As someone whom Kaiser considered even more troublesome than any battle maniac he had encountered before, Vatler was naturally a completely unreasonable person.
In a situation like this, normally, unless things truly escalated into a direct conflict—unless it really came down to burning bridges—one wouldn't act so rashly.
But Vatler was different.
In Vatler's understanding, only those who could withstand him going all out were worthy of being considered his equals.
This wasn't an entirely incomprehensible notion, but what was most peculiar about Vatler was that even when facing someone he had just met, as long as he believed the other party was his equal, he felt the need to show proper courtesy.
And starting a fight upon meeting—that was one of Vatler's ways of showing respect, a courtesy he deemed necessary.
Thus, driven by a ferocious will to battle, before Kaiser could even respond, Vatler struck.
"Nanda!"
From Vatler's body, terrifying magical power burst out like a storm.
That magical power was far stronger than that of the two pure-blood vampires of the old generation—and by a significant margin, to the point where in Kaiser's perception, it was almost on par with that of a Campione.
A Campione's Magical Power was hundreds of times greater than that of ordinary mages or sorcerers. Vatler's current magical output was likewise no less than a hundred times that of an average mage or sorcerer.
Amidst that terrifying magical storm, a massive dark gray serpent appeared.
It was a dark gray serpent with purple markings along its body, pointed scales on its back, and a body radiating a violet glow.
As soon as the serpent appeared, the surrounding air trembled, and even the ocean around the Oceanus Grave churned violently, creating an astonishing scene.
This was one of Vatler's familiars—a serpent-type familiar.
As the vampire closest to the True Ancestor, Vatler possessed a total of nine familiars, and each of them was serpentine in form.
Because of this, Vatler earned the title of the "Serpent Bearer." These nine serpent-type familiars all possessed unique abilities, allowing Vatler to deal with a wide variety of situations.
The dark gray serpent that appeared now was capable of firing a beam of light from its mouth, with power so overwhelming it could easily destroy the Oceanus Grave.
Despite this, Vatler didn't hesitate to command the familiar. The dark gray serpent opened its mouth and released a dazzling beam of light.
"Boom!"
The beam tore through the sky, streaking from the top deck of the Oceanus Grave and striking the distant sea, causing an explosive eruption that sent enormous waves crashing and churning relentlessly.
"W-What happened?!"
"What's going on?!"
"Is someone attacking?!"
"Call the guards, now!"
Inside the banquet hall of the Oceanus Grave, where the party was being held, the many prominent figures who had been cheerfully conversing were all startled by the sudden upheaval. Without exception, they began shouting, losing their composure entirely.
The entire luxury cruise ship instantly fell into chaos, with people trying to contact the outside world and even some rushing out, creating a scene of panic.
Some tried to approach the top deck of the ship but were quickly driven back.
That was because a terrifying magical aura had condensed into a miasma there—so thick and oppressive that even powerful sorcerers struggled to get close, let alone ordinary people.
However, many still managed to catch a glimpse of the massive form of the dark gray serpent on the deck.
Vatler stood in front of the dark gray serpent, the red light in his eyes shining intensely due to his excitement.
Looking closely, one could see that the sun loungers, parasols, and even the large swimming pool that had originally existed in front of Vatler had all vanished.
They had been vaporized by the serpent's beam, leaving behind only a vast scorched area that billowed with black smoke.
And within that scorched patch, there was a small, strangely untouched area.
Kaiser was standing right there.
"Want to witness the power of the strongest magical beast in the world?"
Even though he had been struck by the beam, Kaiser remained completely unharmed as he calmly spoke.
"I don't mind."
"But before that, you'd better show some real strength."
"The power of that familiar behind you isn't worthy yet."
As he spoke, Kaiser raised his hand.
"I'm not someone who just stands around taking hits. Before you see the so-called strongest magical beast, you can deal with this first."
