CHAPTER 17: THE VAMPIRE QUEEN

Walking towards the loot, Nemesis stored it all in his inventory, planning to share it after everything was done.

"Wow, to be moving like that, you sure are a beast," Odin said, staring at Nemesis deeply with his golden eyes, unable to discover a weak point.

"Stop using your eyes on me if you don't plan on picking a fight," Nemesis said apathetically before walking closer to a wall.

Well, they were here for a particular purpose—to get the special guild creation token. Nemesis was using his previous knowledge on this. In his past lives, guilds could only be created freely after the creation of ten special guilds through the special guild token—a special mechanism that eluded the previous powerhouses intent on creating guilds for months. It was only after passing subsequent main quests and storylines that the process was discovered.

By hunting within any minimum-level 20 dungeon with a minion-control-type boss monster, defeating the boss, and then destroying its throne or special place, the special dungeon instance could be found. Clearing it provided ten guild tokens that could be used to create guilds with special bonuses.

In the past, the top powerhouses all bid for the slots, with the ten winners going to challenge the instance dungeon and take the tokens. However, it wasn't as easy as it seemed, with 70% of the parties that challenged the secret dungeon meeting their end. Nemesis could still remember the terror of the raid—a monster capable of killing hundreds of players with just a simple attack.

"Alright, guys, I'll be challenging the secret dungeon. Only Scarlett will be coming with me. The rest of you are too weak to participate. If you're upset, I don't care, but my command stands," Nemesis said, not even planning on sparing anyone's feelings.

"I get it, you're strong—Scarlett too—but don't look down on us. We are meant to be teammates, people working together for a common goal," Dual Blade commented, clearly offended by Nemesis' words.

"Allow me to correct you..." Nemesis started, his voice gradually getting colder with each word. "We are not teammates. I am the leader and the boss, and you all are people I accepted into my team. With or without you, I will be able to achieve my goals. You guys are just people I added to make my work easier. Don't forget your place."

Dual Blade's eyes narrowed after hearing that, his hand unconsciously reaching for his blade.

"Don't draw that if I were you. I wouldn't want to find another teammate so soon," Nemesis said, the disinterest in his voice still palpable.

Dual Blade's hand was still holding his swords, contemplating whether to draw them or not.

"Alright, you guys should all chill out. It's too soon to be having internal strife. We get it—we are weak, too weak to help. Fine, we will be waiting for you," Odin quickly chimed in, preventing Dual Blade from drawing his sword.

"Let's go, Scarlett," Nemesis said before destroying the lich stone, creating the passage, and entering quickly without looking back, Scarlett following after.

---

Within the secret realm, Scarlett walked towards Nemesis.

"Was that really necessary, brother? You were too harsh, even if I must say," Scarlett said, looking at her brother with concern.

"I'm aware of that. It was done on purpose—to motivate them or challenge them to work harder. Those guys are not average people. I chose them for their talent, potential, and abilities. I'm giving them a push, one needed to bring the beast within them out," Nemesis said, slowly walking forward.

"Wow... but still, brother, you have changed—in a way that frightens me. You are fixated on a goal and wouldn't mind utilizing anything or anyone to achieve it. I hope... I hope you won't cast me away too when the time comes for you to make such a choice," Scarlett—no, Annabelle—said, her face downcast and sad.

Nemesis halted his walking, her words hitting him deeply. He stood for some time, pondering. Would he sacrifice his goal for her? Or would he sacrifice her instead?

'Hahaha, how stupid of me to consider such a thing,' Nemesis thought to himself. 'I have been losing sight of my goal.'

"Thanks, Anne," he said, showing a bright smile for the first time since his regression. "Thanks for pulling me out of the abyss."

That was right—he had been placing more importance on his previous life, forgetting that he had a fresh start. One where his sister was alive and where he had the opportunity to pay back his enemies.

'To think I lost my way. Not anymore,' he thought before continuing his silent and confident walk.

---

"Ho ho, it's been a while since I saw challengers. To what do I owe this visit?"

A feminine voice, tinged with perfection and seduction, addressed the approaching individuals.

"I just want the guild tokens, nothing more. Just hand them over—I don't want to waste my time fighting," Nemesis muttered before walking toward the potential enemy.

A beautiful lady with porcelain skin, jade-like eyes, and long, dark black hair cascading down her shoulders stood before him, clad in black fitted clothing. Her lips had a seductive look, drawing him closer.

She was Jane, the Vampire Queen—or rather, a fragment of her, possessing only 1/100th of her actual strength.

"Quite the bold type, I see," a playful smirk appeared on her face.

"Well, sadly, I can't give them to you. I need to see what you're made of," Jane said before cutting the tip of her hand, allowing blood to flow.

Controlling the blood, she created several thin, long spikes—sharp like needles—before sending them remotely toward the cocky intruder.

Nemesis ran toward Jane, dodging the attacks with near-perfect control, staying true to his belief of not using his talent all the time to avoid getting too comfortable with it. The needles missed their target before stopping and moving toward him again.

Nemesis dodged each needle attack over and over again while moving closer to Jane.

"Well, impressive. I guess I should increase the difficulty," Jane said before drawing more blood from within her, creating warriors out of it—tens of them—then sending them to attack Nemesis, completely ignoring Scarlett.

Nemesis raised his sword and charged at the enemies, clashing fiercely with the blood knights. Blocking an attack by one knight, he moved to the side, avoided the stab of another, then spun and kicked one away, sending the knight flying. Using the shoulder of the closest knight to support himself mid-air, he turned left, kicking another knight before landing on his feet.

Grabbing a knight's shadow firmly, he threw it into the cluster of others, causing them to collide. He pulled his sword and attacked before they could recover, swiftly and with great precision—like a predator stalking its prey—destroying every knight. But of course, that was far from enough to claim victory. The blood knights that had been cut in two reformed and attacked him once more.

"Fire Storm!" Scarlett yelled before releasing an intense wave of flames that engulfed the blood knights, evaporating them completely.

"Hey! How dare you ruin my fun! I was just beginning to enjoy the show. I need to teach you a bit of manners for your actions," Jane said before finally getting serious and casting a spell.

"Blood Pool!"

[Blood Pool: Command blood to flow, covering a radius of 1 km. The blood is under your control and use.]

Immediately, streams of blood gushed out, covering the floor of the whole dungeon with Jane at its center.

"Guess you finally decided to get serious," Nemesis said.

"Indeed. I have to teach some rude people how to behave and not piss me off," she said with a grin.

"Wipe that grin off your face—it's rather annoying," Nemesis said, irritation evident in his voice.

"Well, I'll listen to you... when you defeat my puppets," she said before creating hundreds of blood knights—stronger and better than the previous ones.

Sighing, Nemesis brandished his sword before running toward Jane, having no interest in fighting a losing battle with countless blood knights. Of course, the path wasn't clear. Several blood knights stood in his way.

Slashing, cutting, and dodging with the least minimum movement, Nemesis executed each maneuver with perfection, moving ever closer to the Vampire Queen's fragment soul.

Soon, he stood before Jane, while Scarlett's support proved invaluable in dealing with some of the more annoying knights.

"Wow, to get this close... you really are skilled," Jane said before summoning two short blades made of blood—extremely sharp.

"Alright, I shall entertain you a bit,"She said before walking towards

Nemesis, each of them observing their

opponent's next move. After seconds of standoff, Jane made the first move, swinging both blades diagonally at Nemesis. Nemesis dodged the attack with a quick bend, falling down before

trying to kick her legs off the ground.

Jane jumped, avoiding it. Nemesis, ever so sharp, was already launching his next attack before Jane could land on her feet, but Jane, of course, was prepared, blocking with her blade before counterattacking. The attacks went back and forth between the two of them.