Leaving the Upper Cathedral Ward, Alex continued carrying Maria in his arms — after sharing his memories with her. Maria needed time to process such an enormous amount of information, so she was unable to walk on her own.
After leaving the Upper Cathedral Ward, Alex and Alucard found themselves back in the Healing Church Workshop. Alex didn't want to descend into Oedon's Chapel to avoid answering unnecessary questions.
After all, Maria was a well-known huntress, and people like Amelia, Eileen, or Adella might recognize her. Alex didn't want to waste time explaining why a huntress who had died thirty years ago had suddenly come back to life. That was why he preferred for his clones to contact those in Oedon's Chapel one by one.
Carrying Maria in his arms, Alex and Alucard jumped onto the rooftops of Iosefka's Clinic and looked down at the Cathedral Ward below. Alex scanned the surroundings with his eyes, trying to remember which way they needed to go.
"We need to get to the central square. From there we can enter the Forbidden Woods," Alex said, nodding his chin in the right direction.
"Remind me again, my love, what exactly are you planning to do?" Alucard asked, standing on the edge of the chapel tower.
"We're going to hunt the Shadows and the Spider. The Spider will open the way to the final Nightmare," Alex replied with a slight smile, pushing off the edge of the chapel roof.
"Shadows and a Spider… That sounds a little intriguing," Alucard said, watching Alex as he landed in the central square.
Thinking about the creatures they would have to kill, Alucard bared her fangs. To her, these monsters were nothing more than food she could absorb to become stronger. Continuing to smile, Alucard pushed off the edge of the chapel roof and jumped after Alex.
Landing softly beside him in the central square, Alucard smiled slightly and walked alongside him. She was curious how strong the Shadows and the Spider her husband had mentioned would turn out to be.
Alex walked ahead, remembering that to reach the Forbidden Woods they needed to descend from the central square to the locked temple. But, as he recalled, one of his clones had already cleared a path through the entire Forbidden Woods, placing markers so they wouldn't get lost.
Relying on memory, Alex continued forward, and soon they reached a spacious area with a stone monument overgrown with dry branches. Stopping, Alex looked at Maria, who was still processing the memories he had given her.
Adjusting Maria's position in his arms, Alex shifted his gaze forward and saw the outlines of large old abandoned windmills and tall trees. A thick fog hung over the Forbidden Woods, giving the forest the appearance of a cursed place.
"The last time I was in a similar forest, it was the forests of Scotland. I had to run all over the forest to catch all the cultists and their pathetic god," Alex said with a slight smile.
"That's not what I wanted to hear first after everything I've learned," Maria groaned, opening her eyes and feeling a lingering mild headache.
Hearing Maria's tired voice, Alex and Alucard turned their gazes to her. Maria was still lying in his arms, trying to accept everything she had learned. Upon discovering who Alex truly was and who his family was, Maria had experienced a very strong shock.
Compared to all the truth about the Great Ones and everything connected to them, the truth about Alex's identity turned out to be far more shocking than she could have imagined. Maria had also learned everything about Alex himself, his family, and his work. After learning this, she calmly accepted the revelation, repeating to herself that it was better to accept everything as if it was meant to be.
Alex watched Maria closely, expecting a strong reaction. But all he saw was complete calm. As if the existence of other worlds and the fact that he was essentially the Demon King were the most normal things in life. Maria shifted slightly, getting down from Alex's arms, and stretched a little.
"We can head into the Forbidden Woods," Maria said after stretching a bit.
"I thought you were going to ask a lot of questions," Alex said in surprise, tilting his head to the side.
"I can do that after we return to the Hunter's Dream," Maria said calmly, adjusting her hat.
"At least she's better than Seras, who couldn't shut up with her stupid questions," Alucard said with a light laugh in her voice.
Alex gave his wife a blank look, showing that she shouldn't insult Seras. Alucard only smirked at his gaze and ran her nail along his neck, showing that she would do as she pleased. Shaking his head, Alex turned to Maria, asking if she was ready to go or needed a little more time to recover.
