Blazing flames burned on the giant Seaborn's head and back. Even though torrential rain was falling from the sky, the air here still vibrated due to the extreme heat, instantly evaporating the falling raindrops.
"Hiss—good heavens."
With two blood vials in his mouth and three injected into his leg, Goki grimaced as the skin, almost cooked by the instantaneous high temperature of the air, began to peel and regenerate.
Goki had underestimated the power of Originium Solution.
Its power was completely different when used as an anesthetic against Abyssal Hunters compared to when it was detonated as a bomb.
Standing up, Goki looked back at Quintus's location. The sturdy Seaborn shell had been leveled by the violent explosion.
There was even a huge hole in the ground, with splashing liquid Originium scattered everywhere, glowing and generating heat, some even igniting small fires.
The Abyssal Church priest had died just like that, dying like a clown, without any feeling of a Bloodborne BOSS.
blood echoes + 1000
"Alright, it really wasn't a BOSS; at most, a slightly stronger mob."
Goki shrugged, not surprised.
This also fit his identity as an "Honorary Seaborn"—the death of a traitor was always as light as a feather.
Quintus couldn't have imagined that Goki would dare to launch such a suicidal attack.
If an ordinary person had been nearby during an explosion of this magnitude, even if they had miraculously survived, they would probably have been infected by Originium and contracted acute oripathy.
But clearly, the Old Hunter of Yharnam was no ordinary person.
Beneath his feet, the giant Seaborn was already severely wounded. Although still alive, the violent explosion had rapidly weakened its life force.
Seaborn was a contamination, and Originium was also a contamination, but this time, the latter was clearly stronger.
"Goki—are you alright?!"
From beneath the Seaborn's body, Skadi's anxious cry immediately came. The intense explosion had startled her, and she quickly voiced her concern for Goki.
Even an Abyssal Hunter would surely be injured by an attack of this magnitude.
"I'm fine, I'm fine—I've taken care of things here! Are you two alright?"
Not wanting Skadi to worry, Goki waited a few seconds until his heat-scorched respiratory tract recovered, then immediately shouted back to the two Hunters beneath the Seaborn.
"I told you he'd be fine, Young Master Goki is very capable. I can feel it, he's not as delicate as he looks—Skadi, you're quite concerned about him? I didn't know you cared about people?"
Soon, Specter's delirious voice also came through. Since waking up, she didn't know why, but she had grown increasingly fond of Goki and naturally had great confidence in his ability to take down Quintus.
"Concerned, no, it's not like that."
"Alright, alright, let's just pretend it's not like that, heh."
Facing Skadi's denial, Specter merely shrugged, her brows filled with a smile.
"Roar—"
"Shut up!" x2
The Seaborn still wanted to roar before its death, but it was met only by the Hunters leaping high from both sides, and the giant sword and circular saw clamping down from two directions.
"There's really nothing left… Hey, hey, it's glowing?"
On the Seaborn's spine, although Quintus's flesh and blood had been completely annihilated, Goki saw a familiar faint white light at the bottom of the crater created by the explosion.
That was the sign of a dropped item, like a wisp of faint green smoke. Goki had initially thought Terra wouldn't have such things.
Walking forward, Goki picked up the item and examined it carefully.
"Ha… so this place has this too."
Tossing the glowing skull in his hand, Goki chuckled aloud.
Knowledge of Madman Quintus.
A madman's skull touched by the knowledge of the ancient gods of the sea, which can be used to gain Insight.
To touch the knowledge of the deep sea is a grace.
Although it can drive one mad, it can also enable one to make outstanding contributions to the great evolution.
"I knew it—"
Sighing, Goki was not surprised by the existence of true gods in this world—Quintus certainly deserved the title of "Madman."
Thinking this, Goki gently squeezed his hand, directly crushing Quintus's skull.
Insight + 1
Besides the number that popped up, at that moment, Goki saw many things.
Countless knowledge, memories, and secrets surged into his mind like ocean currents.
He saw the massive, transparent artificial domes beneath the deep sea, and the magnificent cities within them.
He saw Quintus's frantic research on the Seaborn when he was an Aegir.
Quintus was originally just an ordinary research technician, but his fanaticism for the Seaborn gradually led him to extremes, believing that the Seaborn were the truly superior species.
He saw Quintus join the Abyssal Church, infiltrate Iberia, and begin conducting a series of experiments that violated human ethics.
Finally, his reverence gained the favor of the Seaborn. He saw the first humanoid individual to speak human language emerge from the Seaborn and touch Quintus.
In Goki's ears, an ethereal song echoed, seemingly full of seductive power, yet it dared not truly approach Goki, as if fearing him.
"Ha—"
Goki took a deep breath. He felt himself deep within the boundless ocean, countless nodes connected, calling to each other, warm like a mother's embrace.
