| The Hunter vs. The Warrior of Light | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season | 2 |
| Season Episode | 1 |
| Air date | 3/30/2022 |
| Written by | Koboldy |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Luca Blight vs. Ashnard |
Next Karl Heisenberg vs. Monsoon |
The Hunter vs. The Warrior of Light is Episode 11 in Koboldy’s Death Battles. It features The Hunter from FromSoftware’s action RPG Bloodborne, and The Warrior of Light from Square-Enix’s MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.
Description[]
Bloodborne vs. Final Fantasy! Two godslayers put head to head, both of them capable of bringing down divinity with the power of divinity. But who will go to meet their maker after their untimely end?
Interlude[]
Boomstick: Ya gotta have some brass balls to take down a god. And I mean that in more ways than one; have you seen Zeus?
Wiz: For these two, such a thing is just a part of their journey. Slaying summoned primal beings and beings from beyond the cosmos. Like The Hunter: The trick-weapon wielding, gun toting, blood injecting hunter of Yharnam.
Boomstick: And The Warrior of Light, adventurer, the chosen of Hydaelyn, and savior of Eorzea.
Wiz: And it’s our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills, to find out who would win…a Death Battle.
The Hunter[]
(Bloodborne - Main Menu Theme)
Wiz: In the city of Yharnam, there exists a cursed plague. Specifically, The Beast Plague. An illness that infects humans and turns them into bloodthirsty beasts. And that’s not being metaphorical, I am referring to this in the most literal of senses.
Boomstick: Normally getting turned into a big badass werewolf would be pretty cool! But, uh, not with all the “extra measures” to deal with said werewolves running around. That’s right baby, when you got a bunch of infected people by a dangerous virus, you round ‘em up and kill ‘em!
Wiz: While Boomstick put that in more…hostile terms, there do exist a sort of subgroup within Yharnam. Those being the Hunters-
Boomstick: But not The Hunter!
Wiz: -The Hunters, which specifically seek to eliminate the streets of Yharnam with the foul beasts that run amok. The Hunters themselves even splitting into different methods and styles, such as the Powderkeg Hunters versus The Church’s Executioners.
Boomstick: But things were even weirder behind the scenes of Yharnam. And that’s when our unnamed protagonist comes into play! The Hunter, as they’re known, was an outsider who sought to cure…some unknown terminal illness of themselves, only to be handpicked and sent into a fight against things that we weren’t meant to know about!
Wiz: Yharnam, as it turns out, held more than just a plague of beasts. The Healing Church as it was known has made contact with things beyond the stars. Elder things, or in the case of Bloodborne, Great Ones.
Boomstick: And hoo boy, do they make their appearance known with just a smidge of that tasty, tasty juice known as Insight.
Wiz: The Hunter faced numerous challenges during their travels throughout Yharnam. Ranging from both giant beasts that were once humans such as The Cleric Beast or Father Gascoigne.
Boomstick: To more alien and unknowable, but NOT unkillable beings like Ebrietas or Amygdala…you know, it’s a good thing this is all in text so no one can get mad at us for how we pronounce “Amygdala”.
Wiz: However, there was one important enemy that The Hunter slew that turned Yharnam, and possibly the entire world up on its head. Rom, the Vacuous Spider.
Boomstick: Jeez, what did Rom ever do to the rest of the Great Ones to earn that nickname. It doesn’t even look like a spider!
Wiz: Little did The Hunter, or really any average citizen of Yharnam, know however, is that Rom was holding a great secret. She hid the truth of the world away from the average citizen, and more importantly, kept the moon as far away as possible.
Boomstick: Assuming that, yes, Rom was actually holding back the moon like it was implied, such an act would be equal to about 11.81 YOTTATONS of TNT. That’s, uh, 24 zeroes by the by.
Wiz: And that is only about the halfway point for The Hunter’s horror filled adventure. Not even touching upon things such as The One Reborn, Mergo’s Wet Nurse, The Orphan of Kos, etc. etc.
Boomstick: But no matter what things The Hunter, er, hunts. It all comes back to one place: The Hunter’s Dream. The Hunter’s, presumed, place of peace and tranquility…until it gets lit on f***ing fire, anyway.
Wiz: It was there that the First Hunter, Gehrman, awaited The Hunter. And after defeating Gehrman and consuming the, uh, *ahem* three umbilical cords of the Great Ones…
Boomstick:…jesus christ.
Wiz:…this allowed The Hunter to, at least in theory, ascend. Something that another Great One took notice of: the one who controlled the Hunter’s Dream itself. The Moon Presence.
Boomstick: And if we assume that The Moon Presence descended from the moon itself, which is totally plausible within the world of Bloodborne, then the Moon Presence would have to be moving at around Mach 3546. Or 1216 meters per second.
Wiz: And like any Beast or Great One that stood in The Hunter’s way, it was slain. And in the end, The Hunter’s path ended with him ascending and truly becoming a Great One.
Boomstick: BA-BY SLUG DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO!
Wiz:…as one might expect, The Hunter didn’t carve their way through Yharnam with just their bare hands. Throughout their hunt, they acquired many, many trick weapons, guns, and magical spells know as Hunter Tools. These trick weapons allow The Hunter to have a massively versatile arsenal in combat, both in terms of just having a ton of weapons at their disposal…
Boomstick: AND the fact that each one of those weapons can be transformed into another weapon entirely with just a simple motion!...well, some of ‘em anyway. The Kirkhammer is just a big hammer that has a sword in it. Or the Chikage which you need to stab yourself to activate.
