The Sun was setting on the horizon painting the sky a deep shade of crimson as night began to fall over the city of Yharnam, Nerco was currently resting in her shared cot with Gaile sound asleep, listening to the slow and calm heartbeat of her lover a content smile resting upon her features.
Though his heartbeat was calm, Gaile himself was anything but, though he wouldn't dream of disturbing her when she needed to rest, instead he began to stare at a shaded corner of the chapel's support rafters, He had felt an unwelcome pair of eyes roving over both him and Nerco for most of the day and he just now pinpointed the location of his potential foe, "I can't see you but I know you're there..." He muttered under his breath, in a voice low enough that Nerco wouldn't be disturbed. As if in response a cloud of black vapor began to materialize from the shadows taking the form of a man as it phased through the wall and left them in peace.
"You saw it too?" Gehrman asked in a low whisper as he came to a halt resting against the open archway of the small chapel they were currently camping in, Burial Blade in hand. With a silent nod Gaile confirmed, "Yeah, I saw it..." He paused, "Whatever the hell that was I have a bad feeling about them, it seemed to be made of smoke." He finished looking at his old mentor for an answer.
"Whatever it was, they have an ethereal ability about them..." Nerco said sleepily as she turned slightly in Gaile's protective embrace, "I sensed them leaving..." She paused "That was what woke me, not You or Gehrman" She said looking up at Gaile with a neutral expression before she turned to regard The First Hunter with hard eyes. "You didn't even notice them until they made their leave..." She paused, "You might be getting too old for this Gehrman" She said plainly to the old man before her who served as a mentor to her closest friends and a father figure to her.
Elsewhere, within the old ruined hall of the Grand Cathedral, the gathering of White Clerics waited patiently for the Sixth to return from his reconnaissance and as if on cue he materialized in a tuft of smoke and vapor at the top of the stairs of the ancient hall
"He noticed me… It took them all night but he figured me out before the others." Etrius spoke in an annoyed tone as he relayed what he had seen.
"So there are Three Hunters protecting the Keeper?" Spoke Alice in a quiet tone as she absentmindedly sharpened the ornate but curious pair of blades she used as her preferred weapons of choice before looking to her companion who nodded before speaking "Seems too easy..." she muttered lowly a gesture that Etrius scowled at "Its going to be anything but easy you two The Lady of the Astral Clocktower, and The First Hunter are protecting her alongside Gaile." he said in an exasperated tone at this both Hannah and Alice went wide eyed "You lie Etrius!" She paused before continuing, "Maria and Gehrman both died decades ago… Maria ended her own life when she could no longer stomach her duties and Gehrman… No one honestly knows what happened to him he simply vanished without a trace one evening..." Hannah said with a raised tone as she regarded Lloyd and the other three Clerics who alongside the rest of their ranks were preparing their weapons of choice. The Tenth had chosen his most favored weapon, a straight bladed sword cane that held a deadly secret, The Threaded Cane was a staple of the hunters arsenal used both by workshop Hunters and the church's own ministers. Alongside this, he placed a standard configuration Albrecht Repeater into a side holster along with a belt of quicksilver bullets with which to keep it loaded and readied for combat, The Ninth and Seventh both chose to wield the great war picks once used by the oldest Hunters of the Church, both detesting the use of firearms they instead chose a satchel of throwing daggers, each blade almost a foot in length and honed to a fine, serrated edge, Etrius chose to arm himself with a weapon of Cainhurst Descent, a short straight bladed Chikage with a power-keg designed scabbard that allowed the blade to be launched at high speeds a beautifully crafted combination of gun and blade, and in his heart he didn't want to be here tonight and he prayed that he wouldn't have to draw the blade from out of its resting place at his side.
Lloyd chose a classic Cainhurst Chikage as his affinity for Bloodtinge was second only to The Keeper's lover and protector the man Etrius referred to as Gaile Arkenmire, Hannah and Alice chose to arm themselves with the most unlikely of weapons, warped blades that curved around to protect the users hands from attacks, one held in each hand the Church Ulaks were carried into battle only by these two as none had the skill or physical condition demanded of the weapon's unique fighting style.
