15 Side-quests, Ebrietas and C Dungeon

Word count 11,855

Once back to the Dream, I went to the Doll, telling her of my latest adventures before upgrading my skills.

First, for (44200) Blood Echoes I upgraded my (Scythe Wielding Mastery) skill to level (100/MAX).

Then, for (22050) Blood Echoes I upgraded my (Arcane Missiles) skill to level (80).

That done and over with, I then went to upgrade my gun to (+10).

I smiled- The Evelyn gun at (+10) with my Bloodtinge stat being at max was a rather terrifying combo indeed.

My good mood didn't last however, because when I went to talk to Gehrman, I was met with, well…

"Oh, Laurence... Master Willem... Somebody help me... Unshackle me please, anybody... I've had enough of this dream... The night blocks all sight... Oh, somebody, please... "

I stared at the back of his wheelchair, grimacing as I listened to Gehrman's words, spoken in his restless sleep.

Then, I silently turned around and left.

Mentally promising once again that I would free him from this place- and that it wouldn't be long, now, before the end.

Just a little longer, I thought. Hold just a little longer, Gehrman- your freedom is soon at hand…

And with that thought firmly in mind, I left the Dream.

First on my to-do list: Talk to Valtr…

Going back in the Forbidden Woods, I met with Valtr once more.

The moment I came close enough, I could feel him looking me in the eyes… And then, there was a fierce burst of dark glee and satisfaction coming from him.

"Ahh, very good. You've crushed some vermin!" He declared gleefully, before grunting in amusement at my surprise. "I am the Master of the League, I can see it in your eyes. I'm pleased. This makes you a true fellow of the League. ...A confederate. Now, take this staff. A symbol of our oath, of our blood-drenched fate. You'll be welcomed as a true confederate. Go forth, with renewed vigor. ...In short time, you will see... How the mission takes hold of one's spirits."

Then, he gave me a cane much like his own, and the League Oath gesture. Valtr must have brought the cane specifically for me, no doubt.

I took it, examining it- and giving a quick read at the list of names hidden within- before thanking him.

He chuckled. "As a true member of the League, it was only proper to give you this." Then he leaned forward. "Has your stomach not turned? Turned at the world of man, so wondrously wretched! And brimming with unsightly vermin. Much like our very own mission."

I nodded. "The sight of those Vermins is no easier to bear, no matter how many times I see them- or crush them."

He chuckled darkly. "Indeed. And it never will be. Thus, it is all we can do to keep the hunt going- and to keep crushing these foul Vermins whenever they can be found."

He nodded at me.

"Go forth, now- with renewed vigor. Crush all the Vermins that you can find… such is our fate, as League Confederate."

I saluted him with my newly acquired gesture, which was swiftly returned from Valtr.

Then, I took my leave, noting that the hostile hunter wasn't around… yet.

Oh well. That guy's presence is unlocked by talking to Valtr and having the dialogues I just had with him, so next time I'm around, he'll probably be nearby.

For now, I was going to give my Blood Dregs to Queen Annalise.

I returned to the lantern in Queen Annalise's throne room, and promptly blinked.

… Well then. A certain someone sure worked fast…

I knelt before Annalise, trying to not stare too much at the fact that she was holding her belly and radiating discomfort to my senses.

No joy, though, only confusion- she probably hadn't understood yet what was going on.

"Queen Annalise." I declared respectfully.

She nodded at me. "Closest of Kin, last of Our kind. What is thy wish?"

I offered her my Blood Dregs.

She accepted it with satisfaction. "Thy gift pleases Us. Let this reward be thine. Indulge thyself in Our tainted Blood." She declared, presenting her arm to me.

I hesitated, looking at her belly.

"Are you sure? With your condition, losing Blood might not be the best."

I could almost feel the blink coming from her.

"Condition? Yes, We started feeling unwell, but-"

"I mean the pregnancy." I declared, interrupting her.

She stared at me.

"Well, it's just, it feels rather logical that, with Rom dead, the ritual blocking the Great Ones gone, and Logarius dead too, you ended up getting your wish…" I pointed out, smirking.

That, and I told my eldritch goddess of a girlfriend about you, but I could hardly reveal that part, now could I?

Queen Annalise kept staring at me.

Then she slowly put her right hand on her belly, and I could feel her stunned shock.

There was a moment of silence.

"KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And then proud Queen Annalise of Cainhurst, Ruler of the Vilebloods, let out an impressive squeal of joy.

There was yet another moment of silence.

And then the Queen coughed slightly, before straightening in her throne.

"By Royal Decree, We Hereby order you to forget any… unseemingly behavior on the part of your Queen that may have happened in the last minute or so." Annalise declared, with what had to be the biggest blush of all time on her, sadly hidden, face.

It did nothing to stop my (Empathy) skill to pick up her emotions, though.

I smirked, eyes twinkling.

"What are you talking about, Queen Annalise? I saw nothing of the sort." I replied, my voice ALMOST succeeding in hiding the sheer amusement I felt.

She nodded. Suspiciously fast. "Indeed."

Again, there was yet another moment of silence, as I stared at her in amusement, and she tried- and failed- to not squirm in her throne under my amused stare.

Then she coughed slightly, and nodded gratefully at me.

"In any case, it appears that your victory over Our ancient foe had more… consequences than We had expected. While We understand that you most likely didn't expect this, We are thankful nonetheless."

I nodded.

Annalise sighed. "Truthfully, We would like to thank you with more than words… But alas, We scarce have anything to reward you with. Not even Our Blood, for We indeed are hesitant to lose too much of it while pregnant."

I nodded again. "If you truly feel that way, Your Majesty, we can always worry about it AFTER the end of this night. There is no need to worry about such things now- after all, I believe you have greater things on your mind to think about, now." I pointed out with a smirk.

She looked at me, her right hand still gently holding her belly, before nodding.

"Very well. It shames Us as Queen that We cannot reward you properly for your help here and now, but We shall not forget this debt We owe you, Sir Aeon."

I bowed. "As you wish."

I could feel her smile.

"Now, why don't you tell us of your latest adventures? You were going to investigate a Nightmare Realm, last we spoke…"

After catching her up on the Nightmare of Mensis- at least the part of it that I dealt with, since I still needed to go deal with Mergo- I then left a very happy Queen Annalise to bask in her newfound status as a pregnant woman to return to the Dream.

I had another pregnant woman to check up on, after all..

Appearing at the Chapel, the first thing I noticed was the obvious absence of Arianna.

The fact that both Violetta and Vanessa were looking worriedly towards the nearby doors only confirmed my suspicions.

"Hello girls. Where's Arianna?" I asked, even if I had a very good idea of the answer.

"She went that way." Vanessa pointed towards the doors. "She said that she was going to go get some fresh air, because even with the sedative she was still in pain."

Violetta looked up at me with hope in her eyes.

"Can you check on her, please, mister Aeon? I can't help but worry that something is wrong…"

I nodded. "I will. Stay here girls, this won't take long."

I went through the doors, took the ladder down…

And there she was.

Or, rather, there THEY were.

Arianna… And her Child of Blood.

I stepped closer, noticing that Arianna was staring blankly ahead while mumbling to herself.

"I'm a whore… But I gave birth to a Child of Blood… But I'm a WHORE! Why...? That makes no sense… Why me? I don't…"

While she was out of it, I quickly went to the child, and took out the Umbilical Cord and put it in my Inventory for the time being.