Wiz: As mentioned however, The Hunter also has access to a number of different Arcane spells that give them even more destructive power. Like the Augur of Ebrietas, which summons an explosion of tentacles from their hands. Or, more importantly, A Call Beyond. A failed attempt at contacting a Great One turned a very potent attack.
Boomstick: The description for A Call Beyond describes it as a “small exploding star”. Assuming we take that literally, and we have no reason not to considering what the Choir and Healing Church got up to, detonating even a miniature star like that would require 164.91 Tenatons of TNT.
Wiz: The Hunter also has the ability to heal themselves utilizing their Blood Vials, which they…casually inject into their thigh. Health considerations be damned, I suppose.
Boomstick: Eh, I’d probably jab myself with some unknown fluids that a weird old man gave me if it promised to heal all my wounds.
Wiz: That being said, such as a stash of healing is limited for The Hunter. Only able to carry up to 20 at a time. Same thing with the Quicksilver Bullets they can fire from their gun, and what they utilize to conduct their spells. Meaning that, as powerful as A Call Beyond is, it’s limited in use.
Boomstick: You certainly can’t count them out though. After all, they’re not known for ending the lives of the Lovecraft-but-better creatures of the cosmos for nothing. Once The Hunter finds their mark, you can bet your ass they’ll hunt them down to the ends of the earth to get their prey.
The Warrior of Light[]
(Final Fantasy XIV - Footfalls)
Wiz: Eorzea, a land rich with history and home of many great civilizations. But such a land also attracts a certain type of people. Namely, adventurers. The land of Eorzea is host to monsters and caverns crawling with…well, more monsters. And that is where our person of the hour comes into play.
Boomstick: While they originally just wanted to be an adventurer of the world, they got a little more than they bargained for when they got a message from God…no, literally. Hydaelyn decided to say hi to our nameless friend, and grant them her own power, the Blessing of Light. She also gave them a nifty little thing called the echo, which allows them to periodically see the past! It also allows him to fight Primals without the whole “being enslaved by them” deal.
Wiz: This adventurer, soon to be known as The Warrior of Light, was scouted by and eventually joined the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. An organization that, while initially intending to keep the threat of the Primals in check, soon became much, much more in scope.
Boomstick: Oh and by the by, “Primals” are, in essence, gods. Yeah, yeah, I know I said Hydaelyn was also a god, but these are gods specifically worshipped by the Beast Tribes of Eorzea. Like Ifrit, worshipped by the Kobolds, and a being of raging fire. Or Ramuh, worshipped by the Sylphs, and a being of lightning!
Wiz: The Scions soon found their true foe and cause of the Primals being summoned: The Ascians. A group of people with unknown intentions, but clearly up to no good. Not to mention the threat of the Garlean empire on their back, especially since it seemed like the two groups had allied together.
Boomstick: But eventually, everything seemed a-ok. The main Ascian was defeated, Gaius van Baelsar, the main general of Garlemaid, was dead, and things were looking up, right? Uh, nope. Unfortunately, turned out there are like…a ton of Ascians, and Lahabrea was totally still alive. Not to mention, The Warrior of Light and the Scions got politically backstabbed by a buncha capitalist dwarves and caused them to become fugitives!
Wiz: Thankfully, the nation of Ishgard provided a welcome home for…at least the ones that seemed to survive. But, as one might expect, the life of a hero is never easy. Even after overthrowing the totalitarian Archbishop of Ishgard and killing Lahabrea once and for all, Eorzea still did not know peace.
Boomstick: Not to mention that The Warrior of Light had a new Garlean bastard to deal with: this time in the form of Zenos yae Galvus. A dude with as big of an ego as his ass looks in that outfit of his.
Wiz: Time and time again, the Warrior of Light would stop a threat to Eorzea or even the world. Or, as they learned, worlds. As it turns out, there existed multiple different “reflections” of the planet Hydaelyn-
Boomstick: Wait, she named the planet after herself? Jeez, talk about narcissism.
Wiz: *sigh* The world that The Warrior of Light inhabited was referred to as “The Source”, but there existed thirteen different reflections of this world. Including “The First”, a world awash with light. A world that was, once again, saved by The Warrior of Light.
Boomstick: Point being, that The Warrior of Light has stopped literal universal destruction multiple times by this point.
Wiz: And it all came to ahead once The Warrior of Light and the Scions returned back to The Source.
Boomstick: Oh, uh, spoilers ahead for the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has a free trial, and includes the entirety of A Realm Reborn AND the award-winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 with no restrictions on playtime’s…expansion called Endwalker.
Wiz: How long were you waiting to use that joke?
Boomstick: A LONG time.
Wiz: The Ascians on their last legs, they have one final trump card up their sleeve. Meteion, who saw dying civilizations and worlds and went mad with grief. Turning herself into the Endsinger and intended to destroy everything so that no more suffering in the world could happen.
Boomstick: Like we said, dealing with universal threats is kind of just in a day’s work for The Warrior of Light. The Cloud of Darkness, Zodiark, and the aforementioned Endsinger being three of the biggest ones they brought down to date.
