When they left the room, the Cursed remained standing in the corridor and did not move.
"The hunt has begun," he said. "Go, my friend, Count. Your girl is brave, and she must not die tonight."
The night grew darker. Shadows fell in the corridor. Several torches went out, reducing the light.
A blast of piercing cold wind swept through the corridor. A female voice came from one side. The Cursed looked and saw a standing female figure. The fair-haired girl with blue eyes. The Count's daughter stood at the end of the corridor, looking at him. She was calling him.
Not fully realizing what he was doing, as if in a hypnotic trance, he moved toward her. The torches on the walls burned with a heavy hum. The girl at the end of the corridor waved to him, as if calling him. Then she disappeared around a corner.
A piercing female scream came from behind. The Cursed turned as if falling out of a dark dream and entering a new, even darker and more horrific one. And he ran back.
The door to the Count's daughter's room was wide open. The girl was nowhere inside. Ice-cold frost had frozen on objects and windows.
Wild female screams, full of nightmare and terror, continued to echo through the castle. The Cursed moved toward them.
The atmosphere of the castle had changed. The corridors had previously been gloomy and sinister. Now, before the hero's focused gaze, a concentrated force of enemy and otherworldly power emerged. They lured, suppressed, and transformed against the will of the one passing through. In one corridor he encountered the barrel of a weapon pointed instantly at him. He avoided being shot only thanks to the honed reflexes of a professional, as everyone's nerves were already on edge. Two hunters aimed at the Cursed through the sights of their weapons. They had come out of the doors of one room, dressed in dark jumpsuits. Their heads were covered in tight hoods, leaving only their faces exposed. Grim, stern, focused.
The female scream rang out again. The three of them rushed deeper into the castle.
The smell of blood and terror filled the air. They stepped into a part of the castle where bloody symbols constantly shifted on the corridor walls. Ahead was a room, and from its open doorway spread black darkness, creeping along the walls like a terrible epidemic. From deep inside the room came female screams. And something else. Something that sent a chill down the spine. A low, quiet laugh. Then a sharp whistle of slicing air, as if someone struck or threw a weapon.
A human body flew out of the horrific twilight room. The hunters with their guns and the Cursed instantly dove to the walls. The body flew between them and fell to the floor. It was a man in light armor. The iron end of a long torture spike protruded through his chest, piercing the armor. The warrior died instantly, even before his body hit the corridor floor for the last time.
Another scream came from the room. Male. Then a loud tearing sound and an ominous silence. Only lonely female sobs broke it.
The senior hunter signaled. The second hunter and the Cursed nodded. They moved forward. Entered the room.
In the twilight, at the far wall, the Count's daughter hung on the breaking wheel. Her face was twisted with the convulsions of pain. Her dress was smeared with blood.
Before her, crouched, stood a massive, terrifying creature. Dressed in a black robe and cloak, it was going through iron torture instruments in front of the girl, selecting the most dreadful for continuing its bloody work. Each limb had seven long knotted fingers with black sharp nails. The girl's eyes stared at it in horror. Cold reigned. Clouds of breath escaped the bystanders' mouths. Pieces of torn human flesh littered the floor.
The hunters fired simultaneously. Then the unexpected happened. The monster covered itself with its cloak, catching the shots. Then it turned toward them, showing long sharp teeth that filled more than half of its gray face. Narrow eye slits burned with red fire. The hunters reloaded their weapons. The Cursed threw a long dagger. The monster grabbed the breaking wheel with the victim and vanished from the room along with it.