Blood Drunk Hunter (Shadow Slave/Bloodborne Fic)

"So…which family do you hail from?" Caster asked.

"Don't have one," Gehrman answered. 

The two young men were running on the dry sandy bottom of this Dream Realm desert. It was emphasized beforehand that they should cover as much ground as possible, and therefore they did not sprint. Nevertheless, they were moving at a speed similar to that of the fastest unawakened human sprinter. 

Gehrman was augmenting himself by enhancing the flow and strength of his blood while also being kept awake through the infusions of some blood. The [Portable Blood Imbiber] was able to store the blood of the Flesh Reavers that he had killed a day ago. The [Surreal Storage] enchantment allowed it to hold enough to last him for another two weeks. Simultaneously it kept that supply safely fresh in his Soul Sea.

Despite its limited application, this Ascended memory was by far the most important and powerful item he had. Even when his three sealed memories regained their Transcendence, they would likely still not be as useful as the [Portable Blood Imbiber]. 

"No family at all?" Caster's voice cut through the space between them despite the high speeds they moved. He ran with such ease that Gehrman suspected that his Aspect must give him an enhancement specifically related to speed.

 "I thought you would at least be a part of a vassal clan, I haven't heard of someone so young completing their First Nightmare in…ever." Caster's words conveyed awe and respect. However, the image of him on that first night still rang true in Gehrman's head. That boy was someone else entirely, and he was certain that this 'kind' brat was just an act. Nevertheless, he humored him. 

"Have some respect, boy. I am almost one hundred years old," Gehrman snapped at him. 

"...Is that right? You look very young for your age, Gehrman."

"Of course I do. This body is only thirteen years old, but I have many people rattling around in this head of mine. One of those people is an old man in a wheelchair, and he is at least seventy years old. Then there is a younger, foreign man who is around twenty. Adding all of those together gets you over one hundred years, but I only have one night's worth of memories from the foreign man. So maybe it's more like 80 years old?" Gehrman trailed off in genuine thought.

Caster was silent for a moment, trying to take in the absolute nonsense he just heard. "You…remind me of someone I met at the academy. I think you two would get along, you have a similar sense of humor."

"Sounds like an absolutely delightful human," Gehrman smiled widely, doing his best to unnerve his new 'friend'.

This interaction was more or less indicative of their entire journey so far. Gehrman had come to the realization quickly that he would have a hard time acting like a normal person as he constantly had to be at least a little mad in order to fight at his best. Even injecting just one round of Flesh Reaver's blood left him acting like a surly drunk. Since he had to take these injections nearly hourly in order to keep him on his feet, Gehrman determined that the best course of action was to drop all pretenses. 

He would say whatever came to mind, and thus, he had cultivated an image that would help dismiss his odder behaviors. 

"Sorry, I got distracted there," Caster spoke up once more, causing Gehrman to roll his eyes. "The reason I brought up a family is because I wanted to know if you had plans to settle somewhere after we Awaken. Since you don't though, I suppose I could help you out. The Han Li clan may just be a weaker vassal of Valor right now, but it will soon gain a lot of notoriety, and I bet we could even claim a settlement. When that happens, you could come join us."

"Why the hell would I join you? You're evil." Gehrman dismissed the offer outright. 

Caster seemed quite taken aback by this, even slightly tripping. However, he caught back up in no time, he was clearly moving slower in order to accommodate Gehrman's lesser speed. This was not the only thing he did that set off alarm bells in Gehrman's head though. For one, he had been nothing but kind and charismatic ever since he woke up. He even shared some water in a metallic container. This was actually a Memory he had which was able to store about five times as much as it should. It wasn't infinite, and it would only last a couple of days, but it would have to be enough. 

They covered roughly 2 dozen kilometers each day. It was only a matter of time before they found civilization, at least, that's what he hoped.

"Gehrman…I know you don't mean anything by it but saying things like that is still quite hurtful." Caster spoke in what sounded like a pained voice. 

"Maybe if you stopped acting so nice all the time I would believe that you were a decent enough person. Right now though, you just scare me. Honestly it's really creepy."

