't been slayed and was still alive. As long as it was alive, no one in its surroundings would be safe."You're a foolish little girl," Eileen spoke to the blonde girl. The girl seemed as if she would keel at any moment yet she still tried to maintain a mask of stoicness."You just had to wait. If I'm not wrong, the sun will be rising in ten or twenty minutes. You would have been able to escape," she told her."Yes, I would have. It only seems logical to wait for dawn yet something in me can't forget the fact that I may see it but she wouldn't," the blonde girl said to her.None of them needed to ask on who she was speaking about. The image of a beheaded child flashed into Eileen's mind. The image of another one of her failures."I want to be sure that this beast is slaughtered the way it ought to be before we leave this place.""You know you could very well lose your life, right? This beast is growing much more quickly than expected and in such an unpredictable way. More than that, I'm sure you felt it if you didn't see it little hawk.""Yes, it is magic, the same kind of magic my kind uses and something tells me no matter how much I don't want to believe it that it is Romilda Vance's. Is it possible?" the girl asked more softly."Yes" she answered tried to ignore how brokenhearted the eyes of the blonde girl were. Even under her breath she could hear the girl's whispers. "Even after death," the girl had murmured."Blood echoes are the will of the dead, everything that made them, that was part of them and isn't your magic a part of you?" the question was rhetorical. Yharnam's blessings always showed revealed themselves in the end as curses. It was always the same old story. This tragedy was but one in a thousand."You just confirmed my fears. Even more of a reason to put that thing down.""We would more than likely lose you know and I promise you, broken and burnt flesh isn't pleasant at all.""I already know that when I came to save you."The hunter stood. Her body was as spotless as it had been at the beginning of the fight as if nothing happened. The only sign that anything had happened was the mental exhaustion she felt and how tattered her clothes were.Maybe it was time for her to stop, to put down her hunter weapons and garbs, realize what she should have done a long time ago."I will need my blade. Could your magic help?" Eileen asked the young witch. She didn't believe at any moment that it had been destroyed. It had after all been made of siderites, the iron from the cosmos itself."What is the name of your weapon?"She didn't ask why the girl asked her this "the blade of mercy," she answered. The girl had saved her life. She was very well owed some kind of trust.The girl whispered something under her breath, probably one of her queer incantations before the tip of her wand began to glow.Eileen heard A sound akin to an arrow cutting through the air. She turned toward where she could hear it coming.Coming toward them was the separated pieces of blade. She opened her palm closing at the perfect moment on the handle of one of the pieces, bending it to the side to make the second piece fit directly in place.She experemintly played with it, letting herself refamiliarize with its comforting weight. "You know you can still leave little girl. It is in the valley of the shadow of death you are walking in.""I know that but I still won't leave simply for a reason." The girl straightened herself "Because we're going to win!" Maybe it was stupid bravado. Maybe it was hope. Maybe it was a mix of the two.Eileen could hear the beastial scream of the beast. They weren't the ones of a scared or hurt beast. They were the ones of an angry, a frenzied beast."Prepare yourself then, girl. Tonight, you join the hunt!"