‘Good thing I put a part of myself underground…’ Niklaus thought as he looked at the woman who was in a martial arts stance.

Natashia relaxed her body a little and continued looking at him:

“Tsk.” She clicked her tongue with visible annoyance, then, using her right hand, she grasped the sword that hung at her waist.

She removed her sword from its sheath and pointed it at the man.

Rumble, Rumble.

Natashia began to channel her powers through the hilt of her sword, causing the blade to hum with a golden glow of electrifying energy, with arcs jumping away and striking the ground around her.

‘I’ll spread more pieces of me…-‘ Niklaus didn’t even have time to complete his thought before Natashia was already in front of him, swinging her blade down in a deadly arc!

Rumble!

CLANG!

The two Vampires’ swords collided with each other, causing a massive shockwave accompanied by a deafening metallic clang, which burst forth from their position and resonated through the surrounding arena.

Looking into the woman’s lifeless eyes that were glowing gold, he asked himself:

‘Why is she so motivated?’ He couldn’t accept the fact that she was doing all of this because of her ‘husband’.

Rumble!

Natashia’s hands disappeared, which was followed by a part of Niklaus disappearing from existence. He couldn’t even perceive what had happened.

“What am I seeing…?” A younger vampire within the crowd couldn’t accept that such power existed.

That was the irrationality of someone who had the power of Clan Fulger, one of the strongest of the four great vampire clans.

Natashia Fulger’s lightning power could do much more than provide a simple speed boost. When someone from this family trained that power to the limit, an irrationality such as her would be born.

An irrationality called Annasthashia Fulger.

The woman flashed a small smile, and then she was gone.

From the audience’s perspective, golden rays began to dance around Niklaus.

And in the blink of an eye,

Niklaus’ entire body became minced.

Looking at the woman’s facial expression with his eye, he thought; ‘It doesn’t matter… I must focus on the fight, or I will lose.’

Niklaus’ body was covered in a black liquid, and soon, his entire body was regenerated.

But before he could make a move, he saw the woman’s palm pointed at him:

Looking at her crazy smile, he couldn’t help but say, “Crazy bit-.”

RUMBLE, RUMBLE!

A giant beam of concentrated power shot out of Natashia’s palm and erased his body, along with everything in front of her, from existence, the beam soaring a considerable distance before suddenly,

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

An explosion of pure unadulterated power erupted forth from the point of impact, shaking the arena like a high magnitude earthquake and creating a mushroom-cloud the likes of those only seen in the aftermath of multiple nuclear warheads detonating simultaneously.

.

.

.

A hush fell in the arena. In fact, since the woman began fighting, the audience had become quiet, as they had no words or reactions to this situation.

The only reactions they had were…

“Wooow…” They looked like a group of children who had witnessed their first fireworks show.

And with that attack, they finally understood why vampire counts were called natural disasters, walking weapons of mass destruction, etc.

This crazy woman had ridiculous power in her hands!

“Tsk… Annoying insect.” Natashia looked to one side, and on that side, a body started to be created, a kind of black liquid started to gather, and soon the image of Niklaus appeared.

Niklaus quickly pulled away from Natashia, brandished his sword from his waist, and stabbed the blade into the ground.

His eyes began to glow blood red, and as if he were a corrupted god of the seas, black water began to be created from where he was and surged outward throughout the area.

Natashia looked at the water with a neutral gaze, and with a small jump back, she appeared several kilometers away.

“Oh… Apparently, her instincts haven’t weakened over time, that’s good… That’s good indeed.” Scathach’s excited smile was very evident.

“What is this rotten water? Why is my mother pulling away?” Sasha asked curiously. The target of her question was obviously the most experienced woman present.

Scathach.

“I do not know.” The stronger female vampire replied in an honest tone.

“…” So there’s something even she doesn’t know… Sasha, Violet, and even Eleanor thought at the same time.

“But it was a good choice for her not to step into that water.” Scathach continued.

“Why?” Sasha asked curiously.

“…” Scathach was silent and looked at Agnes.

As if understanding Scathach’s message, Agnes adjusted her glasses and sensually crossed her legs as she started talking, “The Horseman family’s specialty is ‘corruption’.”

The girls’ attention was drawn to Agnes.

“Corruption…?” Siena asked, “What kind?”

“We don’t know. After all, it’s not mandatory for noble families to reveal their powers to the government, but if I were to guess…”

“It could be all kinds of corruption.” Adonis was the one who continued.

“Take the example of Einer Horseman, his quills seemed to hold the power of ‘decay’.”

“Since that man is the father of that child, he must have similar power.”

“…I wouldn’t call it corruption, but decay does fall into the same ‘group’.” Violet thought out loud.

“We know.” Agnes spoke for Adonis.

“But we are not sure how to categorize the power of this clan; after all, it is a very strange power.”

