I don't own Bloodborne or Dorohedoro
Please enjoy this new story to your heart's content!
Old Blood of the New World
Chapter 1: Unfurling Chaos
Screams most horrific filled the alleyway, yet none escaped Maru's lips. Though a part of him desperately wished to let out even the tiniest of squeaks, the air in his lungs refused to leave its cramped dwellings. Clogging his throat till he almost choked on his own stale breath. But another part of him was glad that he couldn't inhale anything. If he did, he knew he would've gagged on the stench that fumed from the gaping corpses that littered the tightly narrow corridor. What started out as a group of five, including a Sorcerer who ambushed them moments earlier, only Maru remained. Limbs ripped apart, torn askew, guts mashed together into a squishy goo, and blood painting the run down walls till it dripped into a river of crimson. It couldn't be described as a simple murder, a serial killing performed by a mad man, or even an experiment gone wrong by a Sorcerer.
It was a slaughter.
And there, at the center of carnage, was the blood-stained beast. It was unlike anything Maru had ever seen; bending over on all fours with sharp claws to easily rip open fragile flesh and gorged upon soft entrails. Bones snapped painfully with every crunch from its horrible jaw, allowing its dagger-like fangs, sharper and more terrible than anything in Hole, to easily tear apart the organs and other soft bits that made for its meal. Even in the dark of the night, Maru could clearly see those awful fangs. However flickering light from a nearby decrepit lamppost illuminated the rest of the horror in fitful bouts of power. It had dark black fur that, though matted and stained with blood, easily melded with the shadows of the alley, as if the thing was part of darkness itself. Yet the worse thing, Maru thought with what little functioning part of his brain that hadn't been overtaken by overwhelming fear, was its eyes. They were pure white and glowed unnaturally even in the shadows. Just staring at the cold, insatiable, and blood thirsty whites froze Maru's very soul.
Why... Why did this happen to me?! His thoughts repeated the same question over and over till his brain felt like it was pounding its way out of his skull. Of course, there was no answer. It was just the cruel twist of fate that he happened to be out drinking with his friends that night and took a wrong turn back home. He thought that the Sorcerer that had stopped them was by far the worst thing that was going to happen, but before the man could unleash his smoke, that's when it struck. Gutting him from behind till its claws protruded out the man's chest, the Sorcerer didn't have the chance to scream as the beast tore into his throat with dreadful hunger. However Maru's friends made up for the lack of audible terror, yelling and screaming at the horror that unfurled in front of them before turning to flee. That was their first and last mistake. Throwing the Sorcerer's bloody body into the wall with popping splat, the beast lunged forth, tearing into everyone until only Maru remained. All he could do was cower into some nearby garbage, completely petrified, and prayed to God that he wouldn't be next as the beast devoured the ruined bodies.
Fate, or perhaps even God himself, proved to be a cruel master. The beast looked up from its putrid feast, its unnatural whites gleaming in the faint light. It snarled menacingly, a horrid sound that sent Maru's flesh crawling, before skulking forward. Every step it took over the torn entrails set off a sickening squish and sometimes a faint pop as it drew closer. After all the devilish quick movements it made earlier, Maru knew immediately that it was now just toying with him. Or perhaps simply savoring the gushing fear that leaked out of its prey in more ways than one. Either way, Maru made one last silent prayer, still unable to find the courage to breathe, and waited for his horrific end to come.
The beast was ten paces away now and already a claw extended out to pierce Maru's bloodshot eyes. Yet it stopped just short a single centimeter from its target. Flinching from the pointy tip, Maru blinked in wonderment. Why… did it stop? He should be dead and yet the thing had yet to move to finish the job. Suddenly the beast pulled back, confusing its prey even further before sniffing the air. Taking in a few throaty breaths, the thing growled and then suddenly turned. Blinking at the abrupt change, Maru's mind still tried to process what just happened until he saw something over the beast, deep within the dark beyond the lamplight.
Heavy taps echoed throughout the alleyway, drawing closer before a tall figure walked out of the dark. It was a man. Dressed from head to toe in dark clothing, he wore a gray duster coat that covered up most of his body, leaving open his chest that allowed Maru to see a belt that held all kinds of savage-looking tools. Metal braces adorn his black gauntlets and his leather boots were strange and foreign in design though Maru could see the age they held and the scars that covered them. Atop his head was a frayed tricorn hat that shadowed the upper half of his face while the lower half was covered up by a black bandana. In his right hand looked like a cleaver, yet the edge was jagged with ridges, while the left held an ancient pistol from a time long forgotten. Despite the fact he couldn't see his face that well, not helped by the darkness and the distance between them, Maru could see one last thing that made him shudder. It was the man's blood red eyes that glared unflinchingly at the beast.
The creature barked and growled at the man which shocked Maru. Its cries up to this point were ones of malicious intent and predatory hunger, but now… Now it sounded cornered. Suddenly it howled, an earsplitting shriek that forced Maru to slap his hands over his ears. Yet the newcomer didn't flinch. If anything the man took a step forward, a quick gait that didn't go unnoticed. Not even finished with its howl, the creature lunged at the man, its claws scrapping along the walls of the narrow corridor with an angry hiss. To Maru's utter amazement, the sharp, flesh tearing digits never found their target.
Swift as the night itself, the stranger closed the distance before the monster could and slammed his saw into its side. Though his next motion was quick as lightning, Maru shuddered at the painful rip that erupted along with the chunk of torn flesh and bloody hide. The beast howled painfully, sweeping its claws around in fury, causing sparks to shine from rusted pipe and aged stone. Yet once again they couldn't find their mark. Pulling back for a moment, the stranger stood still as the beast lunged forth again, its arms wide open in horrible imitation of a hug. At the last second, just when the monster's sickly saliva nearly touched him, the man raised his gun and fired. Stumbling back with a pained wheeze, the beast clawed at the air, not noticing the baseball sized hole that bore into its chest. It was at that moment Maru could see a change in its eyes. No longer were they the eyes of a terror of the night. Now all he could see was the dreadful fear of prey facing an even more terrifying hunter.
With that realization in mind, the beast twitched back, but it was far too late. The stranger closed the distance again, his arm raised back before impaling it into his prey's heart. Great geysers of blood gushed out of the wound, splatter the walls and the man himself in a dark red hue. No sound escaped the creature for it didn't have the time to even draw breath. One second the man's hand was in its chest, the next yanking it out with the tattered and gory remnants of the heart. Like a deadwood tree finally succumbing to rot, the beast fell back with a heavy thud, its blood soaking the very stone of Hole. Without pause to admire his work, the stranger took out a device from under his coat—looking something like a blowtorch—before dousing the body in fire. The stench that erupted from the burning remains was suffocating.
Maru couldn't move, couldn't think. A part of him, deep down and buried under a cascade of emotion, felt relieved and happy that he miraculously survived the night. Yet in truth all he could feel in that moment was nothing. Numbness took him, not just as a result of his friends' death or the terrifying experience with the unspeakable creature. But also from the awful brutality he just witness from the dark clad stranger. Even the beast itself showed less savagery!
