Chapter Text
How did this all happen?
One day, it was being lead into a dark courtroom with a small assembly of judges looking down like they were some sort of god. Then the next, it was wandering into mandatory deployment to some foreign city.
The event still replayed with each step being made.
A young man was completely bound in chains, he had a feral look in his eyes as he glared at the judges that sat on high. He wore nothing but tattered clothing and dirtied bandages that covered various burn and knife scars, clearly, he had lived a savage life with a vendetta against the world. The judges just sat there, stoic faced, dressed in fine garbs and with those strange white judicial wigs.
“Isaac Foster…you are here today because you are guilty of committing multiple murders,” one of the men announced. “Most evidences point to about twenty known crimes. Even one linking to slaughter of a public servant.”
Isaac wildly smirked, “Count again, coulda sworn it was more…”
“Hold your tongue,” the man demanded, “A crime as serious as this is an immediate death sentence.”
The brazen man just scoffed, he didn’t fear death, he only felt contempt.
“However, in an…unorthodox predicament, this council will offer you a…secret alternative…”
“What?” Isaac growled in confusion.
“One of our trading partners has been suffering a scourge of sorts, and they are short on hands,” the man stated as he read through a parchment, “A man of your…talents…may be needed. From the information that we have, beasts are running rampant, and Hunters are needed to slay them in whatever fashion they deem necessary. Sounds like a playground for a blood thirsty killer like you.”
Isaac could only smirk at the remark.
“What’s going to make this shit worth my time? Why should I care about some city falling apart?”
“We can set up your execution with the guillotine right now,” one of the judges retorted angrily.
Soon, another one of the judges leaned to the head judicator and whispered something to him, the two quietly conversed a plan of some sort.
“…Fine, we’ll find a way to make it worth your time. Do this service, your execution will be waived...but, if you do us another favor on the side…we’ll consider pardoning your crimes,” the judge grumbled.
“I’ve killed people and you want to let me go over a favor?” Isaac huffed in disbelief, then sighed to himself, “…what is it you want me to do?”
One of the other judges peered down on Isaac as he sat upright with dignity, “We’re sending you to a city called Yharnam. We normally do basic trade with them. They are known for their Healing Church. They have a cure-all that is administered in their blood ministrations – transfusion possibly, but Yharnamites are not too keen on foreigners and keep their secrets shut tight behind lock and key. Knowing your prowess as a murderous street rat, I’m sure stealing us a sample of healing blood will not prove difficult.”
“You slaughter whatever monsters stand in your way for your freedom…we get a cure-all…I’m sure it’s a victory on both ends…” the head judge spoke.
Isaac growled, “Fine…I’ll do it…not like I have any other choice…”
He was given a small bit of training beforehand. Apparently, his city had sent hunters before him, but only once, and assumed things went smoothly from their return. The former participants gave the gruff man basic instructions to prepare him for when he entered the city, he had to memorize it over and over before being tossed into the wild. Beasts are most active under a full moon, that was when they were at their highest numbers. The best way to dispose of them is serrated weapons or downright smashing them into oblivion, there are no limits to destructive creativity - his personal favorite instruction. Yharnamites trust no one, don’t expect their information to hold any truths. Beasts can’t stand fire or incense. Beasts are extremely blood thirsty, then again, so was he. Get as much information about the Healing Church as possible.
Hell, he even had to be outfitted with proper equipment before being sent off. No longer was he in tattered clothing, instead he was wardrobed in a fine Hunter’s Coat, the collar was long enough to hide his scarred face, along with a large hat to hide the predatory look in his eyes. Fresh wrappings on his hands to hide the scars and to better grip his equipment. Finally, he had a metal clasp of some sort on his right leg, apparently, there was a belief that beast blood traveled up the right leg to infect others.
