102 Chapter 102: The Duel part 2

"A zombie Ancient Dragon as his familiar? Who the hell is he?!"

At my proclamation, Claire McAlterize stared up at me, perplexed. Her eyes wide in disbelief, she gripped her twin swords tightly.

The Ancient Dragon was a powerful existence, revered and feared even by the demons. Most demons, even the noble vampires, had never witnessed an Ancient Dragon, who were supposedly godlike existences with incredible strength and magic.

Yet, here I was, controlling an undead Ancient Dragon. Even though Claire was staring at one right in front of her eyes, she still had trouble comprehending the reality because of just how absurd it was.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

At the same time, Bradley burst into laughter. He grinned at me, his eyes filled simultaneously with rage and amusement.

"Look who's here. I've completely misjudged you. I was so sure you ran away. To think you would rush all the way here on a dragon just to save one woman…it looks like, contrary to popular belief, you're actually a stupid man, eh, 'Hero Slayer'."

"Well, a dragon is the fastest way to fly here," I replied with a shrug. "Unless you would have preferred me to take a helicopter…except that helicopters don't exist in Restia. Running wouldn't have gotten me here in time, but you're right. Maybe it would be better and more impactful if I arrived in a tank. I'll just pop out of the hatch of my tank and yell at my driver, 'drive me closer! I want to hit that bastard with my sword!'"

While I rambled on, Claire, who was still confused, couldn't help but whisper to herself.

"Oh. Right…he's the Hero Slayer. But even so…how did the Hero Slayer manage to defeat and force an Ancient Dragon into his service? Even Evelyn's Chosen wouldn't be able to defeat an Ancient Dragon…"

Well, actually…I did have help from Nagano Nanaka, so Claire was mistaken. I was sure Kobayashi and his party of heroes would somehow be able to kill an Ancient Dragon, even if they did it with much difficulty.

However, I didn't have the time to correct her misconception. I ignored Claire and calmly stared at Bradley, who was standing before me.

"Indeed…but it doesn't matter whether you're an Evelyn's Chosen or the Hero Slayer. Stop doing something so meaningless. Even if you do your best to fight despite your fatigue, this woman is of no benefit to you whatsoever."

"…!"

Lilith gritted her teeth in frustration when she heard that, her hands balling into fists.

Even at 95%, I could still kick this guy's ass.

That was why I merely grinned.

"I refuse, Lord Kreuger."

Unmoved, I looked right at Bradley and declared firmly.

"What…?"

"You don't understand how much she is worth at all."

I shrugged and then gathered black mana into my Blood Dragon Sword to unleash a devastating Shadow Lunar Fang.

Right before I could complete the swing and release the destructive crescent of energy, however…

"Wait!"

Kicking off the ground, Claire launched herself at me, slashing with her twin swords. Several blood magic circles materialized around her as they launched blood projectiles, bats and other deadly spells in my direction.

"Lord Kreuger is worn out after fighting with her highness Lilith-sama. This is a two versus two duel. As such, I will first be your opponent!"

Using a couple of the blood magic circles to strengthen her body to the maximum, she delivered extremely powerful slashes with her twin swords.

To be honest, it was a beautiful, elegant surprise attack that would have caught me off guard and taken anyone out instantly.

"Tomoyuki-kun?!"

Fortunately, I wasn't just anyone.

By the time Lilith cried out to me from behind, the outcome of the match had already been decided.

"Wha…?! What just…?!"

In just one swing…

I unleashed Shadow Lunar Fang and obliterated not just her bats, her blood projectiles and all her spells but also almost destroyed her physical body. The black crescent-shaped mana engulfed her body in a destructive embrace, dealing damage at a cellular level and leaving large swathes of wounds across her body. Even as she fell, I slashed with my Blood Dragon Sword and neatly cut her twin swords apart, rendering her weapons useless.

"N…no way…in just one move…"

Even as her vampire regeneration ability kicked in, the damage was too overwhelming and Claire was losing consciousness. To repair that incredible amount of damage, her body was forced to expend every ounce of energy.

And to finish it off, I stepped forward and kicked her in the gut, sending the bitch butler flying and crashing into the rubble. She landed in a dignified heap, a shameful shriek of pain escaping her lips, and collapsed.

