Chapter 663: A Destined Confrontation. 2
War, with a thunderous cry, leaped from the ground toward Victor with startling speed.
The sound of metal colliding burst out, followed by an explosion of Power. Soon after, everyone saw that Victor had met War halfway, the blade of Victor's Odachi and War's Greatsword being crossed midair.
With just that collision, the two warriors could vaguely gauge the strength of their opponent.
And the result of that assessment put a smile on their faces.
'He is strong!'
Significant strength was something everyone knew the two of them had, but the ability to wield that strength perfectly? It was something that both of them didn't know if their opponent had.
But with that simple exchange, all doubts had been erased.
Victor smiled widely but suddenly turned his face to the side while leaning back. Soon a Scythe covered in Dark Miasma passed through the previous location his neck had been, barely missing its target.
Demonstrating exceptional flexibility, Victor kicked Death, who attacked him stealthily, thus throwing the Horseman away, and with that maneuver, he achieved more leverage to push War away.
Victor landed back on the ground on his feet, resheathed his Odachi, and took on the stance of "Iaijutsu."
"4 against 1? Not bad, but..."
Rumble, Rumble, Rumble.
Lightning began to cover Victor's body.
"It's not enough."
Victor disappeared from where he was and, a second later, returned to where he was while once again having his Blade back in its sheath.
In the next second, as if the world was taking its time to understand what had happened, the consequences of Victor's attack became apparent.
All Four Horsemen had several deep cuts on their bodies; Pestilence had even lost an arm.
"I must say, you have excellent armor..." He looked at War and Death, who he had attacked substantially, but it was evident that their armor had stopped most of the damage.
"Armor made by the best blacksmiths in Hell aren't so easily breached, Alucard." War raised his Greatsword and jumped forward, generating a sonic boom in his wake, and, in the blink of an eye, was in front of Victor.
"I wonder about that," Victor spoke while using his Blade to stop War's attack, and a second later, Junketsu began to be covered by a red liquid, more specifically, blood.
Blows were exchanged between the two warriors, the noise of two Blades echoing like thunder as if the heavens were crying as they began ascending, taking their fight back into the air.
"Pestilence, stop playing around, and get serious!" Death roared. He joined his two Scythes together, forming a giant Scythe, and flew toward Victor.
Victor smiled widely as a second combatant entered the fray. Thus he began to use more strength.
The moment War went to attack him again with his Greatsword covered in the Flames of Hell, Victor, using his superior senses, changed the direction of his Blade and attacked upwards, effectively parrying War's attack, creating an opening in the Horseman's defense.
Victor pointed his palm, which had been hidden behind his back, forward, launching a sphere of compressed Blood toward War's chest.
The attack managed to penetrate War's armor and send him flying but failed to reach the Horseman's flesh.
Adjusting his center of gravity, War stabilized himself before touching the hole in his armor: "... As I said, Alucard... This is not armor that can be broken so easily." War's body burst into Flames, and the damage in his armor began to be repaired.
Victor narrowed his eyes at this.
With his superior sight, he realized that the Miasma of Hell was being used as Energy for the armor to rebuild itself.
Victor turned and faced Death, who was already swinging his Scythe in Victor's direction.
At that moment, Time around Victor started to slow. Then, with his left hand covered with the Power of Blood, he dodged Death's attack and performed a flawless punch, connecting it with Death's face, sending him careening toward the ground.
A cobweb-shaped crater formed beneath Death's body from the impact.
Victor touched his cheek and felt a small cut. He looked at Death, and he swore he saw a smug smile on the Demon's face that was hidden by his hood.
Even if the hood merely displayed absolute darkness, he was sure he saw it.
'... I see. The Miasma covering his Scythe can be extended and shortened... He has incredible control over that Energy.' Victor understood clearly what had happened.
"Don't get smug." Victor disappeared into thin air and appeared behind Death, who had risen to his feet, already cutting horizontally.
Death quickly retreated away from the Odachi's trajectory but opened his eyes wide when he saw the Blade extend.
"…I can do that too."
A gigantic gash was made on Death's body.
And at that very moment when the attack occurred, Famine came at a thunderous speed, attacking with his Glaive.
CLANG!
The sound of metal colliding rang out again, followed by a teeth-chattering screeching, and soon another confrontation began.