Wiz: And to bring down such threats, you need skill, armor, and weapons. And The Warrior of Light certainly packs all three. For the sake of keeping things…limited, however, we will only be keeping in mind the Jobs that The Warrior of Light has shown to be capable of using in the CG trailers for the game. So, that includes Paladin, Warrior, Dark Knight, Samurai, Monk, and Dragoon.
Boomstick: Fortunately, it’s not like that puts a limiting factor on them. Regardless of what jobs they used, putting down threats like this is no small feat. Especially if you consider that taking out The Source means that the rest of the universes go kaput too.
Wiz: Granted, it is debatable that that act is “destroying” all of them. One could consider it…knocking down a stack of dominos, in a way. Just because you have the strength to knock over one domino which sets off the chain reaction, doesn’t mean you have the same strength to knock down every domino in one fell swoop.
Boomstick: Of course, The Warrior of Light isn’t just powerful, but they’re fast as hell too. The robot known as Omega, after escaping from Carteneau Flats, decided to hold a tournament with The Warrior of Light…look, it’s a robot, don’t question its motivations. But! In said tournament, Omega recreated multiple monsters throughout the world of fiction for The Warrior of Light to fight!
Wiz: Said “fictional” monsters were, in fact, previous Final Fantasy antagonists Chaos, ExDeath, and Kefka. Many of whom have their own powerful feats associated with them.
Boomstick: ExDeath clocking in at around 3 million meters per second, and Kefka blazing past with 130 times the Speed of Light. Not to mention the power output is equal to around 347 petatons! Granted, yknow, he might not have done it, but he could certainly give the…person? Who did a hell of a fight!
Wiz: It should be noted that while, yes, these are recreations by Omega, we have no reason to believe they’re weaker than what they showed in their home games. The canon for Final Fantasy XIV is that these are stories, which means that it’s totally fair to scale The Warrior of Light to such stats.
Boomstick: The Warrior of Light ain’t a godslayer for nothing. If you stand in their way, or stand against the world they live in, chances are you’ll have the light leave your eyes.
DEATH BATTLE![]
Final Fantasy XIV – Haukke Manor
The jacket wearing figure flicked the blood off of their weapon. They had found themselves in a new dream, a new world. And yet it was still fraught with frightful beasts. The being was clad in black, their leather jacket and undercoat: black. Their pointed, frayed hat: black as well. You get the point. Their face covered by a mask, only their steeled gaze remained in sight. A gaze that was glanced away from the creature they had just slain.
They had found themselves in what appeared to be some sort of abandoned manor. Perhaps a new version of The Hunter’s Dream? But there was no safe haven to be found here. Only monsters, unlike those they had fought before, but beasts to be slain all the same. Their saw cleaver coated in the blood of their enemies. The Hunter had found a new hunt.
And yet, they weren’t free from watchful eyes. A new figure had entered the manor that The Hunter found themselves in. One almost the opposite of the Hunter themselves. Unlike the leather garb that The Hunter wore, this one wore heavy armor. Silver and golden plating was found covering their body. And while The Hunter carried a cleaver and a gun at their side, this one bore a large blade and a shield.
“Hm? How odd. Rare to see a living being in Haukke Manor.” The person spoke with a kind and gentle voice, their weapons at their side, unlike The Hunter who had their weapons un-holstered and ready for anything. The Hunter did not know who this person was, but at first glance, they seemed to be someone who was not a foe. Not that a friendly face instantly meant trustworthy, as it had been in their lived experiences.
“Well, judging by your garb, I cannot say that you seem entirely out of place.” The knight chuckled as they walked closer to the staircase. The Warrior of Light, as they had come to be known as, thought nothing of the odd individual that was standing in front of them. At least, at first glance. The Hunter’s gaze never wavered from the warrior in front of them. And as The Warrior of Light got closer, they sensed something. A presence they had felt before, as their eyes turned towards the strange Hunter to the side of them.
“It…couldn’t possibly…could it?” They had sensed a great, terrifying power from The Hunter. One akin to a Primal. But surely, such a thing was impossible? They had heard no reports of the Beast Tribes summoning a Primal, and even if the power was similar...it felt foreign, in a way.
On the other hand, however, The Hunter stared with intensity at The Warrior of Light. They too, noticed something off about the individual in front of them. The scent that they gave off was unmistakable, and yet has a different stench to it all the same. Undoubtedly this was the smell of a Great One. The same beings that The Hunter had slain many times in the past. And another one had made its appearance here. In the form of a human no less? It was odd, to be sure, but such things could no longer surprise The Hunter at this point. They merely gripped the handle of their sawblade in their hands.
If the Great Ones had made their appearance in this world as well, then it would be their duty to hunt them.
The Warrior of Light was not oblivious to such bloodlust that was evident in The Hunter’s eyes. Nor could they miss the clutching of a weapon in their hands. Though they did not wish to engage in combat with this person they had just met, it seemed as if they had no choice in the matter. If a Primal threatened the world, even if they bore the appearance of a human, then they would rise to face the challenge. As they had time and time again.
Hands clutched onto the hilt of blades, only one of these slayers of gods would leave this manor.
FIGHT!
The Hunter was the first to strike, dashing forward with their saw cleaver in hand. Raising their weapon and bringing it down upon the Warrior in front of them. The Warrior themselves drawing their own massive blade in hand. In a blink of an eye, the two weapons clashed. The larger, imposing figure that the armor and weapons the Warrior of Light brandished struck a stark comparison to The Hunter’s black leather and small cleaver. The Warrior of Light pushed back against The Hunter’s weapon, grinding their blade into the ridged edges of the cleaver.