Suddenly the stranger turned around, his bloody gaze matching the great stains on his coat. Cold sweat clung to every inch of Maru's body the longer he met that terrifying stare, bubbling panic building in his stomach once more before pausing as something hit the floor in front of him. Blinking he looked down and saw that it was a bundle of clean bandages. Confused, but not wanting to offend his savior, he moved to grab them only to halt as the stranger turned and headed into the darkness.
"W-Wait!" called Maru, finally able to find the courage to draw breath. "W-Who are you?!" There were a multitude of questions he wanted to ask, but that was the only one that managed to escape his dry throat.
The stranger stopped in his tracks for a moment, his back facing Maru. Silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity with only the occasional flicker from the lamppost intruding on the moment. Finally the man spoke, "A hunter…" That was he said. Nothing more, nothing less. And like the shadows, he crept back into the dark, leaving behind the carnage in his wake and a very confused and traumatized sole survivor.
"Come on, Nikaido! Can't we just use all this stuff to make a ton of gyoza?" asked the tall, muscular man with the head of a lizard by the name of Kaiman. Though none could see it due to the gasmask covering his face, he was already salivating at the thought of devouring his favorite meal.
"Like I said, Kaiman, only a bit of it will go into gyoza this time," answered a muscular woman with blonde hair and sky-blue eyes easily carrying three heavy boxes filled with ingredients. "I do have to make other dishes for the rest of my paying customers, you know. The 'Hungry Bug' isn't called the 'Hungry Gyoza' after all!"
"It should be…"
Nikaido couldn't help smiling at her friend's favorite obsession. Her cooking had earned her more than once the appreciation and praise of many a customer, but with Kaiman, he practically lived off her gyoza. Even at the cost of her own expense, though truth be told, she didn't mind too much. "Tell you what, if you help carry my stuff the rest of the way back to the shop, I'll set you up with a special early bird gyoza dish on the house."
"Really?! You mean it?!"
"Oh course. Just as long as you keep your end of the deal."
"Done!" The lizard-man immediately swiped two boxes out of his friend's arms. "Whoo! This is going to be the easiest meal ticket ever."
Nikaido rolled her eyes. "You do realize this is only the first third of the trip I'm making, right? The next two trips I need to get some new heavy kitchen wares and two hundred pounds of raw meat for the party I'm hosting tomorrow."
"Then this is the third easiest meal I ever earned!" While normally carefree and lazy when it came to work, Kaiman always put his best foot forward for gyoza. "Just be sure to make my gyoza extra crispy tonight! I heard that if you—!"
"Hurry up, flathead!"
"You try hauling this guy across this bloody town after that damnable rain yesterday, bastard."
"Quit your bitching already. The sooner we get out of this shithole with this guy completing our stash, the faster we can get paid for bringing in nice new specimens."
Pausing at the sudden shouts, Kaiman and Nikaido turned towards a small alley opening to see three men dragging a tall black body bag around. While this could've been another common dirty dealing taking place in Hole, both knew that wasn't the case when they spotted detailed and varied masks adorning their faces. Combined with the fact that they addressed the bag as a person, it didn't take a genius to figure out who they were and what they were doing.
They were the constant terror of humanity and especially that of Hole: Sorcerers.
"Kaiman…" said Nikaido, carefully putting down her box before casually cracking her neck.
"Yeah, I know," declared Kaiman, throwing down his boxes with far less grace that they audibly squeaked the moment they touched the ground. "Heh. My luck just keeps delivering in spades today. Plus I get to work up an appetite!"
The two sauntered down the cramped alleyway cheerfully, the Sorcerers being too preoccupied carrying their goods to notice. In fact the ones carrying the body bag were grumbling so loudly that it obscured the footsteps of their stalkers. It was practically taking candy from some oversized man-children at this point, though neither Kaiman nor Nikaido felt an ounce of pity for any of them. Finally, after having enough of his associates bickering, the remaining Sorcerer summoned a Door in the darkest corner of the alley.
"There," he said, rubbing his temple over his fish-faced mask, "now would you lazy bastards finally stop being little—!" A sudden tap on his shoulder cut off whatever insult he had in mind. Turning around, he only got a glimpse razor sharp teeth before he was engulf in hot, sweaty darkness.
Both remaining Sorcerers skidded to a halt, blinking in disbelief at the sight of their friend's head being chowed down upon by a lizard-man. "Hodo!" yelled one of them, his mask that of insect with a great big horn at the forehead. Dropping his end of the body bag, he whipped out his fingers and shot out a plume of smoke at Kaiman. He was careful not to allow any to touch Hodo, watching with satisfaction as it covered the entirety of the lizard's sides. Yet that feeling gave way to shock when nothing happened. No pained screams, no agonizing transformation, and certainly not releasing his friend.
"What the hell…?" questioned the remaining Sorcerer. That was his first and last thought before a foot crushed his head into his neck. Blood spluttered out the destroyed seams of the man's squished flesh, his body still standing for a second as if not realizing his death, before quickly crumbling to the floor with the body bag under him. Crimsons lines stained its dark fabric and threatened to leak inside.
"That's one." Nikaido flicked the remaining gore off her shoe, but it had already seeped into the blue fabric of her pants. "Bit messier than I wanted… Oh well, guess it can't be helped."
"Y-You bitch!" shouted the Sorcerer with the bug mask. Raising a finger at the blonde, he released his smoke in a huge blast. It shrouded most of the alley, its mere touch causing protruding warts and unseemly mounds to appear before bursting open to reveal tiny worms. The insects fell like wiggling rain the further the dark cloud went with nothing spared in its wake. To any human, this was something out of a nightmare and a testament to a Sorcerer's superiority. The insect mask grinned at the thought the closer it got to the woman, eagerly awaiting the terror to take hold of her.
Instead of cowering, Nikaido jumped.
Leaping high onto a nearby sign, she scaled the walls easily till she was completely over the smoke. The Sorcerer's jaw fell to the floor only for his eyes to grow incredibly wide when Nikaido flipped off a rail and sailed directly at him. Stumbling around, he tried to get away, not even bothering to use his magic, but his movements were no quicker than being stuck in hot sludge. Several bone shattering cracks popped loudly the moment Nikaido's feet slammed into his back, completely breaking his spine into pieces.
Using the Sorcerer's body as a skateboard, Nikaido skidded across the alley till they both stopped just short of Kaiman. "You almost done, Kaiman?" she asked casually, dusting herself before hoping off the absolute ruin that was man's corpse.
"Pwatty Maach!" spluttered Kaiman, trails of spittle leaking out the sides of his jaw, covering the Sorcerer's head.
Nikaido frowned at the disgusting display. "We really need to talk about your manners."
"Sawwry!" Kaiman then yanked himself off the Sorcerer; the man's face oozing with salvia and blood leaking out the holes the sharp teeth had punctured. "Now then… What did the man in my mouth say?"
The man blinked, disoriented and unsure what just happened, before hesitantly answering the lizard-man. "He… H-He said 'You're not the one'."
"I see… Well that's too bad for the both of us, pal."
"W-Why?"
"Because that means you're going make a fine addition to this alleyway."
Kaiman only allowed the Sorcerer a moment to blink before slicing off his head. However he didn't stop there. With practiced ease, he sliced, diced, and split apart the body as it were made of hot butter. Blood splattered everywhere, adding to the crimson river that flowed down the alley till it pooled around the black body bag. Touching off the finality of the carnage was the sorcerer's Door fading away like smoke in a breeze. Wiping his blades on what remained of his victim's clothes, Kaiman slipped on his mask before stepping over spewed guts to give Nikaido a high five.