Then, I shook Arianna's shoulders, making her focus on me.

She blinked, blinked again, and then her eyes went wide.

"Good Hunter! You-" she threw a look at her baby, then at me, and paled. "I… That…"

I grinned. "Congratulations, it's a Child of Blood! Queen Annalise is going to want to know about that, I believe."

She stared at me. "Queen Annalise?" she repeated slowly.

Then her eyes widened. "You are a Vileblood?!" she shouted.

I laughed. "Since not that long ago, actually, but yes. I found and rescued her from some… trouble she was stuck in."

I shook my head. "I didn't tell her of my suspicions that you were of Cainhurst, but…" I gave the dress she was wearing a look. "That dress is rather inconspicuous, you know." I pointed out with amusement.

She blinked, before blushing slightly. "Right. I suppose going around in a Cainhurst Noble dress -would- be rather noticeable to those in the know, wouldn't it?"

She shook her head, before looking at her baby and biting her lips.

"But… To give birth of a Child of Blood…"

I shrugged. "To be fair, the Queen has fallen pregnant too."

Arianna blinked. "Wait, truly?!" She exclaimed.

I smirked. "Yup."

Then I frowned, taking in her paleness and obvious exhaustion, and decided that, now that Arianna was… calmer, it was time to help out another way.

My hands began glowing, and she took a deep breath, colors returning to her cheeks as my healing magic took the edge off of her recent pregnancy and birthing of an Eldritch baby.

She nodded gratefully when I was done. "Thank you."

I grinned. "You're welcome." Besides, you will indirectly help me achieve godhood- it was the least of what I could do for you, I thought but did not say.

"So, with all that being said…" I turned towards the baby. "What now?"

Arianna sighed. "Now that's the question, isn't it? I suppose that I could try and go to Cainhurst, meet the Queen, and after that… Well, I doubt she'll welcome a whore with open arms, but I might as well try."

I hummed. "I could give a good word for you, if you wish? I-"

"No." Arianna firmly declared. "You've already done more than enough for me, I have my pride too, you know- what little left I have of it."

She shook her head. "This is for me, and me alone, to face. Please?" She begged.

I pursed my lips… But nodded, sighing.

Matters of pride were always tricky, and especially when you were one of the last of a people… while also being a whore.

Still…

"For what it's worth, I don't think you need to worry. Queen Annalise will probably be happy to know at least ONE person survived the slaughter of her people. And it's hardly like she needs to worry about politics and the opinions of nobles when the three of us are the only ones left."

Arianna smiled, though I could see she was still worried about the Queen's reaction.

"Only one way to find out." She replied. "For now…"

She looked at her baby, and then gently got up from the chair she was in to take it in her arms before sitting back.

"I… do have a favor to ask of you, if you'd allow me." She said, looking at me.

I nodded, and she smiled. "Could you please tell the others in the chapel that I'll be alright? I don't think it would be wise to… show ourselves." She pointed at her baby, who was quite obviously NOT human.

I nodded slowly. "I don't think it would be that bad… This is Yharnam, after all, they are used to the weird- certainly, they've got statues everywhere much weirder than that! But if that is your wish, so be it."

Arianna smiled, relieved. "Thank you. Once again." She declared, bowing her head slightly, before focusing on her child.

I stayed a bit longer to make sure everything was alright, but once that was done I returned upstairs, back to the girls who looked at me with concern.

I smiled at them. "Don't worry girls, Arianna is doing alright. In fact, it appears as if she is doing much better now, so she decided to stay down there for the time being."

The girls sagged and breathed in relief as one, which was admittedly rather amusing to watch.

Then, they smiled brightly. "That's good!" Shouted Violetta happily, her sister nodding at her words.

"That it is." I agreed. "But what about you two? No issue so far?"

They shook their heads as one, bright golden hairs flying everywhere. "Nope!" Replied Violetta, smiling.

I nodded. "Good, very good. In that case, I'll be going- I have an old crow I need to meet up with…"

"An old crow?" wondered Vanessa, tilting her head.

Violetta frowned, before her eyes widened in recognition.

"Wait, are you talking about that woman who wears the garb of crow feathers? The one who…" she trailed off.

I grimaced slightly. "Yes, that's her."

Violetta looked at me for a moment, before nodding. "Do give her my thanks for… helping you, back then." She said softly, referencing my and Eileen's fight against her grandfather, Henryk, when he went mad.

I nodded. "I shall."

Vanessa looked at us for a moment, before she apparently connected the dots from her sisters' words on what happened tonight, because she suddenly looked at us with wide eyes.

"Wait, you mean…?"

She stopped, seemingly struggling with herself for a moment, before looking at her sister and sighing deeply.

Then she nodded at me. "Mine too, please. From what my sister said…" She grimaced, then sighed again. "Well, thank you both for granting mercy to grandpa." she finished softly.

I nodded. "Very well."

I then hugged both, something they gladly accepted (though Vanessa was blushing), and then I went to find an old crow.

And after that… I'll have to kill another crow.

A mad one.

First thing first, though. The moment I was alone and away from the chapel, I took out the Umbilical Cord.

The third one I found tonight.

And then, with a large smile… I clicked "yes" on "Do you want to use this item?"

It dissolved in silver mist, which then flowed into me-

-my EYES blinked OPEN-

-The COSMOS flashed into my MIND-

-a LINK is forged, GREATNESS gathered, ready for ASCENSION-

-a CHILD born in BLOOD, born FROM blood-

-Beneath a Sea of Stars, a Dreamer turned in its sleep, rumbling contently as it's strength grew even further. Yet, it cannot be awoken, bound by chains of a contract upon its soul that it had willingly entered. Thus, the Dreamer keeps on slumbering, patiently waiting for the stars to be right for its awakening-

I blinked, then blinked again.

Then I shuddered, as my body and mind and even my very soul felt… tight.

As if too much had been put into a space too small for it.

Shaking my head, I looked at my screen.

Third Step to Greatness: You have found and consumed a Third Umbilical Cord. Your Eyes are yet to fully open, bound by Chains upon your soul forged by another God, but the secrets of the Cosmos are opening themselves to you... Gain (100) in Wis and Int.

I smiled. Looking at my Stats, I almost reached max Int with this.

Even more importantly, I was now safe from my Moonlight Benefactor. Now that I had consumed three Umbilical Cords, it could no longer turn me into the next caretaker of the Hunter's Dream.

True, there was still the matter of the contract I signed that bound my soul and apparently stopped my Ascension into Greatness… But that was alright.

For now, I would keep honoring the contract to its end.

After that, though...

My moonlight benefactor will have a nasty, and fatal, surprise awaiting it…

Smiling widely at that thought, I kept going.

First things first- it was time to go help Eileen.

Making my way to the Grand Cathedral, I found her like in the game, collapsed near the entrance, at the top of the stairs, and heavily injured.

I grimaced, shouted "Eileen!" and Quickened up to her.

She jerked at the sound of my voice, before hissing in pain at her wounds and then relaxing as I came closer.

"Oh, is that you again?" She chuckled. "I'm afraid I've made a bit of a blunder. I'm just going to have a short rest."

I opened my mouth to interject.

She waved me off weakly. "Oh, don't worry, I've taken blood. Enough to save an old woman." She sighed. "No more dreams for me. This is my last chance." She shook her head.

