Rising in the elevator, Alex thought only about what he still needed to finish before heading to Oedon's Chapel to fight Father Gascoigne. When the elevator reached the top, Alex left it and looked at the street ahead of him. Seeing a small staircase leading to another street, he slightly narrowed his eyes upon noticing two mini-giants aimlessly wandering around.
Lighting another cigarette, Alex decided to check his plans before moving forward. Taking his notebook and pen from the inner pocket of his hunter's coat, Alex began going through the points of his plan. As he scanned the list, he placed checkmarks next to the tasks he had already completed. After quickly looking through it, he realized he had completed almost everything except meeting the hunter Eileen, the grumpy old woman, and Gascoigne's younger daughter.
But what interested Alex was how Gascoigne's older daughter had managed to survive in this madness and later return home. Lightly tapping the pen against his chin, Alex simply shook his head, concluding that Gascoigne had taught his older daughter very well how to survive in such a situation.
That was why the girl was hiding so skillfully while searching for her parents. Putting the notebook back into the inner pocket of his coat, Alex narrowed his eyes slightly, and an intriguing idea appeared in his head that he couldn't shake off. Gradually, a wide smile spread across Alex's face as he decided how he would proceed.
"The plan isn't perfect, but it should work… If I do everything right, I'll be able to hire a couple of new workers," Alex said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Meow…" the black cat meowed, sitting on Alex's shoulder.
"I'm not talking to myself — you're here too. Maybe I'm sharing my thoughts and plans with you," Alex said, rolling his eyes at the black cat.
In response to Alex's words, the black cat lazily yawned, closed her eyes, and rested her head on his shoulder. Lowering his mask to light another cigarette, Alex left the elevator room to begin carrying out his plan. His goal at that moment was the same as in any other world he had visited — to kill monsters and save people.
Stepping out onto the street, Alex climbed the steps and found himself on the street that ran beneath the Cathedral Bridge. Seeing the two mini-giants, who for some unknown reason had begun fighting each other, Alex gave a slight whistle of mild surprise. The mini-giants paid no attention to him at all and continued smashing each other with their huge bricks.
Deciding to ignore the spectacle, Alex moved on to deal with his main objectives. Walking a little further and not interfering with the two mini-giants killing each other, Alex climbed another set of steps and found himself in a small alley with a staircase leading up to the Cathedral Bridge. Remembering that this staircase had collapsed, Alex turned in the other direction.
After walking a little further and once again descending a flight of stairs, Alex heard loud dog barking that even made the Black Cat on his shoulder open her eyes. Emerging from the alley, he saw rows of empty dog cages, some of which still contained dogs. Mad dogs with foam at their mouths, covered in growths or boils, barely having any fur left, eaten away by disease, with stinking maws and rotten fangs.
The dogs, noticing Alex, immediately began barking loudly and trying to break out of their cages, spraying saliva in all directions. They kept slamming their muzzles against the iron bars with such force that the metal rods began to bend under their blows. Because of this, the already mangy fur on the rabid dogs' faces peeled off even more along with their skin, making them look even more disgusting.
Watching all this, Alex lightly kicked a handful of small pebbles at his feet. In the same instant, the small pebbles struck the bodies of the rabid dogs like shrapnel, piercing straight through them and embedding into the wall of the house behind them. Exhaling cigarette smoke after killing the rabid dogs, Alex calmly moved on.
Passing the cages with the already dead rabid dogs, Alex descended the steps and stepped onto the street he needed. The only thing that irritated him was the loud barking of the rabid dogs, of which there were quite a few on this street.
Seeing another dozen cages with rabid dogs locked inside, Alex drew his Repeating Pistol. As soon as he fired the first shot, a mangy rabid dog that had managed to break out of its cage leaped at him from the alley. Intercepting the dog mid-jump, he grabbed it by the neck and slammed it to the ground.
"Stay," Alex said, crushing the rabid dog's head with his foot.
"Meow…" the black cat meowed, sitting on an empty iron cage.
