When Johann had first arrived in Cainhurst, it had been an absolute ruin. The reason for this was obviously the Executioners invasion.
Each Executioner was trained by Logarius himself. As such, they had very different values and policies than Gehrman's Workshop Hunters.
Instead of lightweight attire that promoted mobility, they bore a heavy grey mantle and tougher leather boots. All of their gear provided greater defense, but it was also heavier.
The weapons of the Executioners were similar in this manner. The most commonly used was the Kirkhammer, the blunt weapon that Gehrman had made in the Forgotten Shore. It was the most simple, but terribly effective. After all, the modest regeneration of the Vilebloods didn't matter nearly as much when there was a giant indent breaking their body. A well placed blow to the head while the weapon was tricked would lead to an instant death to anyone below the rank of Royal Guard.
The Church Pick was being used as well. This was a weapon of impressive design. In fact, Gehrman believed it was the closest the Healing Church engineers ever came to his own "masterpieces". The thick thrusting sword could be tricked into a larger war pick. Its weight and power along with the unique material made it a rare but fearsome weapon. As such, it was used only by the highest ranked Executioners.
Finally, there was the weapon that only two individuals wielded. It was the weapon that Gehrman was supposed to have made for Logarius himself, somehow the leader of the Executioners and his right hand man had gotten his hands on "The Wheel" even without Gehrman's aid.
This wooden behemoth was terribly heavy, and made of Arcane wood that was taken from the Labyrinth and refined to become nearly indestructible.
It also had an additional property that no one had known about. Even now, he was not quite sure how it worked.
At the moment, Gehrman could see it from the Castle Grounds. A dark red–which was somehow deeper than blood itself–oozed from the wheel. Though the weapon would go on to be called the Logarius Wheel, there was one other who used it with great proficiency.
He was the right-hand man of Logarius. The madman was currently without a shirt, running around with the glowing wheel ominously pulsing on his back. In his offhand, he wielded a small cannon that used a tremendous amount of blood to deal obscene amounts of damage. Atop his head (or rather covering it), was the Gold Ardeo that the higher ranking Executioners wore.
The cone of gold seemed impractical and flaunting, impossible to use in a real battle. However, the Executioners could see perfectly fine when wearing it. The helmets were fashioned in such a way that the wearer could see reflections from all around them.
These reflections would be distorted (as gold was not the best mirror) but they provided a 360 degree view of the wearer's surroundings. Some Executioners wore these absurd headpieces at all times, and therefore became more adept at seeing the world through multiple lenses.
It was both a measure of status and skill. Both things that Logarius valued highly.
He was not a Brygenwerth scholar, the same as Gehrman and Gairm. Instead, he had been a militant in Yharnam. After meeting Laurence, he had fallen into their fold and formed his own unit. His violent tendencies were frightening, but his physical prowess was impressive enough that the Church found it easier to simply adopt him rather than fight him.
This wasn't much of an issue. Logarius was able to put on the face of a gentleman when required. In fact, his saying "Acts of goodness are not always wise, and acts of evil are not always foolish, but regardless, we shall always strive to be good" had become an ideal valued by the Healing Church itself.
But Gehrman knew the man for who he was: a creature of hate.
And now that hate was tearing apart Cainhurst.
An explosion sounded overhead, and a body fell dozens of meters to the ground, landing with an unpleasant crunch. The shirtless Executioner cackled at the destruction his Cannon wrought.
Most Executioners had only trained for a few years (though they had been physical specimens beforehand), as such, they sought to overpower the Vilebloods with numbers. And indeed this plan was a successful one. For every Knight, there were three Executioners. For every Royal Guard, there were five Hunters.
But at the moment the shirtless Executioner was on his own.
Though each warrior in this battle was considered an Ascended by the Spell, the disparity between them was clear.
The average Knight was stronger than the average Executioner.
Executioners wearing a Gold Ardeo were perhaps equal to a Knight.
And the Royal Guards were peerless…except for the rampaging beast he now witnessed. The right-hand of Logarius was a monster. His lack of garment only served to make him more devastating. Though he had taken many blows, he was perfectly healthy. His frame was covered with dry red that refracted the moonlight, causing him to look like a demon. He had clearly consumed a great amount of Blood. And a decent amount of Madness seemed to have built up within him.
Suddenly, Gehrman heard a noise. A gurgling groan filled with pain. He dashed over to the body that had just been sent off the side of the castle.
The Vileblood Knight was a pile of broken bones and trembling sinew. And yet, he still clung to life. His eyes still burned with vengeance and righteous anger.
"You," his voice trembled with burning hatred. "You're a traitor, aren't you? New Knight from Loran?"
Gehrman glanced down at himself. He had summoned many of his strongest Memories beforehand. On his back were both his blunderbuss and [Gluttonous Reiterpallasch] as well as the pole for Gehrman's scythe. In his hand was the curved greatsword form of the [Burial Blade (Sealed)]. He had multiple vials of Fallen Blood pre-summoned from the [Portable Blood Imbiber], as well as his last three vials of The Old Blood. And finally, there was the [Red Messenger Ribbon] that hung from his chest.
