Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King’s Personal Knight - [Chapter 40]: Journey to the East (Part 4) – A Vampire’s Power to Control Blood?

Alaric’s pupils contracted as he quickly searched his mind for any Servants who might possess such an ability.

‘Could it be a vampire?’

There was no time to think further. Alaric swiftly evaporated the blood arrows with a flick of his hand, but soon noticed that the sea of fire had reached him!

Only then did he realize the true nature of the flames.

It was a crimson sea—what appeared to be flames was merely an illusion. What was attacking him was a vast ocean of blood, brimming with curses!

Boom!!

Momentarily distracted, Alaric was caught off guard, hit as if by a bullet train traveling at 350 kilometers per hour. His feet lifted off the ground, and in an instant, he was sent flying far from where Sanzang stood. The scenery around him rapidly receded.

‘What the hell is this thing?’

Though Alaric hadn’t suffered severe injuries, the beast-like Servant had latched onto his shoulder, attempting to restrict his movements.

What shocked him even more was the look of hunger in the Servant’s eyes.

Yes, hunger.

It was hard to imagine seeing such crazed longing in the eyes of a middle-aged man—an intense desire for part of his body—

‘Is it my blood?!’

The hands gripping his shoulders seemed as though they would tear them off. Heavy breathing and reeking of blood overwhelmed Alaric.

Relying on his reinforced body, bolstered by immense magical power, Alaric leaned back slightly to avoid further injury.

Crack!

A streak of crimson lightning crackled between him and the Servant.

Bang, bang!

Alaric struck back with two rapid punches, both landing on the Servant’s armored waist. The sheer force nearly made the Servant loosen his grip.

Although he couldn’t knock the Servant away, he’d bought himself enough space for his next attack!

“Huff, huff—”

Provoked by Alaric’s attacks, the Servant’s beastly nature flared. He opened his mouth wide, revealing fangs that threatened to pierce Alaric’s skin and drain his blood!

Splash!

Alaric suddenly heard the sound of waves. Looking around, he saw he was surrounded by crimson—a tide of blood and fire closing in on him as if to consume him completely.

Alaric wasn’t sure what would happen if he came into contact with this ocean, but judging by the cursed aura swirling around, it was nothing good.

With a quick estimation, Alaric knew that dragging this out would only put him at a disadvantage. He couldn’t let this Servant bite him.

Crackle!

Crimson lightning surged again, flowing rapidly over Alaric’s body. Seizing the moment as the Servant recoiled from his punches, he abandoned his fists and launched an even more powerful attack with his elbow.

Elbow strike!

With all his strength compressed to the limit, Alaric’s elbow smashed into the Servant’s chest plate, producing a deep, booming sound.

Boom!

In the next instant, the grip on his shoulder loosened—he had sent the Berserk Servant flying with that single blow!

Alaric used the momentum of his strike to halt his movement, landing back on the desert sands.

‘A Berserk state where reason is lost, leaving only desire?’

Having created some distance, Alaric glanced at the crazed Servant and recognized his identity.

The world-renowned vampire—Vlad III, more commonly known as Count Dracula.

If it weren’t for the Berserk flames applied to him, this Servant, presumably Vlad III, might have been a true hero.

‘As I thought, everything revolves around him—’

Alaric glanced at the retreating blood sea. After he had knocked Vlad III away, the cursed ocean of blood that had nearly engulfed him also receded alongside the vampire.

From this, he deduced that the blood sea was a special domain effect tied to Vlad III.

‘Where’s Sanzang?’

After confirming Vlad III’s identity, Alaric glanced around, trying to locate Sanzang in the distance. Given her abilities, she should have caught up by now, but there was no sign of her. It suggested that just as when Nitocris disappeared, something had likely interfered.

‘Has someone engaged Sanzang in a fight, or was another Servant summoned here?’

Alaric frowned. This series of events felt confusing, as though someone was acting on whims, doing whatever came to mind.

‘!’

A foul wind suddenly swept toward him as the shadow of Vlad III rapidly approached, baring its fangs.

Faced with Vlad III’s sudden attack, Alaric chose not to confront him head-on and retreated swiftly.

The blood sea surged violently around Vlad III, and what concerned Alaric, even more, were the flames blazing within it. A cursed world fueled by blood.

‘What is this? How could anyone have that much blood?’

Alaric frowned, watching the scene unfold. The amount of blood Vlad III was manipulating was far beyond what any human could produce, continuously fueling the Berserk flames.

Keeping a steady pace, Alaric maintained his distance from Vlad III, staying just outside the blood sea’s range. When Vlad III failed to close the gap, the frenzied vampire tore at his skin, causing streams of blood to flow, which transformed into arrows aimed at Alaric!

Not only did Vlad’s blood form arrows, but the cursed blood sea around him also sent hundreds of blood-fire arrows into the sky, raining down upon Alaric!

Confronted by this barrage from the world-famous vampire, Alaric didn’t let his guard down. His hand instinctively reached for his sword hilt, only to remember that his weapon had been damaged.

The blood arrows were fast—so fast that as Alaric misreached for his broken weapon, they had almost closed in, nearly piercing through him!

The intense curse within the arrows stirred the dragon blood within him.

‘A blood curse!?’

Lacking better knowledge, Alaric could only categorize it as a blood-related curse. Since it was connected to blood, he couldn’t let his blood come into contact with it.

Crackle!

Crimson lightning surged around him as an excess of magical energy filled him, enhancing his magic resistance defenses. A barrier of magical energy formed on his skin, directly facing the barrage of blood arrows!

But instead of retreating, Alaric charged forward toward Vlad III!

Crackle!

Like melting snow, the blood arrows evaporated upon contact with his crimson lightning, hissing as if snowflakes had fallen into a hot pan, disappearing in an instant!

Alaric stepped back into the range of the blood sea.

This time, with the tide of battle turning in his favor, he stomped the ground hard!

A surge of crimson magical energy erupted from him, spreading in all directions, forcefully parting the blood sea and creating a path for him to advance!

“Huff, huff!”

Seeing Alaric approaching, the frenzied Vlad III lunged toward him in excitement. As he moved, iron spikes burning with flames shot out from the surrounding blood sea, targeting Alaric alone.