Chapter 8 : The Old Blood

The moon peeks through the cloud as the night drags on. In the midst of the darkness, beasts of all types creep, along with a plague that seeps into those around it. Squeals can be heard as crucible knights sever the heads of these beasts. They stand no chance against the might of the golden order. Even though this was a fact, these small gremlins numbers only grew. It was to a point that they were almost overrun. And it wasn't just the tiny ones. As the moon rose, more beasts came out for the hunt. Some had some sort of tarp over their head and emitting a poisonous aura while some seem more human like than anything. The battle drags on as the endless number of beasts pour onto the knights they seem to be overwhelmed. Yet amongst all of the carnage and confusion, Godfrey stands tall. Surveying the area, he is able to come up with the best way to quell the beasts. He slams his ax down creating massive shockwaves, and even killing large numbers of the vermin.

"HEAR ME KNIGHTS!" Godfrey preaches as he raises his ax once more and prepares another attack "Warriors of the Crucible, heirs to the primordial flame, gather now and heed my words! Though these lands are swarmed by creatures of feeble mind and frail flesh, do not be deceived by their numbers, nor let fear take root in your hearts. They may be many, but their strength pales in comparison to the power that surges through our veins.

We are the Golden Order! We are the embodiment of righteousness, the vanguard of the Erdtree's grace. Our blades are the very instruments of the divine, forged in the crucible of fire and faith.

Stand firm, my loyal knights. Let no beast, no wretch of this tainted world, shake your resolve. We shall carve our path in blood and flame, and the world shall tremble before our might.

We shall not falter. We shall not fall. For we are the chosen, the righteous, the unyielding defenders of the Golden Order! Now, go forth and let the world remember the name of Godfrey and his Crucible Knights!" As he is speaking, the beasts gaze upon him as if he is emitting holy aura. Some of the beasts even tremble at the sight of him. The knights ,given newfound encouragement, all gather themselves in front of Godfrey. Readying their weapons, they all yell the same thing. "We are the order of all that is golden!" Godfrey then points his ax forward indicating to begin the attack, the knights all charge in together and begin the battle once more.

Maliketh and the Hunter watch these events unfold both with the same thought. "He can give a good speech.." Nevertheless The Hunter turns his attention to a more pressing matter. With the battle taking place at the base and upward of Mt.Gelmir, no one noticed the man in the chair watching from the far west. Yet The Hunter took notice almost before he saw the beasts. Maliketh takes note at The Hunter's gaze and decides to ask what's so important about the man. Yet before he could answer, the old man spoke.

"Did you truly believe you could escape... this wretched fate? Did you think you could flee from the nightmare that binds us all? No... No, no, no... It is far from over.

Mother Kos has yet to release her grasp on this cursed night. The blood, the beasts... They hunger still, and so the hunt must continue.

The nightmare endures, Hunter. And until it is sated, until the echoes of the past are silenced, there can be no rest for you. The Hunt... is far from done."

As the man is talking, he rises from his wheelchair, and begins heading towards both The Hunter and Maliketh. Though Maliketh was filled with confusion and curiosity, The Hunter stood firm but shook as he thought he would never see this man again. The Hunter reaches for the large blade on his back and throws it on the ground in front of him.

"You're supposed to be dead! I ended you with my own hands! I escaped that wretched nightmare, I transcended it all. So why... why are you here now?!" The Hunter states while pointing at the blade. The old man stares at the blade with soft eyes. Such a familiar feeling.. He reaches behind him and grabs a giant blade identical to the one The Hunter threw on the ground, and attaches it to a large wooden part.

"Ah, such a familiar weapon... So much like my own, forged in the fires of countless hunts. But do not think that merely brandishing it ensures your victory, Hunter. The kill is never guaranteed, no matter how sharp the blade.

If you truly sought to escape this endless nightmare, even after ascending to a Great One, your path should have led you to the source—to Mother Kos herself!

But alas, here we are... in this new world, yet the same cursed cycle endures. It seems, then, that Gehrman must join the hunt once more!"

As Gehrman finishes his speech, Maliketh can feel the bloodlust coming from The Hunter. He knows not what is going on, but he does know that whoever that old man is, he is almost on the same level as The Hunter. Gehrman and The Hunter ready their weapons, preparing to engage in the same battle that took place before The Hunter's transcendence, but Maliketh intervenes by jumping at Gehrman first.

"I know not who you are, nor the grudge you bear against this Hunter... But it matters not. Your presence here marks you as my foe. And for that, you shall face Maliketh, the Black Blade! Guardian of Destined Death, and its rightful wielder!" Maliketh states while charging Gehrman. With swiftness, he swings his black blade overtop and aims to split Gehrman completely in half. The blade slams into the ground, splitting the rocks and shaking the surrounding area. Gehrman, now midair, breaks a multitude of madman's knowledge in front of Maliketh and uses his head to kick off of him. He lands on the ground sliding and states "Ah yes the wielder of death.. I have a different opponent for you.."