Maria gently shook her head, saying that the mild headache after receiving so many memories had already passed and she could walk. Nodding, Alex moved forward, beginning to descend the stairs, with Maria and Alucard following behind.
Descending the stone spiral staircase, they saw an abandoned temple below. Walking down the steps toward the temple, Alex couldn't help but notice that the locked wooden doors had been smashed open.
"I hope Envy didn't do anything excessive," Alex said, approaching the broken doors of the temple.
"Do you really believe that?" Alucard asked, giving Alex a blank look.
"Not even a little. They'll all do whatever it takes to ruin my mood," Alex said, lighting a cigarette.
"After all, they are you… As I understand it. I still don't understand why they keep ruining your life," Maria said, looking at Alex with a thoughtful gaze.
Alex thought for a moment and simply shrugged, because even he didn't fully understand why his clones behaved this way. All he knew was that each of his clones had inherited, to one degree or another, one of the extremes of his personality.
Descending another staircase to leave the old temple, Alex, Maria, and Alucard stepped outside. The first thing that caught their eye were old, moss-covered graves. Leaving the temple and descending yet another set of steps onto a forest path, Alex approached the edge of a cliff to get a better view of the Forbidden Woods.
Looking around, he began walking along the only path that led downward, deeper into the Forbidden Woods. As he walked along the trail, Alex kept looking for the markers one of his clones should have left. Descending further down the path, Maria pointed to a barely visible building in the fog.
Approaching closer and looking down, Alex saw the old windmill itself, which for some reason was missing part of its wall, and a small stone bridge across the ravine. Alex remembered that through this windmill they could descend into a deeper part of the Forbidden Woods.
"Where is at least one marker?" Alex couldn't help but ask, flicking away his cigarette.
"Through this fog, I can only see a silhouette near that windmill," Maria said, crouching at the edge of the cliff to get a better look at the area.
Alex nodded, thinking it was one of the deranged residents of Yharnam wandering around, so he didn't pay it much mind. Alucard, however, who was looking in the same direction, couldn't hide the smile on her face. She was amused by the fact that her husband still hadn't noticed such an obvious marker. Not wanting to spoil the fun by pointing it out too soon, Alucard decided to stay silent.
Not wanting to linger any longer, Alex continued along the path to descend toward the building. After going lower, they reached a fork. Stopping at the fork, Alex pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. The cause of his irritation wasn't the fork itself, but the marker his clone had mentioned.
Alex's gaze was fixed on a partially beast-transformed resident of Yharnam who had been nailed to a post, with one of his arms nailed in such a way that it pointed the direction. Maria looked at this rather eloquent path marker with clear doubt in her eyes and turned her gaze to Alex. Alucard, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying her husband's reaction as he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.
"Why am I not surprised that this is exactly what he did," Alex said, stopping pinching his nose.
"Quite an effective way to indicate direction. I'd say it's very clear," Alucard said with a slight smile.
"I'd better refrain from commenting. In your memories, I saw you doing similar things to creatures you called demons," Maria said calmly, turning her head toward Alex.
All Alex could do at that moment was sigh. Deciding not to dwell on the fact that his clone had set up rather unique path markers, Alex continued along the trail. The further Alex, Alucard, and Maria walked along the path, the more similar markers they encountered — with very eloquent phrases on the signs hanging around the necks of the Yharnam residents nailed to the posts.
Following the markers, they reached an old abandoned windmill. Alex looked at the hole in the wall where the door should have been. He was certain his clone hadn't held back when he wanted to open the doors. Next to the hole, an insane Yharnam resident had been nailed to the wall with iron rods, his arm pointing toward the hole in the windmill wall.
"If we think positively, we just need to keep going forward," Alex said with a slight smile, stepping through the hole in the wall.
"At least your clone took care of all the trash along our path," Alucard said, entering after Alex.
Maria shook her head and stepped inside the windmill after Alex and Alucard. She also believed that unnecessary delays on the way were not needed. Once inside the windmill, Alex deliberately ignored the dead man in a constable's uniform and an iron helmet on his head that looked more like a bucket.