"What a fool I am. I'll have to tread carefully." She turned her head toward the cathedral. "But that thing still lies in wait." She looked at me. "Turn back." She declared firmly, her right hand coming up in the *Wait* gesture. "This is my score to settle. My prey lies in wait this way."

Despite her words, I could feel it- her exhaustion, her fear- of failing to kill her foe, of me being hurt, and more.

I grunted. "I believe I have something to say, first of all."

"And that is?" She replied.

I smirked widely. "I believe I must tell you: I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!" I shouted.

Then, and only then, did I put my hand on her shoulder and let my healing magic heal her up.

Eileen grunted. "Dammit. I had hoped you would have forgotten." She sighed in relief as her wounds closed. "You are forever going to hold that up over me, aren't you?"

"Yup." I replied cheerfully, deliberately popping the *p*.

Then, after healing her just enough to be certain that she wouldn't be in any danger of dying, I straightened and started making my way into the Grand Cathedral.

"Wait, where do you think you are going?!" Eileen exclaimed as I did precisely what she told me not to do.

"I'm finishing what you started." I replied, eyes darkening as I considered how close to dying Eileen had been. "This bastard… is mine." I whispered darkly.

And then, I entered the building.

Eileen the Crow, proud Hunter of Hunters of Yharnam, cursed both herself and the young fool of a hunter who just entered the Grand Cathedral while she struggled to stand and follow him.

"Dammit all, would it kill him to listen to his elders sometimes?!" she grumbled, stretching out with a grunt while admittedly being silently amazed once more at the impressive healing arcane powers he had once again displayed.

She had heard of healing items from the Church, but not actual healing Arcane spells- until now.

Checking her reserves of Blood vials and Quicksilver bullets, she grimaced at the lack of the former- the fight against her latest mark had truly taken its toll.

"I truly am getting too old for this…" she whispered, before taking a deep breath.

That was something that she had thought for some time, but tonight was firmly showing just how true that was.

That damn young hunter, Aeon, was already catching up to her at astonishing speed. The Arcane abilities he had showed in the fight against Henryk… She had never heard of such things before, and she had lived a LONG time.

A small smirk spread on her face at that thought. Aeon's comment about what she might truly look like under her outfit had certainly amused her… Enough that, for the first time in a very long time, she had felt like a woman rather than just a hunter of hunters- to the point that she had… just maybe… swayed her hips at him.

And the stunned look on his face had made it more than worth it.

Certainly, it had been far too long since she had felt as amused as she had back then…

Sighing, she finished checking herself over and entered the Grand Cathedral again.

Of course, then the Blood Moon rose not long after that whole mess, and as Aeon had warned her, things went from bad to worse spectacularly fast after that.

The number of beasts increased, and they grew in strength to boot.

Worse, that damn Blood Moon just kept on grinding the sanity of everyone into nothing but a desire for bloodshed- the only reason she didn't go mad herself was, she grudgingly admitted to herself, the time passed with Aeon having done her some good.

And then she found out the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst was rampaging around, and she decided to hunt him down.

She was Eileen the Crow, hunter of Hunters, it was her damn duty after all!

… Except things didn't go well. Even with her being more cautious than she otherwise would be- if only so she could smugly say "I told you so!" to that infuriating young hunter who HUGGED her- hugged her! … When was the last time she got one of those anyway? She couldn't remember- the Bloody Crow had proven…

She sighed. To be blunt, he had proven himself her better. Maybe, if she had been younger… But as it was, it was all she could do to escape the fight with her life.

And even then, barely so…

Shaking her head, she came up at the top of the stairs into the cathedral.

She barely had the time to see Aeon facing off with the Bloody Crow, both of them waiting for the other to make the first move-

And then all hell broke loose.

Eileen felt her jaw drop as Aeon suddenly charged forward amidst a veritable lightning storm, all of which the Bloody Crow was only capable of barely dodging thanks to Quickening out of the way.

Not that it helped him much, as he suddenly had to deal with Aeon himself appearing before him, his sword barely deflected and his gunshot barely dodged by a visibly surprised Bloody Crow, before the entire ground of the Grand Cathedral turned to fucking lava.

Of course, that didn't seem to do much of anything to both madmen, as they used their respective Quickening to fly above and dodge each lava explosion from the ground.

Or at least they did, until Aeon apparently decided to stop even pretending that the lava was a problem and began running THROUGH the damn lava explosions without so much a flinch.

After that, the fight was as much an exchange of bullets, sword strikes as it was lava exploding everywhere…

Until Aeon made a mistake.

Being just a bit too slow, the Bloody Crow managed to stagger Aeon long enough for him to perform a visceral strike on the Good Hunter, and Eileen winced as she saw the Bloody Crow brutally rip, and then crush, Aeon's heart right before his eyes.

And that, apparently, was when the Good Hunter decided to go all out.

Or at least, that was the only explanation Eileen could think of for why a fucking BLACK HOLE appeared right where the Bloody Crow was, which caught him well enough to remove his gun- and the arm holding it- from his body.

Because obviously, Aeon could create literal holes in reality. Why the fuck not, at this point?

Then Aeon charged forward, and Eileen's last view of the battle was both sides being engaged in a truly spectacular sword fight before the entire area was suddenly plunged into total darkness.

Not that it stopped the fight- if anything, the sounds of explosions and battle in general became LOUDER, and the whole building- which, being the Grand Cathedral of Yharnam, wasn't exactly small- began shaking as shockwaves of blows powerful enough that it almost sent Eileen, from all the way back at the entrance of the room, dozens of meters away from the fighting, flying backward.

And then because it wasn't enough, yet more powers were unleashed, as the darkness was suddenly illuminated by lightning bolts, Arcane missiles, waves of acidic Blood on fire and much, much more.

Staring at this utter madness, Eileen couldn't help but note all the OTHER powers that Aeon was currently calling on that she hadn't know about, while also noting the fact that the Bloody Crow, even with one arm gone, was STILL FIGHTING, and she could only nod numbly to herself.

"DEFINITELY too old for this shit." She declared, not even entertaining for a second the thought of going into that insanity currently going down before her.

A thought that was further solidified by the seconds, as storms and full-blown tornados of lightning bolts, fucking LAVA, poison and more were created all over the place, while the darkness suffusing the room suddenly solidified and turned into terrifyingly deadly sharp blades heading her former mark's way, which the Bloody Crow only survived by Quickening desperately out of the way, bouncing from wall to wall at frankly absurd speed- not that Aeon was any different.

Oh no, if anything he was worse, as every single one of his strikes created shockwaves capable of crushing a hunter to a bloody pulp, and even doing something as simple as running only created a deadly whirlwind of rocks, lava and more surrounding him.

But it wasn't one-sided by any means, as the Bloody Crow answered by Blood Techniques after Blood Techniques, and hundreds of daggers, swords and full-blown halberds made of Blood were created and sent Aeon's way, each one creating their own shockwaves by the sheer speed they were sent flying.

The bastard had definitely been holding back, Eileen thought, frankly unsure at this point if she meant the Bloody Crow or Aeon, and not really caring as she tried to survive the countless deadly attacks sent her way by the two forces of nature having a throw-down right in front of the rather hapless mortal that Eileen couldn't help but compare herself to right now.

Then she almost crashed on all four as Aeon began to glow with a darker-than-black Aura which seemed to sap away at her very being, and the fight ended as swiftly as it began as the Bloody Crow, weakened by both his wounds and whatever the hell this new Arcane spell was, took a shot right in the chest which made him stagger long enough for Aeon to repeat what the Bloody Crow did to him not that long ago now.