"Did you leave any for me?"
"About that, Kaiman…" She gestured to the wrecked bodies around them.
"Gaaaaaaaah! Dammit, Nikaido! You know the drill by the now!"
"Well they weren't exactly the cooperative types. Besides, I don't think low level mooks like them would be the ones that turned you into a lizard."
"I… well… shit, you have a point…" Pouting, Kaiman began to turn to leave, but paused when he spotted the reason why the Sorcerer's were in the alley to begin with. "Oh yeah. Those bastards were carrying a body around weren't they?"
"With the way there talking, it sounded more like their captive is alive."
"Hah! Sorcerer's taking people as pets now? Please."
"Well, if you're so sure, then why don't we check?"
"Fine, but if I'm right and this guy is a stiff, then you owe me a gyoza smorgasbord."
"And if I'm right, you're going to be washing the dishes of the banquet I'm hosting tomorrow."
"Deal!"
Satisfied at the idea of a shoo-in bet, Kaiman quickly walked over to the body bag. Moving the stump-necked Sorcerer's body out of the way, he quickly found the zipper and opened it hastily with Nikaido looking over his shoulder.
Inside was a very pale man that looked to be no later than in his late teens. His facial features were youthful, only added by a silver crescent moon earring in his right ear. Though that vitality was marred by a thin scar line across his nose or the crimsons stains on his cheeks from the Sorcerer's blood that seeped through the bag. His body was rather lithe, with muscles packing every inch of him, though it wasn't overblown as a body builder's. Yet both Nikaido and Kaiman were surprised by the number of scars that littered his body. No two mark were alike. Some zig-zagged along his sides as if something tore into him, others were patches that cropped here and there. Interestingly, not a single one of them looked be caused by magic. Adding to the strangeness was his messy medium sized hair. It was bright silver. While the color wasn't exactly special in Hole—some magic victims had entire rainbows popping out of their hair from time to time—but it wasn't exactly common either. And the final nail to cap off the boy's weirdness was a strange tattoo over his heart. It looked like an upside-down trident.
"He's quite a looker, ain't he?" commented Nikaido.
"Oh shut up," grunted Kaiman. "As if you would fall for a corpse."
"Please, I have standards. Although, he's not dead."
"You kidding? The guy's white as a bone picked clean!"
"Lean closer and you can him breathing softly."
Quirking a brow at her, Kaiman none the less followed her instruction and leaned an ear over the boy's mouth. To his shock, he could hear the faint sigh escaping the clearly not dead youth. And with that revelation came another.
"Shit! That's means I'm going to be stuck in the sink all day tomorrow!"
Nikaido couldn't help the grin that spread across her lips. "That's what you get for making needless bets~. At least it'll be nice to have some actual help around the shop for once rather than having someone gobble down all my food."
"H-Hey, I don't—!"
"Mmmmm…"
Both friends looked down to see the boy shift in the bag for a moment before slowly opening his eyes. They gleamed with the color of blood. Shuffling upwards as Kaiman stood back, the youth yawned greatly before stretching out his arms over his head. As he did, he revealed one last thing about himself that both his rescuers completely overlooked.
He was naked as the day he was born.
Nikaido flushed furiously at the sight, mouth half opened before turning away, while Kaiman spluttered and gaped under his mask. Popping his neck a few times, the young man sighed pleasantly at the satisfying crack.
"Man… That was a good nap," he said, messaging his neck a bit longer and ran a hand through his mess of silver hair before pausing, finally taking note of his rescuers. "Hmmm? Who are you?"
"T-That's our line, buddy!" shouted Kaiman, desperately keeping his eye level from going even lower than below the youth's waist. "No, screw that. Where the hell are your clothes?!"
"I didn't think Sorcerers could be get this perverted if they're stripping their victims now…" muttered Nikaido, firmly keeping her back to the dangling object of her embarrassment.
"What are you talking about…?" replied the young man before looking down at his full glory. His face went from confusion to sheer shock in record time. "What happened to my clothes?! And is this blood? What's with these mangled bodies? What the hell happened while I was taking a nap?!"
"You just now noticed you're shooting the breeze?!" Kaiman couldn't believe how slow this guy was. However Nikaido had to do a double take at the young man's last question.
"Wait… What do you mean by 'nap'?" she asked. "Weren't you drugged and knocked out by the Sorcerers when they kidnapped you?"
"No, I was definitely taking a nap," confirmed the youth, wiping the blood off his face before looking around for something to hide his glory. "I didn't even know I was kidnapped until you mentioned it."
That was enough for Nikaido to turn back around completely to stare incredulously alongside Kaiman. "Then… You were really sleeping throughout the entire fight…?" asked the lizard-man. The youth nodded. "Even after you were dropped onto the floor and had over 200 pounds of crushed flesh piled on top of you?!" Another nod. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
"Nope," the youth said with finality. "It was rather pleasant nap to be honest. It's been the best one I had since I came to this city. Best one I had a long time even… Frankly, I don't think I mind being kidnapped by those Sorcerers—that's what you called them right?—if they let me finish my wonderful nap."
Both Kaiman and Nikaido were at a loss for words. This guy had to be mental. There was no way someone could be such a heavy sleeper and be ok with being kidnapped. Did the Sorcerers mess up his brain after they kidnapped him? Or was he that special kind of person who was on a whole another plane of reality than normal people?
"With all that said, it appears I'm your debt for saving me. Truly, thank you both." The man bowed deeply with a hand over his heart. Though it allowed him to unwittingly show off more naughty bits to his reddening rescuers.
"I… Look, it's no sweat off our noses, but could please put on some clothes?" asked Nikaido, averting her eyes before she died from embarrassment.
The youth blinked before a rosy blush filled his cheeks, matching Nikaido's own. "Right… sorry about that. But it appears all my belongings were taken when I was sleeping. You wouldn't happen to see anything looking like a bag filled with valuables or something on these Sorcerers?"
"Nope," answered Kaiman before walking over to one of the corpses. "Looks like these weird bastards dumped your stuff the moment they got their hands on you. Human junk doesn't really have much value to a Sorcerer, huh?" He then yanked off a blood smeared long coat from one of the corpses before throwing it to the young man. "Here. It ain't much and probably stinks, but it's better than letting everyone see your goods dangling out."
Catching with one hand, the young man examined it for a moment. Putting it on, the coat barely managed to cover everything, but it did hide what counted. "It'll do for now… Jeeze, just my luck. Barely a night into this place and I'm already robbed of everything I owned and nearly kidnapped. Still, I'm grateful to you, sir… um…" Blood red eyes blinked once, twice, and then thrice. "I'm sorry, but can I ask for your names? It'll rude of me not to properly thank my rescuers."
"Oh right. I'm Kaiman."
"And I'm Nikaido," introduced the blonde, her blush gone from her face as she finally took in the young man without shame.
"Kaiman and Nikaido…" repeated the youth before allowing a sincere smile to cross his lips. "Those are nice names. But where are my manners, my name is Lukas. Lukas Oliver Axel. It's a pleasure to finally introduce myself to my heroes."