Caster paused for a long moment. Considering Gehrman's words. All the while he had a concerned look on his face. "Sorry Gehrman, but that's just who I am. As a scion of Valor it is my duty to uphold the principles of honor and duty…Besides, it's not like you are being entirely honest either. You say that you have no family, but you already have that strange attire. I can tell that it was not made naturally by the spell, it must have been forged."

"What the actual fuck are you talking about?"

"You can relax, even if you are of the Song domain I won't bear any ill will until we reach a Gate. We Dreamers must work together to survive."

Now it was Gehrman's turn to trip over his feet. Though the boy did not know much of anything about politics, he had heard of the Great clan Valor and their contemporaries: the Clan of Song and the House of Night. These families were essentially royalty, perhaps even greater than that since they had the greatest Awakened in all the world

"Why would you try to kill me just because you think I'm from another clan? Did the Song people do something to your family?" Gehrman was generally curious to know the answer. He started to imagine this golden child who was wronged by a rival clan; thus, he harbored a great desire for revenge and had been hardened by the bloodshed he had witnessed. Then, Caster immediately ruined that potentially fascinating storyline. 

"No, of course not. However, Clan Song is known for its ruthless ambition. I wouldn't be surprised if one of their scions tried to kill me while I'm still a Dreamer in order to weaken their rivals."

"That sounds like a bad stereotype. You're making this up, aren't you?"

"N-" Before Caster could respond he fell completely onto the ground, tumbling a good distance on the sand. Gehrman naturally stopped to help him up, but before he could reach out his [Sixth Sense] alerted him of danger. 

Rising from the sand was a Nightmare Creature, its carapace dull from apparently sleeping in the sand for too long. A part of its body had been sticking out, this is what Caster had tripped over.

The beast was quite large, a little less than one meter taller than Gehrman. It was quite intimidating, with massive pincers and several legs underneath it that scuttled with a creepy anticipation. 

With his battle experience, he considered the beast and then stepped forward. 

"What are you doing? That's an Awakened creature! I don't recognize it so we should keep running in case it-"

"Shut up, brat." Gehrman interrupted Caster's frankly rational plea. "If I don't take the chance to kill every beast that comes my way I would be a pretty shitty Hunter, wouldn't I?" As he said this, sparks formed his hand and he brought out the [Burial Blade]. He quickly tricked it into the large scythe. The long-curved sword was better for facing a large quantity of foes, but against only one he could build a great amount of momentum by spinning the longer scythe, and thus do much more damage. It wasn't ideal against an armored opponent, but he didn't have a good blunt weapon like a Kirkhammer, so this would have to do. 

He approached the beast leisurely, ready to draw out an attack. The giant lobster-looking Nightmare Creature did not take long to make its move. It quickly and forcefully brought down its heavy claw. The blow cracked the ground, but it did not hit Gehrman, in fact, it wasn't close. Gehrman was already behind the beast, who was not very quick to turn. Its strange anatomy forced it to move its feet if it wanted to attack with its pincers from the side. However, that didn't mean it couldn't attack. It thrust its massive body to the side trying to deliver a blow of pure brute force. However, this too missed its mark. 

Gehrman leaped over the creature's hind legs, making sure to keep the scythe rotating. He continued this dance for a minute or two, always dodging with plenty of time to spare, never attacking once. In truth, this fight was not as one-sided as it appeared at a glance. Gehrman was not toying with his prey, but instead searching for an opening, or rather, a chink in the literal armor. 

This beast had very impressive defenses, he could tell that breaking the carapace with a slice was not going to be a feasible approach, even if he had covered it in blood it would still take far to long to cut through. However, it did have a weakness. 

After a couple more minutes, Gehrman finally found an incredibly small soft spot on the creature's back. Wasting no time, he finally made his move. Dashing under a pincer swipe and dodging the sharp legs, Gehrman found his footing and jumped. He pushed his strength to its limit, his blood working furiously and his body temperature rising. With a speed only slightly slower than Caster, the [Burial Blade] struck true. Its sharp end pierced the creature with great power. 

The creature let out a piercing wail, a sound he found familiar. For it was the sound prey made right before it died. 

[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger].