Chapter 231: An Old Fox.
Rumble, Rumble.
Natashia's eyes glowed blood red, and when she went to make a move, suddenly Niklaus said:
"Wait!" He made a stopping gesture and looked to the sky:
"Count Alucard has interfered in the duel, isn't that against the rules?" He spoke in a simple, easy-to-understand tone.
"..." Everyone was silent.
They all thought... Bruh, don't break the mood, read the mood! The weather!
But Niklaus didn't care about that, as he looked at the referee who appeared in the arena:
"Hmm... Well... I think, yes...?" The referee, however, looked carefully to see Victor's reaction.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard when he saw the man's gaze.
"See?" Niklaus' smile grew a little. "I clearly would have won if it weren't for Count Alucard's interference. What should we do about it?"
"Hmmm...Hmm..." The referee didn't know what to do, and, to be honest, he just wanted to get out of here. He didn't have the balls to get into an argument between two vampire counts and an ex-Countess.
"Pussy." Natashia spat on the floor.
"..." Niklaus looked at the woman, "My lady, it was you who was losing a few seconds ago, if it weren't for the interference of your... Husband, I would have already won this duel."
"..." At first, Natashia was annoyed that Niklaus used this 'cowardly' tactic, but when she heard the word 'husband', she seemed to have forgotten everything and flashed a small smile.
The man clearly had the potential to be a bootlicker.
"Well, yes… The rules…-" The referee looked like he was going to say something, but suddenly everyone heard Victor's voice.
"Rules, huh... Rules... Pfft..." Everyone looked at him.
Suddenly:
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~" A maniacal laugh was heard by everyone, and that laugh made all the vampires shiver.
And as a bipolar being, his maniacal laugh turned into an angry face:
"You said, RULES!?" His voice echoed throughout the arena.
"What bullshit!."
"Huh?"
"Rules were made to be broken, and..." Victor pointed his finger at Niklaus, "You don't decide the rules."
"...You're not making any sense."
"You do not understand...?" Victor looked at Niklaus as if he were looking at a fool.
"..." Niklaus narrowed his eyes when he saw Victor's gaze.
"Let me clarify for you."
"Since ancient times, the rules have always been clear." Victor clenched his fist, and the magic circle on his glove glowed brightly:
"Rules are decided by the strongest being present!"
Victor turned his gaze and looked at a specific spot.
Following his gaze, everyone else looked at that spot as well.
"..." Vlad flashed a small smile when he saw the gaze of all the vampires present on him.
"What do you say, O' King of Vampires?"
"..." A moment of silence fell in the arena, and suddenly Vlad opened his mouth.
"No rules were broken, the game goes on."
"..." An even deeper silence fell over the entire arena.
Some vampires wanted to say that this was clearly favoritism! But they didn't have the balls to question the king.
"... Fath-." Theo looked like he wanted to say something, but his question was interrupted by a man's laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!" Victor laughed very loudly as he clapped his hands together.
'... This man, he keeps doing what he wants.' Theo thought irritably.
"You heard the man! No rules were broken!"
"... Well, if the king said so, right...?" Someone from the audience spoke.
"Yes, the king has spoken..."
"Indeed." Everyone came to a common consensus, and what was that consensus?
Swallow this irrational situation and move on!
Suddenly, Victor's whole atmosphere became calmer and more solemn... More cold and cruel...
"Keep going…Kill him." His words were directed at only one person.
And that put a big smile on Natashia's face.
Rumble, Rumble!
Seeing that crazy woman approaching him, Niklaus had only one thing to say:
"Fuck."
Suddenly, the woman disappeared from vision and then reappeared in front of Niklaus:
"Piece of shit... I will make you suffer 1000x for sucking my blood. Only one person can do that." She places her hand on Niklaus' chest, and suddenly.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
Sounds of multiple explosions hitting something at the same time were heard.
A huge hole appeared in his chest.
"Wha-." He couldn't even see what had happened.
Cough.
Black blood came out of his mouth.
His eyes bulged as he staggered up, and in the meantime, he saw Victor's cold face.