The difference being that Aeon walked it off, but the Bloody Crow most definitely didn't, as whatever weird Arcane spell Aeon was using proceeded to eat away almost the entire torso of Aeon's foe once he put his hand in the Bloody Crow's chest.

I'm WAY too old for this shit, concluded Eileen once more as she took in the thoroughly obliterated Grand Cathedral, whose heavy walls of thick stones were nonetheless full of holes showing off the outside and letting blood-red moonlight within.

Then she stood up, and not long after Aeon calmly walked up to her, smiling brightly.

"Hey, Eileen! The guy's dead, so you don't have to worry about him anymore! Though the Grand Cathedral might need some repairs…"

A nearby wall crumbled.

They both stared at it.

"Okay, a LOT of repairs."

Eileen facepalmed.

Gods have mercy on me, I don't even know whether I want to punch him or fuck him anymore...

Why not both? Pointed out a treacherous part of her mind.

One she mentally strangled before it could say more, because at this point she just might follow it…

I looked at the hole in the wall, hoping that Eileen wouldn't be -too- annoyed with me for wrecking the Grand Cathedral of Yharnam.

Again.

I turned towards her, noticing she was staring at me with…

Well, it was hard to say. There were a whole lot of emotions currently raging within her.

Then, she apparently made up her mind, because she sighed deeply.

"Don't you ever listen to your elders? No matter, you did save my life. I don't seem to be apt for this life anymore…"

She shook her head.

"My glory days were long ago now... Hmmm, I know... Here, for you. This too is hunters' work, but it bears no honor. A burden you may choose to carry. The decision is yours alone." She declared, handing me the Crow Hunter Badge and the Hunter Rune.

I grunted, gently taking them.

"It has never been about honor, Eileen. For us hunters… It has always been about doing what needed to be done. There was a war to fight, a war for the life and soul of Mankind- we were just the ones choosing, or chosen, to fight it."

I sighed, taking a look at the devastation around us… before turning back to face Eileen.

I pursed my lips, considering just how close to death she had just been…

"I've got a favor to ask of you." I finally declared.

She tilted her head. "Indeed?"

"As I am sure you know, I've managed to find a few survivors." I began, and Eileen nodded.

"I'd like you to watch over them, at least until the end of this night. While the chapel has a lot of incense, I'd feel better if they had a hunter there with them, just in case."

She stared at me for a moment. "You want me to babysit civilians?" She replied, some amusement in her voice.

I rolled my eyes. "If you must see it that way, then yes. I'd like you to 'babysit' civilians."

Eileen grunted. "From Hunter of Hunters to babysitting civilians…" she grumbled.

Then she shook her head, and sighed deeply.

"Oh, why not. I'm getting too old for all this anyway. Might as well try and help in what ways I still can."

I held back a sigh of relief. Of course, the real reason behind this was to keep Eileen herself safe, but saying that wouldn't have gone well with the proud, old hunter before me.

I nodded. "Very well then. Let's go to the Chapel. Still, there's one last thing that needs to be taken care of…"

"Oh? And what is that?" Eileen questioned.

I smirked. "Well, I do remember wanting to see what this old crow before me actually looked like…"

For a moment, I could feel her surprise… And then Eileen giggled.

Eileen. GIGGLING.

I could feel her amusement… And then she took off her mask.

I blinked. "Damn woman, you're hot." I declared bluntly.

She coughed, red coming to her cheeks.

"I thought you had a girlfriend?" She teased.

I smirked. "Who said she wouldn't be the kind to join in?"

She blushed harder, her lips parting in slight shock.

Then she facepalmed.

"Of course any girl you would find would be just as perverted as you…" She mumbled.

I snorted. "I didn't forget what you said when I mentioned binding spells, woman. Pot, meet kettle, much?"

She smirked, before turning around and heading towards the cathedral's entrance.

Swaying her hips at me all the way.

"Well? You're coming or what?" she called out over her shoulder.

I grunted, before grinning. I didn't hear a denial, Eileen, I thought in amusement.

Then I followed her.

For a moment, we walked in silence.

"You knew about the Red Moon coming up, didn't you?" she eventually questioned.

I grunted. "It's… a long story."

"We've got time." She pointed out.

I sighed. "Very well, then. I suppose I might as well tell you what I've been up to tonight. Well, it all started when I sighed up a contract with a shady-looking guy, and then it kind of all went downhill from there…"

I then told Eileen of what I fought and went through tonight, which slowly but surely made her stare at me in wide-eyed shock.

Eventually, I finished, and we both stayed silent for a long time.

Then Eileen released a deep sigh. "I've heard some crazy stories of the Nights of the Hunt in my life, but this is…"

She shook her head.

"How the hell are you still sane?" she wondered.

I chuckled darkly. "Sane is a bit of an exaggeration, I feel. I… get by, more like. I try to use humor to distract myself, try to think of other things that the horrors I see and go through, but I'm hardly what I would call the picture of sanity."

I shook my head, sighing.

"At the start of this night, I was but a civilian… now, I'm me." I declared, waving over myself- and all the blood I had on me, which didn't bother me the slightest bit.

"I cried, the first time I truly understood what taking a life meant, for those left behind especially… And yet, I did it again not long after, and I basically walked it off!"

I shook my head again. "This place… it changed me, for both good and ill. I'm not… I'm not the man I was once. I'm… harder, now- more ruthless. More of a true KILLER." I declared, saying the last word with a complicated mix of emotions.

I sighed. "I've become what was needed for Humanity- and, in the process, lost much of that very humanity I had in the first place. I still think that I'm doing good, but…" I trailed off, before shrugging with a mix of sadness and resignation.

"I'm not a good man. I don't think so, at least. Good men don't brush off the death of other people. They don't kill, and kill, and kill some more without feeling anything but satisfaction at a job well done. And yet, here I am. So what does that make me?" I wondered.

Eileen stayed silent for a moment. "It makes you a hunter." She finally declared. "We hunters are killers by nature, Aeon. That's what we do- that's who we are. Killers. And the best amongst us are naught but the greatest killers- and thus, the greatest hunters." She chuckled grimly. "What are heroes, but the greatest killers of all? In the end, it's all a matter of perspective- beasts and hunters aren't so different, in that. We both hunt, we both seek to kill- and enjoy the thrill of it. Some just lose themselves to it- and that's why people like me exist."

She sighed. "There isn't any perfect answer, Aeon. The only things we hunters can do is keep fighting, keep killing- and hope that, despite the blood on our hands and souls, we can still try to make a better world, somehow."

I nodded. Some of what she said honestly reminded me of Djura's words- that the best hunters were "adept, merciless and half-cut with blood."

The rest, well, it was Logarius' words, of all people, that I remembered.

"Acts of goodness are not always wise,

and acts of evil are not always foolish,

but regardless, we shall always strive to be good."

Well, I suppose that all I could do, then, is…

Strive to be Good. Always.

That aside, while me and Eileen began trading stories more in-depth while making our way to the Chapel I began checking her rep.

… Which was at an impressive (85/100), over twice as much as it was before.

It made sense, though- I did save her life, killed her mark, and then she chose me as her "heir," so to speak.

Still, I did have a few questions…

"Say, Eileen…"

"Yes?"

"You don't mind me being… you know, a Vileblood?"

She grunted. "Are you going to go around, killing innocents and murdering hunters for no other reason than that they are of the Church?"

"No." I replied firmly.

She shrugged. "Good enough for me. Do remember that I am originally from outside Yharnam- I don't have the same blind faith that the people here have for it. Besides…"

She sighed. "Considering some of what you told me, it's hardly like the Church hasn't committed a great many crimes…"

Then she smirked. "Though I must admit, when I first saw the state of the Grand Cathedral, I was quite shocked. I REALLY should have expected you to be the one responsible, though!" she declared, sounding smug- as if OF COURSE I would be the one to destroy the Grand Cathedral!

I pouted. "Okay, so things kind of, MAYBE, got out of hand a little-"

"A LITTLE?! There are furrows larger than some people are tall all over the place!"

"- but hey, it's not like anyone knows that it was me, right?" I finished, giving her a look.

She gave a look of her own. "Are you really making me an accomplice?"

I grinned. "Weeell, you WERE fighting in the Grand Cathedral before I showed up to kill the Bloody Crow. Who knows what you did in that fight?"

Her eyes widened, before narrowing. "Are you seriously-"

"Yup!" I cheerfully declared, without any shame whatsoever.

She grunted. "Blackmailing your elders, really Aeon?"

I snorted. "Woman, I would have no problem bending you over and fucking you silly, what makes you think I have ANY shame whatsoever?"

She coughed, cheeks blushing brightly, before speeding up.

"We should be close to the chapel now." She declared, with what had to be the most obvious change of conversation ever.

I smirked, following after her and making no attempt to hide my staring of her hips and ass.

And from what I could feel, she was well aware of what I was up to.

Her hips swaying once again were no coincidence, after all...

Arriving at the Chapel, I stopped Eileen before entering- there were two subjects I needed to talk to her about first.

The first, were the girl's thanks for helping give peace to their grandpa.

The second, well, I told her of Arianna… and her baby.

She blinked at me. "Really?"

"Yup."

"That happened?"

"Yup."

She stared.

I shrugged.

Then, she sighed deeply.

"Right, of course one of the gods would impregnate a woman tonight… Why the fuck not, at this point…" She grumbled, while I sent an amused glanced at the Eldritch god literally chilling out on top of the Chapel.

She blinked. Turned around.

Squinted.

And then inhaled sharply, staring wide eyes at where Amy was.

"Aeon." She whispered, her voice, to her credit, only trembling slightly. "What…"

She trailed off, staring at me as I waved cheerfully at Amy.

Who waved back.

I turned, blinked at Eileen. "What?"

She let out a deep, long sigh.

"Never mind. Let's just… go into the chapel already."

And then she all but charged in, grumbling about "stupid, handsome and insane hunters" and "being way too old for this shit."

I shrugged, waved again at Amy, then went in.

Once there, I informed those within that Eileen was now going to stay there with them for the rest of the night, and with that done, returned to the Hunter's Dream.

Alright, it was time to grind my existing skills up to MAX now.

The next fight in my plans was against Ebrietas, after all, and I had little doubt that it was going to be a true nightmare.

So with that being said, I went ahead and returned to various locations to get as many Blood Echoes as I required.

The good news, was that I got a few things from the fight against the Bloody Crow:

First, I got to level (90), which meant I was now a Legendary Hunter!

Legendary Hunter: You are a Legendary Hunter in the ways of Yharnamite Hunters. Gain 90% bonus damage to all attacks.

Hell yeah!

I also got (+15) skill books for Blood Arts/magics, so that was good.

Though I had no intention of using the Blood Rapture Rune. Just… No.

Thus, after slaughtering my way across several locations' worth of beasts and madmen, I returned to the Doll, a truly mind-blowing amount of Blood Echoes in me.

Who took my hand… and froze.

I grinned as her eyes snapped to mine.

"Good Hunter… You…" She whispered.

"Three Cords to forge a link to Greatness." I replied softly, my eyes never leaving hers.

For a moment, we stood there, and I could see, and feel, the storm of emotions coursing through her.

And then, she smiled brightly, before kissing me deeply.

I kissed her back, before whispering in her right ear "Soon."

She smirked, eyes flashing… And then she stepped back, once again the picture of calm and elegance.

Her green eyes, however, shone with triumph- and anticipation.

Much like mine did…

With her help, I upgraded my (Arcane missiles), (Hand-to-hand Combat Mastery), (Blood Infusion), (Blood magics), (Necromancy/Death Resistance/Infusion/Magics), (Wind Resistance/Infusion/Magics), (Cold Infusion/magics) and (Multi-strikes) to level MAX.

I even took a bit of time to write in my journal/notebook and then meditated to get (Meditation) level (80).

Which meant I could now keep it going while in battle!

I did notice that the Doll's rep had once "changed," though I couldn't see said changes… Yet.

That was alright, though- I knew what was needed to max her rep.

Soon, my love. Soon...

After that, I further took the time to use Gehrman's lessons on Blood Stones to upgrade Ludwig's holy blade to (+10).

And with that… I considered myself ready to fight against Ebrietas.

Sure, I could try to gain more powers, unlock the Earth or Water elemental Magics and more…

But that would be for later, when it would be time to go finish the Chalice dungeons.

For now… I had another goddess to kill.

Best get on with it.

I returned to the place where I fought the Celestial Emissary, then went through the window to beyond where I found A Call Beyond and took the elevator at the end of the room.

Once down, I entered the room where Ebrietas was-

And I froze.

My (Empathy) let me feel the sheer grief permeating this entire place…

And yet, there was also… Hope?

I was so focused on the weirdness of the emotions in this place, that Ebrietas had all the time to notice my arrival.

And as she turned towards me… She suddenly began to feel even more hope.

Which confused me greatly… Especially when that hope turned to determination and then HOLY SHIT LASERS!

I dodged, wide eyes as dozens of lasers almost crashed and burned through me if it hadn't been for a last-second roll to the left, and then I Quickened away as more lasers obliterated the ground I stood on.

BOSS BATTLE

EBRIETAS, DAUGHTER OF THE COSMOS

Okay, that was…

Wasn't she supposed to wait to be attacked first before trying to kill you?

Because apparently someone forgot to give her the memo!

Deciding that, since a fight she wanted, a fight she most definitely would get, I proceeded to throw a Black Hole at her.

Or at least, that had been the plan.

Naturally, Great Ones being bullshit, the Black Hole had just started to form when Ebrietas LOOKED at the damn thing… And made it disappear.

Just like that.

I was, needless to say, rather unamused.

The hundreds of Arcane missiles she sent my way as retaliation didn't exactly help.

With an annoyed grunt, I replied by creating hundreds of blades of winds which cut through the missiles, before replying by creating hundreds of lightning bolts sent her way.

Naturally, because I can't have nice things, she proceeded to open hundreds of portals, which sent all the lightning bolts back at me.

Joke's on her though, I'm immune to lightning!

Hah!

Thus, I decided that, since the air didn't work… What about attacks from the ground?

Volcano spell FTW!

THAT actually worked at hurting her greatly… Until she fell through a portal to the other side of the room.

Because of course she did.

And then, the fucking Cosmos opened itself up for her.

Just so that I could die under a meteor shower of thousands of the damn things.

Ow.

I woke up.

Passed a moment contemplating my newfound feelings of sympathy for the dinosaurs.

Then, with a grunt, I went back.