"Heroes, huh?" Kaiman puffed up at that. "Heh. It's nice to actually get some praise for doing a rough job like this. Wouldn't you say, Nikaido?"
Nikaido gave her friend a smile before turning back Lukas. "Though I don't think I heard I a name like yours before, Lukas. You said you were from out of Hole, correct?"
"Yes," answered the silver haired youth with a nod. "I came to this place, Hole, to find some work… but it's becoming clear that perhaps that my expectations were a tad… optimistic."
"Nah, that's just the welcome wagon from the Sorcerer world," said Kaiman. "You haven't met the sneak thieves, loan sharks, conmen, drug dealers, and all other lowlifes Hole has to offer."
Lukas gaped at the man. "Is it really that bad here?"
"Don't tell me you came here not knowing what to expect? I mean, doesn't your home town have the same vices and undesirables like the rest of this shit hole called civilization?"
"…In a matter of speaking." Running a hand through his silver locks, brushing them away from his eyes, Lukas let out a sigh. "I… I honestly didn't know what I was expecting when I came here. I hoped that I could at least find some work and experience all kinds of new things… Not get robbed and—" He was cut off suddenly by a vicious rumbling that erupted from his stomach. "And left starving, homeless, and without a penny to my name." He blushed furiously at the admission, a sheepish smile dancing on his lips as he patted his stomach.
Nikaido stared at him for a moment, sympathy shining in her eyes before reaching out a hand. "If you want, you can come over to my place for a bite to eat? It'll be on the house."
Lukas immediately looked up at her, a brow cocked as if he couldn't believe his ears. "You're really offering me a meal? Just like that?"
"Just like that. It'll be shame to leave you all by your lonesome after all the trouble we took to save you. Besides, consider this a true welcome to Hole."
"But I don't have any money! Are you absolutely sure you're ok with this?
"Trust me, pal," said Kaiman, "as someone who's yet to pay the over hundred meals of deliciously juicy gyoza she makes, she's not joking." An elbow to his gut forced him to let out a rancorous cough. "The hell was that for, Nikaido?!"
"Don't boast something like that like a dine-and-dasher." She then gave him a rather intense grin. "Besides, I plan to collect that in full tomorrow, remember? Piles of dishes, Kaiman~."
The lizard-man immediately deflated at thought of the mountainous amount of work that was heading his way. "Oh… Right… forgot about that…"
Shaking her head, Nikaido turned back to Lukas with a warm smile. "As for you, don't worry about it. After all, I said it was on the house so you can eat till your stomach bursts. Besides, that worthless coat won't last for your entire stay in Hole. Once we're done filling you up, we'll get you some new clothes to wear."
Lukas stood there, quiet and awed by such kind generosity. He then bowed profusely, startling both Kaiman and Nikaido as he sunk low till his head brushed the blood stained ground.
"Thank you for taking care of me!"
Click! Clack! Splat!
Scarfing down the last of his curry till there wasn't a speck left on his plate, Lukas washed it down with a tall frothing glass of beer. He chugged before slamming it on his table, clinking loudly next to the other glass and plates he cleaned out earlier then moved onto the next dish. In little more than an hour, the young man had gone through two pints of beer and several delicious dishes that would've satisfied a banquet. Not wasting a single scrap, picking clean even bone with his knives, forks, and teeth till he had consumed everything he could get his hands on. Any other man would've passed out or develop a severe stomach ache from so much food being shoved down their stomach. Yet Lukas showed no signs of stopping!
Click! Clack! Splat!
Nikaido couldn't believe what she was witnessing. She had seen people gorged themselves on food before, but Lukas' appetite was on a whole other level of hunger. Even Kaiman never got this bad with his love of gyoza! In a way it was impressive to say the least, coupled with wonderment over where the hell all that food was going in that lean body, but Nikaido was beginning to worry. With the pace Lukas was setting, her stores were going to be thoroughly cleaned out at this rate. Even with the supplies she brought in today! However she couldn't really say no to the young man. She did say he could eat till his stomached burst, but this was ridiculous. Though the way he eyed each new dish with childlike excitement was flattering in a weird fashion.
"Jeeze… how long has it been since you had a meal?" she questioned, before handing him a fresh plate of steamy gyoza. "You're eating would put a pack of starving wolves to shame."
"A very long while!" answered Lukas between bites and sips. "Also I can't help it. Before coming to Hole, I don't think I had meals this good… Gods, since forever! You're truly an amazing cook, Nikaido. The best I've ever known!"
Smiling at the compliment, Nikaido gave him another pint. It wasn't enough to stop her from eyeing the growing mountain of dirty dishes on the table, but such praise deserved a little something in return.
"Yo! I'm back!" Walking in with a plastic bag in hand, Kaiman waved at Nikaido. "And I brought the—Holy shit! Did he go through all that?!" His eyes threatened to burst out of his mask the longer he stared at the impressive stack on the table.
"Afraid so," answered Nikaido, "and he doesn't look like he's stopping any time soon. He might have you beat when it comes to appetite, Kaiman."
"Wait… Is that my gyoza?!" Rushing over to the table, he threw down his bag in the open seat before stabbing an accusing finger at Lukas. "What's the big idea eating my precious reward, huh?! You don't mess with a man's gyoza!"
"Calm down, Kaiman. I'll make you a great heaping platter once—"
"Here you go."
Both Kaiman and Nikaido blinked as Lukas held up the gyoza plate. "Sorry, I didn't realize they were yours. They smelled so good I couldn't resist a bite. But if they're yours, they're yours. I'll settle for this superb ramen!"
"Uh, thanks…" Taking the gyoza, Kaiman sat down in the open seat across Lukas before starting to take off his mask.
As the lizard-man settled himself, Lukas immediately resumed slurping down the hot noodles. With the way he was inhaling them, he soon drank the spicy broth till not a drop remained before moving onto some crunchy tempura. After taking one bite, however, he found himself pausing. Not because he finally found something that offended his taste buds—it was rather tasty and popped in his mouth! Rather it was the sight of Kaiman's reptilian face that made him forget the half uneaten tempura sticking out of his mouth.
Spitting out the crunchy morsel, he stared wide eyed just as Kaiman casually grabbed some chopsticks. "What happened to your head?!"
"Hmm? Oh right. Forgot you haven't seen my face yet. Long story short, some Sorcerer turned my head into this beautiful mug." Splitting his chopsticks in half with a angry snap, he started to dig into his gyoza heartedly. "When I find that smoke happy son of a bitch, I'm going to make them turn me back to normal before gutting 'em. Maybe then I'll finally figure out what exactly I look like."
Lukas stared intensely at the lizard-man for what seem like an age. "…I can't tell."
Kaiman paused, gyoza half stuff way in his toothy maw. "What? Can't tell what?"
The youth blinked, as if not realizing what he just said before a low flush spread across his cheeks. "S-Sorry. I meant I can't tell what you mean. It sounds like you don't remember what looked before you turned."
"That's because I don't."
"Kaiman has amnesia," explained Nikaido before handing her friend a beer. "We think that whatever magic was used on him either had a nasty side effect on his memories or the shock of the transformation was too much for his mind to handle."
