Eastern Yharnam, outside the Hunter's clinic
Even if he had thought that they had time to spare to discuss the topic – which he was certain they did not – Victor probably still could not have provided any comment more constructive than the shrug he performed now when it came to the appearance of the clinic. It was not as though he had been explained... well, pretty much
anything about the technicalities of what was happening or what this place was supposed to be. He was “just” a Hunter, after all.
There was a reason that Moira and her followers had gained such traction even from the simple concept of Hunters being treated well. While Hunters were objectively superior to humans, including those who had sampled lesser blood treatments, they had always been servants to the Healing Church and subject to the will and commands of the vicars and the clerics, with the only real exception being the First Hunter of the order who, as the highest among Hunters, served the vicar on par with the clerics. The rest of them were basically soldiers, dispensable infantry units to be wielded by anyone associated with the church, who were expected to hunt and nothing else, least of all ask questions. Besides the First Hunter there were no real ranks among Hunters; a Hunter was a Hunter, and that was that. Hunters might choose superiors among themselves based on seniority, prowess or, as was the case with some faction leaders, ideological vision, but all Hunters were the same to the church.
The clinic... a shrug was a good way to summarize Victor's thoughts on that. It was not as though the clinic was
subtle, being obviously different from the other structures on the plateau and being the obstacle that created the dead end of the street it was on, but there was certainly no visual indication of its purpose was. It was remarkably unremarkable, one might say. The fact that in was in use despite being in an almost entirely unpopulated area was also strange... though he figured it did make some sense to not create new Hunters in close proximity to where ordinary citizens lived. But then why was the clinic obviously abandoned? The censer was unlit; if the clinic had been manned in any capacity,
someone would definitely have lit the censer when the bells had marked a Night of the Hunt. The church had treated these people, let them begin their metamorphosis, and then just... left them? It was not as though Victor, or Hunters in general, had been babied during or after their transformation, but at least there was usually a person nearby to remind them who, where and what they were before sending them off to hunt.
And why send Adelicia to this particular batch, too? he wondered, growing increasingly paranoid about the entire affair the more the thought about it.
I mean, obviously her “blessing” is meant to get them addicted to blood only she – and thus the Healing Church – can provide so they're guaranteed to be loyal, but why these Hunters in particular? Hundreds of Hunters have been unleashed without such measures of control, so what makes these ones so special?The Blood Saint's last sentence was somewhat more relevant, and also raised some very important questions.
“'Too late' would be total silence and nothing but corpses left,” he told her, painfully conscious of the seconds ticking away with every word he spoke. “The noise means someone's still fighting.”
He turned partway to Raine, frowning while avoiding looking at either of his companions. “We can't leave the saint alone, and we can't bring her inside. Too dangerous. One of us has to guard her, the other heads inside.” He reached into one of his pockets and swiftly produced a shiny coin. “Flip a coin to decide?”