And in the distant depths of the seabed, Goki saw the largest node. It was unresponsive, as if in slumber, but it was indeed still alive.
One of them… was rapidly approaching him from a hidden direction.
"!"
Clang—
Goki's body reacted faster than his thoughts. The Hunter's instinct drove him to draw his Saw Cleaver, tense his body into a drawn bow, and swing the open Saw Cleaver to his left with a transformed attack.
Thud!
The sound of metal clashing came, and Goki was directly knocked back several steps. His tiger's mouth instantly split, and even the Saw Cleaver spun and flew out, embedding itself in the wound of the giant Seaborn beneath his feet. A section of the thick blade was even shattered.
An Old Hunter would never let go of his weapon, even if both arms were severed. The Saw Cleaver flying from his hand only indicated that the force of this impact had exceeded the physical limits of his body.
Snap.
The next moment, Goki rolled, dodging the ensuing attack. With a gentle twist of his left hand, he snapped several twisted and deformed finger joints on his right hand back into place. Pulling out his Threaded Cane, he immediately turned and fired a shot.
Pffft—
The Quicksilver Bullet struck the attacking enemy, but it made the sound of hitting flesh, seemingly pushing it back a bit.
Seizing this opportunity, Goki gripped the Threaded Cane tightly, straightened his posture, and looked at the enemy before him.
"Ha… my weapon isn't cheap to repair."
Before Goki stood a pitch-black humanoid creature.
It was composed of dense black muscle fibers, its feet seemed to wear trousers, and its back appeared to be draped in a cloak. But upon closer inspection, one would realize that these were merely crude imitations of human clothing; its essence was still muscle.
Its hands were sharp, webbed claws, its face was made of rough muscle lines, and only its abdomen vaguely revealed a bluish-white interior, perhaps having evolved bones.
And with its arrival, the Seaborn beneath Goki stopped struggling and wailing. Several black lines instantly extended from the humanoid creature's feet, piercing into the Seaborn's body, seemingly taking over control of the giant Seaborn.
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Goki knew it, the first Seaborn to speak human language to land civilizations, an excellent elite monster, exceptionally cleverly designed, much cooler than Quintus.
"Ha, it's you after all—First Speaker, so you learned human language so early."
Gripping his cane and reloading his ammunition, Goki knew from that previous strike that his strength was far inferior to the opponent's, and his speed was also lacking.
However, it didn't seem to be invincible either.
On the First Speaker's chest, there was a huge hole. Although it could easily shatter the Saw Cleaver, it seemed to have no resistance to Goki's gun.
Black muscle fibers continuously converged, attempting to repair the wound, but the black-red blood seeping from the bullet prevented this process, making those muscle fibers avoid it.
"First Speaker, this is the codename you gave me, it is meaningless."
The facial muscles did not move, but the Seaborn spoke in somewhat unpracticed Aegir language—this must have been learned from the humans they had devoured.
Extending long and sharp fingers, the First Speaker pinched out the Quicksilver Bullet from its chest, at the cost of two fingers being corroded and broken by the blood.
"Your weapon is very special. Sister once showed me the power within that blood… it is mixed, yet magnificent, and awe-inspiring."
The voice was flat and emotionless. All of this Seaborn's words seemed to be declarative sentences; it did not understand emotions, having only just learned to communicate.
After experiencing Goki's firearms, they might truly evolve.
"Is that so? Maybe you're a germaphobe. Actually, the blood in my veins is quite mixed, there's even wild boar blood."
Goki gave a wry smile, enchanting his weapon with the last fire paper, feeling the tremors coming from the Seaborn below, and wondering whether to call up the two Abyssal Hunters for a group attack.
This guy was agile, fast, and terrifyingly strong, reminding Goki of the Orphan of Kos.
Although the First Speaker didn't have a placenta, and its actual stats were far inferior to the Orphan of Kos, unfortunately, Goki seemed even weaker.
"It's better to call for help. Fleeing is shameful but effective."
"It is afraid, the collective is afraid. You should not exist in the ocean, nor on land—your existence must be erased."
The always indifferent Seaborn, this time… actually cared?
Bang—!
The Seaborn's figure suddenly vanished from its spot. Goki instinctively caught its movement, but his body's reaction was a beat too slow.
Even with points added, he still wasn't strong enough.
The Hunter's Pistol spat fire, hitting the target again, opening a large hole in the First Speaker's abdomen.
Clang—
"If damaged, your weapon cannot attack, it is very fragile."
But in exchange, half of the Hunter's Pistol flew into the sky. The Threaded Cane, transformed into a whip and empowered by flames, successfully tore off one of the First Speaker's arms, but was itself ripped into two pieces by the immense force.