"I see…" Lukas said slowly, though Nikaido noted that he couldn't take his eyes off the reptilian head.
Seconds turned into a full on minute of intense staring from the silver haired youth. It wasn't an uncommon thing for Kaiman. He, like most humans that have been made magic victims, had their fair share of being someone's source of fascination for a few seconds. But the way Lukas' blood red eyes bore into him, examining every line, crack, and blemish so completely was a bit unnerving.
And with the way a muscle twitched visibly under the scales of his brow, Kaiman was far from amused.
"Will you quit staring at me like that?!" he demanded, dropping his gyoza for a moment to shove a finger at the boy's nose. "How the hell am I supposed to enjoy my delicious gyoza with you eyeing me?!"
Blinking, Lukas pulled back and his flush returned redder than before. "Sorry… That was very rude of me."
Kaiman grumbled, but accepted the apology none the less. It allowed him to get back to eating his favorite food after all. Both boys continued to eat, with Nikaido bringing in a few more plates until finally Lukas had enough. Downing the last of his drink, he stretched out his body before patting his stomach contently. Sitting neatly next to him was a total pile of eighteen dishes, and five tall glasses.
"Damn… he really went to town, huh?" muttered Kaiman as he sipped some of his beer.
"Yeah," agreed Nikaido. "I'm amazed he didn't give me a higher dish count with the rate he was going. Though I should be glad for that. Less work for me to do." She then glanced to Kaiman, a special gleam in her eye. "Or rather, less work for you to do, Kaiman."
"Oh come on, Nikaido! That's for tomorrow!"
"That won't be necessary, Nikaido." Both friends turned to give Lukas curious looks as he wiped some crumbs from his lips with his dirty coat sleeve. "I made this mess, so it's only fair that I clean it up. And with interest."
"Interest?" repeated Nikaido.
The boy nodded before scooping up his half of his dishes and mugs. "You treated me, a complete stranger, so well that it would be shameful of me not to give a helping hand in turn."
"That's ok, Lukas. You don't need to—"
"I insist! I always pay back my debts and uphold my promises! After all, it's only fair that I help out some way, especially after I ate so much of your food."
"I say let him, Nikaido," said Kaiman. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth when it comes to free help. Beats paying them to boot."
"You're just saying that so you don't have deal with this mess." Indignant garbles bubbled out the lizard-man's mouth, but Nikaido ignored him. Scratching her head, she turned back to Lukas, sky-blue eyes meeting blood red. She never met someone so eager and sincere to help out before that she frankly didn't know what to say. That is until an idea suddenly popped to life to solve the dilemma. "Ok. You can help out, Lukas. But on a few conditions."
"Conditions?" repeated Lukas.
"Yep. You see, it would be great to finally have a helping hand around the Hungry Bug. Especially when it gets so busy or when certain customers give me a bit of trouble when it comes to paying up." She glanced sidelong at Kaiman who whistled innocently, desperately trying to avoid her piercing gaze. "But it doesn't sit right with me to take advantage of someone who's basically homeless. So if you're going to be working for me, you're going to be paid. And since you don't have a home, you can stay here with me. I have a spare room upstairs that's vacant at the moment."
"You really mean it?" gaped Lukas, his jaw hit the floor alongside Kaiman's.
"H-Hey! Why does he have to stay here?!" demanded the lizard-man. "For that matter, why didn't you offer me the same deal when I first woke up with this head?!"
"Because Dr. Vaux already offered you a job at his place and I didn't have the space for another person until last month."
"Oh… right. Forgot about that." He scrubbed a hand through the needles on the back of his head, grumbling to himself all the while. "If I had known you'd make the same offer, I probably would've taken it… I could've eaten gyoza all day with a dream job like that…"
"And I would've ran out of ingredients by the end of the week." Shaking her head, she turned back to Lukas. "So? What do you say? Sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me."
"It is! I'd be an idiot if I turned away an offer like this! Thank you so much, Nikaido! Or should I call you boss?"
"Nikaido's fine. 'Boss' sounds weird coming from my first ever employee."
"Heh, fair enough." Lukas cleared his throat before bowing respectfully. "Thank you for taking care of me. I don't have much experience with the restaurant business, but I promise to give it my all!"
"Glad to hear it, but stop being so formal. It's embarrassing."
"Sorry. Force of habit from my childhood." He then hefted up his dirty dishes. "Now, where do you want these?"
"Over behind the counter is the sink, but you can do that later. Right now, let's get you out of that coat. It's starting to smell." Nikaido then nodded to Kaiman who got up from his seat with his bag.
"It was pretty last minute, but I tried to get you something that was your size," he said before pulling out various pieces of clothes and handed them to Lukas. "Didn't know what you liked so I bought a bunch of different pairs. It's cheap stuff, but you can mix and match them if you want."
"The bathroom is in the back, you can use it to go get changed."
Putting down the mugs and plates, Lukas immediately did as he was told. Minutes passed by with Kaiman and Nikaido patiently waiting for his return, though the latter started to clean a few tables in the meantime. She did have a business to run after all. Finally the door to the bathroom opened and Lukas stepped out.
His choice of clothing were rather typical of Hole's current fashion trend. Covering his chest was a sleeveless black shirt with an emblem of devil riding over a red moon on a pitchfork. Along his arms he wore several white bands with only one having a watch embedded in its leather. Dark blue pants covered his legs, though there was a small tear along the right knee, and were held up by a tool belt with lots of pockets, while his boots were made out of tough black leather. Lastly he wore a choker with a pin in the middle that read "Hole".
"I have to admit…" he said, looking down at his clothes to examine them, "I never wore any clothes like these before… It feels rather strange."
"Then why'd you pick 'em?" questioned Kaiman.
"I didn't say they were bad, just strange… They're so different from the clothes I'm used to."
"Well I think they suit you just fine," complimented Nikaido. "The moon shirt goes great with your earring."
"T-Thanks…" The boy flushed at the compliment before pausing as dirty dishes suddenly filled his hands.
"Now let's get to work. The evening rush is about to begin, so make sure everything is sparkling clean!"
"Table Four needs cleaning, Lukas!" shouted Nikaido, her hands deftly cutting meat into thin slices before putting them in boiling broth. "Also the customers at Two need refills!"
"On it!" Moving eagerly, the young man quickly swiped the dirty dishes with one hand while carefully refilling the empty mugs with cold beer. No sooner did he finish pouring, calls for more alcohol brought him rushing to table to table, all the while gathering a towering stack in one hand. But no matter how big it got, not a single plate fell, let alone trembled, off Lukas' hand.
Listening to how her customers thanked her employee gratefully, Nikaido started to think she made the right call hiring him. It had only been a week since Lukas had started working at the Hungry Bug, but he managed to quickly get the ins and outs of the restaurant business. Though admittedly he had a rather rough start a first. On more than one occasion, Nikaido had to show him to perform certain tasks before he nearly broke an expensive tool or two. Her poor blender nearly bit the dust when he tried to operate it for the first time! It wasn't that he was slow witted, far from it in fact. Rather it seemed that it was because he never performed such a job before. Once he was shown how to do something, he repeated it almost perfectly. Within less than a day, Lukas managed to prove almost essential to keeping the Hungry Bug cleaned, well stocked up, and maintained as customers poured in and out.