With those words, the Spiritual Power within Kaiser automatically converted into Magical Power.
In this world, Spiritual Power and Magical Power were on the same level—the difference being that the former was more versatile and mysterious, while the latter had greater offensive and destructive potential.
Kaiser converting all of his Spiritual Power into Magical Power meant that the methods he was about to employ would have greater destructive force and aggression.
Of course, he had no intention of personally acting.
The magical energy erupting from him was just like Vatler's earlier—first turning into a raging storm, and then forming a massive ferocious beast in the ocean behind him.
That was also a serpent.
But not the same dark gray serpent as Vatler's. This one had nine heads and looked more like a dragon than a snake—a gigantic hydra.
"""""Roar roar roar roar roar roar roar——!"""""
As soon as the hydra appeared, its nine heads let out simultaneous roars, the sounds layering over each other to form a terrifying shockwave that instantly churned the sea, creating towering waves and causing the Oceanus Grave to rock violently in the ocean.
"Hydra!"
"It's a Hydra!"
"Why—why is a mythical serpent appearing here?!"
Inside the Oceanus Grave, the prominent guests who saw the hydra appearing widened their eyes and shouted in shock.
The Hydra, also known as the Lernaean Hydra, was a monster serpent with nine heads from Greek mythology. It was the offspring of Typhon, the Father of Monsters, and Echidna, the snake-bodied woman.
It lived in the swampy region of Lerna by the Gulf of Argos. Upon birth, it devoured farmland, ravaged livestock and humans alike, committed every form of evil, and the poisonous miasma it emitted turned the area into a plague-ridden swamp. It was infamous throughout the world.
After Kaiser slew Typhon, one of the Authorities he obtained allowed him not only to control and strengthen various beasts—transforming ordinary animals into magical beasts for command—but also to summon mythical creatures born from Typhon, including Typhon himself.
The Hydra was one such creature.
"""""Roar roar roar roar roar roar roar——!"""""
Amidst the roars of its nine heads, the Hydra lunged at Vatler—and at the dark gray serpent behind him.
"Hahaha! Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
Vatler let out an excited, high-pitched laugh amidst the raging winds and terrifying magical storm.
"To think I'd witness a mythical magical beast…! Does this mean your body is sealed with not just Leviathan?! Are there other mythical creatures sealed within you, Kaiser?!"
Overjoyed, the Serpent Bearer sent out his serpent, commanding the dark gray serpent to continually fire beams at the onrushing Hydra.
"Bang bang bang bang bang…!"
The beams exploded upon the Hydra's body, tearing its flesh and even blasting three of its nine heads into pieces.
But just as the Hydra was wounded, in the very next moment, it instantly regenerated. The three destroyed heads swiftly grew back as the hydra roared and pounced, biting into the body of the dark gray serpent.
"Hiss—!"
The dark gray serpent let out a hiss of pain and began thrashing violently, as if in great agony.
Not long after, the dark gray serpent's entire body started to rot away, dissolving into blood and vanishing.
The Hydra's two most infamous abilities were these:
First, its incredibly powerful vitality.
It had nine heads. If one was severed, it would immediately regenerate. All nine had to be severed to kill it, but the central head was immortal—killing the Hydra was virtually impossible.
Second, its terrifying poison.
The miasma it emitted could turn entire swamps into poison pools and spread plague. Its venom was one of the most feared in existence—even gods dreaded it.
In Greek mythology, the Hydra was finally subdued by the great hero Heracles after extreme difficulty. He burned eight heads with blazing fire, buried the immortal ninth head under a boulder, and split its body in two—using its venomous blood to coat his arrows. Henceforth, anyone struck by those arrows had no cure and met certain death.
The centaur Chiron, who possessed immortality, was accidentally struck by one such arrow. The poison entered his bones, and the excruciating pain led him to forsake his immortality and embrace death, becoming the constellation Centaurus.
