"The Outcome Forced by Fate"

Fate was a concept that Gehrman was unfamiliar with. It was something that he always believed to be a fanciful lie told by those who couldn't bring themselves to fess up to their own mistakes. It was an ugly thing. But it was also a real thing, apparently. 

"My most ardent desire is to break the Fate that chains me."

This was something Sunless said to him in one of their few interactions. After some prodding he revealed that he had an Attribute tied to Fate, and it had led him to disastrous scenarios many times in the past. 

Ever since Gehrman heard those words, he began to feel it. The hands of an invisible author on his story, pushing everything toward a certain conclusion. Fate was a narrative. And Gehrman was quite sure that he was not supposed to be in this story. 

Certain things started to bother Gehrman after he started to look at this lens. Things that lined up a little too well. The first tip was the trip to the Hollow Mountains. It had been dangerous and life threatening, but their success was ultimately an outcome fated to come to pass. Cassie's visions (which were also tied to Fate) made their path forward clear. She had foreseen the most dangerous aspects of the journey and managed to plan around them. 

The duel with the Black Knight, the slaying of that Fallen Devil was poetic. It wasn't an impossible feat considering all the factors that lead to their success. But the whole gutting of Sunless and his cathartic revenge seemed to be too perfect of a result. The Stone Saint that dealt the final blow, for example, was gifted to him through a very small chance of attaining an Echo. The Stone Saint also appeared to have some history with The Black Knight. Their designs seemed strangely similar, though they differed vastly in quality. This matchup was yet another thing that seemed to be something ordained by Fate. 

Then there was Gehrman himself. His actions recently were odd. Despite witnessing the carnage of the divided Sleepers he could not bring himself to intervene. If he did, he could definitely save many lives…and yet he didn't. His last reasonable excuse vanished after it became clear that both of his friends, Seishan and Changing Star's cohort, were actually on the same side. At that moment, shouldn't he have immediately joined them as well?

More than that, shouldn't he have at least helped equip the Sleepers with weapons from the Fallen Creatures he had slain? Why had he not donated any of the Soul Shards he was hoarding in order to help his fellow humans? Despite all of his talk, his actions were hypocritical. 

All he did was hunt down Nightmare Creatures. Nightmare Creatures that ultimately didn't matter.

This war…was ordained by Fate. It was something that must come to pass and it was something that had to happen. And Gehrman was unconsciously forced to let it play out. 

Indeed, though Gehrman recognized Fate. He did not realize how much it forced his actions to ultimately amount to little in the grand scheme of things.

However, this Fallen Devil was not a key part of the narrative of Fate. Killing it would save some unimportant Sleeper's life. But that one life was good enough a reason to forge ahead. Perhaps his actions would even save several of them. 

Gehrman knelt down and picked up some black sand, then he let it fall through his hands. 

The Handmaiden's Seishan had lent him were few in number. Apparently, Tessai planned to attack Gemma and Kido, the leaders of the second group. For this reason, the force was small and inconspicuous. They would not be noticed. 

"The Soul Shards of the Beasts you kill as well as the Devil I kill are yours. That is the reward I offer," Gehrman spoke quietly. He hoped that this reminder would make them more excited to complete the job well. Unfortunately, all that met him were uncertain stares. 

Shadows danced over his face, and the unnatural sunlight behind him made the ladies' eyes squint. At the moment, they were in a hallway just before the entrance to the former Castle Guards training grounds. They had infiltrated silently, and the Handmaiden's had already picked out their prey. 

Unlike Gehrman's normal hunts, this one took place at dusk. The timing of it was such that it would overlap with Tessai's attack. Therefore, there would be no one to interfere with the hunt. 

Gehrman allowed himself a wild grin as sparks circled around him. The [Portable Blood Imbiber], [Uncanny Saw Spear] and [Blunderbuss (Sealed)] appeared on the floor and in his hands respectively. 

Still kneeling, he picked up the needle and thrust it into his right leg. The Fallen Blood entered his body and immediately his heart rate elevated and his senses heightened. A shuddering groan escaped him as he felt the rush of madness approach him. His thoughts became slightly disjointed, but they soon focused on a singular point. His madness focused on the monstrosity behind the doors. 

"Tonight, something is different in the air," Gehrman whispered to himself.

Before, he had stolen a good amount of blood from a Fallen Devil at sea. The creature was vulnerable, so it wasn't a fair fight. Now though, Gehrman was halfway towards becoming a Devil and his strength had risen tremendously. What's more, the opponent was familiar. 