It was rather freeing for Nikaido since having Lukas around meant that the lunch and dinner rush wouldn't be such an absolute battle royale anymore. At this rate, she was thinking of teaching him how to cook; double the meals meant the double the income after all.
Other than work, Lukas also managed to settle himself into his new home. At first Nikaido was a little worried that there would be some difficulties between the two of them living together in the same building. There were a few touches of awkwardness in the first day, especially running into each other after one of them took a shower. Nikaido still turned beat red at the thought! However, it turned out not to be so bad as she thought. Her tenant proved to be very polite and helpful even off work, fixing broken walls and cleaning out roach infestations within said drywall. He even managed to clean out his room very quickly and organize what was what little storage he found in a little pile for Nikaido to put away at her leisure.
After work he would hang out with Nikaido and asked a great deal of questions, especially about the city. Not that she minded. It was rather refreshing in a weird way, like a big sister teaching a younger brother. An irony that wasn't lost on her all things considered. Lukas' bright eyed eagerness, however, pushed away such old pains that Nikaido found herself engrossed with teaching all he needed to know about surviving in Hole. She even thought his weird sleeping habits and gorging himself on food were a bit endearing in a childish way.
However when Lukas wasn't learning from Nikaido or sleeping the day away, he would usually leave the Hungry Bug without a word. Sometimes these trips would last for a short while, each time he would bring home a little something, like a book or an electrical device which he eagerly showed off like a kid. But most of them usually took hours, sometimes taking nearly all night, turning up late and making a sleeping Nikaido wake up groggy. When asked where he went, he would simply say that he was exploring and that he got lost. Understandable for someone not of Hole, but after the second time onwards, it was starting to get concerning. Especially when he came back home carrying a dreadful smell. She couldn't quite place what it was, but the one time she got a whiff of it made her gag. If she had guess, Lukas must've ran into some of the many welcoming features of Hole, such as horrible sewage, gas pockets popping up, toxic sludge, and other nasty hazards. And that didn't count the various gangs and sorcerers that liked to lurk out at night. Thankfully he always cleaned himself up and sprayed air freshener after every trip, so it wasn't all bad.
Still, she was going to have a talk with him about it soon, for his own safety of course. It would hurt to see such an eager and bright helper get cursed or injured due to his own ignorance. But that was for later. For now, she had a business to run and customers to serve.
By the time lunch had arrived, the Hungry Bug had earned a quite a haul from the morning's breakfast rush. However, Nikaido surprised Lukas by closing up the shop. When asked why, she merely handed him a big bag of boxed lunches.
"It's for Kaiman and his boss, Dr. Vaux," she explained, locking the door to her shop before motioning him to follow. "They both work at the Hole Central Hospital Victim Ward. As the name implies, it's a special hospital dedicated to helping victims caused by Sorcerers. And every other day I give those two lunch on the house otherwise Kaiman will go nuts on the job. Plus Vaux is a good friend so it's only fair that I give him a share as well."
"A magic victim ward, huh?" muttered Lukas. He sounded strangely subdued, but Nikaido chalked that up as him merely remembering how he too almost became a new addition to the hospital.
It didn't take them long before they reached the Hospital. It wasn't all that impressive to look at, appearing more like an oversized apartment building than a place of healing. Though with how rotted and run down Hole was, it was stood cleaner and more professional than the adjacent buildings.
Heading inside, both Nikaido and Lukas climbed flights of stairs until they finally found the lizard-man in the hospital's morgue. Standing next to him and carefully examining a fresh corpse was a short, pudgy man with strange grid like tattoos lining the middle of his face. His lab coat was stained with dried blood, but he paid it no mind while he kept on with his examination.
"Yo, Nikaido! Lukas!" greeted Kaiman. "Did you bring me my Gyoza?"
"Of course, Kaiman." Nikaido carefully took boxed lunches from Lukas before handing one to her friend. "A dozen fresh, hot gyoza all ready to go. Just the way you liked them!"
"Whooooooooooooo! You're the best Nikai—"
"Get back to work, you over grown reptile!" yelled the fat man, slamming a pan into the back of Kaiman's head, bending one of his spines before it fell to the ground with a clatter.
"GAH! What the hell, Doc?!"
"You're still on duty so stop slacking off or you can kiss your lunch goodbye!"
Kaiman flinched back in shock. "You wouldn't dare! You don't mess with a man's gyoza!"
"That all depends on how fast you help me finish giving this guy an autopsy. Now go get the surgical knives and make sure they are sterile!" Grumbling loudly, Kaiman did as he was told while the fat man turned his attention to Nikaido. "It's good to see you, Nikaido. I wish it was at a better time, but having a bite to eat is always appreciated. Especially when dealing with nasty cases like these."
"No problem, Doc," she said before handing him his boxed lunch. "Always a pleasure to help relieve some stress with my cooking."
Dr. Vaux hummed before he finally noticed Lukas, who eyed both the morgue and the doctor himself. "Is this the new guy that Kaiman's been telling me about?"
"Yep. Meet my new employee!"
The silver haired boy held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Doctor. I'm Lukas Oliver Axel."
"Vaux," introduced the Doctor, grasping the hand and giving it a firm shake. "Just Vaux. You can call me Doc if you wish. I don't really care that much for formalities. I got to say, you're a lot more polite than a certain someone I know."
"Hey!" Kaiman indignantly yelled as he grabbed several scalpels from a closet. "Don't act like I'm not in the same room!"
"Try to remember that you're on the job half the time, then we'll talk!" Vaux let out a sigh before rubbing his temple. "Kaiman's a good guy, but man he's one lazy assistant. And right when I need him the most when dealing with my newest patients."
Nikaido's eyes went flat. "Another sorcerer experimenting on people again?"
"Not exactly." He gestured for them to follow him to the table.
Upon further inspection, the corpse, a male by the looks of it, was completely in shambles with barely any part left intact. Jagged lines tore down torso, ripping up its insides till they hung out. Or at least what remained of them anyway. Nikaido could see more than few organs torn out of the body along with the ribcage completely crushed into pieces. Besides the chest, there was an arm missing and several fractures stuck out of the legs. There was even a strange mark along the neck, with flesh and muscle missing, but she couldn't figure out what did that. The face was the only part relatively unscathed, but in truth that made it all the more tragic. The victim's last moments of complete terror were forever engraved in his expression, allowing all to get a good idea that his end was mercilessly cruel.
"Damn Sorcerers…" grunted Kaiman, dropping medical tools on a nearby medical stand beside the table. "They really screwed this guy up…"
"Careful, you idiot! I don't want to replace expensive equipment due to your blundering." Sighing, Vaux turned his attention back to the corpse. "Also for your information, this wasn't caused by sorcery."
The lizard-man did a double take. "Say what?"
"There isn't a single spec of smoke or magical residue on this guy. At least from what I got so far. And this wasn't caused by transformation gone wrong. Despite how messed up he is, this guy's organs and bones are still that of a human's. In short, this guy was killed by something else."
"But then… why is here?" asked Nikaido.
"That's what I told people who brought him in. At least that was my first impression anyway. I kept it since I had some room left in the morgue, but as soon as I took a look at the damage, I noticed something odd."
"And that is?"