Elsewhere Gaile, Maria, and Gehrman were setting up their defenses preparing the small chapel for anything and everything. Lifting a section of the chapel's rafters that had fallen to the floor during the previous skirmish with the freed Hunters of the Nightmare there was still yet one Old Hunter that had yet to make himself known, and up in the rafters he sat, silently biding his time waiting for help from the clerics to arrive, or so he thought as a quicksilver bullet whizzed past his hooded head. "You missed one Gaile." Maria spoke up tossing his repeater back to him "Hello Brador." She said with a glare and scowl forming upon her face, a similar expression forming on Gaile's as well. "Didn't I kill you already?" He asked in an unamused tone of voice as he broke open the revolvers hinge to load a single fresh round into the empty chamber in the cylinder. He responded with a low chuckle that quickly gave way to laughter, "I'm surprised you noticed me dear Lady Maria." he said lowly spitting at the ground at the mere mention of her name. "I could smell the stench of the scourge on you" She retorted "To think you skinned your companions turned beasts after you killed them." she paused, her glare never letting up as she stared down the insane Church Assassin who regarded her with cold eyes.
"Have you learned nothing with all the decades spent trapped within the nightmare?" he paused, his cold black eyes boring into her own piercing green orbs. "The secrets we took to our graves were secret for a reason and none of these mindless sheep need know the details!" He yelled out angrily, "As Simon once said-" he started before Maria cut him off "I'm done keeping the secrets of the church, they weighed to greatly upon my heart and soul in my original life and lead to my downfall at the hands of my unquenchable thirst for blood." she paused before drawing out her Rakuyo.
"This petty bullshit ends tonight Brador!" She yelled out as she charged the man who had since hopped down from his perch with what appeared to be a gigantic mace formed of his own coagulated blood. "I really wish I had to time to entertain you Maria but I really must be going." He said with fading laughter as he dissipated into ash and embers, his consciousness retreating back to the safety of the Hunter's Nightmare. "We'll be seeing him again Gaile..." She said not sparing him even a glance, "Count on it."
Back at the Grand Cathedral the distant report of the repeater had been heard by the party of clerics "Seems like they found old Brador eh Etrius?" Lloyd said cockily "I would have thought your mentor would be better at remaining undetected" he continued, earning a glare from Etrius "Oh I'm sorry what I meant to say was Former Mentor, seeing as he died decades ago." He only stopped when he felt the edges of Hannah and Alice's Ulaks resting against his neck "Open your mouth with anything that isn't constructive in any way and I'll behead you, right here, right now." Alice said with a cold and unfeeling tone, "Brador was a mentor to Myself, Alice and Etrius and you would do well to show his memory the respect it deserves!" She said with a raised voice.
"Indeed you should." They heard a voice speak out and turned to find their former mentor standing before them, Bloodletter in hand "Has this man no respect for his elders or superiors?" Brador asked as he slowly paced toward the group, before he stopped to regard his former students "M-Master Brador? Is it truly you?" Hannah asked with an awestruck expression upon her face. At which he smirked "Yes dear Hannah it is I, Brador, of the Healing Church." He spoke, regarding his students with a warm expression "And I come back to you now drawn from the Nightmare so that I may assist you in the task you've all been given." With this said he began his slow trek from the hall of the Grand Cathedral with the Clerics slowly following behind "I'll Scout ahead Master Brador." Etrius spoke from somewhere behind him as he vanished into a cloud of black smoke and vapor.
At the Chapel Gaile, Maria, and Gehrman had finished preparations when the ethereal figure from before appeared in the room with them hands raised in surrender "Please, I'm not here to fight you. The rest of my fellows are coming and Brador is leading them, if she can move you need to get her out of here…" he said in a pleading voice, gesturing toward Nerco "It's going to be a slaughter otherwise..."
