Ring 45 wasn't stone anymore. It was a literal lake of blood and shadow. The air tasted like copper and old graveyard dirt.
Heimdall was hovering three hundred feet in the air on a drone, refusing to get any closer. "Match Number Six! The King of Curses, the Disgraced One, Ryomen Sukuna! Versus the Bird of Hermes, the Hellsing Organization's trump card, Alucard!"
The Pre-Game Trash Talk
Sukuna was sitting on a throne made of literal human skulls that he'd manifested out of sheer boredom. He was leaning his chin on his hand, four eyes blinking in synchronization. "A vampire? How quaint. I've killed sorcerers, spirits, and gods. A leech in a red coat is just... an appetizer."
Alucard stood across from him, his crimson coat billowing in a wind that shouldn't exist. He tipped his wide-brimmed hat, his orange glasses glowing with a predatory light. He drew his massive pistols, Casull and Jackal.
"A king of curses?" Alucard chuckled, his voice a deep, gravelly rasp. "I've spent five centuries being bored, 'King.' I hope your soul tastes better than it looks. It smells like... overcooked ginger and regret."
The Butcher Shop
Sukuna didn't move. He just flicked a finger.
"Cleave."
Invisible slashes invisible-ly sliced through the air. Alucard was instantly turned into a pile of red cubes. His head, arms, and torso fell to the floor in a wet heap.
"Pathetic," Sukuna yawned.
But then, the blood started to move. Millions of red eyes opened in the puddles on the floor. A shadow mass rose up, and Alucard stepped out of it, completely unharmed, reloading his guns.
"Is that it?" Alucard asked, grinning with too many teeth. "I have about three million lives left in here. You're going to have to try harder, kiddo."
Level 0 vs. Malevolent Shrine
Sukuna stopped leaning. He stood up, a genuine, twisted smile forming on his face. "Fine. Let's see how many lives you can lose in a second."
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."
A massive, bone-chilling Buddhist shrine materialized behind Sukuna. Within a 200-meter radius, everything was subjected to an infinite storm of slashes. Alucard was being shredded into atoms, over and over again.
Alucard laughed. He didn't scream; he laughed. "Integration Level 0! Release!"
The arena was suddenly flooded with the River of Death. Thousands of armored crusaders, Turkish janissaries, and Victorian ghouls erupted from Alucard's shadow, a literal army of the dead charging at Sukuna's shrine.
It was a blender versus a tsunami. The ghosts were being sliced into mist, but there were too many of them. Sukuna was busy cutting down ten thousand souls a second, but Alucard appeared directly behind him, the silver Jackal pressed against the back of Sukuna's head.
"Checkmate, 'King'," Alucard whispered.
BANG.
Sukuna's head didn't explode—he used a Binding Vow at the last millisecond to reinforce his skull with pure cursed energy, but the force of the silver bullet sent him flying across the arena, crashing into the barrier.
"ENOUGH!" Sukuna roared, his four arms glowing with black lightning.
But as he prepared his "World-Slasher," he noticed something. The "Alucard" he was fighting was actually a black poodle with a mustache.
(Deadpool had jumped into the ring with a remote control. "Sorry, boys! Commercial break! Just kidding! Alucard actually used his illusion powers to make Sukuna fight a manifested memory of a dog! The real Alucard is currently behind the shrine, eating the offerings!".And guess what Sukuna was out of the ring so Alucard takes it)
Sukuna turned around, his face twitching with rage, only to find Alucard holding a "Certified Winner" stamp. Alucard slammed the stamp onto Sukuna's forehead.
"I'm bored now," Alucard said. He opened his mouth, and a giant, shadowy hound (Baskerville) erupted from his sleeve, swallowing Sukuna whole and spitting him out into the "Loser's Pit" below.
"Match Six winner... ALUCARD!" Heimdall shouted, terrified that the vampire might look at him next.
Up in the booth, Deadpool was doing the "Thriller" dance. "That's 6 winners down, 45 matches to go in Round One! The Semi-Final list is getting real spooky, tum!"
We are going 1-by-1, no skips!
Match 7 (Ring 18): Genos vs. Iron Man. (Cyborg vs. Suit - Beam spam and explosions!)
Match 8 (Ring 9): Monkey D. Luffy vs. Popeye. (The battle of rubber vs. spinach!)
Match 9 (Ring 5): Naruto vs. Ichigo. (The classic 'Big Three' debate settled with fists!)