Chapter 88: Search and Rescue.

I appeared back in the dream. I needed to do some maintenance on my pimp cane 9000. It may be durable but I don't think taking those hits from Gascoigne was good for it. Maintenance was necessary. It may not seem that way but I would much rather do this than to have it unexpectedly break on me mid-battle.

Also, I visited the messengers on the birdbath. And they started selling me stuff in exchange for blood echoes. They also somehow knew that I had collected hunter badges somehow even though they were collecting dust in my inventory. So I spent my blood echoes buying the {Repeating Pistol} and the {Kirkhammer}. As well as several dozen throwing knives.

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{Repeating Pistol}

Repeating pistol typically used by Healing Church hunters.

Crafted with mostly metal parts and exhibiting a complex design, the repeating pistol fires two shots at once, making it a ravenous consumer of Quicksilver Bullets.

Should be used sparingly compared to its workshop counterpart, as the trump card in one's arsenal.

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{Kirkhammer}

A trick weapon typically used by Healing Church hunters. On the one side, an easily handled silver sword.

On the other, a giant obtuse metal weapon, characterized by a blunt strike and extreme force of impact.

The Church takes a heavy-handed, merciless stance toward the plague of beasts, an irony not lost upon the wielders of this most symbolic weapon.

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I must say, this Kirk fellow must have had IMPECCABLE taste. He made a SWORD that is also a HAMMER. A hammer of solid metal mind you, swinging a weapon that weighs about 150 kilograms (330 pounds) will basically rip the arm off of anyone without superhuman strength. 

This weapon is completely inhuman yet the churchmen were using these as their weapon of choice. Just how ripped were those bastards? Regardless I did not have enough stones to get it to +3 so I instead got the Repeating pistol to +3.

The repeating pistol was basically two guns in a trenchcoat who had a kid with a steampunk's wet dream. But with two guns in one, you get double the power. With those under my belt, I returned to Yharmam once more. After a bit of deliberation, I decided to return to the clinic and start from there. Backtrack through my steps and see if there are any sane people left that are good enough to send to the chapel.

I DEFINITELY didn't come here to find more ethanol to ingest.

Warping back I tried to enter the clinic again. Annoyed I tried ratting the door again to no avail. Just as I raised my right arm to blow this door wide open with a Deadman Blow I heard a voice come through the door.

"Please stop! Please do not enter this clinic!" I stopped trying to force the door open to give the woman a moment to explain herself. 

"Thank you. As I was saying, I apologize but I cannot open this door. I am Iofeska, the owner of this clinic and the patients here must not be exposed to infection. I know that you hunt for us, for our town, but I'm sorry. However, I cannot risk the clinic getting contaminated or infected. Unfortunately, this is all of the assistance I can provide you. "

Saying that she extended a vial from the slot which I took, inside the vial was what seemed to be blood but yellow? Intriguing. From the tone fo her voice and her overall demeanor I can judge that she is sane enough. 

"Doctor, if you are interested. There is a safe haven in the Oedon Chapel free from the beasts. If you are willing, the people there could use your medical assistance." 

"I am very sorry but please try to understand my position, I cannot abandon my patients. I do not have much to offer but if you are in need of medical supplies, I may be able to provide you assistance. For now, I can only pray, for a fruitful hunt. Now, go, and good hunting."

"Thank you, doctor. Good hunting." '...'

Saying those words I quickly powerwalked away and the moment I went out of earshot slammed my forehead into a brick wall as hard as I could. I managed to crack both my skull and the wall.

I could feel my face scrunch up from the embarrassment. I have no doubt my face looked like a 70-year-old man sucking on a lemon. The feeling was even worse than saying You too to a waitress who said enjoy your meal.

My skin crawled with embarrassment. I shouldn't be allowed to interact with people. What the actual fuck happened to the millions of souls I spent on 99 Int? I rubbed my forehead and summoned a bottle of hard alcohol from my inventory to drown my sorrows as I kept searching for survivors.

Unfortunately for me, there really wasn't anybody here sane enough for me to send to the kind man. But as I arrived at the dry docks to try for one of the last times I knocked on the door once more.

*Knock* *Knock*

"I've heard, I have. Shutting up indoors isn't always enough. If you hunters got off your arses, we wouldn't be in this mess. You're obligated to help me, you hear? do you know of any safe places?" PATIENCE

Forcefully lowering my blood pressure down to manageable levels I was thinking about sending her to the chapel. She seemed sane enough, relatively harmless, and if the chapel thing wasn't that great of a deal I wouldn't feel much guilt about sending her there.

Besides, just because someone is rude to me doesn't mean I will just damn them to likely be torn apart by beasts.

"Well, yes. If you are looking for a place safe from the beasts there is the Oedon Chapel, the incenses there ward off the beasts. If you desire, you are welcome there. If you wait for a bit I will clear a path free of beasts there and mark the road."

"Well, Whaddya know? An outsider worth a lick of salt. Well, don't just stand there. Don't you have work to do? Go slit some throats, get this mess done with." PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE-

"Alright then. I will be off." Without waiting for her reply I walked away and chugged my bottle of alcohol once more. Needless to say, the next beast I encountered was nearly liquified from my fists. But not going back on my word I cleared the streets of beasts and started putting down arrows pointing throughout the road to the chapel.

But just as I was about to reach the Oedon Tomb graveyard place where I schooled Papa Guacamole I had a premonition, not a particularly good one. I seem to be getting these kinds of stuff since I arrived in Yharmam. This might be due to a reaction from my superhuman instincts interacting with my insight.

I sped up and basically started sprinting toward the tomb, picking the head off any beast in my way with my whip. I scaled a building and descended into the arena just in time to see Eileen and another Hunter.

He wore a custom yellowish hunter's set and wielded a saw cleaver and a blunderbuss, he didn't look too damaged. I could see the madness in his eyes.

On the other hand, Eileen was not doing so well, one of her arms was limp and soaked with blood as she leaned against a tombstone as she heaved for air. And just as I arrived the Hunter raised his blunderbuss toward Eileen's head and was just about to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, my focus got refined to the maximum as the time around me seemingly slowed down and lost color. I reeled my arm back, my bullet wouldn't be faster than his. My foot stomped on the ground, cracking the floor. 

{Deadman Style: Whip}

As if my limbs were made of rubber my reeled arm snapped back and sent the serrated whip of my threaded cane flying at the speed of sound. And just as the hunter pressed the trigger the serrated whip slammed onto their shoulder. Ripping off a decently large chunk off their side and diverting the gunshot from the force of the whip. Retracting my whip I chugged a blood vial as I saw the hunter rushing toward me.

But as he did so, Eileen raised a pistol and shot his shoulder, regaining his attention as I got the chance to move closer. The moment his back was turned against me I summoned 8 throwing knives and launched them at his back, they did not bury deep but they most certainly hurt.

He turned back toward me and tried to hit me with his transformed saw cleaver but I ducked and planted my foot in his sternum before blowing away his other shoulder with the repeating pistol. With him wide open I used the opening to detransform my whip before plunging it deep into his guts and ripping it out.

As I pulled the blade out the hunter's corpse fell down.

< You have slain Old Hunter Henryk +5198 Blood Echoes >

< You have acquired the Carrly Rune: Heir >

Having dealt with the assailant I went up to the injured Eileen.

A/N: John, with the patience of a saint managed to not break down the door and tear the old woman's head off. Barely. What did you think about this chapter? Your comments help motivate me and improve my writing so your comments are always welcome.

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