The lady moved with tremendous speed. Watching her and Gehrman work together was akin to watching a storm ravaging everything it touched. Karla could only see shadows flicker in the forest as beasts fell one after the other. She could barely see one of them stop to shoot a beast then eviscerate it.

There was that one time when Karla was almost ambushed by a four legged beast, jumping at her from behind. A bullet whistled as it pa.s.sed next to Karla"s ear then pierced the beast"s skull. The bullet landed between the monster"s eyebrows. The lady quickly appeared next to the beast then executed it, using the dagger attached to her sword.

Karla was dumbfounded. She knew that hunters far surpa.s.sed humans in terms of strength and speed. She had personally witnessed the effect of the transformation. She could never imagine that a hunter could reach such strength though. Compared to the first hunter and his student, she was but a mere fledgling. Laurence wasn"t to be underestimated either. His fighting ability was on par with Gehrman"s. Although their fighting styles differed, both were quick on their feet, ruthless in their strikes.

Karla only dealt with smaller beasts that didn"t attract the others" attention. She followed as best she could, falling behind due to her slow speed. Lady Maria came to her aid from time to time. She wouldn"t let her eyes off of her.

They soon reached the end of the forest, no beasts on their trail. Their weapons dripped blood. Their hands were slippery with sweat, blood and entrails. Gehrman took a handkerchief and applied it to his curved sword. "If we hurry, we"ll make it to the village before noon," the old man said, sheathing his clean sword.

The four hunters moved forward without a word, each of them alone with their thoughts. The morning breeze was replaced by a cold wind. The sun was hiding behind thick clouds. "A storm is brewing," thought Karla. A bad feeling stirred in her heart. They had arrived to Yharnam on a stormy night. She left her country and family behind as she fled on a stormy night. Karla had become extremely sensitive to storms. She wasn"t a superst.i.tious person, but what she experienced in storms always haunted her soul.

"The Yharnam I came from was completely deserted. The people I saw today in the city were nowhere to be seen while Francis and I roamed the dark streets." The party reached the main road that led towards the fishing hamlet. The road used to be functional, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with carts bound to the great city of Yharnam. The fishermen would exchange the day"s haul for medicine and the sweet, addictive blood Yharnam was so famous for.

One day, the fishermen stopped coming. The citizens surmised that the village had succ.u.mbed to the beastly scourge. The Order sent a hunter to investigate. The news that reached the higher ups highly alarmed them. The villages had found something that forced to shut it down to all visitors. The hunter that came back with the news was badly injured.

He tried to infiltrate the village but was chased away and barely escaped alive. The villagers used strange artifacts to attack. Their power was similar to the Arcane some hunters used. The church got involved in the matter. Whenever Arcane was involved, the church would interfere. They were very knowledgeable in matters of extraordinary powers.

Laurence argued that the villagers had found a holy medium like the church had. The villagers couldn"t keep such a big secret from Laurence who had taken every precaution to hide the church"s secret so well. "They must have the backing of a Great One," Laurence said when the news reached him. "Although I cannot say how they managed to extract so much power from the one they have."

Greed had taken over Laurence that day. The thought of the immense power he could hold against the curse pushed him closer to madness. He had worked on a plan with Gehrman long ago. Great Ones were sympathetic in spirit. They"d often answer when called upon. The two worked tirelessly to find a way to summon one.

From the ancient scriptures the two have studied, only one Great One was capable of countering the curse that had befallen them. They"d need eyes for their plan to come to fruition. Laurence sent his spies to relay precise information on what the villagers kept hidden. The day he had set up to the village with Gehrman, Lady Maria and Karla, they had received news of their spy"s death. The letter was sent by one of the villagers" self-proclaimed elder and leader.

To Laurence, this was a proclamation of war against the church. To Lady Maria, she favored talks to slaughter. She argued that the villagers hold something sacred in their premises, that the church violated their privacy. She wanted to talk to the villagers in order to personally a.s.sess the situation.

She acted solely for the image of the church and the Hunter"s Order. If they killed the entire village, the church would lose its benevolent image. They"d become a pure political figure which would leave them vulnerable to Cainhurst"s wrath. They were playing a dangerous game and Lady Maria had to keep things afloat.

"I wonder what happened to cause the city to fall," Karla wondered again as she walked through the main road. The village showed itself in the distance. They would reach it in an hour"s time. Water drops fell on Karla"s nose and cheeks. "Rain," Karla"s heart tightened. Her bad feeling intensified. "Was it the action that these three are about to take I wonder?"

"My lady," said Gehrman in his low, husky voice. "Perhaps you wish to talk, but it appears the villagers are in no mood for words." The old man pointed with his chin towards the village. Carts and boats were aligned at the entrance of the village. Villagers, armed with lances stood on top of wooden ramparts, ready to fire at will. Karla noticed the saddened expression on Lady Maria"s face.