The iron helmet, resembling a bucket, on the head of the dead hunter had been crushed and turned into scrap metal. Alex didn't know what this old hunter had done to offend his clone, but he preferred to ignore it and simply keep moving. Maria cast only a brief glance and continued following Alex.
Moving deeper into the old windmill, Alex, Alucard, and Maria reached a wooden platform with a lever to call the elevator.
"No elevators," Alucard said, stepping forward and jumping down.
Alex and Maria looked at Alucard, who had jumped down. Alex perfectly understood that his wife was already tired of this endless riding on elevators, platforms, and the countless stairs that this cursed city had in abundance. He was tired of all these stairs and elevators too.
Looking down and watching Alucard land at the very bottom, Alex shifted his gaze to Maria, who was also standing at the edge and looking down. Maria understood that she clearly wasn't capable of such a feat at the moment. Turning her head toward Alex, she saw him extending his arms toward her.
"Let me help you down. Or would you prefer to descend on the elevator instead of free-falling?" Alex said with a soft smile.
"I don't mind, my Hunter," Maria said, taking a step closer to Alex.
Alex lifted Maria into his arms and stepped forward. Landing below, he set Maria down on the floor, and they exited the windmill together. Once outside, Alex looked for Alucard and saw her standing on a small stone bridge that crossed over a stream.
Jumping down from the elevation, Alex and Maria approached Alucard, who was looking at yet another corpse-marker, from whose neck snakes protruded instead of a head, tied into a grotesque bow.
"Alright, this is getting weird," Alex said, looking at the corpse-marker.
"What exactly? That your clone found snakes for something like this?" Maria asked, shifting her gaze from the corpse to Alex.
"These snakes are part of his body," Alucard said, poking the corpse with her finger.
"Yes, that's exactly what's weird. All the others infected with blood turned into beasts, but this one has a bunch of snakes instead of a head," Alex said, nodding and pulling at the bundle of snakes.
When Alex pulled the bundle of snakes out of the man's body, he also pulled out the internal organs along with them. The lower parts of the snakes' bodies looked as if they had fused or completely replaced the body's internal organs. Wanting a better look, Alex crouched down and placed the bundle of snakes on the surface of the bridge.
Maria crouched beside Alex, as she was also curious why this had happened. As an experienced huntress, Maria felt no disgust at such a sight. After all, she had often dug through the innards of monsters to better understand their physiology, and this case was no exception. Alucard stood behind Alex, resting her hands on his shoulders, watching what he and Maria were doing.
"This really seems strange. Each of these snakes essentially serves as an internal organ of the body. I've never seen anything like it," Maria said, using a silver knife to lift one of the snakes.
"And these things are also very venomous… It's like the joke: if a snake grows legs, you'd better be able to run faster than it," Alex said, nodding with a smirk.
Hearing Alex's joke, Maria gave him a strange look, not understanding why a snake would grow legs. Noticing Maria's look, Alex cleared his throat dryly and turned away, pretending he hadn't said anything.
"With jokes like that, you can only make Seras laugh, my love… Stop examining dead snakes and let's keep going," Alucard said, patting her husband on the shoulder.
Alex simply shrugged and stood up. Once standing, he extended his hand to Maria to help her up. Maria smiled slightly, taking Alex's hand and rising from her crouch. Kicking the bundle of snakes aside, Alex continued forward with Alucard and Maria.
They still had to cross through the forest to reach Byrgenwerth, which was on the other side. Alex was glad they wouldn't have to stop to deal with the local inhabitants, who had already been killed by his clone.
As they delved deeper into the Forbidden Woods, Alex kept noticing dozens of old graves by the trees and ancient stone stelae. Passing by another old stone stela, Alex stopped to examine it more closely. After clearing some dirt from the stone stela to read the inscriptions, Alex raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I thought there would be something more interesting written here," Alex said, stroking his chin and looking at the stone stela.
"And what did you expect?" Alucard asked calmly, standing on the path.
"I don't know, maybe some fragment of history or something related to this forest. But here it's just a prayer," Alex said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Why do you need the history of this place?" Maria asked, leaning against a tree next to the stone stela.
"I like the histories of places like this… Never mind, I'll take this stela for my collection," Alex said, placing his hand on the stone stela.
