Grove 9.
Boom!
A colossal casino was obliterated, or more accurately, it wasn’t destroyed but rely caught in the collateral damage.
Gamblers who had been clamoring inside, teetering between instant riches and absolute ruin, now found many among them sent directly to hell. In their final monts, they only vaguely perceived a red flash before their eyes, and then, nothing.
The culprit behind the casino’s destruction, Red the Aloof, Patrick Redfield, now stood atop another casino building. His umbrella-sword was plunged beside his foot as he coolly surveyed the distant casino he had just reduced to rubble. "Stop playing dead in there, Alucard. I know you’re not that easy to kill."
Suddenly, a red-black shadow stealthily crept from the ground to the rooftop, reaching Red’s feet. It gradually rose, condensing into a humanoid form, and drew a black gun, Jackal, preparing to pull the trigger.
Whoosh!
Abruptly, Red spun around, swinging his umbrella-sword and severing one of Alucard’s hands. Yet, despite losing a hand, Alucard’s expression remained unchanged. His other hand reached out, producing a greatsword, while his entire body surged out from the shadow on the ground. With his right hand, he swung the sword heavily towards Red’s neck.
"Petty tricks!" Red slightly raised his umbrella-sword, bracing the bottom of its hilt against Alucard’s blade. At the sa ti, the umbrella-sword itself had completely turned black.
Armant Haki coating!
"How do you think I achieved a standing equal to Newgate and the others without Devil Fruit abilities?" Red spoke with a mocking tone, then his expression suddenly turned ferocious. "It’s simple: my strength and Haki are no less than theirs!"
His aging body slamd Alucard’s arm aside. In an imperceptible instant, he repositioned the tip of his umbrella and thrust it into Alucard’s body.
"Hmph..." A smirk played on Red’s lips, but his expression imdiately shifted drastically.
Even with his body completely impaled, Alucard maintained his smile. He clenched his fists, then ford an "L" gesture with his index fingers and thumbs, pressing them together, creating a shape like a cara’s focusing reticle.
"Restriction Release..." A hoarse voice emanated from Alucard’s throat. In less than a second, the black hound Baskerville revived and swallowed Alucard.
Seeing this, Red retreated a few steps, leaping from the top of the casino. He carefully observed his surroundings with his Observation Haki. Suddenly, Red’s eyes snapped open, and he unleashed his signature red sword energy behind him. "There!"
A shadow hand that had just extended from the ground was instantly blasted into dust, causing Red to frown. "A decoy?"
"A decoy? Not at all..." The ground suddenly spread into a massive pool of blood, completely covering the grass. Alucard’s body slowly began to rise from within it, accompanied by countless shadowy hands wearing white gloves.
"Wh-what is that thing?" A distant gambler who had escaped from the ruins stared disbelievingly at the scene.
Countless hands, wearing white gloves but with dark red, unknown substances making up their exposed arms, flailed wildly. They were utterly indescribable, leaving the onlookers gripped by nothing but uncanny dread and fear.
"Are they fighting?"
"Are they Devil Fruit users?"
"Damn it, don’t they know this place is close to Marine Headquarters?! If they keep this up and draw in the Headquarters forces, no one will get out!" A pirate, who had planned to imdiately head to the New World after one more gamble, angrily punched a nearby wall.
"How exaggerated..." Red looked at Alucard and the strange entities surrounding him, constantly feeling the terrifying aura emanating from them, as if he were back in the dark legends he had read about in the past.
"Haaaah!!!" Alucard raised both hands, shouting. Countless shadowy hands lunged at Red with incredible speed. These were no ordinary hands; each possessed imnse power capable of crushing rock and tearing steel. Even a giant could be dismbered in an instant.
Facing the overwhelming shadow tsunami surging towards him, Red plunged his umbrella-sword into the earth beside him. A burst of sword energy erupted, suddenly creating a devastating impact. In an instant, the umbrella seed like a suddenly exploding bomb, its crimson shockwaves continuously spreading outwards.
The collision of black and red caused the entire Grove 9, no, almost half of Sabaody Archipelago, to shake continuously. There was no pause in the tremors, and the booming explosions grew louder and louder. All the mangroves in Grove 9 were almost completely annihilated in this single clash of techniques.
Countless gamblers in Grove 9’s casinos were too late and were already sent to their demise. Those who could manage quickly sought cover, their faces pale. Damn it, why did I stay out of curiosity to watch the show? Why didn’t I just run away?!
The fading shockwaves did not signify the end of the battle. The two once again ran at incredibly high speeds along the trunk of a broken but still ten-ter-tall mangrove. When they reached the broken top, bullets and sword energy collided. For a mont, the bullets gained the upper hand, piercing through the sword energy. Although the dispersed sword energy still retained so power and flew towards Alucard, he completely disregarded this damage, letting the sword energy slash his shoulders, leaving them bleeding profusely. He then landed a shot on Red’s left shoulder.
"What are these two doing? I finally had a chance to gamble here!" From the ruins of a casino in Grove 9, the only man who hadn’t fled or taken cover erged. He looked at the two constantly clashing red dots, two miles away, and complained.
Dark King Rayleigh!
Thump, thump, thump!
Suddenly, Rayleigh heard quick footsteps approaching from behind him. He rubbed the back of his head and quickly fled in another direction, muttering to himself in a voice only he could hear, "Oh, the Marines are here. I should probably retreat quickly."
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