Maria took out the Celestial Dial, which looked like a round amulet shaped like a clock mechanism. Gently pushing Alex aside, she approached the clock mechanism and extended her palm, on which the Celestial Dial rested. As soon as she brought it close to the clock mechanism, it activated and began to spin.
The clock mechanism rotated with the characteristic sound of a rapidly moving hand, and along with its operation, the bells in the Clock Tower began to ring. Alex looked around, watching as everything suddenly came to life in an instant. Maria, however, calmly observed it, as she had seen this before.
Gradually, the spinning clock mechanism began to slow down and eventually stopped. The large clock hands lowered. A moment later, the clock hands moved apart, and the mechanism itself lowered slightly, opening a passage.
When the passage opened, Maria looked at it with a heavy gaze. Once she had been a strong and proud huntress who hunted and killed monsters because it was necessary. But now she was nothing more than a broken girl who was about to head to the place where her tragedy had begun. Seeing that the passage was open, Alex went first.
"Let's go, Maria. There's no need to blame yourself for killing madmen. I already explained what could have happened," Alex said, turning to Maria and standing in the passage that led further.
Maria stopped looking at the passage and shifted her gaze to Alex, who was extending his hand toward her. She hesitated, staring at Alex's outstretched hand. She could no longer remember how much time she had spent in this place. But she had already come to terms with the fact that she would spend eternity here.
And now, when she had the chance to leave and see the truth with her own eyes, she hesitated, as if afraid of what lay on the other side. Maria looked at Alex's outstretched hand and began to come to her senses. Gathering the remnants of her resolve, she carefully placed her hand on top of Alex's palm.
The moment Maria's palm touched Alex's hand, he squeezed it and led her forward. Alex guided Maria through the open clock mechanism. They jumped down and found themselves on a stone balcony on the other side of the Clock Tower.
Heavy rain was pouring from the sky, making it difficult to see anything clearly. Because of the dense rain, they could only make out the faint outlines of a wooden house, from which a dim light shone through the gaps in the boards.
The path to the Fishing Hamlet was an unflooded trail. At that moment, Maria was thinking about how she had managed to leave the Clock Tower, and now she had to return to the place where it all began. Alex, looking at the Fishing Hamlet, clicked his tongue in irritation.
"I hate rain and mud," Alex said, wiping raindrops from his face.
"In weather like this, it's hard to hunt. Mud sticks to your clothes, making movement difficult, and the rain obstructs your view, hides smells and sounds," Maria said, turning her head toward Alex.
"You forgot the most important part, Maria," Alex said, raising a finger.
"What is it?" Maria asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"You still have to wash the clothes afterward, and you might catch a cold," Alex said with a serious expression on his face.
Maria looked at Alex, who was speaking with a serious face about washing clothes in a place like this. She had never met someone like him before — someone who would complain about such small things as dirty clothes instead of thinking about more important matters.
Seeing Maria's gaze, Alex cleared his throat lightly and wiped his rain-soaked face with the inside of the short cloak on his shoulders. Deciding not to linger any longer, Alex stepped forward and descended from the balcony they were standing on. Seeing that Alex had gone down first, Maria also stepped forward and jumped down.
Once at the bottom, Alex felt his feet sinking into the mud. Pulling his foot out of the mud, he began walking ahead, clearing the way for Maria, who followed behind him. Walking through the rain along the long trail, Alex and Maria did not slow down, and after just a few moments, they could better see the first wooden house, from which a dim light shone through the gaps in the boards.
The closer they got, the better they could examine the wooden house. The house looked as if its lower part had been underwater for a long time and was completely covered in mollusk shells and other similar creatures.
Moving further, Alex saw a slowly walking silhouette through the rain and raised his hand to stop Maria. Maria, who was walking behind Alex, also noticed the slowly moving silhouette. Alex pulled the Blue Rose from his back and aimed it at the silhouette.
"Byrgenwerth… The Church… Blasphemous murderers… Fiends drunk on blood… Redemption for sinners… By the wrath of Mother Kos… Mercy for the poor, wrinkled child… Have mercy, please…" a hoarse male voice came from the slowly walking silhouette.
