The Claw of Merciless
*WSSSHHHHHH!!!*
The sound of both Merciless and Hector descending below the vast chamber with the lights entirely turned off. Merciless noticed on the bloodboard that the room was a massive auditorium.
However, it appeared that only 94 people, including himself and Hector, were currently there, bringing the total to 96.
"Wow, this is quite a large place indeed, and there are many strong people here as well; their aura is incredible."
Merciless spoke as he looked at Hector, who had his hands behind his back, and then down at the crunching Merciless, who was just staring down at the spectacle before him in wonder. Of course, Hector responded to Merciless.
"Indeed, it is my alpha; there are quite a few vampires currently present in one location. To be honest, it's a very unusual sight to see."
"Hehehe, I can't wait to see some of them in action; it will give me a good sight and first-hand experience of just how powerful other vampires are when they compare to the likes of me."
"That is indeed true, my alpha; don't worry, I will be by your side every step of the way."
"Thank you for having my back, Hector, and don't worry, my friend. I will be there for you every step of the way. So, let us keep each other safe, and we will undoubtedly dominate this exam together."
Merciless responded to Hector by extending his fist for a fist bump and grinning at his devoted servant. Of course, Hector smiled back at his alpha and extended his hand as they collided. Even though it had only been two days, these two were already acting like sworn brothers who had known one another for thousands of years.
From then on, the mood became serene, and they ultimately parked near one of the higher personal galleries. The two of them then jumped down towards it, landing solidly on the floor. And glancing around, there was no one there, even though there were six seats, but just as Merciless was about to choose one, Hector stated in a voice full of tiny displeasure.
"This is absolutely unacceptable! My alpha, sitting on such a badly designed chair; I can't let this happen. Thankfully, I am prepared for situations like this."
Merciless stares as Hector walks towards the seat, unable to register the weight of his words, and an enormous white wolf tail emerges from his lower backbone unexpectedly. His tail swung quickly toward the seats, which had been shattered into millions of bits upon contact. Leaving only a fancy-looking and well-decorated gallery with no seating. But before Merciless could ask any further questions, his hands partially altered as he spoke quietly.
[Surpass imagination and reality: Boundary Cleave]
With those words, Hector's claws split through the very fabric of reality itself, or, more accurately, Hector cut through the veils of his own mind, creating a portal between the real world and his imagination. This simply implies that Hector began to imagine a great golden throne that would highlight the importance of his alpha and master. After opening an imaginary fissure that connects fantasy to reality, Hector began to extend his hand into the rainbow portal and pull out a golden throne that looked exactly like the one he had imagined in his head.
The throne was magnificent, surpassing even the ones in the manor meeting hall. The throne was high, with the back extending above. The entire throne was built of dragon bones, including griffin and orc bones. However, the bones were made of pure gold and appeared both divine and demonic at the same time.
It weighed roughly 5648.5858 kg, but despite this, Hector lifted it gently and placed the behemoth of a chair on the floor with little to no effort and ease. He then sweeps away the rubble near the throne with his tail, much like a broom. After all was said and done, the throne was placed in the center of the gallery, and Hector bowed before Mercilss and spoke.
"My alpha, please have a seat. I have prepared only the best seating for you. I don't know how long we will be here, but at the very least wait patiently in comfort."
Hector remarked this to a bewildered Merciless, who quickly calmed down and shook his head in agreement. Merciless then walks over to the golden throne and takes a seat on it, which, to his amazement, fits perfectly despite being made entirely of solid gold. It was extraordinarily comfortable to sit on, almost as if the throne was designed with his sole comfort in mind. However, the issue remained as to where Hector obtained such an amazing throne.
And when Merciless took his seat on the beautiful throne, it shimmered faintly. Releasing an emblematic light that could make those who sit on it appear extremely imposing to others. However, Hector questions Merciless as such.
"How is it, my alpha? "Is it to your liking?"
