Yeah, the first time I went through this, I found it impossible, partly because I didn't know that Abigail was unkillable. I was trying to protect her and keep her alive (like Vesna Hood, hell was she annoying, but at least it was a [rare] challenge).So... once I found out that I didn't have to take pains to keep Abigail alive (and then had to go back through the Prologue and the whole first chapter a second time because I'd accidentally erased the game saves, grrr... don't ask) I found the Beast to be an extraordinarily easy kill. If I remember right: second time I used Specter Oil, Swallow and I think probably Blizzard (because in the beginning I really liked that potion -- later on it became annoying) . . . and just went right after the Beast with little regard for the barghests. (I wanted to kill lots of barghests first, in order to rack up XP, but I quickly found out that by doing so I was giving the Beast an advantage and letting him wear me down, so I stopped doing that.) With the Specter Oil on my blade, and chaining my attacks so, I guess, he didn't get a chance to stun me, he went down pretty quickly.I suspect that the Specter Oil was really the most important secret ingredient -- that without it: the fight would've been considerably tougher. If I remember right, because of the Specter Oil I think the Beast took massive amounts of damage with every series of strikes.Therefore:Swallow + Specter Oil + Fast Style = Dead Beast.However... two things:1. I'm thinking you probably have to be quick about it to make sure the Beast doesn't stun you and therefore get the chance to assail you with a bunch of devastating attacks -- which means Spector Oil and relentless chained attacks in Fast Style. Don't give him a chance if you can help it. Don't bother with the barghests: go straight for the Beast.2. I'm thinking: This might be one of those fights where, depending on your luck, you either get stunned and therefore quickly lose or you don't get stunned and therefore win. (If I remember right, I think the first time through, when I was naïve about Abigail, I'd keep getting stunned and then once I was stunned would end up dead really quickly.) But I also think that you can usually keep from getting stunned if you use the above formula. I'd have to do a bunch of testing to make certain, but... dem's my memories.