Blood Drunk Hunter (Shadow Slave/Bloodborne Fic)

When Gehrman first set out to make a new Hunters Workshop he had been mistaken. He had believed that he could cultivate a few of the Sleepers living in the outskirts into true Hunters. However, he neglected to consider their situation. These kids were in hell, and they could only rely on what they knew in order to survive, and what they knew was simple violence. Unlike beasts, humans were a lot more annoying to hunt. This was simply because of variation. 

What made Gehrman's style so deadly and effective was his ability to predict the attacks of Nightmare Creatures, thus avoiding or minimizing damage. Combined with his natural perfect recall, he could analyze and execute the necessary countermeasures for a creature with up to 50 different attacks. This put him at the ability to totally counter Beasts and Monsters while giving a great advantage over Demons and Devils. 

Naturally, the issue with humans was their unpredictability. A certain amount of prediction could be done, but it required more knowledge to pull off. Things like their arsenal of Memories, Echoes, their battle arts, their Aspect, their history, their habits. Needless to say it was more effort than it was worth. Gehrman's "Total" Hunting style that sought to completely and utterly destroy a beast was simply incompatible against a human foe. 

The mistake Gehrman made was thinking that Sleepers would be willing to learn this style in lieu of one better suited against humans. The truth of the matter was humans were the most dangerous creatures in the Bright Castle and its immediate surroundings. If they could not develop a style that could work in both cases it was a lot less desirable. 

On top of this, no one had the innate talent for Hunting. Perhaps there were some in the Bright Castle, but there was no way he could lure them away from that luxury. There was only one individual who struck him as a natural for the craft. 

And he was bleeding out on top of his bed. 

I guess I did manage to get him in the workshop. Just as planned! Gehrman inwardly chuckled at his morbid joke. In truth, he was very displeased with this encounter. It appeared as if Sunless had gone off the deep end, and Gehrman wasn't sure how to bring him back. 

Worse, he wasn't sure he wanted to bring him back. Sunless was in a very particular moment in his development. At the moment there was a seed of hatred germinating in him. This hatred was so pure and so total that it honestly scared Gehrman. It gave him the impression that this shadow would tear the entire world into an abyss. That he would be an apocalypse made flesh. 

Such a thing would be a valuable tool against the Nightmare Creatures. 

This mindset was countered by a growing sense of empathy. Somewhere along the line he seemed to have developed "morals." He was disgusted at the thought of letting Sunless suffer in pain just so he may grow sharper and stronger. 

It was this mindset that led to him staying next to the shadows side for the entire night. It was during that time that he witnessed something truly daunting: the boy was visibly stitching himself back together. The demon blood he possessed seemed to have healing properties, at least when it came to the flesh. It was incredibly potent and an incredibly powerful ability to have. If Gehrman were to hazard a guess, he would likely say it was an Attribute, similar to his [Sixth Sense].

Whatever it was it had healed him by morning. After that, he slept through much of the day. It seemed that his exhaustion was greater than his burgeoning madness. Like a mother, Gehrman stayed by his side the whole time. 

He was actually starting to feel awkward. Wasn't it strange he was nursing this kid back to health? Gehrman didn't dwell on it long, reasoning that this was for the sake of ingratiating himself with a future protege. 

Eventually though, exhaustion came for him too. Without a bed (as it was taken up by the boy), Gehrman set about making the frame of another. It was not hard, though it was a bit tricky working with the longer metal in his short body. Nevertheless he endured. 

Just as Gehrman finished crafting the base, he went out to check on Sunless…

Only to find him gone. 

He left no trace, as if he hadn't been there at all. The shadow had returned to the cold streets of the Dark City. 

Gehrman stared at the empty bed for a while. Then shrugged, his logic taking over. 

"That's for the best anyway. He'll get stronger much faster this way," he reasoned with himself. 

…

Despite his resolution, Gehrman still took notice of any signs of the shadow. As he had expected, he was growing and thriving in this hellish environment. His philosophy and technique had developed, and they were eerily similar to Gehrman's own. Though he seemed to be staggering hunts in order to avoid Gehrman for whatever reason. 

This went on for another month. 

Gehrman's hunts started to become more aggressive. With his strength as a Monster, he started to go after Awakened Monsters more often, this got him a good amount of corpses, which in turn brought more Corpse Eaters. This constant increase in strength was immensely satisfying. His Blood Fragment count also received a boost. With his regular slaying of these Fallen creatures in his schedule, he received a total of 449 Blood Fragments by the month's end. 