She would live, but she would be out of the fight for a very long time, thanks to the overwhelming amount of damage I dealt her.

"W…wait…"

Despite that, Claire was struggling to her feet, blood dripping down her face. The bleeding had somewhat stopped as her healing mechanisms kicked in, but it was clear that she was no longer in any condition to fight. Yet she was stubbornly rising to her feet, refusing to believe that a renowned and skilled warrior such as herself had been taken out in less than ten seconds.

"It's not over yet!"

"Claire-dono."

While Claire struggled to cast a blood spell with her remaining mana, Bradley approached her, shaking his head. With a calm voice, he placed his hand on her shoulder, almost as if to stop her from hurting herself any further.

However, his seemingly kind act had an insidious motive.

"Eh…? Ah…aaaah!"

Claire screamed as the Azreal Drakkan in Bradley's hand glowed fiercely. The sword was sucking her blood, and the usually calm and composed Claire was now writing in agony, shrieking and crying out as tears spilled from her eyes.

"What…what are you doing?!"

"This is the only way that you can still be use of me in the duel."

Bradley's voice had growned chilly.

"I want you to leave this to me. You've no chance of winning now anyway…especially when he went easy on you, the outcome is already clear."

"Easy on me?!"

"Do you really want me to spell it out for you? He defeated you in less than ten seconds…without even using his ultimate technique. Or that Ancient Dragon hovering up there. Do you really think you'll be alive if he decided to be serious?"

"Ah…to think that he really is the legendary Hero Slayer…"

Claire gritted her teeth, but confusion reigned in her pain-addled mind.

"Even so…why did he…? For her highness…Ojou-sama…"

Unable to comprehend my motives, Claire tried to brush off Bradley's hand. The noble cackled.

"However, to defeat him, I'll need to borrow your power. Please give me a bit of your blood."

Even though Claire was already severely injured, Bradley mercilessly drained her of her blood. Claire let out a final scream before she collapsed, unconscious. Only then did Bradley released her shoulder and stood up to face me.

"That should have replenished my mana and energy somewhat."

"You really don't hold back at all, do you?"

As much as Claire deserved it, even I felt sorry when seeing her broken, collapsed body. Bradley merely smirked.

"Be careful, Tomoyuki-kun. I still don't know what the ability of that man's Azreal Drakkan is."

Leaning against the broken wall, Lilith sent me a warning.

"Understood."

The moment I nodded slightly, Bradley kicked off the ground and charged right at me, swinging down his glowing sword.

"Let's begin, Hero Slayer!"

His blade swung toward me and blinding speed, but I parried it smoothly. Sparks flew as our blades clashed against each other, but Bradley pulled back to deliver a barrage of precise, lethal strikes that forced me into the defensive. Despite that, I managed to block each and every one of his attacks. Those that managed to slip through failed to penetrate even the first defensive layer of my Redwood jacket.

"…!"

Bradley's eyes narrowed, but he forced me back with another slash while summoning a sea of blood lances from underneath. Firing them off, he pelted me with countless blood lances, but I managed to destroy the hail with a single Shadow Lunar Fang.

"Hmm…you've quite the troublesome defense, don't you? But only defending and not attacking, do you really intend to win like this?!"

With a roar, Bradley lunged forward again, only for me to block his strike. We exchanged a few more blows and I ignored the blood lances that rained down on me. None of them could penetrate the barriers of my Redwood jacket…

"!?"

I had completely forgotten about Bradley's Blood Doppelgangers. While I was engaged with the opponent in front of me, the other two doppelgangers snuck up on me and slashed me with their corresponding Azreal Drakkans.

Hah. As if they would penetrate my Redwood jacket. I allowed them to attack, but their blades bounced off the first defensive layer without leaving a single scratch. Twisting around, I kicked the first doppelganger, catching him off guard. The second immediately withdrew, evading my attack. I turned to slash the first guy I was fighting thus far, but he had also retreated to a safe distance.

The guy was smart.

"What the hell is that jacket? How is it able to withstand the strikes from Azreal Drakkan?"

