As the flame settled and the dust and debris started falling from the sky, Arad expanded his wings, "Let's check on him,"
"Yeah," Eris replied, "Last time he survived an even stronger blast. Not to say this is a weak one,"
"Half the power of the first one," Arad started flying, "But this had your holy magic. It should deal more damage to him than the first one,"
Arad flew across the sea, seeing it slowly turning dark from the ash and charred remains of the island as he approached the beach. CRACK! Upon landing, he looked around to see a massive hole, several hundred meters in diameter, in the middle of the island. The fire still burned in it.
"The flame," Eris giggled, "It's a holy fire," She tapped Arad's teeth. "Can I get on your back?"
"No, stay in my jaw. I can protect you easier and faster ," Arad replied, closing his jaw and only leaving her a small hole between his teeth to stare out from.
Arad slowly climbed down the hole using his claws. He looked like a cat going down a wall, quickly landing at the base. "Now, where is he?"
"Probably evaporated? Holy magic disintegrates vampires into ash," Eris replied.
"My guts are telling me he's alive," Arad said, sniffing the ground. Like a cat, he has to inspect his kill.
"You sound more like Alcott," She remembered how Alcott and Vasilissa kept arguing.
"That's probably a good thing," Arad giggled, "His guts were right after all,"
Arad turned his head and stared at the center of the hole, "Vlad, I know you're alive. You might've escaped the god's punishment, but you aren't escaping me. I haven't cut your balls yet,"
"You still on about that?" Eris sighed,
"You still on about that?" Another voice said the same thing.
"Ha..." Eris gasped, looking forward.
CRACK! Two arms emerged from the ground, combing their fingers with a loud clap.
[Blood Expansion: Castle Of The Dead]
Arad could feel his bones quiver, and he sensed Eris crawling into a ball inside him, shivering, "He's coming," She mumbled.
The black sky of the night turned red as the see around the island turned into blood. The hole where Arad was got inverted outward, rising as a tall, steep mountain with a large castle on top of it.
Arad flew out to the beach and stared at the new mountain, seeing rivers of blood gushing down from the castle's base.
"So this is his expansion?" Arad swallowed Eris back into his stomach to protect her then opened his jaw, charging a breath.
CRACK! Some fast flew past, punching him in the face. Arad turned his head, "You..." He growled, seeing Chuzuke flying there with red skin.
BAM! A bolt flew out of nowhere, hitting Arad's face. He looked, seeing the vampire he killed around his house in the past.
"Whenever a vampire dies, whether by holy magic or not, the blood I gave them, or gave their ancestors returns to me where their souls shall rest for the rest of time," Vlad said, standing at one of his castle's balconies, staring down at Arad.
From the mountain and the ground around him, several millions of spikes emerged from the ground with crying people on them, skewered from the butt to the throat, and dripping blood on the ground.
Vlad lifted his hand, staring down with red glowing eyes, "I swear, my people. I shall be your only king for the rest of time,"
"Bastard," Arad growled, "There are children there as well,"
"Humans also eat lamb. They take it as a delicacy even." Vlad replied, "You're a dragon, like me. You've eaten humans before. I can smell it, feel it,"
"I did," Arad replied, "But not children, only bandits..." At that moment, it dawned on Arad, "I see, so this is why the gods never dropped a holy sword to kill you,"
"Ho? What did you guess,"
"Human and lamb," Arad growled, "Only those at the top of the food chain can become vampires."
Arad looked at the sky, [Secretly trying to assess the range of Vlad's Expansion]. "Vampirism exists to balance those races by creating natural predators for them, from them."
"Completly eradicating us would throw the world out of balance, and leaving us to grow in numbers would do the same." Vlad replied, "The gods always try to trim our numbers by sending in paladins, but they'll never come to purge us from existence,"
"I see," Arad took a step forward, and an extra pair of arms emerged from his shoulders. "I'm not the gods,"
CRACK! He grew a second pair of bat wings and a long furry tail, flapping beside his dragon tail.