His weapon was a massive scythe, they called it a trick weapon. It had the ability to change its shape for versatility from a scythe to a massive one-handed blade. Despite being taught to use its abilities, he wasn’t even allowed to touch it until he was sent his way. Those smart asses…
Now here he is, after being shipped in a judicial carriage halfway through, he was walking on a cobblestone road that lead directly to the massive gothic Victorian city. Its labyrinthian appearance almost looked intimidating, but also intriguing - hunting and slaughtering beasts while slipping into the cover of night should be a breeze.
Up ahead, stood a figure waiting patiently at a lamp post near the city gates, he wasn’t told that he had to meet up with anyone, perhaps it was a city gatekeeper to keep the probability of beasts escaping to a minimum. Seems to make sense.
“Hey…this is Yharnam, right?” the young man grunted.
The man gave Isaac a look of suspicion, he wore a strange attire that didn’t appear civilian or of any government. Maybe he was a foreigner too?
“So, Isaac Foster…that is your name, correct? I have been expecting you…” the man murmured.
Isaac cocked a brow, “I wasn’t told to meet up with anyone. Who are you?”
“I am a Blood Minister, I greet every hunter…” the man replied, “a notice isn’t necessary…I know when to meet foreigners, such as yourself…”
Isaac grit his teeth in frustration, he really hated when people talked all secretive-like.
“So, you letting me in to do my job…or what?”
“I cannot accept any filthy animal into the streets,” the man bluntly replied, “you’re one who’s lived on the streets. A Violent Past…any old street rat could carry diseases and beasts are enough already…”
Isaac growled as he pulled out his blade and pointed it towards the man, “Watch what you’re saying.”
“Save your anger for later, before you are turned loose…my job is to purge any uncleanliness from your blood. So, come with me, and we will begin a procedure…”
He just made it and there’s a possibility to get a parcel his arbitrators needed, he could kill the man and steal whatever healing items he had, but then again – he didn’t want the possibility of returning the wrong item and hastening his destiny with the guillotine.
Better to use his actual head for once.
Before he could follow the man, he felt his collar get forcibly yanked down and something smother him, the minister had shoved a white cloth into his face, it was obvious it was covered in some sort of liquid and its vapors had seeped into his nostrils. It was chloroform. He tried so hard to fight the drug, but it was too late, his eyes rolled back and collapsed from the medicinal fumes.
Already ended where it began, he thought. What a stupid way to go…
It seemed like hours before he eventually opened his eyes, he felt like he just got kicked by the thickest horse to exist. His bi-colored eyes scanned the room to see he was in a medical facility of some sort, yet it appeared derelict and unused. Various medical papers and broken vials littered the entire place. He noticed his sleeve was rolled up and his scarred arm was exposed, yet messily bandaged, to his side was an empty glass IV. He growled as he kicked it away from himself and watched as the glass shattered onto the floor.
“That fucking asshole…” he mutters under his breath.
He tore off the slightly bloodied bandages and could see a small bruise from where he was injected with whatever the blood minister gave to him. Healing blood or no, Isaac hated to be tricked. He rolled his sleeve back down in anger.
To his surprise, he found that his weapon neatly sat on a table nearby, he slipped off the medical table and walked up to grab his large blade.
“If everyone in this city acts this shady, I’ll cut down both them and those fucking beasts…” Isaac growled in frustration, then pulled his collar back over his face.
He stomped out of the room to find the area he was dragged to was much worse than he previous thought. The whole building was completely trashed, furniture was broken, blood covered the floors and walls, and everything was decorated in slashes and claw marks. Every nook and cranny showed signs of either a massacre or a desperate struggle.
Isaac brought his blade back to snap it into place of the hilt, feeling the device spring into scythe mode. He held his weapon against himself as he approached the front door to leave the tattered facility. Just as he brought his hand up to open the door, he could hear a menacing growl behind himself. Isaac glanced from the corner of his eyes to see a massive black creature inching its way towards him.
The creature was larger than any normal human being, it was covered in black and coarse fur, and had intimidating claws as its armament. The monster appeared very lupine and human at the same time, it stalked up to Isaac on all fours like a creature preparing to take down prey.
“Think you can take me down?” Isaac said with a menacing grin.