“…” All the women were silent, and suddenly.

“HAI, HAI, HAI~!” Pepper held up her hand.

“What is it, daughter?” Scathach asked with a smile on her face.

“Doesn’t that mean the Horseman Clan is a clan of ‘necromancers’?”

“…Huh?” Nobody understood what she meant by that.

“I don’t think that man is a witch.” Agnes commented.

“Ugh…” Pepper elaborated a bit, “In some games, there is a specific class you can choose whose name is always either ‘Necromancer, or Warlock’, these classes are primarily intended to debuff enemies.”

“Debuff?” Agnes asked.

“Yes, they cast spells which cause negative statuses effects that affect the target in a variety of ways, for example, some spells can cause the target to experience weakness, or affect their speed, inhibit their senses, cause paralysis, etc.” She spoke with a big smile on her face.

“Oh… Maybe that’s it.” Violet and Sasha spoke at the same time. Although the two were not women who played many games, they had seen Ruby’s sisters and even Ruby playing them on occasion.

And in those games they saw those women play, they could see that this class was very annoying to fight.

Why did they know this? Well… When Ruby died from a debuff from a necromancer or warlock, she spoke all the words that shouldn’t be said in front of children at that time…

It was almost certain that if the enemies were cultivators, they would spit blood at hearing so many bad words coming out of a beautiful woman like Ruby.

“…How do you defeat a necromancer in this game?” Adonis asked a little curiously.

“You have to kill him before he casts a debuff on you, or leave his area of effect, you also have the option to wait for the debuff to wear off.”

“Oh…”

“There are many strategies.”

“But the most commonly used ones are.” Pepper’s smile grew a little, “Kill the annoying bug before it can do anything.”

A cold sweat broke out on Adonis’ face, “…You are certainly the daughter of Scathach.” Adonis flashed a neutral smile.

“… Fuweh?” Pepper looked at Adonis, not understanding why he said that.

Despite being far from each other, that same thought crossed Natashia’s mind.

Though her thinking was very different from the younger girl:

Why doesn’t he die? Why doesn’t he die? Why doesn’t he die? Why doesn’t he die? WHY DOESN’T HE DIE!?

This annoying son of a bitch is getting in the way!

A dark, heavy aura began to leave Natashia’s body, and her full focus was on Niklaus…

‘… What a scary woman, what is this feeling?’ He could tell it was killing intent, but there was something else mixed in, something heavy, something obsessive?

The man removed his helmet, pulled his sword from the ground, and looked at the woman with the same cold eyes, and for the first time, he said something:

“Annasthashia Fulger.”

“HMM!?” The woman’s gaze was now frightening!

Gulp.

The audience couldn’t help but gulp.

“…Mother is pissed off…” Sasha said with a tight little smile.

“I wouldn’t call that angry, more so that she’s frustrated?” Violet and Agnes spoke at the same time.

“I would be feeling the same if this insect that doesn’t die was in front of me, and I wanted to see my husband.” Violet spoke as she looked at the woman.

“Indeed.” Agnes agreed with her daughter.

“…” For some reason, it was pretty convincing when those words came out of these two women’s mouths.

Everyone couldn’t help but think at the same time.

“I’m honestly surprised, I never thought you were this strong…”

“Did you think I was a loser because I kept gambling around?”

“Yes.” Niklaus didn’t deny it.

“…” And that was the unconscious response of all the audience present.

“You’ve always had an attitude of gathering husbands and betting on your family’s riches, living a not-so-healthy life, and, because of that, I thought you were the weakest vampire count.” He cracked his neck a little and flashed a small smile.

“And really… You were the weakest vampire count…” Niklaus was sure of that, considering he made a point of studying all three countesses.

He didn’t even bother to search for Eleanor since, for a Clan that lived far from society, she didn’t have that much influence within it.

“…” Natashia didn’t move. After all, the opinion of a ‘bug’ didn’t matter… Yes, it didn’t matter at all…

Veins started popping in Natashia’s head. If before she was frustrated, now she is angry!

“This piece of **!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A golden pillar of volatile electricity burst out of Natashia’s body.

“But… Something has changed in you.” He spoke in a low voice as he held the sword in front of him.

“Well… Now, she’s annoyed…”

“Natashia…” Scathach facepalmed, “Apparently, she still hasn’t learned to control herself yet, huh? She even looks like someone from her clan.” She said while looking at Agnes.

“Huh…? My clan doesn’t have hot-headed people like her!”

All the women looked at Agnes with dry eyes.

“…” Violet turned her face away since she had no words to say on the matter.

BOOOOOOOM!

An explosion occurred in the arena, and all the girls’ attention returned to Natashia.

Natashia had entered Niklaus’ range at speeds so fast it could be mistaken for teleportation and attacked the man with her sword!