“I know not who you be….but it’s clear you are unaware of who I am as well.” With a simple motion of their blade, The Hunter’s arm was thrown back. Their weapon effortlessly parried by the large greatsword that The Warrior of Light swung around so casually. “Because if you did know of me, then you would know striking me is a fool’s errand!”
Raising their sword above their head, The Warrior of Light swung downwards. Putting all of their force into the swing, only for something fully unexpected to happen. Raising the blunderbuss that was in their left hand before the swing cut their body in twain, they squeezed the trigger.
*BLAM*
Several pellets were fired as a small explosion sound was heard from within the barrel of the blunderbuss. The bullets fired into The Warrior of Light’s chest, piercing through their silver armor as they themselves were blown backwards by the force of the gunshot.
“A firearm? Are they Ishgardian then?” The Warrior of Light thought to themselves as they stumbled backwards. Though the bullets drew no blood from them, it still certainly managed to stagger them backwards. But even still, they had their no doubts. “It couldn’t be. They do not resemble those of the Manufactory. And that gun itself, it’s-“
The Warrior’s thought was not finished, however, as The Hunter swiftly dashed forward. Appearing before The Warrior of Light’s eyes in mere nanoseconds before plunging their hand into their stomach. A gasp of pain escaped from The Warrior’s lips as they felt The Hunter’s hand rifle around their guts before the hand being pulled out as quickly as it was entered. Turning their back upon The Warrior of Light as they did so.
But they were not foolish. Such a Great One was not capable of going down so easily. Turning around as they dodged out of the way of a downward strike from The Warrior of Light.
“Pray tell, stranger.” The Warrior of Light spoke with haggard breath as they readjusted themselves into a fighting position. The floor of Haukke Manor having been cracked by the swing of their blade. “Who are you? What do you wish to gain from such an encounter?”
The Hunter had no response. They were an individual of very few words, especially when it came to a hunt. Simply raising their blunderbuss once again in response, finger on the trigger. Ready for the Paladin in front of them to make any sort of movement.
“No response then? So be it. I suppose talk is not of the hour.” Raising their left arm, The Hunter’s eyes narrowed. Only for the shield to be launched from their arm, soaring directly towards The Hunter at incredible speeds. Their narrowed eyes went wide as they fired their blunderbuss at the shield.
*BLAM* *CLANG*
The bullet spread sent the shield careening off course, giving The Hunter ample time to dodge out of the way of its trajectory. Lodging itself next to them within the floor of the manor. Though their attention was drawn elsewhere, as the sight of the leaping Warrior of Light caught their gaze. The Hunter dodged backwards to avoid being skewered upon their blade, only to be caught off guard by the pillars of light that were brought down from the sky because of The Warrior’s actions. Piercing through their body as The Warrior of Light drew the sword from the cracks in the ground. Grasping it within both of their hands as a large, phantasmal blade was pierced upwards from the ground. A cough of pain left The Hunter’s lips as they felt as if they were just run through with a blade, even if the one that was summoned was ethereal.
“Enough! Blade of Truth!” Once again plunging their blade into the ground before The Hunter could recover, even more ethereal blades rained from the sky. Piercing through The Hunter’s body as they staggered backwards. Disappearing as soon as they appeared, but no less painful.
“Blade of V-“ Before The Warrior of Light could draw their blade again, their arm was forcibly stopped. As they glanced upwards to see The Hunter with a new weapon in their hands. Whatever weapon it was, it was a long, chain-like blade. Which had, so coincidentally, wrapped itself around The Warrior’s arms. Preventing them from adequately drawing their blade from the ground it was pierced into. All while they faced down the chamber of a blunderbuss.
*BANG*
The trigger was pulled, though The Warrior of Light had managed to disengage from their blade and raised their gauntlets to blunt the blast of the blunderbuss. And of course, they weren’t going to let an opportunity go to waste. If their opponent was going to lock themselves in place in such a way, then they could use it to their advantage. Jerking their arms back, with the intent to pull The Hunter backwards, they did indeed stumble forward. But of course, this was not The Hunter’s first hunt, and if they had it their way, nor would it be their last.
The Hunter pulled away, causing the chain blade to unravel itself from The Warrior of Light’s arms, reforming itself into a rapier with a satisfying *clink*. Or, more accurately now that they had gotten a better look at the weapon in The Hunter’s hands, it was better described as a sword cane. The Hunter resumed into a combat position as he pointed the tip of the weapon at The Warrior of Light, now without their weapon. The Hunter grunting as they unleashed a flurry of slashes upon them, The Warrior of Light dodging out of the way of each strike as it came. Though they were being pressured, as the sweat on their brow became evident.
The Hunter turned after another missed swing, in one swift motion, revolving his body and sheathing his weapon to pull out yet another. This one baring the resemblance of a large war hammer, albeit made from stone rather than metal. Swinging it towards The Warrior of Light as it collided with their stomach, and yet, The Warrior did not budge. A golden light surrounded them as the pair’s eyes met.