The beast let out a bloodcurdling roar as it dug its nails into the wooden floor and propelled itself towards the young man. Isaac let out a maniacal laugh as he swung his scythe forth, digging its sharp blade into the wolf creature’s shoulder, and hacking off one of its arms during their clash. The creature didn’t even act fazed by pain as it spun around to swipe with the other claw. Once that attack was easily dodged, the beast attempted to grab and bite at him.
“Don’t fucking bite me!” Isaac shouted, ripping the blade off the hilt and slamming the blade into its maw.
With a flick of the wrist, the blade sliced through the mandibles, and beast’s lower jaw dropped to the ground. The floor was slathered with fresh blood, yet the creature continued to show no signs of giving up.
Isaac seemed to get some sort of enjoyment to a resilient victim, he grabbed the blade with both hands and slammed it into the beast’s chest. He pinned it down with force and repeated his actions in stabbing the brute, it was only a matter of time until the creature stopped thrashing.
“One down…”
He slung his blade to get the excess blood off before sheathing his weapon, then returned to exit himself from the medical facility.
The city was much worse than he previously thought, not a single soul of civility was to be seen on the streets, only beasts and other blood thirsty creatures. Some parts of the city were littered with strewn up carcasses of both townsfolk and beasts, some were even alight on a stake in a lynched execution. The scent of blood filled his nostrils, he couldn’t tell the difference if it was the blood of monsters or humans – this place was absolutely perfect for a serial killer like him.
In a heartbeat, he was quick to jump in and begin cutting down any hostile beast that stood in his path, he didn’t even have to make it quick like he normally did, he could take his time with his prey before dicing up the next monster. He noticed that some of the beasts appeared more human than the more wolf-like creatures, even wearing the clothing of a common villager, but he couldn’t care less. If they dared to attack him, he was going to have a field day. Even the plagued hunting dogs proved to be no obstacle for him, the only difficulty were the hostiles that wielded hunting rifles, the man almost got struck by their quicksilver bullets on more than one occasion.
“Fucking asshole!” he shouted, slicing off the hands of the gunman with his scythe.
He quickly scooped up the weapon and swung the butt of it at the gunman’s head like a club, causing the assailant to stumble back and give Isaac the opportunity to swing his weapon down. His powerful swing almost bisected his prey. Isaac’s clothes were becoming stained in various blood splatters with each slaying, and he began to feel some sort of weird sensation in his chest along with a painful sting in his right arm. He nonchalantly shrugged it off as he continued to venture through the dangerous streets.
“Damn, didn’t expect this huge place to be filled with monsters…can’t complain…first time in years I’ve had this much fun…heh heh…” Isaac rambled, “…seriously…where the fuck are the people?”
He never thought once, he’d actually care if there were people out and about. Isaac did notice there was some unusual activities going on behind closed doors, but only those with lamps burning with a bright and pungent incense. Some of the inhabitants rambled incoherent nonsense, while others shouted hateful and xenophobic slurs his way.
Whatever, not his problem anyway. Slay beasts, steal healing blood. Simple as that.
Healing blood though, where in the fuck should he start looking? The medical facility he was just at was ransacked and filthy, hell, he even began to wonder what kind of drugs got pumped into him while he was unconscious.
“What in the fuck did the judge say about this place…” he mumbled to himself, “right...something about a church…this city is nuts about their church.”
He should start scouting for a holy building.
With most of the houses emptied or broken into, it made taking shortcuts through the maze-like city much easier, he even noticed they had some weird way of interconnecting from one place to another. He had to leave a mark or some sort to remind him of special paths if he needed to escape from trouble. The layout they had made the city was absolutely confusing as hell, how the populace could navigate no problem was an answer that was beyond him. Isaac’s heterochromatic eyes gazed upward to see familiar spires that often belonged to a chapel, that was one place to start searching. Not too far from it was a large bridge that seemed to connect to a gate that lead to said chapel.
