Alex and Alucard walked along the Cathedral Bridge with one single goal — to reach the end of this bridge so that Alucard could kill the Cleric Beast. Along the bridge they were moving on, abandoned carriages stood, with decomposing corpses of horses lying next to them.
Alex's gaze kept catching on the statues decorating the path, but what attracted his attention most of all were the metal coffins wrapped in thick chains, as if those buried in them were feared to one day come back to life in the form of monsters. While Alex was looking around, admiring the view of the bridge itself and the gloomy atmosphere around, Alucard walked forward with a light smile of anticipation on her face.
Her eyes looked only forward, and she did not even notice the mini-giant who was hiding behind one of the destroyed carriages, clutching a heavy brick in his huge hands. All of Alucard's attention was directed forward, from where she clearly sensed the presence of the Cleric Beast and its heavy, beastly smell.
As soon as Alucard walked a little further, a mini-giant jumped out from behind the carriage at her, swinging the brick. The brick hit Alucard's head with a dull thud and shattered into pieces. The fragments flew in all directions, but Alucard did not even stagger — only her long black hair was slightly covered with dust. In the same instant, she grabbed the mini-giant by the throat and easily lifted him above herself.
"You are standing in the way of my prey, scum," Alucard said coldly, squeezing the mini-giant's neck.
In response, he only clenched his fist and swung at her head. Before the fist could reach the target, Alucard opened her mouth full of sharp teeth and sank them into his arm. Blood sprayed in all directions. With a sharp jerk of her head, she tore off the mini-giant's entire arm. Then Alucard punched through the opponent's chest with her second hand.
With a nauseating crunch of bones, her palm entered the ribcage. Grabbing the beating heart, she clenched her fingers and pulled it out, after which she crushed it. Having lost his heart, the mini-giant went limp and hung limply on her arm. Alucard squeezed his neck until the vertebrae crunched and, with a spinning motion, threw the body off the bridge. Watching this methodical cruelty, Alex gave a slight whistle.
"Poor bastard didn't know you shouldn't stand in the way of a woman who wants something. I hope in the next cycle you'll be smarter. Amen," said Alex, folding his hands in a prayer gesture.
"If you've finished chatting… then let's go. I can already smell this beast. It's very close," said Alucard, turning her head to Alex and shaking the blood off her white gloves.
"Hey, why has your character changed so much, Carmilla?" asked Alex in a surprised tone, tilting his head to the side.
"You yourself said that you shouldn't stand in the way of a woman. And I don't like playing with scum," Alucard replied in a gentle tone, slightly narrowing her eyes at Alex.
Alex nodded thoughtfully. Not wanting to waste time, Alucard walked forward, ignoring the huge crows lying in her path. Before they could react, she simply crushed the heads of three crows with her feet. Alex walked behind with a cheerful expression on his face.
When they passed through the arch that opened the view to the Cathedral Ward, Alucard sniffed the air — the smell of the Cleric Beast became even clearer. And in the next instant, the howl of the Cleric Beast sounded again, followed by the heavy ringing of the bell from the Oedon's Chapel.
Seeing the Cathedral Ward, Alex immediately took out his pocket watch to keep track of the time that stood still here. Once again without waiting for Alex, Alucard walked forward because she already felt that the Cleric Beast was very close. And as soon as she reached the middle of the bridge, a new, even louder howl sounded. Following the howl came a heavy rumble, as if something very large was approaching.
Hearing this, Alex shifted his gaze to the closed gates leading to the Cathedral Ward and slightly narrowed his eyes. He saw the Cleric Beast rushing towards them. A moment later, the huge beast-like creature jumped over the stone arch and landed in front of the closed iron gates.
Appearing, the Cleric Beast let out a loud howl, from which a shock wave spread, destroying the nearest stone statues. It was a huge creature that barely resembled a distorted human turned into something terrible and beastly. Its body was covered with dense, coarse fur.
The head combined the features of a wolf and a deer. A pair of curved deer antlers protruded from the head, resembling the branches of an old tree. But the most distinctive feature was the huge, fur-covered arm with long claws, while the second arm was thin, like a branch of a dried tree.
