Hans Vs Count Vlad

Whirl—, whirl—

The mana in the surrounding air began to overflow around Hans. The heavily concentrated mana aggressively pounded his body as if it wanted to blend into his core.

On the other hand, Count Vlad also burst out his magic after an abrupt change of mood.

"Well, that is good. At least we have a common personality." Count Vlad chuckled at Hans.

For him, an experienced vampire who rose from the rubbles up to the Count title, Hans was one of a kind. Usually, humans don't like talking to them, and that's what makes them unlikable.

This human, however…

"I'll make an exception, why don't you serve me instead? As you know, this is not my true strength. My main body could flick you into death. So why not join me?" Vlad offered.

"Sorry, I don't trust people easily." Hans rejected the vampire's offer and stepped forward.

Crunch—!

He bent his knee and was ready to lunge his body. The mana whirled around in a complex pattern. Hans' eyes shimmered under the raging fires. He stared at Count Vlad.

"Why would I even trust you?" Hans muttered.

Swish—!

Instantly, Hans closed the gap between him and Vlad.

In his unknown number of rebirth, he met a monk who taught him the ways of life.

"Confidence is needed to face your fears. However, if you are doubting your strength, then you have never trusted yourself from the start."

Every word of the monk struck Hans' subconscious. The heavy pressure and responsibility he shoulders at that moment seemed to have loosened and became light.

"I'll take you down here and I'll be coming to your main body sooner." Hans firmly spoke.

Stab—

Hans' sword slithered through the fan and pierced Vlad's shoulders.

"Well, I really like your confidence." Vlad said.

Caw—, caw—!

Vlad's body turned into numerous bats, meandered in the air before forming back into his previous form at a distance.

'As expected, I really need to use my blood.' Hans thought.

Then, he twisted his blade and slashed his own arms, just enough for the blood to gush out. Hans poured the blood to his blades before the wound closed.

"Hehehe~, you really are a strange guy." Vlad's laughter came from behind.

Although vampires are portrayed as just blood-sucking creatures, in reality, they are well versed in not only magic but also illusions as well.

"I'm rather concerned about your existence. Who are you?" Vlad asked.

"An ordinary human." Hans answered as he also dyed his other blade with his own blood.

The vampire he's facing is weak in strength but dangerous in methods. He already sees through Vlad's illusion but decided not to expose it first to make him think like he couldn't see it.

'I'll play with you.'

The Vlad standing in front of him is also an illusion. The reason he liked to converse with him is maybe he's trying to find an opening and strike when his guard's down.

Grip—

Hans gripped his blades and augmented them with his mana. His senses fully worked at maximum capacity.

'The real body is nearing beside me.'

10 meters…

9 meters…

8 meters…

-

1 meter…

Then…

Hans stared at the vampire rambling in front of him and saw his wide grin. As a response, Hans grinned as well.

Wooosh—!

Hans twisted his body to dodge the real Vlad's fan and leaped above his head.

[Constantine Sword Style: First Cut]

His understanding of swords was further amplified because of his rebirths.

Thus, his sword shot through like lightning. Hans swung his blades at the vampire's nape.

Zap—

Caught off guard, Vlad had no choice but to block it.

Clang —!

Two huge sparks crackled from the friction of their weapons. Even then, it's clear as the sky which one is winning.

Hans' eyes sharpened. His figure suddenly vanished, leaving behind an afterimage.

"!!!"

Swish—!

The next moment, he appeared behind Vlad who had just realized that the Hans in his eyes was an afterimage. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hans positioned his swords together.

His legs spread as he gathered momentum.

[Constantine Sword Style: First Cut]

The wind violently gathered into blades until a small hurricane formed around it.

Hans lunged it towards the vampire's heart.

[Augmented Piercing Gale]

Slam—

The wind slammed aggressively at the vampire's heart. There were no flashy skills, just pure stabs. The air vibrated in his blade and sent countless small cuts inside the vampire's internal body.

But…

'As expected, I'm already too late.'

Looking at the vampire who hadn't even screamed in pain, Hans' face grimaced. Then, his eyes shifted to the red moon.

"Hehehe~, you can't kill me! I'm invincible." Vlad chuckled.

"Oh, Blood Realm?" Hans shook his head and continued, "You really trust this skill of yours?"

As it hits the spot, Vlad's eyes bugged out.

"H-how did you know!?"

First, he sees through the illusion. Vlad has become aware of that now. However, does this guy also know his Blood Realm?

That's absurd!!