Gaile responded by grabbing the man by the collar of his garb staring straight into his eyes "How many and where from!?" He asked angrily as his piercing glare bore into Etrius. "We prepared ourselves in the Grand Cathedral but the could come from any direction since Brador is leading the attack now." he said quickly, "as for the numbers with Myself and Brador it would have made eight." he finished not even daring to blink for fear that this beast of a Hunter might strike him down where he stands. "The only thing I cant figure out is why tell us?" Nerco asked in an inquisitive manner her eyes narrowed dangerously as she regarded the white cleric that was held tense in Gaile's vice-like grip.
Finding unexpected strength within himself Etrius forced his way out of Gaile's grip with a glare of his own, dusting off his garb "Because I refuse to stand by and watch those monsters tear an innocent child from its mother's womb!" he spoke plainly and without fear of the company he was currently surrounded by.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Chapel grounds the company of Clerics, Assassins more than anything else stood waiting for their fellow cleric to return, when Lloyd spoke "I'm going to reason a guess that he got ghosted by the hunter, never saw it coming never had the chance to scream." He said lowering his gaze to the floor at which Brador let out a series of tsk's "That wont do well to doubt my finest students of the three of you that still yet live Etrius was the most gifted and what he lacked in strength he made up for with his arcane abilities." he paused, his hand resting on his chin stroking his matted beard "I would reason he's lost his will to see the mission completed," he paused once more "Though he was gifted he held to tightly to his humanity."
Walking past Brador the Tenth lashed his Cane and drew out his repeater, firing three well placed shots through the simple lock on the worn wooden door "In the name of the Healing Church, open this door!" He yelled triumphantly as he kicked the door surprised that it gave way under his boot so easily. "It's like they didn't even try to fortify the place..." He said as a smirk crawled along his features walking into the cloud of dust kicked up by his swift movements, he used the capelet of his garb to fan the dust from his vision letting out a surprised gasp as he came face to face with the barrel of Gaile's repeater, the hammer cocked back and ready to fire and the owner of the weapon staring at him with a murderous glare "We don't want any." he said in a cold tone as he pulled the trigger blowing the mans head apart in a shower of blood, brains and bits of what remained of his skull. "Anyone else?" They heard the obvious taunt of the Hunter resound from within the Chapel. "I didn't think so..."
With a sigh Alice was unable to help herself as she let out a low chuckle given the current situation that just unfolded before her and the other Clerics "Ugh, leave it to the lowest ranking trash to get overconfident and literally lose his head for it." Hannah said with disdain, grinding her pair of Ulaks together, creating a small shower of silvery white sparks. "Well?" the Seventh started, "Are we just going to stand here all night with our thumbs up our arses or are we going to get this thing done!?" spoke the man as he extended his Church Pick from a short one handed sword to into a far reaching halberd for delivering precise strikes. With an inhuman roar the Ninth followed suit and charged into the chapel not knowing what awaited them within, unable to stop himself in time the Ninth was beheaded in one swift motion by Gehrman who had the ancient scythe resting across his shoulders waiting for his next kill "I thought this new generation of Church Hunters would actually amount to something..." he said with a sad expression on his weathered face "I guess this is what I get for being an optimistic old man." he said as he dashed forward locking blades with the Seventh in a shower of silvery sparks as the siderite blade ground edges with steel spike of the Church Pick in the ensuing chaos Lloyd dashed past The First Hunter and found his path barred by Maria, "Get out of my way." he said flatly with a glare that she returned with venom to match "And if I should refuse?" She said coldly as she drew her Rakuyo catching sight of the Chikage in his hand, she couldn't help but let out a sound of disgust. With his glare narrowing he dashed forward sheathing the blood blade as his did so "Then I'll make you!" he yelled out, only for Maria to disappear in a flash of red smoke and embers.