"Well, my love… He's all yours. His weak points are the arm and legs. And he's also afraid of fire. Good luck. I'm rooting for you," said Alex, clenching his fists in support.
Alucard slightly turned her head and raised a finger, pointing behind Alex's back. He quickly looked back and saw that the passage behind had been closed by fog, just like in the game. Interested in this fog, Alex waved his hand at Alucard, showing that he would check what it was while she fought the Cleric Beast.
Without taking her eyes off Alex, who headed toward the fog, Alucard sharply jumped aside, dodging the Cleric Beast that wanted to land on her head. The Cleric Beast landed heavily where Alucard had stood a moment ago, and a web of cracks spread under its feet. Roaring, it swung its massive paw. The paw instantly reached Alucard and tore her body into pieces with its claws.
Body parts flew in all directions, but instead of blood, writhing centipedes began to appear from them. The red seal mark on Alucard's white gloves glowed brightly. The Cleric Beast began furiously beating the writhing centipedes, smashing them against the stone floor of the bridge and emitting a loud roar. It swung its paws with such force that pieces of stone flew in all directions, raising a cloud of dust.
"What a vicious little dog. I should probably put you to sleep…" came Alucard's cheerful voice from behind the Cleric Beast.
Alucard stood on the bridge railing right behind the beast's back, and there was not a trace of wounds on her body. The Cleric Beast sharply turned its head toward the voice. As soon as it turned its muzzle, the barrel of a hunter's blunderbuss appeared in front of its face. With a bloodthirsty smile, Alucard pulled the trigger, and quicksilver shot flew out of the barrel, hitting the Cleric Beast right in the face.
The quicksilver shot hit the eyes, and the beast let out a loud howl of pain. The Cleric Beast covered its face with its paws and began scratching it, trying to get rid of the burning. Being blinded, it began to swing its paws chaotically, crushing everything around. The massive paw hit the stone fence of the bridge where Alucard had just been standing. But before the paw could touch her, Alucard softly jumped up, dodging the blow.
Alucard softly landed on the back of the raging Cleric Beast, which was still covering its eyes with its paw. Baring her fangs in a wide grin, she sharply jerked her hand. The saw-cleaver made a characteristic click, unfolding. With a bloodthirsty smile, Alucard plunged the jagged part of the weapon right into the Cleric Beast's leg. With a sharp jerk of her hand to the side, she tore the flesh, muscles, and tendons.
In the same instant, blood from the wound sprayed onto Alucard's face, and she lightly licked the drops that fell on her lips. The Cleric Beast let out another loud howl of pain and fell to one knee. Alucard was already standing in front of its muzzle, raising the unfolded saw-cleaver above her head.
She sharply swung the weapon downward to plunge the jagged edges right into the Cleric Beast's head. And just when the blade was about to sink into the muzzle, a thin arm appeared in its path. The jagged edges of the saw-cleaver sank into the flesh and got stuck in the bones of the Cleric Beast's arm.
"I underestimated you, beast. I thought you were a stupid animal, but there is a bit of reason in you," said Alucard, looking at the Cleric Beast with a wide grin on her face.
The Cleric Beast raised its muzzle, and the wounds from the quicksilver shot on its face completely healed, and its eyes were restored. It raised its massive arm and swung to grab Alucard. She sharply jerked her hand, pulling the saw-cleaver out of its arm with a disgusting sound of tearing flesh.
At the very last moment, when the massive arm was about to grab her, Alucard raised the hunter's blunderbuss and fired into the palm. The quicksilver shot sank into the skin, and the Cleric Beast jerked its arm back, experiencing pain from the mercury. Alucard jumped back and looked at her weapon.
During the short exchange of blows, she realized that the weapon in her hands was not powerful or sharp enough to inflict serious damage on the Cleric Beast. It was convenient for killing ordinary Yharnam residents driven mad by blood. But with the Cleric Beast, much more effort had to be applied, and Alucard quickly realized that if she pressed harder, the weapon would simply break.
"But it's even more interesting this way. How long has it been since I felt such excitement in a battle with such an enemy in such conditions. How truly captivating this is!" Alucard shouted loudly, throwing her head back in ecstasy.