Victor started to move his mouth, and he seemed to be hearing a voice in his head.
"From the beginning, you only had one choice, fight, fight, and... Fight again. Rules won't protect you, schemes won't protect you, only your strength will protect you..." Slowly Victor showed a cruel smile.
"And now...? What are you going to do? Fight, or Die?"
Niklaus was sure of one thing, if a demon was present right now at this moment, they would definitely treat this man as one of their brethren.
'Fuck this kid!' Niklaus was irritated...
But his anger wouldn't overcome Natashia's.
The woman, using her claws, made a mess of the man's body. She was ripping apart his head, legs, guts, bones, everything!
And since the man was in the form of a full Vampire Count transformation, his already rapid regeneration had become even faster… Something he was already coming to regret as Natashia abused his regeneration speeds to cause the man more pain!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Niklaus screamed in pain as he felt his guts being pulled from his body.
It felt like endless torture, he felt the pain, and the pain would go away because of his regeneration, and then the process was repeated over and over again.
A bloodbath was being created in the arena, drenching the arena floor in Niklaus' crimson life-essence.
This is... too cruel..." Someone from the audience spoke as they watched the fight in the arena.
Wrong, this could no longer be called a fight but a...
"She's torturing him..." A younger vampire spoke as he gulped.
"That's still not enough for him..." A female vampire spoke with a sadistic smile.
"..." A man looked at the woman and wanted to say; 'Woman, weren't you rooting for Niklaus a few seconds ago?'
Well, she was, but a woman's mood changes the way they change underwear.
"I've not finished yet." Natashia raised her hand and pierced Nikalus' chest, which had already begun to recover around her wrist. Then, with a movement that occurred so quickly it was beyond the perception of most audience members, she stole the man's heart, literally, and threw it to the ground, crushing it beneath her foot with a resounding squelch!
"Blood for blood, heart for heart." Her eyes started to glow gold. She didn't even want to drink the man's blood and felt disgusted at the mere thought, resulting in her kicking the man into the sky.
"Ugh..." Niklaus hated this. He couldn't do anything, and it was like he was a toy with how he was being played with, unable to make a move of his own.
Rumble, Rumble.
Loud sounds of lightning started to be heard by everyone.
The woman's bat wings seemed to grow, and lightning began to fall on her wings, acting like lightning rods to fuel her attack as Natashia pointed her palm in the air.
Rumble, Rumble, Rumble.
Her entire body seemed to be charged with pure energy as she was glowing brightly.
Soon she uttered the name of the technique that her mother taught her several years ago:
"De fulmine judicii."
"..." A silence fell in the arena, and nobody understood what happened, they expected an attack, but nothing happened!
Victor looked up to the sky and displayed a small smile; 'As expected of an older vampire... I think?'
The moment the thought crossed his mind,
A gigantic beam of golden light descended towards Niklaus.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Niklaus' scream was followed by a gigantic explosion.
Seeing the explosion with his eyes, Victor's smile grew, and suddenly, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
"Splendid! What a beautiful view!" He looked at the explosion and then looked at the woman, who continued to stare at the explosion with a neutral gaze.
"What a beautiful view... Indeed." This time he spoke in a low voice.
[Master is becoming an explosion maniac...] Kaguya spoke with a sigh at the end.
Gulp.
"This power... Isn't that capable of easily destroying a country?" Adam, the younger prince, spoke.
"I don't think I'm capable of destroying a country, but… A small country… Definitely…" Saul laughed.
"What do you think, brother, can you beat her?" Theo asked Lucas.
"Before... I could, but after that man showed up and she drank his blood... It's hard to say." He couldn't be 100% sure. After all, the perfect form of the Vampire Count that the two beings were using greatly increased their power.
Unless he transformed himself and could measure their power, he could not say he could defeat her.
"I see..." Theo spoke up.
"I wonder what's so special about that man's blood... An older vampire can't increase their power that easily." Lilith asked aloud as she placed her finger on her cheek while she displayed a small smile. She seemed to be thinking about something, but suddenly, she heard her father's voice.
