Carmilla crossed her arms.
Her red eyes stayed locked on Alucard.
"So, the first round is tomorrow."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that came before violence.
Floating a few feet off the ground, Hermes smiled like he was watching a play.
"Correct."
He tilted his head slightly.
"And the opponent is my dear brother."
Pause.
"Ares."
Ares.
God of War.
Embodiment of violence.
Professional problem.
Alucard looked at Hermes.
"And you will show this to humanity?"
Hermes nodded.
"Yes."
He clasped his hands behind his back, floating in lazy circles like gravity was optional.
"The Gods wish to make a statement."
His smile widened slightly.
"They want humanity to watch their champion die."
Pause.
"To kill their hope early."
Silence filled the room.
Carmilla's fingers twitched.
Anger.
Cold.
Controlled.
Alucard simply stared at Hermes.
Then he spoke.
"I suggest you start making funeral preparations."
Pause.
"For your brother."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Hermes stopped floating.
Not shocked.
Not angry.
Interested.
"…My."
His smile returned.
Wider now.
Sharper.
"Such confidence."
Inside Alucard's mind—
'WOW, I REALLY SAID THAT.'
'WHY DID I SAY THAT.'
'HE IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE.'
'THAT IS HIS BROTHER.'
His face remained perfectly calm.
Perfectly composed.
Perfectly Alucard.
Hermes studied him carefully.
Gods could read fear.
They could smell it.
Taste it.
Hear it in the heartbeat.
But Alucard—
Nothing.
No fear.
No hesitation.
No survival instinct.
Just calm.
That made Hermes more cautious than any threat.
"Very well," Hermes said softly.
"We shall prepare accordingly."
He began to fade.
His body dissolving into golden light.
But before he vanished completely—
He spoke one last time.
"I do hope…"
His eyes gleamed.
"…you live long enough to entertain us."
He disappeared.
Gone.
Carmilla immediately stepped closer.
Too close.
"You are hiding something."
Not a question.
A statement.
Alucard smiled slightly.
"What makes you say that?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"You are not acting like a man facing a God of War."
Inside his head—
'I AM TERRIFIED.'
'I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MY POWERS ARE.'
'I JUST FOUND OUT I EXIST TEN MINUTES AGO.'
'I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO TURN INTO A BAT.'
Ding!
[You do know how]
'NOT HELPING.'
Alucard leaned slightly toward Carmilla.
Lowered his voice.
"Carmilla."
She froze.
He rarely used her name like that.
"When have I ever feared war?"
She stared at him.
Searching.
Testing.
Measuring.
Then slowly—
She smiled.
Not gently.
Not sweetly.
Proudly.
"Never."
She turned away.
Satisfied.
Inside his head—
'I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY LIED MY WAY INTO A WAR WITH A GOD.'
Ding!
[Correction: You were already in the war]
'SHUT UP.'
Alucard walked toward the window.
The night greeted him.
Dark.
Endless.
Comforting.
He placed a hand on the glass.
"…Ares."
He smiled.
This time—
Not fake.
Not forced.
Something deeper.
Something older.
Something that did not belong to the confused soul inside.
Something that belonged to the King of Vampires.
Tomorrow—
A God would try to kill him.
And for the first time since waking up—
Alucard was curious who would fail first.
Back with Brunhilde.
The Valkyrie stood in a quiet chamber deep within Valhalla.
The room was circular.
White marble.
No windows.
No doors.
Only one thing existed in the center.
A floating board of light.
The roster.
On one side, the column labeled:
Gods
On the other:
Humanity
Behind her stood Lucifer, hands in his pockets, relaxed like he owned the place.
Which, technically, he probably did at some point.
Lucifer blinked slowly.
"…Where are the other eleven?"
Brunhilde didn't answer immediately.
She stared at the board.
Then she reached out.
Tapped it.
The list refreshed.
Still the same.
Gods Roster
Round 1: Ares — Confirmed
Round 2: Pending
Round 3: Pending
…
Round 13: Pending
Lucifer leaned slightly.
"…That's it?"
Brunhilde tapped again.
Nothing changed.
She checked the authorization seal.
Valid.
She checked the divine signatures.
Valid.
She checked the War Authority registry.
Valid.
She checked again anyway.
Still.
Only one name.
Ares.
Her eye twitched.
Lucifer watched her.
Amused.
"…They only picked Ares?"
Brunhilde spoke flatly.
"Yes."
Lucifer stared at the board for a few seconds.
Then—
He chuckled.
Low.
Quiet.
Dangerous.
"Oh…"
He covered his mouth slightly.
"They really believe he can win."
Brunhilde didn't laugh.
She understood exactly what this meant.
This wasn't strategy.
This was arrogance.
The Gods didn't see Alucard as a threat.
They saw him as an insect.
Something Ares could crush to make a point.
