Chapter 8

"Thank you by the way..." Shirou said gratefully to the doll after he was able to recover most of his mind and motor functions.

"Oh no need to be grateful young hunter, it is simply my duty to care for you." She softly waved his gratitude away. After Shirou had fallen into a broken mess the doll had taken care of him, helping him to the stairs of the house where he could sit as he recovered from his second death.

Speaking of the house…

"Has that door always been open?" He asked out loud. Strange… the last time he was here he could've sworn that it was closed. Well then again, he wasn't entirely focusing on the house the last time and more on the talking doll.

Slowly standing himself up he staggered up the stairs to the entrance of the door. All while the doll silently watched onward.

The house was a mix between a cottage and gothic library, it had books stacked on every wall of the house. The source of light other than from outside was the roaring fire place that warm the whole space.

And by the fire place sat a man in a wheelchair. He wore rugged clothes which spoke of a lifetime of use and where his right foot should've been was a oak-made peg-leg.

"Oh… so you're the new hunter… interesting." The old man suddenly spoke, craning his neck to look up at Shirou. His dark piercing eyes observed him in a way that was almost uncomfortable.

"Who are you exactly?" asked Shirou, the old man raised his eyebrow while slowly rolling himself towards him.

"Oh, an outsider as well, eh? This makes things much more interesting… two at the same time…" he chuckled, turning around he rolled himself back towards the fireplace.

"I am Gehrman and this… is the workshop… for hunters like yourselves to repair and fortify your weapons and yourself…" he stopped before looking at Shirou directly.

"You are our fifth resident here." He said before continuing towards the back of the workshop.

"Fifth…?" Shirou mutters before shaking his head, he can think about it later. Following Gehrman to a platform where right in front of it was a table with a bloodied cloth and multiple candles placed around it.

"This here is the memory alter… it's for inscribing Caryll runes into your mind… enabling you to imbue you with the language of the great ones." Coughing he moved toward the bench where an assortment of weapons hang half finished off the wall.

"This is the standard tool workbench you come here for any problems or the sort occurs…or when you require strengthening, you're weapon with blood gems… Now that I think about it do you even know what these are? No? typical… fine I'll teach you." And the Gerhman began discussing the ins and outs of the Hunters dream.


After Gerhman had explained everything Shirou needed to know he explained the last thing necessary to make the dream work.

"Blood echoes, that is the currency and energy that the dream accepts. That and insight of course, though insight is less used than echoes." Gerhman explained in his rasped voice.

"And how do I get these echoes and insight exactly?" Shirou asked in a little apprehension, after learning about The Hunter's Workshop he knew that most things required… questionable means to acquire the right items.

Case and point, the chalice dungeons.

"Ha! Boy you really are fresh to this place if you couldn't already guess. Blood Echoes come from the prey you slay and insight comes from seeing and attaining knowledge beyond human comprehension."

"…Of course, but how exactly do I know that I have acquired these things?" He asked, after all he had kill beasts before and hadn't gained these Echoes before.

"Oh come on, you killed a few beasts haven't you? Haven't felt that rush of… something in your veins? I know you have… and for insight well… just one look at you I know you already have plenty of that… after all…"

He flicked up his hat to get a better look at him. Gerhman's amused sharp eyes gazed into Shirou's flaming ones.

"You've already seen the birth of a god… have you not?"


Cold, cold was the abyss that he returned to as he was formlessly transported back to the Hunter's Nightmare as both Gerhman and the Doll had described as such.

"Most unusual for you not to return to your place of death after returning via the messengers. Even stranger being you used the Yharnam grave and not the Nightmares'… well nothing we can do about it." Is what Gerhman had said before shrugging and leaving.

Luckily the Doll had been a bit more helpful.

"There are others who venture and reside within the nightmare who still hold their sanity. Try and find one of them, they could help you." She had said.

"Where should I look for them?" He'd asked.

She pondered this for a second. A rather pretty frown graced her as she thought on it, before letting it go and coming to look at him again.

"There is a Clocktower there… one that has been in the occupation of Magus such as yourself. But do be wary, for not only will the nightmare itself try to fool you in luring to… Ma-the other clocktower…" She almost winced, whatever there did not bring pleasant memories from the Doll.

"So too does the Magus clocktower have defenses that will try and dissuade you. So be wary young hunter… unless you want to die again."

"And here we are again… in the deep, deep abyss." He muttered as he pulled himself away from his thoughts.

The longer he was in this void, the more he began to see things. Information that he didn't know about a plethora of things. Things such as tools, items and weapons hinted at their existence in this grand cosmos.

And then just as soon as it had started the eternity gave way to light and feeling once more. As Shirou reformed he flexed his fingers and gave a small grunt.

"Don't know if I could ever get used to that." He said to himself before he began to eye his surroundings cautiously.