Throwing her head back, Alucard burst into loud laughter. She did not say this out loud, nor did she intend to tell anyone. Alex and Integra already knew about it thanks to the contract. But the loss of more than three million souls affected her much more strongly than she had initially assumed.
She had not only lost all her spare lives — now she could be killed by piercing her heart with a wooden stake — but even summoning familiars came with difficulty. However, this did not bother her at all. Alucard simply did not care about what had happened. She was sure that she would restore all her powers over time, of which she had more than enough. And finding herself in such a situation where she needed to fight an enemy like the Cleric Beast caused her sincere delight.
"Come on, attack, beast! I want to see what else you are capable of! I want to see how much I will have to gut you before you die! I want to see if you will be stronger than all those I killed before you! Let's dance this dance of death together, beast!" Alucard shouted in a maniacal voice, looking at the Cleric Beast.
The Cleric Beast roared loudly and struck the ground with its massive paw, creating another web of cracks. In the same second, it broke from its place and rushed at Alucard on all fours. Smiling widely, Alucard rushed toward it. When close enough, the Cleric Beast raised its massive paw and swung it to throw Alucard off the bridge.
Alucard jumped over the arm at the last moment and sharply jerked her hand, folding the saw-cleaver into a compact position. Swinging once more, she plunged the jagged edges right into the Cleric Beast's stomach. Without stopping at one blow, Alucard began to hack the beast's body. Blood flew in all directions, especially onto Alucard's body.
While she was hacking the Cleric Beast, a wide, insane, bloodthirsty smile shone on her face. And the more blood was spilled, the stronger her thirst became. Alucard did not aim — she simply hacked the Cleric Beast's flesh, enjoying the sound of tearing flesh and the blood pouring from the wounds.
The Cleric Beast could do nothing: no matter how much it tried to throw Alucard off, she dodged every blow each time and continued hacking. Alucard deliberately did not allow herself to be wounded — only for one reason: she did not want to listen to Alex's grumbling, who would once again start saying that she should not expose herself.
With every moment, the battle between Alucard and the Cleric Beast grew hotter. Pieces of flesh with fur and blood flew in all directions under Alucard's ringing laughter, which sounded together with the sounds of tearing flesh and the howls of the Cleric Beast. Every blow Alucard delivered with special cruelty, using the jagged edges of the saw-cleaver to tear flesh and expose bones.
After a few minutes, the Cleric Beast's body was covered with many wounds. In some areas of its massive body, entire pieces of flesh were missing, exposing bones. The Cleric Beast fell to its knees, holding its fallen intestines with its paws from the ripped stomach. Where its eye should have been, an entire piece of flesh was missing, and the skull with an empty eye socket was visible, from which blood was oozing.
One of the Cleric Beast's antlers was broken off and stuck out of its massive arm. Alucard, on the other hand, was covered in blood from head to toe. Her long black hair was soaked with the bright red blood of the Cleric Beast. Standing a few steps away from the beast, Alucard shone with a wide, toothy, bloodthirsty smile. Seeing the state of her enemy, she licked the Cleric Beast's blood dripping down her face.
"Come on, beast! Get up! Continue fighting! Regenerate! And attack again like a wild beast! The night has not yet come! It's still too early to die! Fight and die as a proper wild beast that has gone mad from blood!" Alucard shouted in a maddened voice.
In response to her words, the Cleric Beast let out a low growl, trying to rise and continuing to hold its fallen intestines. But even its regeneration and vitality did not help it stand after such a number of wounds. Every time Alucard urged it on, the beast clumsily tried to rise and fell back onto the stone floor again.
But even in this state, the madness and bloodthirstiness did not disappear from its eyes. It continued to look at Alucard with the desire to devour her, which Alucard sincerely supported.
"Come on, get up, beast! You yourself refused your humanity! So be a beast to the end! Don't pay attention to the wounds! Get up and fight to the end!" said Alucard, leaning forward to attack.
Alucard continued to mock the Cleric Beast, forcing it to stand up. She did not want her toy to die so quickly when she had not yet had enough fun. After all, she did not know when she would have the chance to fight such a toy again. She was sure that her husband would find many reasons to explore this cursed city.
