Alucard stood motionless.
His right arm had completely transformed into the hand of an ancient dragon, the claws extending from his fingers while faint scales covered his skin. The strange white radiance he had felt within the darkness was still present somewhere deep inside him but Alucard wasn't thinking about what he wanted to do. For once, he didn't need to. He simply willed it. His body responded naturally.
Alucard stepped forward. The reflection immediately reacted but before it could move, something appeared behind Alucard.
The enormous shadow of an ancient dragon. The black liquid that composed his reflection began running down its body as if its structure itself had become unstable.
Alucard's crimson eyes glowed. Then he vanished. He didn't even need to reach the reflection.
His right arm swung. The claws of the ancient dragon passed through the air. Immediately afterward, four enormous claw marks appeared across the reflection's chest.
The attack continued beyond its body. Everything behind it was sliced apart. The reflection was divided into four pieces. Alucard stopped several meters away.
For a moment, the battlefield was completely still. Then he noticed something floating between the separated pieces. A small red crystal orb. The core.
Alucard's eyes narrowed but before he could move toward it, the black liquid suddenly flowed. The separated pieces merged together.
The liquid connected itself again, reforming the reflection's body as though the attack had never happened...Alucard stared.
"So that's not enough."
His opponent immediately dashed toward him.
Alucard moved forward as well.
"I need something powerful enough to erase everything."
His mind searched through everything he had learned.
"What has the capability to erase something that cannot be easily killed?"
He became silent for a moment. Then his expression changed.
A smile appeared.
"A dragon's breath at its peak."
The two figures collided.
Alucard swung his transformed arm. The reflection barely managed to move its head aside. The claws passed beside its face. The reflection immediately responded. Its body expanded.
Multiple hands emerged from its shoulders, back and sides, all reaching toward Alucard simultaneously. They attempted to pin him down.
Alucard's dragon claws moved. One hand disappeared. Then another and another. The claws cut through the extensions before they could close around him.
Alucard continued forward. The distance between them disappeared almost instantly.
He appeared directly in front of the reflection, his body lowered. His right fist drove upward. The transformed hand struck beneath the reflection's chin, launching it from the ground. Alucard followed. His left fist slammed into its stomach.
Before the reflection could recover, Alucard twisted his body and kicked upward beneath its chin. The reflection was launched even higher.
Alucard crouched. The ground beneath his feet cracked. Then he pushed himself upward.
He disappeared. A moment later, he was directly in front of the reflection's face. The reflection tried to react. It was too late. Alucard opened his mouth.
"Ancient Dragon Breath."
A massive black-and-orange beam erupted from his mouth.
The attack engulfed the reflection completely. The black liquid disappeared beneath the beam. The red crystal orb became visible for a brief instant. Then the beam consumed it as well.
The reflection vanished. Not regenerated or reconstructed. Erased.
Alucard remained suspended in the air. The beam finally disappeared. Silence returned to the battlefield. Alucard looked toward the sky.
He slowly understood what had happened.
"I finally get it now."
His transformed arm slowly returned to normal.
"I don't have a specific authority."
A smile crossed his face.
"But I can use the authority of every monster I transform into."
The realization settled within him naturally. His power wasn't confined to one form.
Shinari wasn't simply transformation. It was adaptation. It was the ability to embody the power and authority contained within the creatures he became. Alucard smiled. Then gravity began pulling him downward.
He allowed himself to fall. Before reaching the ground, he twisted his body. His feet touched the earth perfectly. He stood upright. For the first time, Alucard understood what Shinari truly meant.
Elsewhere in the Lost Forest, Isly's battle had entered another stage.
The battlefield around her no longer resembled the forest. Her reflection stood several meters away, surrounded by distorted space. Trees bent at impossible angles. The ground seemed to shift between different positions.
Space itself folded and stretched around the reflection as Chaos spread outward.
Isly stared at it.
"So you're using Chaos like that."
Her reflection smiled.
The environment suddenly distorted further. The distance between them changed. The ground beneath Isly appeared to tilt upward while the trees around her twisted into unfamiliar shapes.
Isly raised her staff. Chaos energy gathered around her.
"Not bad."
Her own Chaos erupted.
The distortion surrounding her expanded. The two forces collided. One form of Chaos attempted to distort the environment. The other corrected it.
Space rippled between them before settling.
Isly's eyes narrowed.
Then she smiled.
"Let's take this further."
Black flames erupted around her. Her hair lifted into the air. Dark wings of fire spread behind her. Her eyes became black and slit-like.
The transformation completed itself.
"Chaos Nirvana."
The battlefield trembled.
Isly's reflection answered with its own transformation.
Two manifestations of Chaos stood opposite one another.
And neither intended to yield.