Hearing the black cat's meow, Alex tactfully chose to ignore it, pretending he didn't understand what she was saying. After finishing off all the rabid dogs, Alex moved on across a small bridge that connected the two streets lined with houses. Stopping on the bridge, Alex wondered why anyone would build such confusing streets where it was so easy to get lost.
To him, the entire city and its surroundings looked like one huge labyrinth of streets, houses, villages, and everything else. And he was well aware that even worse labyrinths lay ahead.
Putting his mask back on his face, Alex continued forward, crossing the small bridge to go search for the hunter Eileen, who, according to his memories, should be somewhere nearby. Passing by another set of doors, Alex paid no attention to the faint light leaking from the cracks beneath one of them.
"Oh, you're a Hunter, aren't you?" an elderly voice sounded as Alex walked past the door.
Hearing the voice, Alex stopped in place and remembered that a lonely old woman was supposed to live in this house. Quickly scanning the surroundings and digging through his memories, Alex recalled that this was indeed the case.
He had simply planned to talk to Eileen first and then deal with finding the lonely old woman and Gascoigne's daughter. Since the lonely old woman had spoken to him herself, Alex saw no reason to ignore her. Extinguishing his cigarette, Alex approached the door and knocked lightly to show that he was peaceful and meant no harm.
"Yes, I'm a Hunter. How can I help you, ma'am?" Alex asked, leaning against the wall next to the door.
"Ugh, at least one of you savages has some semblance of manners… All you lot know how to do is kill and kill again. Not a drop of manners or respect for elderly people," the lonely old woman began speaking in an irritated tone.
Hearing the lonely old woman start complaining, Alex understood that this would take a while. And he was right: the lonely old woman did not stop scolding everyone, expressing her dissatisfaction with everything happening around her and how it was happening. Tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose, Alex decided to give the lonely old woman a chance to vent as much as she wanted.
He understood that for most people who had not yet gone mad, this day was a real nightmare. And this was only the beginning of the Night of the Hunt, yet for these people it was supposed to become their usual way of life.
Listening to the endless stream of complaints from the lonely old woman, Alex wondered why she was still relatively sane. The only explanation that came to his mind was the sedatives the lonely old woman was taking, which helped her remain in her right mind.
"Are you listening, young man?" the lonely old woman's voice sounded again from behind the door.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm listening. Lazy Hunters aren't doing their job properly. And you have to lock yourself inside your house, fearing that some creature might break in at any moment," Alex said in a monotonous voice, shaking the ash from his cigarette.
"Exactly, that's how it is. If you Hunters weren't so lazy, everything would be different," the lonely old woman said, her voice softening a little.
"I understand perfectly, ma'am. So how can I help you?" Alex said, sighing tiredly.
"Don't sigh here, young man. I can hear from your voice that you're young. You're even younger than my son, and you're already sighing. If you're a Hunter, you should know that simply locking yourself inside isn't always enough," the lonely old woman said in a lecturing tone, lightly tapping the door.
"Yes, that happens too. In a situation like this, simply locking yourself inside really isn't enough," Alex said, ignoring the lonely old woman's moralizing.
"That's why you should know where there's a safe place where I could wait out this terrible night. You must help me, do you hear?" the lonely old woman said in an insistent tone.
"Unfortunately, at the moment it's impossible to reach a safe place…" Alex began, throwing away his extinguished cigarette.
"Yes, that's what I thought. No use from you at all… You don't respect your elders!" the lonely old woman shouted, instantly interrupting Alex and not letting him finish.
"I haven't finished speaking yet… I said 'at the moment'…" Alex began in a tired tone, starting to grow weary of talking with such a demanding old woman.
"Yes, you can never expect anything good from you outsiders. Go on, admit it — you think we've all gone mad here, don't you? Just go away! I know all your tricks!" the lonely old woman interrupted again, not letting Alex finish.
"Ma'am, listen… I'll clear the path to a safe place and come back for you. Just hide inside and wait," Alex said, tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose.