Alex's shadow lengthened and immediately swallowed the stone stela. Alex figured such a thing would also fit in his collection of creepy items. Maria, seeing this, tilted her head to the side, not understanding why Alex had taken such a thing. Noticing Maria's interest, Alex told her about his museum of cursed objects.
Continuing deeper into the forest, Alex answered Maria's questions about his museum. Upon learning where Alex's museum was located, Maria couldn't help but look at Alex's shadow, which had taken the form of a woman with long hair. Nodding slightly, Maria continued the conversation with Alex, asking about various things.
Alex talked to Maria with a smile on his face about different topics to pass the time while walking through the Forbidden Woods. What surprised Alex was that even Alucard joined the conversation, albeit in her usual manner.
Walking through the gloomy forest didn't seem particularly special to Alex, considering he had already been in similar places. What he really didn't like was that the Forbidden Woods was yet another labyrinth with strange paths, elevations, and descents.
And if it weren't for his clone, Alex would have already burned this forest down so he wouldn't have to wander through it. Throughout the entire way, all Alex saw were endless graves and trees. Along the way, Maria managed to tell him that she had been to this place many times before it became known as the Forbidden Woods. Alex roughly guessed when the Healing Church had forbidden passage into this forest.
Soon they reached a large tree with yet another marker in the form of a corpse pointing the direction. Not wanting to get his shoes dirty in mud and water, Alex lifted Maria into his arms and walked across the water together with Alucard. After crossing the flooded area, Alex set Maria down on the ground, and they climbed a hill where bonfires were burning.
"Looks like we've arrived… We just need to descend," Alex said, approaching the broken fence.
"Indeed… Beyond that arch is Byrgenwerth's territory," Maria said, pointing at the ruined arch.
Alex shifted his gaze to where Maria was pointing and saw the faint outlines of Byrgenwerth University. Alucard, standing by the broken fence, looked down at the slightly flooded area. She sensed a strong presence below and immediately understood that the Shadows Alex had mentioned were there. Alex stopped looking at the outlines of Byrgenwerth and looked down.
Deciding to descend through the ravine instead of jumping, Alex hummed a light melody, slightly nodding his head from side to side. After descending to the very bottom, Alex, Alucard, and Maria stepped out onto a slightly flooded ruined area filled with water, mud, and human bones. As soon as they moved further, thick fog appeared behind them, and tall silhouettes in black robes emerged from the fog ahead.
"These are the Nazgûl. I'll take the one with the scimitar," Alex said, clapping his hands in surprise and pointing at the Yharnam Shadow holding a yatagan.
"Who are the Nazgûl?" Maria asked, turning her head toward Alex and separating her Rakuyo.
"They are cursed kings who serve a dark lord with a ring," Alex said, drawing the Moonlight Sword from behind his back.
Maria nodded slightly and immediately chose her opponent with a yatagan and a candle. Alucard calmly looked at the last one, who held a mace. Lightly swinging the Moonlight Sword, Alex attacked his opponent. Appearing beside the Yharnam Shadow holding a yatagan, Alex delivered a spinning kick to knock his opponent aside.
Before the other two Yharnam Shadows could attack him, Alex jumped after his target. Seeing what Alex had done, Maria also decided to separate the remaining two to draw her opponent away. Maria quickly closed the distance to her target. Maria swung Rakuyo, delivering a wide downward slash. The Yharnam Shadow blocked Maria's strike by raising the yatagan above its head.
Maria wanted to use the short sword to strike the Yharnam Shadow in the chest, but she saw it raise the candle. Maria reacted instantly and kicked the Yharnam Shadow in the chest, jumping aside. The moment Maria jumped away, the candle in the Yharnam Shadow's hand flared with bright flame, turning into a stream of fire.
Dodging the jet of flame, Maria attacked the Yharnam Shadow again, delivering a downward strike. The Yharnam Shadow slightly tilted its head back, and the blade lightly grazed its hood. Maria didn't stop after one unsuccessful attack and continued her assault. Meanwhile, Alucard calmly looked at her opponent, who held a mace crackling with arcs of electricity.
