It was a moment of crisis for Itogami Island, causing constant commotion.
But on the sea outside of Itogami Island, Vatler didn't care in the slightest about that artificial island inhabited by 560,000 people. He laughed recklessly while continuously summoning his Familiar Beasts.
A sea serpent that took the form of a high-pressure water flow, capable of manipulating atmospheric pressure freely, transforming its body into super-high-pressure water to attack and cause explosions—Sagara.
A green serpent that resembled a frozen water surface, able to crack space and drag enemies into it—Utpalaka.
A ferocious, giant green serpent tens of meters long that could emit searing flashes from its eyes—Takshaka.
Also, there were the black serpent Manasa, wild as a stormy ocean; the golden glowing serpent Anavatapta; and the Familiar Beast of Serpents, Shukra, with a thousand heads represented by a multitude of serpents—Vatler summoned six Familiar Beasts in one go, causing the Oceanus Grave to crack under their brutal force.
In response, Kaiser remained calm and began summoning magical beasts just like Vatler.
Ladon—the hundred-headed dragon from legend who guarded the golden apples.
Cerberus—the hellish three-headed dog of darkness and death that guarded the gates of the underworld.
Orthrus—the two-headed dog who guarded the red oxen and was deeply connected to Cerberus.
Nemean Lion—the giant lion whose hide was as hard as steel, impervious to blades and spears.
Then came the Chimera with a lion's head and goat's body, the Sphinx with a lion's body and a human face, and Scylla the sea monster—one by one, mythical magical beasts were summoned by Kaiser to charge at Vatler's serpentine Familiar Beasts.
The two sides clashed at close range like terrifying monsters out of a sci-fi movie, battling on the sea, the fight turning the world upside down, the waves surging violently, plunging the surrounding waters of Itogami Island into complete chaos, to the point that the island's very foundation—the Keystone Gate—trembled violently.
In countless eyes, this was a natural disaster.
In countless hearts, this was a nightmare.
Especially when Kaiser's magical beasts began gaining the upper hand, Vatler had no choice but to once again merge his Familiar Beasts. He fused the six newly summoned beasts into three True Ancestor-level Familiar Beasts and, together with the steel dragon fused at the beginning, launched an assault on Kaiser. At that point, the battle had reached an intensity no one could stop.
"Marvelous! Truly marvelous! Hahahahaha!"
Vatler had completely gone mad, utterly unable to stop himself.
In contrast, Kaiser had remained calm from beginning to end. Even though Vatler's magic had formed a storm strong enough to tear apart the entire Oceanus Grave, Kaiser stood like an immovable mountain, completely withstanding that terrifying magical storm without even changing his expression.
If not for Kaiser enduring and resisting Vatler's power, the luxurious cruise ship Oceanus Grave would have already disintegrated, and the hundreds of influential figures from politics and commerce aboard would have perished, triggering an international-scale conflict.
Of course, Kaiser wasn't deliberately protecting them—his resistance and endurance of Vatler's power merely reduced much of the pressure and burden on the Oceanus Grave incidentally.
Meanwhile, Vatler had stopped caring about anything.
At this moment, in his eyes, there was only that calm-faced man.
At this moment, in his heart, there was only joy and madness.
Appearing before him was a profound and unfathomable opponent whose true strength was unknown.
In that case, was there anything more worthy of attention than this?
No!
"To show my respect, I will fight with everything I have!"
Vatler spread his arms wide, and the magical power erupting from every part of his body materialized into substance. As it shook the atmosphere and ocean, it formed a Familiar Beast behind him.
That was Vatler's ninth Familiar Beast—his final and strongest Familiar Beast.
"Come forth! Ananta (Primordial Serpent)!"
It was a Familiar Beast that made one's skin crawl.
Its form was that of a serpent tree towering into the sky. The roots anchored in the sea were writhing serpent tails; the trunk was a twisting serpent body; and the massive branches were menacing serpent heads, composing a serpent tree hundreds of meters tall.
