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Pfft—
Alucard grinned down at the man who had just collapsed before him.
One full day and night. No sleep.
Not that vampires needed sleep — but Alucard still kept the habit.
And in that single, sleepless stretch, he had been busy. Carefully hunting in the quieter corners of the city, he had slaughtered more than three hundred people.
To be exact: three hundred and fifty-two.
Counting his own original life, that meant anyone who wanted to kill him now… would have to kill him three hundred and fifty-three times.
They would have to destroy his heart three hundred and fifty-three times before he would truly die.
"Now… I can begin."
Here in Loguetown — no, in this world — the deaths of a few hundred people meant nothing, especially with everyone's attention fixed on the Pirate King.
His body dissolved into shadow, and Alucard slipped beneath the earth, gliding silently toward the Marine stronghold.
"Glup—glup—haaah…" Ruhl exhaled heavily, trying to calm his nerves.
"You okay?" the man beside him — dressed in the exact same uniform — asked.
"Ah… I'm fine," Ruhl replied. But anyone could see the cold sweat pouring from his brow, the constant tremor in his hands.
"Don't try to hide it," his companion said, holding up his own shaking hand. "I'm the same."
"Really…?"
Unable to drink alcohol on duty, Ruhl took another deep swig of water. "I never thought… executing the Pirate King, Gol Doroger—"
(Note: ordinary people didn't know his true name was Gol D. Roger.)
"—would fall to us."
"Yeah… I'm just an ordinary Marine," the other man admitted. "And you?"
"Me?" Ruhl pointed at himself. "Same here…"
He was just a regular soldier — no special abilities, had never eaten one of those legendary Devil Fruits — yet he had been chosen to be one of Gol D. Roger's executioners.
What Ruhl didn't know was that this was exactly why they had been picked. The execution stage for the Pirate King would not see a single officer above the rank of major.
Every Marine present there, blade in hand, was a rank-and-file soldier from the East Blue.
The admirals were here too, of course — but they remained hidden in the crowd, watching.
The message was clear: to the Navy, the Pirate King was nothing.
"I've had too much water… need to hit the latrine," Ruhl muttered, feeling the pressure in his stomach.
"Go on," his partner said.
The executioners' quarters were surrounded by Marines, guarded like a prison cell. No one was allowed to speak to them before the beheading — a security measure to ensure Roger's execution went perfectly.
As soon as Ruhl stepped out, his fellow executioner felt a sudden chill crawl up his spine.
"Found you…"
Pain exploded in his neck before he could speak. A hand clamped over his mouth, dragging him into darkness — and consciousness fled instantly.
A moment later, crimson blood flowed… and a perfect double of the executioner stood in his place.
It was Alucard.
And his target was Roger himself.
This was the fastest, most direct way to place himself in a position of absolute advantage — to gain power in an instant.
When Ruhl returned, he looked at his partner, frowning slightly. Something about him felt… off.
"What's wrong?" Alucard — wearing the man's face — asked.
"…No, nothing," Ruhl muttered. It must be the stress getting to me…
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