"I"ll take the lead," said the lady. "They would have spoken their minds when they attack." The lady walked faster towards the village. Karla"s heart started pounding harder against her chest. Something inside her told her to run after the lady. She had to stop her, stop them all from doing something they might regret.

"Milady!" shouted Karla. Maria turned slowly, looked at Karla with annoyance in her face. "What is it?" she asked. "You believe that I came from another time, don"t you?" Karla began. Lady Maria approached. She didn"t want to let the opportunity go to waste. She had put Karla through intense pain, but she didn"t get anything to satisfy her curiosity. "What if I do?" she asked. "Don"t waste my time now." Her tone was threatening.

"I believe I came from a time where neither of you exist anymore. I"ve seen Yharnam of the future. In our lands, it is a legend. No one believes in the fabled city anymore. We took a gamble and sailed across dangerous waters to reach the city of blood and healing." This time, even Gehrman and Laurence listened intently.

"When we arrived to the city, it was nothing like the one I saw in the past few weeks. The city fell from grace. Beasts roamed the streets. Very few people lived, waiting for their incense to run out and be devoured. I was attacked by a crazed hunter who tied me up and sent me here, asking me to find him a summons."

Karla looked at the three hunters. They towered over her by at least two feet. These people were the leaders of their factions. They weren"t dumb to ignore Karla"s words. "Cainhurst still exists in the future, but what about the healing church?" asked Laurence. "People still talk about the church, but we"ve never met anyone affiliated to it."

Laurence looked dejected. "Are there any hunters left? Apart from the one that killed you?" asked Lady Maria. "There were two. They were my companions. They received their blood ministration in Yharnam. I don"t know how though. I was separated from them when that happened." Gehrman looked at Karla, his eyes piercing through her. "Beasts are more numerous than hunters. The church"s light had faded. Cainhurst is but a shadow of itself. The cycle repeated itself." Gehrman face changed for the first time. Sadness tore through his heart. "Laurence, my old friend, it is time we end this curse. Forgive me my lady, we cannot reach greatness without sacrifice."

The old man was the first to trigger the chaotic fight that ensued. The grim reaper danced through the village, singing a song of death and slaughter. Spears seemed to miss him the moment they got too close. Heads rolled wherever he pa.s.sed. The ground was painted red. The houses were filled with women screaming and children helplessly wailing.

Karla didn"t know how it all happened. The moment spears were thrown her way, her body moved with the flow of battle. She dodged, sliced and shoulder slammed. The commotion didn"t give her time to think or process what was going on. It was either kill or be killed. She couldn"t think of retreating. The lady stuck beside her all the time.

They cut their way through the village, indiscriminately killing. The group of four soon reached the village"s main square. A well was located at the center, probably for the entire village"s use. Scaled men stood on the roofs, holding their spears, ready to attack. A villager stood in the middle of the square welcoming the four hunters.

"Where is the Great One you hide?" asked Gehrman, his voice still cool and husky. The old man shrugged then held both his hands high. His arms revealed themselves from beneath the falling sleeves. They were scaly, strange tattoos were drawn on them. The old man chanted an odd language then purple fog chased after the four hunters.

Laurence jumped in and shot multiple blue lights at the fog. Karla had the feeling of watching two wizards battling. A shot was heard and the old man fell to the ground. "Where is the Great One you hide?" Gehrman asked again. In the blink of an eye, the first hunter arrived on top of the village elder.

He pointed his scythe down the man"s throat. His gaze was threatening. The villagers raised their spears and were about to attack when the old man shouted in their strange language. Everyone stopped. The old man looked at the hunter on top of him then said. "The sharks will come for you soon. I won"t tell you where it is even if it kills me." The old man"s language was rough, rolling the "r" and confusing the vowels.

As soon as he finished speaking, spears rained down on the group. Lady Maria grabbed Karla and jumped behind. One second later and they would have been impaled by three spears. Gehrman evaded the attack, killing the old man in the process. A loud angry shout reached the ears of the villages and the four hunters. Then another roar came from the opposite direction. The villagers all jumped down the square, ready for battle.

A third roar announced a third large beast. They all appeared at the same time. Their appearance was the villagers" signal to attack. They all rushed towards the four hunters. The large beasts" bodies were covered in blue scales. They had fins and gills across their body. Sharp teeth protruded from their gigantic bodies. They looked like the creepiest mutation of a fish gone human.

They had gigantic arms. One of their arms was twice as big as Karla. Rocks protruded on their backs while hair had grown on their torso. They had legs and a large tail wobbled behind them. Their strangest feature was their blobby head. It looked like a human baby mutated. Its bald head had grown tenfold but retained the small features of the face. Small ears, small hands, nonexistent nose, but it had a gigantic mouth, filled with teeth sharper than steel.

One of these beasts attacked Gehrman while another went for Laurence. The third one attacked Karla and Lady Maria, backed by two dozen villagers holding various weapons.