“’Twould do well not to underestimate an adventurer of Eorzea, friend.” The Warrior of Light spoke as The Hunter’s eyes narrowed. The Warrior of Light raised their fists in their air, clasped together. The Hunter naturally recognized such a threat, as they slightly twisted the hilt of the war hammer they slammed into The Warrior’s body. Pulling a blade out of the slab of concrete that was the Kirkhammer. Dropping the stone onto The Warrior’s foot, which was completely ignored, as they continued to bring their gauntleted fists down upon The Hunter’s skull. Neither breathed in this moment, as the two of them swung for the first decisive strike of this battle.
…
…
…
“Gh…”
*drip…* *drip…*
The Warrior of Light stumbled backwards as The Hunter’s blade dripped with blood. Grabbing a vial of blood from their pocket as they jammed it into their right thigh. The Warrior of Light raised their hand to their eye, blood dripping from where it used to be. For all intents and purposes, it was technically still there, but after The Hunter had slashed it open, it certainly wasn’t going to be usable.
“I see. ‘Tis foolish of me to underestimate you, stranger.” A sigh escaped The Warrior’s lips as they stood up straight. A look of determination on their face as they stared back at The Hunter. A light enveloping them as The Hunter raised their arm to protect their eyes, the radiant white light becoming too much for their eyes to handle. Eventually such light dimmed, however, as The Warrior of Light still stood. Albeit dressed in different garb; they wore a red mixture of a yukata and hakama and brandished a katana in their hands. Their grip tight on the hilt of their blade, prepared to end the life of their opponent, though they still wished it had not come to such blows.
“No more mistakes then, hm? I trust we have both gathered what we are capable of.” And with those words, The Warrior of Light dashed forward, blade in hand. The Hunter ready for the attack as they only briefly clashed blades before dashing around them again. It was as if they had adopted a completely new fighting style…
…but The Hunter shook their head. It mattered little. A Hunter must hunt, after all.
Blades clashed at a whirlwind speed, as the lack of heavy armor allowed The Warrior of Light to dash at blistering speeds. Though The Hunter’s trained eyes could track them, it was only barely.
“Tsubame-gaeshi!” The Warrior shouted as they slashed in one swift movement, as the blade flashed before The Hunter’s steeled eyes. Though as one physical slash occurred in their sight, it was clear that there was more to it. As they raised their Kirkhammer blade in defense, only to stumble backwards as their body felt multiple consecutive slashes crossing their chest. The Warrior of Light sheathing their blade as they crouched down and forward, more than ready to land another blow as they dashed forward with a burst of speed. The Hunter knew all too well they could not handle another strike such as that, swiftly tossing away their blunderbuss as they reached into their jacket. Clutching onto a bone as it glowed and imbued The Hunter with an arcane sort of energy. Their body felt faster, and their movements felt lighter. It allowed them to dash out of the way of the incoming strike. Indeed, as The Hunter moved, it was as if the roles had reversed. As it was now The Warrior of Light who could not see The Hunter’s movements.
Though for The Hunter, it was less speed and more full trickery. As the Old Hunter Bone cloaked The Hunter’s dashes and quicksteps. They would not win through pure strength alone.
“Hm. ‘Tis not a large manor. You do not have many places to h-“
The sound of an arrow being loosened from a bow was heard, as the tip of said arrow plunged its way into the back of The Warrior of Light’s shoulder. Their head whipping towards the direction of the arrow, as The Hunter stood atop the second floor of the foyer they were in. Nocking another arrow as they pulled the string back, letting loose another arrow from their bow as it sped towards its target. Though of course, now that The Warrior of Light had eyes on their own target, they would not be struck again. Dodging the hail of arrows as each one cracked into the floor of the manor as they moved closer and closer to The Hunter. Their gaze narrowed as they climbed the stairs, leaping up into the air as they met The Hunter’s eyes. Hand on their sheathed blade as they prepared to draw.
However, The Hunter discarded the bow they had wielded. Raising their right arm towards the incoming Warrior as it began to glow. Their body moving unnaturally as it shook, The Warrior’s eyes widening as they blasted backwards by a mass of tentacles that had exploded from The Hunter’s hands. The Warrior of Light rolled down the stairs as they grunted in pain. Though they picked themselves up quickly, as this was no time to tarry. As quickly as they had been knocked down, they dashed back up to where The Hunter had stationed themselves…only for The Hunter to be nowhere to be found. Instead, where they once stood, was a small…bundle of skeleton-like creatures.
“Tsk.” The Warrior of Light scoffed as they gripped their sheathed blade. Their eyes closed as they spoke. “Parlor tricks.”
Their blade was drawn as they slashed at the small bath of skeletons that was in front of them. But it was not merely a simple strike of their blade. The force of the blade’s upward movement carved even the ceiling above, the dim moonlight shining into the manor as the cold, night breeze was felt. The “bath of skeletons” swiftly dodged out the way of attack as Haukke Manor groaned and creaked, The Hunter returning to their true form as The Warrior of Light’s blade struck the ground. The ground itself being cut in three different directions in front of The Warrior of Light. As the floor beneath them too began to fall apart.
*BOOM*
But even still, The Hunter made their move. During their dodge, a large, iron prototype weapon of the Powder Kegs had appeared in their hands. The cannon fired as The Warrior of Light was blown back into the wall at the opposite end of the second floor by the explosion. A small exhale leaving The Hunter’s masked lips. They had fought beasts and gods from beyond the stars, and yet this individual was the one who had managed to pressure them the most. Pulling down their mask momentarily as they spat out a bit of blood from their mouth. Discarding the cannon, as it would merely be a waste of Quicksilver Bullets to utilize more. Waiting on The Warrior of Light to make their move once more.
