The more the fight dragged on, the more Alucard felt that Zephyr was essentially seeking his own death.
This wasn't Alucard mocking him; it was the truth of the situation. While facing an opponent of Alucard's caliber, Zephyr naturally fought with all his might, but giving one's all and aiming for a killing blow with every move are two different things.
Zephyr belonged to the latter category. He was attempting to take Alucard's life with every strike, rather than simply fighting for the right to leave the Immortal Pirates.
Don't forget whose territory he was on. Even if, hypothetically, Zephyr actually won and managed to harm Alucard, was it truly possible for him and his subordinates to safely escape this island?
Tch-tch-tch-tch…
The shrill screeching of bats reached Zephyr's ears, while the wave-like ground transformed into gigantic earth hands, beginning their pursuit of Alucard.
After roughly two minutes of chasing Alucard up and down, one of Alucard's arms was finally caught by an earth hand on the outer side of Zephyr's right leg. A moment of stillness, and then countless hands of earth firmly grabbed Alucard, trapping him until his body was completely out of sight.
Titan Zephyr suddenly clenched his right hand, and the earth hands surrounding Alucard twisted along with it.
Pfft!
Blood flowed from the gaps between the mud hands.
Anyone with excellent Observation Haki could sense the disappearance of Alucard's life force at that moment. However, the members of the Trash Disposal Unit did not celebrate, and none of the Immortal Pirates wept.
Because everyone knew that Alucard was not dead.
This was true even if he were crushed into fragments, sliced in half, or hammered into a cliff face.
Upon closer inspection, countless centipede-like creatures were seen crawling and intertwined in the blood seeping from the mud hands. Then, dozens of eyes opened within the blood, constantly spreading, covering Zephyr's entire foot, extending over the whole patch of land, and finally the entire island.
"It's coming."
Ivalis's sunglasses glinted as he looked at the ground, which was being dyed into a sea of blood. He recalled the scene he had witnessed half a month ago. "The Knight of Death is coming."
The members of the Trash Disposal Unit, who had not witnessed the rebellion, did not understand what Ivalis meant, but the sea of blood covering the entire island at the foot of the mountain had already terrified them.
"I am the blood that runs through your veins. I am the dark shadow that chills the hearts of men as you pass. I am the fury... your hate and your vengeance. I am... your destiny."
Alucard chanted softly. When he reached the last line, his appearance changed slightly. A beard sprouted from his mouth and jawline. In the blink of an eye, he seemed to have aged twenty years.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A cold gust of wind blew, causing Alucard's black coat to billow. Zephyr, who once again sensed Alucard's aura, retreated a step, a retreat of over half a mile.
"What is that appearance?"
Zephyr was shocked by Alucard's weathered look, momentarily forgetting Alucard's real age.
But he immediately remembered the Marine's internal files. Alucard was estimated to be around forty years old, but for unknown reasons, he always maintained an appearance of twenty-five to thirty. Now, looking at Alucard, Zephyr felt this was likely his true form.
Alucard looked up at Zephyr, who was larger than a mountain, and remained silent. He slowly extended his right hand. The pool of blood rose, solidified in his palm, and became elongated. Finally, the outer layer of blood peeled away.
What remained was a spear, a thrusting spear of the same bronze color as the armor now covering Alucard's body. It lacked any excessive ornamentation or the bulk of his black and white pistols. It was the kind of weapon that would be easily overlooked in the corner of a weapons shop.
"Kazikli-Bey (Impaling Castle)." [1]
Alucard muttered a phrase—the name of the spear.
"A thrusting spear? This is the first time I've seen you use one... and I don't know if it's an illusion, but your personality seems to have changed."
A frown creased Zephyr's tree-covered face. If their auras weren't identical, he would doubt the person before him was Alucard. Didn't Alucard always shout, "For Devil Fruit users, manufactured by Vegapunk, Seastone explosive shell..." when he took out his signature weapons?
But none of that mattered. He controlled the earth once more, causing the ground to undulate irregularly like waves, which then morphed into mud hands that rushed toward Alucard.
Alucard's eyes narrowed slightly. Mud hands, each over ten meters high, clawed at him from all directions. This was the method used to compensate for the lack of mobility in a Titan Fruit user.
But... the destructive power was too weak!
A flash of red light appeared. To the onlookers, it was just a streak of red light flashing across the center of the battlefield. When it stopped, all the mud hands were severed into pieces and scattered on the ground.
Boom!!
There was no time for Alucard to catch his breath. Looking ahead, Titan Zephyr's right straight punch was already at a terrifyingly close range.
Visible wind pressure even appeared on the surface of the fist, a testament to the punch's mountain-splitting, river-shattering destructive power.
A red and black mist surged from Alucard's body, enveloping the lower half of his figure.
"It's here!"
Beckman, standing on the mountaintop, sensed the aura, and his expression changed drastically. He blurted out, "The same feeling as when he defeated me in a single strike! Exactly the same!"
Defeated Ben Beckman in a single strike!
Bins and Ain turned their heads, disbelievingly looking at the speaker. No Yonko, no Admiral, would dare to claim they could defeat Ben Beckman in a single strike, nor could they actually do it.
Had Alucard... done it?
———————
[1] I know Kazikli-Bey means "Impaling Prince" but the raws says "Impaling Castle" or in a more literal meaning "piercing the fortress". So I don't get what the author meant by using Kazikli-Bey when the Bey part means lord, chieftain, commander, noble, or prince.
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