[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5165889][img]https://i.imgur.com/SstS9jz.png[/img][/url]
[h3]Streets of eastern Central Yharnam, just south of the plateau elevator[/h3]
Not a beast. Worse. Far worse. A Hunter's worst nightmare. Unaffected by incense, could walk among humans, Yharnamites and Hunters unnoticed if so desired. Much more versatile, unpredictable and intelligent than a beast. Able to match every power and skill Stefan had move by move, and with the same endless potential as himself.
It had taken Stefan only a single glance at the man he had been fighting to realize what he was fighting: another Hunter.
The realization had flustered and confused him, his mind trying to come up with an explanation for these dire circumstances he suddenly found himself in even as he was desperately trying to defend himself. It had been a trap. This Hunter, whoever he was, had most likely been following them in the shadows for a while, only to seize the opportunity when they paused their walk and were distracted to make a ruckus.
For a moment he wondered about the [I]why[/I] of it, until the other Hunter was upon him and he felt once again the other's brute strength and ferocity, his [I]power[/I]. Hunters and beasts grew their power from their victims, with more and stronger prey growing their prowess to ever greater heights, and this other Hunter was evidently significantly stronger and more durable than Stefan. This man had obviously done a great deal of killing to gain this strength. He could have a purpose in killing church Hunters specifically, but it was most likely also a simple matter of Stefan – a relatively veteran Hunter – representing strong prey. Killing Stefan would make this man even stronger.

Though robbed of his church pick and badly wounded, Stefan still forced himself to roll from his prone position into a sitting one, reaching both hands to his left hip as he looked around frantically. The civilians were running, at least, though they had not gotten as far as Stefan had hoped. He winced. If this savage Hunter killed him now, there was little doubt that he could easily catch up to Draco and the others before they reached the elevator. Stefan had wounded the other Hunter pretty bad, he knew, and must have depleted his regenerative potential quite a bit, but the dutiful servant of the Healing Church still had his doubts that a few huntsmen would stand much of a chance even against a weakened Hunter of this caliber. Stefan had to persevere at least a little longer... or those people were doomed.
He jabbed the syringe of another blood vial into his left thigh – three left, he reminded himself – and immediately felt his wounds accelerate their mending, his own regenerative potential restored. He was going to need all of his strength for this fight. With his right hand he unclasped the torch hanging from his belt, wielding it as a mace. His left hand discarded the now-empty blood vial, grabbed a small flintlock and used it to strike a spark to ignite the torch.
The other Hunter, meanwhile, took a moment to pull out the sword that he was still impaled upon, producing another gout of blood as his wounds came unplugged, before grasping the weapon with both hands and, with a moment's strain on his inhuman arms, snapped the blade on the middle before discarding the broken weapon in the street before turning his attention to Stefan once again.
The weapon wielded by the hostile Hunter was known to Stefan only by reputation, though he knew enough of it to recognize it at sight: it was a so-called [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/bloodborne/images/7/73/Beast_Claw_concept_Art.png/revision/latest?cb=20170603022153]beast claw[/url], a profane armament crafted from the still-living bones of a darkbeast. The artifact itself was actually the fist weapon in his right hand, which was what caused the bestial transformation of his arms. A weapon made to allow Hunters to fight like beasts do... a truly abominable thing and, worryingly, a trophy taken from the strongest of beasts.