Bradley was scowling, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"It is lliteral plot armor," I replied. Bradley glared at me.

"I'll be sure to cut your insolent mouth off once I'm done with you."

"And I'll be sure to cut your head off."

The three doppelgangers pounced on me again, the one I kicked earlier getting back to his feet. I dodged them and focused my attention on the first one, but when the other two struck me from behind, I suddenly had a premonition.

"?!"

They were drawing lots of mana into their swords. I recognized this technique. Wasn't this…?

"Die!"

With a yell, the two Bradleys slashed at me. While I parried the first one, the second one stabbed me in the gut. The blade didn't exactly penetrate my Redwood jacket's barriers, but it was more like the wound had always been there, magically opened.

"Hah!"

The first Bradley thrust his sword from behind, forcing me to dodge, but he managed to pierce my shoulder.

"Hmm…the curse isn't perfect, but nonetheless I've managed to copy most of it."

As I staggered back, my wounds regenerating, I understood what I had just witnessed.

Bradley Kreuger had just executed the cursed Crimson Blood Lance strikes that Lilith was so famous for. The reversal of cause and effect – rather than thrusting the spear to deal a wound, the wound was already there, which led to the thrusting of the spear.

It was indeed a terrifying curse, but the fact that he missed my heart meant he hadn't perfected it.

Wiping the blood from my mouth, I couldn't help but chuckle. As the third Doppelganger closed in to finish me off, I suddenly unleashed a Shadow Lunar Fang that utterly destroyed him, erasing his existence.

"?!"

The two remaining Bradleys jumped as far back as they could, retreating to safety and keeping their wary eyes on me.

"You…"

"The battle's not over yet. And stop holding back. I know you can summon more Blood Doppelgangers. Call all of them."

I beckoned Bradley with a provocative gesture. His lip curled and he glared at me.

Even though Azreal Drakkan remained mostly a mystery, I was able to analyze his Blood Doppelganger technique with Absolute Appraisal. Yeah, his limit was 4 extra copies of himself, and they all had to remain within 50 meters of each other, or they would lose coherence. But that was an annoying ability because it ensured he would be able to escape no matter what.

Thankfully, that was why I had Ryuu circling above. The Ancient Dragon zombie will spot and destroy any fleeing Bradley if I failed to get all of them.

"You asked for it."

Unaware that I knew of his ability, Bradley summoned all four Doppelgangers, bringing his number back to five. They circled me, their blades gleaming with mana. However, thanks to that, Absolute Appraisal revealed yet another critical flaw of this ability.

He's spending too much mana to maintain his doppelgangers and supplying them their attacks. If he runs out of mana, he'll be unable to create new doppelgangers…in fact, he won't even be able to maintain the existence of his current doppelgangers.

So the best strategy was to drag this out and force him to run out of mana. But that was assuming I could survive that long in the first place.

"Hah!"

The first Bradley lunged forward. While I was occupied with defending against him, the other four launched their attacks simultaneously. I dodged, ducked and dove under their curses, trying my best to avoid them. Normally it would be impossible for me to physically escape the curses no matter how skillfully I dodged, but Bradley's curses were incomplete. Furthermore, they took too much mana, so he couldn't use the complete version when he was in doppelganger mode.

Obviously I wasn't going to tell him that.

"!"

The four Bradleys were taken by surprise as Blood Ghouls rose from the ground and swarmed over them. Being a vampire noble, Bradley – and his doppelgangers – were strong enough to dispatch them, slashing their fluid bodies with their swords. However, the Blood Ghouls merely reformed and regenerated before lunging at him again.

"How annoying!"

Raising his sword, Bradley cast a powerful blood spell that blew up his surroundings, vaporizing the Blood Ghouls and erasing them from the ground. As he did so, I dove forward and stabbed one of his copies in the heart. Before he could react, I ripped him apart from within with a Shadow Lunar Fang, obliterating him.

"You…!"

The surviving four doppelgangers spread out and launched ranged blood spells. Unlike the curses, however, they had no effect on my Redwood jacket. As I ignored the spells, I launched myself at one of the copies, but they hurriedly dispersed.

"Funny…you criticized me for running away, but now it seems you're the one running away."

"Hmph."