"A Spear user, heh." Although Famine's Spear Style differed from his Master's, the Basic Movements were practically similar; he knew that. After all, he'd trained with a Master in Spearmenship.
"Hey, Alucard. You feeling hungry?"
Victor raised an eyebrow at this unexpected question, but it wasn't until the next attack connected with his Blade that he felt it.
An overwhelming bloodlust, an insatiable hunger.
It was as if he'd gone several thousand years without feeding.
And that sudden feeling fueled by the Horseman in front of him led to a lapse in concentration that allowed Famine to attack further.
"Hunger is one of the most horrible ways to die. So tell me, you ever get hungry, Alucard?" Famine spun his Glaive, and a type of Power with a dark blue hue started to cover it.
Victor narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. This feeling was very irritating. Despite having trained in enduring 'hunger' with Scathach, this feeling far surpassed the training he went through.
He was like a man who had never eaten before in his life and was on the verge of starvation.
But even though he was feeling it, he knew something.
Despite feeling as though his strength was leaving him, his body was still strong. Roxanne's presence, fueling his existence, could still be felt. He wasn't actually 'hungry'.
This was some kind of psychological attack.
An attack that took advantage of the most basic nature of any Being.
Hunger.
Victor turned his face quickly when he sensed a presence and raised his Odachi in defense, receiving War's Greatsword crashing into him again.
In the exact second that War collided with him, Famine attacked as well, followed by Death.
The brothers worked very well together, and Victor was under pressure.
But even if he was in that situation, the excited feeling never left his heart.
He was having fun!
"HAHAHAHAHA"
'Crazy... Laughing in the middle of this situation.' Famine thought.
The only one who could understand Victor was War. They were the same species, after all.
"Tsk, I wasn't messing around." Pestilence took hold of his severed arm and put it back in place. It took a few seconds to recover, longer than it should have, but soon his regeneration took effect.
'That weapon has Anti-Soul properties...' When Pestilence realized this fact, he grew entirely serious.
He took hold of his Whip and started to spin. The wind produced by the Whip began to acquire a dark orange hue, followed by him soon proclaiming:
"Disease Field."
With these words, the ground started to change. The area started to change; worms began to come out of the soil, and the air became more toxic.
An area that could only be described as an Area of Disease spread across the entire battlefield.
"No Being, whether Mortal or God, can escape disease." Pestilence performed a swift maneuver with his Whip and slashed through the air.
And at that very moment, a whip mark appeared on Victor's armor.
"...." Victor raised his eyebrow and realized he had to back off a little, at least away from this Technique. Fighting in the middle of the enemy's Technique that he didn't know the function of could only be described as foolish.
Rumble, Rumble.
The moment he tried to use the Power of Lightning to get out of range of the Technique, his Lightning abruptly disappeared.
Victor opened his eyes wide.
'My Power has not been sealed, I can still feel it, but I can't use it...'
"Few Beings can escape us brothers." Famine attacked Victor, but the man just turned his body and dodged the attack.
"And you certainly won't have that honor, Alucard." Famine spun his Glaive and slammed it into the ground.
"Tell me, can you not feel hunger?" The Horseman's words seemed to reverberate throughout Victor's existence.
"Ugh…" Victor unconsciously put his hand on his belly. He felt as if a bottomless pit were inside his stomach now. The feeling was overwhelming.
Pestilence took advantage of this moment and launched his Whip, wrapping it around Victor's legs. Then, with a mighty yank, he caused Victor to fall to his knees.
War appeared beside Alucard and swung his Greatsword toward Victor.
The same happened with Death, who appeared on the other side and attacked with his giant Scythe.
'I got him!' The two brothers thought at the same time.
The brothers expected to hear the delicious sound of meat being eviscerated, but instead, they heard the rumbling noise of their weapons striking something extremely solid. They were then treated to the sight of Victor holding onto the blade of War's Greatsword with a hand covered in pure Ice while doing the same with Death's Scythe.
"What!?"
Death and War were in disbelief. He just caught their blades? Just like that?
And they were even more shocked when Famine attacked Victor's face, and the man just opened his mouth, catching the Glaive's blade between his teeth!
"....." Disbelief was seen on the faces of the Four Horsemen, including the Demons who were watching in the distance.
"The most fearsome weapons in Hell can be restrained so easily?" Vine asked in disbelief.
