Chapter 80. The Sacrifice 2/2
"Captain, the mist is starting to gather!"
"I see it. Slow down, all hands to high alert! We follow the lead ship's trail."
No one in the impossibly long column of Fire Nation ships even thought about worrying because of the sudden fog; these were experienced sailors, masters of the seas of this world with no worthy rivals. To them, a fog was just another routine situation, requiring a touch more attention.
Wolves sleep in the deep forest,
The bat sleeps hanging in the air...
Suddenly, with the coming of the mist, the sailors began to hear a pleasant female voice, as if singing a lullaby. For most, it seemed simply strange, but for those who had traveled the whole way beside Prince Zuko...
But you're not ready to close your eyes.
"No, no, no, it's her! It's her!" one of the soldiers suddenly shrieked in horror, drawing everyone's attention.
Afraid the undead may decide to peek inside.
"You should have taken better care of your men, Prince Zuko," Zhao said openly, addressing the exiled prince, who now stood next to his uncle, struggling to stifle his anger.
AAAAAAH! – Suddenly, in the distance, screams full of pain and despair rang out, quickly subsiding.
No wonder my baby can't sleep…
"She's here," Iroh sighed, then gave the blanched admiral a deep, serious look. "We should prepare for confrontation."
What matters is you're not alone,
The soul-killer whose heart is ice
Will come again for thirst's delight.
The song went on, and with each passing moment, the screams multiplied, flickers of fire occasionally showing in the mist.
"Hehehe, did you really think that would work?" Suddenly, the song was interrupted by laughter, oddly warped.
It'll leave behind only sorrow and mourning,
Only mourning...
The screams kept coming closer, and those ready to fight grew ever paler, their resolve withering just as quickly—their knees trembling, the fire that once blazed on their fists as a symbol of confidence now flickering like a candle that could be snuffed out by a breath.
And then, when the screams were almost beside them—literally on the neighboring ship—those present caught sight, in a flash of fire, of an enormous silhouette, a monstrous figure towering over the ships like a colossus. One moment it was a woman's shape, the next—something unfathomable, made up of countless bands, all connected to the ship. And when the screams fell silent, nothing could be seen again.
Birds went silent till the morn,
The cattle slept, the daylight gone,
But you're not ready to close your eyes
Afraid the undead may decide to rise...
The song continued, and while everyone waited for their turn, some, succumbing to terror, slipped off the ship in lifeboats; and soon the screams echoed from another side altogether, as if they were being saved as the main course.
Please, my baby, do not cry,
Close your eyes as you lie.
The one that breathes the dark,
Will come for your soul...
I hummed an altered version of the Lullaby of Mourning from The Witcher, relishing the fact that the firebenders, powerless to resist me, were being torn apart by their own blood, which then streamed into me. From simple beginnings—ripping foes apart with my bare hands—I quickly shifted to my current method: in just moments affecting the blood of everyone on board, then drawing it in with steady streams, focusing only on purging excess memories, causing my form to swell to the size of Tailed Beasts from the world of Naruto.
It will stab, will rend, will bring you death,
Devour you alive,
Devour all of you...
"Ah, Master would have loved this spectacle," I muttered, promising myself to share Helghast's bloodiest moments from this world with Alucard. That was why I sang—to make the scene even more enchanting for my Master.
Zzt–BOOM! Suddenly, as I approached the next ship, a bolt of lightning struck me—unlike other attacks, it made me freeze for a second and feel my semi-physical form go numb.
"Lightning is working. Together!" I saw a beautiful dark-haired girl preparing another lightning blast surrounded by cloaked old men. But this time, she was not alone—the elders acted too, as if hope was born anew.
"Azula," I recognized the Fire Nation princess and decided to play along a bit. I let them strike with lightning again—though it couldn't really harm me, they believed it could paralyze me, while I focused on compressing all my power and returning to my previous form.
"It's working! Glory to Princess Azula!" cried one of the soldiers as I grew smaller and smaller with each lightning strike. Hope flickered among them.
Now not only lightning but streams of fire flew at me until my form faded from sight altogether, and all fell silent.
"Did we do it?" an old man asked tentatively, peering into the depths.
"What did you think you finished?" a woman's voice sounded behind him, and a crushing aura swept over all on deck; those with weak wills dropped to their knees, barely able to breathe. The old man's head rolled onto the deck, a spray of blood from his decapitated body drenching those nearby.
"RAAA!" With a roaring slash, Azula hurled a blade of blue fire at me, only scorching some metal as I had already moved on, tearing another old man apart by hand—apparently a Fire Priest.
"Don't hurry, princess. You alone I will treat differently," I smiled at Azula before dodging another blue flame and tearing off the next elder's head.
Azula was furious. She launched furious attacks, desperate to hit me, while I was ripping everyone around her to pieces one by one. Then I finally saw the emotion I craved—fear and despair flickered onto her haughty face the moment I killed the last soldier before her very eyes. In that instant, tears started to gather in the despot princess's eyes. She could barely muster any flame now, her rage replaced by terror and despair.
I walked toward her, slowly.
"Stay back!" She raised her fist again, but instead of a pillar of blue flame, there was only a weak little tongue of fire, which instantly vanished. Then I leaned in close, grabbed her slender waist with my right hand, and pulled her in, almost intimately. I felt how wildly her heart pounded, how ragged her breathing had become. I looked into her terrified eyes, which turned red the next moment as she bared her delicate neck to me.
I bent down, ran my tongue over her perfect skin, then sank my fangs in and greedily drank her virgin blood. She was the only one tonight I would consume completely, taking everything.
"Ah…" Under hypnosis, she felt bliss instead of pain, clutching me tighter, wanting more, until at last her consciousness faded. I drank her blood, her soul, her memories to the last drop, then returned to my semi-physical form. With a single swoop, I drew the blood from the entire ship—all that remained was Azula's bloodless body, the Fire Nation's crown princess.
After that, I sped up, draining the next ship's crew all at once, and as their blood streamed toward me, I rushed to the next—and so on, until my form swelled again to colossal size, and only one ship remained, bearing Zhao, Zuko, Iroh, and their troops.
After some thought, before continuing further, I focused again on compressing all the strength into my human form. This time it was even harder than before: the life force and spirit of over a hundred thousand people—many of them benders—were vast and resisted shrinking down to a mere human size. But once it was done, I felt sure that back home I'd be able to give Incognito a worthy fight. More importantly, I felt my soul was fully restored at last, and I could finally return home. It was time to finish this. I shifted to Azula's body, picked her up, and teleported to the last ship holding Iroh, Zuko, and Zhao—the only ones still standing, the rest paralyzed in terror.
With a smile, I walked slowly toward the trio, carrying Azula in my arms. None dared act first, instinctively sensing the futility.
"You're lucky—I've decided only one on this ship will die." And in the next instant, Zhao's head simply burst, splattering Iroh and Zuko with his insides. I had never before shown that a simple snap wasn't even necessary—that I could kill anyone by controlling their blood. It was plain that I'd been playing with them the whole time.
Setting Azula at their feet, I said,
"Tell Ozai thanks—because of his offering, I can now leave this world and return home. You will see me no more."
And without waiting for a reply, I opened the portal back home.
I walked deliberately slowly, my aura at full power, so it seemed as if the space itself warped with darkness. And finally, standing on the roof of the London Tower, I witnessed a furious Alucard tearing apart the perpetually regenerating Incognito, each strike evaporating chunks of his opponent's body, whose features grew less and less human as the brawl continued. But at my arrival, the battle froze for a moment.
"Seras?" came Integra's trembling voice.
"I'm back."