Nameless King

Peace Nightmare was an unusual weapon, and many mistook its only ability for converting Gael's energy into a devastating one. It was enough to impress spectators and experienced fighters alike, as such a power posed a threat to Ereg, but in reality, Peace Nightmare was far more complex.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Gael's blood, flowing from a wide cut on his scarred neck, coated the black blade. Gradually, faintly at first, then bright as a star, Peace Nightmare flashed with crimson light.

Blood stopped dripping to the ground as Peace Nightmare completely absorbed it, soaking up all the power.

Ereg stopped as he took a few steps back. A slight shiver ran through his body, and anxiety stirred deep within his heart. He didn't know what to expect, but it was enough that his instincts were telling him of grave danger.

"What the fuck is this...?" Ereg muttered with a dazed expression, the tips of his fingers trembling.

Gael smirked, placing his palm against the cut and stopping the bleeding. 

"Hm? I'm just going to use my sword's ability." Gael uttered as he touched the center of the blade of his broadsword.

At the same moment, many tiny blood flame lights appeared on the blade. They were slightly larger than a grain and could not pose a threat, though they emitted a formidable aura.

There were quite a few fires and they grew in a circle, following each other and swirling to create a layered sphere on Peace Nightmare.

"What...? Fire? Aren't they too small to harm Ereg? After all, his Ether is growing, he keeps getting stronger." Osvald asked puzzled rubbing the back of his head.

Marlis shook her head.

"No, those lights aren't weapons, they're probably charges. Look closely, there are 99 of them and they are all the same size, even the outermost and center ones are no different. They are like batteries that have the same amount of energy." Marlis explained looking intently at Peace Nightmare.

"Charges...? But for what?"

Sven sighed with a slight smile on his face.

"We'll find out now. Surely Gael won't wait for Ereg to get even stronger. He doesn't have much time if he wants to wound Ereg using only his two scars."

Whooooooooooooosh.

At the same moment, Gael stepped forward, but he did not attack Ereg. His goal was something else as he stood right in the center of the arena.

"Alright, I think you can spend a little more in the beginning." Gael smirked, swung his sword, and thrust it deeply into the ground. 

Ten lights out of 99 immediately extinguished, releasing all their energy outwards - through Peace Nightmare.

'Shit, what's going on here? After he revealed the giant scars, then he's completely changed! Since when did he use such weapons, red flames, and techniques like this?'' Ereg internally pondered with great grimace.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

After a few seconds, the ground shook as from beneath it, flaming geysers appeared, like tiny volcanic vents spewing out flames and magma particles.

"Fine, this is it. Now it's time to have some fun!" Gael exclaimed, swinging his sword to the side.

Strangely enough, a pillar of flame from one geyser headed towards Peace Nightmare, in a way as if Gael's sword possessed a natural attraction. It seemed as if Peace Nightmare was a massive planet, with other objects tending to it to become its companions.

Then, Gael raised his sword high above his head like a god of fire.

The flames coming from Peace Nightmare were as bright as a star, and the temperature distorted space like a mirage in the desert. 

Ereg gulped.

He felt that if he made a mistake, Gael's attack would simply burn him, leaving nothing left of him.

Whooooooooooooooosh.

Using all his strength, Gael brought his sword down to the ground, it seemed that after absorbing the magma, Peace Nightmare became a hundred times heavier because even for Gael, it wasn't easy. 

A massive flaming blade with a wide stream of fire flew forward, heading straight for Ereg and destroying everything in its path.

Colosseum could no longer withstand their attacks, even after the improvements, so the ground quickly began to melt, and the walls shook.

Ereg took a deep breath.

'Alright, it looks scary, but I have a stronger element than fire. All I need to do is focus on my defense!" Ereg exclaimed internally before crossing his arms and pressing them against his chest.

His ether claws trembled, absorbing most of Ereg's ether and creating a dense barrier in front of him.

Then, the flaming blade collided with the blue barrier, causing a crushing explosion like the aftermath of a supernova star bursting. 

Colors of the entire spectrum covered the Colosseum, not only red and blue, but also orange, yellow, purple, and even green in waves of energy.

It looked like a rather strange, cosmic rainbow, but it was no less appealing than a normal one. 

"How beautiful..." Nila muttered with her eyes wide open. She should have been worried about Ereg and wanted to be, but she just couldn't help herself. 

Her eyes just didn't want to leave this unique landscape, as if for a moment, she was in the middle of a cosmic void of stars and nebulae.

Almost everyone was trapped in a similar trap, only Alucard, Liang, and Nitra did not dwell on the starry rainbow. They only gave it a quick glance and returned to what mattered - Ereg's condition.

Gradually, the dust settled, the iridescence dissipated, and everyone could see the aftermath of the collision between fire and ether. 

Strangely enough, Ereg was virtually unharmed. There were steam streams coming from him, for some of his fur was slightly burned, but nothing critical, his skin was intact, and so was he.

However, the same could not be said of the walls and floor of the colosseum. There was nothing left of them, for the flames had burned them into nothingness, even the ashes had burned away.

The runes in the colosseum shone brightly, trying to recover, but even a renewed colosseum would need several hours to repair even 1/10th of all the damage it had received in a short period of time. 

"Agh... That was strong, but what's next? I've already reached 72%, and I suggest you hurry up if you don't want to lose!" Ereg smirked confidently, spitting out a clot of blood.

The fire may not have been able to harm him, but the pressure from the collision was intense and it was impossible for Ereg to withstand it without repercussions.

Gael raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you were able to block it so easily, but... Did you still not realize that?" Gael raised an eyebrow with a curious expression.

"What? What are you talking about?" Ereg said worriedly, for Gael didn't look like he was worried about the unfortunate result at all.

Gael simply pointed at Peace Nightmare's blade. 88 out of 99 lights were burning brightly, which meant that Gael had only spent one fire on this attack. 

Ereg's eyes went wide, a shiver went through his entire body, and fear even appeared within him. He realized that he could hardly do anything if Gael unleashed 88 more of these attacks on him. This was beyond all limits. 

"Damn, he's in a difficult situation." Nitra frowned, "He doesn't have any more trump cards left besides his Form and 100% blue ghost, right?" 

Liang nodded, "Yeah, it looks like it. In fact, Gael shouldn't act so arrogant. A few more percent and Ereg will become even stronger. It's unlikely that Peace Nightmare has any more hidden potential."

Alucard nodded slightly with a calm gaze, which was strange for him.

"At the moment, it's a needle for Ereg to survive. He needs to use all his energy to give Ether time to grow. However, does he realize that?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, Ereg laughed, his laughter echoing throughout the colosseum, watching the shocked faces of the spectators.

"Hah, so 88 more attacks like the last one, right? Well, I'm ready! Go ahead, I'll destroy every single one of them, and you'll end up running away from me, hastily using your next scar!" Ereg said confidently while staring intently at Gael.

Gael frowned. He didn't want Ereg to be afraid of him, but he expected Ereg to be worried and act cautiously. However, Ereg's reaction was different from his expectations.

Whoooooooosh.

Gael swung his sword, absorbing several more flames. This time, Gael decided to gather a lot more energy.

Then, he jumped high up and began to make one sword swing after another. Each time, a few lights on Peace Nightmare went out, because these flame blades were much more powerful than the previous ones, but their price had also increased.

So Gael would be able to make not 88 attacks, but about twenty, but it was still enough to burn some medium-sized Void, and blocking this hail of fire was up to one person.

Wain, silently watching this stage of the fight, smirked slightly. He saw Ereg's ether growing and knew that in a few more minutes Gael would have to defend himself, revealing his new scars.