Hearing the voice coming from the strange silhouette, Alex put the Blue Rose away behind his back. Seeing Alex's action, Maria also put her silver dagger away behind her back. When the silhouette came closer, they could better see who was endlessly repeating the same words.
It was a tall man whose body was hidden under a bloodstained sheet. From under the sheet, one could barely make out his hideous, fish-like face. From under the fabric protruded very thin arms with webbing between the fingers.
And he walked on his thin legs through the mud and puddles, paying no attention to the pouring rain or to the fact that Alex and Maria were standing just a few meters away from him. This creature was a Fishing Hamlet Priest, and as he passed by Alex and Maria, he stopped for a moment beside them and turned his head in their direction.
"Lay the curse of blood upon them, and their children, and their children's children, for evermore," the hideous Fishing Hamlet Priest said, fixing his gaze on Maria.
Maria froze in place upon hearing those words. After all, she had already heard them. The first time — after killing Kos, when her voice sounded like a fleeting wind that brushed past her ears. And the second time she heard those words was when she committed suicide in the Clock Tower, right before she opened her eyes and found herself in the Nightmare.
At that moment, old feelings once again overwhelmed Maria, feelings that had only just begun to subside. Without realizing it, Maria grabbed Alex's wrist and squeezed it tightly. Fear, panic, and guilt washed over Maria with even greater force as her gaze remained fixed on the departing Fishing Hamlet Priest.
But at that same moment, a loud gunshot rang out, and the Fishing Hamlet Priest's head exploded in a bloody firework, splattering the contents of his head in all directions. When the shot sounded, Maria saw the headless body of the Fishing Hamlet Priest fall into a muddy puddle, and his blood slowly mixed with the rainwater. Maria shifted her gaze to Alex, who stood with a calm expression on his face, still holding the Blue Rose in his hands.
"You should have kept walking, priest," Alex said, putting the Blue Rose away behind his back.
After putting the revolver away, Alex turned to Maria, who was also looking at him. Alex could clearly feel how tightly Maria was gripping his arm. And he was quite surprised by the strength of Maria's grip — if it had been an ordinary man in his place, the bones in his hand would have already been broken. Carefully prying Maria's hand off his wrist, he looked into her eyes.
Seeing the storm of emotions in Maria's eyes, Alex gently wiped the raindrops from her face and smiled slightly. Maria froze from the tenderness with which Alex was treating her, despite the fact that they had only known each other for a few hours. Alex brushed aside a few wet strands of hair that had stuck to Maria's face and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you okay?" Alex asked, looking straight into Maria's eyes.
"Yes, I'm fine… His words just brought back old memories," Maria said, shaking her head slightly from side to side.
"Maria, I'll remind you again. The residents of this place were no longer human back then, and once they ended up here, they took on their true form. So stop thinking about what happened, what you could have done, and what you could have changed. The past is the past, and you shouldn't blame yourself. You are a Hunter, and you must kill monsters. That is your job," Alex said in a calm tone, removing his hands from Maria's shoulders.
Maria looked into Alex's eyes, listening to every word he said. Every word Alex spoke helped her calm down a little. When Alex finished speaking, Maria nodded, and her gaze became more focused. Remembering once again what Alex had told her earlier, Maria understood that she should stop blaming herself.
Gathering her thoughts once more, Maria nodded, showing that she was ready to move on. Seeing the determination in Maria's eyes, Alex smiled slightly, and they continued forward. They still had to enter the Fishing Hamlet and reach the shore where Kos's body lay, and for that, they needed to pass straight through the entire village.
Walking further, Alex and Maria saw a dim lamp glowing with gray light. Alex approached the lamp and lit it. As soon as the lamp ignited, Messengers appeared from below, holding the lamp with their small hands.
"Messengers… I didn't expect to see them again. But why are they holding the lamp?" Maria said, approaching the lamp and looking at the Messengers with surprise.
"Wasn't there always a Messenger lamp?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No. The Church hunters who made a contract with the Messengers only called them, and they would come," Maria said with nostalgia, looking at the Messengers.
"And how did you use them?" Alex asked, leaning forward slightly.
"To deliver messages. That's why they were called Messengers," Maria said, stopping looking at the Messengers and shifting her gaze to Alex.