Something like that wouldn’t come without aversion though, he strapped his trick weapon onto a holster on his back as he began to climb up the damp gutters alongside the interconnected buildings. The roofs felt like they could cave underneath his weight, just exactly how long has this scourge of sorts went on? The judges made it sound like it was fairly recent.
Isaac swore to himself as he peered over to the bridge. Empty carriages, puddles of blood, broken statues, and uplifted cobblestones. Just as he thought, there was a rather large hulking brute patrolling the bridge, wielding a wide brick of sorts.
“Hmm…fatty will be a challenge to take down…” he prattled aloud. “Literal fucking bridge troll…”
Isaac carefully traversed the rooftops to scout for a way up to the bridge, hell, being within a jumping distance to it would suffice for his light weight as well. He did spot a stairway that lead up to the bridge, though it did not appear to be stable, almost crumbling apart if he did try to walk on it.
“Fuck it…” he grumbles.
Isaac carefully climbed down from the rooftop, he held onto it with both hands to ensure a safe drop, but felt the wood under his fingertips start to cave and fall apart, causing him to fall hard onto his back. Isaac groaned in slight pain, but began to hear the dry rock from underneath him threaten to crumble, now wasn’t a time to wince and curse. He rolled onto his feet and bolted up the decrepit stairs, hearing the cement and stone fall apart and collapse to the ground below.
That was a close one.
Isaac breathed a short sigh of relief and pulled his weapon off of his back, he was ready to take on the large hunchbacked humanoid to clear his path on the bridge, but he noticed that it was now focused on something else. The hunchback was trying to rip off a door from one of the horse carriages that littered the massive bridge.
He was confused, but it did make for an easy target. The young man slowly walked up to the brute, holding his scythe in a strike-ready position. The large ogre-like beast groaned in anger as it continued to try to tear open the carriage, but stopped in its actions as it sniffed the air. As it was about to turn around, Isaac struck, swiping his scythe forth and slicing the fat creature’s neck like a slab of meat. The brute gargled as it tried to swing its blunt weapon before succumbing to blood loss, the furious punches it threw were dodged with ease, thanks to Isaac’s uncanny mobility.
Isaac watched the heavy brute collapse onto the ground and lightly kicked the humanoid a few times, he had to make sure it was dead.
“H…hello? Is…is someone out there?” a voice called out.
“Huh?”
“Please let me know if it’s safe to come out!” the voice called again, it was coming from the carriage.
“Your city is full of monsters, what makes you ask such a stupid question?” Isaac bluntly replied.
Soon, the door began to slowly open, and a chunk of wood was tossed out. So, that was how the brute couldn’t open the door. A young woman, possibly a couple years younger than him, emerged from the tattered vehicle. She dressed in a white holy garb, and had the fair pale skin to compliment it, along with strands of flowing golden hair escaping the white cowl. The woman appeared rather timid and afraid of her surroundings.
“You’re the one who killed that brute? Thank you, you’re a hunter…correct?”
Isaac glanced down at himself and his garb, then back to the woman, “What does it look like?”
Obviously, he was a foreigner, and a rather rude one. Each hunter had their own…quirks.
“I know you have your own tasks, and I’d hate to ask…but could you please escort me to the Cathedral? It’s just beyond this bridge, and a possible safe-haven during this horrible night…” the woman asked.
Isaac appeared annoyed at the request, why should he? He eyeballed the woman’s attire, holy garbs, possibly from the church. Maybe he can extract information about the blood he was told to acquire.
“So, you part of the church, lady?”
“Y-Yes…I am a Blood Saint. My task is to offer my blood to heal the injured and sick,” the woman replied shyly, “My name is Rachel Gardner…or just Rachel, if you’d prefer to spare the formalities.”
“Yeah…being all fancy isn’t my thing…I’d rather call you Ray to make life easier on me…”
Rachel tilted her head in slight confusion and possible amusement to her nickname, “What should I call you?”
Isaac growled under his breath, “It’s Isaac…Isaac Foster, but other street rats like myself prefer to call me Zack. Remember it or forget it, I don’t care. Don’t become attached to me. I’m just here to do a job.”