The serpentine roots and branches spread outward, completely encasing the seafloor. Vatler's previously summoned serpentine Familiar Beasts entwined themselves with it, fusing into this Familiar Beast, making the serpent tree even more grotesque and massive. The branches even turned into hydra heads, prompting angry roars from Kaiser's own Hydra.
At this moment, Vatler had summoned all nine of his Familiar Beasts and fully fused them into one—its tail the roots, its body the trunk, its heads the crown, forming a serpent of world-tree shape.
By rooting into the seabed and the land itself, the serpent tree began absorbing the magical power of the dragon veins in the earth, creating a barrier-like effect in the shape of a serpent. Golden, toxic miasma began to spread.
"This is my full power!"
Vatler roared loudly.
Behind him, the world-tree-shaped serpent bellowed, its soundwaves instantly raising a tsunami hundreds of meters high. The clouds in the sky were blown apart. The magic power it emitted was strong enough to overwhelm multiple True Ancestor-level Familiar Beasts.
This was why Dimitrie Vatler was called the vampire closest to a True Ancestor.
With his unique ability to fuse Familiar Beasts, even merging just two allowed Vatler to match a True Ancestor's Familiar Beast. When he merged three, his power alone equaled that of one. But even so, that still wasn't enough to rival an actual True Ancestor.
True Ancestors didn't just have one Familiar Beast. The Fourth True Ancestor had twelve disaster-class Familiar Beasts, each of them True Ancestor-level. Even if Vatler could fuse several such beasts, the sheer number didn't compare—how could he compete?
The other True Ancestors were the same, each possessing numerous True Ancestor-level beasts.
For example, the Emperor of the War King Domain, the vampire overlord, the oldest True Ancestor, the First True Ancestor Lost Warlord—he had seventy-two Familiar Beasts.
Even if Vatler could fuse multiple True Ancestor-level Familiar Beasts, how could he compare to that kind of ancient monster?
Yet Vatler was still known as the vampire closest to a True Ancestor, all because of this one fused Familiar Beast—Ananta (Primordial Serpent).
It fused all of Vatler's Familiar Beasts and was summoned at the cost of all his power—his strongest fusion beast. It was enough to overwhelm multiple True Ancestor-level beasts, leaving individual ones far behind.
It was no exaggeration to say that this Familiar Beast was far stronger than the ice beast Kaiser had seen earlier from Avrora. Even a single Familiar Beast of the so-called world's strongest vampire—the Fourth True Ancestor—couldn't compare to this monstrous thing.
"Take my full strength, King of Beasts!"
With Vatler's loud shout, the massive serpent tree behind him began to sway, and all the serpentine heads forming its branches roared in unison, charging at the magical beasts summoned by Kaiser.
Hydra was the first to rush forward, snarling with rage, but was quickly devoured completely, vanishing without a trace.
Ladon the hundred-headed dragon, Cerberus the three-headed hellhound, Orthrus the two-headed dog, the mighty Nemean Lion, the Chimera, the Sphinx, and Scylla—all were swallowed by the massive serpent tree in struggle and battle, devoured wholly by those grotesque serpent heads.
The serpent tree kept writhing. Its countless roots and its terrifying serpent-head branches all roared as they lunged at Kaiser.
That savage, violent, and terrifying magical pressure finally brought a change to Kaiser's otherwise tranquil face since the battle began.
"You're quite capable, Snake Charmer."
In a scene that anyone would consider hopeless, Kaiser actually smiled.
"Then let me show you—the true King of Beasts."
In the next second, countless serpent heads and roots engulfed Kaiser's body.
"Boom!!!"
However, the next second, with a heaven-shaking roar, a torrent of violent magical power shot into the sky, blasting away all the serpent heads and roots.
The magic surged like a pillar of light, piercing the clouds while creating shockwaves of terrifying intensity.
Kaiser stood at the epicenter of this overwhelming magical force, summoning forth… "It."
—
That night, everyone on Itogami Island would remember the sight they witnessed.
No matter where they were—in the center of the city or a far-off alley—as long as they looked up, they could see that silhouette.
