"Lord Hades."
Hypnos and Thanatos suddenly appeared in the corridor of the Hanging Gardens. They bowed to Hades and then handed him the heroic spirit cards of Achilles and Charon.
"Mm, thank you for your hard work, Hypnos, Thanatos," Hades said with a nod. He took the heroic spirit cards from them and put them away.
At this moment, Vlad III was inwardly shocked upon hearing Hades's words. It was already shocking enough that the great god Hades, King of the Underworld, had descended for this Holy Grail War, but now even his close confidants, the God of Sleep and the God of Death, were participating as well.
"Whoa! You're the God of Death? I thought you'd be a skeleton in a black robe holding a scythe, but you're actually a handsome guy only slightly behind Saber." In contrast to Vlad III's shocked expression, Astolfo, the crossdresser with Evaporation of Sanity, was curious about how Thanatos's appearance differed from the traditional image of death in mythology.
Astolfo began to feel Thanatos up and down. Facing Astolfo's behavior, Thanatos showed faint signs of getting angry.
At that moment, Hypnos grabbed Astolfo by the neck with one hand, lifting him up as he spoke:
"So you are that Handsome Knight with Evaporation of Sanity from Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins, Astolfo? It's hard to imagine how someone with your brain managed to capture a giant."
"Hahahaha~~!!" Hearing Hypnos's words, Astolfo scratched the back of his head and let out a silly laugh.
Hades recalled the Duel Dragons from the sky outside and addressed the Homunculus army and the Servants:
"Alright, it's time to go see that Fake Saint and wake him from his ethereal dream."
Just then, the final line of defense for the Hanging Gardens was activated. Semiramis, hiding in a corner of the garden, exhausted all her magical energy and the remaining power of the greater grail. Combined with the fame bonus of the Hanging Gardens as a ruin of the Assyrian Empire, she pushed her Double Summon skill to unprecedented heights. Massive magical energy gushed out like a flood, covering the corridors of the Hanging Gardens like a rushing stream.
The army of the Black Faction felt that powerful and massive magical energy and stopped in their tracks, looking toward the front of the corridor.
An army composed of countless Phantasmal Species charged toward them, including Soul Eaters, Chimeras, Ghosts, Lamias, Centaurs, Werewolves, Wereleopards, Japanese Ogres, Guardians, and Bicorns. The variety and numbers were immense.
"Is this the final line of defense and struggle of the Red Faction?" Hades stepped forward, gripping the Hades Sword.
"To be able to summon so many Phantasmal Species..." Vlad III also looked at the approaching army with a serious expression.
Afterward, Vlad III activated his Noble Phantasm, Kazikli Bey, to attack. While he could kill Lamias and Bicorns, the effect of Kazikli Bey was very weak against thick-skinned behemoths like the Guardians and Japanese Ogres. It took the lightning from Mordred and Frankenstein to finally kill them.
"What is going on?! Why has my strength weakened so much!!" Vlad III cried out in surprise as he watched his power plummet.
"Because this is not the land of Romania. Naturally, there is no fame bonus, so your strength has decreased accordingly."
At that moment, a voice called out. A man dressed in a white robe and holding a cane appeared on the level above where Hades stood.
"Darnic!!" Vlad III looked up at his Master in surprise.
The look in Darnic's eyes as he watched Vlad III was no longer respectful at all; instead, it was filled with arrogance. He narrowed his eyes and said, "It is for the sake of your victory, King. As long as you use that Noble Phantasm, the greater grail will be within your grasp."
"Shut up, Darnic!! No matter what you say!! I will not activate that Noble Phantasm!!" Hearing Darnic's words, Vlad III's expression became exceptionally furious, completely losing his previous noble composure.
Hearing this, Darnic gave a sinister smile and said, "In that case, I shall use this."
With that, Darnic extended his left hand, which bore the command spells. The three marks glowed with a red light as he shouted with a grin:
"By the first command spell, I order you! Lancer!! Activate your Noble Phantasm, Legend of Dracula!!!"
Legend of Dracula
Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Unit (Self) Noble Phantasm
Range: —
Maximum Targets: 1 person
It materializes the image of Dracula passed down by oral tradition, transforming the user into a vampire. Vlad, having become Count Dracula, will have his normal skills and Noble Phantasms sealed. In exchange, he gains significantly enhanced physical abilities, the power to shapeshift into animals or mist, healing abilities, and the Mystic Eyes of Enchantment, along with weaknesses to sunlight and holy symbols. When summoned as a Berserker, this Noble Phantasm is constantly active.
Vlad III's forbidden Noble Phantasm. Although Vlad is worshipped as a hero in Romania, this Noble Phantasm allows him to unleash the power of 'Dracula the Vampire,' who is world-famous outside of Romania. In this sense, it is very similar to the equally deceptive 'Hanging Gardens of Babylon.' Granted the fictional power of a vampire, even Servants can be turned into familiars through blood-sucking. He can also transform into mist or bats, rendering physical attacks ineffective in those states. Besides fangs and monstrous strength, he can manifest wooden stakes from within his body to impale opponents. Even if his reasoning is weakened to a degree equivalent to Mad Enhancement, overall, he is far more powerful than the sovereign Vlad III.
"Darnic!! You bastard!!" The spear fell from Vlad III's hand as he clutched his chest in agony, his back beginning to writhe.
"I... I am... not a vampire..." Vlad III said painfully. His elegant clothes began to turn blood-red, his eyes turned crimson, his skin became deathly pale, his claws grew sharper, and fangs extended from his mouth.
Seeing Vlad III gradually turning into a vampire, Darnic let out an excited, sinister laugh and said, "No! You are a vampire!! The monster known to the world—Dracula the Vampire!!"
"Darnic!!" With eyes glowing red, Vlad III leaped in front of Darnic, grabbed him, and bit into his neck.
"Hahaha!! I am sorry, my Servant!! As an apology, drink my blood to your heart's content!!" Darnic said with a face full of excitement, completely ignoring the pain in his neck.
"By the second command spell, I order you!! Live until you obtain the greater grail!!"
"By the third command spell, I order you!! Engrave my soul into the depths of your saint graph!!"
Darnic used up his remaining two command spells at once. Subsequently, Vlad III, who had completely transformed into a vampire, devoured Darnic whole. However, Darnic used the command spells in conjunction with his original magecraft to forcibly seize the body, becoming a nameless vampire.
Vlad III suddenly clutched his head in pain and began to shout to himself:
"Stop!! I am not a vampire!! I am the King of Wallachia!! The child of Vlad II!! I am absolutely not some hideous vampire!!"
"No!! You are a vampire!! You are me!! I am you!! We are now one and the same!!"
The two souls of Vlad III and Darnic fought for control of the body, and the final result was Darnic's victory. Darnic, having become Dracula the Vampire, transformed into countless bats and attacked the Phantasmal Species. In an instant, he drained the blood from most of the flesh-and-blood creatures, leaving only the Ghosts.
Afterward, the swarm of bats gathered together and reformed into Dracula's blood-red figure.
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