"What's going on here?" Vlad asked, eyeing the Primordial Human warily as countless octopus-like tentacles suddenly sprouted from its body.
Cracks splintered through the earth like a spider's web. One after another, bizarrely-shaped bugs crawled out from underneath.
If Shirou were here, he'd recognize these creatures as the Chthonians.
In the distance, octopus-like monsters emerged along the horizon.
Vlad used his Noble Phantasm, Kazikli Bey, to impale over thirty of the nearby demonic worms. He then gathered thousands of wooden stakes into a cluster and launched them at a distant sea monster, piercing through its thick hide.
However, this was far from over.
The earth collapsed in on itself like a sinkhole as even more hideous, terrifying demonic worms crawled out. Not only here, but inside the nearby Trifas City, horrific magical beasts emerged from the ground.
They rampaged through the streets, destroying buildings and hunting humans as their prey. Eventually, the protective barrier set up beforehand by the Yggdmillennia clan was shattered.
Cries of terror filled the air.
Vlad's expression turned grave. At this critical moment, he could no longer focus solely on the giant. He had to divide his power and use his Noble Phantasm, Kazikli Bey, to its limit, bombarding the invading insects with a relentless wave of wooden stakes.
But the demonic worms kept emerging, endless in number, crawling out of the earth one after another as if from the abyss itself.
"Impossible!" Vlad shouted. "The Age of Gods has ended. How could there still be so many magical beasts?!"
"Connected," Spartacus said while slaying another burrowing monster.
"What did you say, rebel?" Vlad turned to glare at him.
In response, Spartacus stretched out his hand and pointed at the sky.
Vlad looked up and happened to see the eyes of Cthulhu. That's when he understood.
These evil beings had formed a connection to this world! To his country, his territory!
The Black Ring flashed with thunder. From the thin slit at its center, thick black mists spewed out continuously.
The lingering light left behind by Eternal King was snuffed out, shrouded in darkness.
The night fell into complete blackness - devoid of any light.
"Ah----!!!"
A scream tore through the night sky. The next moment, a thunderous "BOOM!" shook the earth.
Vlad's eyes widened in alarm.
Soil erupted hundreds of meters into the air as a colossal seven hundred meter demonic worm rumbled out from the bowels of the land.
Acid dripped from its gaping jaws, corroding the surrounding forest into bubbling flows of thick sludge.
"ROAR ROAR ROAR!"
The Primordial Human bellowed furiously at the sky. Countless octopus-like tentacles sprouted over its entire body. At its core, the corrupted Grail continued channeling it more and more mana, causing its massive frame to expand ever larger.
Four hundred meters...
Five hundred meters...
Six hundred and fifty meters...
Vlad's expression was grave.
The situation had escalated disastrously!
Vlad stopped beside Darnic, who had avoided the initial giant's rampage. Darnic immediately recalled all the Servants to assess the damage.
Vlad entrusted him to inspect their territory while he focused on the threat.
Fortunately, it seemed the evil beings had only connected to Trifas and Vâlcea through the Black Ring in the sky - for now, at least.
Only those two territories were affected.
However, the regions of connection were slowly expanding outwards bit by bit to swallow more land.
"What should we do, Your Majesty?" Darnic asked anxiously.
He truly hadn't expected a mere Holy Grail War to cause such devastation. As leader of the Yggdmillennia clan, he had to be nervous - had to be anxious. This was their ancestral land at stake.
Vlad stood gazing at the earth as it cracked like a spider web, and two giant monsters crawled out from the depths.
How similar...how alike they were...
The territory crumbled, the people awaiting disaster like lambs to the slaughter.
"Hahaha..."
Vlad started laughing.
He laughed.
Yet it was bitter laughter.
Having returned from ancient times to this modern era, he saw not his country's glory, but its decline - and his own powerlessness.
Dracula...
Dracula, oh Dracula...
—Search your heart. What you truly want to clear - is it your reputation, or do you want the world to understand why you became Dracula?
Somehow, Shirou's words reemerged in his mind.
—We are the falling dusk, while the people you love are the rising dawn.
Vlad smiled softly. "Truly...you saw right through me, Eternal King. Even I failed to see through myself. Yet you... saw right through me!"
Dracula...
Dracula, oh Dracula...
Hehehe...
A faint laugh escaped Vlad's lips.
...
Through his familiar, Darnic observed the dire situation unfolding. The sight pained his heart.
Things were extremely bad! This was beyond what modern magi like himself could handle.
Those who could face this threat...
Heroic Spirits!
Only Heroic Spirits summoned by human hope had the power to stop this disaster!
"Your Majesty...!" Darnic turned anxiously to Vlad. But he froze at what he saw.
Vlad had changed. His body now emanated a deathly pallor. His dignified face had twisted into something demonic - ghastly pale skin, sharp fangs, his aura warped with madness. He resembled the vampiric fiend from Biblical tales...
"Your Majesty..." Darnic was dumbstruck.
Even Spartacus's brows furrowed, "Vlad, you—"
"Vlad...? Wrong..." He barely kept himself from losing all control. His eyes flashed blood red. "I am...Dracula!"
—How others see me is their business. Why should I care? Through the ages, so many things come and go like flowing rivers - slanders, abuses, and praises. I need only do right by myself. As for the rest, let tongues wag as they will.
Vlad clung to the last image in his mind - Shirou's carefree smile as he casually leaned against the window bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, at peace with himself and the world.
...
"Roar roar roar roar—!"
Inside the Hanging Garden, Heracles unleashed deafening roars as he swung his enormous stone axe at Mordred. "He—ra!"
Mordred neither dodged nor evaded. Her blackish red sword met Heracles' axe head-on.
The stone axe chopped down fiercely with the momentum of thunder. Yet with a "shua," it passed directly through Mordred's sword and body, slamming into the ground with an earth-shaking "boom."
Cracks spread through the earth like a spider's web.
Thanks to her Noble Phantasm, the fierce momentum didn't harm Mordred at all.
In turn, her sword chopped into Heracles' body. With a loud "keng," it failed to injure him, instead rebounding from the impact.
A physical damage immunity Noble Phantasm?
Mordred raised her brows. Her body became shrouded in a thick aura as she externally released her mana. Possessing the Dragon trait and a magical furnace-like dragon heart, she also had [Mana Burst A].
After using mana burst, she once again passed through Heracles's attack before fiercely slashing at his face.
With a loud "boom," the slash sent Heracles flying like a meteor. He smashed heavily into a wall not far away, collapsing a huge chunk to reveal another area.
Seeing the newly exposed area, she couldn't help but frown.
"Crackle crackle---!!!"
Demonic worms burst out from the earth, rampaging everywhere. In the distance, Hydra's and Bashmu's thick toxic mists surged forward, killing swathes of the demonic worms.
Sensing danger from the poisonous mists, the surviving worms eyed Mordred and Kiara hungrily. They cried out oddly and swarmed toward the new prey.