That explains his blunt behavior, a man who lived on the streets, no morals and only street-wise. A strange yet perfect breed of hunter.
Rachel noticed Isaac began to walk off slightly before waving her down to follow.
“Hey, you wanna get left behind or not?”
Rachel was quick to run to catch up behind him, Zack did appear the type to hate idle chatter, but she couldn’t help herself - he was a foreigner and a hunter, while she was just a mere saint.
“So, what brought you here to Yharnam?”
“Fuck, you’re annoying…it’s called mandatory community service…I kill some beasts, I don’t get my head cut off. Simple as that,” Zack grumbles.
“You’re a convict?”
“I’m a killer, I enjoy seeing despair instead of the stupid happy faces of others as I cut them down. They sent me here, seems right up my alley,” Zack replied, this time, with a menacing grin on his face.
Rachel paused in her tracks, “Would you try and kill me too?”
“I told you…I got a job to do…right now, you’re boring as fuck…so no.”
That was a relief…sort of.
The duo continued on their way on the massive bridge, he could see a large gate that blocked the way at the end. He scanned the metal bars to try and look for a way to either climb over, squeeze through, or find a switch of sorts.
“Oh no…it must be this late hour into the hunt…” Rachel rambled.
“Th’ fuck do you mean?”
“During the nights of the hunt, the gates to the Cathedral Ward are to close within a certain hour. They’ll only open when the night or the hunt ends. It’s also a full moon tonight…so this hunt will be a long one…” Rachel replied.
“Fuck, so how the hell am I supposed to lead you to the church? Toss your ass over?” the young man shouted.
Suddenly, a loud piercing screech filled the air. Rachel felt a chill crawl up her spine and clung to the only human nearby for security, much to Zack’s chagrin. Zack shoved her aside as he held his weapon close, he felt tremors starting to build around them with each step being taken, whatever it was, it was massive.
Another screech echoed much louder, and from above dropped a massive white lupine beast adorned with antlers. It was about the size of a large house, even the intimidating size almost sent a chill down Zack’s spine.
“What in the fuck?!”
“We have to go!” Rachel shouted.
“Where?! There’s a fucking gate and this thing in our way!”
Rachel searched the area in her panic, then noticed a door near the gate, a possible passage for the town’s gatekeepers.
“Here!”
The door didn’t even look very strong, the young man ran up to the door and immediately began kicking at it, he could feel it splinter and cave under his assault. As soon as it gave way, he roughly grabbed Rachel by the arm and threw her through the doorway.
The large monster let out another blood curdling scream as it raised a massive claw in Zack’s way. Rachel got up to her feet and tugged Zack by the ends of his coat, yanking him into safety before the beast’s claw collided with the gate.
The two ran down the hallway before eventually coming to a short stop to catch their breath.
“What in the hell was that thing?!”
“…It…it must’ve been a clergy of the church…until they became infected with beast blood…” Rachel replied, “…I’ve seen some of them turn like that...”
“They get that big?” Zack shouted in disbelief.
Rachel lightly nodded, “I’ve seen so many horrible beasts, large or average sized. To even the most grotesque…”
Zack was seriously starting to question his decision to take the job.
“They never fucking told me this shit…fuck…”
Soon, he thought about a her saying the beast was possibly a person of the holy assembly.
“Wait…if you get infected…are you gonna turn too?” Zack asked as he pointed his weapon at her.
“N-No! My body has been processed to purge all impurities in the blood by infusing the Old Blood used in our healing ministrations with my own…” Rachel replied.
“So…you’re like a dispenser for healing blood?”
“I’m no object…I’m simply a hand of the Healing Church,” Rachel retorted, almost offended.
“…Right…so if I get hurt by those beasts, you can heal me?” Zack asked, “How do you even do it?”
“I could heal you…I…I do need someone to protect me until we reach the Cathedral, I simply give those a small sample of my blood, their wounds and impurities will simply heal,” Rachel said.
