Nightmare System

"Where are you?!" Lirger roared. He was coming closer to that annoying thing when he suddenly disappeared. He was yet to show his real prowess in battle. Lirger guessed he was also a vampire so tried to find any shadows moving around, but there was none to be seen.

"Find him!" he yelled and then beckoned one of his elite finally arriving at the scene. "You slothful fool!" he roared into the face of a man laden in black clothes, who, coupled with his very slim physique, already seemed one with the shadows behind him, hard to distinguish his figure from the dark coloured stones he was standing before.

"I am at your service, my Lord," the man said.

"Miur, where were you, as the Captain of my elite?"

"Attending trivial matters, my Lord. It is, however, the fact that everything seems to have ended so quickly before I could get here."

Lirger looked furious but decided not to relieve his anger by attacking his Captain in the end, sitting down and biting into a piece of meat scattered around during the fight, it still looked to be in good shape. Although vampires didn't essentially require food, eating was still a habit of many.

"Send word to the Minotaur King, tell him that I wish for an alliance. Also, send 50 of the most beautiful women from the surrounding villages to him as a gift along with some gold trinkets that animal may like."

"Will that be all, sire?"

Lirger's eyes became bloodshot once more when he gazed at one of his wings still cut on the floor and ordered some vampires reattach it. It was as good as before in mere moments, attaching perfectly. As a monster to his own people even, Lirger was the champion of his lizard tribe in his youth. He then became a vampire, furthering his strength and learning to control his scales.

"Find the bastard that was audacious enough to pull a hit-and-run on my base."

"Of course," Miur said in a polite manner. His voice carried a soothing tone as he rapidly melted into the shadows, seemingly not any slower than that of Nero's skill.

"I will definitely drink you dry and kill anyone you have ever cared about before you," Lirger murmured to himself with a disturbing smile etched on his face. He was strong to the point that not many acted against himself, but to receive such a wanton declaration of war had angered him down to his bones. He now knew where to hit if he didn't come, Dmiria's old base.

…

"Still, one week?" Marco tried to explain that no one could be trained that easily in such a short time frame, backed by other vampires. It was likely this would be a massacre through and through.

"It will be fine!" Hell said. "What are we gonna do, wait for him to bolster his defences, then?"

"Nonetheless, it is also a fact that you wouldn't have nearly the same amount of men as Lirger. Are you so blind that you can't see you are throwing all these lives away?" Aurus interjected this time, adding: "You couldn't even get there in one week anyway, each vampire base controls an immensely large area, you would need-"

"-to teleport?" Hell finished Aurus' sentence.

"Yes. I can't just teleport over any distance. Lord Virgil runs mostly an R&D base in its right, close to the border, that is why it was even possible for me to teleport us here from there and back, and even that puts such pressure on me."

"How about with these teleport stones that go right into his base, then?" Hell showed the stone. He wasn't hiding it before per se, he just wondered if Aurus would be too rude to himself. He also liked revealing the answer in such circ.u.mstances.

Aurus opened his hand toward Hell, wishing to inspect the rock. Hell gave it to him. No one would usually make these as the construction of these stones were incredibly taxing on the caster, even if you ignored the hard to get material you needed to gather.

"Indeed, this is a functional teleportation stone," Aurus confirmed. "But as you know, we won't fight with you in this war, it is also on you if you lose."

"I'll be fine," Hell brazenly ignored the warning.

"One week it is, then," Aurus said and Hell called for his knights to inform them of his decision as well.

Hell used this week to sort out his promise to the Sons of Shadow. All of them including Aurus got an upgrade in their abilities in the end with Virgil budging them in that direction. Hell realised he almost had a telepathic connection with the copies themselves. They seemed to have all his memories along with the knowledge of the fact that they were simply copies of himself.

"What would happen if that axe got me?" he wondered and thought about his brother back home as he laid on his bed in his large room, that his little brother may be crying and heartbroken even after not being able to find himself. It had been days already and it didn't seem he could get back easily.

"Identify," Hell muttered as he gazed at his reflection on the mirror on his far left. The room was big, likely for the orgies of that previous guy called Dmiria. He burnt all items in this room and even made some of his men thoroughly clean the place while replacing everything, but it still felt somewhat dirty.

*Man of Cursed Spirit: The man who has endured the assault of 66 djinns and demons for years. The unending attacks to his mind, when couldn't break it, strengthened it. Mental spells will have no effect. Attacks to his spirit will have no effect. A perfect candidate for the Impossible Nightmare System*

"Did it say 'impossible' before as well? Huh," Hell said. It seemed a broken mind and soul was what you would need to properly survive the system. His heart ached momentarily when he thought about the numerous people he killed. Even the vampires he destroyed perhaps all had friends waiting for them.

The door creaked open slowly while Hell was still in deep contemplation, but with his raised stats, it was impossible for him to miss such noise at this point. It seemed that the body calibrated itself to an extent when the stats themselves were raised. For example, his mind raced quicker to accompany his physical speed.

