[You have slain a Transcendent Human, Ludwig.]
Gehrman waited with baited breath for the following announcement, one that would award him the Tomb Prospector's Armor or perhaps the Holy Moonlight Sword in Memory form.
Unfortunately, neither thing happened.
The Spell was silent, and all that was left was the patter of rain on the metallic Cainhurst Armor and the echoing explosions from about a kilometer away.
The clash of those monsters had only become more ferocious, and despite everything around them dying, they showed no signs of stopping.
Gehrman took a moment to pause and take in the scene.
This place had been the most dangerous hell he had ever encountered. Even the Dark Sea of the Forgotten Shore did not have as many horrific so close and so powerful. And though there were no Titans, the caliber of Hunters and the number of Great abominations made it even more dangerous than Antarctica.
At least, the Antarctica that he had left.
Time would have passed in the Waking World.
It was hard to say how much time, exactly, but it was sooner than he had anticipated. Sunny and his cohort had been gone for a whole year conquering their 2nd Nightmare, and Gehrman's last Nightmare had taken 4 months.
This one was looking to only last 2 and a half months.
Gehrman groaned and started to tear off the sweaty, bloody armor off his form.
Unfortunately, he had not gotten a Memory for the armor, and instead had to loot it off one of the corpses of a Royal Guard.
His luck with Memories seemed to be going down a bit, but none of that mattered so long as he could get something from the two remaining.
They would not grant Supreme Memories, but whatever prize that would be awarded to him would no doubt be more powerful than a Transcendent Memory.
After getting down to the bare scrubs he wore underneath his attire, he summoned the [Hunter's Attire] and returned to the leathery warmth that was his trusted outfit.
Flexing his hands he took stock.
His decision to duel Ludwig in a "fair fight" was a bit of a gamble, but it had paid off. Coming off as an intentionally odd figure would throw him off his game, and since he was facing him head on, he got to make use of the [Gluttonous Reitersplasch], which was always a fun weapon to wield.
Though the [Burial Blade] was much more powerful due to its current Rank, it was also a weapon that this Ludwig was intimately familiar with. Though he was still the finest warrior in the land, he was still a pupil to the First Hunter.
Unfortunately for Ludwig, his opponent was not that man, but instead the Last Hunter. The current Gehrman had more experience and more variations in his battle style. With the Reitersplach, and attire he could easily conceal his identity.
Additionally, he had saved on Essence, only using it to circulate and manipulate his internal blood; it had barely put a dent in even his current reserves.
Lastly, he had not wielded Madness in the encounter.
Beating Ludwig without all these things was nothing short of a miracle, but it all came back to the one uniquely unfair advantage Gehrman had in these Nightmare's: he knew the enemy.
Sure there were things like the jelly fish-like Great Demon, which none of his memories could recall, but the major players had all been fought and killed by either Old Gehrman and or Johann.
In other words, he was the worst possible matchup for Ludwig.
As Gehrman took a step forward, his lament at not getting a Memory from the leader of the Holy Blades was slightly curbed when he looked down.
Gripped tightly in the tightening corpse's hand, the Holy Moonlight Sword still remained. Though it had lost its glow due to its master and conduit perishing, the blade remained intact and mysterious.
"...Well, what's one more corpse desecration," Gehrman murmured. He leaned down and pulled the sword from the dead man's tight grip.
It had taken some effort, as he had expected. This sword and Ludwig were inexplicably intertwined. Even when lost to beasthood, the blade remained with him.
However, unlike a Memory, the sword was not magically bound to him. Johann had done the same thing he had just done, taking the powerful Arcane weapon from a fallen Ludwig.
As he felt the old weight in his hands, he let the nostalgia and movements from the Old Hunter's Nightmare flood him. Johann had used this blade to great effect. Though its Arcane blasts had less practicality in the Astral Clocktower due to the nature of the enemies and the fact that Maria dodged the blasts just as well as Gehrman could - it had been devastating against the creatures of the Pthumeru Dungeons.
It was because of this weapon that Johann had managed to take on those horrid Defiled Chalice's that had stone-walled the excavations of Byrgenwerth and the Tomb Prospectors.
The blade was weighty, but incredibly well balanced. It was not an exaggeration to call it perfect.