In order to fit all of this, he needed his most versatile attire. Of course, he was wearing his trusty [Hunter's Attire (Sealed)].
Indeed, he did look like a traitor.
"I am not," Gehrman said.
"Don't lie you bastard! You have that Blood of theirs all over you!" The language of this
Knight was far less proper than what he usually encountered. This was because, unlike the Royal Guards, Vileblood Knights were not true nobility. In fact, they were servants who served the noble households. And though they trained to be as presentable as possible, their roots still remained distinct from the more evil Vilebloods.
"I am a Hunter true, but my intention was always to minimize the damage here," Gehrman crouched down, he held out his hand and a bit of the Knight's Ascended blood was pulled from the mess of flesh onto his garment. Immediately, it became far more threatening and powerful. "Make no mistake, the Queen will be lost and her Royal Guards will be slaughtered. But I will save the common people of this city and nation."
The Knight's eyes flared with indignation.
"You really expect me to believe that?"
"No."
Gehrman stuck a vial of the Blood into the Knight. Ordinarily, it would not be able to save someone at this point, but this man was a Vileblood.
Several moments later, he was back to a human form. Although, he still had gaping wounds and his attire was scorched.
"Go to the villages and towns. The Queen summoned all Knights, correct? That means there is no one to protect them from Beasts. The nobility will fall, you must salvage what you can."
Gehrman turned to leave. Though he knew it was unlikely that the Knight would listen, he couldn't waste any more time on him.
"And what if I just kill you instead?" The Knight called between heavy breaths.
In response Gehrman allowed himself to take in the chaos of this unholy slaughter. He felt their pain and suffering, and he let his thoughts split, fracture, and multiply.
Frenzy poured out of him.
"You won't be able to."
Gehrman said these words with his back turned. Portraying a cold indifference and malice.
Of course, he could not easily take out an Ascended by himself. But a wounded one such as this would not be an issue.
The Knight saw this.
Gehrman ran towards the ramparts of the castle.
The Knight started running towards his village.
…
Gehrman had three tasks that were vital to accomplish.
The least important was the slaughter of the top brass of Vilebloods. Though this would be instrumental in ensuring that no more harm came to Cainhurst, he could not waste time going out of his way to hunt them down.
The second was ensuring that no harm came to the ordinary people of Cainhurst. This would have to be accomplished through bargaining with Logarius. As the leader of this expedition, only he could halt the slaughter. However, he also had to send as many Knights towards the villages and hamlets in Cainhurst, in order to make sure they were not slaughtered by Beasts at this time.
The most important task was the most simple and most daunting: survive.
This Nightmare would conclude soon. And even if he failed in the other objectives he would become Ascended so long as he survived. Ordinarily this wouldn't be an issue. His [Contracted] Attribute ensured that even his perishing did not mean true death, or at least, it did not mean a failure in the Nightmare.
That being said, he was walking amongst Transcendent humans now. Their power had officially gone beyond normal human comprehension. If he were stuck in a loop of being killed by a Transcendent, he would ultimately meet his doom.
Alternatively he could face complete obliteration through other, more Arcane means. He did not trust that the Nightmare would end if he was sealed by the Arcane Mask, for example. That thing's main power was causing a "disconnect". Though it was recreated by the Spell, its power was no less harrowing. And Gehrman was fairly certain that the Spell would enjoy using this loophole to keep him trapped in this Nightmare for all eternity, effectively sealing Paleblood within this Nightmare.
Needless to say, he was in a very dangerous situation.
But it was also one that could bring a great boon. He had the opportunity to kill many Ascended humans, and though this would not result in an increase in Blood Fragments, it would undoubtedly bestow upon him a great number of Ascended Memories (especially due to the fact that the [Eye] Rune was in full force).
Gehrman was not swiftly scaling the side of the castle. The stairs would take far too long, and he needed to reach the top as soon as possible.
After a single minute, he threw himself over the top of the wall and started dashing forward.
His [Sixth Sense] gave him a feel for the surrounding battlefield…and it was just as gruesome as he had imagined.
But there was one spot in particular where the fighting was most intense.
He could feel it even from hundreds of meters away: the clashing of Transcendents.
He was unsure who was fighting at this time, but their fight caused deafening echoes to sound and terrible explosions thundering throughout the land.
The disparity in power between Ranks was not stagnant. Indeed the higher one climbed the Ranks of divinity, the greater the growth between each Rank. For this reason, no Ascended could come close to the battlefield of these two opposing forces.
Gehrman could fight people well above his Rank due to the fact that he was both a Devil and because his current body had naturally surpassed human limitations.
But even he could not hope to touch those of Transcendent Rank…under normal conditions at least.
He still planned to make the Bloody Crow pay for what he had done, after all. And that malice was great enough to perhaps give him the most miniscule chance of backstabbing and slaying an injured one.
First though, he had to focus on the less harrowing threats. Though, they were still quite terrifying.
The right-hand of Logarius was the closest Executioner to him. And he was currently fending off three Knights. Or rather, he was currently obliterating three Knights.