But of course, as the smoke began to fade, there were other things to worry about as well. As the floor began to shake back and forth, The Warrior of Light had truly split the floors of Haukke Manor in three different ways. Steadying themselves, they had to be prepared for whatever attack The Warrior of Light launched their way. Quickly pulling out what seemed to be a large club from their jacket, as they simultaneously put the other apparatus to such a trick weapon on their back. Bringing the weapon up in a defensive position as they awaited The Warrior’s strike…
…only for it not to come. The smoke cleared, and outside of an imprint on the wall on the other side, there was no remnant of The Hunter’s opponent anywhere. At least, not in their immediate vision.
“Eyes above, warrior!” The voice of The Warrior of Light was heard from above as The Hunter’s gaze went wide as they turned their head to the starry night sky above. The Warrior coming downwards, having changed armor and weaponry yet again, tip of the spear they wielded aiming straight towards them. Coming at such a velocity that there was no chance for The Hunter to react. As the pointed end plunged into The Hunter’s chest, slamming down through the floor of the manor and even further beyond. The shattering of bone and splintering wood was heard as the two combatants slammed through the floorboards and the walls of Haukke Manor. The Warrior of Light riding atop of The Hunter’s body in a similar way to a surfboard with their lance as weight.
Eventually the pair’s wounds were exposed to the cool night air as they found themselves in the forest of the Black Shroud. The ride ground to a halt as the back of The Hunter’s smashed into a particularly large tree. Both individuals breathing heavily, though The Hunter was clearly the more injured of the two. Ignoring the spear lodged within their chest, they also had the fact that they had been dragged across the ground so hard that they had left an imprint with the dirt of the forest.
“Surrender, *huff* the battle…*huff*…is mine.” The Warrior of Light spoke between haggard breaths. Watching as The Hunter roused from their dazed state, their eyes fluttering in and out of consciousness as they laid with a spear plunged into their chest. Their hand shaking as they raised their right arm, hand clenched…with a small vial of blood inside of said clenched hand. But rather than use it to heal themselves, with swiftness, they plunged the needle into the exposed neck of The Warrior of Light.
“Gh!” The Warrior of Light pulled themselves back as their gauntleted hand grabbed the injector that was jammed within their neck. Pulling it out as swiftly as it entered; giving The Hunter the moment they needed to stand back up and right themselves. Pulling the lance out of their chest as they jammed a blood vial into their thigh. “What did you- hrk!”
The Warrior of Light raised a hand up to their mouth as they coughed up blood, their eyesight growing fuzzy and weak as they shook their head to reclaim their consciousness. A fact that The Hunter took advantage of, charging their opponent with the mace-like stick they had in their hands. Swinging with the intent to bludgeon The Warrior of Light to death, as the stated dragoon dealt with the onslaught of attacks through dodging and utilizing their metal gauntlets to guard against such attacks. Using each one of their movements to get closer and closer to their lance, which had been so carelessly discarded by both themselves and The Hunter…
The Hunter was not dull to such actions, they could clearly see where The Warrior’s movements were leading them. That was the intention. As swift as they were, picking up their lance was a moment of defenseless, as short of a window as it may be. And as soon as they moved their arm to reequip their weapon…
*BZZZZZZZZZ*
The Hunter quickly jammed the mace onto the apparatus on their back, a large buzz saw wheel that sprung to life the moment its handle was plunged into the crevice that activated it. In one swift motion, The Hunter brought down the buzzing Whirligig Saw onto the arm that had just grabbed onto the lance that laid upon the forest floor. A hiss of pain escaping from The Warrior of Light’s lips as the blades of the saw ground against their arm. Piercing through their armor as their skin was torn apart, blood splattering across the forest as their arm became mangled and exposed. Gritting their teeth and tightening their grip on the lance, their one good eye snapping shut as they tried to grit and fight through the pain…
*BZZZZCLANG*
The raging buzzsaw was blown backwards by The Warrior of Light managing to finally move past the pain, deflecting the weapon by swinging the lance. Recomposing themselves and moving into a combat position, as The Hunter followed suit. Both slayers of gods staring each other down, bodies battered and bloodied. The Warrior having lost an eye and The Hunter with a spear-shaped hole in their chest. Their feet moved only slightly, but that was more than enough to let them both know that the battle had recommenced.
*FWOOSH*
The Warrior of Light thrust their spear forward, an attack that The Hunter dodged via quick stepping to the side, though the results of the attack were clear. The force of the thrust splintered apart trees that were behind The Hunter, and it was as if even the very wind itself howled out in pain. Returning fire, The Hunter raised the Whirligig Saw above their head before bringing it down. The Warrior of Light leaping up into the air to evade the blow, but not before the resulting slam made the earth itself shudder and shake.
But what goes up must come down as they say, as The Warrior of Light swiftly returned downwards from the sky. While they had gotten the upper hand earlier, this time a swift backstep allowed The Hunter to dodge such an attack. The ground cracking as a burst of force exuded from the collision of The Warrior’s spear piercing into the ground. The Hunter pulled a long-barreled, ornate looking pistol from their jacket, aiming down the barrel as they aimed for between the Warrior of Light’s eyes.