Any vampires below the Count title didn't even know its existence, let alone this troublesome human.

Even then, Vlad's dimmed expression immediately changed into realization.

"Hehehe~ but what can you do? Unless all the people who're seeing the moon right now die, I won't die! Hahaha!!"

Vlad pulled himself out of the blade, leaped into the air, and unleashed several attacks downwards.

"It's over Hans!"

[Blood Manipulation: Crystalized Blood Skirmish.]

Shu—, shu—, shu—, shu—!

Crash—, crash—!

Large crystallized blood projectiles slammed at Hans. The ground around him was also smothered into minced meat.

Hans skillfully evaded the projectiles using [Emperor's Strides]. In his mind, he was already forming possible alternatives he could use and he arrived at one conclusion.

'I'll use the domain now.'

He just hopes that Gab saw what he carved along the walls of the alley.

......….

"All of you run from here!!"

Gab screamed around causing panic to the civilians. Indeed, looking at the shockwaves donning at them from time to time, it's hopeless to stay here.

Rather than dying, they might as well save their lives. Gab's words seemingly formed a chain reaction around the people and they started to run outside the empire.

The Knights tried to stop them as it might even become more dangerous but they couldn't stop the stampede of these people.

Even these knights also wanted to flee. According to a knight, who seemingly escaped from the invader, the enemies were too strong for them to handle.

In the end…

Eliot, the knight in charge, determined.

"Francis!!!"

"Yes, sir!!"

"Take the citizens out of the empire together with the soldiers right now! From now on, you'll be the one in charge. I'll leave everything to your command." Eliot commanded.

"W-what, sir? What do you mean?" Francis asked with a frown.

"You heard me!! Escape and don't come back!!! Move!! Move!! Move!!"

With the loud orders of Eliot, even the nearby knights could hear his commands. Francis' body trembled and he nodded.

Gab, who was evacuating everyone out of the empire, also glanced at Eliot. This veteran knight truly lived up to his name. His judgment immediately caused ripples around the knights.

"Everyone, run outside the empire. All troops, escort the civilians!!" Francis shouted.

He had been a Senior Knight for more than 10 years. Although he's younger than Sir Eliot, his experience being a temporary leader of a brigade, made it easier for him to command.

Gab watched as the civilians and knights fled outside the empire. Then, his eyes shifted to the only knight remaining.

"Why did you not leave?" Gab asked.

"I want to see the end of my home." Eliot answered.

"You might die and maybe I'm an enemy as well." Gab said.

"No, the enemy is the vampires. We know it but decided not to interfere." Eliot muttered slowly.

From the start, the vampires oppressed them so that they could command the troops anytime. After all, they are already preparing for a global war with the Harisan Empire.

But…

None of the knights want war.

Right now, he only thought that saving the soldiers would at least preserve the honor of the Baru Empire. He has no regrets.

"Thank you for giving us the final straw. If not for you, I would still have hesitated in evacuating the citizens." Eliot bowed his head.

"Whatever, I'm also just doing what I was told to."

Earlier as he was dashing away from alleys, he saw large words carved with a sword. It was large that it would be impossible not to notice. As he read through it, the message became clearer.

It says, [EVACUATE EVERYONE], with Hans's name at the very low end.

Understanding it was an order, Gab immediately went to work. Even though his face crunched from the pain of his wounds from time to time, he did what he was asked to.

'Hans must be preparing something.'

Hopefully, it could defeat that vampire.

.........

Woosh—!

Baaaam—!

Red sharp pointed projectiles rained down above Hans's head.

He tumbled.

He leaped.

He rolled.

Despite the barrage of attacks, none of them hit him. Vlad's face frowned.

'This guy…'

The fact that Hans could evade all of it as if he was playing dodge ball further proves that he's a formidable opponent.

'But as long as I tire him… I win.'

Vampires have endless stamina as long as they drink blood. They were superior in mana capacity too so Vlad thought that tiring the opponent would seal Hans' defeat.

'In the end, you're just a human.'

A grin formed on his lips. Vlad stopped his attacks and chanted a spell in a mere second. The mana resonated with his voice.

"Come forth, Blood Soldiers."

Shruuum—!

The ground exploded.

Boooom—

Hans, who has his senses focused at the evacuating citizens, frowned.

'They are slow as hell.'

If this goes on, he'd have no choice but to lay the domain with them inside. It could have injured them, or even killed them. At that point, escaping wouldn't even be a choice anymore.

'A minute.'

