Paleblood

Paleblood Chapter 6: Ihyll Pale Shade, Part II

At last,they had breached the tall,ominous walls of Ihyll's Cathedral Ward,thought a wine cellar,of all placed. And instead of wine,the cellar was filled with Drundarian Kvas,much to Neul's delight,who didn't hesitate to take a few sips here and there. While he seemed to have the time of his life,his companions,Josh and Hoshiro couldn't comprehed how he found enjoyment in something that  taste so bizarre. According to Josh,it tasted like strong alcohol combined with something horrificly rancind. Then again,he did admit that he never drank alcohol,much less something like kvas. However,there was a peculiar reason why they came to the Cathedral Ward,and it wasn't for kvas. With a slow,careful push of the cellar door,they found out that the cellar was not a cellar at all,but rather,an outside shed,nestled firmly against the walled corner,about 20 feet away from the main gate. Leading from it was a main street,so to speak,paved with heavy,oddly coarse stones,leading to what they could only hope to be the heart of the ward,the Cathedral. On each side were mutliple small buildings,either small housing units or stores. Though,oddly enough,all looked exactly the same,like small,grey cuboid constructs,the roofs  jutting up and about in an unusual manner.  The further the buildings advanced in relation to the distance of the cathedral,the taller they became,one in particular resembling a tall,girthy and burnt down tree, with spikes twisting their way skyward and outward,resembling a treetop barren of any life,or leaves,for that matter.

"Who the hell builds buildings like these...?" Neul spoke up,his blue orbs observing the tightly packed buildings,before the street and other details grabbed his attention. Aside from the nearly deafening silence and the distant howl of the beasts,there didn't seem to be any other person in sight,be it a civie or a Hunter. As the moon rose up with the falling night,the moonlight illuminated dark brown blotches and smears upon the street and side streets. It was a no brainer,for all three of them. Dry blood,no doubt. But where are the people to whom it belonged. Rather...where is the thing that spilled it in the first place. This revelation caused Josh's grip tighten around the shaft of his axe,his eyes growing narrow. If whatever it was was still prowling through the ward,then it was not as safe as they assumed it to be. Safety aside,they looked for materials to conduct the ceremony,as well as proper hunting gear for the young Hoshiro. Though,both of Hoshiro's senior Hunters-to-be knew that there was a slim chance of finding proper materials for the communion.

"Oi,Neul. What do you even need for that Drundarian Communion?"

The Drundarians eyes narrows,his lips briefly parting in order to shush Josh down, with a voice to slight and gentle that none of the other two should have been able to even hear it, yet it was that exact thing which cut through their voices like a knife through butter.

"Keep talking to a minimum,Josh. We'll get to it when we get to it."

Silence reigned. Neul took steps forward, his eyes thoroughly scanning his surroundings, looking out for even the slightest traces of movement, left hand firmly on the sheath, the right on the handle of the blade, ready to draw and strike at a moments notice.  On the opposite side, Josh stood, following the other two, his emerald gaze turning over his shoulder every so often, only to be met with an empty street, illuminated by moonlight and bathing the beast-ridden Ihyll under its shine. Something was off about this place, atleast to him. Such a massive building,or building complex, rather, had absolutely no business being THIS deserted. And having nothing but their footsteps to accompany them in their silence produced a special kind of paranoia within the Church Hunter. With an audible gulp, Josh turned to the other two,beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the grip on his Hacksaw tight to a cramped degree. Nervous of breathing alone being enough to alert someone, or something, Josh took to slowly exhaling out of his nose, doing his best to calm his nerves as best as he could.

"Get a grip, Josh. Don't let this get to your head. If I start jumping at every little sound, I'll eventually end up hitting one of my guys by accident..."

 And in the middle, flanked by the two Hunters, walked Hoshiro, his black bangs dancing across his face, his worried expression belied the absolute state of alarm that was building up inside him. Despite the calm, serene, yet foreboding atmosphere that hung over them like a canopy, several maddening scenarios haunted Hoshiros mind, ranging from a flying monstrosity plucking him out of the air, to the two Hunters being overwhelmed by an onslaught of beasts. That particular one was swiftly banished,however. He withnessed first-hand on how swiftly the two of them dispatched the swine men when they traversed the Warrens. There was a very slim chance of that happening. Yet...the chance was never zero.

Their gazed turned upwards, the cathedral looming over them, dark bricks stacked atop one another,some withered, some sprayed and glossy with dry blood, and some way too high to be affected by anything that was happening back on ground level. With most beasts being bipedal and quadrupedal, all of them gave a silent, thankful prayer that there were no flying aberrations in the city,not yet,at the very least. Leading the three of them, Neul's eyes locked with the heavy, black door, leading into the cathedral,inspecting and contemplating every single minute detail of it. His best guess would be to open the door with a group effort. The moon moved across the dark sky, casting their shadows onto the floor below the cathedral door. His body relaxing, Josh's lips parted briefly, in an attempt to suggest the four of them to put in all they can to breach it.

Wait...four of them? Josh's gaze darted briefly to the ground, and he was right. There were four shadows. One was his own,the other belonged to Hoshiro, the third to Neul...who was the fourth??

A surge of adrenaline hit Josh like a wrecking ball. His grip tightened almost instantaneously, and with a sudden turn, he swung the Hacksaw vertically downwards,full force...

...only for the edge to dig into the rocky pavement below,the impact prompting a startled yelp from Hoshiro. There was nothing there. Was he imagining things? As the Church Hunter dumbfoundedly stared at the axe buried inside the pavement, he could feel a pair of blue eyes glare daggers into his back.

"Have you lost the plot?! What are you doing!?"

A suppressed,but clearly audible hiss escaped from between Neuls lips,his right hand firmly on the handle of his blade,ready a flood of beasts that was about to come. Still somewhat dumbfounded, Josh yanked the axe out of the ground, his focus all but lost as he scrambled to the Drundarian's side, in a vague attempt to shield Hoshiro from whatever may come,the two Hunters focused on a darkened side street,leading right towards them. Neul bowed lightly, right leg bent in a step forward,the left stretched out behind him, akin to a sprinter readying himself for the firing shot to start his dash.

Thump.

"What the hell?"

Following the squishy,blunt thump,something slowly rolled over, out of the tenebrosity of the side alley and into the pale moonlight,coming to a halt as it reached Neul's leg. A male's head. His stance stiff and airtight,the Drundarian threw a quick cursory glance over the bodyless head. Its still was dirty and grey,the eyes empty and vacant,the iris collapsed and mushy. Clear indication of Beasthood. Something wasnt right,however. The way the former person's thick,sickly blood oozed out. This was not an old kill. This beastman was just freshly decapitated. 

"Shit!"

Like a thrown dagger, a figure leapt out of the shadows, darting past the Drundarian and clashing with the taller Church Hunter. Managing to raise his weapon in time,Josh blocked and diminished the impact, the shaft of his axe now trapped betwixt two jagged,curved blades,his emerald eyes locked with the other ones icy,dead ones.