Then, with a simple wisp of his will, Gehrman ran his hand across the flat end of the blade, letting it light up the dim twilight of Innsmouth.
Grinning, he dismissed the light and carried it on his shoulder as he walked towards the battle between the Pseudo Supremes.
The closer he got, the more wary he became.
The world itself felt…wrong.
Gehrman could not put it into words, but he could feel the contours of reality bending in imperceptible ways.
For one, the fact that this clash had not leveled the entire Hamlet, hell even the entire mountain range that ensconced Innsmouth was uncanny.
The speed and power were more than enough to level mountains, and indeed there was a large clearing of destruction around them. Yet it felt artificially contained.
Perhaps it was a protection from Kos Herself that limited the destruction.
Or maybe it was something else entirely.
Gehrman was leaning toward the latter, as this was not the only thing "wrong".
In the distance, he caught sight of the actual battle. The form of the other fighter who was standing his ground against the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst made him grimace.
Ah, Brador…that asshole.
If there was one human individual who caused him just as much grief as the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, it was Brador, the Church Assassin.
Well, besides Micolash. That little shit had given him way more grief. However, that wasn't because of his power, and more so the fact that he was so damned annoying to kill that the pain of tracking down the taunting coward was just as brutal as having his skull bashed.
Still, the memories of Johann's encounters with him were fresh. The man was a menace, and the fact that he had to be killed multiple times in that Nightmare only made it worse.
Only later did Johann realize that the key in the Fishing Hut could be taken to the jail cell where Brador's true body rested, and allow him access to his tormenter.
Needless to say, Brador ceased to be a problem.
However, actually fighting him was always a dangerous encounter. The man was quick, powerful, and he had a sixth sense not dissimilar from Gehrman's own.
Furthermore, the Bloodletter was a chore to deal with. The reach of the thing was always just a bit more than it seemed, and it took a long time for Johann to get the man's movements down.
Still, he did have his movements down. As he watched the fight, the after images painted a clear story, one that Gehrman was familiar with.
The gap between Gehrman and the pair was utterly massive, when it came to physicality. Even as an Ascended Titan boosted by the [Greedy Bloodstone Tailsman], [Eyes on The Inside], and extra straining with [Blood Manipulation], he could only barely follow their movements.
They were hyper sonic, breaking the sound barrier perhaps a dozen times over with each movement. In fact, they may very well be able to go faster.
It was clear what this battle had devolved into was a contest of endurance. One was waiting for the other to make a mistake.
Unfortunately, neither of them did, so the fight had reached a stand still.
One that Gehrman happily planned to break.
After watching for a bit he considered his options.
Ideally he could make a prediction on one of their movements and fire the [Slothful Evelyn] even if it wasn't a kill shot, the other would still be able to turn the tables. That wouldn't work with his currently drained Essence though.
Besides, Gehrman wouldn't do it even if he had the option.
These two were his prey. He would deal the final blow to both.
With no shame in his greedy heart, Gehrman effortlessly let the Holy Moonlight Sword come alive.
The weapon did not require Essence despite its ability, instead it appeared to draw boundless energy from a separate dimension. Even with [Eyes on The Inside], Gehrman couldn't fully parse out how it worked.
But then again, he didn't really need to.
All he needed was to let the muscle memory take over and let his accelerating thoughts pull him toward the right direction.
There was some backlash as the Arcane blast shot forward, the price for wielding such a weapon was evident, yet compared to its effect, it was hardly noteworthy.
The transient moonlight landed at a most unfortunate place for Brador. Instead of attacking the figure himself, the blast shattered the ground beneath him, leaving him with no foot hold.
…As it turned out, this didn't matter to him.
He kicked, swatting aside the Blades of Mercy and in the same movement sent himself flying backwards with the air pressure generated from the movement.
Gehrman gritted his teeth. It had been a while since he had been made such a fool.
As Brador landed, hunched like a beast, the first pause in the battle since the initial clash occurred.
Gairm, or rather the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, eerily turned half his head to consider Gehrman.
When fighting Ludwig, he had hidden his identity to throw off the opponent, but such a thing wasn't necessary anymore.
Neither Gairm nor Brador had any experience fighting the First Hunter, let alone Gerhman. And since Johann's night was in the long distant future, the only one who really knew the enemy was Gehrman himself.
Despite this, he still had to be clever.
