Alucard gripped the severed right arm of Oseinofica in his hand, then suddenly crushed it into a pulp and tossed it to the ground. "Can the power of the Mantra even regenerate severed limbs?"
Oseinofica knelt on one knee, struggling to look up at Alucard. It took a long while before he could use his sword as a crutch to force himself back onto his feet.
At that moment, the final sliver of light illuminating Mariejois vanished as the sun dipped completely below the horizon.
The power radiating from Alucard surged abruptly. He turned to the remaining eight and said, "It's nighttime, isn't it? Let the party begin, gentlemen."
With those words, Alucard's body dissolved into a swarm of countless bats. Seeing this, the blond Gorosei activated his Density Space, but this time the target wasn't Alucard, it was the eight of them.
A shield of Density Space.
Indeed, if they couldn't lock onto Alucard to attack, they knew he had to get close to harm them. Creating a defensive shield was the logical counter.
The bats coalesced directly above the eight men. When Alucard reappeared, he had shifted into his Impaler form. Clutching his weapon, Impaling Castle, he thrust it violently toward the blonde Gorosei, the controller of the space.
"A mere spear is nothing to fear."
The blond Gorosei didn't give Alucard's move a second thought. As soon as the Impaling Castle entered the spatial range, the Gorosei instantly reduced the spear's density to its minimum. This stripped the weapon of its weight, power, and speed, effectively neutralizing its offensive capability to the absolute limit.
"King of Execution."
Three words fell coldly from Alucard's lips. A red mist churned across the ground, and countless stakes erupted from within, skewering the bodies of the eight men.
"Damn it! This density!"
The blonde Gorosei scrambled to adjust his defenses, but the sheer, exaggerated density of the attack left even him feeling overwhelmed.
The other seven were forced into their own defensive maneuvers. Oseinofica, now forced to hold his sword in his left hand, looked particularly pathetic as stakes pierced through his knees, abdomen, and left shoulder. The stakes of the King of Execution impaled him completely, showing no sign of retracting.
"I won't let you run wild any longer!"
The Gorosei in the white dōgi, clutching a katana, leapt into the air, settling into an Iaijutsu stance.
"Demon Spirit: One Sword Style—Asura!"
A single slash descended, looking as if a roaring demon-god was lunging at Alucard.
"Hehe."
With a dismissive chuckle, Alucard vanished. The demonic strike slammed into the ground, triggering a shockwave that shook the heavens. But like the previous attacks, it was useless, it didn't harm a single hair on Alucard's head.
Reappearing before Oseinofica, Alucard drove the Impaling Castle through the man's heart. Before Oseinofica could even draw his final breath, Alucard reached out and drew the knightly longsword from the dying man's waist, then sliced off Oseinofica's left hand, which still gripped the Oodenta Mitsuyo.
Showing no reverence for the legendary Supreme Grade blade, Alucard threw the sword like a common dart at the dōgi-clad Gorosei still in mid-air.
The entire sequence lasted only seconds. The Gorosei in the air was momentarily caught off guard; he tried to twist his body and parry with his own blade, but he was a step too late.
THOOM!
Suddenly, a golden vortex portal swirled open between him and the Oodenta Mitsuyo, swallowing the blade before dissipating. The crisis was narrowly averted.
The dōgi-clad Gorosei landed back on the ground and turned to the crescent-mustached Gorosei beside him. "Thanks."
"The situation is becoming increasingly dire."
The crescent-mustached Gorosei gestured forward. Under the gaze of the seven survivors, Alucard sank his fangs into Oseinofica's throat. A second later, the massive, ape-like body dissolved into a pool of blood.
Alucard turned slowly, Oseinofica's blood staining the corners of his mouth. He grinned savagely. "The night is still young. Let's take our time."
With that, Alucard exited his Impaler form, returning to his standard appearance. He spread his arms and began the chant of liberation:
"The Bird of Hermes is my name, I devoured my own wings."
Unlike the past, where the River of Death release brought forth a sea of souls, Alucard had purged the ten million lives within him to obtain the power of Schrödinger's Cat. The souls now released were only those he had killed in the tunnels, the Holy Cross Knights, and Oseinofica himself.
Oseinofica, having lost his Supreme Grade sword, took a blade from the hand of a River of Death soldier and pointed it toward his former allies, the five Gorosei and the two remaining Celestial Dragon patriarchs.
"As expected, it's that troublesome ability," hissed the disfigured crescent-mustached Gorosei.
"But this also means he has lost his immortality," the blond Gorosei said deeply. "Three of us will focus everything on taking his head. The other four will stop Oseinofica and the Holy Cross Knights from interfering."
"Lost my... immortality, have I?"
Standing within the castle of the River of Death, Alucard found the blond Gorosei's words hilarious. "In that case... let's put it to the test."
…
Meanwhile, in front of the tunnel at the Mariejois coastline, the members of the Immortal Pirates waited restlessly. Suddenly, a series of sharp whistling sounds broke the air, causing many to look up.
"Something seems to be falling," Beckman muttered, squinting upward. However, between the darkness of the night and the thick, permanent fog surrounding the Red Line, even he found it hard to see clearly.
CRASH!!
Seconds later, an object slammed heavily onto the deck of the Red Force. The massive impact caused the entire battleship to lurch.
"What is that?"
Urdaha, Fallon, and the other pirates from the nearby ships craned their necks, desperate to see. Was it related to the war currently raging atop Mariejois?
Ivalis stepped forward slowly and gripped the end of the fallen object. He held it high for all to see. It was a sword!
"The Supreme Grade blade... Oodenta Mitsuyo!"
There were swordsmen among the pirates who recognized it, but the one who shouted the name was Kuzan, who had seen it before in Alabasta.
"Why would the sword of a Celestial Dragon patriarch be here?" Kuzan muttered, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
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