Alex could only nod at Maria's words. Seeing Alex's look, Maria couldn't help but think that he might be using the Messengers for something other than delivering messages. But at this moment, there was no reason to ask that question. Maria wanted to say that she knew which way to go to reach the shore.
But everything in the Fishing Hamlet was not as she remembered. Instead, Alex went forward. The only available path ahead was an alley between wooden houses. Alex and Maria walked through this alley, listening to the surrounding sounds. From the boarded-up windows of the wooden houses came incoherent muttering that sounded like prayers.
Walking down the alley, Alex expected to encounter at least one resident of this place who had turned into a fish-person. But all Alex and Maria saw were old wooden houses with sea growths on their walls, and nothing more. Exiting the alley, they found themselves on another flooded street.
And Maria's gaze caught on a pile of burned bodies lying in the middle of the street. Maria said nothing and made no comment about it. Alex placed his hand on Maria's shoulder. Maria felt Alex's hand on her shoulder and placed her own palm over his, squeezing it lightly.
"Let's keep going. We're almost at the center of the village. I remember this place," Maria said, releasing his hand and pointing in the direction.
"Then let's go. I don't like that no one has attacked us yet," Alex said, removing his hand from Maria's shoulder.
"You're right. It's strange. The smell in the air is very strong and very close. But no one has shown up," Maria said, looking around.
Because the rain had become lighter, Maria was able to sense the smell hanging in the air and listen to the surrounding sounds. Deciding to move on, Maria led Alex forward. She knew where this street led. Following Maria, Alex continued to look around, examining every house they passed.
And once they were in the Fishing Hamlet, he noticed even more similarities with one particular place. Alex followed Maria until they reached a spacious square flooded with water, in the center of which stood an old, almost ruined well, through whose stones seaweed had grown. Maria approached the old well and looked down. This well was the very place where she had thrown her weapon. Even if this was a nightmare dimension, the well remained in its place.
"Did you see something?" Alex asked, lighting a cigarette.
"Yes… The past. Down there should be what I got rid of. I don't know if that thing is still there," Maria said, looking into the well.
"Then you should go down and retrieve what belongs to you," Alex said, sitting on the edge of the old well.
Maria looked away from the well and turned to Alex, considering his words. Noticing Maria's thoughtful gaze, Alex gave her an encouraging smile, showing that he would be nearby if needed. Seeing Alex's smile once again, Maria also nodded.
Maria thought about the words Alex had said to her a little earlier: she was a Hunter and must kill monsters. And in this place there were no longer people, only monsters. Preparing to descend to retrieve her weapon, Maria stepped onto the edge of the well and looked down into the darkness.
"Should I go down with you? In case you're still afraid of the dark?" Alex asked with a slight smile on his face.
"No need. Even if there is something down there, I can handle it myself. I must retrieve what belongs to me on my own," Maria said, beginning to descend the ladder.
"Then good luck, Maria. I'll wait for you here," Alex said, watching as Maria began to descend.
"I'll be back soon," Maria said before starting to slide down the ladder.
Listening to the sound of Maria sliding down the ladder, Alex was confident that she would handle whatever awaited her below. Alex noticed that Maria was gradually returning to who she truly was. Extinguishing his cigarette on the edge of the well, Alex slowly turned his head back.
Turning around, Alex saw the residents of the Fishing Hamlet beginning to emerge from under the wooden buildings and from the buildings themselves. They looked like hunched, hideous fish-people, with growths resembling mollusks on their bodies. In their webbed hands, they gripped various weapons — from old harpoons to fish-gutting cleavers.
Fins protruded from under the rags that covered their bodies. And their faces looked like a mix of fish and human, with small sharp teeth in their mouths. Gradually, the entire square around the well where Alex stood was filled with the residents of the Fishing Hamlet. Looking around, Alex pulled the Holy Moonlight Sword from his back.
"As I understand it, you didn't come out to talk," Alex said, resting the Holy Moonlight Sword on his shoulder.
In response to Alex's words, one of the fish-people threw an old harpoon at him. Alex turned slightly and caught the harpoon thrown at him. Quickly spinning around, Alex hurled the harpoon back at the fish-person who had thrown it. The harpoon pierced the fish-person and those standing behind him, pinning them to the wall of a wooden building.
