Yharnam Vice

Content Warning: Gore

“What's, that smell? It’s blood.” I said, backing away from the corpse causing the pervasive smell, the small claustrophobic alleyway intensifying the odor. The body in question was splayed out, viciously mutilated and bleeding everywhere. It was not pretty and I pitied the faint of heart who might happen on it... And the not so faint of heart too, for people like the one who defiled this body, such a thing might cause them to fall to beasthood as well, from my time as a hunter i knew such things were all too common.

One man submits to the beast’s lust for blood and carnage, then rips a fellow to shreds and the body leaves such a potent miasma of blood that the smell could be overpowering for anyone who happens to pass by.

“What’s that smell?” I heard someone say, and I cursed at the almost prophetic timing as I walked to the edge of the alleyway and shouted a warning to those on the street.

“It’s blood so turn away, quickly.” i responded grimly, annoyed that any would walk the streets this late at night, it’s almost if they were asking to be killed… or worse.

“Worry not comrade, I do not plan on surrendering to beast hood this day and the word of a hunter is better than most.” another voice identified them as hunters same as i, though perhaps a tad foolish, as no one plans their fall to beasthood.

“Though i suppose you would know.” the first voice said as they rounded the corner, most likely having seen the hunter’s saw I had in a loop at my waist. It was a simple weapon, good for rending flesh, hacking off limbs and causing foes to bleed, we hunters being resilient to the blood’s maddening effect. Sadly I had been busy since my last hunt and had not had the chance to wash it, annoying when in the company of these other hunters.

“My name is Gina Calabrese, and this is James Crockett” the second voice said, introducing themselves. I sized the two of them up, Crockett was an average height male with standard issue hunter’s garb, he was also eating an apple and standing like a cocky arse, so i dismissed the idea that he was going to be any threat in combat.

Calabrese on the other hand seemed quite experienced and far more dangerous, like she was the dependable one of the dynamic duo. A taller woman clad in almost the same as her companion, the only difference being that her gloves were from the healing church, after all it was not strange for those of that order to come into the hunter line of work.

“Medea Barrett.” I replied curtly, impatient to get back to the matter at hand. I busied myself with inspecting the scene of the slaughter, unconcerned with the presence of my fellow hunters. The victim had gone down fighting, of course the only weapon they had been able to grab was a high chair from the shop at the far end of the alleyway, It was in splinters nearby a dismembered hand still grabbing on to it in rigor mortis.

“By god, I know these beasts are savage… but this is a whole other level.” Ms. Calabrese said, aghast at the carnage laid before her. She pulled out a set of flashcards, common wounds and how to identify them was written on the back, sadly no substitute for practical experience. “It’s obvious these wounds were made with a bladed weapon, probably a sword with the long deep cuts, but any more information is obscured by the volume of blood and loose flesh falling into.”

I cut her off by simply reaching down and probing the wounds with my fingers, starting with the largest of these cuts a long diagonal gash from the person’s shoulder to their hips.

“This one goes all the way through.” I stated, feeling the warm stone beneath the body, the fact that the killer had been vicious enough to cut this person into two parts caused both Ms. Calabrese and i to shudder, though Mr. Crockett remained unfazed by this revelation.

“It’s obvious they were killed by a beast, can we start hunting them instead.“ Ms. Calabrese mumbled, hiding her discomfort as best she could but i could tell this was making her uncomfortable and probably not because she was concerned with mussing up the white gloves of the healing church.

I ignored her suggestion and continued to probe the other wounds on the body, remaining calm as the smell of the blood gained even more potency. I did not bother to count how many wounds and lacerations there were, even trying to check them was somewhat useless, as many of the wounds were just the same smooth cut all the way through and the rest did not draw anything conclusive about the killer’s weapon.

“It’s probably a heavier blade if it can cut through an arm so cleanly.” Mr. Crockett pointed out, gesturing to the hand grabbing onto the high chair. I inspected the dismembered arm, the bone looked like it had received a heavy blunt impact in a very localized area, perhaps a dull blade or the back of a one sided sword, the next hit cut through the limb, the sharp side being used for the second strike.

I shifted to check the other arm, doing my best to not splash the blood onto my coat. This appendage was barely attached and in general less intact than the other arm, the killer having spent far more time hacking it up then they had on their victim’s guard. The wounds on it were different then on the body though and probing them revealed triangular indents at regular intervals.

“It’s possible the victim was stabbed a lot in this hand,” I began, “but it’s more probable they were attacked with a saw or saw like weapon.” Ms. Calabrese looked grim and Mr. Crockett quickly stated his opinion.

“A hunter must have died, driving some poor soul mad and causing them to take the closest weapon and it’s reasonable to assume the hunter probably had one of our ubiquitous saws” He theorized as he scanned the aisle, checking for any other signs of the scuffle. “Look, tracks.” he said pointing to some faint bloodstains, they led to the other end of the alley and around the curve, a sense of foreboding coming from it.

“There might be someone in need of help, let’s move on from this scene.” Ms. Calabrese squeaked and i looked to Mr. Crockett, who shrugged and threw away the rest of his apple.

“Might as well, let’s get going.” He replied and I nodded in agreement, tearing the last bit of flesh that was holding the arm to this victim’s corpse and taking it along with me. We awkwardly walked along the alley, I could tell they were not used to working with an outsider such as myself. The silence did not last long though as Ms. Calabrese posed a question to me,

“Uhm, why might you need the dismembered hand you’ve taken a long with you Ms. Barrett” She asked, the same squeamishness present in her voice as before.

“It could be a useful distraction,” I replied, doing my best to ignore the tone of fear in her voice.

“How so?” she continued on her line of inquiry. I shrugged, subtly drawing my hunter’s saw in the same motion.

“Like this, here catch.” I said, throwing the arm at her, using the momentum from me turning around to ready an overhead strike, the hunters saw extending to max length. The colour drained from Ms. Calabrese’s face as she focused entirely on the bloody and cut up hand flying towards her, by the time she realized what was happening, it was too late.

The first strike cut cleanly through the shoulder, cutting diagonally down from the point of entry towards her hip, stopping just past the spine, so i quickly pulled out my blade and struck again, cutting through her torso all the way this time, her two halves crumpling onto the street.

“Damn you!” Mr. crockett exclaimed, hastily drawing his weapon of choice. A shovel modified for combat, it probably functioned just like a regular spear, but i didn’t want to get into an extended fight with a weapon i had no clue about either, so i needed to end this quickly.

He pressured me backwards, stabbing and cutting as I dodged out of reach, waiting for the perfect opportunity, some break in his guard. It didn’t take long, i noticed a pattern in his frantic swings, his anger leaving him vulnerable. I would have to take a hit to make it work, but i knew with certainty that it would bring him within range of my cleaver.

So i stepped in, his blade piercing my side, only serving to pump my adrenaline to even higher levels as i put into action my plan of attack, swinging a quick blow to his stomach. He hunched over, reacting to the pain and leaving his fate sealed, for i was already in position for an overhead blow, and his neck was now perfectly exposed.

I beheaded him in one smooth motion, my saw passing effortlessly through his neck as the hand on his shovel went limp. I looked over the carnage in the secluded alleyway, finally drinking in the euphoric smell that i had been putting off for so long.

“What’s that smell? It’s blood.”