Placing the first leash

Vlad, who said that to the knight on the fourth floor, fighting back, was watching everything from the shadows in a safe building location with his closed eyes. He watched three fights being played in his mind and could feel the strain controlling those [Blood Clones] at a surgical precision.

There was also the ongoing management of the [Blood World] and not break the grip he had on all of those knights, just like a nabbing tarantula spreading out its lethal webs for its prey.

Those knights tested Vlad's limits of the [Blood World] and [Blood Clone] that sent a ticking clock for his waning Blood Powers.

With his eyes closed, all the fights were playing in his mind. It felt like he was coordinating a dance from a distance with the assistance of Khorne, the red Wisp, and the black moth, always commenting about his mistakes.

[Master, check out the second floor fight, your puppet is in danger]

*** Lord, the third floor guy that turned into a tigerman is also looking to fight back against the clone.***

Hearing all of those comments made Vlad's face frown in annoyance, and he suddenly relaxed his focus on the 3rd knight and instead shifted his attention on the first knight and second knight fighting his blood creations.

Seeing how the coyote man was dashing around in all directions using a fast speed reminiscent of a dog in his first world only being amplified here by a lot.

The knight seemed to sense that Vlad's movements began getting slower, and his reaction was slower than the first time they clashed, and so his confidence started being boosted.

"What is wrong, you immortal monster? Have you lost energy and can no longer fight me?"

"[Canine Razor]"

As the knight said that, he dashed toward Vlad's puppet and unleashed a series of kicks so strong that they created a yellow energy trail aimed directly at his body.

Seeing this attack, Vlad smirked and began to dematerialize the puppet's body in the spots those kicks would target, which made him seem like a logia user, but it was just a puppet created by his blood.

However, it was different for the knight, who couldn't believe his eyes when Vlad evaded his strong attack. He still attacked with another series of kicks that released a yellowish energy trail.

He could see that Vlad's reaction was a bit delayed, and this time, he evaded those kicks at a hair's length.

'I can win this fight. Thanks to this blessed power, I can win.'

The knight pushed Vlad's puppet more and more, and as he believed in a victory, the adrenaline in his bloodstream kicked in, making him ignore even the death of the entire squad of knights under him.

He began unleashing more of his power against the puppet while Vlad was starting to conserve his energy and mental strength.

.

Vlad, who was fighting in his mind those three enemies, could only say to himself, a bit surprised by how those knights turned out to be.

"This is harder than I could imagine. Splitting your attention into three fights and puppeteering those blood creations proves that I try biting more than I could chew. The dog guy also turned out to be quite the fighter from what foolish thing he said at the start to a bonafide predator."

[Indeed, that dog person is under the effects of an adrenaline rush.]

"I know I can feel his heart beating so alert whenever I make a move on him. I should start settling down with those two. The dog and tiger since they seem easier than the guy who has that mysterious power that pushes me back."

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As he said that, the pressure around his seated body started to intensify, turning into a storm of crimson lights and abyssal lights swarming around him ferociously.

A crimson energy wave began spreading out in three directions from his body that flew toward the [Blood World] and entering the puppets. Nevertheless, in doing that, he spit some black blood from his mouth while his expression turned a bit pained.

"This should be my limit. I can't push more blood energy into the puppets and the world because it will lead to self-harming." commented Vlad in a cold voice while wiping the black blood from his lips

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.

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On the bloody stage of each floor, the first one who noted Vlad's puppets getting a boost in power was the knight of the 4th floor, who was blown by one of Vlad's kicks.

"You sure didn't lie when you mentioned that you'll be looking after me. Still, you are arrogant to think you can beat me with some puppet. Better show yourself before you start regretting not fighting me yourself."

"[Pressure Cannon]!"

The knight punched in Vlad's direction sending an invisible hot airwave that created a path in the [Blood Worlds] hellish floor.

Vlad gave those people of the fourth floor a sinister smile, and with the use of a blood sword, he unleashed the [Blood Slicer] that moved menacingly at the airwave. Soon the clash between his blood attack and the pressure airwave made contact and for a moment creating a blast that pushed the knights standing on the edges of their feet, looking at their leader fighting Vlad.