"…Of course not. Not even the Demon King would dare to touch the Horsemen's weapons without their permission. Each weapon embodies a small part of the Soul of the Horseman who wields it. The weapons are semi-sentient." Vepar responded and continued:
"And because they have a part of their respective Horseman's Soul, they also embody their most prominent Power in the Blade... The Hellfire of War, The Dark Miasma of Death, The Hunger of Famine, and The Disease of Pestilence. It is extremely hazardous to touch them without the Horsemen's permission."
Victor lifted his face, and the four brothers gulped when they saw that his face had disappeared entirely, leaving only a bottomless darkness, displaying a smile full of sharp teeth and blood-red eyes.
"I've learned..."
"Huh...?"
"The fighting techniques of you four brothers... I've learned them."
"... Huh?"
Gripping the Horseman's weapons tightly, Victor pulled Death and War close to him and slammed their heads together. Following that, he punched War in the stomach, the Horseman spitting blood from the impact, proving that attacks with Gauntlets worked better than his Blade.
The force of Victor's punch sent War soaring backward.
In one fluid movement, Victor switched targets, kicking Death in the face and sending the Horsman flying, much like his brother.
All the while, he was still tightly gripping Famine's Glaive between his teeth.
Gripping onto Pestilence's Whip, he mimicked Pestilence's previous move, tugging it with great strength and sending the Demon flying toward him.
The Ice Gauntlets that Victor created started to catch Fire, and he punched Pestilence in the face, causing the Demon to suffer the same fate as his brothers.
He then looked at Famine and smiled.
The Horseman winced a little, but before he could do anything, Victor grabbed Junketsu and pierced Famines' heart. As the only one not wearing armor, Victor's Blade penetrated Famine easily.
Victor spat the Glaive's Blade out of his mouth and said:
"So what if you prevented me from using my speed?"
"The Power of Lightning is just one aspect of my strength; I don't completely rely on it."
One lesson Scathach made sure to drill into his head was to 'diversify your areas of expertise because if one day the enemy succeeds in sealing off an aspect of your strength, there would still be other aspects to explore and fight with.'
Victor was extremely proficient in the Power of Lightning; it was the Power he used the most.
But that didn't mean it was his main source of Power.
He was still a Progenitor. His Blood was his Primary Power. He was still a Martial Artist specializing in the Odachi and Unarmed Combat, not counting the other Martial Arts in the use of several other weapons which Scathach had taught.
He still had other Bloodlines within him that he could use; he still had the Blessings of the Goddesses within him... He still had Roxanne, his greatest asset.
And so what if his Lightning could not be used? He was fast enough without it!
"To fight me, sealing my Power is not the answer..." Victor grabbed Famine by the head and lifted him into the air.
"After all, you would then have to seal thousands of other Powers within me as well."
Famine opened his eyes wide.
Victor grinned widely, and his entire body started turning completely dark with crimson tones, "I'm hungry, and it's your fault. So no hard feelings, right?"
Half of Victor's body then suddenly transformed into the head of a Demonic Beast, devouring Famine's existence whole.
"Brother!!" The three remaining Horsemen screamed.
Victor belched, utterly satisfied. Finally, the sensation of Hunger had disappeared: "For a Horseman of Hunger, he tasted really good." He looked at the remaining Horsemen of The Apocalypse, who were looking at him with a gleam of hatred in their eyes.
"What? You came to kill me but weren't ready to be killed yourselves?" Victor raised his hand, and Junketsu answered his call. He then pointed the tip of Junketsu at The Glaive of Famine on the ground.
Following her Master's example, branches erupted from Junketsu, turning into a mouth filled with sharp teeth, before beginning to consume the Glaive
In less than two seconds, the entire Glaive was gone, followed by Junketsu morphing from an Odachi into a Glaive itself.
"Good Girl." Victor's smile widened as he sensed that Junketsu had become more excited.
Victor spun Junketsu and held the Odachi-turned-Glaive behind him. He positioned himself in a stance much like Scathach's and pointed his arm, palm side up, at the now 'Three' Horsemen of The Apocalypse.
"Shall we continue our dance?"
"Bastard!" The three erupted in anger at Victor's casual attitude and launched themselves toward him with hatred in their eyes.
They wanted revenge!
.....
Edited By: DaV0 2138, IsUnavailable
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