“Huh…well from this point on, I’ll be needing your services until we get you to the church,” Zack replied.
‘Great…don’t need to steal shit, I can just keep this bitch safe until the hunt is over. Then I can hand her over to the judges…fucking free as a bird.’
“Hey…can you fight too?” Zack asked as he began his pace through the hall.
“I…I try to avoid it…but yes…” Rachel said as she pulled out a small pistol from her robe. “I prefer it from a distance though.”
“Good, I can’t be your babysitter all the time. You do the shooting, I’ll do the slicing…we’ll do just fine,” Zack said with a smirk.
He heard the thunderous stomps from the massive beast on the other side of the hallway, he did feel a bit nervous of it getting the brains of smashing through the wall to get to them, but he could hear it begin to stomp off into another direction – lost interest perhaps, or found other prey.
“So, how many hunters are in this town?” Zack asked. This time, he was genuinely curious.
“Not very many…they’re scattered all over the city, some fell to the giant beasts, others got ambushed, even hunters are turning against themselves…many hunters have gotten blood drunk…”
“Blood drunk?” Zack asks.
“It’s when a hunter becomes too deep into the hunt…I’ve even seen a good man cut down his own family as soon as he became intoxicated in the blood of beasts…” Rachel mutters, “they stop acting human…and eventually fall into beasthood themselves.”
“Shit…no wonder Yharnam’s all fucked up…”
“Yeah…” Rachel agreed, defeatedly.
Zack remembered that one faint twinge he felt earlier while hacking away at his prey in the start of his hunt, it was a strange sensation, but it felt like a fluttering need that urged him to feed it. If that was a symptom of blood drunkenness, thank god he stopped to rethink to reasons why he was here.
Their unlikely partnership did help as soon as they were out in the open again, they had entered the church yard of the massive cathedral, and it was littered with beastly townsfolk, their rabid hounds, and even corpse hungry crows. Zack wasted no time to hack and slash his way through the assortment of monsters coming at them, Rachel helped cover with her pistol, shooting at the beasts that got too close to her body guard with quicksilver bullets. She was surprisingly a good shot, like she may have done this sort of thing before.
As each beast fell in their own pool of blood, Zack wiped the excess off his face and pulled his collar up to cover it a little better. He turned his attention to Rachel and gave her a thumbs-up, clearly impressed with her marksman prowess.
Rachel was a little surprised to get a silent compliment, and from a hunter nonetheless.
Eventually, the two came across the steps that lead up to a large chapel, Zack examined every detail of the building compared to all the others. It was in much better condition than the homes and shops.
“So, is this the place you need me to drop you off?” Zack asked.
“Not exactly, but it’s a good stopping point…I can smell incense burning from here,” Rachel replied. “I’m trying to reach the Grand Cathedral. It’s much higher up.”
Zack’s brain stopped for a moment, “Wait…this place goes further up? Holy shit, have your people never gotten lost?”
“Our city does take getting used to when it comes to traveling. I can understand your confusion,” Ray replied, almost giggling.
Isaac huffed as he walked up to the door, it was unlocked so he pushed it open and held it for the woman to make way inside. The place definitely stunk of incense, the whole place was littered with it everywhere - oil pots, lanterns, even various candles. The chapel was massive, but it appeared empty, who had lit the incense and simply left?
The pair ventured in further, looking for a spot to make themselves comfortable until they heard something drop from above.
Zack growled as he held his weapon upwards to defend himself.
“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you! I wasn’t expecting any visitors, more or less a hunter!” a voice called out.
From the shadows approached a red-headed youth, possibly a little younger than Rachel. Even in the darkest of times, he seemed to keep a smile on his face. From his attire, he was a simple Yharnamite.
“I’m Edward Mason, or simply Eddie. Welcome to the Oedon Chapel! I’ve been working on making this place a safe-haven or sorts for survivors,” the youth said, cheerily.
“How charitable,” Ray replied with a smile.
Zack, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes.
“Thank you, I’ve never been particularly useful…but I thought…maybe this night, I can help all sorts of people!” Eddie said with glee, “You’re a woman of the church, right? And with a hunter nonetheless, surely you two might’ve come across any sane townsfolk?”
“Not really…” Zack grunted.
“Oh…that’s a shame, maybe during your hunt you will strike the luck of finding some. If you do, please direct them here…the incense wards off even the most fearsome of beasts, so I know they’ll be safe here…” Eddie replied.
“…What do I get out of it?”
Isaac immediately felt a hard jab in his arm, Rachel apparently wasn’t pleased with his question.
“What? I have my own job to do - two actually, including you…why do I need to add more to my list of chores?”
“I’ll make it worth your time! I’ll give you this gem! Surely a hunter like you can make due with it, yeah?” Eddie shouted, quickly pulling something out of his pocket.
“What’ll this do?” Zack asked as he was handed the strangely shaped red gem.
“It’s a blood gem, hunters put it into their weapons and to give it extra strength,” Eddie instructed.
Zack pulled the blade off his trick weapon, strapping the scythe hilt onto his back as he eyeballed the sharp instrument, he did notice three different shaped slots imbued into it – two stars and one triangular. He placed the blood gem inside, and noticed it fit in the triangular slot rather snugly.
“Perfect fit!” Eddie said happily.
“Yeeaahh…fine…yet another damn task to do. I’ll send people this way…if they don’t get mauled by those beasts,” Zack mumbled. “We should get going…”
“Why not take a short break? It’s no good for a fatigued hunter to go out…especially in this kind of night. Full moons are always the worst…they last so long…” Eddie suggested.
“I don’t exactly get ‘fatigued’ I can keep going…I don’t care if this night lasts for days…I got shit to do…”
“At least let the pretty Saint have a rest…” Eddie pleaded.
Zack angrily growled, before shouting out loud, “Fine! Fuck!”
The angered man stomped over to a small alcove and sat himself down, grumbling to himself.
“One hour! One!”
“He’s quite the wildfire…” Eddie softly said to Ray.
“He is rough around the edges, he’s not from here and from a different background…so you’ll have to forgive my bodyguard’s brash behavior,” Rachel replied, “Thank you for your persistence though. I am a little worn from eluding beasts.”
“Anything for a good lady of the Church!”
Rachel softly smiled to the enthusiastic young lad, she could tell the boy simply wanted to help others out of the goodness of his heart. She glanced to the disgruntled hunter and walked over to him to have a sit.
“Hey, who gave you permission to sit next to me like we’re friends?” Zack snapped.
“Actually, I kind of want to talk to you…serious talk…” Rachel spoke softly.
The man raised an eyebrow, then groaned in the back of his throat.
“What do you want then? I don’t want to hear lectures about charities and shit.”
“It’s nothing of the sort…it’s more of a reason as to why I need to make it to the Cathedral,” Rachel replied. “I’m a Blood Saint for the church, yet, with all these hunts and the growing number of beasts…I keep getting these doubts in my mind.”
“Hmph, a holy woman doubting the church? That’s new…”
“There’s more to it than that…I just get this feeling that the church is hiding something. We disperse so much healing transfusions and blood vials to purge disease, but I see a bigger spike in beast population,” Rachel added, “I just want to try and find out the truth.”
“And what will you do when you find out?” Zack asked.
Rachel sighed as she fiddled with her fingers, “I…don’t know, to tell you the truth…I’ll have to figure that out when it comes to that point.”
“Well, whenever the hell that is…I suggest you come with me when this hunt ends…where I’m from, the people there could use your…charity…” Isaac grumbled.
“I don’t know if I could leave this town…” Rachel replied as she filled herself with doubt.
“Psh, not like there’s much here to save…this place looks to be going downhill quick…”
“I’ll…consider your offer…”
Hopefully, she does. Otherwise, he’d have to resort to harsher measures to deliver the ‘sample’ back to the judges. Not that he’d care anyway. After all, this was just business.