Maliketh begins swatting at the skulls as his brain begins to tense. Whispers can be heard as eyes appear all around him. Even when Maliketh closed his eyes he could see them. He begins to falter, stumbling backwards with confusion. When he opened his eyes, he could see them. Amygdalas swarm the mountain all staring at the battle between the beasts and the Knights. But one slowly turns to Maliketh as it realizes it can be seen. Its head starts to shake violently before releasing a gut wrenching screech. Maliketh couldn't believe what he was seeing. Such abominations have been here the whole time? After echos of the screech subsided, the rest of the amygdalas turn toward Maliketh. They all start running towards him, some even shooting some sort of laser from their head. They used their many arms to cling on the cliffs and rocks on the mountain to get over to Maliketh with ease. Maliketh, still stunned by what he is witnessing, decides to retreat for now until he can get his mind under control. He heads further back up the mountain, and the amydgalas follow him closely.

With Godfrey busy with the beasts, and Maliketh being chased by amydgalas, all that is left is The Hunter, The Tarnished, Ranni, and The Doll. The Hunter having his attention focused solely on Gehrman, he had almost forgotten that the others were behind him. Gehrman stands tall in front of The Hunter. He puts his Burial Blade away and states, "It would seem that before we begin this our dual some stranglers must go." Referring to Ranni and the Tarnished, Gehrman focuses his attention on them. The Hunter steps in front of them as if to protect them, but Gehrman simply laughs. He claps his hand twice signaling for someone to come out of the shadows. "Did you think I was going to get rid of them?" Gehrman questions as a pale woman emerges from the darkness. She is dressed and an old but fashionable fit and is wielding a singular sword.

"Allow me to introduce you to Lady Maria…of the Astral Clock Tower!" Gehrman says as she continues toward The Tarnished. She didn't even look at The Hunter as she approached the two behind him. The Hunter attempts to lunge at her and halt her movement but is stopped by Gehrman. The Hunter grits his teeth as he parries Gehrman and refocuses his attention on him. Gehrman releases a deep and rugged laugh while preparing to swing once more. The Hunter grips his saw-cleaver and runs straight toward Gehrman swinging it overhead and beginning their battle.

As their battle amped up, Lady Maria makes steady progress towards The Tarnished and Ranni. The Tarnished brandishes his weapon as he doesn't intend to simply lay back and die. Ranni prepares herself as well for whatever comes at them. Lady Maria then halts all her movements and tilts her head while looking at The Tarnished. Then suddenly, in the blink of an eye she is in front of him. She is so close their nose may almost make contact. "You're no hunter… but… you don't look that bad~" She says while grabbing The Tarnished arm. As she starts to pull him, The Tarnished is simply shocked at what she said. But more than anything, he is concerned about how fast she is. He barely saw her with his eyes. Lady Maria begins to check out The Tarnished more and even attempts to get closer than before. But she suddenly jumps backwards. The Tarnished ,finally able to catch his breath, was confused about why suddenly retreated until he felt it. The large amounts of mana emitting from behind him. He slowly turned to see Ranni enraged. A sudden burst of magic power emerges from her as she begins to step forward.

"What.. does thou think they are doing with my consort?" She says in a menacing voice. Lady Maria stares at Ranni and prepares her weapon. But before she can even move, glintstone shards begin raining above her. The Tarnished leaps out of the way as the shards begin hitting everything around them. "You almost hit me?!" The Tarnished exclaims while getting back to his feet. Ranni turns toward The Tarnished and states, "We shall discuss this matter later!" With these words alone, The Tarnished face drops and he takes a seat while watching the battles taking place. While all of this is happening, Lady Maria dodges the shards with rather ease. She evades the last shard and leaps toward Ranni with her blade but is countered by Ranni. She is now wielding the Moonlight Greatsword. Lady Maria is sent back by said blade and her demeanor changes. She now sees this battle in a more serious light and is now preparing to actually attack.

Amongst all the chaos, the greater beings have begun to take notice at the levels of energy coming from Mt. Gelmir. Even catching the attention of Radagon, this battle is now of the cosmic scale. The winner of this fight will change the world as a whole. But while all of this is happening there sits a mother. Still filled with wrath and resentment, she decides to up the scales even more. Even though her physical body is destroyed, she still bore a child that contained just as much hate as her.

Author's note: Sorry if I'm not as active at the moment, I'm in a bit of a financial struggle so for those actually enjoying the story please be patient with me. Thank you! If you see any way I can improve please enlighten me. I want to make this as best I can.

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