When Alex killed several fish-people, turning them into a fish kebab, the remaining fish-people let out a strange hissing sound, staring at Alex. Hearing the hissing sound made by the fish-people, Alex covered one ear and grimaced slightly. When dozens of creatures made such a sound, it caused considerable discomfort.
And to drown it out, Alex decided to do it in the simplest way. Gripping the Holy Moonlight Sword in his hand, Alex instantly closed the distance to the nearest fish-people. The Holy Moonlight Sword began to glow with a soft green light in Alex's hands. Swinging the sword, Alex sliced through several fish-people at once.
With the swing of the sword came an energy slash that cut down several more fish-people standing behind them. After killing nearly ten fish-people with one swing, Alex jumped backward, dodging the harpoons swung by the fish-people standing close by. Alex landed directly on the harpoons that had almost pierced his body.
"I hope you'll keep me company while my companion is down there," Alex said, standing on the harpoons and looking at the fish-people.
Meanwhile, down in the well, after Maria had descended, she found herself in a round, spacious chamber that clearly shouldn't have been at the bottom of a well. Everything around looked as if she had ended up inside a tree hollow or some kind of cave. After descending the ladder, Maria once again found herself knee-deep in water.
Feeling a strange sensation below, as if something was crawling on her leg, Maria lowered her gaze. She saw white mollusks crawling over her boots — there were hundreds of them in the water. Seeing the slugs, Maria didn't react at all, as she had been in far worse situations. Still standing by the ladder, Maria looked around to figure out where her weapon might be.
Looking around, Maria saw a large creature clinging to the wall. This creature had a large shark-like head with rows of sharp teeth protruding from its mouth, a fish-like body covered in mollusk and coral growths, and a body covered in fish scales. This giant fish-person was clinging to the ceiling with its webbed limbs, as if waiting for its prey. Maria froze in place and quietly drew her silver dagger from behind her back.
"It's either blind or sleeping…" Maria thought, noticing that the giant fish-person had not reacted to her presence at all.
Without taking her eyes off the giant fish-person, Maria cautiously began to back away to find her weapon. She was certain that with only a simple silver dagger, it would be difficult to defeat this creature. Backing away, Maria began to circle around something resembling a tree trunk, never taking her eyes off the giant fish-person.
Without making a sound, Maria took step after step backward. And after taking a few steps, she heard a splash behind her and a sound like someone chewing. Pressing her back against the wall, Maria cautiously peeked toward the noise and saw another giant fish-person, who was scooping mollusks from the water with its large hands and putting them into its mouth.
But Maria's gaze was not focused on the giant fish-person eating the mollusks, but on its back. Among the coral growths on the giant fish-person's back, Maria saw her weapon Rakuyo, which she had used for a long time and then discarded.
"I need to retrieve my weapon…" Maria thought, gripping the silver dagger tightly and looking at the back of the giant fish-person.
Maria understood that she needed to act quickly, before the second giant fish-person clinging to the ceiling woke up. After all, she currently had no way to fight two such creatures in such a small space with only a silver dagger. Maria began to think of a plan to retrieve her weapon, which had fused with the coral on the giant fish-person's back.
Maria's gaze fell on an old anchor stuck in the ground next to the giant fish-person. Having come up with a plan of action, Maria waited for the moment when the giant fish-person reached for another batch of mollusks crawling in the water. As soon as she saw the giant fish-person lowering its hand into the water to grab the mollusks and put them in its mouth, Maria quickly moved forward.
Closing the distance to the giant fish-person, Maria pushed off the anchor and jumped onto the giant fish-person's back. Before the giant fish-person could understand anything, Maria struck it with her silver dagger right in the center of its shark-like head. The silver dagger sank into the giant fish-person's head, and it froze for a moment, giving Maria a chance.
Pulling the silver dagger out of the giant fish-person's head, Maria struck the coral growing on the giant fish-person's back with the hilt of the dagger. Maria acted quickly, striking the coral with the hilt of the dagger to free her weapon. After a couple of strikes, the coral made a cracking sound.
But at that same moment, the giant fish-person came to its senses and tried to grab Maria, who was sitting on its back. Seeing the approaching giant hand covered in scales, Maria struck the silver dagger straight into the center of the giant fish-person's palm.
