(Third Person POV)
The Bat flapped its wings, launching into the air once again and shot right at Samuel, who jumped to the side. He managed to avoid the talon swipe, watching how the Bat kept itself suspended in midair. It snarled at him, its purple eyes giving him a mean glare.
"Hm..." Samuel said, "Let's see here."
The Bat then flew right at him with greater speed, letting out a shriek. It reached Samuel and swiped its talons right at him. Samuel dodged the attack with ease, trying to figure out a good way to put it down with the Anti-Curse Rounds.
"Hm....." Samuel said as the Bat kept swiping its talons at him, "The mark...."
The Bat made a flip in the air, swinging its talons down hard at him. Samuel stepped back, narrowly avoiding the attack. He then spotted the mark on the collarbone, immediately aiming at it, pulling the hammer back, and pulling the trigger.
"Got you." He said
Old Faithful let out a powerful shot, firing the enchanted round right at the Bat Creature's mark. The round struck the bat, piercing through its flesh and letting out a purple spark of magic power. The Bat then let out a pained howl, tumbling through the air and crashing to the air.
Samuel narrowed his eyes as he saw that the Bat was thrashing around on the ground, letting out a pained hiss.
"Ugly fucker..." He muttered, pulling back on the hammer of his revolver, "Hm..."
Then, Samuel watched as the Bat's body emitted a shadowy mist, its body shifting violently as it rolled on the ground.
"A-Ahhhhh....." He saw the body of a man wearing a white shirt and tattered pants, "G-Guhhhh!!!"
The Man clutched the bullet wounds on his body, his eyes widened open in pure shock and pain.
Samuel walked over to him, seeing that the man's body and face was pale, dark vein-like marks spreading over him. The man's lips were also cracked and there were bags under his eyes.
He crouched down and held him down, "You alright?" He asked, "Sir."
The man coughed, "I.....I....." He let out, gasping for air, "S-Someone shot me!!"
"That'd be me." Samuel said
The man looked at him, his eyes were bloodshot, "H-Huh....!" He said, "W-Why?!"
"You were a massive Ravager Bat." Samuel told him bluntly, "That's why."
"W-W-What...?!" He said, "W-Where is Master Yvan???"
"This guy was Yvan's worker?" Samuel thought to himself, "And he didn't care to mention anything? Not to mention the maid? Then again, Yvan Lothrand didn't seem like himself either."
Samuel reached inside his satchel, "Alright...." He said, "Hold still, let me fix you up."
"This is definitely the work of a Curse." He kept thinking to himself, "A very potent one. But what could've placed it on it? Something's not right at all."
"A-Aghh...." the Man groaned
"Relax." He said, pulling out some bandages and a small vial, "Just hold still."
He opened the vial, pouring the liquid on the open wounds. The wounds began to burn, causing the man's body to convulse in pure pain.
"O-Ogghh!!!" he let out a pained bellow
"Easy." Samuel said firmly as he began to stuff some of the bandages into the wounds, "Just relax. I'm going to stop the bleeding."
"You're alright."
**************
"You two have explaining to do." Samuel stepped in front of Yvan Lothrand, who was sitting on a couch, covered in a blanket, "I'm serious about this."
The Maid was standing in front of Yvan, her hands in front of her as she looked down in shame. Yvan was shivering, his face was pale, and there was some sweat rolling down his cheeks.
"First of all, is that all there is here?" Samuel started, "Was that man the only one afflicted with the Curse?"
"Curse?" The Maid asked, "I...."
"Where are the other workers?" Samuel asked, "I need answers now."
The Maid looked at him, "I....t-they're...." She started, "They're dead."
Samuel narrowed his eyes, "What?"
She got in front of Samuel and got on her knees, prostrating. Samuel looked taken aback by this gesture, his eyes widening slightly.
"I apologize on behalf of Master Yvan." She said, "It all happened so suddenly and I am the one who made the job request."
"What?" Samuel said
"We do not know what happened...." The Maid said, "B-But Roth.....he suddenly turned into that thing.....and he slaughtered most of the workers. It all happened in front of Master Yvan and he has not been the same since."
"How long?" Samuel asked
"Not longer than we had called for you." She said
"Then why make me fucking wait when I got here?!" Samuel exclaimed, "This shit has been in this house for nearly a fucking week!!!"
"The Creature was hiding. Over the days since the incident, I was able to study its behavior, no matter how terrified I was." She said, trembling, "Every day, after the fourth hour past noon, it would reveal itself. But it never attacked us. Master Yvan agreed, even through his...trauma...."
"Strip him." Samuel said
The Maid looked at him with surprise, "What?"
"I need to see if he's not marked." Samuel said, "I'm serious here. Strip him. You too."
"B-But...." The Maid said, "That is...."
"This wasn't a form of Lycanthropy or anything of the matter." Samuel exclaimed, "Roth was Cursed. He turned into a Ravager Variant that I have never seen before and after I struck his mark with an Anti-Curse attack, it was dispelled. But marks are simply tether points that receive a connection from somewhere. The longer the connection, the stronger it needs. Therefore, it requires other marks in the vicinity to get a stable and strong connection."
"You think we could be marked?" The Maid asked
"Yes. So strip so I can make sure." Samuel said before letting out a chant
"Te Ipsum Revela"
Seconds after he uttered the chant, there was no reaction whatsoever from anywhere. This confirmed that there was no danger nearby.
The Maid was on her knees still, looking at him with a surprised expression.
"I..." She said, "What was that....for?"
"Good." Samuel said, "You were right, that was it. But you're not stripping, so hurry the hell up. Also, take me to the remains of the workers that were killed."
"I must burn them."