Gambol walked out of the house and to the backyard. As he made it there, he saw Gehrman. He had recalled that the shout said something about him being a vanquisher of dolls and put his Nail Gun away. He gagged upon seeing the corpse. He composed himself and spoke up to Gehrman.
"So... I guess a Doll did this to him, huh?" Gambol asked.
Gehrman immediately realized the man was a hunter, just like him; the mask, the weapon he put away, his knowledge of Dolls, it all matched up. He turned to look at the man with intense eyes. He had no reason to keep his guard up around him, since he would have already attempted to kill him if he were seeking that from the beginning. While he doesn't outright hate other hunters, he has strong disdain for them. There's been bad blood between him and the church of hunters ever since he was outright kicked out, refused access to the church's library, and made a laughingstock due to his unique view on his job.
"Most likely. I'll have you know the Doll is my prey, and mine to hunt alone."
Nuul
"And how would you expect to do that?" Nuul said, appearing behind the pair. "Even if you have another hunter, your weapon is almost broken." The Beholders swarmed around her legs, each one aiming their eyes forward.
"You had best think fast, Hunters." She said, "Your death approaches on swift wings."
The swarm's eyes glowed red, and she unleashed a massive barrage of lasers at the hunters.
The Doll created more minions? Gehrman was expecting the Doll to follow them, but was distracted by the arrival of the other hunter, and so wasn't as prepared as he should have been. He looked at the other hunter, and knew there was no time to warn him; he was on his own. The demon was right, his weapon was already at its limit in terms of endurance, so he had to come up with something else if he were to draw his next breath.
Then it came to him: from his position, there was a maneuver he could perform which gave him a chance, even if just the slightest, of evading the onslaught of glowing spears. It was only possible due to the close range of the Doll, and would have otherwise resulted in him taking the full brunt of the assault; he went down to the ground faster than one could blink, and rolled under the floating Doll. He didn't escape the attack entirely unscathed, though, and had a beam hit him on his thigh, stinging him like a cold dagger. He did not know if the beam had any other side-effects other than causing pain. He didn't have antidotes with him, so if he was poisoned he wouldn't be walking out of this alive. Nonetheless, Gehrman decided not to think of it at the moment.
Once he was behind the Doll, he attempted to stand up, but his injured thigh betrayed him, and instead he could only rise to a kneeling position at that very moment. However, Gehrman was intent on attacking back, and drew his nailgun. He was about to shoot the Doll when a new distraction happened:
Eren Deville
"If you're alive, then I offer you a chance to stay that way. My doll and I are both competent fighters, and the only reason that the first one of you survived so long was because I had a marionette's minion to deal with."
Eren cocked his pistol. 5 shots left.
"I am not an evil person. I merely search for the truth behind the disappearance of someone precious to me, and I seek to take down someone who I believe may be the source of some puppeteer presence in this city."
Eren paused, "If you want a chance to kick your wounds, then walk away. If you want to stay and fight, however, then I promise you one thing."
Eren spoke calmly.
"I'll kill you like I would any other thugs that stand in my way."
"You are Eren Deville?" Gehrman asked, his aim still held on the Doll. He had the chance to shoot, but he didn't take it, for he had a suspicion he was himself targeted by a gun based on the sound he heard and the man's words.
Gehrman wanted to confirm if the man speaking to the two of them indeed was his target. The man who was possessed by the Doll, like a marionette. However, it was then that Gehrman immediately noticed something the man said. Though he was compelled not to sound vulnerable on the inside, his thirst for enlightenment had to be quenched.
"Wait, what did you say about marionettes?"
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