*BANG*
The bullet fired as The Warrior pulled the spear out of the ground, deflecting the bullet at the same time in one swift motion. Spinning their lance before bringing it to their side, as energy began to swell around them. Small, twin dragons, red and blue, appearing at their side. As The Warrior of Light threw their arm forward, the dragons shooting forward towards The Hunter at incredible speeds. Spiraling over each other as the ground melted away from the force of the attack, slamming into The Hunter before they could even blink. As their eyes went wide as their clothes and body began to burn away.
The Warrior of Light leapt into the air, eyes closed as they readied their spear. Aiming for their target. As soon as they opened, The Warrior launched themselves towards The Hunter like a missile moving at light speeds. Spear at the ready as they were fully charged by a purple energy radiating around them. The spear swiftly plunges into The Hunter’s body as the surrounding area explodes with kinetic energy. A haggard breath escaping The Warrior of Light’s lips, as their face was awash with a mixture of sweat and blood. As they watched The Hunter’s eyes flicker in and out of consciousness.
The Hunter coughed up blood; their body burned, and clothes singed. Their mask had been burnt away as well, giving The Warrior of Light the first glimpse at the full face of their opponent. Their tricorn hat too had been blasted to shreds by the force of their Wyrmwind Thrust. Not to mention the pain and agony that came with suffering the Dragoon’s Limit Break. The Hunter was on their last leg, and they knew it all too well.
“Haaaaah…” The Hunter exhaled a sharp bit of breath. Blood dribbled down their lips as they hissed in pain. Raising their hands up into the air, a fact that The Warrior of Light took notice of but chose not to stop them. They would not deny the last action of a dying person.
But perhaps they should have.
As The Hunter clasped their hands together. The Warrior of Light’s eyes went wide as a small galaxy appeared above their head, and as soon as they took notice of that it was far too late.
*WHMBOOM*
The sound of the explosion that had occurred within The Black Shroud could be heard, and felt, near across the entire continent of Eorzea. As the tree splintered into mere wood dust, the grass burned away leaving nothing but dirt on the ground. A wide-open field of brown was all that was left after The Hunter unleashed the epitome of Arcane. The failed spell of the Choir: A Call Beyond.
The Hunter stood, weak and battered, but alive. Reaching into their coat to jam yet another vial of blood into their thigh, the healing effects taking over their body almost instantly as they shuddered. But as the dust slowly began to settle, they had seen the truth. An insight that had surprised even them. As The Warrior of Light too stood upright, a dark barrier surrounded them, but it was clearly brought up late enough so that the damage was still clear. Though The Warrior of Light had managed to change jobs quickly enough, they still felt their armor near compress from the force of the explosion. Their face wounded and near burnt. Their breath shallow and quick, as they dissipated the barrier.
(Final Fantasy XIV – Who Brings Shadow)
“So, thou would choose the power of darkness to best such a foe? I am glad to see you choose the correct course of action. They are a threat to this world you hold oh so dear. Do what thou know need be done.” The voice of the being known as Fray entered the mind of The Warrior of Light. The greatsword they wielded resting on their shoulder as they stood up straight. Eyes tired and full of sadness as they spoke once more, addressing the combatant they had been engaged with for who knows how long now.
“My apologies. I said that I would not underestimate you another time, and I found myself doing exactly that. Would that it be so that we might lay down our arms and discuss peace, however…” The Warrior of Light closed their eyes as The Hunter tilted their head, pulling out one of their own last sets of weaponry. A blade that matched the length and width of the greatsword that The Warrior of Light held, but rather than be coated with darkness, it found itself coated in a pale green moonlight. A sigh leaving The Warrior of Light’s lips.
“As I thought. I know your kind all too well. Indeed, you are quite like me, in that regard.” A small, half smile appeared on The Warrior’s face as they opened their eyes. “As such, I’m afraid, I am thoroughly incapable of letting you live.”
The pair dashed towards each other like a pair of hungry lions. Though these two warriors had far, far surpassed such trite beings like the creatures of the animal kingdom. They swung their blades, one of darkness and one of moonlight, as they engaged in the last duel one of them would ever face. Their boots crushed the dirt beneath as every swing felt as if they were trying to tear the world itself asunder. Whether it be restraint or merely the world itself resisting, it was impossible to say.
The Hunter quick stepped backwards as they raised their Moonlight Greatsword in the air, before slamming it back down into the ground. A wave of moonlit energy blasting forth from the blade as The Warrior of Light dodged swiftly out of the way, only for The Hunter to follow up with a leaping strike. Moonlight shining down upon The Warrior of Light’s face as they raised their own greatsword in defense. Their feet grinding into the dirt below as the earth itself threatened to swallow their legs, the energy from the blade exuding pure power.
A power that The Warrior of Light would simply have to match, as darkness began to surround their body. Before it exploded off of them, knocking The Hunter back as The Warrior of Light raised their own blade overhead. A heaving slash aimed towards The Hunter as they quick stepped backwards, and yet their body still became wounded and bloody. As a flash of dark energy burst forth from their blade. The Hunter coughed blood onto the dirt as they stumbled but stamped a foot back into the ground below to right themselves.
“Such tenacity…” The Warrior of Light muttered to themselves as they swung their blade yet again, fully taking the offense now. Each strike blasting the same dark energy as before, not letting The Hunter gain even an inch. Sweat began to form on The Hunter’s brow as they felt themselves become pressured by the growing threat The Warrior of Light posed. Even Gehrman was not as swift as this foe. Thus, they would need to once again enlist help from beyond the stars. Raising their arms once more as they moved to clasp their hands together.