"Not getting caught off guard this time. One time is enough for me thank you." Shirou spoke to the air and perhaps the nearest beast that wanted to tear his head off he mused.

Creeping slowly towards what seemed to be a broken city street, he prepared his saw spear for any non-friendlies.

By now the weapon had become quite a wreck as he hadn't repaired the saw in a while. He had done so while living with the Gascoigne's. The saw spear he had obtained by ending that mad hunter's life was now on the verge of breaking and dulling to the point of not even being able to cut through the weakest of huntsman gear.

"…Suppose I should use that workbench when I get back…" he sighed, not too pleased at his odds of making it to the tower in one go before going to see the doll again.

Now that he thought about it, where was the tower? More exactly which one of the many towers was the clocktower. Not like he was given any idea on the what the thing looked like, for all he knew it could be disguised as something completely different!

Shirou sighed, well he'll keep going for now until he either died or found the next lamp over. Hopefully he could also find his blood echoes from the mad hunter that kill before.

He had already lasted longer than he had previously, granted that hadn't been for long despite the fact that those ghoulish blood-suckers took their time devouring him.

Thinking about the event made him sick.

Okay now is not the time to think about your own grueling death. Find the Magi here, ask them for help, then get out.

And if they didn't help him? Well… guess he'll come to that bridge when he reached it.

Going over his weapon one more time and checking his pistol to see if it was loaded one more time. He then started his journey into the nightmare.


He ran past the veritable hoard of blood-suckers as they screeched, scrambling on four limbs they didn't pose any threats unless you got stuck or one got you by surprise.

"Easy, you guys aren't that bad when I'm not-oh shit!" Shirou ducked an incoming swipe from one of the blood-suckers.

Reinforcing his weapon, he ripped away the beast with a trick attack to the midriff. Blood flew in the air as the beast was sawed in half by the serrated edge of the saw spear.

"Not good, have to be careful. That could've killed me… again." Shirou sighed, he been wondering this area for a while with little luck finding any sign of a tower.

He had arrived in this river of blood after being cornered by four massive giants all wielding weapon large enough to crush him in one go.

So after reaching an of edge a cliff, which was about the height of that of a tall castle tower, with no way out. Shirou new that the most survivable course of action was to jump, as that was survivable with his reinforcement than fighting the giants.

Reinforcement and projection could only go so far.

However, now Shirou had a whole new set of problems with the first being how on earth was he supposed to get out of the blood river valley.

"If there isn't a conventional form of getting out of here. Then maybe doing a little magic for extra push may suffice…" Shirou mumble warily, he could do it perhaps… but it may cost him valuable prana and blood vials that were both in low supply since the jump he had taken.

As he looked up, he saw a ledge about halfway up from the top of the cliff which seemed to lead into a cave somewhere.

"Haah… well nothing ventured, nothing gained I suppose…" Shirou gritted out, he really didn't want to risk getting up there only for a mad hunter to sic him with a blade to the belly.

"Trace on." Shirou jumped, zigzagging up the cliff until he reached the ledge. He was right, there was a cave that seemed to lead back up into the city.

No enemies were a good sign as well, he thought, and then began his trek up back into the city. The distant echo of beasts and gunshots returned the closer he got back into the city.

Shirou put a hand to his eyes to block out the sun, the tunnel had led into an area deeper in the city. The building towered above and seemed to bend, almost as if leaning over to look down on those on the street.

The street was rather large with one end being block by the carcass of multiple large beasts. All the corpses were larger than the beast he had run into back in Yharnam.

They were wolf-like mostly but had giant human-like hands that could hold him one grasp. Their heads were adorned with horns and antlers of all kinds, Shirou believed that Henryk had called them cleric beasts or something…

"What killed all of you…?" Shirou murmured in awe, he certainly didn't believe he had what it took to fell what look to be five cleric beasts. Slowly reaching out he touched the head of one of them and then closed his eyes.

"Trace on…" Shirou gasped as information flooded his head. These beasts had all been church hunters before falling into beasthood where they then had somehow had arrived in the nightmare. Staying together and hunting together in a madden haze as they had slaughtered all hunters that had come across them until…

A man in blue and donned in a beast coat wielding a red spear was the last thing he saw and the mad fear that they felt was the last thing he saw.

"Vile beast… blood…" Shirou then turned around to face the other side of the street, there stood a mad hunter. In his hand were a blunderbuss and what Shirou analyzed to be a boom hammer, his eyes under the brim of his wide hat were glowing yellow.

"…Fuck." Was Shirou's only response, beasts were hard to deal with sure. But they were nothing when compared to the literally oh-shitness that were the mad hunters.

In his time in the nightmare running around trying his beast not to get bogged down in beasts, he had realized just how low in the food chain he was. These hunters were nothing like the rabid one he had fought in Yharnam one week ago.