When the enemy rushed in to renew his attack once more Stefan reacted with a quickstep of his own, darting past the other so that they both ended up just behind each other, only for Stefan to immediately spin around, winding up his right arm as he went, and quickly slammed his lit torch into the other's side. He watched with some satisfaction as the bestial Hunter withdrew a little and staggered, clearly fazed by the fiery attack, but had to duck into a crouch but a second later when his left great claw came scything toward Stefan's head.
Against his better judgment Stefan went in closer, almost placing the two men chest-to-chest, before unleashing a barrage of strikes with his torch upon the other, swinging the fiery weapon as fast and hard as he could. The other seemed to momentarily panic and tried to retreat once more, as Stefan had hoped, only to leave an opening for Stefan to strike a clean blow against his opponent's head, sending him stumbling, the pelts that made up his primitive clothing smoldering.
[I]How am I doing better with a bloody torch than with my trick weapon?[/I] he thought incredulously, idly twirling the improvised weapon in his hand as he put some distance between himself and his adversary, who was now glaring at him with eyes emanating rage and hatred. Of course, he had a pretty good idea why, since he had intentionally changed his tactics to achieve it: the simple act of Stefan taking the initiative and working to attack rather than defend himself was throwing off the extremely aggressive Hunter.
Stefan smiled at the other with newfound confidence. If that was really all it took, maybe he could win this fight after all.
The murderous Hunter stepped forward once again, drawing back his right arm and obviously winding up a slash or punch with all of his strength, prompting Stefan to quickstep to the man's right, now-vulnerable side outside the range of the prepared attack to land a blow of his own. He swung his torch at the other's head...
Something hit Stefan's jaw on the left side, momentarily just leaving him confused and dizzy, barely even realizing that he was stumbling to his knees. It took him a couple of seconds to understand that his opponent had changed his attack in the last instant as a reaction to Stefan moving; instead of slashing or punching, he had used the stored energy in his right arm to elbow Stefan in the head, which he had been in an almost ideal position for. A second later the pain hit, as did the halfway sad and halfway fascinated realization that he had several knocked-out teeth rattling around in his mouth now. The left hinge of his jaw felt like it had been shattered.

Stefan tried desperately to stagger back to his feet, coughing out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth. He could not think. Could barely even see clearly, struggling against the vertigo that assailed him. He just needed time. Just a moment. If he could just regenerate a little he could go on. Just a moment... just...
There was a blur, and Stefan felt something big, sharp and very, very bad plunge into his abdomen. Claws. Beast claws. The bestial Hunter had visceral attacked him with his beast-hand, burying the entire giant hand in Stefan's guts.
“You church Hunters,” the other hissed wickedly, his voice dripping with disgust and amusement. “So predictable. So arrogant. So bloody [I]stupid[/I]!”
Movement below, sudden and violent. Pain. Unimaginable pain. Emptiness. The other was holding up his inhuman left hand, but there was something dangling from it. Stefan squinted, but could not see. Then he realized: he was holding Stefan's guts.
He could not make out the other's face anymore, but he could hear the smile in his voice. “It's going to be a good hunt tonight.”

~~~

[h3]Eastern Yharnam, relatively near the Hunter's clinic, bottom of the elevator[/h3]
The civilians ran as best they could under Draco's guidance, some of the less athletically inclined citizens having to be urged on several times when they started slowing down. The distance was not too great, however, and soon they managed to reach the foot of the elevator... only to find that the elevator itself was currently at the top of the shaft, not the bottom. There was a lever in the ground next to the shaft, which one of the civilians at the front of the group went to pull. The mechanism was activated with a loud “snap”, and with a faint rattle of chains the platform above started descending toward its waiting passengers.

In the street in front of the elevator, about twenty meters (65 feet) from the elevator itself, the church giant was still engaged in its own battle. Now that Draco and the others were much closer than before, it became evident that the giant – wearing several deep, bloody lacerations upon its colossal frame – was in the process of fighting off a pack of three [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/bloodborne/images/e/ec/Scourge_Beast_concept_art.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180728143049]scourge beasts[/url], with another two lying dead in the street, smashed to bits by the giant's axe. The large, wolf-like monsters were similarly distracted with fighting the giant, running around to evade its devastating blows while occasionally leaping at it, raking their claws against his skin or burying their teeth in his flesh. A little further off was also the corpse of a church servant, though there did not appear to be any more of their kind around.

While the civilians crowded at the bottom of the elevator shaft, panting, sobbing, whimpering and complaining about how long it took for the elevator to descend, Stefan, back where they had come from, having bought them all the time he could, drew his last breath. The beast-armed killer then turned, looking in their direction, and started sprinting toward them at inhuman speeds.