Bradley didn't even bother to reply, but instead he turned to launch more blood spears from the ground. His other copies created blood spells with their versions of Azreal Drakkan and prepared to fire them off. I stood my ground, confident that I would be able to withstand them with the twelve defensive barriers of my Redwood jacket.

"?!"

However, I realized at the last moment that the spells were aimed not at me but at Lilith, who was no longer able to move.

"You might be able to withstand all these spells…but I wonder…what about her?"

"Bastard…!"

Bradley merely laughed before his copies all launched their spells simultaneously at Lilith, their contrails flaring in the night air.

"It's fine…as long as that woman belongs to me, I don't care if her limbs get crippled or she becomes handicapped. In fact, it'll be more advantageous to me."

"…you do realize that she'll just regenerate from whatever damage you deal to her, right? It's impossible to cripple a vampire thanks to our regenerative abilities."

I couldn't help but shake my head at Bradley's statement. Was this guy a moron or something? He did realize what we vampires were capable of, right? Hell, wasn't he a vampire himself?

That said, I couldn't let Lilith get hurt. He might potentially kill her with that attack, and she looked like she was running out of mana to regenerate.

That was why I dove to the front of Lilith and took the full brunt of his attacks. To be honest, I was planning to do this in the first place – I had no intention of dodging the attacks, so it was just a matter of repositioning myself.

However…

"You fell for it, 'Hero Slayer'."

"Tomoyuki-kun!"

Even before Lilith finished calling out my name, the three doppelgangers of Bradley stabbed me with their cursed swords. The curses bypassed the defensive barriers of my Redwood jacket, reversing cause and effect and making the wounds manifest on my body. Blood leaked from my mouth, but I gritted my teeth and grabbed the sword of one of the doppelgangers.

Before he could avoid me, I scythed him down with Shadow Lunar Fang. The other two retreated, but I didn't have enough hands to lock them down.

Or so they believed…

"Guh!"

"What…?!"

Blood appendages rose from the sea of blood around us and pounded the two of them, pinning them to the ground. With a flick of their Azreal Drakkans, the two doppelgangers succeeded in freeing themselves from the gigantic blood appendages, but I was already upon them.

"!"

With a single swing of my sword, I took both their heads off before they could react. The two doppelgangers collapsed and exploded into mists of blood, but the shockwaves had no effect on the barriers of my Redwood jacket.

"Impressive…but you surely were hurt by that…and very badly at that."

I slowly turned around, staggering as blood leaked from the three grievous wounds the doppelgangers had dealt me. They were already closing up, my regeneratve ability kicking in and healing them, but that was mana lost.

"Unfortunately for you…"

Another four doppelgangers rose from the sea of blood to flank the last, remaining copy of Bradley Kreuger. All five of them wore identical grins as they gloated.

"…as long as even one of me is alive, I can endlessly recreate my doppelgangers."

They slowly stepped forward, their postures indicating just how certain they were of their victory.

"You can keep struggling, but you'll never win in a battle of attrition against me. I'll eventually overwhelm you with numbers. No matter how many copies of me you kill, I'll keep creating more. Your resistance is meaningless."

Five swords pointed at me, tremendous amounts of mana flowing into them as a result of casting the curse once again.

"You'll die if we continue fighting like this. Are you fine with that? You know what, if you beg for your life and surrender, then I might just overlook this matter and treat it as if nothing had ever happened."

His words dripping sweetly, almost as if he was a devil dangling a deal of temptation in front of me, Bradley offered me those terms.

But…

"You're lying."

I maintained my composure and replied flatly, unmoved and unintimidated. Instead, I glared at Bradley from behind my info-riddled lenses.

"What?!"

Even in the face of such a desperate situation, against all odds and fighting against an unkillable enemy, I was still smiling. In a cold voice and with a chilling gaze that would freeze anyone who looked into my eyes, I offered a calm explanation.

"Don't make promises you can't keep. I know what you're planning to do. After Claire-san concludes the engagement and returns to the capital, you're planning on launching a suprise attack with your subordinates, right? Even if I surrender now, you still plan on killing me eventually…to tie up loose ends. Do you think I'm that stupid? Maybe I am, but even an idiot can see that you have no intentions of letting me live."

