To the onlookers, the black fog erupting from Redfield’s body covered nearly a square kilometer, completely veiling the horrors within.

Those unfortunate enough to be caught inside experienced a jarring transition from broad daylight to pitch-black night. Everything around them felt submerged in a void without a single glimmer of light.

This was one of the core abilities of the Vampire Fruit.

While it lacked a typical Logia-style elemental transformation, preventing Redfield from turning into mist like the vampires of legend, he could generate this black shroud to blanket a vast area, creating a combat environment perfectly suited for a predator of the night.

The problem, however, was that Redfield’s opponent was also a vampire.

Inside the darkness, Redfield stood atop a pile of rubble. His gaunt, tall frame crouched low to the ground as his great cloak transformed into bat wings, vibrating at a frequency too high for the naked eye to track. He locked onto Alucard’s position in the gloom.

"Now, witness the true power of the Mythical Zoan: Vampire Fruit."

The moment the words left his lips, Redfield unleashed a "Breath of Death." He dived forward like a streak of shadow, snatching several Marines along the way. In an instant, their bodies withered and aged into decrepit centenarians.

This was fundamentally different from Bonney’s age-manipulation powers. Bonney merely adjusted age; Redfield seized their very life force and made it his own.

Is this nearly my limit?

Mid-flight, Redfield assessed his physical state. Absorbing the lifespans of others wasn’t an infinite process; his body had its own capacity. After draining several people in quick succession, he had reached his peak storage.

Redfield grinned wickedly. "No matter. With this, I’ll send you to the afterlife. Your twenty years of unaging power and lifespan shall be mine!"

His umbrella-sword was fixed to his wrist, aimed directly at Alucard’s heart with barely a hair’s breadth of distance remaining.

Swish!

Suddenly, Alucard vanished. Stunned, Redfield braked hard, his wings flapping violently as he skidded to a halt. He scanned left and right, finding nothing, and immediately pushed his Observation Haki to its limits.

"You call yourself a vampire, yet you are ignorant of such simple truths?"

Alucard’s voice drifted from behind him. Panicked, Redfield swung a violent arc of sword-pressure toward the source of the sound. He caught a glimpse of Alucard’s silhouette being sliced in two, but the voice immediately echoed from another direction.

"A true vampire doesn’t just gain strength in the dark; they become the darkness. Didn’t you know?"

The voice now came from the left. Redfield slashed again. This time, he clearly saw Alucard’s head being severed from his shoulders, yet the voice continued without a hint of interruption, flowing directly into his ears.

"To be incapable of even this, yet dare to claim the title of vampire... how shameless!"

Alucard’s form suddenly lunged out. Redfield spun around to see Alucard emerging from the shadows in his Cromwell Constraint straitjacket form. His speed was even greater than Redfield’s own!

There was no time to counterattack. Defense first!

Redfield raised his umbrella-sword, intending to use it as a shield, but Alucard didn’t use a gun or any other weapon. Instead, he reached out with one hand and gripped Redfield’s sword-arm wrist in a vice-like hold, while simultaneously driving a kick into the back of Redfield’s knee.

CRACK!!!

The sound of splintering bone rang out. Redfield’s lower right leg was practically torn away by the force of the kick. Blood sprayed everywhere; the limb remained attached by nothing more than a strip of skin and a few mangled vessels.

"Cough... ugh..."

Redfield gnashed his teeth, his speech slurred by agony. The pain was so intense he couldn’t even manage a proper scream.

Alucard whipped his arm back, the muscles in his free hand swelling to nearly three times their original size, a radical departure from his usual slender build.

"Wail! Wail like a pig!!"

Silver strands of saliva bridged Alucard’s bared fangs as he drove a hand-spear directly into Redfield’s heart.

"Checkmate! Patrick Redfield!"

In one fell swoop, Alucard impaled Redfield’s heart and tore through his torso. He seized the man’s head, straightening his own body as he let out a thunderous laugh.

WHOOSH!!! 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The dark space dissipated instantly. With the user’s death, the technique unraveled, revealing to everyone on the battlefield the sight of Alucard holding Redfield by the face.

The "Lone Wolf’s" right leg dangled by a thread of skin, and a massive, gaping hole sat where his left chest used to be.

"Ah... ah..."

The crowd watched in stunned silence. Was it over?

Even Mihawk, watching from the sidelines, felt his pupils contract. The fight had ended even faster than his own duel. Why? Was Redfield weaker than him?

No, Mihawk dismissed that thought instantly. At the very least, a Redfield who had restored his youth with the Vampire Fruit was not someone he considered an inferior.

At that moment, red light began to leak from Redfield’s body, flowing back into the people whose lifespans had been stolen. Within seconds, their bodies were restored to their original states.

In the distance, an old woman in plain clothes carrying a katana felt her youth return. She stood up, touching her face in shock and delight. "I’m back... I... I’ve returned to normal!! Thank God! Thank God!"

"Shut up, Tashigi!"

Smoker, the "White Hunter," barked at her, cold sweat trickling down his face. He stared at the tall figure holding Redfield’s corpse.

"Now, your mission is complete. Your blood shall be the currency, the pass for your flesh to enter the River of Death and your soul to cross the Styx."

Alucard let Redfield’s body sink into the pool of blood beneath him. His own attire shifted from the straitjacket back into his crimson suit and greatcloak.

"Heh... hehehe... HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Having devoured Redfield, Alucard threw his head back and laughed uncontrollably. The sound struck terror into the hearts of everyone present, a dread carved into their very bones, felt by every single person watching the broadcast across the world.

A look of deep apprehension flitted across Doflamingo’s face. After a long moment, he began to clap. "Fuffuffuffu... fuffuffuffu! FUHAHAHAHA!!!"

"The ’Lone Wolf’ Redfield was slaughtered like a common stray. Did you see that? Did you see?!"

Doflamingo’s voice was thick with twisted delight. "Interesting... too interesting! To think such a monster existed in this world. The Pirate King? The Pirate King has already been surpassed!!"