"I do not care for the balance of the world," Two pairs of eyes burst on Arad's head as four horns grew out of his skull, leaving him with six horns and eyes.
Chuzuke and thousands of vampires flooded toward Arad like a tsunami.
Light emerged from between Arad's scales as he started disintegrating matter with his void and releasing the heat out, blasting the vampires that got close into ash.
Arad flapped his wings and started slowly flying up, "Time to finish this fight,"
ROAAAAAAAAAAA! A roar came from the sky, and Vlad looked up, "Who?"... He gasped, seeing a red barefoot just above his face.
CRACK! Nina stomped his face, pushing him through the balcony and the castle's walls until they reached the ground.
As Nina stomped Vlad's head to the ground, he twisted his body and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying back. "How can you move? I'm sure you're in my blood control?" He growled, standing as he healed.
CRACK! Nina stood, her massive axe on her shoulder.
Vlad extended his hand toward her, [Blood Control] At that moment, he could see it, a massive lizard glaring back at him. Nina's blood rejected his control.
"I see, the tarrasque's blood." He giggled, "Even I, the vampire king, I'm still too weak to control it,"
Nina roared, lunging at him, swinging her battle axe, cutting his arm off. The blood in his arm exploded, shattering the severed limb and damaging the stem left in Vlad's arm.
Vlad jumped back, "But I'm sure you can't fly, and even you won't be able to jump over the sea and fall from such high," He looked at the sky, "How did you come?"
CRACK! The sky cracked, and two massive dragons flew in, a second Arad and a large silver drakaina.
Vlad's eyes opened wide, "Gin? She's still alive?" He gasped, "And why is there..." He looked at Arad who stood before him, seeing him staring back at him with a cheeky grin.
"VLAD!" A deep rumbling voice crackled from the sky as a golden claw half as big as Arad emerged from the dark clouds, "You dare harm my daughter?!" Kinryuu extended his massive head down from the sky, glaring down at Vlad with his massive whiskers crackling with fire and lightning.
"If he's here," Vlad growled, glaring back at Arad, "You bastard!"
"Of course, I don't care if it's fair or not," Arad laughed at him, "I can beat you on my own, but I'll drag the metallic dragons with me just in case you try to escape,"
CRACK! Kinryuu flew toward the ground, shifting into his humanoid form and landing between Vald and Nina.
"How can you move?" Vlad glared at him.
"I've no obligation to explain myself to you," Kinryuu replied.
He turned toward Nina, "Go help Arad deal with the flood of Vampires. I'll beat this idiot,"
BAM! Nina jumped toward Arad while Kinryuu approached Vlad, cracking his knuckles.
"You really think you can take me on your own? Metallic general?" Vlad smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I'm only here to cool my rage and crack a few of your bones," Kinryuu's muscles started expanding as his long white beard danced with the wind.
BAM! Vlad lunged forward, swinging his sword at Kinryuu's neck.
CRACK! Kinryuu caught Vlad's arm, twisting it with both hands like he was squeezing water out of an old rag. He grabbed Vlad by the neck, plucked his eyes out, and started flailing him around, smacking him into the ground and stones at an unbelievable speed.
CRACK! Arad's clone and Gin landed beside Arad, "The other dragons are waiting outside Vlad's expansion. The blood control inside is too much for them to handle,"
"I know," Arad replied, "My Gemini clone was with you," He and the clone merged, "Stay in place and don't move," Arad lifted his front claws, putting them together.
Gin nodded and sat in place.
[Void Expansion: Devouring Void]
^[To separate them from Vlad, there is only one way.]^ Doma smiled as Arad's void expanded, swallowing the flood of vampires rushing toward them.
CRACKLE! Kinryuu punched Vlad in the face, sending him skipping on dirt until he smacked into the base of the mountain.
"How could you move? I can't sense your blood," Vlad growled.
"Won't say," Kinryuu looked back, "Arad seems to have taken care of your army. It's high time we finished this."