The blood started boiling and turning into a liquid shape as the clash kept going, yet the intensity of the pressure attack also started waning, and not long after that, those attacks canceled each other.

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The knight stood looking flustered at how his attack was blocked and the calm way Vlad was after his attack got canceled.

Vlad said nothing and started to charge at the knight without showing any emotion on his face while creating another blood sword and entering the [Wrath Guard], he slashed his sword at the unexpected knight.

"Damn, what is that sword stance?" asked the knight, using his devil powers to create a pressure barrier around himself.

Blocking the momentum of the sword strike and saying that, the knight later sensed that the pressure barrier around himself started losing power. Vlad's [Blood Clone] used more power on the slash, and slowly it broke the prison of pressure, moving as the blade boiled for the knight's skin.

The knight sensed that a wound was inevitable and decided to strike back, binding his two hands together and unleashing a strong pressure airwave right at Vlad's face.

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"Arghh! Damned bastard, how can your puppet hold so much force?" asked the knight after breaking off from Vlad's blood sword.

He swiftly looked at his shoulder and could see a deep sword cut on it along with the marks of being boiled around the wound. Later he gazed intensely at Vlad, who was blown away and also missed his head.

"Boss Yanosh, is that crimson monster dead?" asked one knight, with a worried expression while looking at Vlad's collapsed body.

The knight Yanosh didn't take his eyes off Vlad and said to his subordinate with a severe tone.

"I wish he was dead. This is just one of his abilities that he fights against us."

"No way. Boss, are you sure, but look, he is missing his head against your mighty pressure." added another knight, confident on his leader.

"That's right, boss. You won." added most of the knights.

"Shut up, you morons. Look around yourself. We are still under his prison. This means the fight isn't over yet."

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Vlad, seated outside of the [Blood Worlds], spit another mouthful of black blood while his calm face gave an evil smile.

On the inside of the crimson prison, Vlad's puppet started releasing some red lights, and slowly it began getting on its feet. Doing that, he touched the missing parts of his body, and with a shrug of his shoulders, the blood around his body began stirring itself.

In the face of the knights, Vlad's head was morphed, appearing with an evil smile that was reminiscent of the one from outside.

The knights seeing this creepy awakening, took some steps back, touching the walls of the crimson world. When they touched the wall, from nowhere, the head of a monster, similar to the Leviathan from the underground temple fresco that he discovered in the past, morphed, later eating all those knights who touched the wall.

Blood splashed around the rest of the knights who attacked the head of the monster in an attempt to rescue those who were eaten. However, it was too late when they couldn't hear the screams of those devoured by the Leviathan's head.

"Did you really have to do that against some normal people, Prince Vermilion?"

With an evil smile on the puppet's face, Vlad's true voice ringed inside the world, saying coldly to Yanosh.

"They are not my people, so when such a perfect chance arrives on my hands, how can I say no? Still, don't worry, I will not hunt them down. So let's resume our fight, knight Yanosh."

Yanosh took a fighting stance with his hands ready to fight against Vlad, but the knights under him didn't sit well with how their colleague ended and started to approach Vlad, arms ready.

"Step down, you fools. I order you to step down. This is my fight, not yours."

"Hoh, these rats want to fight against me? Why stop them, knight? Let them see what it is like facing the strong."

The puppet extended his hand along with the cold voice of Vlad resounding in the world. A small spinning ball appeared in his hand that he later threw at them, starting a crimson tornado to move at them.

"Not under my watch!" said Yanosh, moving quickly to the front of the knights and using the same technique that blew Vlad's head, he struck the approaching crimson tornado.

Before he could see the outcome of the clash, he sensed an imminent danger around him, and with a turn of his head in the right way, he saw Vlad doing a sword slash at him.

'Fuck! This bastard fights dirty.'

Covering his arms in an intangible pressure, he stopped the blade's advance before not long using his free left to strike at Vlad's body like it was a sword.

The puppet's crimson eyes seemed to follow the strike movement but seemed to fail to react in time to block it.

When Yanosh felt that, he covered the hand in his devil powers just when he was about to land on Vlad mid-section. The moment Yanosh strike connected, it blasted Vlad's body in the opposite direction while at the same time creating a large hole in his stomach.