The Yharnam Shadow with the mace quickly approached Alucard and raised the electric mace above its head. Before the Yharnam Shadow could swing, it was immediately sent flying, slamming its back into a stone stela. Before it could fall, Alucard was already beside it. Alucard raised her leg and delivered a kick to the Yharnam Shadow's face.
With her kick, Alucard crushed the Yharnam Shadow's head into the wall and continued pressing with one simple thought — to crush this creature's head. The stone stela began to crack from what Alucard was doing.
But the Yharnam Shadow showed no reaction to having its head crushed into the stone stela. It raised the electric mace and struck Alucard in the head. The electric mace slammed into Alucard's head with a crack, but she didn't even flinch.
"Too weak… I expected more. But you're quite durable. I like that. It means I can play with you longer," Alucard said, grabbing the head of the mace.
Squeezing the head of the electric mace in her hands, Alucard calmly pulled it away from her face and yanked it toward herself. Gripping the electric mace tighter, Alucard pulled it with force, taking the weapon from her opponent. Alucard slightly clenched her hand and crushed the head of the iron mace with a crack, turning the weapon into a pile of scrap.
Baring her sharp fangs, Alucard straightened her palm and struck the Yharnam Shadow in the chest. And just as Alucard's palm was about to pierce the Yharnam Shadow's chest, a huge snake head emerged from under the dark robe.
Alucard didn't stop and thrust her palm into the snake's mouth. Slightly moving her palm inside the snake, Alucard grabbed its innards and pulled her hand back. Ripping the huge snake out of the Yharnam Shadow's chest, Alucard tossed it aside.
Alex was on the other side of the flooded area, fighting the Yharnam Shadow that held only a yatagan. Parrying the yatagan's attacks with the Moonlight Sword, Alex was quite surprised at how well the Yharnam Shadow wielded its weapon.
Dodging another series of wide swings, Alex kicked the Yharnam Shadow's wrist to knock the yatagan out of its hand. The Yharnam Shadow's wrist made a cracking sound, but the weapon remained in its grip. Seeing this, Alex simply smiled and quickly spun around, delivering another spinning kick.
Alex landed a second kick on the Yharnam Shadow's wrist, and the yatagan immediately flew away, piercing the Yharnam Shadow that Maria was fighting. After knocking the weapon out of the Yharnam Shadow's hand, Alex stabbed the Moonlight Sword into the ground, grabbed the Yharnam Shadow by the head, and slammed its head against the hilt of his sword. Seeing that her opponent had been pierced by a weapon, Maria quickly turned her head back, looked at Alex, who was slamming the Yharnam Shadow's head against the hilt of his weapon.
"That was accidental, I wasn't aiming for that," Alex shouted, pausing for a moment.
Hearing Alex's words, Maria quickly shook her head, showing that it was fine, and immediately turned her attention back to her opponent. Because the Yharnam Shadow had been pierced by the yatagan, it froze for a moment, giving Maria a chance to attack. Gripping her saber, Maria delivered a downward slash, intending to sever the Yharnam Shadow's arm holding the candle.
The saber's blade easily severed the Yharnam Shadow's arm. Maria didn't stop there and delivered the next strike. Spinning in place, Maria delivered a wide slash, aiming straight for the Yharnam Shadow's neck. Just as the saber's blade was about to touch the Yharnam Shadow's neck, Maria suddenly stopped and jumped back. From under the robe where the arm had been severed, a snake's head shot out, nearly biting Maria's neck.
Dodging the snake's bite, Maria swiftly swung her short sword, severing the snake's head. After cutting off the snake's head, Maria swung her saber, parrying a yatagan strike. Deflecting the blow, Maria spun in place and kicked the hilt of the yatagan that was still stuck in the Yharnam Shadow's chest. From Maria's kick, the Yharnam Shadow staggered backward until it slammed its back into a cracked stone stela.
Maria immediately leaped toward the Yharnam Shadow, delivering another kick to the yatagan's hilt. From Maria's kick, the yatagan's blade sank into the stone stela, pinning the Yharnam Shadow to the rock. Maria was about to deliver the finishing blow to the Yharnam Shadow's neck when she noticed the stone stela beginning to crack even more.
