Nameless King



Every Progenitor, as well as everyone on the Transcendence Stage, had something special, a unique power, or even a philosophy towards the rest of the world. 

Obviously, the most obvious example was Alucard with his abnormal regeneration that didn't obey the rules of this world, but that didn't mean it was the most powerful feature.

Liang's mysterious power or Sven's devastating power with limitless attraction might have been more dangerous, as well as Gael's scars.

Ereg was the Progenitor, and he made Gael give his word that he would fight seriously, so he too, had to have something in response to Gael's scars. 

Otherwise, it would be the end for Ereg, as Gael would easily defeat him by simply overwhelming him with his superior physical strength.

"Kha... That punch was more powerful than I thought it would be..." Ereg smirked, getting up from the ground and looking at his bloody hands. He was able to withstand the first blow, but as soon as Gael revealed some of his scars, Ereg immediately became much weaker.

"Are you surprised? I don't believe it, after all, we've only just started." Gael said calmly, slowly approaching Ereg.

Ereg shook his head, "Nah, it was obvious. It's just that as always I get punched in the face first, and only then do I act. It's been hundreds of years, but some things never change, do they?"

Gael stopped, then he quickly tore forward, while approaching Ereg, who was still standing against the wall, at a tremendous speed.

Everyone realized that a few missed punches wouldn't make much difference. However, Ereg had to respond, otherwise, he would not be able to catch up with Gael, who would only get stronger.

Crackle.

Gael stepped forward confidently as the ground beneath him cracked, bringing up his fist for a punch, about to bring it down on Ereg.

At the same moment, Ereg abruptly turned around, and his single amber eye quivered slightly.

Then, everyone saw something both frightening and amazing at the same time. A silhouette appeared behind Ereg, like a ghost lurking in the shadows. It quickly disappeared, and a tiny dot-sized rune appeared in Ereg's amber eye.

Bam.

In a heartbeat, Ereg's fist came down on Gael's face, and with the same speed, he unleashed two more attacks, aiming for Gael's stomach.

Gael tried to block them, but Ereg moved too fast, continuing to attack and damage Gael.

"Oh... They moved so fast to something so serious. I love this fight!" Alucard smirked, holding Gael's mantle in his hands.

"Hmm... I've never fought Ereg before... He seems like a rather interesting opponent. I've never heard of a power like his before." Liang muttered, looking thoughtfully at Ereg, who continued to attack his opponent, fast and deadly. 

"Is it just me or is Gael starting to lose?" Nitra asked with a confused expression. Unlike Alucard, she knew little of what Gael was capable of since he fought seriously quite rarely.

Alucard grinned, "Don't be silly, this is just the beginning and their powers are somewhat similar! They can both get stronger throughout the fight, so... it'll be a while before we see them pull out their weapons."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The space shook with the air shaking due to Ereg's powerful attacks raining down on Gael, who stood in a defensive posture. Gael covered himself with his arms, partially blocking every blow from his opponent, but a certain amount of the damage traveled through his body.

He could afford to stay in this stance for a while, but not too long. Pretty soon, Ereg would be able to get through his defenses, and then Gael would be in real trouble.

'Hah... He didn't cheat, he actually got stronger, though I shouldn't think about it that way at all. After all, we are both Progenitors and the strongest amongst our races.'' Gael internally muttered, the pain from the blows didn't seem to bother him much.

'Agh... That's good. It looks like even though I made a promise, our fight won't end too quickly or with someone's death...' Gael sighed before stepping forward.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Gael's body was immediately bombarded with many blows, Ereg wasn't going to release the pressure, but Gael was ready for it.

Gael's legs as well as his arms flashed brightly with white flames, then he started to move much faster.

Ereg tried to counterattack, but Gael simply dodged each of his attacks and countered with his own. Now, it was Gael who attacked, making Ereg's face contort in pain.

Ereg had several options, but he chose the easiest one when his arms and legs burst into black flames, he literally repeated Gael's move.

The Beastfolks watching this battle were surprised and stunned. They knew that Gael was a dangerous opponent, but they were fully convinced that Ereg was the best in hand-to-hand combat. However, now Gael and Ereg were fighting on equal footing and they were getting faster.

Wain smirked, "If Alucard acts like a crazy teenager and only gets serious in emergencies, then Gael is the exact opposite."

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Marlis gave him a questioning look.

Wain pointed at Gael, "Look. It's almost imperceptible, but gradually a smirk is growing on his face. He's enjoying this fight and that feeling is getting more powerful by the moment."

"Come on! We're capable of more!" Ereg exclaimed, straining his muscles to the limit and unleashing several powerful attacks on Gael.

Each strike was accurate and hit Gael's face, however, it couldn't stop him even for a moment, since he immediately did the same. 

Their battle continued for several minutes until they stopped and fell to the ground, simultaneously.

In fact, they could have continued fighting for a very long time, since each of them had many more trump cards and had only shown the low end of their strength.

However, they both decided that it was enough for the first stage. They didn't need to discuss it or say anything about that, their glances and fists were more than enough.

"Wow... I haven't seen the King this happy in a long time..." Nila whispered with a dazed expression.

Ereg was bleeding, and his whole body was covered with bruises. He was lying on the ground and breathing heavily, looking at the bright sun that lit up the arena. Gael was in the same position.

Every part of their body had been hit with dozens of powerful blows, their whole body ached, but they didn't mind such pain. It was soft and pleasant, like a catalyst for the flames within them to flare up as brightly as possible.

Alucard smirked, "Gael is a worthy opponent. Anyone who fights him will have the same face! Although, I must admit that Ereg is a lot like him, or rather they resemble each other."

Ereg smiled slightly as he glanced at his opponent without getting up from the ground, "Gael... You went into the same town before, didn't you?"

"Yeah... It was interesting to see how the common people lived... It's something that each of us had forgotten for a long time. Moreover, I even participated in a tournament." Gael sighed, "I had to eat a few tons of food to win, at least it seemed that way to me at the time."

Ereg raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Hmm... That must have happened at the tavern... What was the owner's name?"

"Grot... Big Bear... Beastfolk from Bear Clan to be exact." Gael calmly replied.

"Hah... A few years ago, I was there too. You know, there are plenty of places to eat in this world. Even for me, something is a real discovery every time." Ereg smiled bitterly, then he slowly got up from the ground, "Well, the break is over... It's time to continue our fight."

Gael nodded and silently got to his feet.

They were both seriously wounded, though their organs were not damaged, but they were bleeding. However, these wounds were not a problem for them as they could easily get rid of them, just in a heartbeat.

Behind Ereg two more ghosts appeared as two more tiny runes appeared in his eye. Gael did a similar thing as more scars opened up on his body. They were as small as the previous ones, but their number had increased several times over.

Their wounds began to heal quickly as their strength level had increased significantly, so in a few seconds, they would be ready to fight again until they could stand on their feet. 

For those who weren't at the Transcendence Stage, it was hard to realize how much stronger their auras had become. Since even for Nila, almost nothing had changed. She had felt that their strength was boundless before, and it was the same now.

However, Alucard, Nitra, and Liang could feel it and compare it.

"Three runes and his strength has tripled... Not bad, in that case, soon Gael will have to reveal a lot more of his scars." Alucard smirked, staring intently at Ereg.