Aɳɠҽʅιƈ Hυɳƚɾҽʂʂ σϝ Bʅσσԃ αɳԃ Sƚҽҽʅ

Chapter 23: Denied Ascension

(More than halfway through this Great Hunt arc, but the chaos is only getting started...)

Maria had thought she had finished losing people, people she cared for...

But this cruel world, the cruel God responsible for all her suffering, had other plans in mind. As if Maria hadn't been dealt enough of a worst fate, she's continually reminded of the cycle of bloodshed, that very same the Beast Eater foretold only recently.

Both of them are similar in that regard. Doomed to drown in the blood of their enemies, their righteous hand that cut their prey down so easily, now holding them underwater in the red water grave that they themselves created...

'Goddammit... I'm tired. So tired of losing people to these monsters...'

But most of all, she feels anger. A special type of feeling that makes her blood just boil at the thought of her enemies. Of all the people who lost their lives to their relentless violence.

Maria wishes she could have the same right now. Needs it even, so that she may be done with this Hunt, once and for all.

Before more deaths end up on her consciousness, Maria needs to be that same monster.  Even if her friend might hate her for it, it's what's required of her. One more time...

...

[Yharnam | Cathedral Ward] 

The moment they step inside the chapel, both Angels feel an eerie atmosphere threatening to consume them. It's almost suffocating, the air itself attempting to strangle them alive.

"Where is everyone?" Lute questions, unsure what to make of this.

Maria doesn't answer, instead narrowing her eyes as she scans the place. This safe haven, once bright and cheerful, is now lifeless and abandoned. Furniture thrown about, moved abruptly. Food left out to the elements, growing stale and cold. Something about this whole scene just doesn't sit well with the Huntress...

Did something happen? Did they flee? And if so, from what-?

Maria widens her eyes in realization, the scent of fresh blood filling her senses as she turns toward the open doorway. The source only intensifies when her eyes gaze in that direction, a singular word entering her mind...

Death.

Making haste, Maria breaks out into a sprint. Ignoring Lute's protests as she runs outside, only to be met with a brutal sight...

Mangled corpses scattered about, presumably hunters. A massive beast, its white albino fur matted with blood. And the familiar confederate, Valtr, dying and trapped in its clutches.

"Ha?" The beast speaks, surprising the Huntress. As far as she knew, only Angels who succumbed to the Scourge were capable of speech. "Another hunter? More food for me-"

But Maria doesn't waste another second, becoming a blur and slicing his hand clean off with [Rakuyo]. With Valtr released from its hold, Maria catches the man in his arms and sprints back a safe distance from the beast, getting him to safety at the chapel's entrance.

"Maria!" Lute arrives on scene, gasping as soon she sees the Beast Eater's horrid state. "What happened to him?!"

"A beast..." Maria replies, holding the unconscious man. Her gloves in his blood-soaked hair as Valtr barely clings to life. "How did a beast of all things find its way here..."

"Aah, I guess that requires an explanation, huh..." The beast interjects, scratching his fur-covered jaw in thought. His voice deep and monstrous. "You see, two hunters approached me... offered my fill of flesh... In exchange for their help in killing that man in your arms..."