NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: "The Blood Starved Beast"
"How are you holding up?" a powerful voice resounded behind Gehrman as he brought his blade out of another Beast's corpse.
"Better than you," Gehrman said between breaths. In truth, he was not doing very well. He had not spent this much effort on a hunt in a while. Thanks to his attributes, he did not suffer many injuries, but in this poison-infected hell-hole he still had to use many antidotes.
Meanwhile, Ludwig seemed as if he hadn't even been scratched. This was likely because he hadn't been. He rode atop his horse, it was out of place for a Hunter, but for him it worked well. After all, he had that Arcane weapon with him.
The "Holy Moonlight Sword" glowed with strange power even now. Even as it idled it gave Gehrman the creeps. It had been found in the dungeons of that old civilization after all. The best guess they had for its origins was that it had been a relic of some sort. Nevertheless, its power was unmatched by anything Gehrman himself had made (though he loathed to admit it).
"I trust you are ready for the 'big one' then?" Ludwig said as he hopped off his horse. "It is likely guarding the spot where the Ashen Blood rises from, and it is no doubt the most deadly."
"So just us two then?" Gehrman hobbled over the taller warrior. "You're precious men would likely be butchered."
Ludwig's eye twitched at the jab. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a way with words?"
"For God's sake just cuss me out!" Gehrman started down the path once more, this time with Ludwig following.
…
They knew immediately when they had approached the end of the road. A large and burning chapel stood before them. Piles of corpses were strewn about outside. The stench of blood was overpowering. Gehrman shuddered at the scene, with disgust and exhilaration.
"This is where most of the Powder Kegs went down. Apparently firing from a far was useless. This one is on another level," Ludwig spoke with a grim determination. He showed no fear on his face, only solemn pride.
Gehrman couldn't help but sneer at the man. What a joke. It's been decades since I hunted alongside someone else, to think that when I finally did again it would be with this pretentious child. Despite this though, his sneer turned to a genuine grin. Though he was a chore to be around, there was no one more reliable on the night of the hunt.
The pair started a slow walk into the intimidating chapel. There, they saw a grotesque sight.
The mangled and frail skeleton of an unsightly beast was draped with a patchwork of what looked like frail human skin. Larger than the Scourge Beast, but of similar frame. It towered over the hunters. Despite crouching down low, it was still twice their size. It had not moved from where it was. Loud gnashing sounds were made as the brutal breaking of bone permeated the broken down building. The wet sloshing of its drool and the blood in its mouth was sickening enough to send any other hunters back a step, but the two who came to challenge its reign over this accursed city remained steadfast.
Suddenly it stopped.
Silence was thick as both the humans and the beasts remained totally still, not taking a breath.
Then they broke into a flurry of action.
A blaze of moonlight was released from Ludwig's blade as it sliced through the air at great speed. With similarly mighty speed Gehrman flew into action. His gear and blade slick with blood, he felt their power filled to the brink.
The beast itself did not remain stagnant either. With a speed surpassing anything Gehrman expected, the Blood Starved Beast closed the gap between them in a mere second.
Gehrman's thoughts went haywire as he started to input new information. It didn't respond meaningfully to the double pronged attack. It isn't intelligent. Not even a Demon or Devil, but that speed isn't something an Awakened Monster can do…its…
The dark despair in his heart solidified as he realized what he faced. As if to emphasize this point. His Burial Blade, which had been able to slice Awakened creatures when covered in blood, barely made a slice on the thin skin of the creature.
Gehrman's eyes widened. As the now familiar "wrongness" of the world hit a crescendo. This was not his reality. As he thought that, the beast brought a poisoned claw down on him.
Gehrman could very well have died right then and there if a blast of transient moonlight hadn't knocked the creature's attack off-course. Even still, a deep cut broke through his Hunter's Attire.
"GAAH!" Gehrman yelped as the searing pain of the poison instantly activated. The wound wasn't fatal, but the poison certainly would be.
He rolled back, out of the Beast's path, allowing Ludwig to take the front. Gasping in a desperate manner, he grasped a Blood Vial from in his coat and stuck it into his leg. This was the first time that he had used the Blood in this world, but thanks to the [Contracted] attribute, it would still provide the same healing properties. The familiar euphoria of his wound closing and his senses hightenting hit him like a truck. Technically, it was Gehrman's first time using the Blood. Though the old Gehrman and the Prodigious hunter had used it enough to make it a part of his current instinct, the sensation still felt ethereal.
Pushing forward once more, he got back into the fight. Gehrman was a hunter after all, just because the Burial Blade was ineffective did not mean the hunt was off. In the span of three seconds Gehrman did several things. First, starting to summon the Blunderbuss. Second, he took some antidotes from his coat and roughly shoved them into his mouth. Then he "un-tricked" the Burial Blade, turning it back into a pole-arm and long curved sword. Finally, the Blunderbuss had appeared, and he wiped it with the blood still dampening his gut. All the while he pushed his [Sixth Sense] to the max.
As Ludwig was pushed back, Gehrman once more entered the fray. Attacking a blind spot, his blade once again remained ineffective, this time though, he was prepared. With the foresight of a Hunter, he read the beast's move and fired. The Quicksilver Bullets exploded forward, right into the creature's eye.
A blood-curdling shriek shook the entire city.
Both hunters were flung backward by the force of the beast's presence, but they managed to land upright and return to a battle-ready position.
Gehrman took stock of the beast's condition. A putrid purple-black ooze trailed from its face, but the eye itself was still intact. There were some long lacerations on the creature where the Ludwig's blade had made contact. It had suffered damage, but barely.
The Blood Starved Beast growled.
Gehrman growled right back. "Who would have thought? A damned Fallen in the First Nightmare."
…