“Not this time!” The Warrior of Light would not let such a calamitous attack occur twice. Who knows what life had been lost in the initial explosion? Their blade swung as if it had a life of its own, straight for its target. To protect the lives of those they held dear. As The Hunter’s hands became severed from their arms in one, clean motion.
It was silent, at first. As the gnarled, wounded, pale hands of The Hunter fell limply to the ground. The Hunter merely held their arms up still, as if nothing had happened. And then came the scream.
The Hunter stumbled back as blood poured from their wound, biting their lower lip to such an extent that it too began to bleed. Their eyes glancing from the stumps of their wrists to back at The Warrior of Light. A determined, feral look on their face as they began to charge The Warrior of Light. Unsure of what even they would hope to accomplish with such an action, but they would not let themselves be pitied.
The Warrior of Light solemnly raised their blade with both hands as they raised it overhead. Their eyes closed as they heard the sound of The Hunter’s footsteps crunching against the dirt beneath them. Before they swung downwards, halting The Hunter in their tracks. Once again, it was silent at first. As a purple line appeared vertically across The Hunter’s body.
“Will I…still dream…?” The Hunter spoke their very first words as they raised their left arm to the moon above, their right arm horizontal at their side. An explosion of dark energy reducing their body to nothingness. The weapon disappeared from The Warrior of Light’s hands as they collapsed backwards onto their backside. A sigh that had been held in for far too long leaving their lips as they looked up to the moon that hung above them in the night sky.
“Mysterious hunter from beyond this realm…accept my apologies for this outcome.”
KO!
Conclusion[]
(Born of Stormblood - Raydino)
Boomstick: I guess you could say The Hunter became The Hunted!...eh? Ehhhhh?!
Wiz: While both combatants showed incredible power, especially when it came to destroying world threatening beings, The Warrior of Light simply operated on a whole ‘nother scale.
Boomstick: Comparing directly their strongest power and durability feats, you begin to see a…pretty big disparity. Rom was capable of holding back the moon, pretty casually I might add considering she was just chilling in void space for who knows how long, but beings like the Cloud of Darkness are capable of ending the entire friggin’ world. And, well, multiple other worlds as well!
Wiz: Granted, as we mentioned, it’s maybe a little bit much to grant the Cloud of Darkness being capable of taking down multiple universes at once due to how The Source and the reflections work in the FFXIV universe. Again, compare it to knocking down a set of dominos. But of course, that still puts them at a higher level than what The Hunter is capable of.
Boomstick: Blowing up that small star with A Call Beyond is definitely impressive but annihilating an entire universe like The Cloud of Darkness threatened to do would require, at minimum, 2.825 tenaexafoe of energy. That’s the thingy used to measure supernovas, by the by.
Wiz: The main advantage that The Hunter held over The Warrior of Light was their unpredictability. While The Warrior of Light arguably had a greater number of different skills they could use per Job Class, The Hunter had a much greater arsenal of weaponry and spells. Obviously the ones displayed in this battle were but a fraction of what The Hunter was capable of using, but in the end it still did not allow them to surpass The Warrior of Light.
Boomstick: The Warrior of Light also had a massive speed advantage when it comes to comparing those two little numbers. Thanks to them fighting recreations of ExDeath and Kefka, The Warrior of Light ends up being around 2467 times faster than The Hunter. Meaning that pretty much whatever The Hunter threw at The Warrior of Light wasn’t going to stick any time soon.
Wiz: Unfortunately, things continue to get even worse for our Hunter of those that lie beyond the cosmos. While not as important as the other qualifiers, The Warrior of Light also holds a considerable experience advantage. The Warrior of Light has been fighting gods and world ending threats for…well, the exact timeframe between each expansion is nebulous and never really been fully stated. But it’s certainly much longer than the single day that The Hunter did their work in.
Boomstick: Granted, seeing as how, uh, weird Bloodborne’s time-space mumbo jumbo is, it could be argued it takes place over the course of many nights. But it wouldn’t make much of a difference in the end. No matter how you slice it, squid-kid here just keeps coming up short compared to the hero of Eorzea.
Wiz: The Hunter is a ferocious and relentless fighter in their own world. And against many other opponents, they could prove to be a very dangerous threat. And to be honest, The Hunter probably could pose a threat to Eorzea and Hydaelyn, yes the planet, as well had the Scions not existed. But The Warrior of Light would be more than capable of stopping them time and time again.
Boomstick: The Hunter may have dreamed of victory, but that fantasy will remain stillborne.
Wiz: The Winner is The Warrior of Light.
Trivia[]
- The connections between the two opponents are that they are both human beings who were blessed by the power of an in-universe deity (The Moon Presence for The Hunter, Hydaelyn for The Warrior of Light). They both come from simple roots (The Hunter being a simple hunter in Yharnam, and The Warrior of Light wanting to be an adventurer), but end up becoming god slayers in their respective universes (Great Ones in Bloodborne, Primals in FFXIV).
- The track for this battle is called "Born of Stormblood".
- Both characters are referred to with gender neutral pronouns, referring to the fact that there is no "canon" Warrior of Light or Hunter, seeing as both characters are created by the player.