Alex quickly returned to the elevator that led straight to the bridge he needed to cross to reach the tomb behind Oedon's Chapel. On his way to the elevator, Alex didn't even pay attention to the two mini-giants who had finally beaten each other to death with their huge bricks. The only one who noticed the mini-giants was the black cat lying on Alex's shoulders.
Without jumping off Alex's shoulders, the Black Cat collected the Blood Echoes from the bodies of the two mini-giants and fell asleep again. Alex paid no attention to any of this; his thoughts were occupied with only one thing. Holding the small music box he had received from Vivian in his hands, Alex thought only about saving Gascoigne to prevent the tragic fate that awaited this family.
Entering the elevator, Alex stepped on the floor plate that activated it. As the elevator began descending, Alex looked at the music box in his hand and sighed slightly, putting it back into his pocket.
After putting the music box away, Alex sighed again, feeling that he needed a short break after all that wandering around Yharnam. When the elevator reached the bottom, Alex stepped out and walked toward the bridge that led to the tomb behind Oedon's Chapel.
"Alright… The plan is simple: kill the beast inside Gascoigne, reach Oedon's Chapel, get Vivian and the old woman out of Central Yharnam, and then I can rest," Alex muttered, looking at the bridge in front of him.
"Meow…" the black cat meowed, opening one eye and looking at Alex.
"Yes, I remember I still need to upgrade the weapon for Carmilla. That's why we came back to Central Yharnam in the first place," Alex said, shaking his head at the black cat's words.
"Meow…" the black cat meowed, stretching slightly and sitting up on Alex's shoulder.
"What I was doing was also important," Alex said, rolling his eyes slightly.
The black cat said nothing more and jumped off Alex's shoulders, running ahead across the bridge. Shaking his head, Alex followed the black cat, walking along the bridge. Stopping in the middle of the bridge, Alex looked toward the sunset. Seeing that the sun had almost disappeared below the horizon, Alex took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
The hands of the watch had not moved since the Cleric Beast had died. What Alex didn't know, and what raised several questions for him, was what would happen if he saved Father Gascoigne. After all, the progression of the entire cycle depended on Gascoigne's death, and further advancement toward the ending also depended on Gascoigne's death.
Looking at the frozen watch face, two theories surfaced in Alex's mind about what might happen. Either everything would reset after saving Gascoigne and the cycle would continue moving forward. Or whoever controlled this Nightmare would decide to put everything back in its place, which Alex definitely wanted to avoid.
Looking at the setting sun, Alex began thinking about how to avoid the most unpleasant outcome. After all, he only needed to kill the monster Gascoigne, not Gascoigne himself, who was still human inside.
"How I hate beings like you, Mergo," Alex said in a cold tone, looking in a certain direction.
"Meow…" the black cat meowed, appearing on the bridge railing next to Alex.
"Don't pay attention… Just another bunch of bastards who love playing with fate," Alex said, stroking the black cat on the head.
Stopping looking in the direction from which he sensed the presence of the Great One yet to be born, Alex continued across the bridge. Alex could feel the presence of the Great Ones very clearly. But for now, he had no intention of paying attention to them. After all, he would reach them soon enough and kill them.
He had more than enough time to break this endless cycle of the hunt and kill those responsible. Smiling slightly, Alex crossed the bridge leading to Oedon's tomb. Climbing the steps and ignoring the burned corpse of the mini-giant, Alex began walking forward slowly.
After climbing the steps, Alex continued onward. As soon as he walked a little further, a scene of slaughter appeared before his eyes. The entire alley was flooded with blood and the bodies of decapitated Yharnam residents who had already partially turned into beasts.
But what seemed strange to Alex was why Gascoigne had left the maddened residents standing on the bridge untouched, while turning this area into a full-blown massacre. Shifting his gaze to the side, Alex saw that a trail of blood led toward a long stone staircase that went straight up to Oedon's tomb.
"This is strange. In the game, he didn't leave the graveyard. But here he carried out a real slaughter…" Alex said, stroking his chin.
"Meow…" the black cat meowed, jumping from Alex's shoulder onto the nearest stone pillar.
"What happened in the game and what's happening here is almost the same… Perhaps these are just minor glitches that simply weren't in the game," Alex said, stopping stroking his chin.
"Meow…" the black cat meowed, nodding her head slightly.
"I won't say you're wrong. But anything is possible… Maybe he killed these Yharnam residents before he went mad from the blood," Alex said, nodding slightly.
