Before I left the Hunter's Dream I went looking for Gehrman and found him snoring away in the upper garden. How a man could sleep inside a dream, I wasn't totally sure, but I let him be. I didn't like him, anyway, and I didn't really want to talk to him.
I took stock of the workshop before I left, and ended up asking Doll how I was supposed to use some of the stuff I found. It turned out the red rocks that so many corpses had been holding onto in their final moments were actually called bloodstones. Coagulated blood that had been refined down to a hardened substance.
Supposedly, it could be used to enhance my saw cleaver, but Doll didn't know the process and I wasn't about to wake the old man. My weapon was cutting just fine, thank you very much. An inspection of the other things in the workshop told me that Gehrman hadn't been lying when he said that most of the tools had gone missing.
There were empty drawers in the workbench, hooks that didn't hold anything, and the altar before the statue had an indent showing where a tool had once been placed. There was what looked like a gnarled staff hung up, and a closer look revealed a hinge in the middle. There was supposed to be something that was attached to one end, but it was missing. Doll told me what she could, but the only one she was able to name for sure was the one on the altar. The Caryll Rune workshop tool.
She said it stood out to her because it was the only tool that didn't rely on blood. Which, fair, a lot of things around here did.
The rune tool would apparently help me in accessing and etching such runes into my mind, which I was dubiously interested in. I had no intention of using it for its intended purpose at the moment. The reason I was interested was because of the access it supposedly lent, which I could possibly use to find out more about the mark of a hunter Eileen had told me about.
We had no idea where it was, and no clue as to where to look, however. Plans for the rune tool were put on hold for the time being.
I also found a note discarded in the corner of the workshop. Only notable by virtue of a little one holding it up. Curiously, I approached and read, "To escape this dreadful hunter's dream, halt the source of the spreading scourge of beasts, lest the night carry on forever."
When I took the note, the little one vanished into the floor, leaving me to wonder what it meant. The message lined up with what Gehrman had told me, but added a detail the old man had forgotten to mention. If I stopped the scourge, I could escape the dream.
Maybe he thought I was like any other hunter from Yharnam, happy to kill a few beasts and feel good about it, and that's why he hadn't told me of the way out. He was way off base with that assumption, of course.
The note made me start looking at the book titles in the workshop. There was a lot of stuff on beasts, blood, and tool maintenance. But the one that stood out was sitting on the top of a pile of books that were too numerous for a place on a desk, notable for being literally the only tome not related to blood or killing. Its title was "How to Pick Up Fair Maidens".
I had to suppress a snort when I flicked through the first few pages. The opening chapter was a message to the reader, asking if the reader had any of the many problems suitors had when starting out as a paramour. Then finishing with wild promises like, "You'll sweep the maiden off her feet and her father will wipe a tear from his eye as you carry your maiden off into the sunset.", "You will be able to tell if the maiden is interested in you within minutes of meeting them. If she isn't, you'll be able to make her interested with your impressive charisma.", and "If you follow my advice, there is no maiden that will be able to resist your irresistible charms."
The author's advice was insanely deluded, of course. None, if any of it sounded like it even took 'the maiden's' feelings into consideration, but I didn't actually get through that much. Reading the book made me wonder if I would be considered a maiden by the author's standards, prompting more snickers because I most certainly did not after Brian.
Then I became melancholic, so I moved on.
Of course, before I did any of that, I put two bullets into the crying and screaming Taylors and put them back in their coffin. Then I chained it shut, padlocked the chain, and threw the coffin off the ledge of the Hunter's Dream before throwing the key off the other side. It wouldn't do to let them spontaneously break out and have me start blubbering when I was fighting an Endbringer
That all done, it was time to try and kill the Bridge Beast.
~Drip~Drip~
As I psyched myself up for the fight, I stood at the ledge by Gilbert's and watched the thing. It wasn't on the bridge anymore, having leaped back over the wall to Cathedral Ward and ripped something big to shreds. I didn't have a good grasp on how vicious the Bridge Beast was before it gained my blood echoes, but looking at it move now was terrifying.
A long time ago, Legend had called Leviathan the middle child of the Endbringers when it attacked Brockton Bay. Not as strong as Behemoth, and not as crafty as the Simurgh, but possessing other talents. I had come to find that speed was one of them. Looking at how the Bridge Beast was moving now, it almost compared.
The observation didn't exactly do wonders for my morale, but I had spent years preparing for fights against things like that. Now that Doll had given me an inherent brute rating to go alongside the one from the blood vials, I just might last more than one attack.
I put a stop to my wishful thinking by moving, brushing past Gilbert's window and taking a shortcut to the bridge. The fact that the two beasts on the bridge were alive again registered in the back of my mind as I stepped over yet another Yharnamite covered in bugs. I had forgotten to ask Doll about that, and told myself to ask her the next time I saw her.