It blotted out the sky, taller than the heavens. The moment it appeared, its upper body disappeared into the clouds—its peak unseen.
It possessed a hundred dragon heads, each spewing dark serpent tongues.
Its eyes blazed with fire. Its entire body was covered in feathers, with wings and tangled, dust-laden hair.
Its roar, as it descended into the world, was at once human and beast—like a man's words, a bull's bellow, a lion's roar, a dog's bark—all thunderous, echoing through the four corners of the world, shaking every person's mind into blankness.
Countless people stared up at it, eyes blank.
Countless people opened their mouths, unable to scream.
Fear had been forgotten. Horror could not rise. Only a sense of absurdity—an emotion that made them want to laugh but couldn't—rushed through their hearts, causing tears to stream from their eyes in rapture.
People should be thankful that it wasn't targeting them. Otherwise, not a single one of the 560,000 residents would have survived.
People should feel joy that it appeared only to confront one person. Otherwise, this 180 square kilometer artificial island would have vanished from the world without even a single fragment left.
After its appearance, it did only one thing.
It reached out its giant hand toward the serpent tree—so minuscule compared to it as to resemble a blade of grass.
"Boom!!!"
With a thunderous impact, the serpent tree, capable of overpowering multiple True Ancestor-level beasts, was crushed by that giant hand—like an ant being squashed.
—
Not long after, the sky-covering, hundred-headed giant vanished.
As if it had never existed, its massive form dissolved like a mirage.
The surging ocean slowly calmed.
The violent winds gradually subsided.
By the time everything returned to stillness, the port of Itogami Island was nearly destroyed, completely sunk into the sea, unrecognizable from its original state.
As for the Oceanus Grave, the luxurious cruise ship had miraculously survived, floating like a fragile, pitiful leaf on the sea near Itogami Island.
On its cracked upper deck, Kaiser stretched as if he had just finished a warm-up exercise.
"Satisfied, Lord Ardeal?"
As if asking whether someone had enjoyed a game, Kaiser smiled and looked toward the deck in front of him.
"Haha…"
Vatler lay there, laughing hoarsely.
Looking closely, his clothes were scorched, skin and flesh ruined, his entire body in tatters—his injuries severe enough to cremate him on the spot.
This wasn't due to a direct attack, but from the magical backlash when his fusion Familiar Beast, Ananta, was crushed—it nearly vaporized his body.
Such grave injuries would mean near death for even an immortal True Ancestor.
That Vatler survived, and even seemed to be recovering rapidly, was nothing short of a miracle.
"The true… King of Beasts, huh?"
Vatler's laugh sounded like a bellows with a leak—hoarse and grating, as if his throat burned with each word.
"Indeed… that was the true King of Beasts… the true King of Magical Beasts…"
Though in pain, vomiting blood with every movement, Vatler kept laughing, speaking, his body convulsing uncontrollably.
"Who would've thought… I'd witness something like that… Truly worth it…"
Vatler's one remaining eye turned to Kaiser, his laugh unbearably harsh.
"Compared to that… what True Ancestor's Familiar Beast… what world's strongest magical beast… all a joke, right?"
"That thing… sealed inside a man-made lifeform…?"
"That's what they call the Chaos Dragon, huh…"
As if amused by his own words, or mocking the ignorance of the world, Vatler's chest heaved violently.
Watching this, Kaiser's face remained utterly indifferent.
"Though I really dislike people like you, simply killing you now would make the aftermath more troublesome."
"So, be glad you survived—and that I have no interest in dealing with your War King Domain."
"Otherwise, your battle-hungry life would've ended here."
With those words, Kaiser turned.
"If you dare to cause trouble again, I won't be so lenient."
As the words fell, Kaiser's figure vanished.
Vatler didn't look in the direction Kaiser disappeared to. He lay there trembling, laughing incessantly.
"By the King of Beasts' command…"
In the ruined luxury cruise ship, Vatler's laughter continued for a long, long time, never stopping…