HP: god of potions

Chapter 126

With a flick of his molten mane, he let loose a wave of flames, bright as a star, consuming the frozen battlefield in a roaring inferno. The ice and fire coexisted within him, neither overpowering the other, each element bending entirely to his will. Drolta shrieked as the flames seared her flesh, her supernatural regeneration barely keeping up. Desperate, she teleported, appearing behind him and slashing with all her strength. But before her claws could connect, Grey's dark tail lashed out, wrapping around her throat. Shadows pulsed from it, draining her strength, leaving her gasping. "You're predictable," Grey said, tightening his grip. "And slow. Too slow."

With a flick, he hurled her across the battlefield, sending her crashing through shattered stone and debris. Drolta coughed, struggling to rise. Her body trembled. Fear entered her crimson eyes for the first time. Grey flexed his claws. "Strength is exceptional. Defense is absurd. Elemental control is absolute. That just leaves…"

He stepped forward, each movement deliberate. Drolta tried to flee, but in an instant, he was in front of her. His colossal paw pressed against her chest, pinning her in place. "Time to see how efficiently this body disposes of trash," he said.

With that, fire erupted from his palm. But this was no ordinary fire—this was the concentrated blaze of the Chimera Awakening Elixir. A fire beyond mortal comprehension. It consumed Drolta utterly, her screams ringing through the battlefield as her body was reduced to ashes. Her essence, her power—everything—vanished into nothingness. "NO!" Erzsebet roared, stepping forward in rage, but it was too late. Drolta was gone. Grey exhaled, glancing at his paw. "Ah. Instant incineration. Not bad."

The battlefield fell silent, save for the crackling embers where Drolta once stood. Everyone—from Richter and Maria to Alucard—watched in stunned awe. This wasn't just power. This was something beyond them all. Rachel chuckled, breaking the silence. "Well. That was brutal." Grey turned his cosmic gaze towards Erzsebet, his wings shifting with radiant energy. "Now, where were we?"

The moment Drolta's ashes scattered into the wind, the air grew heavier, thick with an unseen pressure that sent shivers down the spines of those watching. Erzsebet's face, once amused and detached, now twisted in unbridled fury. Her scarlet eyes burned with rage as she stepped forward, the ground beneath her feet cracking from the sheer force of her power. The castle walls groaned as a dark energy surged from her, distorting the air itself.

"You dare?" Erzsebet's voice echoed, layered with something ancient and terrible. Grey, in his monstrous chimera form, merely turned his massive head toward her, his molten gaze unwavering. He rumbled low in his throat, an almost lazy sound, as if he were unbothered by the intensity radiating from the vampire queen. Erzsebet's lips curled, and then she moved.

Faster than the eye could follow, she shot forward, becoming a blur of darkness. One moment she stood a dozen feet away; the next, she was right in front of Grey, her claws poised to rend through his burning form.

A resounding clang echoed as her nails—strong enough to shred steel—scraped against the frozen limb of Grey's front leg. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, cracking the stone beneath them. Erzsebet hissed, barely dodging the retaliatory swipe of his massive claw. She vanished and reappeared midair, summoning a swirling sphere of dark energy in her palm before launching it at Grey's head. The explosion consumed him, a black sphere swallowing light itself. For a moment, silence reigned.

Then, with a single mighty flap of his cosmic wings, the darkness dispersed like mist in the wind, revealing Grey untouched. His silver wings shimmered, as if immune to such petty attacks. "Hmm," he mused, tilting his colossal head. "Not bad, but lacks bite." Erzsebet's fury surged. With a gesture, the castle around them trembled as jagged spears of obsidian erupted from the ground, shooting toward Grey's form from all directions.

Grey's response was almost lazy. With a flick of his tail—black as a void—he unleashed a wave of darkness, devouring the incoming projectiles before they could even reach him. The black tendrils swirled before retracting back into his tail like a living shadow. Erzsebet didn't pause. Lightning crackled in her palm as she raised her hands to the sky. A storm roared into existence above them, thick clouds rolling in from nowhere. Thunder howled through the air as jagged bolts of eldritch lightning slammed down upon Grey.

For a moment, the battlefield was nothing but blinding white and deafening sound. When the light faded, Grey stood unmoved. The electricity crackled over his burning mane, absorbed into his molten torso as if feeding him instead of harming him. "Well," he rumbled, amusement lacing his voice. "That was refreshing."

Erzsebet's eyes widened in disbelief before narrowing. Her lips curled as she thrust her hand forward, dark tendrils lashing toward him like whips of living night. They wrapped around his limbs, squeezing with the strength to crush mountains. Grey exhaled sharply, his body shimmering. Ice spread from his limbs, freezing the tendrils solid before he flexed, shattering them into a thousand glittering shards. Annoyance flickered across Erzsebet's face. Then her expression twisted into something else entirely—control.

Grey felt it. The invisible pressure of a mind trying to invade his own. The tendrils of Erzsebet's will slithered toward him, seeking to coil around his thoughts and subjugate him. Her eyes burned as she focused, exerting her full willpower. "Kneel," she commanded. Grey didn't even blink. His massive head simply tilted toward her, his molten eyes unreadable.

She frowned. Her power surged, tendrils of her mind latching onto his. She pushed deeper— And found nothing. A void. A wall of absolute, unyielding resistance. "Why can't I access your mind?!" she bellowed, fury lacing her every word. Grey blinked once before answering in a deep, primal voice: "Oh yeah. I'm immune."

Erzsebet's expression twisted into pure rage. With a screech, she lunged again, her speed faster than before. Her claws gleamed, her body wreathed in dark flames. She was faster than even Grey had anticipated. Her fist slammed into his burning mane with the force of an earthquake. For the first time, Grey felt a slight jolt. He grinned. "Not bad," he said as Erzsebet pressed her assault, striking with a flurry of brutal blows. Each impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield, cratering the ground beneath them.