If he had to pick a beast of Yharnam who resembled it, he would have to say the Dark Beast Paarl that Johann fought. Even then, it was very different. Multiple skulls with overgrown teeth jutted out from all around the creature's body. Its matted black fur was interrupted by small strips of flesh hanging off. Unlike the Flayed Mourners and the Blood Starved Beast, the flesh on this monstrosity was not its own. What's worse, it appeared to carry some sort of electric current through them, causing paralysis to any who felt its touch. Lastly, it had four legs, but they were powerful and muscular. In fact, its whole body was powerful and muscular. It was full of blood. 

The Devil towered over all humans, standing at several meters in height and a few more in width. If he slaughtered it, the rewards would be numerous, perhaps coming close to 70 Blood Fragments. 

And he could slaughter it. All of its attacks were familiar. The flailing electric flesh was dangerous, but could be easily dodged when taking into account the creature's momentum and center of gravity. 

He stood up straight and tricked his weapon. The spear collapsed, allowing the deadly, compact saw to take its true brutal form. 

The madness in him focused his will to an unseemly level, pushing the weapon to a level near Ascended. Vials of Fallen Blood exploded out from the [Portable Blood Imbiber]. If there was one good thing about the breaching of the Bright Castle's walls, it was that there was no shortage of Fallen prey for him to consume. In the past week alone he had gained 200 Blood Fragments through his hunts. Now the blood of the Fallen prey coated his attire, gun, and weapon. Furthermore, several Quicksilver bullets formed in his blunderbuss.

With a wide grin he started to circulate his blood faster. His heartbeat elevated and the heat emanating off his body reached inhuman levels. The remaining vials in the [Portable Blood Imbiber] hung in the air, and then quickly coalesced into a large spear. With a wave of his hand, the spear started to spin. It started off slow, carefully making sure the liquid stayed solid. Then it reached a point where the centripetal force was great enough to hold it together on its own. A breeze hit the Sleepers as the dangerous blood weapon whirred.

With no decorum, Gehrman kicked down the door with gleeful malice. 

The wide open area was glorious and bold. The creature resting at its center was just as Gehrman had seen. 

The spear shot forward and dug its way into its flesh. The opening attack was a formidable one, but his prey was a Fallen Devil. Somehow, the creature sensed the attack at the last moment, the blood spear only managed to tear a garish, but ultimately harmless hole on its side. 

This was good enough for Gehrman. He bolted forward with incredible speed and moved to face the creature. The Fallen Devil turned its madness infected eyes towards him and let out a guttural screech that shook the ground. Then, it too moved forward. 

The flesh strips covering its body jumped alive with pale electricity. Already, several small, weak bolts were sent at Gehrman. They were far slower than real lightning, but they would still be impossible to react to. Of course, he never planned on reacting to anything. 

With his feet firmly placed and gravity centered Gehrman dodged the bolts with ease, anticipating their trajectory. 

The Devil launched itself into the air, its massive weight coming down with the force of a building. But Gehrman was under it, dashing below its swipe. 

He swiped the serrated weapon against the already open wound, making blood fly. 

Ordinarily, he would take this opportunity to excessively beat on this wound, causing major blood loss, but the creature would not give him the opportunity. Three flesh strips seemed to alter directions mid-air, changing their momentum and coming right down at Gehrman. 

With his [Sixth Sense] he saw the attack coming, but even then he was too slow to dodge it completely. 

Just like that, Gehrman had a matching wound with the Nightmare Creature not even four seconds into their bout. The ascended [Hunter's Attire (Sealed)] was enhanced by blood. On paper it shouldn't have even been able to break the attire. In reality though, Gehrman would have been cut crudely in half had his armor been one Rank lower. This Fallen Devil enhanced its attacks with its electricity, thus making them far more deadly than they had any right to be. 

The blow to his side stunned him for less than a second, but that was enough for it to thrust its weight to the side. Hoisting himself upward, Gehrman used the momentum to fly backwards, gaining distance. 

The wound on his side was damaging, but the bleeding has stopped immediately, The creature, on the other hand, did not have the same privilege. 

With another cry it charged in, Gehrman once again rose to meet the challenge. This time, the flesh strips followed no set movement. It was completely different than anything he had seen before. Of course, he would be a lousy hunter if he wasn't prepared for something like this. 

