He opened his eyes and found himself beside the lamp in the small square next to Gilbert’s house. He had died and came back next to the latest lamp he had used. He could hear Gilbert’s constant coughing near him. Beating that giant beast had made him overconfident. He needed that defeat to remind him to stay cautious.

He had another chance to get back and exact his revenge now. But for how long would that last? He should remain alert and step cautiously in order to keep his wits about him. Iosefka had warned him about repeated deaths. Even if he had a feeling that she wasn’t entirely honest with him regarding the consequences of repeated defeats, she was still the only person he could moderately trust in this city.

He took the stairs down, and was surprised to see the mob patrolling the streets alive and moving again. ‘What the-?’ He had disposed of all these men before, how come they were all alive?

Surgit understood one part of Iosefka’s “conspicuous” message. Die once and all the enemies he had disposed of earlier will come back to life. That complicated things. He knew he had to be careful but now he found himself calculating his next move, perhaps overthinking it. He had to catch up to Francis and Karla. But if he had to fight all these monsters and die on the way, he’d lose precious time. His eyes lit up as he decided on his next move.

He took the flight of stairs towards the cobbled serpentine street and decided to take down the patrolling mob before they reached their brethren in the big opening next to the crucifix. The last time he had to fight a horde of beasts and he didn’t come out of it unscathed. This time, he decided to trim their numbers to make his traverse easier.

There were six of them in there. He dashed forward and cut two heads off before the others realized his presence. He moved like a shadow, unseen to the others, swift and effective. The other four were down before they could even lift their weapons up. After all, that last fight with the gigantic beast had made him learn more about his abilities and his speed.

The doll had helped him understand better his power and the special abilities the blood ministration allowed him to acquire too. He reached the square and he disposed of the first sniper that ambushed him earlier. He then took his time to observe the crowd in front of him and tried to devise a plan of attack.

The 14 men had their backs to him or didn’t notice his presence at all, including two snipers. They were all watching that crucifix again. He heard a bell in the distance and all the men suddenly turned towards him. Surgit quickly looked for cover from the snipers and found himself running up the stairs leading to the railings surrounding the square. He was soon surrounded by 12 men-beasts with no room to dodge their attacks effectively. The first one to strike at him was the one holding a pitchfork.

Surgit dodged the attack swiftly and held the farming tool in his hand to immobilize the man. He wanted to use him as cover and disorient the others by swinging him around in order to create an opening and escape that deadly situation. The men-beasts though didn’t give him much time to execute his plan. Two hacked at him with their swords, while three others stabbed at him with their makeshift spears. He soon found himself full of holes, blood pouring from every hole his enemies managed to create in his body. The last thing he heard was “You’re not wanted here” as he drifted away.

He opened his eyes again, back to the same square next to Gilbert’s house. ‘It was foolish to show myself in front of those bastards. I should have hid and bid my time’ he thought to himself as he felt shame and anger building up inside.

He decided to approach the enemies in the square differently and use the element of surprise. He saw the patrolling mob again as he descended the stairs towards the street. Enemies definitely come back to life every time he dies. ‘That is troublesome’, he thought to himself ‘I wouldn’t want to fight all these while thinking of a bigger battle ahead, like the one I had with the giant beast. Come to think of it, I really was lucky to –‘ Thud!

He opened his eyes again in the small square next to the dream’s lantern and Gilbert’s house. ‘What just happened? Did I die again? How?’ he was definitely puzzled. He took the bridge leading to the stairs, then to the street. He decided though to stop and scope the area from the top in order to make sure he’s seen all the enemies lurking about the street.

He saw an axe wielding man that lagged behind the group of six which patrolled the street below. It was probably the one who had killed him before. He must have come from the area next to Iosefka’s clinic as Surgit remembered opening a doorway leading there from the street.

He decided then to deal with that man before swiftly disposing of the other six. He went down and followed the man in silent steps. He cut his head off and prepared himself to head for the others when he heard a noise on his right. From a small street that he hadn’t noticed before came a giant troll, holding an executioner’s great axe.

One swing towards Surgit’s head, he sidestepped to the right and tried to counterattack just to see the axe targeting his torso. The agility with which this troll used the axe was frightening. Surgit jumped high to avoid the horizontal swing aimed at his chest. ‘Oh shit!’ the giant made a circular motion with his axe and smashed it vertically at Surgit. The axe was buried deep within his chest. He felt how his skull cracked and blood oozing out of his nose. He lay there, waiting to drift away from the conscious world. BAM another slam to his body split him in half and sent him back to the square.

‘Motherfucker!!’