"What kind of sword is this...?" Liang muttered as he cast a glance at his weapon. His sword was also unusual and had two stages, but regardless of the stage, it was still a sword - perfect for swordsmanship.
"How would someone so calm, someone with such a high level of skill fight with this weapon of a butcher or a mad killer?" Liang said in confusion. n.(o)-V-)e)-l/)b()I-.n
Sure, Gale and Liang could even fight with a branch or fork if they wanted to, given their level of strength and swordsmanship it would be enough for them to defeat most opponents.
However, Ereg was not an easy foe, moreover, his Ether kept growing and soon it would reach 70%. When that happened, he would move to a new stage of his power.
Not every weapon was suitable for swordsmanship - a sword blade could be long, but not too wide and flat. This was necessary for balance and speed.
However, Gael's sword was a real nightmare for any swordsman. It was huge, wide, uneven, slightly curved, and had crooked teeth on the outside of the blade.
Virtually none of the parameters of this sword were suitable for fencing.
"Hi! I see you are surprised, well, I won't argue, it does look unusual. However, don't worry about me, this weapon will help me win!" Gael uttered as he swung the sword and placed it on his shoulder.
At the same moment, an eerie aura naturally began to emanate from the sword, as if millions of souls who had died the most brutal deaths were imprisoned inside the sword like an eternal prison.
This aura contrasted with Gael's easy, even happy smile like a child who could finally use his old toy.
Nitra, Nila, and Krana flinched, as did most of the onlookers.
"Damn... How can that sword have such a creepy aura... Moreover, why does it keep smiling so innocently? It's so strange." Nitra muttered in a disbelief.
Alucard smirked.
"Just watch. None of you have ever seen Gael in this state before. This may be your first and only opportunity in hundreds of years, so you better watch carefully!"
Step. Step. Another Step.
Gael walked slowly forward, completely calm and serene.
His footsteps didn't shake the ground, didn't leave cracks, and there was no heavy pressure that showed his power. Everything was normal, even too normal for someone like Gael.
However, Ereg constantly felt a growing threat, as if with every step Gael took, death's grip was tightening around his neck more and more, and soon he would be headless.
"Alright. It's time to begin." Gael smiled, then she pointed at Ereg, "Behind you."
"Agh...? In the back? Are you trying to trick me?" Ereg smirked as he blinked.
But, Gael was no longer where he had just stood. It seemed that Gael had simply vanished, or... moved to another place.
Whooooooooooooosh.
As fast as possible, Ereg turned around, creating a dense barrier of Ether in front of him.
At the same moment, a black blade collided with the Ether, trying to break through it. Strangely enough, the Ether slowly disintegrated into threads, slowly weakening Ereg's defenses.
'Shit! What kind of power is this!!! All the past silver blades weren't as strong as this!" Ereg inwardly exclaimed as his feet started to go into the ground.
''Hah, looks like I didn't warn you for nothing, otherwise our fight might have ended after my attack. I'd be disappointed if you only saw two of my scars." Gael smiled slyly, "However, I won't give you any more hints!"
Then, Gael swung his sword, and his silhouette trembled. He quickly appeared to the left of Ereg, attacking his opponent from a strange angle.
This time, Ereg didn't have time to put up a full defense, because he didn't know where the attack would come from. He was able to block part of the sword, but the tip of the sharp blade still reached his shoulder, leaving a deep cut.
Whooooooooooooosh.
Before Ereg could realize anything, Gael abruptly turned around and kicked him in the face, throwing him dozens of meters back.
"Hmm... I still don't understand what the point of that sword is..." Marlis muttered in confusion.
Osvald nodded.
"Yeah... Doesn't it look like just a sword? I thought it would have some special abilities."
Sven lifted his chin.
"Didn't you notice that?"
"Hmm?" Marlis and Osvald gave him questioning looks.
Sven pointed to the spot where Ereg's feet had begun to enter the ground. On the floor of the colosseum, though almost imperceptibly, it left streaks like thin cuts.
"And...? What does that mean?" Osvald asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
Sven was about to answer, but Wain beat him to it.
"Energy. It seems the sole purpose of this sword is to conduct Gael's energy. Yeah, technically every weapon does that, but Gael's sword converts his energy into another, wilder and more random, in some ways even chaotic."
Wain continued pointing to Gael's sword.
"Hah, he said it's Peace Nightmare, right? Damn, that's an ironic name. For those two attacks, Gael only used a fraction of the power, he decided not to unleash all of his power on Ereg at once and let him get used to it. Right now, he's really acting like a child."
At this time, Ereg's blue ghost was gradually growing, reaching 67% already.
'If he exerts a little more force, this could end badly for me...' Ereg internally muttered while climbing out of the rubble and dusting off his shoulders.
Then, his gaze traveled to his hands.
'Well... I couldn't do this before, but I have enough Ether now. If I fight with my bare hands against this sword, I'll soon lose.'' Ereg pondered for a moment before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
Gael raised an eyebrow.
He expected Ereg to immediately attack him, trying to correct the situation and seize the initiative. However, instead, Ereg stood idly by.
"Hey! That's uncultured, you know?" Gael frowned as he rushed forward at a tremendous speed.
His speed, or rather his method of movement had changed after he summoned Peace Nightmare. Not only did he become faster, but he was also able to practically teleport, taking very long steps with a distance of several tens of meters.
Sure, it wasn't teleportation, but it almost looked like it, and the speed was appropriate.
Thus, Gael was right in front of Ereg in a few fractions of a second, sheathing his massive sword, clutching the hilt tightly with both hands.
At the same moment, Ereg opened his eyes, taking full control of his Ether.
The dense, blue energy that had been covering his body like an azure flame now pressed against him, and some of the energy traveled to his hands.
Previously, a layer of the Ether had just covered his hands, but now the ether had turned into long claws that went from his fingers to his wrist. In a way, these claws could be used as knuckles and as a shield, because they only extended slightly beyond his hand.
Whoooooooooooooosh.
Ereg swung his arms, displaying them above him and defending himself from Gael's sword.
This time, Gael was annoyed and completely unrestrained, so Ereg had to face all the power Peace Nightmare was capable of.
The wall behind him was destroyed by random blades of energy that came out of Gael's sword using his power.
However, Ereg was unharmed, for if Gael couldn't destroy his claws, the energy couldn't travel any further to harm him.
Ereg grinned widely, for at that moment his blue ghost reached 70%, and his eyes shone brightly.
Claws became a little longer, Ereg's body filled with power, and he took a step forward, throwing Gael off of him.
Gael frowned, clenching his teeth tightly.
He had been prepared for Ereg to get stronger at the blue ghost's growth, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
'Shit... Maybe I should use the next scar? After all, Peace Nightmare will stay with me until the end... Hmmm...' Gael pondered, being airborne from Ereg's throw and gazing serenely at the sun.
'No. Peace Nightmare still hasn't shown what he's capable of. Well, Ereg, you're going to have to try harder if we want to end this fight with our Forms.'' Gael inwardly muttered as a slight smile appeared on his face.
He somersaulted, landing confidently on the ground.
At the same time, Ereg stepped confidently towards him, not hiding his increased strength. The ground beneath him crackled, and the space shook.
The Colosseum tried to recover, but it was taking too much damage.
"What do you think? You got a new weapon, but I got something, too. Use your next scars, or else when my ghost reaches 90%, you won't have time for it anymore!" Ereg said confidently with an excited smile on his face.
Gael sighed heavily, then he swung his sword and to everyone's surprise, pointed at his neck, leaving a long cut on it.
His blood covered Peace Nightmare, running down the dark blade and making it shine brightly.