Lucifer continued smiling.
"Oh, they are going to be so shocked."
His red eyes gleamed.
"When he dies."
Brunhilde crossed her arms.
"They won't panic immediately."
Lucifer glanced at her.
She continued.
"They will deny it first."
She had lived with Gods long enough to know their psychology.
"They will call it luck."
"They will call it a fluke."
"They will say Ares was careless."
Lucifer's smile widened.
"And then?"
Brunhilde looked back at the board.
Her voice calm.
Cold.
"They will realize humanity has something they cannot control."
Pause.
"And that terrifies them more than death."
Lucifer laughed softly.
"Oh, I do like you."
He stepped closer to the board.
"Do you know what the funniest part is?"
Brunhilde didn't respond.
Lucifer answered anyway.
"They still don't know what he is."
Not fully.
Not completely.
Not truly.
Brunhilde narrowed her eyes slightly.
"…You do."
Lucifer smiled.
"I do."
Pause.
"But even I don't know everything."
That made Brunhilde uneasy.
Lucifer looked at Ares's name.
Then he laughed again.
"Ares believes he is walking into an execution."
Pause.
His smile sharpened.
"He is correct."
Just not the execution he thinks.
Brunhilde turned away from the board.
Inside her mind—
'Win.'
'Just win.'
'If he wins… everything changes.'
Because if a monster could fight for humanity—
Then humanity no longer needed heroes.
They had something far worse.
Something Gods feared.
Something that did not pray.
Something that did not kneel.
Something that did not die.
Meanwhile, across Earth.
The sky cracked.
Not physically.
But reality bent.
Circles of light appeared in the air above every major city.
Tokyo.
New York.
Paris.
Delhi.
Cairo.
Dhaka.
Thousands of glowing runes formed perfect rings, hovering silently above humanity like watching eyes.
Then—
They spoke.
Not in one language.
In all languages.
Directly into the mind.
Into the soul.
"Hear this, Humanity."
Cars crashed.
Planes shook mid-air.
People froze in the streets.
Phones fell from numb hands.
"The Gods have reached a verdict."
Panic began instantly.
"Your existence will be decided."
Screaming.
Crying.
Praying.
"Tomorrow."
The circles burned brighter.
"Your champion will face a God."
Then—
Silence.
The circles vanished.
And Earth descended into chaos.
France.
Paris.
Sirens screamed through the streets.
People ran everywhere.
Some fell to their knees, praying.
Some ran home to their families.
Some looted stores.
Some simply stood there, unable to process what they just heard.
Above it all, floating casually in the air, was Hermes.
He watched.
Quietly.
Curiously.
A man shoved past a crowd, stealing food.
Another human grabbed him.
"Hey! Stop!"
The thief punched him and ran.
Nearby, a woman cried, clutching her child.
"I don't want to die…"
A stranger knelt beside her.
"You won't."
He didn't know if that was true.
He said it anyway.
Two police officers stood in the street.
Both pale.
Both terrified.
One wiped his shaking hands on his uniform.
"…What do we even do?"
The other took a breath.
Then stepped forward.
He raised his voice.
"Everyone calm down!"
His voice shook.
But he stood anyway.
"Go home! Stay with your families!"
He was afraid.
He still did his job.
Hermes watched all of it.
Humans stealing.
Humans helping.
Humans breaking.
Humans standing.
A teenage boy helped an old man walk.
A woman gave her food to a stranger.
A father hugged his daughter like he could shield her from Gods themselves.
Hermes tilted his head.
Studying them.
"…Humans are complicated."
He had lived for millions of years.
He had watched civilizations rise and fall.
He had watched humanity crawl out of mud.
He had watched them build cities that touched the sky.
He had watched them kill each other.
He had watched them save each other.
Fragile.
Violent.
Kind.
Cruel.
Weak.
Stubborn.
Beautiful.
Broken.
Hermes smiled slightly.
"…And tomorrow…"
He looked toward Valhalla.
"…one of them will make a God bleed."
He chuckled softly.
"I wonder what expression my brother will make."
Because Ares wasn't fighting humanity.
He was fighting something far worse.
He was fighting their nightmare.
----
The armory was silent.
Not empty.
Never empty.
Just… quiet.
Rows upon rows of weapons rested on the walls. Some hung on iron racks. Others sat inside glass cases. A few were simply embedded into the stone itself, like they had claimed the castle as their grave.
Swords.
Axes.
Spears.
Halberds.
Weapons from every era.
Every civilization.
Every war.
Alucard walked slowly through them.
His footsteps echoed softly against the stone floor.
His hand brushed against a spear.
The moment his fingers touched it—
Memories flickered.
Blood.
Screams.
A battlefield burning under a red sky.
He pulled his hand away.
"…Nope."
He kept walking.
'I may not know my powers,' he thought.
'But I have weapons.'
He paused.
