Tyrants controlled a plethora of minions, making them potential calmatites that could take over a siege capital if their forces managed to break in.
Terrors had horrific powers that often existed outside the realm of physical attacks. They were the army in themselves. They could easily create calamities at their own leisure
Titans were calamities.
The Walking Mountain approached Gehrman, for some reason, it seemed to recognize him as something of a challenger.
Maybe that mechanical looking eye was able to spot the 7 Soul Cores inside Gehrman and felt threatened. Or maybe it was something deeper. Titans were supposed to have increased intelligence, even from the cunning Tyrants and Terrors that had outwitted many humans.
Yet it was hard to quantify such a thing.Titans tended to be so damn dreadful that any sort of research was off limits.
Gehrman considered the situation.
In truth, he was fairly confident he could kill this thing. In terms of raw power this Nightmare Creature outclassed him, but it was a bad matchup.
The Fallen Titan appeared to be an aspect of destruction itself. Its mass, strength, and power eliminates any threat. And then on top of that there was the heat wave attack emitted when that mechanical eye shifted to violent red.
All the snow between Gehrman and the beast had turned to steam instantly when that wave was shot his way. And now a low fog-like atmosphere settled in the land between them.
And yet, Gehrman was not afraid. The Titan may have been fast for its size, but it was still fairly slow due to how much more resistance it took when it moved. The fact of the matter was, Gehrman believed that even without studying it, his chances of getting hit were close to zero.
What really bothered him was, of course, Cassie's message.
She had made it very clear that Gehrman killing this thing would lead to disaster.
But running away and ignoring it was also not an option.
There was one last bit that stuck out to him, a detail Cassie probably didn't consider important, but at the moment it was vital to Gehrman.
She said that this thing would be "roaming in the lower Antarctic Center, near Erebus Fields".
Gehrman's teeth grinded against each other.
Erebus Fields may not have been as secure as Falcon Scott, but it was probably the second most fortified siege capital. On top of that, (as its name suggests) it was a center of farming, food production, and plenty of other things. Though larger siege capitals were semi-self reliant. This single place provided enough resources for the rest of Antarctica.
And this Fallen Titan could destroy it.
There was no Saint stationed at Erebus Fields like there was in Falcon Scott. Instead, there was a powerful, veteran Master of the Government. One of the Captains of the Irregular Company.
The man was technically an equal to Sunny in rank in the military, but Gehrman was under no delusions that this experienced fighter could hope to match Sunny in his current state. He was already an exceptionally dangerous Awakened, the second he Ascended he most likely immediately was on the level of the most powerful Masters in history.
…Still.
"Could Sunny even kill this thing?"
It was true that he was powerful, but Gehrman knew how the young man fought. He didn't have any truly devastating, singular attacks. Instead relying on his sword play and outwitting his enemies. But against something like this Fallen Titan that simply wouldn't be enough.
And yet, he was sure that he would find a way. Cassie had said so herself, but what meant more than the seer's word was Gehrman's perception of Sunny.
The little guy's spite was seriously psychotic.
Gehrman could quite easily imagine a scenario where Sunny encountered this thing, lost it, then spent months afterward coming up with the most effective and cruel way of dismantling it.
And that was the most disturbing thing.
If Sunny was dropped right in front of him at the moment, he could not defeat the monster. Only with prep-time could it be done.
In other words, in the future Cassie saw, it wouldn't be for a while that this thing would be defeated.
'Roaming around Erebus Fields"
"Damn it."
If Cassie knew that this thing would appear near Erebus Fields, then her vision must have shown the city and the Titan in close proximity. And if that was the case…Erebus Fields would surely be lost.
The image of the 2nd strongest Siege Capital in the Antarctic Center being reduced to ash and dust was all too easy to imagine.
With a good amount of discontent Gehrman realized that the fall of Erebus Fields was likely exactly what Cassie saw.
It was a future determined by Fate.
Gehrman stared down the Fallen Titan.
Then, in his hands, the [Burial Blade] and [Blunderbuss] formed in a storm of pale purple sparks.
It was impossible for him to truly understand Fate. It was a primeval concept that likely existed on the level of the long dead gods of the Dream Realm and the Great Ones. In fact, it was likely that it surpassed them.
Gehrman couldn't possibly break such a thing…but he was fairly certain he could tweak it.
Cassie didn't just see Erebus Fields fall, she also saw Sunny killing this Fallen Titan.
Which event was considered more important to Fate? What had more weight?
It was a bit unnerving, but it was likely the death of the Fallen Titan.
A city full of mundane, even if it was accompanied by a Master and Awakened, could not hope to have a large impact on the continent at large, but this thing could easily do so if it was able to run rampant.
So Gehrman decided to hope and pray that as long as Sunny killed this thing eventually, Fate wouldn't care about what happened in between.
Such a thing was surely possible.
He was fairly certain Caster would be dead, cut down by Sunny and the Forgotten Shore if it wasn't for him.