"Well, while the wounds don't look to be made by magic, they certainly weren't caused by a human either." Vaux then traced the jagged line down the torso with a gloved finger. "Look here. This wasn't cause by a blade. It's too wide and irregular for anything of the sort. Looking closer inside where the organs are I also noticed some punctures by something sharp and jagged. And then there's the neck. That wasn't caused by a weapon at all. It's a bite mark."
"A bite mark?!" Both Nikaido and Kaiman stared at Vaux in disbelief.
"Yeah… The flesh and bone was gnawed on by something with large teeth, judging by the huge puncture wounds and broken flesh around the wound. Combined with the way the limbs were literally torn off, I came to the conclusion that this guy was killed by a large animal. One that's way too big for anything in Hole."
Kaiman stared at mutilated body for a moment before turning to his friend. "You don't think the Sorcerers are practicing with their pets, do ya?"
"It's possible, but I doubt it's that simple…" Cupping her chin, Nikaido glanced at the corpse. "From what I heard, some Sorcerers can transform themselves into monsters. If that's the case, then they're probably running around experimenting with their bodies and testing them on people."
"Oh… That makes sense." Suddenly Kaiman jolted upright. "Wait… Can those Sorcerers be the ones who turned my head into lizard?!"
"It's possible, but…" She halted the moment her friend's hands landed on her shoulders and shook enthusiastically.
"Then we got to find them right away! If they left Hole already then—!"
"Was this the only body, Doc?" Everyone blinked at the question, before turning to Lukas, though his gaze never left the dead man.
"No…" Vaux answered slowly, "Kaiman's been pulling in three more bodies early this morning. But how'd you know?"
"I didn't. Just a lucky guess… If this… Sorcerer hasn't left Hole then they must still be around still doing experiments…" Finally turning his gaze away, Lukas locked eyes with the good doctor. "If you don't mind me asking, but where did these bodies come from?"
"Yeah! Tell us where so I can knock some skulls out of those Sorcerers' heads!" yelled Kaiman.
"You do that after work!" Rubbing a hand along his coat, Vaux glanced back at Lukas. "Along the east side of town. That's where the bodies came from, but there have been no sightings of a Sorcerer in the area… yet." He turned to Nikaido, concern lacing his face. "If you guys are going after them, be careful."
"Don't worry, Doc." Kaiman slammed his fists together eagerly. "Nikaido and I can handle anything those stupid Sorcerers send our way!
"Well, I wouldn't exactly put it like that, but we'll be careful," said Nikaido. She paused for a moment, noticing an intensity radiating from Lukas' eyes. "Hey… You alright, Lukas?"
"…Sorry, but I'm feeling a bit ill… I guess seeing something this grisly made me feel a bit queasy. Do you need me later? I think I want to go out for a walk and see if I come down a bit."
The blonde nodded understandingly. Not everyone was used to seeing such a mangled mockery of the flesh. "Not at all. You can take the rest of the day off if you feel like it. Just don't wander off too much. If the Sorcerers are still around, then it's best to play it safe."
"Right… Thanks, Nikaido. I hope you guys stay safe as well… and I hope that this mess gets cleaned up soon." Eyeing the corpse one last time, Lukas gave everyone a brief nod before leaving the hospital.
Shafts of light cut through the dark alleys of Hole, but with the dying sun, they too soon were engulfed by the hungering night. Hungering. A fitting word, Lukas thought as he walked through the darkness without pause or slowing his step. For he could tell that this night would be like so many since he came to this strange new land—filled with starving beasts who hid in the dark and lusted after fresh meat.
Gone were the clothes he got from Kaiman, instead his hunter garb adorned him once more. Helping him melt into the night; another shadow to the many that hid the foulest that Hole had to offer. Coming to this city had been a trial of adjustment—it was so different, advanced and a bit more run downed than Yharnam. Even the discovery of these "Sorcerers" had been quite a surprise, especially after his kidnapping. The magic used in this land was far different from where he came from and he was very eager to learn all that he could from these new people. Perhaps find an explanation why his Insight couldn't discern Kaiman's true form.
But, alas, a hunter must hunt. And the prey he came for tonight, the ones he had slaughtered thus far, were only the byproduct of one of the true Beasts that drew Lukas to Hole. The trouble was that he still had no clue where they were exactly coming from. All his encounters thus far had been all over the city with no definite gathering or lair in sight. It was rather annoying to say the least and with more time letting them roam free meant more victims for the slaughter.
To his surprise, that wasn't the case. At least not entirely anyway. Finding one Scourge Beast usually meant infection followed closely by plague. Yet there wasn't any sign of sickness amongst the populace. Of course there was the occasional natural disease or virus or even those spawned from Sorcerers practices, but there was no plague of beasts running wildly through the streets. Why was that? What could be keeping the beasts from spreading their filth and disease to the rest of humanity despite so many times in history long since passed? Furthermore why wasn't there a panic or citywide paranoia concerning the beasts?
"Perhaps everyone thinks they are just a result of these Sorcerers…" Lukas muttered, quickly making a sharp turn into another alley. It was the only explanation he could think of, judging by Kaiman, Nikaido, and Vaux's reaction to the poor victim in the morgue. If that was the case, he was going to make time to figure out what was the deal with these Sorcerers later. And why they came to Hole for their experimentations. Alas such questions were for another occasion, for now was the time of the hunt.
Suddenly a smell tickled his nose. It was faint, but Lukas could never forget that foul scent mixed with the iron whiff of blood. Quickening his step, he sped through the night, weaving through the maze of alleys in the east side of Hole till the scent grew stronger.
"Come on, Nikaido! I can tell we're going to catch that bastard tonight!"
"Not with you yelling like that. We'll probably scare them off before we see even a hair of them."
Skidding to a halt, Lukas clung to the shadows before peering around a corner. Walking casually through the streets was none other than his employer and the lizard-man. He knew that they would be out hunting the same prey after mistaking its handy work for a Sorcerer's, but he didn't realize that they would be on the trail so soon. Though in all fairness, Hole was a big city and he wasn't quite used to its cramped and varied layout yet. He'd been up and down the east side until dusk. More than likely they had started at a different point of the city while he was busy with his search. Still, Lukas had to commend them for their bravery and earnest desire to protect those preyed upon in Hole, but for this hunt, he had to make sure they didn't encounter the beast he was after.
For that was his prey alone and he would spare them any misfortune fighting a horror born from one of their own people.
Slipping away from the two, Lukas took a small detour around Kaiman and Nikaido, silent as a shadow, before following after the scent once more. It drifted away a bit, but not far enough to hide from Lukas. Picking up the pace, his foots tapped loudly on cold stone, growing stronger along with the wretched scent. Stepping out into a small opening in the alleyway—a small square used to dump garbage and other undesirables by the looks of it—Lukas came to a halt.
He found his prey.
Crotched over a mauled body were two Scourge Beasts, blood staining their lips and bits of flesh stuck to sharp claws. The stench from them and their decaying prey was pungent and gross, a combination that would've overpowered any man, but Lukas was used to it. They paused in their gluttony, sniffing at the air before whirling around to face the hunter. Fangs gleamed in the dark and baleful growls echoed warningly throughout the alley. An unnerving sight for any normal person, but Lukas knew that those growls weren't simple menacing threats. Rather they were cornered false bravado of prey facing an apex predator… and something far worse than they were.