No, they were stronger, faster, meaner and way more skilled despite their insanity. An eternity of hunting beasts over and over again had hardened their skills to peak efficiency.

In other words. They were fucking terrifying and Shirou was in deep shit.

"Breath… focus…trace on…" tricking and reinforcing his weapon he slowly approached the Hunter who now was dashing towards him.

The hunter cocked the blunderbuss and shot out a spray of bullets, catching Shirou right in the chest and staggering him.

Shirou let out a wet cough of blood, but he had no respite as he then had to dodge the vicious downward strike of the hunter's boom hammer.

Flames sped past his face singeing him a little, before the hunter evaporated into mist and appeared behind him.

"GKH!" The hammer struck between the shoulder blades and smashed Shirou right into the floor. The flames spread, burning blood and flesh before he was able to blast the leg of the hunter.

The hammer hunter let out a grunt as the bullet tore through his knee-cap, shredding flesh and splintering the bone which incapacitated him just enough for Shirou to escape and heal with a few blood vials.

"Fuck, I can't take a hit like that again, I only have five blood vials left now." Shirou let out a growl before concentrating back on the now fully healed hunter.

He's going to have to time it properly if he's to get a good hit, without being stunned like that again. Shirou thought, prepping for the next round, he shook his head to get rid of the ringing the hit had caused him.

The new blood flowed through his body, invigorating every sense he had and allowing him to hyper-focus and the battle.

Despite Shirou being a pacifist guy mainly and only fighting to save. He grinned at the enemy, the thrill of battle and blood making him go crazy.

"Let's go, beast." He smirked, in retaliation the mad hunter roared and tricked his hammer back into flame-mode.

"No, you beast aarrrgghh!" he screeched before winding up for an attack, his mind not realizing that Shirou was not attacking him with his saw spear.

Shirou's smirked remained as the barrel of the glowed blue as he reinforced the pistol. Within pistol, the bullet was glowing a dangerous red.

"Sayonara." Bang! the bullet stuck the hunter right in the chest, exploding and scattering the contents everywhere.

"V-Vile b-beast aarrggh-hh…" the hunter let out a gurgle, determined to live he reached to get another blood vile.

Shirou then dashed in for the kill and dug the saw spear into his gut before ripping out the saw and severing his head with a trick attack.

The hunter crumpled and fell into the mist, the echoes fleeing into Shirou.

"I did it… hah! Finally, I don't have to run anymore, I can take…them…" Shirou couldn't finish as just then, six hunters turned the corner and noticed him.

"No, oh hell no. Where on earth did they come from?!" Shirou let out a scream between anger and fear.

The first hunter came at with a hunter saif to the head, Shirou counter with his spear and delivered a shot to the head before dodging a beast cutter from the second hunter.

Shirou tricked his spear and delivered a wide arc attack, which killed the first hunter and crippled the second. But with no time to celebrate he reinforced his hunter's coat to protect himself from the spray of bullets coming from the third hunter.

Only for the to be attack by both the fourth and fifth hunter. Parrying both he charged a broken bullet for one and thrust his saw spear right into the skull of the other. Their skulls decimated; they collapse unceremoniously into mist.

That was first, fourth and fifth dealt with. Three more to go, he thought as a bullet whizzed by his face courtesy of the sixth hunter.

Reinforced legs brought side long to the second hunter. Whom, seemingly did not have any blood vials and therefore was still injured.

Before the hunter could defend, Shirou thrust the saw spear into the hunter and sent back into the mist screaming.

Two left now, one with a kirk-hammer and the other with a reiterpallasch. He got this, Shirou thought all he needs to do is to keep the pressure.

The third hunter, dashed in with his fine blade and began to attack Shirou's guard.

Dodging and weaving Shirou didn't see the sixth hunter until the last second. The kirkhammer came down on Shirou, forcing him to block.

The kirkhammer shattered the already weak mechanisms of the saw spear, smashing into Shirou's face and knocking him away.

Getting up, Shirou was now weaponless against two hunters.

"bloody blood…" Shirou sighed, he barely had any prana left. Only enough to make one more projection, so he cancelled the reinforcement on his clothes and body. Focusing all his remaining prana into his hands, he spoke his mantra of choice.

"Trace on" from blue energy came the boom hammer that the other hunter had, but it was glowing red a key sign that he had overcharge it with all his mana and had broken the weapon.

"One strike is all I need for you two." He mocked them, as they came into range Shirou tricked the weapon.

Blue flames erupted from the weapon and the heat was scorching his hand. Gritting his teeth, Shirou threw the weapon at the two hunters.

A huge burst of blue flames incinerated the two remaining hunters. And then only Shirou remained, gasping for air as the exhaustion set in.

"Well, well... not bad kid." A voice came from the top of the mountain of cleric beast corpses.

Looking up Shirou saw the very man who had slain them.

And he was grinning.