And therefore, she decided to use this battle with the Cleric Beast to quench her thirst for blood and cruelty. Alex himself, whom Alucard was thinking about at that moment, was sitting on the stone arch, the passage of which was blocked by fog. Alex had only recently finished exploring this fog and was making notes in his notebook. Hearing Alucard's thoughts about him, Alex slightly rolled his eyes, continuing to write.
"Well, I'm just interested in exploring this city," Alex muttered in response to her thoughts.
Alex finished making notes in the notebook and put it in the pocket of his hunter's coat. Adjusting his hat so that the rays of the setting sun would not shine in his eyes, Alex looked at Alucard and the Cleric Beast. Lazily tucking one leg under himself, he rested his cheek on his fist.
He was interested in how long Alucard would play with the Cleric Beast before killing it. After all, the Cleric Beast was the weakest of this type of monster. And for Alucard to fight it was the same as an adult man with a heavy sledgehammer fighting a child with a rubber hammer.
"Carmilla, finish with him already! This is not the last similar monster you can fight! There will be bigger and more dangerous monsters ahead!" Alex shouted, continuing to sit on top of the arch.
"He can still get up and fight. Don't interfere with me. Do what you came here for. Don't interfere with me!" Alucard shouted back, raising her gaze to Alex.
"I've already done everything. And until you kill this beast, we won't be able to leave. Unless I use my powers!" Alex shouted, lighting a cigarette.
"It's your own fault that you're so fast in such matters," Alucard shouted in a mocking tone, looking at Alex with a cheerful smile.
"That sounded strange," said Alex, looking tiredly at Alucard.
"Who knows, my love. And now be so kind as to heal my little beast so I can play with it a little more," said Alucard in an innocent tone, looking at Alex with an innocent smile on her face.
"Fine. But only once… Ent," said Alex, pointing his finger at the Cleric Beast.
As soon as Alex uttered the spell, a green magic circle appeared under the Cleric Beast's body, glowing with a soft green light. At the same moment, all the wounds on the Cleric Beast's body began to heal, and in the places where flesh was missing and broken bones protruded, new tissues began to appear, and the bones began to fuse.
The Cleric Beast's body was restored at a striking speed, and after a couple of seconds it looked exactly the same as when it attacked Alucard. Looking at the healed Cleric Beast, Alucard smiled joyfully and licked her lips in anticipation of the second round. Having fully healed, the Cleric Beast rose on its hind legs with the sound of cracking bones and let out a loud howl, raising its muzzle to the sky.
And at the same moment, the Cleric Beast's body began to become larger and more massive. The black fur on its body acquired a slight blue tint, and blue arcs of electricity began to run along the fur on its back. The antlers on its head darkened and became larger. The claws on its front paws became even sharper and longer. The maw lengthened, and new sharp teeth appeared in it.
Alucard stood closest to the Cleric Beast and felt how the air began to fill with ozone with the characteristic metallic smell of static electricity. Seeing how the Cleric Beast had changed, Alucard was slightly surprised. Alex thoughtfully rubbed his chin, pondering how his magic had affected the Cleric Beast.
"If anything, you asked for it yourself. I didn't know this thing would go into the second phase and start mutating!" Alex shouted, making excuses.
"On the contrary. I'm only glad. Now playing with it will be much more interesting. It was already starting to bore me," said Alucard in a cheerful tone, paying no attention to the fact that her enemy had become stronger.
"Then be careful, Carmilla. Now you're fighting a mutated Pikachu," Alex shouted to remind her of what was happening.
Alucard only raised her gaze to Alex and immediately jumped back, reacting to the danger. At the same moment, the Cleric Beast finished mutating and let out another loud howl. And together with the howl, arcs of electricity began to spread in all directions from the Cleric Beast, leaving scorched traces on the stone bridge.
Alex had told the truth — the Cleric Beast had become much stronger and more dangerous. But for Alucard, this was a new, more interesting toy with which she could play. Having finished howling, the Cleric Beast dropped to all fours and looked at Alucard. Electric arcs ran along its fur and antlers.