Receiving another wound, this time in its hand, the giant fish-person let out a guttural cry of pain, clutching its injured hand. The giant fish-person stood up and began swinging its injured hand from side to side. Meanwhile, Maria was holding onto the coral on the giant fish-person's back with one hand while gripping the hilt of Rakuyo with the other, trying to pull her weapon free.
The giant fish-person began slamming into the walls, trying to throw Maria off, but she held on tightly. Not intending to fall, Maria pulled harder on the hilt of Rakuyo to tear it from the coral. The crack in the coral grew larger with every moment.
And just before the giant fish-person slammed its back against the wall to throw Maria off, she pulled her weapon free from the coral at the last moment. Grabbing Rakuyo, Maria skillfully flipped over the giant fish-person's head before it crashed its back into the wall.
Jumping away from the rampaging giant fish-person, Maria gripped her familiar weapon. Lowering her gaze, Maria looked at Rakuyo. She had thrown away her weapon because she felt guilt over the massacre that had taken place in the Fishing Hamlet, thinking that innocent lives had been taken.
But after learning the truth and seeing what the residents of this Fishing Hamlet truly were, Maria understood that perhaps that massacre had been necessary. The feeling of guilt had not disappeared — it had only dulled — and Maria herself was well aware of that. Gripping Rakuyo in her hand, Maria shifted her gaze to the giant fish-person.
With one light motion, Maria separated Rakuyo into two weapons — a saber and a short knife. Thinking about killing the giant fish-person before it could recover, Maria heard a crash and a splash of water behind her. Turning her head, she saw the second giant fish-person fall from the ceiling and now staring at her. Standing between two giant fish-people, Maria remained calm in such a situation.
Calmly looking around, Maria waited for an opportunity to attack. The second giant fish-person opened its shark-like mouth, let out a low guttural sound resembling gurgling, and immediately lunged at Maria. Seeing the second giant fish-person charging at her, Maria immediately ran in the opposite direction, toward the first giant fish-person.
The first giant fish-person also turned its attention to Maria and opened its shark-like mouth. When Maria got very close, the first giant fish-person swung its large arm at her, in which the silver dagger was still stuck. Maria immediately ducked, sliding under the giant fish-person's arm and slipping past its legs.
The first giant fish-person tried to turn clumsily. But at that same moment, the second one crashed into it. The second giant fish-person slammed into the first, smashing it against the wall. Maria herself had rolled aside by this point, avoiding the collision. Without wasting a moment, Maria lunged at the two giant fish-people, gripping Rakuyo in her hands.
Pushing off the back of the second giant fish-person, Maria jumped onto its back, plunging the short knife into its spine. And before the giant fish-person could react, Maria plunged the saber into the back of its head. The saber came out of the second fish-person's shark-like mouth, and the tip sank straight into the first one's eye socket.
Before both giant fish-people could fall, Maria pushed off the second one's back with her feet and performed a backflip, pulling out her weapons. Landing, Maria lightly flicked her wrists to shake the blood off the dagger and saber, then with the same light motion combined Rakuyo back into a double blade.
Having killed the monsters once again, Maria couldn't help but think of Alex's words when he said that a Hunter must hunt monsters. Thinking about Alex, who should be up above right now, a slight smile appeared on Maria's face.
"He really came for me. He truly is an interesting man," Maria said with a smile on her face, pulling her silver dagger out of the giant fish-person's hand.
Putting the silver dagger away behind her back, Maria approached the ladder and began to climb upward. As she climbed, Maria hoped that while she had been down below, nothing had happened up above. Almost at the top, Maria heard nothing but the sound of rain.
But then her nose caught the scent of blood, which mixed with the smell of rain and fish. Smelling the blood, Maria began to climb upward quickly, hoping that nothing had happened to Alex. Reaching the very top, Maria jumped out of the well and froze in place.
The dirty water, which had been ankle-deep due to the heavy rain, now had a reddish tint, but Maria's gaze was fixed on something else entirely. Maria looked at what had happened while she had been down below. She saw dozens of fish-people impaled vertically on harpoons, their blood slowly dripping down and mixing with the water and mud.