A Hunter's weapons are not indestructible; they require frequent repair, unlike the invincible small knife of Sekiro next door.
"You have no weapon, alien. The collective cannot accept you, nor can you become our brother. I will end you."
The First Speaker, half-kneeling on the ground after the Hunter's desperate struggle, continued to regenerate its black muscles at high speed.
"Ha, now I'm really Mushroom Dad."
As for Goki, he looked at his three severed fingers on his left hand and injected another blood vial into his thigh—with his other weapons damaged, his current blood echoes were only enough to exchange for two more weapons.
"Indeed, it's time to make a quick escape."
The superwomen were right beneath the Seaborn. Goki decided to honestly go find them.
And just as the First Speaker and Goki were confronting each other and repairing themselves, another tremor came from beneath their feet, followed by Skadi's inquiring voice.
"The Seaborn is starting to repair itself, and it seems to have gotten a bit stronger, but it's not a problem—Goki, what happened up there?"
The First Speaker, meanwhile, suddenly shifted its attention from Goki.
"Ah—Ishar-mla, the Chosen One, I wish to see her. She flows with our blood, she is in sorrow, she should not be in sorrow, she is our sister, she is the direction of the collective. I will tell her the truth, let her return to the ocean."
Without concealing its thoughts, the First Speaker revealed its secrets completely, unable to keep anything hidden.
Goki, who had originally planned to roll and jump off the Seaborn's back, stopped in place, sighed, his gaze somewhat cold.
"I forgot about that, and I have to thank you for reminding me—it seems I can't let you leave here today."
"Nona Doll, exchange the last two weapons. Two thousand is just right."
"Yes, kind Hunter."
Just like that, a giant metal axe and a thick, short-barreled blunderbuss appeared in Goki's hands.
"Skadi is my little darling. I plan to slowly let her accept her true self, trying not to give her too much shock—and you, you muscle-bound frame, if you want to ruin my good intentions, then you have to die."
Without the "Gladiia Second Captain" present, Goki was unsure if Skadi, still immersed in sorrow and not having undergone years of tempering, could handle the truth that "she flows with Seaborn Blood."
Although he could easily kill the opponent by just shouting and getting help from the two Abyssal Hunters, Goki did not intend to do so.
Even if there was a slight risk of her becoming Red Skadi, Goki would nip it in the bud.
After all, Goki was a former Doctor, and he loved the cold and beautiful bounty hunter Skadi from the game.
Similarly, Goki was also Skadi's friend, and he also loved this Little Orca who had been with him for over a week, a bit clumsy but also somewhat cute.
His fingers had already healed. Goki pulled out a tube of crimson blood from his 懷—this was a special blood vial taken from the "Archerfish," which he had been carrying with him.
Seaborn—Aegir Blood
The blood of a Seaborn-transformed Abyssal Hunter, preserved after her death. Seaborn will come following the blood of their kin.
The blood still retains the power of both Seaborn and Aegir. If injected into the bloodstream, one might gain considerable power, though it is unknown if it comes from the Seaborn or the Aegir.
The deceased Hunter thanks you for setting her free.
Without hesitation, Goki chose to inject this blood into his thigh.
The fire paper for weapon enchantment had just run out. Goki couldn't exchange for or temporarily create beast pellets to strengthen his body. Goki lacked all the methods an Old Hunter uses to rush bosses in early game.
However, he was willing to try this special blood.
After a brief muscle stiffness, crimson blood vessels momentarily appeared on Goki's neck and wrists, then vanished.
And Goki's own eyes, originally black, became slightly tinged with blue.
He felt that he was indeed—much stronger.
"You are using the blood of a sister, alien. You… took her—yes, compared to Ishar-mla, you are the great enemy of the collective."
Seeing Goki's actions, the First Speaker, having repaired itself, seemed to tremble. It then stood up and walked towards Goki, its tone still emotionless, but its movements filled with Killing Intent.
"Ha, coincidentally, I don't plan on letting you leave alive either."
In the sky, another lightning bolt, connecting heaven and earth, lit up above Goki's head, illuminating his excited and beastly face.
"You want to turn my future wife into a monster—then you must die."
This time, facing a high-difficulty BOSS that could kill him with two slaps, Goki planned to clear it in one life.
Lustful as he was, he also loved the trembling joy and sense of accomplishment that came from slaying powerful enemies!
Eternal hunting, constant challenge, maintaining oneself, pursuing transcendence—this was the true Hunter.
On the violently shaking Seaborn's back, the Hunter and the Seaborn charged at each other.
"Nona Doll—keep the music playing, keep the dance going!"
No skipping class, only the clash of blades and shadows, and the roar of guns in the darkness—this was Bloodborne!
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