Nameless King



The Crimson darkness that had received Ereg's energy by absorbing his blood was slowly transforming into something larger, perhaps even intelligent.

Dozens of clots of darkness turned into silhouettes that looked suspiciously like Ereg himself, they were the same height and size, and the silhouettes even had the distinctive fur that most Beastfolks possessed.

However, the clones had no faces, and details of their bodies such as muscles were not visible due to the thick shroud of darkness completely obscuring them. The Clones' gazes were directed towards Gael - their only target that had been on top in their battle for far too long.

"Looks like you've finally decided to get on my level, doesn't it?" Gael uttered with a thoughtful expression. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure, as Ereg's previously powerful aura was now calm. He didn't know if it was because of the clones or some other reason.

Ereg nodded, "Sure. A few more wounds and I wouldn't even be able to stand up. I already told you that my goal was just to feel weak since I won't have that opportunity again!"

Whooooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, at Ereg's will, two clones rushed towards Gael. They also had long claws, which they held slightly above the ground to make a deadly bottom-up attack.

'Fine... My medium-sized scars against your full attribute and clones... Let's see which one of us turns out to be stronger.' Gael internally muttered fully understanding what Ereg's plan was.

Now their next round had officially begun.

First, it was a simple fistfight, then Gael showed tiny and small scars while Ereg summoned ghosts, and then after Alucard intervened it was their weapons' turn. Now, they went even further, but that was not the limit of their power.

"Clones... That reminds me of something." Liang muttered as he looked at Alucard. 

Alucard smirked, "Why are you looking at me like that? I did something completely different. My clones were something new to me, an unknown ability. Furthermore, each of my clones had a part of me in them while Ereg simply created them from his darkness."

"But... His darkness absorbed his blood, didn't it?" Krana asked with an awkward expression.

"Sure." Alucard nodded, "However, his attribute has been like this for a long time, in other words, this blood situation was just a catalyst for his attribute to unleash its power, but that's not what created his attribute. 

Surely to make his darkness something like this, he had practiced for decades, just like letting his energy absorb his blood. He shouldn't have had a chance to succeed, but considering he's in the Transcendence Stage, some rules don't work for him. Also, it depends on his true power hidden in his Form."

Krana wanted to ask something, but Alucard said too many complicated things for her. It would take her a few minutes just to think and understand everything.

"Hmm... If it wasn't for my fight with Liang, I would have never thought that the attribute could be changed to some extent." Nitra muttered in a pensive manner, "After all, something like that happened to me."

Nila took a step forward, pressing her palm to her chest, "Do you think the King can win this round?"

Alucard grinned, "It is right that you speak of a round since no one knows what will happen at the end of their fight. Given your worries, I'll answer your question - Yes, Ereg will definitely win this round."

Nila breathed a sigh of relief. Back then, that was all that mattered to her, nothing more.

"Alucard..." Krana said uncertainly, "You lied just now, right?"

Nila's face instantly changed when she heard that, then she looked hopefully at Nitra and Liang.

However, it was as if they didn't see her, watching the battle unfold. Obviously, they did it on purpose, because they too could answer her question the way Alucard did.

Only Nila and Krana were not experienced enough to predict the outcome of this round, at least based on the information they had so far.

Alucard smirked, glancing at Krana, "Oh, it's been less than an hour since you got a name and learned to talk, but you're already making assumptions like that. Not bad, not bad at all."

Depending on the person, it was possible to figure out if someone was an enemy or not, the options were many: tone, voice, facial expressions, or random body movements as well as looks. 

Of course, those who often lied in their lives knew all this, so there were plenty of liars in the world who were a real challenge to uncover, even for someone quite experienced.

Obviously, it was incredibly difficult to know whether Alucard was lying or not, given that he'd been doing it for hundreds of years at every opportunity because he thought it was funny. However, it wasn't uncommon for him to tell the truth like everyone else, so Nila did not doubt that he was being honest with her.

Krana, on the other hand, was a special case because of her peculiar situation. She was unfamiliar with lying, so she might think that a person was lying when it was obvious to everyone that he was telling the truth and vice versa.

"I... Just assumed..." Krana muttered as she looked down, thinking that she had done something wrong.

"Hah, don't worry, it's a perfectly normal question, and maybe you're even right. However, I'll only reveal it to you when the round is over, otherwise, all intrigue will be lost." Alucard smirked, casting a sly glance at Nila, who was now even more nervous.

"Hahaha, Alucard even as a spectator continues to play games." Wain chuckled, enjoying the show revealed before him.

Sven lifted his chin, rubbing thoughtfully, "Damn, I was sure Alucard was lying, but because of that monster girl, I now doubt it. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes from a newbie, can confuse even a seasoned master, can't it?"

Marlis raised an eyebrow, "What the hell are you talking about? This is the first I've heard of it."

Osvald turned around, "Come on, it's obvious isn't it?"

Marlis wanted to say something as did Sven, but their time to talk was limited since the fight between Ereg and Gael wasn't going to stop. 

Whoooooooooooooosh.

The two dark clones swung their claws from bottom to top, trying to leave deep and deadly cuts on Gael's chest.

However, to Gael, their movements were as slow as they were predictable.

"Pffft. If you want to beat me, you'll have to come up with something more dangerous." Gael snorted before stepping forward, completely unafraid of the clones' attack.

The clones attempted to dodge the sharp sword, bearing right at them as they jumped aside.

However, when their feet touched the ground, their bodies split in two while particles of ash swirled around them in a light whirlwind. Since Gael had already cut them before the clones jumped aside, it was as easy for him as splitting an apple into two even pieces.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Ereg slowly clapped his hands with an excited expression.

"Not bad, but that was only two clones, can you do the same if all ten attacked you?" Ereg smirked before pointing at Gael, thus giving orders to his clones.

Without hesitation, eight clones attacked, however, very soon they were joined by two more - the ones Gael had just killed.

"Oh, so they can regenerate so easily... Interesting. Well, that won't help you. You know who my best friend is, so using regeneration against me is the worst tactic you could think of." Gael said coldly, slowly placing his palm on the hilt of his sword like a samurai.

The clones quickly surrounded him as ten pairs of sharp claws headed for Gael's weak points with the sole intention of piercing them and tearing them apart in the name of their master.

A sharp glint passed across Gael's calm eyes before he came to a stop.

In a heartbeat, with particles of ash, Gael swung his sword several times each time like a true master rivaled only by Liang. However, while Liang possessed abnormal physical power, Gael had a skill that could outshine that of any living being.

His ashes emphasized his advantages and mitigated his disadvantages, if any.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The ten clones that in a split second should have pierced Gael from all sides were torn into many pieces, like cloth into fibers, disappearing into the void at random wind currents.

Gael with a calm gaze stood up confidently, looking at his opponent, who seemed unsurprised by the outcome of this battle.

"What now? Recover your clones again? I can cut them as many times as I need to. Until you run out of energy." Gael narrowed his eyes.

Ereg shrugged, "Yeah, something like that, however... The power of my clones lies elsewhere, or rather the power of my attribute."

At the same moment, just as Gael had predicted, the ten clones recovered, but now 1/5 of their darkness was crimson instead of completely black.