The black cat said nothing more and simply flicked her tail toward the staircase, hinting that he should start climbing. Alex rolled his shoulders to loosen up. After all, he had already gotten used to the fact that he would have to hold back during the fight so as not to destroy everything around him.
Stopping his warm-up, Alex began climbing the steps leading upward, stepping over decapitated corpses and pools of blood on the stairs. The higher he climbed, the clearer he heard the sound of an axe sinking into flesh. Reaching the end of the steps, the sound of the axe blade plunging into flesh became even more distinct.
Looking at the archway that would lead him into the graveyard at Oedon's tomb, Alex immediately moved forward. Passing through the arch, he saw an old abandoned graveyard with dozens of tombstones already tilted from age. And in the middle of all these tombstones stood a tall pedestal.
The silence of the graveyard was broken only by the sound of the axe repeatedly sinking into flesh. Walking past the tombstones, Alex saw Father Gascoigne himself standing near the staircase that led to Oedon's Chapel. At that moment, Gascoigne paid no attention to the fact that someone else had appeared in the graveyard.
He simply continued plunging the blade of his axe into the body of an already dead Yharnam resident. Gascoigne was dressed in black clerical clothing and the hat of the Healing Church. His entire outfit was soaked with the blood of dozens of people he had already killed since the hunt began.
Approaching a little closer, Alex heard Gascoigne's ragged, heavy breathing and the grinding of his teeth with every swing of the axe, as if all that remained in him was unquenchable rage and the madness of blood that had consumed him. Getting close enough, Alex saw what was left of the corpse of the Yharnam resident who had turned into a beast.
What Gascoigne was plunging his axe into could only be called minced meat consisting of fur, flesh, and bones. Plunging the axe blade into the beast's minced meat once more, Gascoigne slowly raised the axe, breathing heavily. He slowly turned his head and looked at Alex.
Alex himself was currently looking at the very essence of Gascoigne to see if the man could still be saved. And what Alex saw made him smile: half of Gascoigne's essence still remained human, even though it was slowly being consumed by the maddened beastly half.
"Nothing but monsters around… young hunter," Gascoigne said, focusing his cloudy gaze on Alex.
"If you're talking about what's under your feet… then it's hard to call that thing a monster, Father," Alex said in a calm tone, leaning against a tombstone and not taking his eyes off Gascoigne.
"Soon you will become one of them… sooner or later… you will… So allow me to put you to rest before you become a monster," Gascoigne said in a quiet voice with a faint beastly growl between the words.
"Old man, maybe we can make a deal? I don't want to kill you," Alex said, frowning slightly.
In response to Alex's words, Gascoigne's cloudy eyes began to resemble those of a maddened beast. Gascoigne sharply raised his hunter's blunderbuss and aimed it at Alex. Without waiting for Alex's next words or reaction, Gascoigne pulled the trigger.
In the same instant, quicksilver shot flew from the blunderbuss barrel toward Alex. Seeing this, Alex drew the Kirkhammer from behind his back and held it in front of himself. All the quicksilver shot hit the stone hammer, which blocked the blast. Lowering the Kirkhammer, Alex looked at Gascoigne, who, gripping his axe, rushed toward him.
Alex sharply leaned back, rolling over the tombstone he had been sitting on. In the same moment, the axe blade crashed into the stone tombstone with a crunch, completely destroying it. Gripping the Hunter Axe in his hands, Gascoigne raised his maddened gaze to Alex and let out a low growl.
Holding the Hunter Axe in one hand and the hunter's blunderbuss in the other, Gascoigne lunged at Alex, who stood a couple of steps away. Gascoigne instantly closed the distance and delivered an upward strike with the axe, leaving clear marks on the ground.
Before the axe blade could touch Alex, he took a step back, dodging the blow. And at the exact moment when the axe blade was level with his chest, Gascoigne activated the mechanism on the axe handle. In the same instant, the handle extended, and the sharp tip at the end of the axe shot toward Alex's chest. Once again, Alex raised the Kirkhammer in front of himself, blocking the strike.
The sharp tip slammed into the stone hammer, forcing Alex to slide across the ground and leaving clear tracks in the damp dirt. Gascoigne gripped the extended handle of his axe with both hands, continuing to press against Alex. Alex himself narrowed his eyes slightly, shielding himself with the Kirkhammer. Alex tilted the Kirkhammer slightly to the side, and the sharp tip of the axe slid along the stone hammer, leaving a distinct mark.