Gehrman was an anomaly in the Fate of this world. And the lives of the mundane people wouldn't change the end described by the grand tapestry of the future.
Am I deluding myself here?
Indeed, all of this was theoretical, he had no way of knowing what his actions would cause in this case.
But he would sooner end himself than do nothing in this situation.
Gehrman grunted as two enormous wings of blood cut from his veins and skin to form outside his shoulder blades.
And then, he shot towards the Fallen Titan.
A small indent was formed in the mountain as stone and snow were pushed back by the force of his ascent.
Gehrman did not let his eyes blaze with yellow-orange light, keeping the Madness in check for the moment.
He had a plan in mind now, but it wouldn't work if he was sloppy.
The Titan readied its three colossal arms as Gehrman approached. They moved with unsettling coordination, launching blows that caused massive winds to burst forward and disrupt Gehrman's flight.
Naturally, he simply flew upwards and avoided the attack.
Once he was close enough Gehrman landed hard on one of the creatures arms and fired off a shot with the [Blunderbuss] before another arm came to swat at him.
Gehrman's eyes peeled the creature apart, taking note of every crevice in its gargantuan surface. With the enchantment on his firearm, the Titan's weakest areas would be made apparent. A non-physical light would glow in his mind, seared into certain areas of the enemy's form.
After a few minutes of evasive maneuvers Gehrman concluded something that was new for him: there were no true weak spots.
Even its eye appeared exceptionally sturdy.
Something was definitely off about that eye.
Gehrman wouldn't be surprised if the thing was the true Titan, and that mountainous body was just its shell.
"Right then," Gehrman shot higher into the sky, dodging a wave of blistering heat.
It seemed that the creature was no intermittently firing its more nuclear attack while it physically assaulted him.
With a start, Gehrman took in the sight of the bright light of the creature's weak spot.
But then it was gone.
"So that's it. Damn," Gehrman bitterly muttered.
The Fallen Titan's eye was its weak spot, but only when it switched to fire off the overwhelming heat wave attack.
If he didn't have that specific enchantment on the Blunderbuss, he probably would have missed that detail.
Gehrman started to build up more momentum, flying higher, then pushing back down with the help of gravity.
He turned into a pseudo meteor.
Then, a torrent of blood exploded out, it was the blood of a Corrupted Devil that he kept in reserve for emergencies like this.
Cracking the vial of the half-summoned [Portable Blood Imbiber], the blood rushed to cover and integrate itself with the stone hide of the creature. Spreading like a plague, a strange red spot coated what appeared to be but a freckle on one the Fallen Titan's arm.
Immediately, the other arms moved to intercept Gehrman, but it was too late. Gehrman had dismissed the [Blunderbuss] and now held the [Burial Blade] in both hands.
With a sudden explosion of bloodlust he allowed all the stress and anger from the past weeks to flow through him and support his devastating attack.
This technique of sticking the enemy with blood, pressurizing it, then forcing it to explode when further stressing it with a physical attack of his own had proved incredibly consistent.
Its raw power was enough to destroy a smaller siege capital if he went all out.
Then, for the first time, it failed.
Gehrman blinked as the blood moved startlingly quickly away from the Titan's body, falling off and downward.
The scythe hit no blood, instead only causing a few cracks.
If he was still as insane as before. Gehrman would start second guessing himself, maybe even freezing up completely. But Gehrman couldn't do such a thing.
In one moment, a Memory that Gehrman had started to summon during his plunge downward finally formed.
What appeared to be a blade cut ruthlessly from the bone of a fetid rib manifested, an disturbing green liquid lining its edge.
Gehrman activated its singular enchantment, and the [Wrathful Shaman Bone Blade] sucked an entire Soul Core's Essence reserve out of him.
He now had barely a quarter of a single Soul Core's Essence reserve remaining.
But that would be enough.
This Memory was of the same Rank as the Titan, and despite the qualitative difference between the two, Gehrman was sure that it would at least have some sort of effect.
The hefty cost, and the Memory immediately being sent back to his Soul Sea were evident of how potent it truly was.
This was the first time he had used it since the 2nd Nightmare.
But he had always kept it in mind.
Because this Memory that bore the name of Wrath could turn the tables of a fight. And in this case – if he was able to do what he wanted to do – it could turn the tables on the Nightmare Creatures invading Antarctica.
"I should probably start ru-"
The Fallen Titan gave him a helpful nudge off of its arm.
Sending Gehrman flying a hundred meters in mere moments.
Several of his ribs were cracked and his right arm was shattered.
But before he reached the ground, a vial of blood injected itself in his right leg.
Landing hard in the steam-covered ground Gehrman looked through the haze. His gaze traveled upwards towards the terrifying Titan.
"That was my last vial I had in reserve…wanna join me in getting more?"
The creature did not roar. It had no mouth after all.
And yet, the whirring of its eye became so deafening and erratic that it shook the mountains.
One of the champions of the invading Nightmare Creatures fell into a rabid, mindless, Wrath. And soon the rest of the Antarctic Central would feel it.