Naturally, she was already there, waiting for me.

Deciding to try something, I used A Call Beyond.

This time, it was her who had to deal with hundreds of Arcane Stars, though she cheated by way of portals.

Still, I proceeded to send hundreds of spirits her way, using the Executioner Gloves.

She naturally opened a fucking Black Hole of her own in the way.

Because of course she did.

Oh, and then she charged me, head first.

I dodged the head, though her right wing/tentacle got me.

Thankfully, my Luck perk held!

It didn't work so well for the tentacle swings and the second headbutting, though…

I woke up.

Grumbled about hard-headed goddesses.

Went back.

And then died because of the massive amount of Arcane stars falling all over me.

At least the explosions were pretty?

I woke up.

Went back.

Died by tentacles.

… You know, girl, I'm pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to go…

I woke up.

Grumbled about hentai lying to me.

Went back.

Discovered that, interestingly enough, I could still use the Augur of Ebrietas… against Ebrietas.

There was, I decided, something really weird going on with said goddess.

That didn't stop her from blowing me up through more Cosmos-related Arcane bullshit, though.

I woke up.

Passed a moment to just… mentally imagine myself using the powers of the Cosmos, one day, to blow up MY foes.

It was a very satisfying five minutes of my life lost daydreaming.

… In the middle of a Dream.

I'm not going to think too hard about all of this.

Either way, I went back.

Decided to show my displeasure at her tactics by engaging in hands-to-head combat.

In my defense, I had successfully came up with some kind of Lightning Armor magic spell, so that was less stupid that it sounded!

Sadly, Ebrietas' head proved once again much harder than expected.

On entirely unrelated news, headbutts should be considered illegal.

Ow.

I woke up.

Went back.

Ebrietas, apparently deciding to show just how broken portal magic was, proceeded to use them… to send me all over the place by opening them right in front of me, or right under me, or-

Well. For one, I discovered that I couldn't get nauseous anymore!

Secondly, high-speed traveling via portals is just an unfair tactic to use when the end result splatter someone all over a bunch of sharp rocks.

Wind Armor could only protect so much.

I woke up.

Took a moment to remember the Portal games.

Felt utmost sympathy for Chell, the protagonist.

Went back.

Played a game of cat and mouse with me running all over the place with Quickening, and Ebrietas trying to repeat the whole "portal to DOOM" tactic.

Unfortunately for me, she succeeded.

My new Elemental Armor spells just weren't up to task in protecting me against the powers of Sir Isaac Newton.

Ow.

I woke up.

Grumbled about "discount GLaDOS being bullshit."

And then I frowned hard, trying to think of a way out of this latest craziness.

I needed something that would allow me to counter Ebrietas' portals. Something that could destroy them-

I paused.

… There was a video I watched, back on Earth, that might just work.

And I had the perfect element maxed already for it.

I smiled. Time to bring out the glorious bullshit of Sword/Darkness magics: 100.

I went back to Yharnam, gathered the blood echoes to level my new Legendary Skill to max, and then returned to fight the goddess.

Ebrietas opened her portals.

I took my sword… And smiled widely.

"Multi Dark Cloaked Dimensional Slash!" I shouted.

The portals were cut.

Ebrietas was cut.

The wall behind her was cut.

The sky beyond it was cut.

And me? I smiled at the message I got.

PREY SLAUGHTERED

Being a kickass, Legendary Hunter is awesome, I thought proudly.

I relaxed, laughing at the glorious bullshit I had just unleashed.

I had just combined my (Multi-strikes) skill with (Dark Cloaked Dimensional Slash) to create a combo bullshit enough to one shot an Eldritch Goddess.

Damn right I had the right to be proud!

I looked at my gains, noticing first that I was now level (95)!

Only five levels left to (100)!

I also gained the usual (+75) stats for killing a god, alongside (40000) Blood Echoes and the Great Isz Chalice.

I put (5) Stats points in Cha, (5) in Dex, (5) in Luck and (10) in Str.

And with that, I was at (999) Int!

Hell Yeah!

I furthermore got a skill book for (Arcane Theory), which maxed the skill.

Oh, and I got the (Space Resistance/Infusion/Magics) Skills books, which…

Hm.

Screams of utter joy may or may not have left my mouth.

No Vermin or Blood Dregs, as expected of a Great One boss fight.

Still, I felt… satisfied.

With Ebrietas dead, there truly was little left to do in Bloodborne.

All I had to do now was finish the Chalice Dungeons, learn and master as many skills as I could- such as mastering all remaining Elemental magics- and of course…

Go deal with the Hunter's Nightmare, Mergo, Gehrman… And my Moonlight benefactor after that.

I took a deep breath, exhaled, then nodded.

First thing first- I activated the nearby Lantern, and then returned to the Hunter's Dream.

I was done here.

Once back at the Hunter's Dream, I immediately went to the Doll, telling her of my latest victory.

She shook her head, impressed.

"And yet another of the Great One falls to your might, Good Hunter." She declared, smiling proudly.

I nodded, humming. "Indeed. Though Ebrietas, much like Amygdala, never gave off the impression she truly sought my death." I pointed out, frowning. "In fact, I dare say that she felt almost… hopeful for my victory? Something along those lines."

The Doll hummed softly. "Well, does it truly matter, in the end? You fought, and proved yourself the strongest. Be proud of your victory, and work hard to remain the strongest and learn from what mistakes you made. That is the way of Hunters, is it not?" she pointed out.

I glanced at her for a moment, before nodding. Very well, answers could wait- I would have all of Eternity to find them, soon enough.

For the time being, I upgraded my (Space) skills to level (51) each thanks to the Blood Echoes of the Boss fight, before heading to the Workshop.

I had a new Rune to learn. One I was eager to learn, in fact.

The Hunter Rune that Eileen gave me.

I saw the city of Yharnam. I saw men turn to beasts.

I saw hunters turn to beasts.

I saw hunters fall into bloodthirsty maniacs, saw the bloodthirst overtake all, slowly but surely...

And then, I saw us. Myself, Eileen, and more.

I saw those who pledged to hunt them.

I saw those who pledged to remain the hunters, never the beasts- and succeeded.

I saw our fight, seemingly never-ending, against those who outnumbered us greatly.

I saw us rise and fall, saw us refuse to break, standing defiant to the bitter end towards the beast within.

And finally, I saw myself, standing tall and unbowed before legions of beasts, those few who remained true behind me, as we stared at our foes in this never-ending war for the Soul of Man…

And I saw us charge forward, without fear- as I raised my sword high, which suddenly shifted into one I recognized well, glowing brightly.

The Holy Moonlight Sword shone bright with the Light of Hope, as I forged a path to Salvation in Blood...

I blinked, then blinked again.

Okay, then. That had been… something.

I wondered at the ending, though. Was it a reference to my hopes? To what was to come?

Or, perhaps, both?

"Good Hunter? Are you alright?" Asked the Doll, tilting her head slightly to look at me with slight concern.

I shook my head with a smile. "Nothing to worry about, my love- the latest rune just left me… thoughtful, about what was to come."

I took a deep breath, then nodded. "Alright. First things first: It's about time I finish investigating the Chalice Dungeons."

The Doll blinked, before nodding. "It has been some time since you last went there."

I nodded. "Indeed. But it's about time I took care of them- certainly, I've been putting them off for long enough. There are only a few things left to do before I go fight the source of the scourge of beasts…" I trailed off, before shaking my head.