Reacting quickly, Maria jumped back, and the stone stela collapsed, burying her opponent beneath it. On the other side of the stone stela stood Alucard, who was squeezing the Yharnam Shadow's throat with one hand while her other hand pierced its chest.
"Quite resilient… I crushed every one of your organs, and you're still twitching. You'll make a good snack for my dog," Alucard said, pulling her bloodied hand out of the Yharnam Shadow's chest.
At that moment, Alucard's shadow slightly distorted, and dozens of red eyes opened within it. Alucard squeezed the Yharnam Shadow's throat and tossed it upward. From Alucard's shadow, the Baskerville Hound leaped out, swallowing the Yharnam Shadow in one bite and beginning to chew it.
Alucard calmly looked at her familiar and then shifted her gaze to Maria. Maria calmly met Alucard's gaze and immediately jumped back. Where Maria had been standing, a giant snake head emerged from the ground, nearly swallowing her. The giant snake scattered the rubble of the stone stela, and the Yharnam Shadow that had been buried under the stones slowly stood up.
Seeing that her opponent was still alive, Maria quickly closed the distance to the Yharnam Shadow before it could fully rise and stabbed Rakuyo straight into its face. Gripping the hilt with both hands, Maria pushed downward, slicing the Yharnam Shadow in half. After killing the Yharnam Shadow, Maria sheathed Rakuyo and adjusted her hair, which had fallen over her eyes.
"Looks like that's all of them," Maria said, taking a breath to catch it.
"Yes, that's all. It seems we killed them before they could do anything. Too bad," Alex said, approaching Maria.
"And what did you expect from these creatures?" Alucard asked, recalling her familiar back into her shadow.
"For example, it would have been cool if they had combined into one six-armed Nazgûl and started summoning giant snakes. That would have been interesting," Alex said, lighting a cigarette and placing his hands on Maria's shoulders.
Alucard thought for a moment and nodded, considering that option wasn't bad either. Maria narrowed her eyes, feeling Alex giving her a light shoulder massage. She didn't want to admit it, but she definitely needed a massage. Enjoying the light shoulder massage, Maria slightly moved her head, stretching her shoulders and neck, feeling all fatigue disappear.
After all, they had gone through the Upper Cathedral Ward without proper rest and immediately headed into the Forbidden Woods. And the fact that she had rested a little in Alex's arms while processing his memories could hardly be called rest.
"Thank you, my Hunter… We can continue. We just need to cross this small section of the forest, and we'll reach Byrgenwerth," Maria said after finishing stretching her shoulders.
"You're welcome. Now only the Spider remains. And after that, the real fun begins," Alex said, exhaling cigarette smoke.
"I hope this spider will be interesting," Alucard said, walking past Alex and running her hand along his cheek.
Alex looked at Alucard and shrugged, showing that he himself didn't know the answer. Flicking away his cigarette, Alex turned to Maria, offering to continue. Maria nodded, approaching Alex and walking beside him. Alex and Maria quickly caught up with Alucard, who hadn't gone far ahead.
But she had already managed to kill a strange creature that looked like a human crossed with a fly. It had a huge head with dozens of yellow eyes, insect wings on its back, and in addition to human limbs, it had thin insect-like limbs.
Stopping by this creature, Alex felt strong disgust and didn't want to see anything like it again. Maria looked at this strange humanoid insect, and even she found it too disgusting and unpleasant to the eye. Passing by the strange humanoid insect, Alex, Alucard, and Maria headed toward Byrgenwerth.
To be continued...
(I saw no reason to delay you in the Forbidden Forest or make the Shadows of Yharnam stronger. In fact, those three idiots are only strong because there are three of them and you're alone. But individually, they're nothing more than weak opponents. Next up is Byrgenwerth, the spider Rom, and something else. Or maybe a return to the Hunter's Dream. I haven't decided yet. I think it's worth returning to the Hunter's Dream to spend time with Doll. And now it's time to eat. Peace, love, and running means running.)
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