"... You cannot."
"Eh...?" She opened her mouth in shock, "But I didn't say anything!" She pouted.
"If you dare to do so, I will personally order the maids to disappear with your entire collection."
Gulp.
"Which collection?" She had several collections that she's made over the years, from luxurious cars and mansions and things that humans say were 'limited editions'.
"Everything."
"...What-..." Lilith's face went dark; her father wouldn't be so mean to her, right? He always spoiled her!
But when she saw Vlad's serious gaze, she realized he was very serious about this.
"...F-Fine...I won't do anything." Her collection was more important than a passing curiosity.
"Good." Vlad smiled, and inwardly he felt he'd dodged a bullet. After all, when a vampire tasted the blood of the Night King, that individual would become addicted to that blood, considering the best nutrients were in that blood.
"..." Elizabeth broke out into a cold sweat.
... Little did he know that one of his daughters had already drunk that man's blood and that she was having trouble feeding because of it.
Although Elizabeth would never say it out loud, she was the one who lived closest to Ophis, and she knew the little girl hadn't been able to feed properly since the day she drank Victor's blood...
The explosion began to subside, and soon everyone could see the damage caused by that explosion.
"Holy Fuck... Was my family's power that strong?" Sasha spoke aloud when she saw the large crater the attack had caused.
"...From what my mother said, all four Vampire Count families have a power capable of wreaking havoc like this." Eleanor explained.
"It depends on the user actually." Adonis continued.
"For example, Yuki, the maid of our clan, can only make small fireballs, she hasn't trained her power enough to do something like that."
"But… The potential to do that kind of damage is there, right?" Sasha spoke up.
"Well...Yes." Adonis couldn't deny Sasha's words since, if everyone in his clan made the effort to train the power they were born with, in time, they could become a second or third Agnes.
"Where is that man?" Violet asked with a gaze glowing blood red, "Is he dead?"
"Of course not." Adonis spoke, his eyes seemed to glow violet for a few seconds, and he felt a weakness in his body, but he didn't show it to anyone, he just thought:
'Fuck.'
As if coordinating with Adonis' words, black water began to form in the sky.
"Tsk, is he a cockroach? Why doesn't he die?" Agnes and Violet spoke at the same time.
"His power is very troublesome." Scathach spoke in a neutral tone:
'He's creating several pieces of himself and spreading them across the battlefield. If she doesn't destroy everything, it's impossible to kill him.' Scathach thought as he analyzed the fight.
Soon Niklaus was created, and he appeared to have no damage.
"Tsk, annoying motherfucker."
Niklaus looked at his hand, and he closed and opened his fist.
Then he looked at Natashia, "You can't kill me."
"Unlike you, I am a true immortal." He flashed a smile.
Natashia showed the middle finger to the man, "And you can't beat me since you're a weak ass bitch."
"...Oof." A woman from the audience spoke with a smile on her face.
"..." A man looked at the woman.
"What? Being called weak by a woman must have damaged his male pride." The woman flashed a small smile.
"After all, men have a very big ego... Mainly, men who have small dicks."
Niklaus' ears twitched a little, he seemed to have heard what the woman said, and his eyes narrowed as he looked at Natashia:
Veins started popping in the man's head, his eyes glowed blood red, he looked irritated, but...
He gives a big sigh, 'Why am I getting upset by what they're saying?'
He closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking about something:
'In order to defeat her, I have to assume that form, but if I do that, all my plans will go down the drain, I'd better retreat now...' Niklaus felt something strange about this situation: the obvious change in appearance from Count Alucard, the king blatantly helping Count Alucard, and most of all, Alexios...
That troublesome man wasn't hiding as usual. Whenever the king appeared in public, that man was always hiding, but this time, he wasn't.
'Something is stinking here.'
Rumble, Rumble.
Looking at Natashia, who was covered in lightning, ready to attack him at any moment, he spoke up.
He took a deep breath and said:
"I give up."
Chapter 232: Alucard Wants Revenge.
"I quit." His words were like a cold shower for all the vampires present.