Then I bowed to the Doll. "If you would excuse me, my love- I have work to do."

She smiled. "Of course, Good Hunter. May you find your worth in the Tomb of the Gods."

And with that, I turned around, and headed to the Chalice Dungeons.

A Blood Ritual later, and I began making my way through the Chalice Dungeons.

Well, to be more specific: I began slaughtering my way through the Chalice Dungeons.

The first boss I came across was a beast who could throw two fireballs.

It did not survive the dozens of Fireballs I sent his way for long.

The second was a Keeper of the Old Lords, a man in a fancy hat who could throw waves of fire.

Again, dozens of fireballs to his face made short work of him.

The next one was the Pthumerian Descendant.

One (Multi-strike) alone killed him.

Though to be fair, I -did- have a sword (+10)...

Well, either way- with that done, not only did I finish the Central Pthumeru Chalice Dungeon, I also got (+75) in Stats total for killing each boss in one go.

Which meant I now had (999) Wis!

No level up, though- as expected. These guys gave shit for exp.

I did get the Lower Pthumeru Chalice, so that was good.

Returning to the Hunter's Dream, I then went into the Lower Pthumeru Chalice Dungeon.

The first boss of that place was the three big dudes I met in my first Chalice Dungeon, just stronger.

Lightning bolts made quick work of all three, however.

Some time later, I found the Workshop Haze Extractor, which might come in handy to get access to the later Chalice Dungeons.

The next boss after that, was yet another stronger version of an old boss- the Undead Giant.

He didn't last long, however- besides having a rather noticeable weak point on his back, he was rather weak to both Fire and Lightning.

And after that boss was…

Well.

Rom, the Vacuous Spider.

Again.

Yeah, this time I went "fuck that shit."

And I thus unleashed Lightning Storms after Lightning Storms, making use of the occasional Void spell to get my MP back from the spider minions she summoned.

Being immune to her Ice Arcane spells helped greatly, too- I didn't even have to bother dodging her spells.

In the end, the fight was more of a curbstomp than anything else.

Still, I did get to level (96), and got (+75) in Stats (I got +50 for killing a goddess, and +25 for killing her "on my first try").

I put my (5) Stats points in Dex.

And of course, I got Blood Echoes and the Lower Pthumeru Root Chalice.

However, it still wasn't the end of this place.

The next boss, and the last, was the Bloodletting Beast.

A rather massive, very tall beast who really liked punching and stomping on things.

Like, say, me.

Unfortunately for it, I was VERY good at dodging these days, and it was much less good at dodging fireballs and cannon balls.

Less than five minutes after entering the boss room, I was done.

Another (+25) to my stats, plus Blood Echoes and the Defiled Chalice, and I returned to the Hunter's Dream.

Once there, I used all the Blood Echoes I gathered to level up my (Space) skills to MAX.

And then, back into the Chalice Dungeons I went- this time, into the Ailing Loran one.

I needed some of the loot from that place to go to the Defiled Dungeon, after all.

The first boss was the fireball-throwing beast, which I once again obliterated through literal superior Firepower.

I did find the Beast Claw weapon not long after, but needless to say, I put it in my Inventory to be forgotten about.

The next Boss was the Blood-starved Beast, that I first met back in Old Yharnam.

As always against beast-type opponents however, being able to use Fire Magics at MAX level obliterated that poor bastard utterly.

Being immune to poison helped, too.

Still, I got the Ailing Loran Root Chalice and Blood Echoes, so that was good.

Honestly, these guys just weren't even a threat to me anymore. It was the equivalent of an end-game character slaughtering his way through beginning to middle game bosses at this point.

Which is why, when I encountered the Abhorrent Beast as the next Boss, I once again slaughtered it like cattle.

And with that, I returned to the Hunter's Dream, having gotten the Lower Loran Chalice from the last Boss, and with yet another (+75) for my stats.

Once there, I actually went back to Yharnam, in order to unlock more Skills, such as the (Water Resistance/Infusion/Magics) skills, the (Earth Resistance/Infusion/Magics) skills and the (Light Resistance/Infusion/Magics) skills.

I mean, I had the Darkness ones, why not the Light ones? Sure, it took some creativity to get that one unlocked, but eventually I got it.

Then, I used the Blood Echoes I gathered to level them up all some, before going into the next Chalice Dungeon: the Defiled one.

Now, see, normally that one is much harder because there is a whole bunch of debuffs slamming down on you when you are in it.

Except, not for me!

Because I had the "Drain No" Trait!

Meaning I was just as strong as ever!

Hah!

And the first Boss of this place? The Keeper of the Old Lords.

The same one I utterly crushed before… and once again here and now.

Oh, sure, he had a lot more HP, but his attacks were based on Fire skills- which I was immune to- and his sword.

Which I was more skilled at.

As his decapitated head can attest to.

That done, I kept going, until I found... the next boss.

I stared.

That Damn Demon Fire Dog stared back.

Slowly, ever so slowly…

I SMILED.

It whimpered.

.WIDENED.

And then I charged.

I thus proceeded to have the most cathartic moment I went through since I first arrived in Bloodborne.

Me, immune to Fire, almost at 999 in all stats…

WRECKING THAT FIRE DEMON'S SHIT.

Punching that bastard in the face? Done!

Wrestling it until it wailed for mercy? Done!

Slamming it from wall to wall like a ball from ping-pong? Done!

Suplexing the bastard so hard the ground shattered? Fucking Done!

That last part unfortunately put an end to the "fight," since his head exploded into a gory mess all over the floor.

Still, from his death I got the Cursed and Defiled Root Chalice and Blood Echoes, on top of a highly cathartic moment, so it was all good.

Behold! Therapy, Hunter style! Kill the shit out of the motherfucker who beat the shit out of YOU so many times before!

A guaranteed success at making people feel better about themselves, right there!

Still, all that aside- I kept going.

Until I found the last boss of this place.

More specifically, Amygdala.

I stared.

Amy stared back.

SMUG.

My eyes narrowed.

"Oh really? Well, why don't I show you some of the tricks I picked up since last time?"

SMUG was her only reply.

I grunted. "Now, you're just ASKING for it. Very well then, let's do this!"

And then, all hell broke loose.

Black Holes, Arcane Stars, lasers, physical attacks which broke physics, Volcanoes, Lightning Storms, Portals and so much more were exchanged at blinding speed, shockwaves capable of obliterating entire villages out of existence were felt- and both sides just kept going.

Amy wasn't holding back anything- each of her movements broke reality in order to better dodge attacks- or try to actually hit me.

I naturally responded in kind, to the point that any regular human- and most hunters- if they had been watching, would most likely be forced to stop doing so as their brains wouldn't have allowed them to see such utter disregard of physics without consequences.

But for both of us, such things were not even concerns. Space broke, reality shattered, and we kept going.

Heat enough to liquify flesh a dozen times over was swiftly replaced by cold so intense that nothing could hope to survive it- and yet, we kept fighting.

Lightning bolts crashed and seemingly covered every centimeter of the ground, spears of Darkness were joined by spears of Light which were then followed by spears of Blood- and yet, neither of us slowed down.

Acid and poison covered the air and ground of the underground chamber we were fighting in- and yet, it bothered neither of us.

Bullets and cannonballs flew by the dozens thanks to (Multi-strikes), before being sent back through endless portals at one another- and yet, we avoided it all.