He nodded at the Bloody Crow.
In Gehrman's mind, what would follow was a joint attack on Brador. Since Gehrman knew the man's habits, he could take advantage of the inevitable opening Gairm created for him and steal the kill. Then, when the man's guard was down, Gehrman would kill him too.
Once the last man fell, the Nightmare would end.
Gehrman was fairly confident in this plan, and he had made certain to stifle his Madness and [Blood Manipulation] whilst they were within range. Their senses were monstrous, but they would also be taken up by the equal opponent in front of them.
There was no way they would notice any oddities in him, even though they would undoubtedly suspect something wrong with this whole thing, they would not be able to pin anything on Gehrman.
In the dire situation, the desperate Gairm would not question the help, and–
A bullet was fired and steel flashed.
The right side of Gehrman's jaw was obliterated, in less than a second. And the Blades of Mercy moved to sever his neck.
Supreme Blood moved to protect him. Augmented by [Forged By Blood], the Hunter's Attire and the 5th Rank blood managed to keep Gehrman's neck from getting cut clean off.
His shock was sharp, but his instincts were faster.
Fortunately, after that assault no other blow came, Gairm simply stood coldly, the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst menacing him. A flash of the Grand Cathedral and the cave from the last Nightmare flashed in his mind.
A primal fear welled up within him before being intently suppressed.
Gehrman injected a pre-prepared Blood vial, one of Transcendent Rank to mitigate as much Madness as possible. His jaw reformed with phenomenal pain and stitched him back together. The cut on his neck – which was a few inches deep – also closed.
Gehrman let the gravely voice of Old Gehrman come forth.
"What are y-"
"You're not him," a deep voice said.
To Gehrman's shock it was Brador who said it, not Gairm. The three stood in a triangle now, all positioned in a way that they were aware of the other two at all times.
The Cleric Beast mask turned away, off to the sheer cliffs and the ocean below.
"That thing in the ocean. It's the same feeling."
Gehrman blinked dumbly.
The ocean? Had his Madness truly reached them? No, that was impossible, his Madness would not have been recognized unless they had sensed it when Gehrman had appeared before them.
They might have been able to surmise that something dreadful was in the ocean, but it would be impossible to pinpoint what it was.
Gehrman had even made sure not to use [Blood Manipulation] out of fear of some Madness trickling out…
"Ah," Gehrman felt his neck, the blood that had shielded him had cracked and shattered across the battle grounds. In that moment, that fraction of a second, a tiny bit of it leaked out.
Or perhaps it was when his jaw was blown off, his surprise may have made his control slip.
But why had Gairm even attacked him in the first place? Gehrman was his ally in this Nightmare, he had made sure of that.
"If you're wondering what gave you away, foul filth," the Bloody Crow hissed. "You should know that you were terribly sloppy. Any child could surmise the true horror of this place would be the last thing standing."
Gairm seethed with genuine anger. "Everything and everyone here is dead. A systematic culling. It could not have happened randomly. All this death, and only one person left alive…perhaps your biggest blunder was keeping that skin suit. If the real Gehrman were here, then not a single human life would have been lost."
Gehrman's mind faltered.
Wait…that…why didn't I consider that?
A chill ran down his spine.
Something was wrong. With his mind? His soul? Both were protected soundly by the [Greedy Bloodstone Tailsman] even if a Great Creature were to attack such things, he would at least have noticed it.
This was something else, something more sinister and secretive.
It was hiding. Hiding in plain sight?
Gehrman replayed everything that happened in his mind and tried to find the moment where he stopped considering the obvious consequences such a mass murder would cause.
And as he did so, the triangle was broken.
The Church Assassin and the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst moved, converging on Gehrman.
However, they were not both attacking. Instead, Brador had leaped in to attack, while Gairm moved to kill the Church Assassin.
Before Gehrman could consider the reason behind the protection, a Chikage was thrown into his throat.
His neck exploded with the force of the blow, destroying everything above his collar bone and everything below his mouth.
Gairm's using me like I planned to use him. Using the slight opening in attacking another to capitalize on an attack…but he is also still trying to kill me. This isn't protection, this isn't a 2 v 1. It's a three way free-for-all.
That was the last thought Gehrman had before another blow came, and his brain exploded.
Then, Gehrman died.