And at the same moment, the Cleric Beast broke from its place and ran at Alucard. While it was running, arcs of electricity spread around it, leaving scorched black traces on the stone. After running a little forward, the Cleric Beast jumped high and raised its massive paw above its head.
Alucard immediately raised her hunter's blunderbuss, preparing to shoot. And before she pulled the trigger, she suddenly tossed the blunderbuss into the air, and the electric discharges immediately began to strike the metal barrel. Alucard herself plunged into the shadow and disappeared from her place.
As soon as Alucard escaped using the shadow, the Cleric Beast landed on the spot where she had stood a moment ago. The Cleric Beast landed with a crash on the stone floor of the bridge, and a shock wave with electric discharges spread in all directions from it.
The shock wave was so strong that massive cracks began to spread across the entire bridge, and statues and railings were destroyed within the radius of impact. At that moment, Alucard appeared from the shadow in the center of the bridge and was slightly surprised.
"The little dog has become stronger. Just perfect… But, unfortunately, it still remains a brainless beast," said Alucard with a slight smile on her face.
Alucard was glad that the Cleric Beast had become stronger, but she was upset that this beast still remained just a beast. The Cleric Beast had already turned its head toward Alucard and leaned forward, leaning on its front paws. And instead of rushing forward, the Cleric Beast grabbed a piece of the destroyed statue and threw it toward Alucard.
Seeing the piece flying toward her, Alucard only stepped aside. The piece of the stone statue flew past and crashed into the arch where Alex continued to sit. Lowering his gaze down to the arch and examining the bridge, which was slowly being covered with cracks, Alex thought and decided to do nothing. If the bridge collapses, then so be it.
But what very quickly began to irritate Alex was that the Cleric Beast started throwing pieces of statues toward Alucard, and she dodged every thrown piece. And all these pieces crashed into the arch, causing it to become covered with cracks.
Seeing another thrown piece of statue, Alex slightly twitched his finger, and the piece immediately flew back. The Cleric Beast did not have time to react before the piece crashed into its chest. From such a blow, the Cleric Beast flew back and crashed its back into the iron gates, which immediately bent under the weight of its body.
"Do you want to break my toy, my love?" asked Alucard, turning her head toward Alex and narrowing her eyes.
"I think the correct answer is no. A little more, and this arch will be destroyed, and then I'll have nowhere to sit," said Alex, lazily waving his finger and knocking all the statues off the bridge.
Alucard lazily blinked her eyes and looked away from Alex. Her gaze immediately focused on the Cleric Beast, which was trying to free itself from the destroyed iron gates. The red pentagrams on Alucard's gloves glowed slightly, and her shadow began to stretch in all directions.
At the same moment, distorted hounds covered with dozens of eyes jumped out of her shadow. Alucard did not even need to give an order — the hounds immediately rushed at the Cleric Beast. The hounds instantly caught up with it and sank their teeth into the flesh, starting to tear out pieces. The Cleric Beast roared, sending electric discharges in all directions and instantly destroying Alucard's familiars.
But the bodies of the hounds instantly restored, and they attacked the Cleric Beast again. Fighting off the hounds, the Cleric Beast freed itself from the destroyed iron gates and tried to shake off those who were tearing its flesh. And while the Cleric Beast was distracted by the hounds, Alucard appeared next to it.
She pushed off from its back, ignoring the fact that the electric discharge burned her leg, and jumped onto its head. Raising the saw-cleaver above her head, Alucard plunged the jagged edges exactly between the Cleric Beast's antlers. Blood from the wound on the head sprayed onto Alucard's face. But she began to deliver blow after blow, plunging the jagged edges into the Cleric Beast's head.
Alucard paid no attention to the fact that electric arcs burned her arm, and simply continued to deliver blow after blow. After a dozen blows, Alucard broke through the Cleric Beast's skull, and the jagged edges plunged right into the beast's brain. Reaching the brain, Alucard plunged the jagged edges even deeper and sharply turned the blade.
At the same moment, the Cleric Beast's skull cracked, blood sprayed in all directions, and the beast began to slowly fall. Falling to the ground, the Cleric Beast's body twitched slightly, and the electricity spreading through its body disappeared. As soon as the Cleric Beast fell, Alucard pulled the saw-cleaver out of its skull.