What I should have done is turn around, go back to the lamp and demand answers. I didn't because Doll didn't seem to know all that much about 'the waking world' and I was already en route to the Bridge Beast. I wasn't one for procrastination and I didn't want to put it off. If it went badly then I'd be speaking to Doll soon anyway.
The shortcut I used put me on the bridge between where the beasts roamed and the brute stared blankly at the sky. It was a simple matter to blind him and sneak around like I had the last time I came through here. I didn't need to address the beasts, since I didn't make enough noise for them to notice me.
I waited for the brute to calm down before stepping into the vast expanse of empty space where the Bridge Beast had thrown me from. After waiting for a moment for my bugs to spread across the bridge, nothing happened. I had some cockroaches carry over a loose stone and kicked it across the bridge.
The response was immediate, a blood curdling screech that made my skin crawl. The little Endbringer jumped from somewhere unseen to the wall at the end of the bridge, sending stones scattering with its sheer size. It inspected me for a moment, purple mist drifting from two intense orbs. Then it moved.
Last time, it had jumped over the wall, walked towards me using its larger arm as a third leg. Then it jumped at me, striking with its oversized claws as it descended. All at a nice measured pace. There was none of that this time. It leaped forwards instead of up, crossing the considerable distance between us in a moment and swinging down with its claw.
I dodged to my left the moment it registered, quite possibly travelling further than I intended to because of the displaced wind from the creature's attack. It was also possible that it was because of my new muscle strength taking me off guard, but I doubted that. The abilities that the echoes gave came with the experience of the ones that had gained them in the first place.
While my body dodged the claw, a hundred other scenes were playing in my head of me dodging other things. A thrown bottle, still half full, a smaller claw that I was just fast enough to evade, a saw cleaver that I was not.
Maybe I should have taken some time to get used to this before facing the Bridge Beast. A nice sentiment to entertain, but it was too late now.
The beast moved again, righting itself in an instant and turning to face me. I had already acted, but not with my body. When the beast attacked it had extended itself horizontally to further its reach. Doing so meant it was practically lying on the ground, and I used that opportunity to get as many bugs on the beast as possible. My bugs were now giving me a mental map of the beast's every move, so that I didn't necessarily have to see him to keep track of him.
It wouldn't help much given the fact that I would still need to react to it's movements, and since it was blindingly fast now that was going to be trouble. But the bugs on it as well as the bugs around me meant that I could keep track of my surroundings, my position, and the beast's position.
The Bridge Beast swiped sideways, and I tried to dodge back. Instead of letting me go, the beast leaned forward on its legs, catching me off guard with a sudden extension of its reach. It sustained the assault by swinging overarm with its smaller arm and I dodged forward into close range. When it missed with its attack, I cut into it with mine. My new strength letting me sink the saw cleaver into it in a way I hadn't ever done before.
The blade caught on strips of sinew and muscle, it's saw like edges catching more than a simple blade would. When I tore the saw cleaver out, I pulled down instead of out almost instinctively, utilising the ripping power of the serrated weapon. Blood spurted out in a red torrent, staining my pants and almost making me slip as I made to evade the Bridge Beast's next attack.
I dodged the next attack as well as I holstered my saw cleaver. It swung sideways and I ducked forwards so it couldn't get me like it had last time. I used the opening to use a blood vial instead of attacking. Then when I dodged away from its attempt to grab me, I pulled my gun out and shot it in the head.
It did fuck all. The way its head reacted to the impact might have just been a tic. Maybe the other hunters were onto something with their pedigree enhancing their guns. If they were, that was useless to me now.
Fucking tinkers.
The gun was holstered for the time being and I didn't bother reloading it. Instead, I pulled out the saw cleaver and prepared to move. The rapid handling of equipment with my left hand was coming a lot easier than it was before. Not as good as I had been with my dominant hand, but better than it was. Maybe some of the echoes were left handed. It seemed a reasonable explanation. A dozen visions played in the back of my head at the thought.
Not the time, Taylor.
My introspection delayed a reaction by a split second as the Bridge Beast attacked with its smaller arm. It was a lighter attack with little wind up, so I nearly missed it. I dodged, but it caught my shin with the overarm swing and it jumped up, knocking me in the head with its claw as it went up.
I could tell from my bugs that it had jumped forward in the moments before it left my range. So it dashed to where it used to be and started fumbling for a blood vial. The Bridge Beast came back into my range and slammed down on a carriage, utterly destroying it and sending splinters everywhere. An errant spoke hit my hand and destroyed my blood vial, so I had to start fumbling for another with wet hands.
Like before, I darted into an opening before jabbing the blood vial in. Then I had to force myself to ignore that constantly returning rustic taste as I darted between the Bridge Beasts legs.
… The next time I did that I was going to swing up with the saw cleaver. Hopefully the beast placed the same value on the family jewels as man sized men did.
The Bridge Beast and I didn't touch each other for a while as I tried to find an opening. Twice, I thought I had one, but then I sensed it tensing through the fleas and other bugs I had placed on it. I abandoned the attack and backed off in time to avoid one of the beast's claws swinging at where I would have been. Twice, I fell for the trap and had to back off and heal.