Because Gascoigne had put so much force into his arms, he immediately lost his balance the moment his axe slipped to the side. The instant Gascoigne lost his balance, Alex stepped forward and appeared right next to him. Striking the Kirkhammer against the ground, Alex braced his hand on the iron handle and immediately swung his leg.
Spinning sharply, Alex delivered a kick, using the stone hammer's handle as support, and struck Gascoigne in the chest. At the very last moment, Gascoigne raised the extended axe handle in front of himself to block the kick.
But the moment Alex's foot touched the axe handle, Gascoigne was sent flying backward with a loud crack, destroying dozens of stone tombstones with his body. After knocking Gascoigne back, Alex stood up and rested the Kirkhammer on his shoulder, looking in the direction where Gascoigne had flown.
"I hope after that hit he doesn't turn into a beast," Alex said, stroking his chin.
Stroking his chin, Alex turned his gaze back and looked at the archway through which he had entered the graveyard. Just like on the Cathedral Bridge where Alucard had fought the Cleric Beast, this area was also sealed off by fog — one could enter through it, but not leave.
After examining the fog on the Cathedral Bridge, Alex had realized that this fog served as a one-way portal into a small subspace that could simply be called a "boss arena."
And therefore, creatures like the Cleric Beast, Gascoigne, and other similar unique beings were important triggers that made the cycle move forward. And what Alex had already partially confirmed was that these unique beings contained a much higher concentration of the Great Ones' blood than ordinary creatures.
Continuing to ponder this phenomenon that the game called boss monsters, Alex suddenly jerked to the side, dodging a blast of quicksilver shot aimed at his back. Gascoigne, whom he had sent flying, was already back on his feet and didn't look like he had suffered from the blow to the chest.
After firing, Gascoigne quickly reloaded his blunderbuss and fired at Alex again. Dodging another blast of quicksilver shot, Alex positioned himself behind a stone tombstone and kicked it. Stone fragments from the tombstone flew toward Gascoigne.
Gascoigne sharply jumped to the side and rolled, avoiding the stone shards. He rolled behind another tombstone and immediately fired back at Alex. Alex turned sideways, and all the quicksilver shot flew past him. While Gascoigne was reloading his blunderbuss, Alex drew the Repeating Pistol from under his coat and began firing back.
Even though Gascoigne had gone mad from the blood, he was still a hunter and knew how to fight. Using the stone tombstones as cover, Gascoigne rolled from side to side, shooting back at Alex. Even in his blood madness, Gascoigne stared at Alex as if he were prey.
Alex remained in the same spot and continued shooting at Gascoigne, deliberately aiming only at the tombstones to force him to come closer. When Gascoigne rolled once again, he hid behind a dead tree, and the click of the mechanism activating was heard as the handle of his axe extended.
Alex lowered the Repeating Pistol and hid it under his coat. Grabbing the silver sword's handle, he detached it from the stone hammer and looked at the dead tree where Gascoigne was hiding. In that same moment, Gascoigne leaped out from behind the tree with a beastly roar and jumped, swinging the Hunter Axe.
In mid-air, Gascoigne swung, gripping the extended handle of the Hunter Axe with both hands, and brought it down from above. Alex watched as the axe blade approached him and raised the silver sword to block the strike.
The moment Alex raised the sword above his head, the axe blade collided with the sword blade, sending sparks flying in all directions. Gascoigne gripped the axe handle with both hands and pushed downward, continuing to emit a beastly growl. Alex held the silver sword with one hand, blocking the strike, and looked into Gascoigne's maddened eyes.
"Why does it feel like I'm the boss monster and not you," Alex said with ease, pushing the axe blade away with the silver sword.
"Aaah, the sweet stench of blood. Simply… simply wonderful!" Gascoigne said, delivering another wide swing with his axe.
"Old man, stop sniffing everything, it's weird," Alex said, once again pushing the axe blade away.
Gascoigne once again ignored Alex and growled again after being pushed back. Changing his grip on the extended handle of the Hunter Axe, Gascoigne spun sharply, performing a circular swing. Alex took a step back, avoiding the strike, and continued observing Gascoigne's essence.
He saw that the human and beast sides inside Gascoigne were still struggling. Alex even thought that he might not need to use his abilities to save Gascoigne. Thinking about this, Alex smiled slightly and continued dodging Gascoigne's powerful wide swings. Gascoigne swung his axe, smashing everything around him, including the stone tombstones.