The supernatural wooden Saw Spear was not a good insulator, and thus Gehrman extended the weapon, tearing into one of the flesh strips and causing blood to spray. As soon as it left the creature, it poured into Gehrman's mouth. This time, he did not stumble at the overpowering taste and fresh madness. His mental strength was enough to keep him focused on the next attacks. As he did so, the wound in his side quickly stitched itself back together. 

Gehrman continued to dodge and parry the attacks. Bringing out his Blunderbuss when he couldn't dodge everything. The bullets didn't pierce the creature's skin, but it did stun it for almost a whole second. That time was all Gehrman needed. 

Once again, he dove in and felt the blades of the [Uncanny Saw Spear] tear through the creature's main body. This time, the blood that fell immediately turned into small knives and tore into its previous owner. 

Only one blow again was permitted before Gehrman had to dodge again. The flesh strips stood on end, seeming to harden into blades as they coursed with light. 

The Fallen Devils roar caused the surrounding sand to be pushed away, almost as if a bomb had dropped. 

In response, Gehrman let out a grizzled laugh. The creature's pain, his own superiority, it was intoxicating. 

What's more, he could see it in the Devil's eyes. That same tortuous madness that was starting to plague him again. It seemed to recognize it in him as well. For a moment, the Devil paused, pupils shaking. 

Then they cracked open. The blackness in the center of its eye turned into a star of unseemly chaos. 

Then the Fallen Devil was upon him. Its jaws, claws, and electric appendages covered all routes of escape. Bolts of weak lightning were cast along the ground like a net. 

Time seemed to slow as Gehrman took in the path of each blow. His mind worked at dangerous speeds, the neurons fired at such a pace that his brain was starting to suffer small, insignificant damage. But it hurt. Knives seemed to take their bloodied edges to the grooves of his brain

There was no path to dodge. 

The blunderbuss fired and the creature's body reeled back, but the electric blades continued toward him. 

Familiar, life-ending pain crushed him as his limbs were severed in three different places. The electric shock that followed paralysing him and leaving him numb. 

In half a second Gehrman regained consciousness, in another half a second the creature was able to bolt forward again to finish off its prey. 

During that time, Gehrman started to summon his trusted scythe. Simultaneously, he forced all his blood to hold his body together, while also throwing it as high into the sky as he could. 

The terrible pain was exasperated by madness, and it took everything he had not to pass out. But now, he had a couple seconds. The Nightmare Creature was still on the ground, but it would need a couple of seconds to gather itself and make the jump. That time was what Gehrman needed. 

He dismissed the Saw Spear, it had reaped enough blood. Just as the creature gathered itself, its own blood stuck to its face, blinding it. But as this happened, a large portion shot upward, and with a rasping scream Gehrman's limbs, held together by his own blood, sewed themselves back together. 

He felt his sanity drop drastically. The blood compounded upon the pain to create a truly fiendish madness. It was a madness of pain and suffering that he now directed at the Fallen Devil that now leaped into the sky, blindly swiping for him. 

The Devil was not an idiot. It knew that jumping into the air was not a good play against such a dangerous opponent. But in its mind, the opponent was nothing more than a stump, clinging on to life. 

Instead what loomed above it was a newly reformed angel of death. Using the technique he had developed to break open the Flesh Reavers nest, carve out the Workshop, and damage The Lord of The Dead, Gehrman sent the blood covering the creature's eyes backward. The scythe formed fully in his hands, his own misplaced blood coating the blade. 

The hit landed, and a shockwave tore through the skies of the Dark City. 

The Sun fully set as the two monstrosities crashed to earth. Both bloodied and beaten beyond repair, but one of them died. 

[You have slain a Fallen Devil, Vile Gorged.]

The Spell whispered the sound of victory as Gehrman's flayed mind struggled to keep up with what was happening and where he was. 

On instinct, he summoned the [Portable Blood Imbiber] and thrust it into the corpse. He also immediately connected the needle to his own leg; the sloppy repair job quickly became permanent. His tendons returned to their proper places and his brain healed. 

Despite this, his thoughts only grew more and more disjointed. The searing fire of this madness shredded him constantly. 

He let out a shaky breath. 

The fight had not gone the way he wanted, but it was over. He had successfully killed a Fallen Devil on his own. 

This was the most immediate danger, but there are several other Fallen Creatures that need to be taken care of, Gehrman recalled. In that moment he vowed to cleanse this city of those Nightmare Creatures…

But Fate could not let this happen. 

Fate could not let this anomaly continue to interfere.