The moment Alex said these words, silence fell on the other side of the door. Hearing that the lonely old woman had gone quiet, Alex breathed a sigh of relief. The only reason Alex could not ignore people like her who asked for help, even if they spoke somewhat rudely, was that he understood the lonely old woman was not a bad woman — she was simply a bit grumpy and used to behaving this way.
But what Alex was absolutely certain of was that if Alucard had been with him, she would have simply ignored the lonely old woman and continued on her way. That was why he had decided to find all these people while Alucard was sleeping in her coffin after absorbing the Blood Echoes. Shaking his head, Alex pushed away unnecessary thoughts, seeing no reason to blame his wife for her character. After all, he loved her exactly as she was.
"Really? You'll come back?" the lonely old woman asked after a short silence.
"Yes, I'll come back. I promise," Alex said, nodding his head slightly even though the old woman could not see the gesture.
"Alright, I admit I got a little heated. But you must understand what kind of time this is, young Hunter," the lonely old woman said in a calmer tone.
"It's nothing, ma'am. Being on edge at a time like this is the most ordinary thing," Alex said, chuckling slightly.
"Since you've finished talking, then don't just stand there. Go cut a few throats and deal with all this already. Or are you waiting for me to invite you for tea? Go do your business," the lonely old woman said, returning to her foul temper.
Hearing the lonely old woman's last words, Alex could no longer hold back and rolled his eyes. Even the black cat sitting on his shoulder rolled her eyes as well. Stopping rolling his eyes, Alex lit another cigarette and moved on. His next goal was to meet the hunter Eileen.
Descending the steps into the building adjacent to the street, Alex found himself in a spacious room that looked more like an old used attic above some building. Dozens of empty barrels and crates standing against the walls blocked a very noticeable passage further ahead.
Remembering that behind these crates and barrels was a passage that would lead him to Eileen, Alex listened to the surrounding sounds. He heard strange voices of maddened Yharnam residents on the floor below and the sound of them moving around the room.
Stopping listening, Alex decided to play it safe and took a Claymore mine from his inventory — he didn't even remember where he had gotten it. Approaching the staircase leading to the lower room, Alex placed the Claymore mine right at the top of the stairs. Smiling slightly after setting the mine, Alex approached the wooden barrels and crates blocking the passage and calmly pushed them aside.
The moment he knocked over the wooden barrels and crates, it caused a loud crash that was impossible to miss. In the same instant, a sound resembling a beastly growl rang out, followed by very fast footsteps. Alex slowly turned his head toward the staircase and saw the outline of a fur-covered head of a Yharnam resident holding a lit torch and a rusty saw.
As soon as the resident reached the end of the staircase, the Claymore mine activated. Hundreds of small lead pellets instantly riddled the body of the Yharnam resident caught in the explosion. The loud sound of the explosion spread in all directions, and the flying shrapnel riddled not only the unlucky resident but also the wall behind him.
Thinking that no one else would come up, Alex was about to move on. But the next moment, even more sounds of rapid footsteps rang out. Sighing tiredly, Alex took an incendiary grenade from his inventory and approached the staircase. He saw the light of burning torches appear from around the corner of the stairwell, casting shadows of the maddened Yharnam residents on the destroyed wall.
Pulling the pin from the grenade, Alex lazily released it from his hand, and it rolled down the steps. The incendiary grenade rolled down the wooden stairs and stopped at the feet of the maddened Yharnam residents, who, noticing Alex, immediately rushed toward him.
Before any of the maddened residents could take a step, the incendiary grenade exploded. In the same moment, the bodies of the Yharnam residents were engulfed in flames. They began rolling on the floor to extinguish the fire, tumbling down the steps and swinging the weapons in their hands, hitting each other.
"It always burns so brightly," Alex said, tossing his extinguished cigarette butt onto the bodies of the burning residents.
Watching the burning Yharnam residents, Alex had no intention of putting out the entire fire, because he knew the city would return to its previous state no matter how much it was destroyed. After all, everything would reset, and everything would repeat over and over until it all ended.
Alex continued standing at the top of the staircase, and the fire from the burning bodies of the maddened Yharnam residents was reflected in his eyes. The sight of all this made Alex think that since he was here, he would simply end this entire nightmare before leaving this world. Smelling the burning bodies — a smell he had already encountered more than once — Alex covered half of his face with his hunter's mask and turned his gaze toward the passage leading to the attic.
Passing through the half-destroyed passage, Alex looked down and saw rotten wooden planks he could jump onto. Taking a step forward, he landed softly on the wooden planks so they would not collapse under his weight. Looking around, Alex tried to remember where the passage to the balcony was, where, according to his memories, the Crow Eileen should be.
After looking around, he saw another doorway blocked by empty wooden barrels. Remembering that this was the exact passage, Alex stroked the black cat and moved toward the blocked passage. Approaching it, Alex simply knocked the barrels over onto the floor, and they began rolling down.
In the same moment, the sound of empty barrels crashing against the stone floor rang out. Stepping back and looking down, Alex saw another sewer shaft where giant rats were crawling about.
One of the fallen barrels landed directly on a giant rat, turning it into minced meat smeared across the floor. Now the giant rats were devouring their dead comrade, paying no attention to anything else.
"What if…" Alex muttered, feeling a surge of amusement.
The moment he thought about it, an empty barrel rolled past him, pushed by the Black Cat. Alex watched as the empty barrel slowly rolled to the edge and then fell downward. Alex and the Black Cat watched as the barrel fell and then crashed with a loud thud directly onto the head of a giant rat, crushing it.
Blood and guts from the huge rat mixed with the fragments of the broken barrel, flying in all directions. But this did not stop the other giant rats from beginning to eat their latest killed comrade. Slightly pursing his lips, Alex turned away, not wanting to watch this act of cannibalism again.
Deciding to focus on why he had come here, Alex passed through the passage leading to the balcony and looked around. His gaze immediately shifted to the woman standing on the stone balcony. This woman was Eileen.
She was dressed in her hunter's attire, consisting of a black cloak resembling crow feathers, a pointed hat, and a white mask with a beak where she placed incense to cope with the smell of rot and blood. Seeing Eileen in real life, Alex once again thought that she looked more like a Plague Doctor than a hunter who hunted blood-maddened hunters.
The moment Alex noticed Eileen, she noticed him as well. Her head turned slightly toward Alex. She immediately began assessing him with her gaze. Meanwhile, Alex began climbing the small wooden bridge that connected to the balcony where Eileen stood.
All of this happened under her watchful gaze. All Eileen saw in Alex at that moment was a young hunter who had gone out on the hunt for the first time. But she understood that appearances could be deceiving, and she knew this better than most. Even though her face was hidden behind the crow mask, she clearly smelled the scent of monsters coming from Alex's body.
Alex himself also looked at Eileen attentively — after all, he did not know what kind of woman was hiding behind that crow mask. Alex stopped a couple of steps away from Eileen and leaned against the iron railing, lowering his mask to light a cigarette.
"You must be the Hunter who made all that noise… You've got quite the nerve…" Eileen said, deciding to speak to Alex first.
"It was easier for me to make some noise to gather them in one place. After all, how could I walk right past someone who was watching me and not say hello," Alex said with a smile on his face, bringing the cigarette to his lips.
When Alex's words sounded, Eileen did not react in any way and simply looked out from behind the balcony railing they were standing on, seeing the sewer passage Alex had recently passed through. She had been watching him from above until he disappeared into the tunnel.
After all, it was hard to ignore someone who passed right under your nose in such a manner while making so much noise. But what she had not expected was that Alex would notice her in such a situation when he had barely lifted his head upward.
She realized that the person next to her was by no means an inexperienced Hunter. Alex approached the railing, from which one could look down into the sewer, and glanced downward. Taking a drag of cigarette smoke, Alex exhaled and looked at Eileen again.
"You've really gotten yourself into a mess. And on a night like this," Eileen spoke again, shifting her gaze to Alex.
"I wouldn't say that. So far everything is going as it should," Alex said, shaking his head slightly while leaning on the railing.
"Then you should prepare for the worst. There will soon be no people left. And they will all soon turn into carnivorous monsters," Eileen said, fully turning toward Alex and folding her arms across her chest.
"I know that too. It's not hard to guess that things will only get worse from here. The sun hasn't even set yet… And when the Moon rises over this city, everything will become much more interesting…" Alex said, raising his palm toward the sky lit by the rays of the setting sun.
"At least someone here still possesses reason… But for how long…" Eileen said, not taking her eyes off Alex.
"It's not for you to say that, Crow… Is it?" Alex said, turning around and leaning his back against the metal balcony railing.
"Hehehe… You're right, young Hunter. This cursed city can swallow anyone… Here, take this, in honor of our meeting. It might come in handy for you," Eileen said, extending her hand with a small bundle of worn parchment.
Seeing the bundle, Alex took it from Eileen's hand to examine it better. Unfolding the bundle, he saw several old, almost decayed parchments with an inverted Hunter's rune drawn on them.
Seeing this, Alex tilted his head slightly to the side. Even while playing the game, Alex had never thought about why Eileen specifically had this item. Raising his gaze to Eileen, Alex thought that she had most likely once found herself in the Hunter's Dream as well and had also chosen to awaken.
But instead of the expected sunrise and loss of memory of all the nightmares, Eileen had woken up at the beginning of this nightmare. At the moment, Alex saw no other explanation for why Eileen carried the Bold Hunter's Mark with her.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Alex put the Bold Hunter's Mark into the satchel behind his back. Now he was even more curious about who Eileen really was and why she had this item. Hiding his smile, Alex reached into the satchel behind his back again and took out a bundle of incendiary grenades that did not look too conspicuous.
"Since we're exchanging gifts in honor of our first meeting, this is from me," Alex said, handing her the bundle of incendiary grenades.
Eileen saw the bundle of items in Alex's hands and immediately understood that it was explosives. Without thinking long, she took the bundle of incendiary grenades and put it into the satchel behind her back. She was not the type to refuse something that could make hunting other hunters easier for her.
Seeing that Eileen had accepted the bundle of grenades, Alex smiled slightly and threw away his extinguished cigarette, pulling the cloth mask back over his face. After standing for a few more moments, Alex prepared to leave. After all, he only had two points left on his list, and the faster he finished, the faster he could return to the Hunter's Dream.
"Alright, I'll be going. The hunt waits for no one," Alex said, preparing to leave and adjusting the Kirkhammer on his back.
"You're right… A hunter should hunt monsters… Leave the hunters to me," Eileen said after the departing Alex.
"Until we meet again, Crow. See you soon," Alex said, waving goodbye.
Alex approached the wooden bridge and began descending it to return to the attic of the sewer shaft and go back the same way he had come. The last thing he wanted was to wander through the sewers again and deal with giant rats. Eileen watched every step Alex took, and before he left, she decided to ask him a question.
"Before you go, tell me your name, young Hunter," Eileen said before Alex finally left.
"My name is Alexander… But you can just call me Alex, I'm already used to that name," Alex said, turning his head while standing in the doorway.
"You can call me Eileen… Until we meet again, young Hunter Alexander," Eileen said, nodding her head slightly and turning her back to Alex.
"Until we meet again, Eileen," Alex said, looking over his shoulder and nodding.
Turning his gaze away from Eileen's back, Alex decided to move on and leave everything else for later. After all, the more he interacted with the locals, the more questions he had that he wanted answers to. Passing through the doorway, he found himself back in the attic of the sewer shaft, and at that same moment the Black Cat jumped onto his shoulder, having just returned from her own search.
Scratching the black cat's chin with his finger, Alex began returning the same way he had come. Jumping onto a ledge by a broken window frame, Alex climbed the steps and stepped out into the alley where he had already listened to the long tirade from the lonely old woman.
Trying not to make noise so as not to attract the lonely old woman's attention, Alex decided to return to the Cathedral Bridge and from there descend into the courtyard with the fountain. The last thing he wanted right now was to listen to the lonely old woman again, who would repeat that he was doing nothing — one time had been enough for him.