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Outside of the crimson world, Vlad's face showed a pained expression, but aside from this, he didn't show any changes.

In his mind's world, the throne handles looked to be cracked, while three fights played out in front of him, a

The one fight that didn't go according to plan was against Yanosh, while the other two guys could only be said to be eating from Vlad's palms.

[Master, what will you do with those three guys and the rest of the people around them?]

"Indeed, good question. What should I do with them?"

[Kill them, and let's enjoy their agonizing end.]

*** Lord, I don't really care what you are doing with them. ***

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Sighing to himself, he thought for a brief moment as he watched the coyote man, tiger man, and Yanosh fighting against his puppets.

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His [Blood Clones] started to be rapidly be depleted of the blood energy. Something he expected would happen later, but this test proved otherwise, making up for a good study later in the future. The ability was taxing while using it in combination with [Blood World].

" I shall review the consumption for the clones and the prison. I need to figure out a way to make the blood clones self-sufficient to a certain amount, or else I will just be drained and lose against others in terms of endurance."

Saying that he opened his eyes from where he was seated and could see a puddle of black blood around himself, a sign that the consumption and effects of the puppets and prison were indeed taking a toll on his body.

After he got up, he took a deep breath before exhaling, creating a gust of wind around himself. His body moved fast toward the second floor from where he was standing on a balcony of the second floor, and when he got to the [Blood World] crimson wall that repressed anyone approaching its proximity, he entered freely, creating something akin to a portal while stepping in.

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Inside this prison, he used the cover of the blood and watched the Coyote Knight that turned into a large coyote, gnashing his teeth at the puppet that was in a defensive mode since Vlad woke up.

"Come, you immortal monster, fight back! I transformed in this form just to enjoy this sensation of ecstasy while fighting!"

The puppet looked pathetic after a 10-minute fight, losing its vibrant energy and domineering crimson aura around the body.

Vlad saw the coyote knight unleash a slashing bite at the puppet's legs, leaving it without any. Dropped on the floor in a defeated manner, it left the knight howling victoriously.

"I WON! To think I would win against someone like me, a devil user."

As he said that, the puppet collapsed on the ground before disintegrating into blood, morphing back with the [Blood World], something that the coyote noticed and doing another howl he roared saying.

"WHY DOESN'T THIS BLASTED PLACE GETS DESTROYED?!"

He morphed back to a hybrid form and sent his most vicious kicks on a wall, yet Vlad suddenly reinforced the cage, blocking any attempt of escaping.

"WHY IT DOESN'T BREAK?!"

He asked that with each strike he unleashed on the wall.

It was until his senses picked the footsteps of a person moving in his direction. Like a predator, he turned his head and growled at this new person, which seconds later made him turn pale, and with some fear.

"You are alive? But I killed you just a while ago. WHO ARE YOU?"

"There is something wrong, puppy? I've returned to play with you since I missed you. Come, let's play, puppy."

*GROWL* "JUST DIE ALREADY, YOU MONSTER!" roared the coyote man, charging at Vlad, who started to morph around his body a crimson armour.

The atmosphere around Vlad changed once he downed the crimson armour, his hands seemed to move for Nemesis at his waist, but he later shook his head, deciding something else for this man.

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Charing at Vlad at fast speeds, the knight didn't even notice Vlad's calm movements and head movement. Instead, he sent a powerful kick straight for his chest.

Vlad got pushed some steps back, but he later sent a lighting fast jab in the coyote man's face, sending him crashing with the walls of the cage. Later, he used his [Blood Steps] to dash for the knight, sending a high kick for the coyote's head, which pinned him on the cage walls.

Once pinned, Vlad used the [Blood Manipulation] ability to bound the coyote man on the walls, leaving him to growl in pain and curse Vlad.

"RELEASE ME! YOU WANT A FIGHT. I WILL GIVE YOU A FIGHT."

Shaking his head at the man, he punched him in his stomach, making him puke immediately and afterward turning back into his human shape.

The knight itself was quite young, around his early twenties or late teens. He had some bruises from Vlad's attacks on his body coming from the puppet, along with the lips opening, giving off blood.