Fate could not let Gehrman be there for the final confrontation atop the Crimson Spire, the Fallen Terror of the Forgotten Shore. 

And so the cries from the battle, the destruction, the blood all called to one gleeful man. The one man who could actually kill Gehrman. 

"Well, this is certainly a surprise. I doubt even Gunlaug would have had an easy time with that bastard," the looming figure of Tessai appeared. The temperature dropped as he and a dozen Castle Guards surrounded him. 

Gehrman's unsteady eyes looked around. The Handmaiden's were gone. Did Seishan…betray me? Why? What purpose could that serve? He couldn't fathom how Tessai had reached this place, he was supposed to be fighting Gemma, Kido, and their faction. 

"Man, your eyes tell a story. You can barely even understand me right now can you?" the giant's voice taunted Gehrman. "I'm in a great mood. The leader of the Artisans, that bitch Kido fell under my hands. The tides of war have shifted, my victory is all but assured. But I could use someone like you. How about it? Serve under me, under my regime you will get any and every pleasure you could ask for."

Gehrman's eyes traveled to each other's Castle Guard. They all seemed to be on a high after slaying one of their enemy leaders. The giant corpse of the Fallen Devil was the only thing keeping them from outwardly smirking. 

Gehrman felt his heart twist. The veins in his body choked themselves. Pain made him black out for a few seconds. When he came to, Tessai was still ranting about something.

"You…you're a beast aren't you?" The voice that escaped Gehrman was tinged with a sob. Like a toddler losing their favorite toy, he wallowed in shame. He looked into the eyes of each of the men surrounding him. A few were sane, but most were mad. He could see it. He could feel it in his heart. He looked at Tessai, the barbarian of a man and let out an inhuman growl.

"Beasts all over the shop...You'll be one of them, sooner or later…" His breath heavy, Gehrman stood on unsteady feet. He had poured a great portion of his Essence into that last blow. Now, his reserves were all but spent. 

Tessai knew this, he could tell by how the boy dragged his body upward. But he couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end at the sight of the thing before him. 

"I'm a beast? You're literally drooling right now, kid. You're not even human at this point. I can't believe I made you that offer. You're even more insane than they say," Tessai made these proclamations one after the other. Sparks swirled around his hands and twin hatchets formed within them. Their size was great and their aura deadly.

…But Gehrman's weapons were better. Even as the group of beasts summoned their Memories, Gehrman still seemed to tower over them in terms of power. The frenzied aura he was constantly emitting shook the Castle Guard subconsciously. They started to sweat as they took in the man-turned-beast. 

"I'm gonna…fucking slaughter you all," Gehrman's voice turned upwards, ending in a maniacal laugh. "I hope you don't plan on having this guy living for long, Fate."

As soon as he let out this wild scream Tessai grimaced and made the familiar, cold order. 

"Kill him."

Delaying for only a second, the Castle Guard charged. Their strength had increased greatly after murdering fellow humans. Gehrman was staring at the moonless sky. A single tear fell from his cheek. And then the first blow came. 

A spear started to pierce his neck, but then it stopped. The man holding the weapon died as a thin needle of blood detached from Gehrman's hunter's attire and pierced the man's eyes. Soon, a line of blood was circling around him. 

Debilitated by injuries, lack of Essence, and madness, Gehrman could barely move. But even still he could kill. 

One after another the Castle Guards fell to gruesome and ruthless wounds. All the while Gehrman simply stared upward. 

But he moved his attention back after feeling the cold become oppressive. His joints locked and his [Sixth Sense] warned him of imminent danger. 

Tessai moved with great strength. 

Gehrman moved with the last of his own. Scythe still in hand, he moved through his chilled bones and cleaved a large sweeping motion forward. 

It cut into the hulking man. Even with his skin hardened by his Aspect, acting as a wall of steel, the blade still cut deep, but not deep enough. 

The blade missed his heart. 

Tessai pushed the blade to the side and brought his hatchet down. 

Gehrman used the blood on his arms to bring them up to block…but the blood didn't respond. 

Gehrman was out of Essence. 

Not a single thought managed to cross his mind as the hatchet slowly, painfully buried its way through his hair, skin, skull and finally the brain. 

The mad pain of this moment struck Gehrman as oddly familiar. 

The nostalgic taste of the end returned to him.

The [Burial Blade (Sealed)] dissipated into a shower of sparks. 

In an instant it was over. 

Fate had forced the inevitable outcome. 

Gehrman died.