Again and again, we kept fighting- until I brought out my (Multi Dark Cloaked Dimensional Slash).

That finally managed to do the trick, and Amy collapsed, cut into pieces.

Letting me stand victorious... if collapsed on the ground from sheer exhaustion, that is.

"Not so smug… are you now… Amy?" I panted tiredly, grinning slightly.

And hey, I was now at level (98)!

And I had maxed all my stats!

"Yeeeeah! Woohoo!" I tiredly cheered from the comfort of the ground I was laying on.

I also got the Great Pthumeru Ihyll Chalice, on top of more Blood Echoes.

And with that, I was done here, so I returned to the Hunter's Dream.

Going to the Doll to use my Blood Echoes on my new Skills, I then made the ritual for the next Chalice Dungeon on my list: Great Isz.

And the first Boss of that place? A Brainsucker.

Needless to say, a quick Black Hole spell made short work of the bastard.

The next boss was the Celestial Emissary, which…

Well. He didn't last much longer than the other one did, to say the least.

As for the last boss?

Ebrietas, we meet again.

The fight against her…

Again, I felt that she didn't have anything against me- but the moment I showed up, she certainly tried her best to kill me.

And just like Amy, she broke physics repeatedly in order to escape my attacks.

Up to, and included, my (Multi Dark Cloaked Dimensional Slash) attack.

Which left me staring at her when she successfully portaled out of range before I could finish the move.

How the hell did she know-

AMYGDALA

-wat.

I stared at Ebrietas.

"Seriously? She is the one who tattled? She actually LET herself be hit so that she could tell you all the details of that technique?"

CONFIRMATION

I grunted.

"The next time I see her, we will have WORDS."

AMUSEMENT

I snorted. "Right. Well, sorry, but I need to go back to trying my best to kill you. Nothing against you or anything, but, well…"

COMMUNION. APPROVAL.

I blinked.

Blinked again.

"... I see. Well then. Let's get on with it, in that case." I replied eventually, trying not to think too hard about the fact that Ebrietas effectively told me that she was in full support of my desire to grow closer to Great One-hood.

Even if that meant her "death."

… Eldritch goddesses are weird, news at 11.

Then again, it wasn't like her death would stick…

You know what? I'll focus back on trying my best to kill someone who has no problem with me killing them.

… Bloodborne is weird.

Thus once again, the elements were unleashed in a clash of godly level, as the Cosmos' full power was brought to bear against me.

Meteor Showers, Arcane Stars, Portals, lasers, acid, attempts at Frenzy and more were tried against me, while I sent back just as much bullshit, teleporting not only myself, but my attacks straight at Ebrietas.

Bullets fired from my gun went through small portals which brought them almost straight into Ebrietas' body, Space was broken to do the same to my elementals attacks, and even the very ground and walls themselves, thanks to my new Earth skills, were reshaped into deadly spikes and more at a thought.

Ebrietas, naturally, responded with just as much insanity, as thousands of portals took in my attacks and sent them back at me, to the point that I literally couldn't even see her with my normal, human vision, what with all the portals in the way.

Of course, that hardly mattered to me, as I had much more than mere human vision to rely on, even as I slowly, but surely placed Ebrietas right where I wanted her.

And eventually, I succeeded- a particularly vicious crossfire of attacks through portals distracted her for the split second of time I needed to use once again my (Multi Dark Cloaked Dimensional Slash) attack.

And this time, she wasn't ready for it, I noted with satisfaction as her body fell into several sliced body parts.

Then, and only then, did I allow myself to rest on a nearby wall, closing my eyes in sheer tiredness.

"Eldritch Gods are bullshit." I said to myself, "And I can't wait to be one of them already."

Then, I took a look at my gains- and smiled widely at finally reaching Level (100)!

I was officially a Mythical Hunter now!

And with that, I finally was done maxing both my stats and level.

The only thing I could still work on was my skills.

Of course, I also got the Isz Root Chalice and Blood Echoes.

Which, once I returned to the Hunter's Dream, I made sure to use to finish leveling up my Elemental Skills.

One skill I wasn't going to level up was the (Meditation) skill. I had some… suspicions about what would happen when I max that skill, and I felt it would be better to wait.

Still, with that Chalice Dungeon done, I decided…

To go finish all the others available except for the Great Pthumeru Ihyll one, since that one would be left for last.

And so, I did; Slaughtering my way through Chalice Dungeon after Chalice Dungeon, battling beasts, madmen and the gods themselves, until all that was left was the last Chalice Dungeon.

It was time… to go kill Queen Yharnam herself.

Or the part of her consciousness that was in the Chalice Dungeon, at least.

Of course, first I had to kill the bosses before her.

The first one was the Pthumerian Descendant, buffed up quite a bit.

He still fell to me, in the end- I had EARNED my level 100.

The next boss I encountered was the headless Bloodletting beast, which had a giant parasite controlling the body.

Thankfully, flooding the room with Lava works great against beasts!

So I basically just teleported all over the place while the beast- and the parasite within it- slowly burned to ashes.

Easy enough. And it got me the Pthumeru Ihyll Root Chalice.

And then…

Queen Yharnam, the Blood Queen of the Pthumerians.

Level 95, I might add.

Not 100, however- though to be fair, I don't think the Queen was that much of a WARRIOR-Queen.

The fact that, under the sound of a crying baby (Mergo, I knew), she immediately started by throwing Blood missiles at me certainly seemed to indicate a lack of more martial skills.

And being immune to Blood Magics as I was, I had some time to really hurt her before she noticed.

Of course, she proceeded to take out a dagger and then created clones of herself, so there's that.

And then, she began teleporting, and creating AoE attacks based on Gravity, so that certainly wasn't anywhere as easy to handle.

Oh, and binding spells too. A whole lot of those.

Needless to say, that was a pretty terrifying combo.

I replied by using Void Magics to counter her own magics, though that still left two teleporting fighters appearing all over the place and exchanging spells and sword/dagger strikes at one another.

With the occasional clone(s) popping up to join in every so often, naturally.

Note to self: Get dagger/knife wielding/throwing skills and get them to max.

Also, clones. Clones were good.

And very annoying to deal with when dozens of the damn things tried to swarm you- even if they dispelled in one hit.

Of course, I had my own AoE spells, which I used to fill my mana reserves back up.

Void spells draining the arcane powers of her clones to give me mana did a lot to help me fight this battle.

In the end, what truly did her in was her lack of martial skills- even after using the Blood Arts to turn her dagger into a Blood Sword, she was by no means a master of it- and I was.

Thus, when I got lucky and she foolishly got into a sword fight with me, I was able to take her sword arm off- and then her head.

And that put a very clear end to the Boss fight, to say the least!

Once the last of her clones disappeared, I exhaled deeply, feeling…

Happy. Proud, really!

The only Chalice Dungeons I had yet to go to were the ones branching out from the Great Pthumeru Ihyll Chalice Dungeon… Which I probably would do later, after dealing with the Orphan of Kos but before dealing with Mergo.

Which meant, at this point, that all I needed to do now was go to the Hunter's Nightmare.

And then, I would finally be able to put an end to this Long Night of the Hunt.

Checking my gains, I received the Yharnam stone, some Blood Stone chunks and Blood Echoes.

With that done, I activated the nearby Lantern and returned to the Hunter's Dream.

Next destination after that- the Hunter's Nightmare.

Time to tackle the "DLC" part of Bloodborne…