And in the center of it all was a pile of fish-people corpses, among which were several giant fish-people. Maria shifted her gaze to Alex, who was sitting on the pile of fish-people corpses and slowly smoking a cigarette.
"You got your weapon back. Nice," Alex said, jumping down from the pile of fish-people corpses.
"I see you didn't have to sit idle either," Maria said in a calm tone, looking at Alex.
"I didn't want my Lady Maria to come back and suddenly get attacked. I had to make an effort to kill them all before you came up," Alex said with a slight smile on his face, approaching Maria.
Maria heard how Alex addressed her, and a slight smile appeared on her face. She hadn't expected the man she had known for only a couple of hours to address her in such a way.
But at this moment, she saw no reason to object to him in such a situation. After all, in these short few hours, he had done so much for her. Alex, on the other hand, continued to look at Maria with a smile on his face, narrowing his eyes slightly as he observed her reaction.
"How noble of you, my Hunter," Maria said, looking into Alex's eyes.
"Oh, don't thank me. Better let me take a look at your weapon," Alex said, making a slightly embarrassed face and waving his hand lightly.
"Why do you want my Rakuyo?" Maria asked, raising an eyebrow at Alex's words.
"I love weapons. And your Rakuyo is exactly to my taste," Alex said with a serious expression on his face.
"That's why you have the Holy Moonlight Sword with you, which should belong to Ludwig," Maria said, pointing at the sword hanging on Alex's back.
"Ludwig gave me this sword himself. He, like you, ended up in this place. Only his fate… Let's just say his good intentions turned out to be not so good," Alex said, shaking his head as he thought about Ludwig.
"And what fate befell that righteous Hunter?" Maria asked, frowning slightly upon hearing about Ludwig.
"You remained beautiful… While he became what the people he killed saw him as," Alex said in a thoughtful tone.
Hearing Alex's words, Maria understood what he meant. And all she could do in this situation was sigh. Maria remembered that before ending up in the Hunter's Nightmare, Ludwig had still been alive. But hearing Alex's words, she understood that Ludwig, like the other hunters, had eventually gone mad.
Deciding to change the subject, Alex carefully reached for Rakuyo, which Maria was holding. Noticing Alex's action, Maria immediately snapped out of her thoughts and handed Rakuyo to him. Alex immediately took Rakuyo and began examining it from all sides. And to not waste time, Alex and Maria moved forward.
And thanks to the massacre Alex had carried out on this square, there were no obstacles in their path. Walking further, Alex and Maria entered a strange, unflooded forest area through which there was only one path. By this point in their journey through the Fishing Hamlet, Alex and Maria were already completely soaked and covered in mud.
"I hope there's at least something ahead where we can dry off a bit," Alex said, walking beside Maria and wiping his rain-soaked face.
"I agree with you. My clothes are so wet that it's already difficult to move in them," Maria said, nodding her head.
"I think there's a house ahead. I believe we can rest there," Alex said, pointing his finger at a house on a stone elevation at the end of the trail.
Maria shifted her gaze in the direction Alex was pointing and also saw a relatively normal wooden house that, although old and weathered, was very different from all the other houses covered in coral and sea growths.
After thinking for a moment, Maria nodded, agreeing with Alex's suggestion to rest a little and at least dry off somewhat. Reaching the weathered old house, Alex and Maria entered inside. After looking around and seeing no signs that anyone was in the house, they decided to use it as a place to rest.
Alex immediately took off his cloak, coat, and hat and hung them on a protruding nail so the water could drip down. After hanging up his clothes, Alex broke off a few dry floorboards to start a fire. Alex didn't need rest, but he was tired of walking in wet clothes. While Alex was starting the fire, Maria also removed part of her outer clothing, remaining in her corset and white shirt. After getting the fire going, Alex and Maria sat down by the fire to rest for a while.
To be continued...
(You understand what's going on, right? It's the development of the relationship between Alex and Maria. That's why we decided to warm up by the fire, heh. By the fire. This atmosphere is perfect for bonding. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure of it. And it gives me time to decide on a crazy plot plan. I can kind of just stretch an owl onto a globe and make Kos the descendant of a certain goddess. And you can probably guess which one, if you've read Lovecraft's books, of course. And now it's time for food and rest. Peace, love, and hugging your loved one more often.)
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