'And muscle memory.'
Ding.
[Correct]
The System's voice sounded tired.
[Host combat proficiency exceeds conscious awareness]
'Alright, show off,' Alucard replied mentally.
He passed a massive axe.
Too heavy.
A thin rapier.
Too delicate.
A divine spear.
Too holy.
He stopped.
Something pulled him.
Not physically.
Instinct.
He turned his head.
There.
In the corner.
Leaning against the wall.
A sword.
Black.
Not polished.
Not decorated.
It looked like burned stone.
Cracks ran along the blade.
Inside those cracks—
A faint red glow pulsed.
Like a heartbeat.
Alucard stepped closer.
"…Oh."
His hand reached out.
The moment he touched the handle—
The sword reacted.
The cracks brightened.
Red light spread across the blade like veins filling with blood.
Heat flooded his hand.
Not enough to burn.
Enough to recognize him.
Ding.
[Weapon recognized]
[Authority-compatible weapon found]
[Blood-bound armament]
Alucard raised an eyebrow.
"…Authority-compatible?"
Ding.
[This weapon was used by Host in prior eras]
He froze.
"…Of course I did."
The sword felt right in his hand.
Not heavy.
Not light.
Perfect.
Like it belonged there.
He gave it a small swing.
The air split.
Not cut.
Split.
A thin red line appeared in the air for a fraction of a second before vanishing.
Alucard blinked.
"…I didn't even try."
Ding.
[Passive synchronization active]
[Muscle memory integration: 3%]
'Only three percent?' he thought.
'Yes,' the System replied.
He smiled slightly.
"…Poor Ares."
Behind him, Carmilla leaned against the doorway, watching silently.
Her red eyes studied him.
The sword.
His stance.
His posture.
The way he held it.
Perfect.
Efficient.
Natural.
Like he had held it a thousand times.
She smiled softly.
'Just as I thought.'
'He's already planning.'
She stepped forward.
"That sword."
Alucard glanced at her.
"Yes?"
She placed a finger against her lips.
"That was your favorite."
He paused.
"…Was it?"
She nodded.
"You used it when you killed the War Gods of the East."
He blinked.
'…I did what?'
Ding.
[Memory locked]
[Unlock condition not yet met]
Alucard sighed internally.
'Of course.'
He rested the blade on his shoulder.
It hummed softly.
Alive.
Waiting.
Hungry.
He smiled.
Not arrogantly.
Calmly.
"Well," he said.
"Let's not disappoint it."
Alucard looked at the sword.
The red veins along the blade pulsed slowly.
Like it was breathing.
Like it was alive.
He narrowed his eyes.
'Analysis.'
Ding.
A window appeared in his vision.
---
[Name: Darkness Eater
Classification: Blood-Bound Authority Weapon
Owner: Alucard — Confirmed
Special Ability: God Killer — Locked
Due to repeated exposure to divine ichor and the termination of multiple Eastern war deities, this weapon has absorbed the concept of "Divine Death."
Grants increased lethality against divine entities.
Further synchronization required to unlock.
---
Stats:
Attack Power: S+ (Locked → Currently B)
Durability: EX
Cannot be destroyed by mortal means.
Blood Absorption: A
Converts absorbed blood into restorative energy for the wielder.
Authority Conduction: EX (Locked)
Allows channeling of Host Authorities without loss.
Soul Damage: A (Locked)
Capable of damaging immortal and reincarnating beings.
Growth Type: Bound Evolution
Weapon grows alongside Host.
---
Passive Effects:
• Blood Resonance — Increases power when near divine or immortal blood.
• Loyalty — Cannot be wielded by anyone except registered Host.
• Conceptual Edge — Cuts beyond physical durability at higher sync.]
---
[Synchronization Rate: 4%]
---
Alucard stared at the screen.
'…EX?'
He blinked.
'…Why do I own something like this?'
Ding.
[Because you made it]
He froze.
'…I did what?'
Ding.
[Correction]
[You did not forge it]
[You fed it]
A pause.
[For centuries]
He stared at the sword again.
The sword stared back.
Not with eyes.
With hunger.
Alucard spoke slowly in his mind.
'How many gods did I kill?'
The System paused.
For once.
It didn't answer immediately.
Ding.
[Data fragmented]
[Minimum confirmed: 17]
He almost dropped the sword.
"…Seventeen?"
Ding.
[Correction]
[Minimum confirmed: 17 war-class deities]
Silence filled the armory.
Alucard looked at the blade differently now.
Not as a weapon.
As evidence.
Evidence of someone he used to be.
Or still was.
"…And this is only four percent?"
Ding.
[Yes]
He let out a slow breath.
Then smiled.
Not nervously.
Not arrogantly.
Just… accepting reality.
"Well," he said quietly.
"Let's start with one more."
The sword pulsed.
It agreed.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy