Beckoning a hunter

'This is Gascoigne all over again. I can't let this go on forever.' Surgit went back to the lower parts of Old Yharnam and cleared the streets in order to gain some more echoes which he used later on in the hunter's dream in order to buy some more bullets from the messengers. He found out that his pistol could take six bullets at a time and that he could keep in his possession twenty bullets in total.

His hunter outfit fittingly had a back pocket for storing bullets in which he placed the extra ones he had. Surgit also remembered that he had gained more insight, which confirmed his theory. Headaches which are a result of witnessing creatures such as the blood starved beast or the cleric beast are a sign of more insight. 'Speaking of insight, I forgot that Francis told me I can use it to ring the bell. Wait a minute, what if I use this bell before I get inside the church? Maybe that's why I hear bell ringing in that area.'

He went back to Old Yharnam and found himself in the vast clearing in front of the old church. He rang the bell and soon after, the ringing in his head stopped. "Splendid, I guess you need my assistance then" Said a voice behind him.

Surgit turned around and saw a blond hunter standing opposite him. The hunter wore a gray robe and held a sword on his right hand, and a massive firearm on his left hand. On his back, a gigantic hammer was attached. He looked tougher than when he first met him.

"Alfred, so the bell really summons hunters to aid others in their journey." Surgit was pleased to meet someone he knew, and most of all, a hunter who helped him gain valuable information before. "Yes, it summons the ones willing to help. There are other bells capable of summoning the ones willing to harm you however. Let's not tarry for long, we may have unwanted company soon. So what could I do for you?"

Alfred had something new about him though, he had a blue aura that enveloped his whole body and gave him a ghostly appearance. Surgit couldn't help but ask: "Before we go, can you tell me what that blue aura around you is?" to which Alfred smiled and said, "It's a sign that I'm a phantom, here to help you. This is not my real body but a replica of it. You'll have yours made if you ever ring a small resonant bell. Your astral presence is projected into the world of the one you wish to help while your physical body remains in the area where you left it. You'd better choose a safe place before you ring that bell though. So, shall we get moving?" Alfred was getting impatient and Surgit didn't want to linger there for long either.

They both got inside the church and faced the blood starved beast. "A nasty creature you've found yourself against. Let's work as a team then. One of us should distract it while the other strikes at it and weakens it" said Alfred while advancing towards their opponent, alongside Surgit. "I'll take care of that" answered Surgit and ran towards the beast. After three defeats, he finally had a plan that could prove useful, and with Alfred's help, they may come out victorious this time.

He rushed and found himself facing the monster. He had the timing of its swings and stabs memorized so all he did was dodge and avoid the attacks while Alfred snuck behind the creature. With the corner of his eye, Surgit saw Alfred inserting his sword into the pommel of the gigantic hammer he had on his back. He then slammed the hammer with all his might at the back of the beast, staggering it.

Surgit knew what to do then. He transformed his right arm and ripped through the exposed chest of the poor beast, while Alfred did the same to its back. It was a perfectly well timed attack that left the beast lying on the ground, struggling to stand up again. "Well, I guess all that's left to do now is the finisher," said Alfred in a playful tone, "I'll let you do the honors."

As soon as Alfred finished his sentence, Surgit held his saw high and prepared to deal the finishing blow to the beast. The latter let out a terrible scream and fumes exuded from its body. Surgit knew what it was and jumped back, away from the poisonous cloud. Luckily, Alfred was a seasoned hunter and understood the danger immediately.

The blood starved beast stood up again and put its feet firmly on the ground. It opened its arms and screamed again, a screeching sound that made the pillars of the church vibrate. "I think we just made it angrier" shouted Surgit at his fellow hunter while the poisonous cloud dissipated from around their purple opponent.

The beast quickly turned towards Alfred and attacked so fast and so relentlessly that Surgit thought his helping partner was about to meet his end. Seeing that he could hold his ground, Surgit ran fast towards the beast and jumped on its back. He landed with force, in an attempt to halt the beast's speed for a while which helped only to make it angrier.

It tried to swat him away, as if he was an annoying fly. Surgit avoided the backhand and descended from the beast's back. As he was dropping down however, he drove his saw through the beast's back, making a big vertical cut through it. Instead of purple blood though, fumes came out from the area Surgit had cut and he inhaled a big portion of it.

The beast screamed and turned towards Surgit whose vision started to become blurry. "Hey! Forgot someone?" said Alfred as he smacked the beast to the face with his massive hammer. The beast fell to the ground, stunned. Alfred ran towards Surgit and gave him a white pill. "Take this! Otherwise your life will wither away in no time. There's no point helping a dead person, is there?" He smiled at Surgit, revealing perfectly aligned white teeth.

Surgit crunched the pill in his mouth and thanked his cooperator. "It's an antidote, useful for this kind of situations. You should look for more." The beast stood up again and let out a painful scream. It was definitely in pain and it struggled against two hunters.

Purple fumes came out from its body, as sweat comes out of humans when they exert themselves. Alfred took a cloth out and hung it around his face, hiding his nose. He nodded at Surgit and ran towards the beast. As it tried to swing at Alfred, Surgit had an idea. He took out his gun and shot the beast moments before the swing could reach its opponent. The beast fell down, staggered and Alfred took care of the finishing visceral attack. The beast fell to the ground, motionless. 'Prey Slaughtered' the knowledge came to Surgit's mind.

"Well I guess that's that. Thank you for inviting me over to this amazing fight. We should cooperate more." Said Alfred as his phantom dissipated in a light blue light. Surgit was left alone in the old church, his hands trembling with excitement. He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He had to rely on external help in order to defeat this one. 'Is it going to be this way all the time? I must get stronger and better at fighting these abominations. I can't always rely on others.' Although he felt grateful for Alfred's help, he vowed once more to get stronger and take care of his own problems, with his own two hands.

Surgit inspected the dead beast with his insight and saw a green glowing item. He took it and a message notified him. It was the same way he received knowledge about items and monsters using his insight. The message read:

+ Blood Starved Beast's core: give to the messengers to receive a gift.

+ The echo of a starved beast: Pop to receive echoes.

+ Pthumeru chalice: Use at the tomb altar to access.

He had another core from Gascoigne he hadn't checked. In fact, he also had Gascoigne's echo. He decided to get back to the dream. He found a lantern behind the church's altar and headed to the workshop.