Nameless King

Unlike all other reinforcement stages, giant scars were something special, and intimate to Gael. If he used them, it meant that he was recognizing that the opponent could kill him.

Before Ereg hadn't used Ether, and his ghost hadn't started turning from green to blue one, Gael wouldn't have even considered such a thing, but now everything had changed.

Neither white ash nor black one could help him win, as well as other sizes of scars.

Ereg's Ether changed everything because dealing with a force with absolute freedom was an extremely difficult task. The only way to deal with such a force was to use extreme measures.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The space shook while one scar after another opened on Gael's body. There were seven in all, and each time, the aura around him grew stronger, instilling fear in anyone watching the battle or within a few kilometers of him.

The arrangement of Gael's giant scars was as follows - two on his arms, two on his legs, one on his chest, one on his back, and one on his neck.

Unlike medium or even large scars that could simply be long stripes or a lacerated circular wound, giant scars had a complex shape.

The giant scar on his arm was curved and wide, running all the way down his arm, from his fingers and palm to his wrist, elbow, and shoulder. The same was true of all the other scars.

The scar on his chest looked as if a bolt of lightning had struck Gael, capable of destroying an entire space with its force. Many smaller ones were coming from the massive circular scar, spreading out in a circle like a spider's web or the roots of a great tree.

The scar on his back looked different - as if from hundreds of sharp claws of an ancient beast that should have torn Gael apart, but he was able to withstand this test of fate.

The final scar was the one on his neck. Unlike all the others, it had a distinct shape, for this scar covered Gael's entire neck, reaching down to the level of his chest and his jaw.

"Damn... This... this is... this is impressive." Liang muttered with a dazed expression.

Even the one named - The Strongest One, was in awe of Gael's giant scars because he understood what Gael had to go through to get them.

Gael couldn't just create a big scar at will - he had to be wounded accordingly, the more serious the wound, the bigger the scar. 

However, there was one difficulty with giant scars, and that was that an attack that created a large scar was enough to kill Gael.

Thus, he could only get a giant scar if the attack exceeded his limits, and he had to use all his defenses to survive. Being able to return his body to a state from the past thanks to the scars was one such way for Gael.

"What a terrifying power, but... I couldn't even imagine the kind of battles Gael went through to get such scars... Are there so many strong opponents in this world?" Nitra muttered with wide eyes.

Alucard smirked.

"Hey, I think you misunderstand how his scars are formed."

"Agh...?" Nitra tilted her head in confusion.

Alucard raised a finger, like a teacher ready to explain something to his students.

"Don't forget that no one was born the strongest. We all had to go through a long journey back in ancient times to reach the Transcendence Stage. Gael received his scars throughout his life, not just when he reached his current level."

Nitra nodded, with an understanding look.

"Hm? Doesn't that mean that the early scars aren't as strong as the ones he got in God Stage, for example?" Krana asked with a slight frown. It seemed illogical to her.

Alucard shook his head.

"Scars only became a weapon for Gael because of their unique power, because scars aren't an object or energy - they're memories. Whether you received a deadly scar in a sword fight or a battle with a Progenitor of Dragons, at the moment, they could be equal to you - equally close to death."

Nila, who from the beginning had wanted Ereg to win began to worry. She didn't know all of her king's abilities, but it was obvious to everyone that Ereg had nothing left in his arsenal of unknown techniques.

Right now, his blue ghost had grown to 3/10 of its size. When it reached 100%, Ereg's only enhancement would remain his Form.

However, Gael was in the same situation, if he couldn't suppress Ereg even with his giant scars he would definitely lose, and that was the case.

Sven sighed heavily as he looked at Wain.

"What do you think? Do you know anything about his scars?"

Wain shook his head.

"I could only assume that the scar on his back he got fighting some dragon or even their Progenitor, but... that's not accurate information at all. Alucard is right, Gael could have gotten those scars while in the Third, Second, or even First Chronicle. We can't know that, but we can observe the effect."

"Hahaha! I've finally waited for this moment!" Osvald exclaimed with an excited expression, his laughter spreading around.

Marlis rolled her eyes.

"Pfffft! Why do I feel like everyone here has abruptly become a fan of Gael's?"

Sven smiled slyly.

"Do you have a different opinion? Though I haven't seen them in action, the aura emanating from the scars impressed everyone, not just me, and Wain, Liang, and Nitra were also impressed." 

Marlis waved her hand.

"As far as I'm concerned the fact that Ereg has Ether is more impressive. If Gael could use Chaos, I'd believe he could make a difference."

Wain nodded.

"Chaos is indeed a powerful force, but... Chaos and Ether are not omnipotent entities, otherwise, all the other abilities wouldn't matter."

Osvald raised an eyebrow with a slightly surprised look. 

"Hey, don't you possess one of those three powers? Kind of arrogant to hear you say that, considering your level of strength."

Wain smirked.

"I'm not the one who made gluttony one of the three unique powers, the others just decided to call it that, and there's no way I can change that."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The space stopped shaking as the aura emanating from Gael quickly began to calm down. His hair and robe no longer fluttered, and for the first time in a long time, there was silence in the colosseum.

No one spoke or made a sound, everyone was waiting for Gael's actions, for now, all attention was focused only on him.

"Will you stop being silent? Say something!" Ereg exclaimed with a wave of his hand.

In response, Gael smiled slightly and looked at his body - at his scars that he hadn't seen in over a hundred years.

"Hah... What a strange feeling..." Gael muttered as a fire lit up in his eyes.

He no longer looked like a majestic warrior, a proud Progenitor, or someone who carried the title - The Invincible.

In that moment, Gael felt joy - as pure and innocent as a child discovering something new or receiving a gift. 

Ereg was shocked. He had not been prepared for such a change in Gael and it actually made him tense, for now he did not know what to expect from his opponent. 

Alucard smirked, so much that his expression changed completely - becoming creepy and intimidating. 

Nila and Krana shuddered at the slight aura that began to emanate from Alucard, as they had never seen him before.

"Hehehe, finally Gael is behaving as he truly is - free, curious, and dangerous!" Alucard exclaimed, waving his arms to the sides. 

Then, Gael looked at Ereg, whose blue ghost had reached 40% of his total strength. Soon, Ether would fully evolve and reach his full power.

However, it didn't seem to bother Gael, for in his mind he was one level higher than Ereg even though Ether. 

"Sorry, I just needed some time to recover. I haven't done that in a while, you know?" Gael uttered, looking at Ereg.

Ereg shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sure. I like you a lot more now than when you used the dark ash. That power was creepy and unpleasant, it's not cool to feel the aura of death all the time. Unlike Alucard, I can die." Ereg smirked.

Gael nodded slightly.

Then, Ereg's gaze traveled to Gael's hand.

"Hey... Where's your sword? Can a first-class swordsman like you fight without a sword? That wouldn't be cool at all!"

Gael sighed.

"Well... I'll show you my weapon that can only appear when I use giant scars. However, only if you can survive my first attack." Gael sincerely said with a slight smile.

"Agh...?" Ereg gave him a questioning look.

At the same moment, the scar on Gael's right arm shone brightly as streams of ash appeared beside him. The ash quickly turned into an eerie paw with three sharp claws, emitting a frightening aura.

Then, Gael raised his hand and performed a swing.

In no time, the indestructible floor of the colosseum was split into three pieces - the flawless silver blades aimed at Ereg at breakneck speed, leaving him no time to dodge.