Merciless grinned at Hector and nodded. It was a comforting smile, but due to the obscuring effect of his magical nature, which he had mistakenly stolen from Keziah, he appeared to others as nothing more than a vague concept. And, from Hector's point of view, Merciless' smile was a dazzling horror show, with no teeth or anything, which was kind of creepy given that he was only a figure right now.
His response to his faithful subordinate and buddy was straightforward.
"It was more than I expected, but I suppose I shouldn't be astonished anymore by such simple things. Tell me, Hector, what it was that you did anyway. That attack of yours—was it your unique ability to cut between reality and fantasy, "Surpass imagination and reality: Boundary Cleave"? If I had to guess, did you by chance open up a breach between a fictional world and bring this object into the real world?"
"Yes, my alpha, this throne is one that I envision in my head, and I cut the line between fiction and reality, creating a bridge between the two realms and removing this throne from that metafictional universe. This is what we werebeast call a Klaue; basically, our powers are not in our hearts but in our bones, akin to you vampires, or Klaue functions similarly to an Ichor."
"My Klaue, in particular, can cross boundaries; however, just as an Ichor has a flaw, our Klaue has limitations as well, with each flaw unique to the possessor." For starters, I can cut anything with these bad boys since boudries are not actual physical spaces but rather imaginary borders that transcend possibilities and impossibilities. However, everything I conceive must be within reason. Or, better yet, I cannot construct an omnipotent creature since I'm not one myself. However, I can construct anything living or not that is as strong as I am, or at least five times stronger than myself."
Hector explained to Merciless, who responded in kind.
"Agh.... I see, and I just want to remark that you have a very unusual ability, my friend. The very fact that you can make what you conceive come true by bridging the gap between fiction and reality is an incredible, if not an envious, power to possess."
"It is a unique power, my alpha, but I rarely use it, or better yet, I have never fully used it for my own benefit; in fact, I sometimes forget that I have it at all. Most of the time, I get the job done with just my fist, the old reliable. "I believe this power would be more useful in the hands of someone younger."
Hector replied to Merciless as he looked at his shimmering rainbow-like claws. Merciless looked at his companion in amazement as he began to think of an excellent proposal, as he informed Hector.
"Well then, Hector, if that is the case, why don't you give me your power?"
When Hector heard this, he opened his eyes wide with shock, and he began to glance at his alpha and respond in kind.
"Gi...give you... my... POWER!?"
Merciless nodded as he replied to Hector's question, clarifying himself more fully.
"My friend, I believe we are a match made in purgatory: Hector, the man capable of connecting the imaginary world to the real world, and I, Merciless, the future god slayer and the 7th progenitor of the vampire race—a being that is constantly evolving at all times and rules over the body as a whole. Together, we can accomplish a lot; with your help, I can rise to new heights this world has never seen. If you lack the creativity to effectively utilize such a powerful gift, become my canvas and paintbrush and give birth to my crazy imagination."
"Your canvas and paintbrush, agh, I see; very well then, my alpha, I shall comply with your orders."
Hector responded to Merciless, who smiled because, with Hector around, he could become far more powerful than any vampire in existence. To make matters even better, he didn't know much about Brunhilde, but he had a feeling things would be interesting with her around. This pleased him so much that he began to giggle inside and said.
'Fufuf!! Good, good; my ascent to dominance is getting along wonderfully; I may not be an ancient monster like the rest of them. But my determination, connections, money, and clever thinking about how to use any and all aids to my advantage make me a genuinely formidable opponent. But even then, I cannot afford to lamp about. Hector might as well be my most precious partner; with him by my side, I could have him develop a new monster never seen before in our universe. As a matter of fact, let us not spend any more time here, wasting it, because judging from Beatrice and Keziah's conversation and counsel, it is very evident that I will be fighting extremely formidable monsters in this examination, and I know for a fact that all of my peers will be fucking ancient monsters.'
'Hehehehehehe... pretty fascinating. But what kind of lifeform should I have Hector construct for me? Of course, I'm going to push Hector to the edge here. He did remark he could make things five times stronger and far superior to his existing self after all.'