Undeterred by such their desperation, Lukas stepped forward, his saw and pistol low at his sides. The beasts inched back with every step he took, climbing onto garbage to get a better angle to face their doom. It was a sorry sight and though Lukas pitied these creatures, despite the atrocities they committed against the world of men, he would not show them leniency. If anything, he considered it a mercy to put the souls of those turned into such creatures to rest.
Suddenly the foul odor wrapped around Lukas, more powerful than ever as if was coming from all around him. Narrowing his eyes, he spun around, the hunter saw extending with a sharp click, before ripping open the stomach of a third beast. The foul creature groaned weakly, grasping at the guts that spilled out of his innards, before collapsing onto garbage.
Not bothering to watch it die, Lukas turned and shot at the remaining two beasts. Blood sprayed the walls, but the bullet only took a chunk out of a beast's shoulder as they scrambled out of the way. It stumbled, but its companion quickly closed the distance between it and Lukas. Scraping a claw across the ground till sparks flew, it swung upward, aiming to tear apart the hunter's face. It almost achieved its mark before a blur swiped between man and beast. A cold echo sounded in the square the moment the vile claw hit the floor. Howling madly the Scourge Beast flayed around, the now handless wrist spewing its corrupted life fluids all over Lukas.
Lunging forward, the hunter grabbed at the maddened creature's throat, silencing its screams with a bone-crushing snap. With a heave, Lukas threw the lifeless body at the remaining beast just as it jumped right at him. Both crashed into the floor with a splat, the last remaining wolf monster desperately shoving the body of its comrade off its person. Only for a foot to slam down, pinning corpse and creature together and forcing a pained bark to leave the beast's mouth. The last thing it saw was the scarred steal of the pistol aimed at its head.
Grey matter and bits of skull flew with a bang, leaving only a third of the beast's head relatively intact. Pulling back the smoking gun, Lukas turned to survey the carnage. It was a mess. Complete and absolute savagery, nothing new to Lukas, but the dumping pit around them was fitting in a way. Made it easier for him to get rid of the beast's corpses least they ended up in the hands of those who would abuse the secret of their affliction. Before that, however, there was some other business to attend to.
Pushing one of the beast's body's aside, Lukas looked it over keenly, leaving not a single hair on its fur unnoticed. There wasn't nothing left of the human that it once was, only the malformed creature remained. Grimacing, he looked over the next one. Still nothing useful that would tell him where the beasts were coming from. Turning around he examined the last body with care. At first he thought it was going to be another dead end, but a gleam along the beast's waist caught his eye.
Turning the corpse over, he found a chained belt with a steel buckle. The metal was dented in, stained with blood, and had multiple scratches, as if the beast tried to tear it off, but what caught the hunter's attention was the broken logo plastered on the front. "SMC" it read. Normally Lukas would've considered this merely a personalize fashion statement, but underneath the letters was an engraving that said, "Part of the Hole Workers Union".
"Finally…" he muttered. "A lead…" Unhooking the buckle from the belt, Lukas carefully put it in his coat pocket. He then took out his Firesprayer and readied to burn away the corpses when a familiar voice stayed his hand for a moment.
"Over here, Nikaido!" Kaiman's voice echoed close by. "I heard gunshots down this way!"
"Wait up, Kaiman!" yelled Nikaido. "Don't be reckless!"
Lukas lifted his head sharply to where the voices came from. He didn't expect the both of them to be hot on his heels so quickly, but then again, he did make a quite a racket with his gun. Still there was no time for lamenting his lack of stealth. With flaming bursts from the Firesprayer, Lukas lit the bodies ablaze, careful not to let them spread any further passed the alley. Satisfied with charring corpses, Lukas headed down the opposite opening of the square and faded into the night…
"What the hell…" uttered Kaiman, drinking in the sight of the blaze that engulfed the square. "Did a Sorcerer do this?!"
"I don't know…" confessed Nikaido, unable to take her eyes from the dancing flames, but mostly what was in them. She could easily make out the disfigured and blackening bones of something completely inhuman. But as to what, she could not say. The only thing she could clearly identify was the fanged jaw on one of the burning skulls. It was disturbing and the smell, pungent and burning with smoke, almost made her choke. Just what happened here?!
Suddenly a faint movement caught her eye. Peering passed the blaze, Nikaido saw something walking into the opposing alleyway. All she could make out was a long coat fluttering in the breeze before the figure faded into the dark. Was this the one who caused the fire? Were they a Sorcerer who messed with the bodies? So many questions ran through her head. Whatever the case, Nikaido had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time they would encounter that stranger. She and Kaiman would make damn sure of that…
Author's Note: Well here it is! My newest story! I must confess, when I first thought of making a new story, I was thinking a Bloodborne X Fate Grand Order story, (which I might get to at some point), but then I watched Dorohedoro on Netflix recently and I was hooked. It's so god damn good and I recommend who's a fan of dark comedy, horror, and badass action combined with a mystery to watch it! And after that, go read the manga, which is equally spectacular! Speaking of which, the world setting for this story will be taking place in Dorohedoro. I thought it would work best considering what goes on later in Dorohedoro and goes well with the idea of why our good Hunter Lukas to come to this new world to hunt beasts. I will get more into that later, but for now I will remain silent least I get into spoilers for both this story and Dorohedoro's plot.
Another reason why I chose Dorohedoro is because, well, there is a severe lack of stories on Fanfiction about it. I don't know why, it's a really good setting and series! Again I highly recommend reading/watching it, but I'm writing this story to help spread its attention to people. Get it noticed around and hopefully one day people will write more stories about it and Bloodborne. Seriously there is a severe lack of Bloodborne stories too! (Note: I did have a RWBY X Bloodborne going, but I decided to stop it after some complications arouse. The main thing being that all my notes for it were destroyed in one of my previous computers breaking years ago and I got so frustrated that I didn't feel like continuing it. Maybe I'll return to it one day, maybe, but not today.)
And on the topic of series that I want to see more fanfiction of is Record of Ragnarok, a new manga that came out two years ago and still ongoing, but is premise is this: Humanity vs. Gods in a tournament to decide the fate of the former. It's as badass as it sounds, with one of the fights being, and I'm not kidding here, the biblical Adam vs. The Top Greek God, Zeus! I highly recommend this series and I hope it gets more attention and as a result write some badass stories of it on Fanfiction. I might give it a go later, but I want to wait a bit longer so it can get more background and plot going for me to work with. Not to say that it doesn't already, but I want a lot more so I can see where certain things going.
Now for updating this story, I'm thinking of trying to do once every other month so I can focus on Anyone Can Become A Hero and also my legit non fanfiction story setting that I'm writing. I do plan on going legit for my career after all, so I need to focus on it soon. But don't worry, I won't abandon this story or Anyone Can Become A Hero. I'm very passionate about both, but I need to make some compromises to suit my needs and desires for both series and my goals in life. Not to mention to make up some time play games and read some books of my own.
At any rate, I hope you all enjoy this first chapter and I will try to see what I can do get a second chapter up soon. No definite schedule yet, but I will see what I can do.
Until then, I hope you all have a nice day!
Sincerely, Count Chaos