Unfortunately, Gehrman never learned the man's name, so he could not call out to him and call for a ceasefire.
Fortunately, he definitely knew who Gehrman was.
Pulling some of his own blood from his body, Gehrman coated his blade and swung it, sending a thin but dangerous projectile forward with deadly force.
Each of the fighters were no slouches, and they easily sensed the incoming force and dodged accordingly.
Just as he hoped, all their attention swiftly shifted to him.
Each of them disengaged, and assessed the new presence.
He had the attire of a Hunter, but that attack was one that belonged to Vilebloods. For that reason, the fight was brought to a halt.
They had no idea if this was friend or foe.
But the Executioner was the first to come to a conclusion. After all, he recognized the new face for who he was.
"The First Hunter," he said in a surprisingly high pitched voice. "I thought you would have nothing to do with this mess."
"This place is crawling with Beasts, it's only natural."
A squealing chuckle echoed from the Gold Ardeo.
"So it is. These filthy Vilebloods are worse than any wolf…but it appears that you have thrown in your lot with them. Last time I checked, the great Gehrman couldn't make blood move like that."
Gehrman leveled a gaze at the man. And forced some more Frenzy to leak out. He changed his approach slightly, putting on an air of arrogance once more.
"I see the trash from the Church was able to create a shoddy replica of my Wheel. It should get the job done. Go find the ones covered in silver armor. Your weapon will prove most effective against them."
The Executioner sneered beneath the mask. But his words seemed to dissuade him of the notion that he was truly one of the Vilebloods.
"And these three?"
"Naturally, I'll take care of them."
The Executioner's hand twitched dangerously. And Gehrman could feel his cogs turning. All this time, the Knights stayed back, regrouping and circling into a new formation. They did not know if the rumored might of the First Hunter was as harrowing as people said. But they did know that their chances against the shirtless Executioner was slim to none. And they were willing to gamble on the chance that he was less of a fiend than their current foe.
"They'll put up a better fight anyway. Those silver one's always do." With a powerful leap the right-hand of Logarius flew toward the more heated battles on the higher peaks of the castle.
Gehrman did not let out a breath of relief, but he certainly relaxed considerably at the madman's departure.
After a moment, he turned to fully face the Knights, ready to send them off to the villages.
But one had already leaped forward, his Reiterpallasch lunging forward.
It was a move that Gehrman had seen many times now. At this point, he knew how the Vileblood Knights were trained, he knew their patterns, and he knew that they would find it very difficult to touch him.
Moving forward, he pulled his own [Gluttonous Reiterpallasch] from his back. At the same time, he started to summon another Memory, this one could not be kept on his person.
Gehrman moved his neck slightly, dodging the blow, and he felt the sharp end of his own weapon plunge into the Knight's side.
He allowed some blood to fall from the man before activating the enchantment that would drain blood from the Knight and turn it into a foul poison.
At that moment, the other two Knight's converged on him, bullets fired and the rapiers stabbed, creating no openings to dodge.
So he didn't.
The Memory finished forming, and he swung the [Wrathful Shaman Bone Blade] through the air. It caught a droplet of the Knight's still falling blood. And in that same motion it reached one of the lunging Knights, just as Gehrman's body was shot and stabbed.
The knife glowed as it absorbed the droplets of blood. Then, the slightest mark appeared upon the cut Knight.
Gehrman's Essence rapidly drained. Two whole cores were emptied in that one attack.
The Bone Blade snapped, and returned to his Soul Sea (though the Memory was not destroyed, it still would not be available for some time), but that didn't matter.
A change came over the Vileblood Knight who had been struck by the Arcane tool. His attention shifted to the stabbed Knight.
Mad wrath took over the man's mind, and he pulled out his gun. The piercing pistol which could harm even Maria. He shot his own comrade.
And then he shot him again. Then he shot him a third time.
He was stuck in a loop of malice and violence.
During this time, Gehrman had been hurled backward, he quickly took in some of the pre-summoned Fallen blood and healed. He turned his momentum mid flight and landed upright. The bullets and holes in his body had been minimized due to the powerful attire he wore. Thanks to the Knight who had fallen from the Castle walls, its enchantment was active and dreadful.
The remaining Knight reeled backward at the sight of both Gehrman's otherworldly maneuver and the madness that had taken her comrade.
Gehrman felt both Frenzy and creeping Bliss come upon him, and he allowed the more terrible and uncomfortable Madness to radiate off him and push the last Knight back.
She stumbled at the oncoming wave of invisible force that assaulted her mind and soul.
Meanwhile, blood from the Knight's corpse moved upward and wrapped itself on the back of the wrathful Knights neck.
Gehrman brought down his blade.
The power of the technique was just as dreadful as it had always been. The Knight's head was removed and the Spell announced both his kill and the death of his tenacious bullet-ridden comrade simultaneously.
[You have received a Memory.]
Gehrman stalked past the corpses and approached the last Knight.
There was terror in her eyes, just as Gehrman hoped.
"If you want to live, go to your home village. Hunt the beasts that assault your people and save the last people of Cainhurst."