Much like the Hinterlands, the land of Loran was drenched in the scent of the Arcane. The surfaces of random stones had warped into odd, net-like patterns. The sky was cloudless, but the familiar blue exuded a haunting aura.
Each breath Gehrman took seared his throat. The air here was dry enough to remind him of a dessert, and yet signs of life remained everywhere.
The ruins of civilizations like Loran had once been the home of the mysterious race of people known as Pthumerians. They were attendants of the Great Ones, and they existed in harmony with these alien beings for a long time. Despite these places being centuries old, they held art and architecture that was no way inferior to modern day Yharnam. Of course, all of it was covered in old dust.
These super societies had collapsed. The reason behind this was still unknown, and was one of the main reasons excavations of the Chalice Dungeons continued. As these spaces seemed to exist outside of time, they could offer glimpses into their past.
Unfortunately, the Church was unable to reach the lowest depths of the more harrowing dungeons, and thus the source of the calamities of old was left unanswered.
However, many guessed that it was the Great Ones who were responsible.
It wasn't hard to guess why. Just stepping foot in Loran was enough to put a person on edge. There was an inexplicable stench of Arcane forces all around.
The same had been true at the Hinterlands.
However, it was difficult for Gehrman to compare the two. The most dangerous creature he had come across during the exploration of that forsaken land was a Fallen Demon. It was a tough fight to be sure, even the strongest Awakened would be hard pressed to defeat it easily.
And now Gehrman faced three such creatures.
Thin, silver hair stood on end, defying physics. Each strand of hair was distinctly separate from another, and the beast's head split to reveal an enormous maw. What's worse, a current of electricity danced across its bony flesh.
It lowered itself to all fours. Its chest nearly touched the ground and it leapt forward with a speed that nearly broke the sound barrier.
But its prey had seen it coming.
Gehrman was already to the side and swinging his blade down. Coated in the blood of the Viper Pit Hatchling, it sizzled with dire poison. However, the heavy blow only managed to stun the beast.
Before it could even turn, Gehrman was already dodging a second attack. Another flash of silver flew across the air, this time, it drew blood. If not for Gehrman's Ascended attire, then he likely would have lost an arm. Even still the electric current that ran through him caused him to freeze for a moment.
At that moment, the initial beast lunged for him again.
The blood from his arm dripped out quickly before being staunched by Gehrman's will. It formed a spinning blade that moved with an incredible speed, but this too only halted the beast.
But that was all the time his pupil needed.
A streak of grey, much cleaner and more graceful. Twin blades fell onto the creature, stabbing it and this time causing a gushing of blood to release.
Maria could not finish off the creature, for she was also contending with the third beast. But this was enough.
Gehrman dashed to the downed creature, shaping the blood that fell from its wound into a rope that jerked the creature's body upwards.
Just as then, the beast came to finish off Gehrman, but it only ended up gutting its companion. The compounding electrical currents shocked Gehrman, but he used it as leverage to make an inhumanly sharp jerking motion.
The creature's body fell apart, the rest of its guts falling out.
[You have slain a Fallen Demon, Loran Silverbeast]
Immediately, Gehrman reached for his gun which was already summoned and strapped to his back.
Feeling the familiar recoil, the remaining beast was met with a spray of bullets.
The Loran Silverbeast were tenacious and brutal creatures. They moved fast and had incredible defenses. But they were weak to counter attacks.
The Fallen blood from the Silverbeast corpse below rose to his fist and formed a claw. With this, he plunged into the creatures stomach, grasping its sternum and tearing.
This bone specifically was unusually brittle compared to the rest of its body. It cracked under the pressure and soon Gehrman heard the spell utter his victory once more.
Unfortunately, there were no Memories or Echoes awarded.
He turned to see Maria standing over the other beast which she had swiftly defeated. All things considered, she had fared better than he had. And since these creatures would pose a severe threat to anyone of Awakened Rank, he suspected that Maria had been elevated to an Ascended.
It was both a disturbing and comforting thought. On the one hand, he had an individual of the 3rd Rank at his side. On the other hand, her physical capabilities were so far beyond his own that she could theoretically dispatch him incredibly easily.
Of course, Gehrman's [Sixth Sense] and decades of experience would make it much more of a fair fight than ought to be possible.
On top of that, she (like Ludwig in his First Nightmare) was not gifted a particular Aspect or special ability. It was only her strength that was matched to the legendary human Ascended.
However, Gehrman suspected that this was actually a decrease in strength from the real Maria. After all, her true power nearly matched that of Old Gehrman in his prime, and if she used her abilities as a Vileblood, then she might just surpass him.
Of course, he could not just ask her to use those abilities.
She had sworn off the use of the blood control of the Vilebloods and the use of any of their blood weapons. It was the only way to gain the trust and respect from her fellows at Byrgenwerth. But it was also a personal decision she made with her own values in mind.
He hoped that his use of [Blood Manipulation] might raise an eyebrow. Perhaps then he could ask her about the intricacies of the art.
Unfortunately, Maria did not bring it up. She only nodded at her Master, eyes filled with admiration and concern.
"You…seem a bit slower than normal, Master."
"Maybe you're just faster," Gehrman grumbled in reply. Of course, the difference in their physical prowess was solely due to the Spell's interference, but it still hurt to be reminded of his own inadequacies.
She let out a beautiful laugh that made his heart skip a beat.