"Even after becoming stronger, you still remained a brainless creature," said Alucard in a bored tone, shaking the blood off the blade of the saw-cleaver.
As soon as Alucard finished speaking, the Cleric Beast's body exploded in a bloody fountain, splashing its blood in all directions. And at the same moment, a black cat appeared out of nowhere, which began to absorb the Cleric Beast's Blood Echoes. All the blood began to be drawn to the black cat's mouth, including the one that was on Alucard's clothes and body.
A large ball of blood began to form around the black cat's mouth, which instantly crystallized. And the black cat immediately swallowed the crystallized Blood Echoes of the Cleric Beast. Alucard watched all this with an empty gaze, especially at the black cat, which immediately ran away. Alucard followed the black cat with her gaze and saw how it jumped onto Alex's shoulder.
Approaching the place of the Cleric Beast's death, Alex picked up a small silver cross with a small blue stone in the center from the floor. Alex looked at the Sword Hunter Badge that remained after the Cleric Beast's death, and this was what he had come to this place for. After all, this Badge would help Alex confirm another theory.
"Did you have fun, my love? Or were you bored?" asked Alex, approaching closer, taking the hunter's hat off his head and putting the Sword Hunter Badge in his pocket.
"It was quite entertaining… A little exciting… But it got boring quickly. If you told the truth that this beast is the weakest, then I look forward with impatience to what will happen next," said Alucard, approaching Alex and hugging him around the neck.
"Well, there are plenty of monsters in this world. How about returning to the Hunter's Dream so I can see how to improve the weapon. I noticed that the sharpness of your current weapon didn't suit you," said Alex, hugging Alucard around the waist.
"I don't mind… But you forgot something, my love. And you still haven't fulfilled your promise," said Alucard, placing her finger on Alex's lips.
"I will purify the Blood Echoes and give them to you in the Hunter's Dream so you can absorb them. While I'm busy reading, you will be able to absorb the Blood Echoes without any problems," said Alex, slightly shaking his head from side to side.
Alucard slightly narrowed her eyes, listening to Alex's thoughts. And hearing that he really was going to feed her the Blood Echoes after they returned to the Hunter's Dream, Alucard slightly nodded her head and quickly kissed Alex on the lips. Seeing this, Alex chuckled slightly and took out the pocket watch from his pocket.
Opening the watch, Alex saw that the hand had moved — this confirmed his theory that every such monster in Yharnam was a stable point of events that were supposed to happen.
Alex had correctly assumed that after the death of each such monster, the world would change a little and move forward toward the events that were originally planned and repeated countless times.
"Why do you need the watch?" asked Alucard, leaning on Alex's chest and looking at the pocket watch in his hands.
"To watch the time that doesn't move here. But when you killed the Cleric Beast, the hand on the watch moved," said Alex, lightly running his hand along Alucard's waist.
Alucard slightly narrowed her eyes and nodded her head, quickly understanding what Alex was talking about. Putting the pocket watch back in the pocket of his coat, Alex took Alucard by the hand and led her to the Messenger lantern, which had already appeared. Seeing the appeared Messenger lantern, Alucard was not even surprised by it, but rather had expected something like this.
Approaching the lantern, Alex touched it. And at their feet, a gray ephemeral puddle immediately appeared, from which the hands of Messengers emerged, pulling them down. Once again experiencing the feeling of moving to the Hunter's Dream, Alex thought only of one thing — had the Doll woken up.
To be continued...
(So, I had to start writing this chapter early because I have to go to another city, and I don't know when I'll be back, or if I'll even have the energy to write anything. So here's another chapter for you. As for what happens next, that will happen later. I'm still thinking about who will fight the boss monsters. But I think Aluka and Alucard will take turns killing the boss monsters. Next up, we have Doll's appearance, Alucard's slight buff, and everything else. I'm still debating whether Alex should explore the Yharnam dungeon or leave it behind the scenes. They'll think about it tomorrow, but for now, I'm off to bed. Peace, love, and one out.)
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