71 The new Francis (2/2)

After he got acquainted with Yharnam's atrocities, he found what he was looking at fascinating. There must have been a use for this. Perhaps mummification was the way Yharnamites use to bury their dead. And if smoke still came out of some buildings, someone must be sane enough to make sure this process didn't stop.

His thirst for knowledge pushed him to explore the village further. He wanted to know everything related to Yharnam and its surrounding areas. It was his way of finding out more about the history of the place and purpose of the creation of the healing church. He knew that it had a connection to the old blood, as the doctor Oedon chapel had told him before. But she didn't have enough information as to the source of the old blood.

Some said that it was Old One's blood. Others said that it was taken from a holy medium. No one knew of its exact nature. The knowledge was long lost in the annals of history. He came back to the main square and proceeded onward, towards the biggest building in town. He went through a narrow street. Houses surrounded him and he felt trapped. If a horde of enemies ambushed him, he wouldn't have any way of avoiding the attack. He remained on guard and moved slowly.

He heard some footsteps in the distance, heavy ones that shook the earth beneath him. At the end of the street, he saw the source of the noise. A hulking giant wearing a black hoodie and holding a gigantic axe was patrolling a small clearing among the disordered houses. The space Francis had was narrow so his movement would be limited when confronted to this enemy.

Francis knew that he could use his insight in order to get to know more about his opponent. The woman doctor told him that hunters and church doctors used an item called madman's knowledge in order to obtain insight. This gave them the ability to see extraordinary beings and eventually communicate with the great ones. The item however, was extremely rare and finding it meant that its owner was in luck.

Francis found one in the possession of the woman who had administered blood to him and used it instantly to gain insight. He suffered from a terrible headache soon afterwards but after a short rest, he felt even more powerful. He also learned that by using his ”third eye” he could gather more information regarding his foes.

For instance, their names and their fighting ability were told to him in a form of murmurs. The one in front of him was an executioner. He wore a steel armor on his chest and the black hoodie hid his face. On top of being huge, he was also fat and large. His fighting ability was assessed as high and extremely tenacious.

The executioner held his great axe to his chest in both hands, as if to protect himself from any upcoming attack. He walked slowly towards Francis, assessing his opponent and trying to look for an opening. Francis stood firm in his position, awaiting the executioner's first move. The latter didn't dally for long and swung at him with his axe.

Feeling the wind blow his gray hair backwards, Francis stepped backwards, enough to avoid the attack and stay within range to counter attack. The swing was wide and left the executioner's left side open. He stabbed the executioner, aiming for his ribs. A ringing sound was heard as he hit the armor and his arms slipped, causing him to lose balance. His aggressive opponent struck again with a slam from his axe, directed towards Francis' head. The latter rolled forward and avoided the deadly attack in the nick of time.

It didn't occur to him that his weapon could not pierce armor, he was used to the ease with which he disposed of his foes earlier. He had his back to one of the huts and the giant foe was running towards him, shaking the ground as he moved. Francis waited for his horizontal swing and he jumped high in order to avoid it. He took his gun and shot the executioner in the face. The fat man stumbled back, giving Francis enough time to slip behind him and cut one of his legs.

The executioner tried to swing his axe as he was falling down. His fighting spirit didn't wither; in fact he was more enraged. Francis got hit by the back of the axe and was sent flying. He crashed on a door, breaking it and landing on top of another pile of corpses. The executioner, bleeding and huffing, used his axe to support himself and hopped towards Francis.

The old man stood up, almost choking from the smell of rotting corpses and exited the hut. A strong slam welcomed him as he went out. He avoided the attack by quickstepping to the right and shot the giant in the injured leg. The executioner let out a painful scream and fell to his knees. It was Francis's opportunity to finish him. He climbed on top of him and as if slaughtering a sheep, cut off the fat giant's head.