"…Huh?" Everyone was speechless, and they thought they must have heard wrong. What did he just say?
Vlad's eyes narrowed a little.
"... What did you say?" Natashia asked the question everyone wanted.
Niklaus undoes his transformation and raises his hands in a worldwide sign of surrender, "I give up." He repeated in the same simple, easy-to-understand tone.
"..." Victor's face distorted visibly, as his face was slowly covered by his hair, and he ground his teeth together.
What Victor hated most was now standing in front of him... A coward, a man who gives up fighting even if he has the ability to go further, he hates Niklaus with all his might now.
In Victor's mind, Niklaus was no longer a worthy opponent. He was just a piece of trash, a worm.
This man can no longer be called a vampire Count.
The referee appears in the air of the arena again, "Unfortunately, it's not in the rules that you can quit..."
Niklaus looked at the referee and said:
"As Count Alucard said, rules are made by the strongest being present." He spoke in an emotionless neutral tone, as he used Victor's words to prove his point, then he looked at Vlad:
"King of the Vampires, I, Niklaus Horseman, give up this match and my title of Vampire Count." He bowed in respect.
"Please accept my surrender." He continued with the same gesture.
'...That old fox.' Vlad clicked his tongue.
Vlad understood very well why Niklaus 'humbled' himself, as by doing so, he showed sincerity that he didn't want to fight anymore. And, if the king forced him to fight, he would be seen as a tyrant by the vampires present, and that's something that Vlad ordinarily wouldn't care about.
After all, in time, vampires forget everything, another 500 years would pass, and they would forget about Vlad's 'tyranny'.
But... Unfortunately, this was no ordinary time.
Vlad was silent while he thought about what to do. No one in the audience dared to interrupt this moment, even though they wanted to say a lot about Niklaus.
They wanted to call him a coward, they wanted to say that he ended the mood, they wanted him to 'fight' the woman again! They had a lot to say.
But… They were silent and left the decision to the king.
After all, as said by the two Counts present, the strongest being must decide everything.
"Are you going to give up your titles and everything you've won without a fight?" Vlad asked in a neutral voice as he decided to attack the man's pride.
"Yes." Niklaus answered without hesitation.
"You don't mind being called a coward?"
"My king… Sorry to say, but… Cowards are the ones who live the longest."
And as can be seen, the man had no pride at all.
"Indeed... That's true." Vlad can't help but agree with the man.
"Former Countess Annasthashia Fulger, do you have any opinions?"
"Of course I do!" Her voice came out as if it were the roar of an angry beast, "I don't want to earn the title of vampire Count this way! He must fight!" She clenched her fists furiously.
Rumble, Rumble.
"He must fight me! Here and now, he must fight!" The woman looked at the man with an angry look.
Natashia felt a bad taste in her mouth just imagining winning this way.
And not only that, this fight is a demonstration for her husband! A symbol for him to accept her!
How dare this piece of trash interrupt her moment!?
She's definitely not going to go along with a win like that.
"...I see." Finally, Vlad turned his attention to Victor, "Count Alucard, do you have anything to say?"
The vampire's gazes focused on Victor, and when they saw Victor's appearance.
Gulp
They all gulped, their bodies cooled, and some even pissed themselves.
His face was pure darkness. It looked like a black hole whose only visible features were his eyes and mouth full of sharp teeth, his hair was floating as if it was defying gravity, and a blood-soaked pressure was leaking from his body.
The air around the man was heavy, and the atmosphere he was giving off was simply…
Terrible.
"Nothing..." Even his voice was coming out strangely, sounding like static:
Victor puts his hand on his face as he tries to control his anger. He takes a deep breath and lets the air out of his chest, calming down a little, as his face returns to normal:
"This is not my fight, it's not me who should decide this…"
In the same way that he didn't like someone meddling in his fight, he had enough respect not to meddle in someone else's fight.
He already stomped on his mother-in-law's respect when he helped her, and he won't do it again.
This was his mother-in-law's fight, not his.
"But if you're asking me what I think..."
"I disapprove." His voice was heavy and cold, "He must fight."
