Black fur sprouted across his arms, long claws grew from his fingers, and his ears sharpened to points like a bat's.
"I am an immortal vampire!"
As the words left his mouth, his form dissolved into a cloud of blood-red mist and vanished instantly.
"What?!" Demon Granny gasped, a terrible premonition rising in her heart.
The next moment, her expression twisted in horror — a powerful hand clamped tight around her throat and lifted her clean off the ground.
"Demon Granny..." Redfield grinned maliciously. "Do you see now? This is the power of youth! Hahaha! Offer up the rest of your lifespan to me!"
A strange red glow flickered in his palm. Under its light, Demon Granny's skin — already aged and withered — shriveled and sagged even faster than the eye could follow.
Her wrinkles deepened, her eyes grew dim and lifeless. In what seemed like an instant, she aged from her seventies to what looked like over ninety.
Her teeth crumbled and fell out.
"Do you see? No one in this world can resist the force of aging!! I alone possess eternal life!" Redfield roared.
But just then, high above in the sky, a golden magic circle appeared.
From within it, a long golden spear slowly materialized — then WHOOSH — a flash of golden light shot downward, piercing straight through Redfield's chest in the blink of an eye.
It entered through his back and burst out from his chest. The gilded shaft ran red with fresh blood, radiating a cold, killing intent.
"You claim you are the only one with eternal life?"
Vladimir stood at the bow of his airship, his expression proud and haughty. "Then what am I? You, a mere little vampire, dare speak such arrogant nonsense before me? Do you... wish to die?"
"A tiny vampire dares boast so shamelessly in my presence?"
Vladimir snorted, his demeanor radiating absolute dominance and pride.
"Lord Count!" Lance cried out in alarm.
Redfield raised a hand to stop his subordinate from rushing forward. He tossed Demon Granny aside, then gripped the golden spear lodged in his chest.
"Cough... cough... Even though life itself may be eternal, pain still remains. King of Heroes, I never expected you to attack from behind."
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He braced himself, then with a sharp tug, pulled the spear straight out of his body.
Splat!
Blood gushed wildly from the gaping wound.
"Lord Count!"
Lance's face darkened. He swung his arm and summoned power from the earth — instantly, three streams of blood surged up from the ground like living serpents and flew straight toward the Red Count.
Redfield opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, swallowing all three streams in one breath.
In the next second, the wound in his chest knitted itself together and vanished completely in the blink of an eye.
"Hmm?" Whitebeard narrowed his eyes, analyzing silently. A Mythical Zoan user... he can drain blood from others to speed up their aging, and absorb blood to heal his own injuries instantly.
He watched closely, observing every detail.
But Vladimir spoke up: "Little bat, do you think simply drinking blood lets you recover completely? Why don't you take a good look at your internal organs?"
Though phrased as a taunt, the meaning was clear.
Redfield focused inward to sense his own condition, and his expression shifted instantly. "Ugh... cough! cough!"
He vomited a mouthful of blood. His already pale face turned deathly white. "What did you do to me?!"
"The spear I just used is called Destiny. Its true power is to ensure a fatal strike. After it pierced you, it damaged a large portion of your vitals. This is the curse of Destiny damage — you could drain every drop of blood in the ocean and still never recover from it."
Vladimir crossed his arms and looked at him with amusement. "Kneel and kowtow to me, and I might just forgive you for your arrogant words."
In truth, he had exaggerated slightly — recovery was possible, just not anytime soon.
"Hmph! You truly are an arrogant, insufferable man!"
Redfield took a deep breath and straightened slowly. "Is everyone in Phantom as conceited as you?"
"First, let me correct your mistakes."
Vladimir replied calmly and unhurriedly. "One: I know far more about Phantom than you ever will, but I am not one of their members. Two: I am the King of Heroes, the greatest ruler of all time. If I did not stand above all others, how could I ever claim to be a King?"
"A King, you say? Hahaha... an interesting character."
Redfield laughed loudly, but the sound cut off abruptly, turning cold and sinister. "But I will not pretend that spear attack never happened!"
With that, he dissolved once again into a cloud of blood mist and vanished.
The four remaining old legends frowned deeply. They immediately activated their Observation Haki to the limit — yet could not sense his presence anywhere.
"What kind of movement technique is this? It's not about speed... he literally ceased to exist! His aura is gone completely!"
"Check on Demon Granny first!"
"Make sure she's still alive!"
Taking advantage of the confusion, the four elders moved quickly to retrieve and rescue Demon Granny.
Meanwhile, aboard the Golden Vimana Ark, behind where Vladimir stood, droplets of blood began to gather and swirl into a thick mass.
From within the crimson cloud, a massive black hand suddenly shot out.
"TASTE THE POWER OF DECAY!"
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