Utterly bewildered, Lloyd stopped in his tracks flicking the foetid blood from his sword so that he wouldn't suffer the ill effects of the Chikage's blood rite. "Where the hell did you go!?" He yelled out looking in all directions in the haze of darkness that obscured everything within the Chapel, "Right behind you." he heard her speak as both the short dagger and saber of the Rakuyo thrust through his chest from behind, tearing major blood vessels and piercing his heart, death would come quickly to the Fourth ranked Cleric, as she swiftly withdrew her blades and with a turn of her heel beheaded the Cleric without mercy or remorse. "To hell with you." She said as she kicked his head off into the darkened haze of ash in the air, She had to hand it to Nerco, her aptly named Fog of War was really helping them thin the enemy ranks without risking harm to themselves but it requires constant focus on her part to maintain, which means they needed to keep them occupied.
She barely had time to react as she saw Brador's gigantic weapon come crashing toward her, missing by a hairs length she deftly sidestepped the attack and lashed her saber at the madman who escaped her attack with only a minor cut across his chest. Caught unawares he didn't have time to react as he heard his former pupil speak. "This is wrong and you know it Master Brador." Brador let out a gasp of pain as he felt Etrius' blade pierce his back and punch out of his chest while he placed the muzzle of the shotgun scabbard to the back of his mentor's head "Rest in peace Master." He said solemnly as he pulled the trigger, splattering the Church Assassin's head all over the cobblestone floor of the Chapel.
Gaile was standing guard watching over Nerco as she sat in the lotus position using all her focus to maintain the Fog of War when he saw a spark of silver light out of the corner of his eye, barely having time to react he brought his Crissaegrim to bear as Hanna dashed out of the ashen fog locking her Ulaks into the blade in an attempt to rip the weapon from his hands but Gaile was much stronger than she had anticipated and to avoid being shot in the head at point blank she quickly dislodged her weapons and retreated into the fog but what unnerved Gaile most about this opponent was that he couldn't follow her movements within the ashen haze.
"You seem surprised Hunter..." he heard her speak before Alice dashed from the fog with blinding speed that took Gaile by surprise as one of the Ulaks was buried into his shoulder, forcing him to drop his repeater. Hearing Gaile grunt in pain Nerco opened one of her eyes, dropping her focus on the Fog of War caused it to dispel as the haze disappeared as quickly as it had rising within the halls. "Big mistake Keeper," She heard from behind her as the edge of an Ulak came to rest against her neck. "Move even a finger and she dies Hunter!" Hannah said, before she ran the other one across her forearm cutting deep into her arm making her face distort in pain, "That was for Bast, but we've only just begun bitch." she said in a hateful tone as she made another slow and agonizing cut across her arm making her cry out once as the pain took hold of her, but without warning, a blur of pale blue dust and light saw the woman thrown across the hall with her left arm missing and held firmly in Gehrman's hand. "You should treat a fellow woman with more respect than that my dear, he said with a deadly glare, The next one of you who even tries to harm a hair on my Grand-Daughter's head will die slowly and painfully." He said as the pain began to register to Hannah as she started rolling around clutching the bloody stump of her arm, wailing in agony Caught off guard Alice failed to notice Gaile draw out his Evelyn "See you in hell bitch." He said with pure malice as he pulled the trigger, blowing the top half of her skull apart leaving her lower jaw and surrounding tissue intact.
Walking over to her Gaile knelt down beside Nerco and quickly plunged the needle of a blood vial into her thigh, but this was not the healing blood of the church, no this was Gaile own blood taken from his veins he watched her wince as the blood shot into her with a sickening hiss, looking over the wounds inflicted by Hannah who was still screaming in agony at her missing appendage, having heard enough Nerco shot a bolt of fire at the woman blasting her head and some of her upper torso apart in a shower of blood, ash and embers. Being helped to her feet by Gaile let out a sudden gasp as she felt a torrent of liquid gush out from between her legs "W-wha?" Going wide eyed she looked at Maria "You're water's broken, you're going into labor Nerco..." She said as she walked toward her lifting her to her feet Gaile picked her up bridal style as he made the trek to Iosefka's Clinic hoping the woman could spare Nerco as much pain as possible.