"Kill me. Come, kill me. Aren't you the enemy of Duke Lacilet? Come, do it."

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Vlad grabbed on the face of the young knight and stared at him with his crimson eyes, sending him in a fearful state that later turned him silent.

"Kid, you are interesting. If I spare you, will you serve under me?"

*Spit* "To hell with you, I only serve the nobles. Do you think I will lower myself to you, the scourge of Kaysang, Blood." said the young knight after spitting on Vlad's face.

Vlad didn't expect that spit, so it landed straight on his cheek, which had the young knight start laughing.

While cleaning his cheek of the spit, Vlad looked in the same calm manner at the knight, which had the latter a bit surprised since he believed Vlad would have killed him already because of what he had done.

"You think I will kill you for something so lame? It is not like I view myself as a God to lash on any childish attempts at angering me. Kid, I am serious. I will spare you if you serve under me. Also, to clear out things, I am called Vermilion Vlad. Blood is just my moniker."

"Just kill me already. I will not betray the nobles. Wait, that name, Vermilion, where have I heard it before?"

"King Vermilion Ophelius." said Vlad in a short manner.

"Right, right. That was the one. Wait, you are called Vermilion? Are you a royal?" asked the young knight with big eyes from where he was pinned on the wall.

"That's right, kid. Otherwise, why would I even bother fighting against the nobles? Protecting Sol and other places under me? Come kid, have you been brainwashed so much by the nobles that you can't even think for yourself?"

The young knight looked around himself and could see the dead bodies of the knights serving under Duke Lacilet and other nobles. He, too, was one serving under Lacilet but only recently joining the ranks of a knight.

He started thinking about the stories he would hear from his late grandfather and grandmother on the prestigious Vermilion House that has been ruling Kaysang for hundreds of years, creating a peaceful living place for all the citizens, even the peasants such as himself.

More stories of his grandparents who have raised him alone came to his head in this moment of clarity, talking about the Vermilion Family and not the least always praying that Crown Prince death was just a fake story since they were graced to have been helped by him with rights to sell their grown vegetables on the grand market.

"Motherfuckers, they told me that King Opheltius got kidnapped by a criminal or worse died, all those nobles told you that Blood kidnapped him and held him, hostage, demanding the throne from the nobles."

"Kid, you have been fed some poisonous stories about me and only listened to honey-coated stories concerning them. Tell me, shall I spare you or kill you?" said Vlad calmly while staring at the young knight that seemed to be angrier as seconds passed.

"Fucker, obviously I want to live. Now that I calmed down to hell if I wish to die. These crazy powers I gained after eating that cursed fruit is always taking over my clarity."

Patting his head, Vlad released his grasp on the young knight, and while preparing to leave for the tiger that was about to destroy the [Blood Clone], he said to the coyote knight.

"How are you called, boy?"

"Argash, lord." replied the young knight, after he raised on his feet from the fall he suffered when Vlad released him.

"Argash, you still have to learn and master your powers to have absolute control over your body. However, I don't worry about that. You will receive my teaching after I end this Civil War."

"Hey, you! Wait! Are you leaving me here?"

Asked Argash when Vlad was about to exit the [Blood World], which made him turn to look at the young knight with a confused expression.

"Is there something wrong with that? Tsk, I guess, is far better than having to consume my powers to keep this world open. Once I cancel my ability, you better keep your mouth shut and not even hope of escaping from me."

"Sure, I understand. I will shut up. Are you going up to fight against Drevon?"

"The cat guy? That's right, so let's get going because the last one on the list is that traitorous duke himself."

Saying that, he raised his hand, and the [Blood World] started to shake, fragmenting itself in many pieces, to the awe of the young knight who had his mouth open when seeing Vlad clean up the crimson cage. But before departing for good, he extended his hand toward the door of the meeting room the nobles were sealing it off.

"Gosh, this is how you trapped me and the others in that cursed place?"

"Just a small glimpse in the abyss, kid. Now let's go." said Vlad coldly, making the young knight quiet.

...........

A/N: This chapter is like an explanation of how Vlad's abilities work while fighting. Hope you enjoyed the puppeteer moments.