Judging from the fate of the Thundercloud "Zeus" just moments ago, Charlotte Linlin had gained a preliminary understanding of Alucard's abilities. She proactively increased the distance between them, refusing to give Alucard any chance to touch her Homies, instead manipulating the weather to launch her assault.
Rumble!
As Zeus merged into the thick storm clouds above, countless bolts of terrifying lightning began to flicker and descend.
"Mamamama!!"
Charlotte Linlin cackled as she waved her hand, summoning the strikes. Alucard, seeing the impending lightning, made no move to evade. He stood firmly in place, allowing the electrical discharge to slam directly into his body.
"You call this an attack?"
Alucard's voice suddenly echoed from within the blinding flash. Hundreds of meters away, Charlotte Linlin's expression shifted instantly.
Boom!
The pool of blood erupted, scattering the lightning. Alucard's form emerged as a dark, humanoid silhouette covered in countless crimson eyes.
"Releasing Restriction System. Level 4… Level 3… Level 2… Level 1…"
As Alucard's voice rang out, the eyes upon the blood pool snapped open, nearly doubling in size. The blood itself expanded like a rapidly blooming, predatory plant, blanketing nearly half of Juice Town.
In the next heartbeat, the branch-like extensions of the blood pool transformed into a multitude of pale-gloved shadow hands, lunging toward Charlotte Linlin's massive frame.
"You think such tricks can stop me?!"
Charlotte Linlin roared in fury. Numerous dark silhouettes rose from the ground around her feet, cylindrical shadows with stubby limbs, pairs of eyes, and wide mouths. This was the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit: incarnations created from Charlotte Linlin's own soul.
An instant later, these incarnations scattered like spilled beans across the battlefield. Suddenly, the ground began to heave and surge, causing the shadow hands targeting Linlin to veer off course.
"Prometheus!"
With a mighty shout from Linlin, her other godly Homie, the flaming sun, roared forth. With a single strike, it engulfed and incinerated the encroaching shadow hands.
"Oh? Infusing your soul into the earth itself so the city moves according to your will... So that is the terror of your ability."
Due to the tremors in the earth, Alucard had leapt onto a rooftop, looking down at Charlotte Linlin.
"Mamamama..."
Linlin's pupils constricted. Suddenly, dark, particle-like soul fragments flew out from the ground and dove into the building beneath Alucard's feet.
Facial features—eyes, a nose, and a mouth—erupted across the stone surface of the house.
"To dare oppose Mama... you deserve ten thousand deaths!"
The house spoke, then began to violently shake its structure in an attempt to throw Alucard off. As Alucard leaped from the building, the area across from him began to vibrate as well.
Houses, the ground, trees, objects that were once inanimate now all possessed faces. They performed their duties with zeal, attacking Alucard while hurling a barrage of insults.
"Injecting your soul into so many things?"
Alucard's eyes shifted. More than twenty years ago, when he attended Charlotte Linlin's tea party, he had seen food that could talk and walk. Even then, she had already developed the Soul-Soul Fruit to this level.
But it also proved one thing: in these twenty years, Charlotte Linlin had not progressed a single step.
"Mamamama!"
After halting the shadow hands' advance, Charlotte Linlin laughed arrogantly. "Alucard, I'll admit that in a fair fight outside, I might not be your match. But don't forget where we are! This is Totto Land, my territory! Since I took this place over ten years ago, I have been nurturing everything here like my own children!"
Her laughter died down, replaced by a cold, vicious snarl. "Leave now, and I'll act as if nothing happened. But as compensation for my daughter Smoothie's life, you will hand over two of your islands."
Within the borders of Totto Land, Linlin possessed absolute confidence. Trading Smoothie's life for the sovereignty of two islands was her bottom line.
"Heh... hehehehe... AHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Alucard's light chuckling escalated into a manic roar. "Is that so? This is what you rely on? Good. Very good! Excellent!"
Linlin narrowed her eyes. Hearing Alucard's mockery, the feeling rising within her wasn't just anger, it was wariness.
Does this guy have another card to play?
Though she maintained absolute confidence in her invincibility within Totto Land, Alucard was far too sinister. The Navy, the Government, and even the Revolutionary Army had repeatedly suffered at his hands. She had to stay on guard.
"Charlotte Linlin, I admit these are fine works. In that case... let us settle this with a battle of souls!"
Alucard raised his hands, extending his thumbs, index, and middle fingers in a rectangular gesture. A purple light glowed from the back of his white gloves, and a chorus of wailing shrieks erupted from behind him.
Voom!
Suddenly, Linlin realized the world around her had turned pitch black. Following closely were countless faces filled with resentment and sorrow, floating around her like ghosts.
A sliver of dread touched Linlin's heart. She immediately attempted to command the souls she had spent years "nurturing" in Totto Land to assist her, just as she had against the shadow hands.
But as she tried to exert control, she was shocked to find that the number of souls responding to her had plummeted. She didn't even have a third of her previous strength.
Looking at the "living plants" around her, she saw them all wearing expressions of pure terror. The ghostly spirits summoned by Alucard were relentlessly devouring them.
Yes, they were literally eating them!