He was back at square one. That stupid trap had gotten him while he was executing such a flawless tactic. He was expecting a voice to taunt him by then but nothing happened. He shrugged and dashed towards the bridge again. He had to get back and finish what he started. The only advantage dying presented him was to anticipate future traps.

He ran towards the patrol and baited them. They all ran towards him and he repeated the same tactic he undertook before. He knew what he was doing this time around though. He caught the sight of a small flame with the corner of his eye. He shot one of the man-beasts then jumped on the bridge’s railings just in time to avoid the big fireball that swept everything away.

‘Oh the fool has made a smart move!’ the voices suddenly spoke in unison. Surgit was startled. He had enjoyed silence during the whole trip to the bridge. He sighed in regret and moved towards the stairs at the end of the road. A troll was standing guard at the landing on top. Next to him stood a man-beast, holding a wooden shield on one hand and a torch on another. “So it was you who burned me to a crisp earlier eh?” he shouted at them.

The troll rushed him and was met with a bullet to the chest which brought it down on its knees immediately. Surgit eviscerated the poor beast and moved on to the next target. He was tired of wasting his time dying stupidly to these monsters. He took the next turn to the right and climbed the stairs up towards the graveyard. As he approached the two hulks, he slowed down his pace and sneaked around them. He had no intention in losing his precious healing blood to these fiends.

As soon as he reached the graveyard the old man charged him. It was as if he was waiting for him to get back there again. Surgit easily dodged the axe uppercut and the bullets that followed. He was slightly getting used to how the man attacked. He dashed towards him and with a feint, pushed the man to jump back. He shot him in the leg and hit his knee. The bullet penetrated the bone but the man still ran towards Surgit as if nothing happened. He was a hunter alright. They don’t get affected by conventional damage.

The old man delivered a flurry of axe swings towards Surgit, forcing him to keep moving back. He felt his heel grazing a hard surface and with a glance, realized it was a tombstone. He performed a somersault and landed behind it. ‘Well, I really am pretty athletic!’ his body transformation still amazed him.

There was no time to be absorbed in his reveries. The man had also jumped towards him and almost created a big opening in his body from head to toe. He jumped to the right to avoid another dangerous swing. He had to do something. He couldn’t stay on the defensive. He had to risk it. He closed the gap between him and his foe and dodged again a dangerous swing. He could feel the wind being cut next to his ears as he moved around the old man’s attacks. He punched the man in the stomach and that slowed him just enough for Surgit to deliver a front kick strong enough to knock him down.

‘Gun!’ he jumped back just in time to avoid five bullets flying his way. That old man’s fighting style was very aggressive and the shotgun he had didn’t make the situation any easier. He got closer to the hunter again and tried to attack. A preemptive strike could give him the advantage and flip the situation over. The old man dodged and shot blindly, hitting Surgit in the left leg. He felt a bullet in his knee but that didn’t slow him down. He still hadn’t sustained enough damage to be completely immobilized.

He shot the man with his pistol as well. That served just to stop him from making one extra step towards him. That didn’t bother Surgit as that was all he needed. He rushed, jumped and slashed at the man’s chest. He landed behind him and rolled forward to avoid any possible retaliatory bullets. The hunter slowly turned towards him and elongated his axe. He was slightly bleeding from his chest and it looked like it excited him. “Ahh…, the sweet stench of blood. Just… just marvelous” the man ran towards Surgit and attacked again relentlessly. The axe finally found its target and ironically hit Surgit in the right arm… again!

‘Fight, kill, Give us blood’ those voices again started inside Surgit’s head. His right arm was bleeding profusely and he had to fight with the left. His attacks didn’t do much damage but he had to press on. He wanted to use his blood vial to heal but he couldn’t create an opening long enough for him to use one. With the long axe, the man now had a comfortable distance between him and Surgit.

He continuously slashed at Surgit and the latter dodged and tried to reduce the distance between them. He couldn’t attack if it remained like this and he’d soon lose consciousness from the injuries he’d suffered. He then took his pistol and with a well-timed shot, stunned the man and brought him to his knees. Surgit’s injured arm twitched as he approached the man and he ripped the man’s flesh apart with his beastly arm. As he pulled his arm back, blood spurted out from the man’s body and he was thrown backwards. His arm hurt even more than before. Transforming to the beastly form and back again caused his injury to grow in size. At least he managed to land a counter attack on that mad hunter. Surgit watched as the man withered in the ground, trying to fight back his inevitable fate. That attack was really handy.

Surgit’s eyes widened and his gaping mouth couldn’t close as he saw the old man standing up. He was holding his head with both hands and seemed to struggle with something. Then a blinding light forced Surgit to cover his eyes and before him stood a beast. It still had the man’s clothing on it but its body was all covered in fur. It grew in size twofold and its arms had claws and its face… A human face though furry and with protruding fangs.

It was a hybrid between man and werewolf. Surgit felt the fear crawl through his entire being. For the first time since he met that werewolf at Iosefka’s clinic. He had the time to be afraid while looking at an abomination like this. His feet wouldn’t budge and he saw as the beast turned slowly to look at him. It jumped at him so fast that his eyes couldn’t follow the movement. The beast ripped Surgit’s chest apart and bit at his neck. He felt his skin and muscles depart from his bones as the beast bit and feasted on him. He was being eaten alive and there was nothing he could do but to feel the beast’s claws and teeth tear his whole body apart. Tears filled his eyes as the pain became unbearable, then he lost consciousness.