"…"

Bradley fell into an astonished silence when he heard that. Perhaps he was surprised at how my attitude had taken a complete 180 degrees.

"Ku…ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Then, he suddenly burst out laughing.

"I see. You're an interesting man, indeed. All right, 'Hero Slayer'! Show me what you can do in this situation by struggling as much as possible! I hope you can at least entertain me!"

"Sure."

I cracked my neck and then lunged forward. Four of the doppelgangers scattered, but the central one met me in direct combat. Our blades clashed and sparks flew, but before I could follow up with another attack, the other four stabbed me with their curses.

"Guh!"

"Ha ha ha! After all that prattling, you can only do that much?"

Laughing hysterically, the first Bradley kicked me and sent me crashing into the ruined temple. I broke a few of the walls, debris raining down on me.

"Let's see…it's not just curse, but if we combine our spells and maximize their power, we should be able to break through those annoying barriers of yours!"

While I struggled to my feet, the five of them were standing together and fusing their blood spells into a single gigantic projectile. Realizing that if I dodged, the attack would hit Lilith behind me. Gritting my teeth, I raised my sword and prepared for impact.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The five Bradleys unleashed the merged spell, which streaked across the ruined grounds of the temple like a meteor and smashed into me. Despite parrying the powerful attack with my Blood Dragon Sword, the twelve layers of barriers generated by my Redwood jacket shattered instantly and the destructive mana of the spell washed over me.

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! I knew it!"

While I was blown away, the five Bradleys jumped after me in pursuit, hammering down with a hail of blood lances before my barriers could fully regenerate.

"Guh!"

I found my body impaled by dozens of blood spikes and lances, and held aloft by the cruel, barbed lengths of the crimson weapons. I writhed and struggled, but was unable to break free of my painful restraints.

"Isn't it about time you give up? 'Hero Slayer'?"

The five doppelgangers had combined their spells again, ready to launch the gigantic blood projectile to obliterate me. Panting heavily, I destroyed the blood lances with a slash of my Blood Dragon Sword and dropped heavily onto the ground. As my wounds healed, I leaned on my sword, unable to stand fully, never mind evade.

"Well…since it's such a rare opportunity, I might as well share some information with you."

"I don't want to hear it," I replied as I rolled my eyes. Typical villain gloating and giving away too much information because he wanted to brag. Or perhaps this was the cliché plot device to explain to readers his motives.

Whatever the case, I was sick of listening to such nonsense.

"I am trying to save the future of Morten. Not just Haemorage, but all of Morten. Do you know, Tomoyuki Tanaka? The crisis, which is approaching this world. The advent of Chaos."

"I know."

I sighed and shook my head.

Needless to say, it was the disaster that Kobayashi would unleash on the world if he got his hands on the northernmost domain after defeating and wiping out the demons in Morten.

"That saves me a lot of talking. Simply put, the only one who can rival and combat the arriving human armies and Evelyn's Chosen is me."

Bradley raised his voice so that even Lilith could hear him.

"I'm saying that I'm the only one capable of saving not just Haemorage but the whole of Morten. That's why it's necessary to obtain further military power and ancient weapons from the tombs. Therefore, it's necessary for me to marry that girl. And from here on, I must use that woman as soon as possible, to unlock all the seals on her ancestors' tombs and dig up more weapons and technology. Furthermore, she will bear my children…the children of the ultimate warrior bloodlines, who will possess more potent magic than any other vampires!"

"…"

Lilith couldn't help but look disgusted and reviled at his declaration.

"You're the favored of Emperor Gremory. If it's you, you understand, right? This is something that's necessary. It's for the future of Morten. There is no victory without sacrifice. By giving the queen over to me, the demon territories will be saved. Even so, are you saying you'll still get in my way? After having failed to be a hero for the human kingdoms, did you decide that you're going to be the bane of the Demon Alliance next?"

"I said I don't want to hear it," I muttered through gritted teeth. There was so much that was wrong with his speech that I didn't know where to begin. For starters, Bradley claiming that he was the only one capable of saving Morten was complete delusion. The guy had gone bonkers if he really believed that (admittedly, I doubted he really believed what he was saying). There was Regis, Lilith, and the seven ultimate Demon Nobles who were much more powerful than Bradley, and could turn the tides of war against the humans.

