Chapter 803 802: You Call Yourself a Vampire Like That?!

Abruptly, the distinct contours of massive hands began to emerge from the upper edges of the blade-shaped pool of blood. With Alucard's body at the epicenter, they sprouted in rapid succession like a wild, untamed thicket of brambles.

The shadow hands firmly pinned Regulus Aurum, tightly binding the great lion's head, muzzle, limbs, and torso in an inescapable grip.

"Roaaargh!!!"

Suffocating under the immense pressure, Regulus Aurum let out a pained, muffled roar.

With a violent downward jerk of the shadow hands, Regulus Aurum's massive frame was slammed brutally into the harbor dock. The resulting shockwave tore through the vicinity, completely vaporizing the few remaining metal shipping containers and streetlights.

"Regulus Aurum!" Kojo screamed in terror.

"That's... the Fourth Progenitor's Familiar? But... it was suppressed so easily..." Even though Yukina had been startled by the sudden manifestation of Kojo's Familiar, she was far more shaken by how effortlessly this other vampire had neutralized it without breaking a sweat.

Watching the writhing shadow hands as her own pain gradually subsided, Yukina forced her body up. Her brow furrowed as she murmured, "Is that... his Familiar?"

It bore a passing resemblance to the hand-shaped Familiar wielded by Astarte moments ago.

However, Yukina's expression stiffened almost instantly. No, that was wrong! It wasn't a Familiar; it lacked any trace of a Familiar's distinctive aura.

It was likely just a vampiric technique she had never seen before.

"Regulus Aurum!"

"Roar!!"

Kojo yelled out once more. Hearing his master's voice, Regulus Aurum responded with a fierce roar of its own.

"Can you still fight? Good! Let's go!"

At Kojo's command, the golden lion lept from the debris, charging toward Alucard once again.

To an onlooker, it appeared Kojo was directing the beast, but Alucard saw right through it. Regulus Aurum wasn't acting out of obedience; it was simply furious about being thrashed and wanted to reclaim its honor.

As Regulus Aurum closed the distance to Alucard, the searing heat and paralyzing static of its lightning washed over the area. Opening its cavernous jaws, the beast's fangs loomed less than half a meter from Alucard's face, poised to snap his head clean off.

"Oh no! Stop, Regulus Aurum!"

Seeing his Familiar about to swallow the man whole, Kojo panicked and frantically issued a command to abort the attack.

He only wanted to teach the guy a lesson; he never intended to actually take a life.

In that critical moment, Kojo committed two grave blunders.

First, he forgot that his opponent was also a Progenitor-level vampire who couldn't be killed by something of this caliber.

Second, although Regulus Aurum was his Familiar, it didn't take orders from him. Right now, the lion was entirely intent on devouring Alucard in a single bite.

Suddenly, a bronze spear materialized from the pool of blood, settling firmly into Alucard's hand. The moment he drove the spearhead into the ground, countless stakes erupted violently from both the earth and the void.

King of Execution!

Splat!

The razor-sharp stakes impaled Regulus Aurum, piercing through one side of its massive body and protruding from the other. It was struck dozens of times in a heartbeat.

In less than five seconds, Regulus Aurum was reduced to a skewered carcass, its fangs freezing less than ten centimeters from Alucard's face.

"T-This time it's spears? You've got to be kidding... This is completely different from how vampires fight!"

Yukina covered her mouth, unable to believe her eyes.

The power of any vampire, even a Vampire Progenitor, stemmed from their Familiars. Controlling them from the sidelines was the hallmark combat style of their kind.

She had never heard of a vampire throwing themselves directly into the vanguard.

"Aaargh! M-My Regulus Aurum!"

Amidst Kojo's anguished cry, the skewered lion dissolved into a burst of golden light, receding back into his body.

Hearing his lament, Yukina couldn't help but remind him, "Senpai, as long as the master lives, a Familiar can be summoned indefinitely. It just requires some time to recover."

"Oh, o-oh, right... I completely forgot about that," Kojo stammered, a look of sudden realization dawning on his face.

Yukina glanced toward the left, muttering dryly, "But... whether you'll survive long enough to do so is another matter entirely."

"Huh?"

Following Yukina's gaze, Kojo realized Alucard had already closed the distance, standing less than five meters away. Terrified, Kojo scrambled backward until his spine hit the brick wall of a nearby warehouse. He was completely cornered.

"Why are you targeting me?!" Kojo cried out in utter despair.

"You cannot dissolve into mist, nor can you transform into bats," Alucard noted flatly, his voice echoing in the damp air. "And the moment you lose your Familiar, you are left entirely devoid of combat options."

Behind his tinted glasses, Alucard's crimson eyes dilated, flashing with a savage intensity. "You creature... how dare you call yourself a vampire with such a pathetic display?!"

Though scared out of his wits, Kojo screamed internally at the sheer injustice of it all. Since when did being helpless without a Familiar mean you weren't a real vampire?

Familiars were practically a vampire's sole means of combat to begin with!

Granted, it sounded a bit demeaning, but the strength of a vampire was measured by how fluidly they could utilize their Familiars, even summoning multiple beasts at once to cover their vulnerabilities. This was doubly true for Progenitors.

But Alucard wasn't about to waste time listening to explanations.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The firearms roared once more as a hail of bullets tore into Kojo, rendering him unable to even scream. In less than ten seconds, his body was completely blasted into a gory mass of torn flesh.

Not far away, Yukina covered her mouth with one hand, fighting back the rising urge to vomit.

The moment Alucard ceased firing, Kojo's blood began to flow backward, quickly piecing his anatomy back together.

"The physical regeneration of a Progenitor, yet paired with such weakness... What a pathetic irony," Alucard scoffed, raising his weapon to aim at Kojo's forehead once more.

Petrified, Kojo threw himself into a desperate kowtow, slamming his forehead against the concrete in a textbook Japanese display of begging for mercy.

"Please, stop shooting! It's not like I chose to become a Progenitor! If you want a fight, go track down the other three Progenitors instead!"