He also had finally reached the halfway point in unsealing his beloved Memories. The [Burial Blade] and [Hunter's Attire] were immensely valuable already. While the [Blunderbuss] was more suited to stunning bigger enemies, its niche was less used as the accompanying sound was too dangerous. 

All of this led to him returning to a fairly comfortable state. He continued working out the kinks for the Kirkhammer, but was starting to run into trouble. 

First of all, his idea of melting down the Corpse Eater teeth into metal and then reforging it would simply not work. He was able to heat the metallic-like substance, but he was only able to shape it with his raw strength. Melting it with the mundane fire he was working with was impossible. 

For now, he was making a simpler Awakened version of it. There was a strange Awakened Demon that was solitary in nature. It was bipedal and covered with a shell of intricate design. Its flesh was an abhorrent grey, with some blue blotches scattered around randomly. Its face was like if a humans head had been flattened with a hydraulic press. 

It was terrifying, but definitely useful. The shell was big enough that he could mold the hammer-head from it by chipping away. Despite it being Awakened, it also seemed to have a special durability, much like the carapace of those lobster creatures he fought a while back. 

It brought him no small amount of joy to work on these projects. The Kirkhammer's design was tricky to pull off. The short, thin blade needed to be able to seamlessly attach and mold with the much heavier head. During the process, it was common for the blade to snap under the pressure. Even with the proper "tricking" technique. 

He was contemplating how to work around this when the second visitor made herself known. 

The bell signifying a human went off. This was activated whenever the lever was pulled, so it was hard to get around it since a much larger alarm would go off if the door was broken down. 

Eyes narrowing, Gehrman summoned the [Uncanny Saw Spear]. Though it was a lot messier, it would be superior to the [Burial Blade] in close quarters. He also summoned the rest of the [Hunters Attire]. He usually dismissed the hat, gloves, and coat when he was back in the Workshop, but now that someone approached he didn't want to take any chances. 

His secret hope of seeing the shadow return to receive tutelage was dashed by a much more unexpected presence. Standing in the hallway was the very type of Awakened Demon whose corpse he had been working on. He dashed forward with augmented strength, the untricked saw coming down with great speed when he took in the other figure. 

He had immediately jumped into action, the threat this creature posed was fresh in his mind after all, but his [Sixth Sense] still picked up on the girl next to it. 

She yelped in surprise as Gehrman pulled back the plow. The teeth of the Memory missed both of them, but the force of the blow sent a moderate breeze at the two of them. 

The long blonde hair of the girl fluttered down, revealing her pale blue eyes. 

"You are…Cassia," Gehrman said, stunned. Of all the members of that Cohort that he thought might visit him, he did not expect the doll-like girl to be the one to reach out to him. 

Dimly, he noticed that she was not all that defenseless, another Awakened echo was staring him down, it took him a while to realize the floating rapier was actually a Nightmare Creature made slave to the Sleeper in front of him. 

That, paired with the Demon, actually made her a fairly formidable force. Those alone could likely defeat the average Castle Guard, and could possibly take out one of Gunlaug's "Hunters." 

That being said, Gehrman was confident in his ability to swiftly take down the Echoes if he needed to. His strength had exploded again after the last month after all. 

"Yes," she responded to his earlier question breathlessly. "M-may I come in?"

…

"Sorry I don't have a lot of amenities, I apologize, but I can't offer you any special drink besides purified water."

"Some water, then, if you wouldn't mind," the girl answered. She had calmed down considerably after the unpleasant welcome. Though, neither of her Echoes were dismissed. Clearly, she did not fully trust him. 

After coming back with two cups, one for himself and one for his guest he immediately addressed the elephant in the room. 

"What are you doing here young lady? And why have you come alone despite the dangers?" These were very important questions for Gehrman. After all, he didn't trust her either. 

The girl's mouth twitched, as if wanting to smile at him calling her "young lady" when his body was much younger. However, she didn't comment on it. Instead she also got right down to business. "I would like your help with something."

Gehrman said nothing. Only taking a sip of the water as he waited for her to elaborate. 

"I…have a special Aspect. I can see visions of the future…the future I see is not a pleasant one." 

"I'm shocked," Gehrman answered dryly. He was coming off a bit of a drunk state, but was mostly sober so his comments were kept to a minimum. 

The girl let out a humorless laugh. "In this particular vision I see mountains of dead, the Sleepers of this castle and the outskirts slaughtered by the hundreds. I see what becomes of Gunlaug, I see what becomes of my friends…but I don't see you." Her eyes turned to him then. The blind girl had been facing a wall, but somehow her gaze was leveled completely at Gehrman. It sent a chill down his spine. Why the hell are all these damn kids so creepy? He lamented. 

"So what? You want me to be a hero and save the people of the castle? I would rather not see what you described, but I don't exactly have a reason to help out."

"No," the girl shook her head and dropped her gaze. "I just want you to save one." Gherman raised an eye at that. Cassia gave off the impression of an idealist. A moral paragon who wanted to save everyone. He could see that girl, but she seemed to be eroded by visions of hell. All that was left was only the smallest hope. A hope to save one individual. 

"Who?" Gehrman asked, not outright denying the request. 

"...Neph," Cassia muttered quietly. Her voice was hoarse with such pain that it caught Gehrman off guard. 

"Neph…" he repeated. "Changing Star? That monster? I doubt I could beat her in a fight, how would I save her? How could anyone save her?" 

This response seemed to set the girl off. Her already dejected form became even more closed off. She sucked in a breath as if to cry. "You! You're…different. I could feel it last time, but it's even more pronounced now. It's like you're not a human or Nightmare Creature, but something else entirely. You could…You have to be able to save her…" her voice was interrupted by tears. "She's my best friend…"

It was then that Gehrman realized what this really was. 

It was a desperate cry for help. A cry from a girl who had been told the one closest to her would be lost, that it was inevitable. She had no places to go, and thus went to the most chaotic option as a last ditch effort. 

The sight of it put Gehrman off. "You really are just all a bunch of kids," he muttered. "You are all too weak for this." This line surprised both of them. It surprised Cassia with how heartless it was, and it surprised Gehrman because he meant to say "young" instead of "weak." It wasn't wrong though. If Changing Star was stronger she wouldn't be lost. If Cassia could see farther she could come up with a real solution. If Gehrman was stronger he could make this promise. 

But he wasn't strong enough. 

"No, I can't," he said with finality. "Not because I won't but because I don't think I can. I can't defeat something Changing Star can't.." After a pause he also added, "have your visions ever been wrong before?"

Cassia fell in on herself even more. After a long pause she shook her head. Gehrman couldn't help but sigh. This really ruined his excitement at making an Awakened-level Kirkhammer.

"You're torturing yourself over this. If these visions are always true that means there is nothing new that can be done. You can't break fate."

"I will," Cassia said with such malice and fire that it nearly caused Gehrman to take a step back. "I will tear it down string by string. I will annihilate the tapestry of fate so thoroughly no one will even remember it exists."

The silence that followed was long. Gehrman was rapidly reevaluating this girl's threat level and she was grasping a new core motivation. A motivation that would break reality itself. 

Seriously, why are these kids so creepy?

…

Cassia did not stay long, but her visit remained in Gehrman's mind in the following weeks. The emotion that girl displayed was so raw that it shocked him back to reality. These kids were held prisoner in this hell, the gate to their freedom, families, and friends staring down at them every day. 

It made Gehrman start to consider…If I become a Titan, If I slaughter every single creature in the Dark City and the Labyrinth and fully unseal my Memories, could I kill a Fallen Terror?

The thought was ridiculous even for him, but he was having a hard time shaking this new "empathy" he had. It was really annoying. 

The only thing left to do was keep killing and consuming. Unconsciously, he pushed himself even further. He now slew nearly nine abominations a day. He rapidly approached the Ascended weapons and protection he so desired. At the same time, his physical strength was becoming truly monstrous. It was no no exaggeration to say he wielded the pure physicality of an Awakened. Though he doubted he could beat one in a fight, if they were not careful, he was sure he could at least injure them worse than any Nightmare Creature of their rank could. 

He was now actively hunting Awakened Demons and Devils. It was to the point that he could go into a nest, and as long as there were no Fallen, he would leave the place soaked in blood, but untouched. 

It was a group of Hunters from the castle that saw him do this. They had feared he was a Nightmare Creature, but got confused when he wildly started waving at them, and then ran off cackling at the moon. 

The myth of the Bloody Hermit started spreading like wildfire after a similar sight was accounted for by a separate group. Two seasoned Pathfinders could now attest to its existence, and it started to get taken a lot more seriously. 

There was a lot less panic in the outskirts, as Changing Star (after a request from Caster) told them that the Bloody Hermit was no threat as long as it was left alone. 

It was around this time when a similar figure also started showing up, though this one did not share the same wild exuberance. It was only faintly seen from the shadows. However the rumor of the crazy kid living in the Dark City also started gaining renown. Some theorized that they were one in the same, or perhaps they were split from the same Nightmare Creature. 

Only one person from the castle would travel down to the Dark City to find out. 

This was how Song Seishan became the third visitor to grace the New Hunters Workshop.