With every moment, Gascoigne began swinging his axe more and more furiously. And in all his swings there were fewer and fewer human movements, making him look like a beast with a weapon in its hands. Gradually, Gascoigne began giving in to his beastly side, more strength appeared in his arms, and his eyes began to fill with blood.
At that moment, Alex's eyes narrowed as he noticed it. Alex saw that the beastly side in Gascoigne's soul had finally begun to consume the human side. And it was happening quite quickly.
"Alright, time to end this. Any longer and you'll fully become a beast, old man," Alex said, stepping aside to avoid the strike.
The Hunter Axe blade crashed into the ground with a thunderous sound, with such force that stone shards flew in all directions and a clear dent appeared in the earth itself. Alex stepped on the axe handle, preventing Gascoigne from lifting it. Swinging his arm, Alex plunged the silver sword into the ground beside him, and Yamato instantly appeared in his hand.
With one swift motion, Alex drew Yamato from its sheath and pierced Gascoigne's chest. The moment Yamato's blade sank into his chest, Gascoigne froze in place. A moment later, his body began to shake violently, and he raised his face to the sky and let out a very loud beastly roar.
Immediately after the loud beastly roar, Gascoigne's body went limp, and behind him towered a tall beast dressed in the torn clothing of a Healing Church priest. Gascoigne's beastly side looked like a half-transformed werewolf with gray hair and bandages covering its face and eyes.
Having separated Gascoigne's human and beastly sides with Yamato, Alex grabbed the unconscious Gascoigne by the collar and tossed him behind his back. Gascoigne's beastly side let out another loud howl, as if celebrating its freedom.
"You can shut up! You underdeveloped werewolf!" Alex said, striking the beastly side of Gascoigne across the face with Yamato's sheath.
From Alex's blow, the underdeveloped werewolf flew backward, crashing its back into a stone statue that immediately shattered. The underdeveloped werewolf fell to the ground, and its body was buried under pieces of the destroyed stone statue. Alex had not lied when he called Gascoigne's beastly side an underdeveloped werewolf.
It was all because of the appearance of this werewolf, which looked as if it had only transformed halfway. A wolfish muzzle with a partially elongated face and a wide maw where human teeth still remained instead of wolf fangs, a hunched back, elongated arms with long clawed fingers, and human legs with sharp claws on the toes.
The appearance of such a werewolf only caused disgust in Alex. Looking at the pile of rubble under which the underdeveloped werewolf lay, Alex shifted his gaze to the unconscious Gascoigne. Alex's eyes flashed for a moment, and he saw that Gascoigne was no longer bound to this place, while his beastly side was still the core of this separate space.
What interested Alex the most was that inside Gascoigne there was no longer any trace of the Great Ones' blood, nor any trace of madness. Seeing this, Alex thought for a moment, and a theory formed in his head about what was happening.
"I'll need to test this… But first, this mutant," Alex said, turning his head back.
The moment Alex turned his head, pieces of the statue flew in all directions, and the underdeveloped werewolf crawled out from under the rubble, having fully taken its beastly form. Seeing this, Alex whistled slightly in surprise. Using magical vision, he saw that changes were occurring inside the beastly part of Gascoigne.
That tiny amount of the Great Ones' blood inside the beastly part of Gascoigne was pushing the werewolf toward further transformation into a more horrifying beastly form. The muzzle began to elongate even more, small horns started to sprout on its forehead like those of the Cleric Beast, the claws became sharper, and the legs fully became beast-like.
Dropping onto all fours, the werewolf let out a low growl, looking at Alex as its prey. Noticing that the werewolf was looking at him as food, Alex raised an eyebrow slightly and dismissed Yamato, sending it away.
"What a cute little doggy… But unfortunately for you, there is only one werewolf in my life, and that is my wife Enid," Alex said, taking several steps forward and pulling the silver sword that was stuck in the ground.
Pulling the silver sword out of the ground, Alex approached the stone hammer lying nearby. He calmly inserted the sword blade into the stone hammer's handle. Lifting the Kirkhammer with one hand, Alex rested it on his shoulder and took a step forward. Alex instantly appeared next to the werewolf, already with the Kirkhammer raised above his head.
Alex swung the stone hammer downward sharply, aiming at the werewolf's limb. The werewolf didn't have time to react before the stone hammer crashed down on its front leg, instantly crushing it. The werewolf howled in pain and swung its remaining paw, aiming its claws at Alex's chest.
Alex smiled slightly and raised the iron handle of the stone hammer to block the claw strike. The claws collided with the iron handle, sending sparks flying with a metallic clang. Stepping on the stone hammer to prevent the werewolf from pulling its paw free, Alex drew the Repeating Pistol from under his coat.
"Wasting bullets is inefficient when the target is this close," Alex said, spinning the Repeating Pistol in his hand.
Grabbing the Repeating Pistol by the barrel, Alex swung and struck the werewolf in the face with the handle. Alex began delivering a series of strikes with the pistol handle directly to the werewolf's head. With every blow, blood from the werewolf's head flew in all directions. After just a few strikes, the sound of cracking bones could be heard.
Stopping the strikes to the werewolf's head, Alex saw that in the place where he had hit, a chunk of flesh was missing, exposing the shattered skull with a missing piece. The werewolf itself was in no condition to react and could only emit a tired whimpering sound.
For the first few strikes the werewolf had still tried to resist, but soon all its attempts quickly ended. Turning the Repeating Pistol in his hands, Alex gripped the bloodied handle and pressed the barrel against the werewolf's exposed skull.
"I thought fighting you would be much more interesting, little doggy," Alex said, calmly looking down at the werewolf from above.
In response to Alex's words, the werewolf raised its gaze and sharply jerked its head. The werewolf sank its fangs into its own arm, which was pinned under the stone hammer. With one sharp jerk of its head, the werewolf bit off its own arm and instantly leaped backward. Seeing this, Alex was slightly surprised and lifted the brim of his hunter's hat a little to look at the werewolf.
The werewolf itself, having jumped away from Alex, clutched its stump with its remaining paw — the one it had bitten off itself. Even though the werewolf's eyes were still wrapped in bloodied bandages, its gaze was fixed on Alex. The werewolf's chest heaved heavily, and it sharply raised its head toward the sky where the pale moon had risen and let out a loud howl.
The werewolf's body began to glow with a strange white light as it howled. In the same moment, there was a powerful bang that caused destruction all around. Alex slightly covered his face with his hand so the dust wouldn't get in his eyes.
Lowering his hand, he saw that the werewolf had transformed into a huge beast-like creature with red fur dripping with blood. The werewolf now resembled the Cleric Beast, only more complete.
It now had two massive arms from which blood dripped, red deer antlers that looked as if entrails were hanging from them, and from its eyes — still covered by bloodied bandages — bloody tears flowed.
"I admit… I didn't expect this. But why did you turn out like this?" Alex said in a surprised tone, looking at the transformed werewolf.
Alex understood that no one was going to answer his question. But he was genuinely curious why Gascoigne's beastly side had ultimately transformed into a version of the Bloody Cleric Beast. Alex's eyes flashed as he activated magical vision. And before he could examine anything, the Bloody Cleric Beast attacked first.
Alex grabbed his stone hammer with one hand and instantly jumped backward. Dodging the Bloody Cleric Beast's strikes, Alex carefully examined the essence of this creature. And all Alex saw inside the Bloody Cleric Beast's essence was that the Great Ones' blood within its body had pushed Gascoigne's beastly side toward such a transformation.
Alex had a theory that it was connected to Gascoigne's blood madness. And since all of Gascoigne's madness had gone to his beastly side, it had led to this kind of transformation into the Bloody Cleric Beast. While Alex dodged the Bloody Cleric Beast's strikes, pondering the specific reasons for such a mutation, the beast itself swung its massive paws, smashing everything around it.
During one of the Bloody Cleric Beast's swings, Alex jumped upward and landed on the beast's head. Alex's gaze instantly caught on the steps leading to Oedon's Chapel. And his gaze smoothly shifted to the building. In that same moment, Alex remembered the corpse of Vivian's mother and Gascoigne's wife, whom he had killed with his own hands.
Remembering this, Alex jumped, dodging the Bloody Cleric Beast's paw, and, spinning in the air, struck the beast's back with the stone hammer. Immediately there was the sound of breaking bones, and the beast let out a cry of pain after its spine was shattered.
The bones of the spine and ribs protruded from its back, and the Bloody Cleric Beast began slamming its massive paws against the ground, trying to get up. But its legs no longer obeyed, and all it could do was try to stand and howl in pain.
"I almost forgot about her… Lucky that this creature only destroyed this part of the graveyard," Alex said, shaking his head while standing to the side and looking at the Bloody Cleric Beast.
Watching the Bloody Cleric Beast try to stand, Alex simply yawned lazily and lowered the cloth mask that covered half of his face. Taking a cigarette from his pocket, Alex leaned on the handle of the Kirkhammer lying nearby and slowly lit it, releasing smoke into the sky where the moon hung. Alex understood that this was the end of the battle.
After all, the Bloody Cleric Beast would not be able to regenerate such an injury as a shattered spine and ribs. Slowly smoking his cigarette, Alex watched as the Bloody Cleric Beast began crawling toward him very quickly. Clenching the cigarette between his teeth, Alex grabbed the stone hammer and rested it on his shoulder.
And before the Bloody Cleric Beast could crawl all the way to Alex, he himself walked over to it. Alex placed his foot on the Bloody Cleric Beast's muzzle, literally pressing the beast's face into the graveyard soil and preventing it from moving.
"This was quite educational and interesting. Here's my farewell gift," Alex said, raising the stone hammer above his head.
Without waiting for any reaction from the Bloody Cleric Beast, Alex brought the hammer down on the beast's head. The stone hammer fell onto the beast's head, and in the same moment the Bloody Cleric Beast's head exploded in a bloody fountain, spraying everything around. After crushing the Bloody Cleric Beast's head, Alex, without changing his expression, lifted the stone hammer and rested it on his shoulder.
But Alex had forgotten one important fact. Before he could take the cigarette out of his mouth, the Bloody Cleric Beast's body exploded in a bloody firework, and the beast's blood flew in all directions. Holding his hand near his face, fingers clenched around the cigarette, Alex's gaze at that moment was completely blank.
His entire hunter's outfit instantly turned red with blood, including his face, except for the small area near his mouth that he had covered with his hand while gripping the cigarette with his fingers.
Looking at the tall stone fence of Oedon's graveyard, Alex tiredly exhaled cigarette smoke and wiped the blood from his face with the inside of his small cloak that hung from his shoulders. Looking around, Alex saw only a scene as if a huge container of blood had exploded near him.
"Well, it could have been worse. I could have fallen underground again," Alex said, exhaling cigarette smoke.
"Meow…" the black cat's meow sounded nearby.
Alex slowly turned his head and saw the black cat sitting on a barely intact tombstone a few meters away from him. Alex could see from the black cat's eyes that she was laughing at him. Taking a drag of cigarette smoke, Alex pointed at his blood-soaked clothes and at his surroundings, drenched in the Bloody Cleric Beast's blood.
The black cat narrowed her eyes slightly and nimbly jumped onto the next tombstone. Jumping onto the tombstone next to Alex, the black cat opened her mouth full of sharp shark-like teeth and began absorbing the surrounding Blood Echoes of the Bloody Cleric Beast.
After watching the black cat for a bit, Alex took out his pocket watch from his pocket and saw that the hand had moved again, indicating that evening had come. Raising his gaze to the sky where the moon hung, Alex nodded slightly. Lowering his gaze, he looked toward the graveyard archway through which he had entered. And he saw that the fog that had sealed the passage had also disappeared.
"So I only need to destroy the Beast… I should test this on Amelia. She's next on the list," Alex said in a thoughtful tone, putting the pocket watch back in his pocket.
While Alex was deep in thought, the black cat finished absorbing the Blood Echoes of the Bloody Cleric Beast and jumped onto Alex's shoulder. Throwing away his extinguished cigarette, Alex lightly ran his finger along the black cat's chin, causing her to purr again. Stopping petting the black cat, Alex shifted his gaze to Gascoigne, who was still unconscious.
Thinking that there was only a little left and he would be able to return to the Hunter's Dream, Alex sighed heavily and walked toward Gascoigne to wake up this hunter who was no longer mad. And fortunately for Alex himself, he had managed to save this man, which meant that Vivian would not suffer the terrible fate she had faced cycle after cycle.
It also meant that Gascoigne's older daughter would survive and would not decide to end her life after losing all her loved ones. Smiling slightly, Alex approached Gascoigne and sat down on the nearest tombstone, looking at the unconscious man.
To be continued...
(So, Gascoigne is saved, and I can afford to do it. To hell with tragic endings. Sure, I could just kill Gascoigne and then adopt his daughters. But I'm aiming for a happy ending. So, the rest of the story is a return to the hunter's dream, a little cuddle with Doll, and then the Cathedral Ward with Alucard. I've been thinking about it for a while now. Anyway, I'll go get something to eat. Anything else related to the plot, you can ask if you're interested. Peace, love, and the pale moon has risen.)
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