The moon was barely a crescent when the man stepped from the shadows.
He was tall — just an inch shorter than Escanor — and carried himself like a predator surveying prey. His crimson eyes gleamed faintly under the dim lamplight of the street, and his coat swayed gently in the wind. Even without a word, he radiated the kind of presence that made the air heavy.
"Who are you," he asked, voice low but resonant, "and what is your purpose on this island?"
No greetings. No hesitation. His gaze was steady, moving from one crew member to the next.
Enel, leaning casually on his golden staff -crafted into the most purified and condensed gold on the planet with his devil fruit- , smiled faintly.
"Pirates," he said simply. "That's all you need to know."
He didn't answer the second question — deliberately leaving it hanging in the air, letting Alucard's imagination fill the gap.
The tall man didn't react much… except to raise a hand.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted like sudden thunder. The sound of each shot was sharper, cleaner than the rough booms of flintlock pistols common in these seas. The bullets sliced through the air with unnerving speed.
"Scatter!" Erza barked, instantly drawing Beni-hime, the blade shimmering with a faint black coating.
Tatsumaki snapped her fingers, a telekinetic barrier flaring into existence around herself. Jirou darted behind her, soundwave gauntlets humming.
Enel didn't move. He felt the bullets pass through his intangible form, noting instantly — No Haki… no seastone. Yet these weren't ordinary lead balls. They were denser, sleeker, and moved like projectiles from a world far more advanced than the one they stood in.
Interesting… He's not using the crude toys of this sea. Enel's eyes narrowed, watching the glint of metal in the moonlight.
Across the field, Alucard's movements were fluid, precise. His gaze tracked every crew member without fail — even Tatsumaki's sudden, erratic levitations didn't throw him off. His Observation Haki was sharp. Not the overwhelming, suffocating pressure of an emperor, but honed like a blade.
Erza's blade sang with each strike, sparks flying as bullets clanged off Haki-coated steel. "He's fast," she muttered, shifting her stance. "And he's reading me like an open book."
Tatsumaki's eyes narrowed, she reinforced her telekinetic dome. "Annoying mosquito shots." she said, flicking two bullets back at Alucard mid-air — he twisted his head just enough to avoid them.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Jirou pressed her palms to the ground, sending a wave of sound through the cobblestones. The street cracked, and a piercing screech filled the air. Alucard staggered slightly, but then straightened, a faint smirk on his lips as if the pain -if any- was already fading.
Hinata was hiding behind Escanor, she tracked Alucard's movements with her Byakugan, calling out warnings. "From the left! Two shots — and a feint!"
Escanor's golden armor gleamed brilliantly under the fading sunlight, bullets ricocheting harmlessly. "Hmph. Is that all?" He hefted the massive axe Golden Axe Rhitta, one of the twenty-one Great Grade Blades, coated in Armament and swung down.
The impact shattered the ground, sending a shockwave that rattled nearby buildings. Alucard's body twisted unnaturally, joints bending in ways they shouldn't, narrowly avoiding the fatal arc — but not completely. The blade bit deep into his side.
Blood splattered — and then evaporated into red mist. The wound knitted together almost instantly.
Escanor's eyes narrowed. "You regenerate… but let's see how fast you can do it under this."
With a single forceful step, he was upon Alucard, each swing of Rhitta like a blazing comet. Alucard's form blurred, sidestepping, weaving between blows, firing point-blank into Escanor's chest and torso— all to no avail.
The battle hit a rhythm.
Escanor hacked away, bringing blows powerful enough to cleave stone and rock.
Alucard absorbed them, healed, and kept firing, his expression unreadable.
Escanor couldn't make enough contact to rend his opponent in two, and Alucard couldn't land a headshot or make much
A stalemate.
"Enough foreplay," Escanor rumbled. In his palm, a miniature sun ignited, heat waves distorting the air.
Alucard's shadow stretched unnaturally. His body dissolved into an expanding cloud of darkness — tendrils of shadow curling outward like smoke, studded with glowing blood-red eyes.
The two forces collided — blinding light vs. suffocating dark.
The light burned the shadows, turning them to ash wherever it touched. The darkness encroached on the sun, its tendrils pushing against the scorching heat, trying to smother it.
From a safe distance, Erza shouted over the roar of power. "Escanor! His darkness is absorbing the heat!"
Tatsumaki added, "He's feeding off it, idiot!"
"Feeding?" Escanor growled, pushing harder.
Enel, still observing, thought silently. No… not feeding. Growing stronger. The longer night lasts, the more potent he becomes.
Both men moved at the same time.
A wave of pure will exploded outward — twin blasts of Conqueror's Haki. The ground cracked. Windows shattered. The weaker-willed bystanders nearby collapsed instantly.
The crew exchanged startled looks — except Enel, whose smirk didn't falter.
"You too, eh?" Escanor grinned, straining against the dark.
"You're not the only king who walks these seas," Alucard replied calmly, shadows swirling more aggressively now.
The battle dragged on, the sun in Escanor's hand blazing but shrinking. The moon crept higher.
And then — the balance shifted.
The darkness swelled, pushing Escanor back step by step. His blows lost some of their overwhelming force. The heat around him waned.
Jirou shouted, "Why is he slowing down? His fruit's still perfectly active!"
Enel's eyes narrowed, lightning crackling faintly at his earlobes. "Escanor's not slowing down, his opponent's speeding up. It seems the night itself strengthens them the same way the day empowers Escanor."
Escanor could hear them, but he snarled, refusing to yield. "Then I'll make my sun stronger… and burn this night away."