"..."

However, the speech wasn't targeted at me.

Bradley was deliberately espousing all this nonsense, not to convince me, but to use me to break Lilith emotionally. In order to throw her into despair and make her yield, he was telling me to abandon her.

There is nobody in this world who will ever come to save you.

I guessed as much and ignored Bradley's bullshit. Nothing that came out of his mouth was ever worth listening to. However…

"It is fine already, Tomoyuki-kun."

"…Lilith-san?"

While I was trying to stand by leaning on my sword and breathing heavily, Lilith spoke up in a resigned tone.

"It's enough already. You've fulfilled my request in the most satisfactory manner possible."

"Nope. It ain't over yet…"

"No, it's fine. I'll be honest. I was only using you. The only reason why I approached you from the start was because I intended to use you from the very beginning…to get out of this engagement. That's why you no longer need to feel any responsibility or obligation to help me."

Lilith showed me her usual cool smile and continued.

"That's why, give up already. You shouldn't have to die in such a place. This isn't even your country. You have nothing to do with all of this."

Lilith continued to ground out her words, weaving her thoughts painfully into dialogue. She wanted me to abandon her. That was why she maintained that icy expression of hers and continued to speak.

"For me, you were just a tool. That's why…I know you won't be happy being used as a tool. If I had explained everything from the start, it would have been resolved without me delusionally believing that I ever had a chance…"

Drip.

Tears streamed down her eyes. Unable to bear it, Lilith couldn't help but weep.

The solitary, cool and noble girl.

Having made to bear such a great burden at such a young age, cast off alone and disregarded as a mere figurehead despite working so hard to have everyone acknowledge her…even though she fought her way up to the top…

…all she desired was just one simple thing…and now that was being taken away from her…

I understood all that, and I sympathized. No…I just couldn't leave her alone. To me, Lilith was someone important.

"You're…my lover. That's why I'll definitely save you, no matter what."

Asserting that strongly, I then turned to glare at Bradley. The great noble smirked and snorted in amusement.

"Hah! Even though you have no chance of victory, you still wish to continue? Your so-called 'lover' doesn't seem to want you to continue fighting, though? In the first place, how do you intend to save Morten from the calamity of Chaos after defeating me?"

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"By kicking Kobayashi's ass and beheading him. I have a bone to pick with him, and he's my prey. I'm not going to let anyone else steal my target."

I returned the smirk and pointed my black sword at a stunned Bradley.

"Why…"

I glanced back at Lilith, whose eyes were moist, and smiled.

"You've helped me a lot too. I was happy when we fought together. Whether it was against the dragons or Iron Knights, you were an invaluable comrade. You were very kind to me. I want to be your strength. So let me fight. You're someone precious to me, that's why I want to protect you. If I can't even protect you, then how can I save Restia?"

Then I turned my murderous gaze back to the five doppelgangers of Bradley and beckoned for him to come at me.

"Let's finish this, Bradley Kreuger."

"Ha ha ha ha ha! I'll teach you what it is like to fear a noble vampire!"

Laughing, all five vampires unleashed their combined spell and blew me away. I was knocked off my feet and engulfed by the devastating blast.

And even before the explosion was over, the five doppelgangers descended upon me, stabbing me with their swords, their blades reaching my vitals.

"I'll slice you apart!"

With a series of maneuvers, the doppelgangers sliced me into pieces. Both my arms…both my legs. They left my head intact on my torso, trying to preserve my life as long as possible so that he could continue to torment me.

Terrible mistake. This was why antagonists never won against the protagonists. Always doing stupid things like these.

"I'm on a completely different level from all the enemies you've faced before, 'Hero Slayer'! Don't put me on the same level as them! I'm more powerful…I'm the strongest! I'm even stronger than all the Evelyn's Chosen combined! You should just leave Morten to me, and I'll clean up the surviving Evelyn's Chosen in your place!"

Laughing manically, Bradley slashed me before letting the remains of my body drop to the ground.

And then…

Adaptive Mutation…activated.