Nameless King

Chapter 1076 The Long Struggle

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There were many persons in the throne room, and they were all Beastfolks, only Gael was a stranger here, however, the atmosphere was not threatening.

It was as if two old battle buddies had met, and there was some unfinished business between them.

"Ereg, The Unstoppable... It's been a while, hasn't it?" Gael smiled without any hatred or malice.

"Yeah, I'm glad you came. It's time for us to sort out a problem isn't it?" Ereg smirked, then he slowly rose from his throne.

Step. Step. Step.

Ereg relaxed stride and headed towards Gael, with a wide grin on his face. The Beastfolks in the throne room glanced around, waiting for the great battle to begin.

Whooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, near the throne room, four silhouettes appeared on one of the viewing platforms. They were Alucard, Liang, Nitra, and Nila.

"Oh, it looks like we've come just in time." Alucard smirked looking at his friend. 

"Yeah... But why do I think they don't look like mortal enemies to me? What happened between them in the past?" Liang asked with a slight frown.

Nitra nodded, "I'm curious too. Alucard, you surely know don't you?"

Alucard wanted to say something, but Nila interrupted him, "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but if I may I would like to tell you about it."

"Hah, this is the second time you have acted impertinent in my presence. Aren't you afraid I might get angry and kill you?" Alucard uttered, showing his long fangs capable of tearing apart the hide of any creature. 

Alucard let out a threatening aura, which naturally gave Nila goosebumps all over her body. She couldn't resist her instincts, but her mind was capable of doing so.

"Khm. If you wanted to, you would have done it a long time ago. I realize that no one can stop you, so it all depends on your desire." Nila smiled, then she pointed at Ereg, "My King, long ago fought Mr. Gael."

"I don't know all the details of that battle, as well as who won, but back then Ereg lost his right eye." Nila calmly explained.

"Hmm... However, despite the infinite amount of resources he had, he didn't bother to heal his wound. An unusual decision." Liang muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Nila nodded, "The king says he will only heal his eye after he can give a decent fight to his most important opponent. He wants to win, but it will be enough for him and Gael to become equals."

Besides Liang, Alucard, Nitra, and Nila, there were also four other silhouettes that no one saw watching the fight.

"Well, well, it's gotten pretty crowded around here, hasn't it?" Wain said, looking around.

"Yeah... Looks like it. Honestly, I didn't expect us to get to this point... Alucard and Gael weren't supposed to show up at all, but now we're watching one event after another..." Sven shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Hah, I like it!" Osvald exclaimed with an excited expression, "I didn't think I could see something new and learn something, but the last battle managed to surprise me!"

Marlis nodded, "I'd be interested in talking to Nitra... By the way, what are they even doing in the real world right now...? I mean, these days? After all, we're just watching memories right now."

Sven smirked, "They are waiting. Alucard and Gael should have been doing the same thing, but they're not under anyone's orders, and they do what they want. However, it's good that they're on our side."

Wain nodded as his gaze became more serious for a moment. He had a short break now, but as soon as he was done with his memories, the preparations for the Second and Last Great War would begin.

It would be an opportunity for Wain to do what he had started long ago, and this time he wouldn't have to die and wait five hundred years for his rebirth as he intended to put an end to this story.

'Eva... Hah, will there ever come a time when I have nothing to worry about and can just live in peace?' Wain inwardly muttered with a sad look.

Step. Step. Step.

After a while, Ereg stopped with a wide smile on his face. He took a deep breath, then his legs were covered in black flames.

In a heartbeat, Ereg appeared in front of Gael, delivering a lightning strike.

Gael with a calm expression blocked Ereg's attack.

"Hm... What was that? You acted seriously, but the force of your strike isn't." Gael asked, tilting his head.

Ereg smirked and jumped back.

"Before we begin. I want you to make a promise." Ereg looked intently at Gael.

"I'm listening to you."

"I want you to promise that you'll fight seriously, as seriously as you can and you won't stop, no matter what!" Ereg exclaimed, pointing at Gael, "I want a decent fight, after the hundreds of years that have passed since then."

The Beastfolks glanced around as fear appeared on many of their faces. Ashens like all races had their peculiarities, but something about their society was unique.

Everyone knew that if an Ashen made a promise, he was sure to fulfill it. It didn't matter what the promise was, the only thing that mattered was that an Ashen gave his word.

"Are you sure about this? You and I are not enemies, but opponents that want to see each other's strength... There is no need for such extreme measures." Gael asked in a worried tone.

Ereg waved his hand, "Gael, don't insult me. I understand your worries, but this is what I really want. Just say you won't hold back."

Gael remained silent. For a very long time, practically several minutes, but Ereg didn't ask him again, he realized that for Gael this was a very difficult decision.

With every second the Beastfolks were getting more worried, they didn't expect their King, to make this fight so serious and maybe even deadly.

"Fine." Gael said coldly, "I promise I will fight seriously."

From any other being, those words would not have been as meaningful as they were from Gael, or from an Ashen. Anyone could cheat, Ashens too, but not when they were giving their word on something.

Ereg smirked, "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"Are we going to start right here?" Gael asked, looking around, "I wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt besides us. Your men have powerful auras, but they still won't be able to withstand even a few of my attacks."

"Hah, that sounds arrogant, but it's true." Ereg grinned, and then he pointed forward.

Gael turned around and saw in the distance a massive colosseum. It was made of white stone, and it looked like someone was fighting there.

"In Beastfolk World, it's the most popular place for battles, everyone from First Chronicle to Fifth Chronicle Ones can participate there." 

"Hm? So we're going there?" Gael asked, tilting his head. It seemed strange to him to subject such an important place to destruction because of their battle.

"Of course not!" Ereg smirked, "We'll just turn this beautiful place into nothing. There's a better option for the two of us, go ahead, follow me!"

Whooooooooooooosh.

Ereg rushed in a northerly direction. Gael shrugged and followed him, leaving particles of ash behind him. 

Beastfolks glanced around, only a few of them guessing where Ereg was headed.

"Do you know where we're going?" Liang asked, glanced at Nila.

"Sure. It's a special place where creatures of incredible power can fight. Part of it is the World of Darkness, but it's also part of our world." Nila nodded, then she headed forward.

Alucard, Liang, and Nitra glanced around before following her.

They flew for a long time until they reached the border of the Beastfolk World.

It was a snowy land, with mountains, stone hills, and sparse forests with very tall trees reaching the clouds.

Nearby was a black shore with a purple sea stretching infinitely far away.

Between these locations was an ancient structure, it was another colosseum, but it was different from the past as it was obviously much older.

The space next to this colosseum had been destroyed, and it could not recover because of the hundreds of runes carved on the stones that made up the colosseum.

"There is a special barrier around this colosseum that is completely unique. All of our attacks that go outside of the colosseum will be absorbed by the barrier and sent into the open space." Ereg explained.

Gael nodded, "I see... The arena is big enough for us to not be deterred, and also no matter how powerful the attacks we use, no one will get hurt."

"Sure, that's the point." Ereg smirked, with his arms crossed over his chest, "A lot has changed since the last time you and I fought, as well as our powers."

Gael nodded, "Yeah. Let's put a point to our story. The Great War will happen soon, and I don't want any conflict between us. We'll settle this tonight. I hope you've prepared well."

Ereg sighed, "Don't worry. I'll show you that we're equals now!"