Walking to the end of the street, Alex climbed the steps and turned into the alley away from the iron cages with the dead rabid dogs to reach the collapsed staircase leading to the Cathedral Bridge. Climbing the broken steps, Alex jumped upward.
Jumping onto the railing of the Cathedral Bridge, Alex headed toward the descent to the street with the non-working fountain. Because Alex had killed all the nearby enemies, he did not have to stop.
Reaching the steps leading downward, Alex sighed slightly and drew his Repeating Pistol because he saw maddened Yharnam residents and rabid dogs, which he had conveniently forgotten about. As soon as he descended, he was immediately noticed. A rabid dog instantly lunged at Alex, wanting to sink its teeth into his throat.
Alex intercepted the dog mid-air and threw it toward a maddened Yharnam resident who had thrust rusty pitchforks forward. The dog's body was impaled on the pitchforks, knocking the resident off his feet — the one who had wanted to stab Alex. Detaching the silver sword from the stone hammer, Alex parried a rusty axe strike with his pistol and pierced the resident's chest with the silver sword.
Without pulling the silver sword out of the killed resident's chest, Alex used him as a meat shield. At that same moment, another resident attacked, gripping a massive rusty cleaver that sank with a crunch into the skull of the one Alex had pierced with his sword. Alex kicked the chest of the one he had pierced, knocking down the one standing behind him.
Under the weight of the body, the second Yharnam resident staggered and fell onto his back, pinned under his comrade's body. Alex instantly reconnected the silver sword with the stone hammer and immediately brought it down on the resident who was trying to crawl out from under his comrade. Crushing both their heads, Alex sharply turned and swung the stone hammer, striking the resident with the pitchforks.
The stone hammer hit the body of the maddened resident holding the pitchforks. In the same moment, the sound of breaking bones rang out, and the resident himself flew backward, crashing his back into a well and falling down. After killing the last one, Alex shook the blood off the Kirkhammer and put it behind his back.
Descending the steps into the square with the fountain, Alex's gaze immediately shifted to the closed iron gates behind which was a window emitting a faint light. To make sure completely, Alex approached the iron gates and listened.
Besides the already familiar sounds of laughter and crying from the maddened residents locked in their homes, Alex began to hear a light, soothing melody coming from the window, which was wrapped in sturdy chains for extra security. After all, only a Hunter could have done something like that to protect his family.
Having confirmed that this was the right place, Alex decided to act carefully so as not to frighten the child living in this house. Grabbing the iron bars with his hands, Alex sharply pulled them toward himself, opening the iron gates. Slightly miscalculating his strength, instead of simply opening the iron gates, he tore them out along with pieces of the wall.
"I hope that wasn't too loud," Alex muttered, carefully leaning both parts of the iron gates against the nearest wall.
"Who is it?" a child's voice sounded from the window.
Hearing the voice, Alex turned his head and saw a pair of curious light-colored child's eyes peeking at him from behind the curtains. Alex cleared his throat awkwardly, quickly brushed off his hands, and looked at the girl peeking from the window. Alex examined the girl: she had light hair, a cute little face, and a white dress. The girl herself was cautiously peeking from behind the curtain with caution, looking at Alex.
"I apologize, young lady. I must have scared you…" Alex said, removing the mask from his face and smiling kindly.
"Your voice is unfamiliar to me, but I know this smell… You must be a Hunter…" the girl said, continuing to look at Alex with caution.
"Yes, I am a Hunter. You guessed correctly," Alex said, nodding his head and remaining in place so as not to scare the girl.
The moment Alex confirmed that he was a Hunter, the girl noticeably relaxed and fully peeked out from behind the curtain. Alex himself continued to maintain a kind smile on his face. And his decision to save this girl and her family only grew stronger after he saw her innocent childlike face.
And unfortunately for himself, Alex perfectly understood that he would not be able to save this girl's mother. But he knew that he could still save Gascoigne, and he had many ways to preserve the life of the head of the family and bring the blood-intoxicated Hunter back to his senses. Not revealing his thoughts, Alex continued to keep the smile on his face.