That's the maximum time he could stall. The Blood Realm makes the opponent invincible as long as people gaze at it. However, Hans knows that it has a distance limit.

The domain might be able to suppress it.

At that moment.

Blob—, blob—, blob—!

Red viscous liquid emerged from the ground, transforming into something hideous and disgusting monster. Their skin seemingly peeling off their body and their face looks like it melted.

As a man who has seen countless monsters, Hans could easily determine what it resembles.

"Drudge."

They were monsters associated with the vampires.

"You even know this creature, Hans?" Vlad's eyes twinkled in interest.

The creatures around Hans multiplied by many times until they reached thousands. What's even more interesting is their individual strengths.

Any of these guys could probably destroy a country without an SS-Class Awakened.

"Shirrrreeeekk!!!"

"Kuiaaaahhh!!!"

"Krukrulrukru!!!"

Their howls weren't pleasing to the ear either.

But then…

"So you want to fight me with numbers to tire me out, right?" Hans asked.

"Hehehe~"

"Very well then… I won't hold back anymore."

At that moment.

Whirl—, whirl—!

The dark skies seemed to have parted ways and the moon lost its brilliance. Chaotic lightning rumbled in the nimbus clouds while purple thunderstorms slowly formed above their heads.

Then…

[Ruination Domain: Activate.]

Shruuum—

A dreadful atmosphere envelops the world. The seemingly colorful land has lost its lights and its colors faded. The plants died and the livestock stopped breathing.

Hans willed these thunders and it quickly rained upon the Drudges. Although it didn't kill them, it's safe to say they were not a problem anymore.

Vlad's eyebrows scrunched together.

Shrumm—

"You… are you an Envoy?" Vlad asked in shock.

"It doesn't matter, right?" Hans said.

Vlad controlled his ragged breathing and muttered, "Right, right. It doesn't matter."

Kuuuu—

Clash—, clash—!

Hans' purple-red mana clashed with Vlad's pitch red. The limp creatures around them also hurriedly backed away due to the pressure the two are emitting.

"Hans, I'm pissed."

"Me too." Hans smiled.

At that moment.

Swish—

Two people vanished from their position.

Sizzle—

The next moment, two bright sparks collided, clashed, and bounced in all directions. Gab, who was holding a magic telescope, rubbed his eyes.

If estimated right, he was at least 200 miles away from the fight. But the shockwaves were still strong enough to reach here.

"Did I become a fake Awakened or something?" he mumbled.

He even had a thought of helping Hans!

However, with this amount of power, he wasn't even sure if his help would help Hans anyway. What's more, their speed is off the charts.

Rumble—!

At that moment, two lightning shadows crossed blades. However, the moment Gab blinked, they were gone.

"Huh? Where did they go?"

Rumble—!

Clang—!

Gab slowly shifted his gaze away from the telescope and stared at the distance. The trees rustled and trembled. In just a moment, the green scenery seemingly turned grey.

'Fuck!'

They are here. He could feel the stinging heat crawling down his skin.

Whack—!

The ground exploded as two lights seemingly raced upon the land.

Swish—, Swish—!

Wooosh—!

Without hesitation, Gab took out his teleporter and sent himself thousands of miles away from the battle. In his head, no matter what the outcome is, this battle will surely resound throughout the world.

........

Flare—

Hans swung his sword and struck the vampire's shoulders. The flame on his blade burned the monster's clothes.

Hans followed by leaping above his head and stretching his hand out.

Blaze—!

The temperature rises.

[Inferno Eruption.]

A small magic circle spread around Hans palms. Fire particles around the air joyfully compressed into a little flame ball.

As Hans pushed the flame ball to the skies, the surroundings were set ablaze. From afar, it appears like a small sun. However, unlike the sunshine, this nightmarish orb was seemingly enough to melt anything.

BOOOM—

The flame ball exploded after reaching a certain height. An enormous mushroom cloud spread around the clouds before bits of rocks resembling meteorites descended.

Blaze—!

Vlad stretched his hand calmly. Although the flames seemed strong, he'll swallow this attack with ease.

[Blood Pool: Swallo—]

However, something out of his calculations happened.

Swish—

Hans appeared behind his back with another spell ready to be launched.

'Multicast?!' Vlad inwardly screamed. However, it was too late.

Hans calmly muttered.

"Frozen Cataclysm."

…it wasn't just one.

[You have triggered the 'Double Barrage']

[Double Barrage (B)

Type: Passive Skill

— There's a 5% chance that you can cast a skill twice in succession.

—Double cast doesn't require mana.]