One Piece: Alucard the Immortal-Chapter 494 - 493: Not Bad at All, Monkey D. Dragon

Chapter 494: Chapter 493: Not Bad at All, Monkey D. Dragon

"In the end, it’s just a Level 1 beast."

Alucard wasn’t surprised in the least that Jormungandr had fallen for Dragon’s trap. Dragon’s strength placed him among the world’s elite; although Jormungandr was a True Ancestor-class familiar, the System had evaluated it as merely Level 1 for the time being. It was only natural that it could be outmaneuvered.

"With this, your pet is useless."

A faint green glow suddenly enveloped Dragon’s body. In a matter of seconds, his dozens-of-meters-long dragon form regressed into a humanoid shape. However, he did not return to his original human appearance; his body was now covered in emerald scales, and a pair of dragon horns protruded from his forehead. He looked like a half-dragon out of myth and legend.

Meanwhile, Jormungandr’s body remained coiled and constricted. Unable to extend its neck to swallow Dragon, it could only let out a series of enraged hisses.

"Useless? I have dozens of ways to set it free."

Alucard turned his head. Instead of immediately moving to rescue Jormungandr, he examined Dragon’s current form with great interest. "Choosing to fight me up here... are you that confident in your aerial combat?"

Both men were now standing atop Jormungandr’s massive body. With a width exceeding ten meters, the serpent’s back was as stable as solid ground to warriors of their caliber.

"Dragon’s Claw!"

Dragon had no intention of answering. Now that he had successfully immobilized the troublesome giant serpent, he had to seize this window to restrain Alucard and effect a retreat. From the very beginning, he never harbored the naive hope of actually defeating the man.

If he had attempted to flee in his full Mythical Zoan form just now, Alucard, as he said, could have instantly released Jormungandr to resume the chase. As time passed, the situation would only turn further against him.

In the short term, Dragon’s objective was simple: "kill" Alucard while the serpent was still bound, then escape along the predetermined route and vanish.

"A Devil Fruit user dares to charge me head-on?"

Alucard let out a mocking chuckle. He drew the black Jackal and fired.

The round was a Seastone explosive bullet! If an ability user so much as touched it, it would be their end.

However, a split second before the bullet could pierce his eye and blow his head apart, Dragon tilted his head to evade the projectile. His Haki-clad dragon claw was already pressing against Alucard’s right shoulder.

"My Dragon’s Claw can crush diamond like an eggshell!"

Just as Dragon prepared to exert his strength, Alucard burst into a swarm of bats. Two seconds later, he materialized back into human form on the serpent’s back, right behind Dragon.

"What were you thinking?"

Alucard pressed the muzzle of the Jackal against the back of Dragon’s head. "Did you think my power was limited to controlling these beasts?"

"Faster than an elemental transformation..."

Dragon’s expression darkened. From behind his skull, he felt an aura he loathed with every fiber of his being: Seastone.

"Bye-bye~~"

Just as Alucard was about to pull the trigger, the corners of Dragon’s mouth curled upward. "Incredible physical abilities... but you fell for it!"

With a flick of Dragon’s right hand, the sky above erupted with dancing lightning. Alucard glanced upward, spotting a thread of lightning so thin it was nearly invisible, connecting the thunderclouds in the night sky to Dragon’s hand.

"Thunder Rain: Dragon King!"

BOOM!!!

The dark clouds dispersed as dozens of purple lightning dragons surged from the heavens, descending upon Alucard’s head with blinding speed.

CRACK! BOOM!

The thunderclaps were relentless, striking Alucard wave after wave like a torrential downpour.

This technique, Thunder Rain: Dragon King, wasn’t designed for raw damage, but rather as an ability to paralyze and stall the enemy.

"Even if you are immortal, don’t dream of escaping for at least three minutes!"

Dragon had achieved his goal. Three minutes was more than enough time for him to withdraw. He trusted that Sabo, the promising young man who was also his son’s sworn brother, would not let him down and had already arranged everything.

The lightning dragons continued their rhythmic assault as if they possessed a life of their own. They didn’t strike all at once, ensuring the paralysis lasted as long as possible. Anyone else would have been reduced to ash, but Alucard took the brunt of the power without retreating a single step, though he remained locked in place by Dragon’s ultimate move.

Dragon transformed back into the Great Divine Dragon and leapt from Jormungandr’s back, racing toward the designated extraction point.

He had already signaled Gilteo and the others. Their ship had long since departed Ilisia; he simply needed to fly a certain distance across the sky to rendezvous with them. Three minutes was plenty!

SHING!

Suddenly, a flash of sword light erupted, severing Jormungandr’s neck and momentarily "releasing" its head from the coil.

But just as the giant head began to fall toward the earth, red silken threads of blood burst from the severed ends, stitching the two parts back together.

Its head was cut off, and it simply stuck back on! Was it a clay toy?!

Another flash of sword light followed, shattering all the remaining lightning dragons. The scene shifted to reveal Alucard stepping out of the cage of lightning completely unscathed. He had transformed into his Impaler state, gripping his sheathed sword.

"Not bad at all, Monkey D. Dragon."

Alucard walked back to the front of the serpent’s head, thrusting his sword into Jormungandr’s crown. "Even for a dragon, that was a poor performance."

Hiss—

Jormungandr flicked its tongue with a piercing sound, its eyes glowing with a renewed red light. Clearly, Alucard’s words had stung its pride. Scenting the direction of Dragon’s escape, it surged forward in pursuit.

It wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Dragon was fast, but he couldn’t overcome the sheer scale of Jormungandr. It was like the difference between a Giant and a normal human: a single step for the Giant equaled a massive distance for the runner.

"The ocean? A loathsome atmosphere for a fight."

Alucard realized what Jormungandr intended to do. Just as they crossed the border of Ilisia and were about to plunge into the sea, he leapt from the serpent’s head. He landed on the docks, content to wait for Jormungandr to bring the prey back to him.

With Alucard gone, Jormungandr plunged eagerly into the depths of the ocean, its speed doubling instantly.

The monster of legend that terrorized the seas, the one that intentionally brought ruin to fishermen and sailors, was about to show its true power.