As he considered what he wanted to make, a brilliant idea occurred to him as he looked at Hector with a sadistic and evil smile on his face. To Hector, it appeared even more horrific given Merciless current form because he had yet to learn to control his new magical nature properly, and he told him as such.
"Hector, I want you to create something for me right now, right here."
"... Ha, you want me to use my powers to create you something right now. Hmmm, ok sure, as you wish my alpha. Tell me, what idea do you have in mind?"
However, what Merciless stated to Hector next made him wonder just how messed up his master's mind was.
"I want you to build a one-of-a-kind lifeform for me, one that possesses five times the power you do. So you'll have to go all out when you create this entity for me; what I want you to make for me is a simple slime. But not just any slime; this slime will be unique because it is made of pure 100% blood, which means it contains cells. However, I want these cells to be able to copy other cells that the origin cells come into contact with, storing biological information within them, allowing even dead cells to be analyzed and copied by this blood slime. Don't give this slime any other abilities because I want all of your power to be focused on this one skill. Also, when you make this living being for more, I want you to instill these absolute commands in its mind. I love Merciless; he is my only purpose for living; life is meaningless without him; I will do whatever he wants; I will be useful to him; nothing else in this world matters to me but Merciless."
Merciless instructed Hector, whose eyes were wide open in shock, but he agreed to obey his master's desire, so he bowed and responded to him as such.
"It shall be done, my alpha."
With those comments, Merciless smiled, apparently pleased with Hector's response. Hector, on the other hand, distances himself from his alpha slightly. And imagined a bloody slime or a pure red blob. He was familiar with the term "slime," but this was a whole new level of fuck up. Essentially, Merciless intended him to construct a living biological weapon that only Merciless could control, but he refused to challenge his alpha's decision. As such, using the full force of his Klaue he began to picture the very thing his alpha wanted to bring into this world.
His claws began to extend, appearing as a wave of thin blades, and they shone a terrible crimson, as if they represented the birth of a nightmare or something straight out of a horror movie. A black energy began to pervade the entire area, drawing the attention of several powerful figures within the theater.
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"Lady Ella, do you feel that?"
A beautiful black hair maid with a pair of glasses on her eyes inquired softly in monotone manner of speaking to a mysterious figure sitting on a living throne made out of hundreds of vampire hunters; the throne beat like a heart, and the screams of the hundreds fused together in a sadistic unison could be heard, as their screams of pain and agony echoed faintly in the gallery they were currently in.
The figure's eyes open slightly as they turn to face another gallery on the opposite side of the auditorium. With her special sight, she could see things that others couldn't, and what she saw was two people, one with a nebulous complexion that was impossible to define, and the other a familiar werebeast. However, she was surprised when the indistinct figure's head turned to gaze at her, which caused her to turn her head the other way. But she swiftly replied to her servant, stating like such.
"Mother was joking when she stated this place was full of monsters beyond my wildest imagination. But honestly, what the hell is that werebeast doing? The energy he is releasing is enough to take out the world as a whole over times over, and it is just increasing by the second, not to mention the sinister sensation that comes with it."
"Hmmm... should I deal with them my lady."
The maid asked, to which Ella replied.
"No! Leave them alone; it is not our problem, but if you believe things are becoming too hazardous, warp us home immediately."
"As you witch my lady."
"Thanks alot... Rule-B."
"No problem, mi lady; the last thing I promised your father before he died was to protect you with my life. And, mi lady, please avoid calling me such in the future; I am not Rule B right now, and if anyone knew who I am, it would cause a massive uproar. In this form, simply refer to me as Ophis, as agreed upon. Say it with me, Op~~his.
Ella chuckled softly as she waved her hands away and spoke.
"Yes! Yes! Whatever you say Ophis."
"Thank you for understanding mi lady, now then, would you like more wine?"
Moving over to another gallery not far from Ella's, an extremely pale-skinned and devilishly attractive man with silver hair, and white blindfold over his eyes. Was lying on the lap of a busty woman, who could make any man blush if not crave her at first sight, she was a high-ranking succubus, and as such she had demonic wings and horns. She was dressed fairly formally, in a secretary uniform, and that very man was sleeping rather comfortably with zero care in the world at all, and his demeanor suggested that he was generally a pretty lethargic person.