"Perhaps."
Gehrman shrugged off the heat rising in him and turned toward the pit below them. Now that the nearby Silverbeasts were out of their way, they were able to reach their goal.
The greenish lake was obviously poisonous, and it didn't take much searching before they found their target.
They were called the Crawlers, and they definitely had the "poisoned blood" that Laurence asked for.
A shimmer of lights appeared while Gehrman knelt down to drain the blood from the Silverbeasts. He had moved the Ebrietas blood into separate vials, freeing up space in the [Portable Blood Imbiber]. Since the Silverbeasts were small, they both only filled a singular vial, and since one of them had to be taken to heal Gehrman, he was only able to keep two (after stealing the remains of Maria's kill).
All the while she watched him curiously. Maria did not question him, for she knew that everything he did, he did for a reason.
Eventually, he dismissed that Memory and summoned a new one. He would need the [Red Messenger Ribbon] for walking in the poison swamp.
"You have plenty of antidotes right?" he asked one last time before they ventured forward to face the creature.
"Yes, more than enough," she assured him.
No more words were needed. They had been Hunting together for a long time, and they did not need to speak at all in order to fulfill a job perfectly.
Slowly, Gehrman stepped into the poisonous pit, the familiar burning of poison hit him, but its pain was drastically reduced thanks to his Charm Memory.
Maria only winced slightly before following him.
They crept along the edges until they saw their prey.
In the Nightmare Frontier that Johann had visited, these creatures had been very common. In fact, this whole area was crawling with beasts. Some especially annoying ones chucked deadly boulders from high angles. But that was only a Nightmare. Perhaps one dreamed up by a Lesser Amygdala. Whatever the case, the true ruins of Loran were much more desolate (and without those cursed boulder chucking giants).
So it took some walking until they could reach their prey.
Before they could even get close though, a ball of poison came towards him. It was a deadly poison that was much more dangerous than the lake they stood in.
Gehrman managed to dodge thanks to his [Sixth Sense] and because he knew this enemy. Already he could see the slick form of the Crawler peeking out from beneath the swamp waters. Its muscles seemed to undulate with a disturbing rhythm throughout its body. The sounds it made were disgusting.
And it was fast.
A wave of poison rose as the creature came upon them. Both Hunters moved with similar urgency, but only Maria was able to fully dodge the wave.
Fortunately, Gehrman did not have to.
Powering through the pain he broke through and tricked his blade into its scythe form. But before he could build up momentum, numerous tentacles thrashed forward, and he was forced to block.
The weight of its blow was staggering.
Gehrman groaned as he was flung backward. He grimaced and came to the conclusion he had been dreading.
This thing is a Devil. Even though it was the same Rank as those Loran Silverbeasts, the fact that it was of the 4th Class was enough to put it in another league of power. And the twisted intelligence it had was even more pronounced.
After pushing Gehrman back, it was already barreling toward Maria. The blades of her Rakuyo flashed as she parried away the barrage of tentacles.
The drops of blood that flew from the creature hovered in the air, and then rushed to the back of the creature where it started to seep in and condense.
It was Fallen blood, and Gehrman had Fallen blood on his blade. The technique he used in the next moment was able to injure a creature of the 4th rank back when he was still a Demon.
Now…the results were even more devastating.
The resulting explosion of force caused all the surrounding water to be pushed away, revealing the sticky swamp floor for a moment before it rushed back.
To Gehrman's surprise, a tentacle was suddenly flying toward him.
He moved the blood on his blade to his attire, enhancing it and condensing to block the blow at the point of impact. But the surprise of the attack delayed him, and he instead felt his bones crack under the creature's attack.
Somehow, the creature had survived his attack. Using his [Sixth Sense] he saw the garish wound he delivered causing a great amount of gore to seep out, but the Crawlers were tenacious as well, and their unique anatomy left no weak spot. Even having a hole blown through it was not enough to finish it off.
This was a major oversight on his part. He had overestimated his strength.
Was I lacking the adrenaline of last time? Or was I missing the extra strength of several vials of Fallen blood? I was very insane when I hit that Corrupted creature…Is it the madness I am missing?
These thoughts were very unreasonable to have in the middle of a fight with a Devil, but fortunately, the fight was already over.
He hadn't finished it off in one blow. But as soon as the hit landed, the creature's fate was sealed.
Maria was given time and space, and her Rakuyo moved with the dexterity of one of the greatest Hunters of all time.
He did not hear the Spell announce their victory (for he did not deliver the final blow), but he could feel the life force finally fade from that fiend.
They had acquired the poisonous blood from Loran.
Gehrman grinned as he considered the Blood Fragments he would reap from the creature, but his grin faltered.
A gunshot sounded, and a bullet was flying towards Maria's skull.
Before Gehrman could warn her she was already strafing to the side.
The bullet only hit the side of her shoulder, but instead of bouncing off or perhaps bruising her like any other bullet would do to an Ascended, it cut through her flesh and hit the swamp water with an explosion that sent waters rippling for dozens of meters around.
Gehrman's eyes focused and quickly found where the bullet had come from.
He had lowered his guard because there were no beasts around, but that did not mean there were no threats.
Three figures clad in shining silver and heavy armor stood above them. The distinct red cape that fell off their shoulders made it clear who they were.
The Vilebloods of Cainhurst had finally appeared in Gehrman's 2nd Nightmare.