He had the guts to attack Natashia at her 'weakest' time, but now that he doesn't have a chance, he runs away…?
Vlad rests his face on his hand, and looks at Niklaus, "Niklaus Horseman..."
"Yes, My King?" Niklaus stood up and looked at Vlad.
"Why don't you want to fight anymore?"
"It's simple, it's a futile effort."
"What are you-." Natashia looked like she was going to say something, but Vlad just looked at the woman, and she fell silent as he looked back at Niklaus:
"Tell me more."
"Annasthashia Fulger cannot kill me, and I am too weak to defeat her... In the end, this stalemate would continue for several hours, and the audience present would understand."
"A possible outcome would be a victory through a battle of attrition, but we are vampires, and we don't get tired that easily."
He was smart, considering he gave valid reasons for his withdrawal.
"Hmm... In that case, why didn't you ask to continue the game tomorrow?"
"I'm not such a fool."
"Oh?"
Niklaus continues, "As you know, Annasthashia Fulger is very close to the two Countesses, and I'm sure if I postponed the match until the next day, they would help Annasthashia so she could defeat me."
"You're putting my name on it..." Scathach's smile was anything but pretty, "Are you saying I would teach her about your weakness?"
He looked up, "I didn't say that. You did, though," he flashed a small smile.
'Piece of shit...' Scathach's eyes turned cold as ice.
"I'm sorry, Countess. But what guarantee do I have that you wouldn't do that?"
"It doesn't matter. Don't you have the balls to fight even though she knows your weakness?"
"Of course not. I'm not crazy, and I won't fight a fight I can lose."
"..." Scathach felt disgust all over her body now as she looked at the man like he was a worm. She hates that kind of mentality.
"..." Vlad was silent, he tapped the throne with a finger, in a steady rhythm, he seemed to be thinking about something, and then he opened his mouth.
"Fine, I approve... From this day forward, Niklaus Horseman is no longer a vampire Count, and all title and territory shall be handed over to Annasthashia Fulger." Vlad looked at the referee.
"...Huh? Ah, Yes… Cough"
"The winner of this duel is Annasthashia Fulger."
The order was given, and the announcement was made... Natashia won, but...
Nobody looked happy.
Yes, no one was happy... Everyone felt like they had just eaten a rotten slice of pizza, and no one liked that result.
Mostly Victor... If you ask anyone now what Victor's mood is.
They would say the worst possible.
It was quite visible that Count Alucard was not satisfied with this development.
The only people who seemed neutral about all this were Prince Theo and Niklaus himself.
A scroll and two golden daggers suddenly appear in front of Natashia.
The woman looked at the two items with a complicated look. This was not the result she wanted.
'FUCK!' She was frustrated.
Suddenly, she feels a hand touching her shoulder:Don't worry, you did well. You were splendid." He spoke in an honest tone.
"..." She looked back and saw Victor's neutral face that contained a small smile.
'Husband...' She didn't know how to feel about it. She felt complicated, this wasn't what she wanted.
"I could fully see the woman named Annasthashia Fulger." Victor caresses Natashia's cheek a little.
"Do not worry." Victor flashed a small smile.
"..." She opened her eyes wide.
While Natashia was shocked, Victor separated from the woman and walked to a certain location.
"My king, should I undo the magic? There's still time left." A subordinate of Vlad's appeared and asked.
"Just rebuild the arena floor." Vlad spoke as he looked at the arena.
"Yes, My King.." Vlad's subordinate gave the order to another subordinate, and then he looked back at Vlad.
"...?" Seeing Vlad's gaze, Vlad's subordinate and sons looked at the arena again.
What is he doing?
"..." Niklaus was silent as he looked at the man walking on 'air'.
The world around them started to be fixed, and soon the entire arena was back to normal. Victor kept walking, as he completely ignored the world around him while never taking his gaze off Niklaus.
Arriving in front of Niklaus, Victor extended his hand with a simple handshake gesture as he displayed a gentle smile that lightened the whole environment around him, looking like a long-lost friend.