There was a problem with backing off, however. The Bridge Beast could cross the distance quicker than I could and staying out of its range was impossible. If I managed to get far enough away that it couldn't hit me with its big arm, it would jump and come down right on top of me. Other times, it would just repeat its opening move. It meant that I had little time to deal with the claw marks all over my body, tearing up my clothes.
I managed though, and even got a few nicks in with the saw cleaver. These 'nicks' were actually me sinking the weapon as far into the beast as it could go and ripping through as much of it as I possibly could as I pulled my weapon free. All while making full use of my enhanced strength. It's legs were covered in blood from the wounds, but the Bridge Beast didn't look like it cared all that much.
So they were nicks.
Despite its disregard for the physical trauma I had inflicted upon it, I was beginning to figure the beast out. It had explosive speed and tremendous strength, but it didn't utilise them all the time. Whenever there was a chance that the beast would hit itself, it slowed right the fuck down to make sure it didnt. It only did that when I was close, so that was where I needed to spend most of my time.
The problem with being close was that it constantly tried to grab me when I was. If it managed to grab ahold of me, it would throw me off the bridge again. That was something I did not want to happen. Which kind of put me at an impasse.
I wasn't looking at the beast when it picked up the carriage, but I knew when it did from all the bugs that were on it suddenly moving. The reason I wasn't looking was because I was administering a blood vial to heal from the second time it successfully baited me, and when I looked up a giggle escaped me. It was holding the carriage above its head.
I blanked my expression as I tensed. If that thing hit me, it would be more than ticklish. Curse this addiction.
The beast walked closer, easily moving with the heavy thing in its grasp. I tensed a little more, then ran straight at it. Purposefully running at about half speed. It reacted quickly, bringing the carriage down right on top of me. When I sensed it tense, I picked up speed and dodged under the beast as it brought the vehicle down where I would have been.
Both the beast's blood and mine had wet the bridge, letting me slide between the legs of the beast as I swung upwards with the saw cleaver. My hat was nearly knocked off by the resulting blood spatter, which I ignored as I got back to my feet and kept running. The Bridge Beast howled, and swung the carriage around on level with the ground. Thankfully, I was already out of the way when it did.
But then it raised the carriage again, now in a thoroughly destroyed state, and threw it at me before I had a chance to catch my breath. I couldn't tell the thing's trajectory, so I dropped to the ground, curled up, and hoped. It landed right before me and bounced just a little as it sailed past. Half destroyed pieces of carriage caught my leg and stump as the body of the carriage went over me.
I released my hold on the saw cleaver and went straight for a blood vial. Somehow rolling away from the beast to avoid an overhead swing at the same time. With some difficulty, I made it to my feet and attempted to dodge another swing. But the claws caught on my good arm, making it bleed and almost making me drop the vial. I jabbed it in before I could think twice about it or actually lose my grip. Splinters were ejected from my body as my cuts healed up.
Just in time, too. The beast backhanded me with it's large arm, sending me flying into a wall. I hit the wall, then dropped to the ground in a series of three painful impacts. The fact that I was giggling infuriated me as I pulled myself to my feet again and tried to dodge under the beast as it attempted to grab me. Dodging more successfully this time and gaining myself an opening to heal with a blood vial and giggle some more.
I guess the beast's reaction meant it did care about the family jewels. Even if the pain didn't seem to incapacitate it too much.
Reclaiming my saw cleaver was as easy as leaning down when my enlarged cockroaches delivered it to me. Then I started sticking to the Bridge Beast's thighs. Keeping my distance just invited it to jump around and throw big things. When I was close it had to regulate its strength, so I was going to take full advantage of that, thank you very much.
The change in tactic worked, and the beast howled its frustration as it tried to bat me away. Every slow attack at a spot immediately beside or behind it was easy to evade, and left the beast open for a counterattack. I should have started hugging it with the cleaver sooner.
It tried to jump away a few times, but I was always close behind it. I was worried it would run to Cathedral Ward, but it seemed intent on finishing the fight regardless of its now very real chance of losing. The Bridge Beast was tiring, I could tell.
A failed attempt to grab me put the beast's head within reach for the first time, so I swung at it as hard as I could. The blow made blood spew from its head and it reared back, clutching at the wound uselessly. Then it fell forward, making me dodge away so it didn't land on me.
It wasn't dead yet, I could tell through my bugs. I went for the weak point and sawed into the beast's temple. It flinched and I swung again, getting the blade to catch in it's caved skull, then ripped it out. The Bridge Beast flinched up to a standing position, then stopped moving. Slowly, it fell backwards with a large crash, shaking the bridge.
I glanced at my saw cleaver and saw grey matter spattered on the blade. The Bridge Beast wasn't moving, causing relief and clarity to fall over my body and mind. I had slaughtered my prey.
Then the body started glowing.