That poisoned arrow also led to Heracles' own demise. After completing his twelve impossible labors and settling down with his wife, he killed the centaur Nessus with a poisoned arrow on the way home. Before dying, Nessus tricked Heracles' wife into giving him a robe stained with his blood. When Heracles wore it, the Hydra's poison seeped into his skin, bringing about his tragic end.
It was said that the Anigrus River near the city of Elis in Greece remained polluted because Nessus, struck by the poisoned arrow, had washed his wounds there—contaminating the river with Hydra's venom.
Therefore, the Hydra possessed not only terrifying vitality but also deadly venom. Anyone bitten by it, or touched by its venom or blood—even gods—could perish.
The venom was even potent enough to dissolve familiars, reverting them into their original magical form.
Thus, Vatler's familiar was unsurprisingly poisoned to death.
But Vatler immediately released new magical energy and summoned it again.
"Padmananda!"
Not only that, he summoned a new familiar as well—a giant serpent fully armed with savage blades.
The giant serpent entangled with the dark gray serpent, and in the end, they fused—becoming a gray steel dragon wreathed in scorching flames.
At that moment, magical power on par with a True Ancestor erupted, shaking the port of Itogami Island and sending the surrounding sea into a frenzy.
Fused familiars—this was Vatler's special ability.
He could fuse multiple familiars into a new one, combining their powers to create an even stronger familiar.
Because of this special ability, Vatler was able to rise from a mere noble to prey upon two elder-class vampires, eventually elevating himself to near-True Ancestor level.
Now, he had fused two familiars into an even stronger one, unleashing power rivaling that of a True Ancestor.
The Hydra and the steel Eastern dragon, wreathed in flames and blades, both let out earth-shaking roars and lunged at each other again, beginning a brutal clash.
The steel dragon spat flames and beams, unleashed a storm of blades, bombarding, piercing, and tearing apart the Hydra again and again. But the Hydra rapidly regenerated each time, biting the steel dragon's body, its venom corroding the metallic flesh.
The steel dragon struggled desperately, unable to shake off the Hydra's bites. It slashed off the Hydra's heads with its claws, but the Hydra ignored the pain and continued to release toxic miasma, causing the steel dragon to howl in agony upon contact.
The two giant beasts clashed beside the Oceanus Grave, biting, roaring, and charging, churning the sea into violent waves and sending tremors through the air—an overwhelming scene.
In the end, the two sides were locked in a stalemate, unable to determine a victor anytime soon.
In terms of power, the steel dragon familiar with strength rivaling a True Ancestor shouldn't have been evenly matched by a mere Divine Beast.
When Kaiser used the Authority gained from slaying Typhon to turn ordinary animals into magical beasts, they could at most display spirit-level power. But when summoning named monsters born of Typhon, such as the Hydra, they could reach Divine Beast level.
The strength of a Divine Beast might rival that of an old-generation vampire's familiar, but to contend with a True Ancestor's familiar was a fantasy.
A True Ancestor's familiar could bring natural disasters, destroy cities with ease, and in terms of destructive power, were no less than a Campione or Heretic God's Authority. There was no way an ordinary Divine Beast could compete.
But Kaiser had more than just the Authority of the King of Beasts—he also had the Eye of Horus.
It was nighttime. The full moon hung in the sky, casting moonlight over the sea. This allowed Kaiser's left eye, which symbolized the moon, to shine with an intense glow, greatly enhancing his power.
In such a state, the Divine Beast summoned by Kaiser was also strengthened. With its terrifying vitality and venom, it could now rival a True Ancestor-class familiar.
Thus, the two terrifying beasts continued their brutal battle, rolling across the sea, the towering waves they stirred nearly overturning the Oceanus Grave, eliciting waves of panicked screams from those aboard.
As for Itogami Island's port—it was already submerged.
The seawater was even creeping toward the city, triggering a massive emergency response in Itogami City.
Sirens began blaring throughout the urban district.