"...?" Niklaus didn't understand, but thinking he wanted to greet him, Niklaus reached out and took Victor's hand.
At first glance, the grip was normal, but in Niklaus' vision, the arm he held had completely darkened, and veins of blood-red energy could be seen.
Crack!
Sounds of broken bones could be heard.
Victor's face turned cold as ice itself:
"I know it was you."
"...?" Niklaus did not understand:
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb."
Crack, Crack.
He squeezed Niklaus' hand even tighter :
"..." Niklaus narrowed his eyes when he saw that he couldn't pull away from that grip.
"I know it was you who sent assassins to my house."
"..." Niklaus looked at Victor, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"That day, I ate a strange black-colored owl..."
"..."
"And that owl tasted just like your sword."
"...You're getting confused."
"I see..." Victor creates a blood dagger and tries to pierce Niklaus' stomach.
But the man just creates a shield of black water while Victor grabs Niklaus' power with his hand and puts it in his mouth.
"..." From the audience's perspective, Niklaus and Victor just appeared to be talking.
"Yes, it tastes the same..." Victor's eyes gleamed blood red.
"... That doesn't prove anything. You're accusing me of something without evidence."
"Evidence? Pfft…" Victor's smile grew, "We're not human, Niklaus. We don't need proof."
"..." He was silent and couldn't deny Victor's accusation, because he knew it was true.
If a vampire wants something, he goes there and takes it. They are that kind of being.
Victor brings his face close to Niklaus' ear.
"Do you know what I hate the most?"
"..."
"I hate cowards like you, and most of all... I hate it when someone messes with my family."
Victor turned away from Niklaus and looked deeply into the man's eyes:
"Get ready because... I'll come to you."
"..." Niklaus opened his eyes wide, and he suddenly found himself in a completely black world.
"Everything you love most, everything you've conquered, will be taken from you. You will pay for the crime of messing with something you shouldn't."
A demonic voice echoed through the place, and soon Niklaus looked up, and, when he looked up…
He saw a gigantic being completely made of darkness, a being whose only visible features were the eyes and a gigantic mouth that looked like it could devour him at any moment.
"No matter where you are, no matter where you hide, I will find you."
"W-Wha-..." He dropped to the floor. Then, sitting up, he looked above himself with pure shock on his face.
The voice seemed to get louder every moment:
"From this day forward, you will have to live with a shadow chasing you for eternity."
"A shadow named Alucard!"
Niklaus' entire being was paralyzed by that voice, and he couldn't move while his heart was pounding like crazy.
"Get ready, my little pig! Run, Run! Hide! Do everything possible to avoid me! Because... I'm coming after you!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
Everything seemed to tremble at the laughter of that being.
And Niklaus was being swallowed by that being's mouth.
Waking up to reality.
Niklaus quickly lets go of Victor's hand and walks away. His face was completely dark, and he was sweating like a pig.
"It was a not pleasure to meet you, Niklaus Horseman." Victor spoke in a neutral voice as he turned and walked back to Natashia's side.
"… J-just what are you?" He can't help but wonder.
"Just a simple husband who wants revenge... Nothing less, nothing more." He spoke as he walked away.
Looking at Victor's back, he can't help but think:
'This monster is worse than I imagined... Who would have thought that he was hiding all that power...' He thought, while his whole body was trembling, he looked at his hand and thought; 'When was the last time? That I felt this...? This fear?'
'Oh… It was when that man took what was most important from me…' Niklaus' face darkened:
'Fine, I'll do it your way, Alucard. I will not run or hide.' He clenches his fist and turns around.'
Victor goes back to Natashia's side and extends his hand, "Shall we?"
"..." Seeing Victor's hand, a big smile appeared on her face:
"Yes!" She seemed to have completely forgotten about her earlier frustration.
Rumble, Rumble.
The two are covered by lightning and disappear from the arena.
And that's how this game ended... in a disappointing way...
But at the same time... Interestingly.
For the non-vampire beings who were watching, they were finally able to see the new Count's current state and that he seemed quite close to the returning Countess...
.
.
.
.....