The man, on the other hand, gently rose from the lady's lap as the woman gave him room to breathe; however, the unknown man looked towards the gallery Merciless was currently at, sweat dripping from his brow, and remarked in an astonished voice, staring at the tremendous amount of energy Hector was producing. But, unlike Ella and the others, who were concerned about the planet being destroyed while they were on it, the guy removed his blindfold, displaying his glowing demonic nocturnal orange eyes as he exclaimed in surprise.
'This force... this familiar energy, how? No! It shouldn't be possible; Father himself stated that he perished at the hands of the gods a long time ago, before vowing to return and remove their heads at any cost. Why? Why is Lord Satan's energy now appearing here at this time? What is going on? This is... this is... just breathtaking, Lord of Illusion, King of Fantasies, the ruler of the Garden of Mist. Has he perhaps finally reincarnated back into the world anew? Yeah, that has to be it; Devils can't truly die in the traditional sense; even if they do, they will just reincarnate over and over again, until they finally reincarnate into a vessel strong enough to carry the memories and powers they once possessed.'
'This is big, Lord Satan has finally returned into the land of the living; I have to convey this grand news to Father Immedtailey. But I also can't miss the exam either, agh... sigh, a pity. If I could report this now, we could make a move; Father has been looking for both him and Mistress Cheshmak for a very long time now. But the main question is: who the hell is the reincarnation? I can't see anything from here. Should I approach the gallery? No, let's not do that; for all I know, he or maybe she might kill me for approaching him or her so unexpectedly, assuming he or she even realizes he or she is Lord Satan's reincarnation to begin with.'
But, just as the man was looking at Merciless gallery, the female next to him spoke.
"Lord Astaroth; is everything alright?"
"Zalana, I thought we talked about this, just call me Jordan when we are alone together."
Jordan fixed the blindfold over his eyes as he gently stood up and began to stretch his limbs, cracking the bones in his body one by one. Sitting up, he wraps his arms around his third concubine and personal secretary, Zalana.
Zalana blushed slightly at her husband's comments, and she responded in kind.
"Agh. Sorry force of habbit Jordan."
"Yes! Yes! But moving on, do you sense that energy?"
"Hmmmm... agh yeah, it does feel demonic, but it doesn't feel like anything special, don't worry I will protect you if that is what you are worrying about?"
When Jordan heard this, he gaze towards Zalana, as he said to himself.
'So what Father said was true, regular demons can't fathom a Devil's miasma, well; im not crazy, I can sense Satan's Miasma and I must say, it's as terrifying as Father describes it. Lord Satan, the Devil of Boundaries, is responsible for the existence of the ten great devils of Hell, and the entire demonic race. A powerful presence with the ability to influence the boundaries of creation itself, at his prime he was thought to be on par with Elaine, if not stronger.'
'Either way, I need to look at this more thoroughly; this is important news; should I notify Mammon? No, not net, I need to think about this topic some more. The event hasn't started, so I guess I can get another ten minutes of sleep while I am at it as well.'
Jordan placed his head back on Zalana's lap after those words, and he fell asleep in less than 10 seconds, as if it were as natural as breathing.
On that remark, Merciless watches Hector with wonder on his face, as he senses a large amount of black energy collecting into Hector's claws, turning into deeper shade of red as it goes along.
"Hmmm... I wonder if it's because I wanted him to construct something five times stronger than himself. Is that why it's taking so much more effort than it did to create this throne?"
Merciless wondered to himself as he saw Hector pour a lot of strength into his claws, and then it happened.
'Surpass imagination and reality: Boundary Cleave'
And with amazing ability, Hector jumps slightly in the air and slashes both claws in a "X" pattern, as reality peels back, before landing on the ground. And, glancing at his hand, his claws were no longer crimson as they retreated back down to regular nails, but a gap between his imagination and reality had opened.
Now it was time to welcome the newest member of the family.