Bloodborne - 151 Old Hunter Henryk

Eileen looked at Surgit in silence, long enough to make him feel uncomfortable. “The old hoonter is my mark. Leave the hoonting of hoonters to me.” Surgit could only guess the woman’s state of mind from her speech. She wasn’t hostile to him, but she didn’t invite him to the party either. “I can be useful. I want to get to Central Yharnam and that old man will be in my way. I can either try and fight him by myself, or you can accept my help and our chances at winning will increase.”

Eileen let out a sigh and looked at Surgit. He could feel her eying him from behind that mask. ‘I wonder what wrinkles that woman is hiding with that hideous mask.’ From her voice and tone, Surgit was pretty certain that the woman was at least middle-aged. He couldn’t help but admire her tenacity. Fighting beasts and hunters at that age must be difficult.

Eileen knew that Surgit wouldn’t back away. She had no quarrel with him and, she couldn’t deny it, his help would make the fight less strenuous. “Something must’ve happened to make that old man go crazy.” Eileen muttered to herself. She remembered meeting this young hunter while she looked for Gascoigne.

“Did you kill Father Gascoigne?” she asked. Eileen wasn’t sure. There were many new visitors to the city lately.

Surgit nodded without saying a word. He was surprised by the woman’s question but didn’t dare make any comment. He didn’t know anything about her background. He dreaded offending her. Surgit was sure that she was stronger than him. He even suspected that she could fight evenly against the hunter that invaded them all.

What frightened Surgit was her garb. It was similar to what Gavril wore when he invaded them. If that woman was his partner, offending her would bring him continuous suffering. ‘She asked if I killed Gascoigne. She must have a strong suspicion that it was me. I can’t lie to her and cover my story now, might as well go with the truth. If she doesn’t like it, then I’ll use the other hunter to kill her.’

Surgit couldn’t trust other hunters easily. People were easy to intimidate, but a hunter was a different story. After another long silence from Eileen, she walked towards the graveyard and Surgit followed. Eileen pointed down at the spot where he had killed Gascoigne before. “Normal people can’t see it but if you use your insight, you clearly feel Gascoigne’s aura in there. He was falling apart. It had to be done.” She looked at Surgit then went on. “Hoonter must hoont beasts. Try to keep your hands clean, and leave the hoonting of hoonters to me.”

After she finished speaking, Eileen jumped down and ran towards a hunter clad in yellow. Surgit noticed the man turning around and elongating his saw cleaver. The hunter had very simple weapons, a saw cleaver and a hunter’s pistol, the same set Surgit started with. Surgit sat down and observed the fight from above.

‘If that woman doesn’t need my help, then I’ll just observe and learn. Two hunters fighting each other is a great opportunity for me to learn a thing or two.’ His eyes were glued on Eileen. Her resemblance to Gavril filled him with dread. He didn’t dare provoke her.

There was something worse than death in Yharnam, and that was being hunter by a powerful hunter. No matter how many times he’d die, the woman will be there to kill him again. That was sufficient to deter him from taking part in the fight. He didn’t want to invite the monster inside him to surge out again. That would definitely invite her wrath upon him.

Eileen’s hunt was related to hunters who had gone mad. What she said about Gascoigne and Henryk was enough to confirm Surgit’s theory. If she realized that he had a dormant monster inside of him, he’d be her next target.

Below Surgit the fight was intense. Seeing two powerful hunters duking it out made Surgit’s blood boil. He wanted to take part in the fight but he suppressed himself. Their movement was fast and Henryk had a slight advantage over the old woman. However, the weapon Eileen used made Surgit focus on her more.

She could split her sword in two and land quick blows on Henryk. If it was Surgit, he would die after three or four attacks. Eileen’s movement was extremely fast, but when dual wielding her swords, her speed increased exponentially. Surgit could barely keep up with his eyes.

Henryk on the other hand used his pistol to slow her down. He wasn’t aiming for a visceral, he just wanted to slow her down and retaliate. He was successful at that. Every time Eileen was stopped by a bullet, he would instantly come close and strike with his cleaver.

The fight had just started but Eileen was already at a disadvantage. Surgit watched closely. He wanted to see if the woman was capable of getting out on top after this. Her crow feather cape was lacking some feathers and her mask was already dented. Henryk wasn’t easy to deal with.

“The beasts cannot be stopped! What good are hunters now? Your blood is mine!” Eileen shouted as she shot Henryk the moment he tried to retreat. While dual wielding, she could only push him back and receive a shot. But when Eileen changed tactics, the fight instantly turned favorable. She’d relentlessly attack and push Henryk to retreat and shoot. When the latter took his pistol to shoot, she’d immediately fuse the swords together and dodge the shot aimed at her. She would then shoot the hunter, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

“A hunter’s blood for me! Your punishment is death! Death to the hunters! Enough of this terrible dream!” Eileen’s enraged voice reached Surgit above. She quickstepped after dodging a bullet, then stood in front of Henryk, ready to deal the final blow. The latter didn’t waste any time and jumped backwards. Surgit saw a subtle movement from Henryk then the woman let out a painful groan.

Two more quick motions from Henryk and three knives were embedded in Eileen’s body, two in her legs and one dangerously close to her neck. The throwing knives were thrown by Henryk with extreme precision. ‘Old hunters are frightening. If I fought him instead of Gascoigne, I’m afraid I would’ve gone crazy.’ Surgit was amazed by both hunters’ skills.

Eileen took the knives out and threw them at Henryk, causing him to back away. She instantly injected herself with a blood vial and pressed on. “Few hunters can resist the intoxication of the hunt.” Eileen shouted as she jumped to the side and disappeared. She merged with the darkness in the tomb. Her black garb made it easier for her to eclipse herself.

Henryk looked around, searching for Eileen. His eyes locked on Surgit. The loss of an old friend had caused Henryk to go mad. When he saw Surgit and felt Gascoigne’s aura in him, he let out a frightening roar. Surgit’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t expect this old hunter to quickly focus his attention on him.

“Look at you, just the same as all the rest… The hunters must die… The nightmare must end… Only I can stop this madness! The hunt makes hunters mad!” Two swords flashed and landed on Henryk’s back. The old hunter fell on his knees and Eileen struck again. She brought her swords down with all her force behind it. She aimed to kill and end this difficult fight.

Henryk wasn’t willing to go down easily though, especially after he found his old friend’s killer. He let out another roar and Eileen was expelled backwards. Surgit coldly looked at the old hunter from above. He jumped down and walked towards him. His heart beat heavily as he slowly approached.

In an instant, Henryk closed the gap and was about to strike. One bullet landed on the old hunter’s chest and brought him down to his knees. With a visceral attack, Surgit destroyed the old hunter’s insides. He made sure to rampage inside the old man’s body, leaving him no chance of survival. It was his only shot and he had to make it count.

Eileen got up and joined Surgit.

“That wasn’t necessary of you… But you have my thanks. We made it with our lives. You’re not bad at all.” If Surgit could see behind the plague doctor’s mask, he’d see Eileen smiling. The beast roar used by Henryk shocked her. If he had recovered, she would have undoubtedly died to him.