Child of Destiny

…

While retreating, Alucard seemed to have realized something and swiftly activated another skill, showing yet another type of Vampire Ability.

’Vampire Ability: Psychic Manipulation – Mind Cleansing’

Swoosh!

With this ability, his mind seemed to have been cleansed by intangible power, seemingly releasing him from some sort of restriction.

Snap!

Immediately after, he had heard a sharp snapping sound followed by multiple cracks appearing in his surroundings. It was as if the world around him turned into glass before suddenly crumbling under the might of a powerful force.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The world shattered like fragments of glass, falling apart into pieces.

He then found himself still standing in the middle of the corridor, just like earlier, while a barely noticeable scent dominated the air. He did not know when this scent appeared or when he had been affected by it, but he was sure that it was no ordinary Hallucination Potion to be able to bypass the sharp senses of a vampire.

While he was frowning deeply, he suddenly heard a series of rhythmic and unhurried set of footsteps coming from the depths of the corridor.

Then he heard the voice of the opposing party. “You have already recovered? Is the resistance of Vampires against Hallucinations that strong?”

The other party did not even wait for his response, as they answered their question almost immediately. “No. That’s not it. Only Vampires at Baron level and above can have such a strong resistance.”

“Is it an item special effect? A Skill? Or another Vampire Special Ability?” he continued to mumble to himself as if he was solving some sort of problem in the middle of an experiment.

Not long after, a man in a loose alchemist’s robe gradually appeared from the darkness of the corridor. He seemed to have a laidback and lazy attitude that was reflected by his messy appearance, particularly his slightly long and very untidy hair.

Raising his brows a little, Alucard found it a bit unsettling seeing such an appearance. “Mad Alchemist, indeed.”

Then he heard this Mad Alchemist still mumbled to himself. “Dark Phantom, Blood Alchemy, Sanguine Sword, and Psychic Manipulation – that’s four already. I wonder how many Vampire Abilities you have.”

Alucard ignored the latter and swiftly initiated an attack, disappearing from his current position before reappearing right before his opponent with his rapier stabbing forward.

Shing!

The rapier pushed forward, stabbing straight to the throat of his opponent, but Alucard could not help but frown quite deeply.

It was because he felt that he had hit nothing but air once again.

Snap!

Then he saw that the image of the opposing party snapped like glass before crumbling like shattered pieces along with the surroundings once again.

Later, Alucard found himself standing in the same spot earlier, returning to his initial position.

On the opposing side, he saw Hermes walk out of the darkness once again, still mumbling to himself.

“A hallucination loop?” he mumbled with a deep frown before swiftly rejecting the idea. He could tell that what happened earlier was true without any hint of illusion.

“If there is nothing wrong with my mind, then it must be the surroundings,” he mumbled before suddenly raising his free hand.

He controlled the blood energy around him before making a snap that reverberated in the entire corridor, producing a series of ripples in the air.

Snap!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Crimson color then spread in every direction, dyeing the entire place in bloody color, before suddenly forming a spiraling storm that ripped through everything.

’Vampire Abilities: Domain Skill (Unique Version): Blood Field’

Boom!

Summoning such an advanced Domain Skill swiftly affected the surroundings, tearing the walls, cracking the floor, and destroying the ceiling with its horrifying sanguine storm.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Immediately after, the entire corridor widened.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It did not even stop there since the Blood Field continued to expand, seemingly trying to thoroughly change the entire place.

Not long after, this portion of the map had turned into a huge, spacious field filled with rubble and ruined apparatus.

The sanguine storm that was sweeping through everything within the Blood Field not only destroyed the surroundings but also swept through the air, cleansing all the impurities and anomalies mixed in it.

By destroying this portion of the map, Alucard had rendered the traps scattered in this place useless while also creating a more suitable stage where he could showcase his powers.

Barely standing at the very edge of Blood Field, Hermes’ figure appeared once again. This time, it was clear that this was his true body, especially when a strange energy flowed throughout the surface of his body, fighting the aggressive sanguine storm that the domain skill possessed.

“You even have the Blood Field that only the pure-blooded nobles among the Vampires can possess. Even among them, only those with the purest bloodline can have this power,” commented Hermes before adding. “It seems like the bloodline that you possess is not that simple either.”

He seemed to have ignored the rest of the details in their earlier ’exchanges’ and only focused on the Vampire Abilities that Alucard was ’showing’ him.

He then released a sigh filled with regret before continuing. “It is such a pity that we have met in such a situation. If we are not in the competitive stage, then I will do my best to strike a deal with you.”

“Say-…” he paused for a moment as he calmly stepped out of the effective range of the Blood Field before continuing. “-…how much will you charge for a vial of your blood? I’ll make sure to satisfy all your demands.”

Hearing those words, the corner of Alucard’s mouth could not help but twitch along with a deep frown.

This opponent was strange.

“Truly worthy of your title as the Mad Alchemist,” Alucard sighed before staring at the other party with his sharp eyes.

With a wave of his hand, he controlled the violent storm filling the entire Blood Field before pointing forward.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Not long after, blood spears were formed in the air before shooting toward Hermes.

“Tsk! Tsk! Quite snobby, huh?” Hermes clicked his tongue repeatedly before taking out a bunch of vials from the sleeves of his alchemist robe, holding them between his fingers.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

After removing the corks through a slight telekinesis, Hermes let the solutions that those vials contained flow out and drip on the ground.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

These solutions got mixed as they flowed on the ground while also drawing a strange hexagram underneath his feet.

Right before the blood spears reached him, the hexagram suddenly released a blinding light before solidifying and forming a solid barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Alucard did not pause his attack and swiftly continued. Under the enhancements provided by the Blood Field, he summoned another batch of blood armaments through Blood Alchemy before sending them straight to his opponent.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Under the barrage of blood weapons, Hermes calmly took out a glass flask containing an unknown potion before drinking its contents immediately after.

Gulp!

After chugging the potion, Hermes immediately threw the flask away before staring at the incoming attacks.

His eyes glowed brightly under the effects of the potion, along with other enchantments that strengthened his muscles, causing them to bulge and become more compact.

His supposedly loose robes suddenly tightened in an instant in response to the changes in his body.

He flexed his muscles for a moment, pulling back his arms and preparing to throw a punch.

Not long after, his arms seemed to have disappeared for an instant when the blood weapons were almost about to reach him.

Boom!

Not long after, a powerful shockwave suddenly erupted and spread forward, annihilating the hail of weapons that was raining down at him and shattering them into pieces.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hermes did not pause there. He suddenly stomped into the ground before propelling himself forward like an artillery missile.

Boom!

He broke through the restrictions of Blood Field and flew straight to Alucard, who seemed to be expecting that move already.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

An array of sniper rifles made of blood was already fanning out behind him and aiming straight ahead.

’Vampire Ability: Blood Alchemy – Limitless’

Not long after, those blood rifles simultaneously fired, sending out a powerful beam of crimson light forward.

Boom!

There was a confident smile on Hermes’ face as he flew straight to the incoming crimson beam before striking forward.

Swoosh!

BOOM!

A massive explosion immediately erupted right after the collision of powers, sending a set of repeated and overlapping shockwaves in every direction.

Alucard did not even wait for the result to reveal itself, as his body had already split into multiple phantoms that spread in every direction and surrounded the epicenter of that explosion.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

’Vampire Ability: Dark Phantom – Mirror’

Each phantom picked up a blood rifle and aimed forward before firing at the same time.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He bombarded his opponent with a series of attacks, not giving the Mad Alchemist enough time to respond.

…