"If you are a Hunter… Can you help me?" the girl asked cautiously, looking at Alex with hope.
"Of course, sweetie. I'll try to help in any way I can," Alex said, nodding his head.
"Can you find my mom, please? My dad didn't come back from the hunt, and mom went looking for him and also disappeared…" the girl said in a sad tone, looking at Alex with an expectant, sad gaze.
"How long ago did she leave? Maybe that way I can better understand where to look for her," Alex said, lightly stroking his chin, pretending he did not know what fate had befallen the girl's parents.
"I don't know… She always leaves when dad is late from the hunt. But she always comes back with him. Please, help me find them… I'm all alone… I'm scared…" the girl said in a very sad voice with tears in her eyes.
"Of course, I'll look for your parents," Alex said with a smile on his face, since he had already planned to do exactly that.
The moment he agreed, a bright smile appeared on the girl's face, and all her sadness instantly vanished. Even though she was a child, she was not one of those naive children who could trust strangers. After all, she had been born and raised in Yharnam, where one had to be careful in the evenings. And growing up in a Hunter's family, she partially understood the danger of this place.
She simply thought this was a regular Night of the Hunt, just like many before it. Seeing the smile on the girl's face, Alex sighed heavily, trying not to think about the bad things that were supposed to happen and had already happened many times from cycle to cycle. Alex was sure that many hunters had tried to save this girl, and none of them had succeeded.
"Really? Oh, thank you! My m-mom wears a red brooch decorated with precious stones. It's so big… and beautiful. You'll notice it right away. Oh, I almost forgot. If you find my mom, please give her this music box," the girl said, extending a small music box through the window to hand it to Alex.
"I'll give her this music box, sweetie. So you don't have to worry," Alex said, taking the music box from the girl's hand.
"It plays daddy's favorite melodies. When daddy forgets about us, we play it and he remembers right away. Silly mommy, she ran off without it!" the girl said, shaking her head and considering her mom silly and forgetful.
"I think she's looking for your dad right now. So there's no need to worry… And while I'm looking for them, you stay quiet. As soon as I find your parents, I'll bring them back," Alex said with a smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Hunter. I'll behave quietly — daddy always said you shouldn't make noise on the Night of the Hunt," the girl said with a serious expression on her face.
"You can call me Alexander, otherwise when you call me Mr. I feel older," Alex said, chuckling slightly.
"My name is Vivian, Mr. Alexander… I'll wait for your return," Vivian said with a bright smile on her face.
"I'll be back soon. Now hide and stay quiet, Vivian," Alex said, bringing his finger to his lips.
Vivian immediately covered her mouth with her little hands and nodded, showing that she would definitely stay quiet. Shaking his head with a smile on his face, Alex decided to play it safe just in case. And for Vivian's better safety, he decided to use the iron gates he had torn out a moment ago.
Lifting the iron gates, Alex leaned them against the window for additional protection. While Alex was doing this, Vivian watched him attentively with her childlike eyes full of genuine interest. After all, she had never seen such a strong person who could lift iron gates so easily. After finishing reinforcing the window, Alex waved goodbye to Vivian before leaving.
After walking far enough away, Alex took the small music box out of his pocket and squeezed it in his hands. His next goal was to save Gascoigne so he could protect his daughters. Alex intended to change the fate of this family. Putting the music box back in his pocket, Alex headed toward the elevator that led to the bridge leading to the Oedon's Chapel tomb, where the blood-maddened Father Gascoigne was located.
To be continued...
(Anyway, I promise to speed things up after the battle with Gascoigne. But I'm not promising anything; you know me, I say one thing and write another. Hmm... Now on to important matters. I accidentally stumbled upon a picture of Eileen, and I must say, she was quite cute. If you're interested, you can ask me to publish it. It's not hard for me. And as far as I understand, if we cut out all the nonsense with fighting regular monsters and focus only on bosses, we can finish quickly. Whether it can be called a boss rush or not, I don't know yet. Anyway, time for food. Peace, love, and the mission to save Loli.)
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