When Law felt the chilling sensation on his left cheek, his first thought was that his face was about to be blown off.
He didn't know that Alucard was using Seastone bullets, but he wasn't a Logia user, so a normal bullet would still affect him.
But five seconds later, the cold touch disappeared. Just as Law tried to turn his head, a bullet suddenly zipped past his eyelashes, shaving half of them off.
"You..."
Law froze for two seconds, followed by an overwhelming feeling of humiliation. After putting several meters of distance between himself and Alucard, he shouted in anger, "You bastard, were you mocking me this entire time?"
Alucard wore a contemptuous smile, choosing not to answer Law's question.
"ROOM!"
Law expanded his spatial dome again. He extended the index finger of his sword-holding left hand and flicked it upward. "Transfer!"
Everyone initially thought Law was going to transfer himself, as he had done with the submarine and himself earlier. However, the one who disappeared was Alucard.
In the next instant, Alucard appeared in mid-air, having exchanged places with a seabird.
The wind high in the air caused Alucard's long coat to flap loudly. Alucard glanced around. "A fine ability."
"It's not over yet!"
Law, pushing his stamina to the point of exhaustion, increased the volume of the ROOM space, expanding it to twice its original size, covering the entire Dragon Ship.
"Shambles!"
Using the last of his strength, Alucard and the Dragon Ship beneath Law's feet exchanged places in mid-air. Law and the others remained on the Dragon Ship, but the vessel was now airborne, while Alucard, without a doubt, had exchanged places with the entire ship and sank into the sea.
Two seconds later, the Dragon Ship plummeted into the ocean, creating three concentric rings of ripples.
The side effect of the Op-Op Fruit, stamina depletion, rushed into every cell of his body. Unable to bear the intense exhaustion, Law leaned against the iron cage behind him and sank to the deck.
"That's... the end of it."
Law took several heavy breaths, then quickly turned to Bepo. "Hurry, Bepo, prepare to set sail!"
Law wasn't an idiot; in fact, his personality was quite calm. Although a Devil Fruit user who falls into the sea is dead, he couldn't be certain that Alucard was one.
More importantly, Law noticed that the Immortal Pirates crew members watching from the Drum Island shore weren't reacting strongly at all, suggesting that his previous attack had been ineffective.
And precisely because of this, he needed to escape immediately. "That little trick won't slow him down for a second, young man."
Suddenly, Dragon, inside the iron cage behind Law, spoke, startling Law, who turned around to realize there was actually another person in the cage.
The instant Dragon's words fell, a dark red shadow completely enveloped the Dragon Ship, turning the vessel into a "black ship."
"What is this thing?"
Law stood up in a panic, but the intense fatigue made it difficult for him to even stand straight.
Within the dark shadow, Law saw something—it looked like wandering human figures, crisscrossing and doing something unclear.
Suddenly, countless hands wearing white gloves emerged from a pool of blood and seized every joint in his body: his feet, legs, waist, hands, and neck.
Crank! Crunch-crunch!
As the grip of the hands intensified, Law's face began to flush from oxygen deprivation. "Ugh... Ahh...!"
Law let out sounds of pain from his throat. He no longer had the strength to hold his favorite sword, which clattered onto the deck.
"What's wrong, boy? You look terrible right now."
Alucard's body slowly rose from the pool of blood and walked toward Law step by step. The Heart Pirates crew members behind Law were also bound by the shadow hands, unable to move.
As Alucard approached, a color finally appeared in Law's dark-ringed eyes: "Fear."
"Impossible. Is the difference in our strength really this vast? How... is it possible... to be this far apart..."
Law muttered the words. When Alucard reached a step away from Law, the shadow hands released their grip on Law's neck. But in less than a second, Alucard's left hand took their place, gripping Law's throat. "Fight back, boy. Use your teleportation ability to escape this control. I've met teleportation users; they don't give up this easily."
Clench!
Law gritted his teeth so hard a small piece of one cracked. His right hand opened, and a small, high-speed rotating bubble of air appeared, but it vanished after less than two seconds.
He tried several times after that, but Law couldn't even manage to activate the spatial dome.
"Erg... Urgh..."
Law glared fiercely at Alucard, which made Alucard smile. "Are you trying to kill me with your eyes?"
"THE GAP CANNOT BE THAT FAR!!!"
Law let out a furious roar. The high-speed rotating bubble in his hand finally materialized, and the spatial dome, which covered half the ship, regenerated. "ROOM: Tran—"
Pffft!
Though he managed to create the space, the technique didn't get out. Alucard delivered a punch to Law's stomach. Under the severe pain, Law spat out a mouthful of blood and his eyes rolled back. Just before he passed out, he managed to utter four words in a mosquito-like voice, "Cora- san..."
Law's body was held up by the shadow hands gripping most of his joints, preventing him from collapsing to the deck.
The battle ended. Alucard retracted the pool of blood, and the Dragon Ship reverted to its original appearance.
"He was quite entertaining as a diversion. At least we got to see an interesting ability," Urdaha said, rubbing his chin with his remaining right hand.
"But did the Captain only recruit him because of his ability?"
"Only the Captain would know that, but his ability truly is very interesting."