“Stupid woman. She’s entered his territory.” Agnes spoke.

“Hmm… I’ve never seen that technique.” Scathach’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

Natashia had her entire body covered in lightning so dense that it was as if she wore golden armor made of pure energy, adding an extra layer of defense to the armor she was already wearing.

“…” The lightning arcing off Natashia’s sword grew stronger and wilder, its resonating hum growing louder by the second. Her eyes glowed a glaring blood red, and when she was going to finish off the insect in front of her,

She found herself trapped by tentacles of water.

“Thank you for voluntarily entering my domain.” Niklaus, despite having half his body missing, chuckled as his eyes glowed blood red.

The tentacles of black water tried to cover Natashia’s body and pierce into her.

… Yes, tried.

“Huh?” He looked at the woman in disbelief.

His water power couldn’t penetrate her lightning armor!

“Did you really think I’d be irritated by the words of an insect?” She grew a big smile that showed off her sharp teeth.

She ignored the black water that was the power of this man and raised her sword towards the sky.

FUSHHHHHHHHH

A gigantic pillar of golden energy erupted from the sword’s blade.

Natashia held her sword as if she were an honorable knight preparing to smite the opponent before her.

“Are you crazy? If you unleash this power here, you won’t be safe either.”

“But that way, you won’t survive, right? I don’t know what your power is, and I don’t care either, but… If I obliterate this entire area, you won’t survive, right?”

“…” A cold sweat broke out on Niklaus’ face.

“And did you forget?” Her smile grew so big it sent shivers down Niklaus’ spine.

“I am the fastest woman alive.”

“Fuck-.”

“HAAA!” Natashia brought the sword down vertically, and when the sword touched Niklaus’ body,

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion of unimaginable proportions, one significantly larger than the one she’d created before, devastated the entire arena, spreading vibrations through the ground that could be felt all over the Royal Capital, casting a blinding light through the surroundings, affecting the majority of those who were spectating.

“Ugh…Did she win?” Sasha put her hand in front of her face to block out some of the golden light. She couldn’t see a thing!

“…” A silence fell over the area, and no one could answer Sasha’s question.

A few seconds passed, and as if they were in sync,

Scathach and Agnes rose from their respective seats and looked at the arena with a serious look.

“…?” Nobody understood the women’s reaction.

“Mother?” Lacus called for her mother, but the woman didn’t seem to hear her.

“Agnes.” Scathach spoke in a cold tone that made the people around them shiver.

“I know.” She looked at her shadow and said:

“Oda, inform Hilda.”

Agnes’ shadow took on the appearance of a man.

“Don’t let anyone out of the royal capital until I order!”

“Those who do not obey must be burned alive!”

Yes, Countess Agnes. Oda spoke, and soon, the man’s shadow left the room.

Nobody was understanding anything, why were the two women reacting so strongly? Wasn’t the fight over?

Everyone asked themselves that.

“…” Suddenly a pressure as if a planet was falling on everyone’s head burst forth from the arena.

“… What is this…?” Violet touched her right arm as she swallowed and looked at the arena.

“Is something there…?” Sasha spoke up.

“…” Eleanor was silent, but it was quite obvious that she was feeling an instinctive fear of this pressure.

“…This is…This is…” Pepper grabbed Siena and Lacus.

“Control yourselves!” Scathach’s voice echoed throughout the room, and as if the pressure they’d felt were a mere illusion, the girls managed to recover.

A relieved sigh came out of the most affected girls.

“Luna, don’t let any of my daughters leave this place.”

“…Huh? Y-Yes, master!”

Scathach approached the glass and smashed her way through it.

The loud noise of glass shattering caught the attention of the audience, and when they looked at where the sound originated, they saw…

“Scathach Scarlett!” Somehow, the woman’s appearance made the vampires in the audience more relieved.

The woman soon jumped out of the place where she was, floated to a pillar of the arena, and stood there. For a few seconds, she looked at Vlad, and when she saw the small smile on the old man’s face, she thought:

‘Tsk, you expected this, huh? So that’s why you wanted me here.’

“Agnes, you must go too.” Adonis spoke.

“…Huh?” She looked at Adonis in shock, her face distorted in anger, and when she was about to say something, she heard:

“Agnes, you don’t have to worry about me, it’s not like I’m leaving here, right?” He flashed a gentle smile.

Soon his expression turned stern, “And that’s your job.”

“…Fine.”

Agnes turned around, walked over to the hole in the glass Scathach made, then jumped out as well.

“Agnes Snow too?”

“What are the two countesses doing?” Everyone was curious, but no one dared to try to ask them anything.

She arrived at a pillar on the opposite side of the arena and looked down with a serious expression.

As the golden light began to fade, everyone saw a scene that they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

…

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