"May I enter, my Lord?" an alluring voice was heard from the ajar door. It was Theperes, revealing herself from the door in a captivating dress once more. It seemed Dmiria's wardrobe had all types of clothes for all sizes, each one made with utmost quality. Unbeknownst to Hell, his friends all found something to wear from there.

"Do enter."

"I thank you." Theperes entered the room with a scarlet dress bringing out her already bewitching bodily features. It didn't seem she cared too deeply about acting like a lady, but she still had a graceful presence.

"What do you want?" Hell instantaneously appeared before Theperes, looking into her eyes in curiosity.

Theperes was flushed in embarrassment as she said: "I thought you said you would call me to your chambers, but then you disappeared." Theperes d.e.s.i.r.ed Hell, but still taken aback by how straightforward he was.

"Well, you were here before," Hell said as he tilted his head, inspecting Theperes' facial features and asked: "Why do you want to be with me? You don't have to do this to stay here. I won't kick you out."

"I know. I want to," Theperes c.a.r.e.s.sed his c.h.e.s.t and added: "I want to be by your side," in a charming tone, her intentions clear.

"I suggest you not, I am not a very stable person, I am telling this for your good!" Hell could no longer maintain his cool either. His relationsh.i.p.s always failed, leaving a heartbroken one behind. He didn't do it on purpose, his heart also broke to pieces each time. But he did it so that things could end before they escalated and even further heartbreak could occur.

Hell never fell in love, either, not really. He convinced himself he was unable to feel love. He didn't know if he was the bastard barring himself from feeling love, but with his fragile state of mind most of his life, he didn't dare take such a step as bringing down his walls.

"I want to stay by your side, forever, can I not?" Theperes said in the most saddening tone as she pressed her body onto his and Hell, who was dubbed a monster by the people who saw his love for battle, was knocked onto his own bed, unable to even grasp the edge of the bed as he fell.

These words of hers held much weight in his heart, deeply affecting him, to the point of stunning him. Although she knew of what kind of person he really was, she would stay by his side, she said.

His heart started racing. Hell surprised himself, being excited for this kind of matter. He felt himself relax and felt a splitting headache coming in. What was there to think about? He steeled his mind into a box once more, blocking the djinns and demons in his mind as the pain went away and spoke, looking into the eyes of Theperes:

"Become mine, then."

Hell decided he would take a leap, perhaps. See how this one would turn out. This was a vampire in front of himself who knew his real nature. It would still be entertaining if everything stayed physical for a while. He then took the control and got on top of Theperes, their lips finally joining into one.

…

A week had passed by, Sons had finally left, only Aurus staying behind. He hadn't left the day before with the other Sons, staying back to help teleport Hell and his soldiers as well as his knights. The entire base was mobilised, ready to go and take the fight to Lirger. Aurus was slightly envious that a portion of these vampires could be compared to the ones in his own base. He would discuss with Furcas and Anton that perhaps their base should put more focus on training, as well.

"Where is Hell?" Aurus asked.

"He should be around here, what else could he be doing?" Leon asked, his sister by his side. They also worked on their abilities during the last week, and although they felt they improved themselves a tad, there was still much more potential to be explored.

As they were discussing Hell's whereabouts, he arrived, seen in front of the base, coming in speed, with an excited look etched on his face. It was to be expected, Hell and war, they went hand-in-hand. It was, however, interesting to see Theperes running, soon after him as well. Everyone knew they were sleeping together now, everyone finally figuring out after one week.

"Hey, guys. Ready?"

"You are asking us?!" Vaun said all of a sudden. "We have been waiting for half-an-hour already!" The quiet, not-so-social Vaun had finally spoken up against his master, surprising everyone. Sure, Hell wasn't hard on him, but there has always been a clear distinction between them when they were together. Vaun would become more docile and quieter around him, as if he was just his butler, or slave. It didn't seem he was actually upset about it either.

"Calm down, mate," Hell said, slightly tapping on Vaun's c.h.e.s.t. "I'm here, now, aren't I? Gentlemen always come late."

Leila responded with an "ugh" when Hell took notice of Theperes, momentarily in a daze as he gazed at her.

"Will the lovebirds fight together?" Leila asked with a giggly tone, waking Hell up from his daze.

"What? No!" he replied in speed, Theperes was still too weak. Hell was considering if he should curse Theperes as well. She would get an insane boost along with the levels Hell could provide. Since they were at war and would be as such for a while, there was a lot of things to kill.

"Theperes." Hell used his speed and teleportation to instantly appear before her.

"You are not leaving without me, are you?" Theperes said in a solemn tone. She also felt much more connected to him after this one week, wanting to be by his side at all times.

"You are not coming," Hell said with certainty. He wanted to fight alongside her, too. But she was too weak as of now. He felt this war was a great opportunity for Hell to find 'candidates' he could use to bolster her strength.

"I want to be with you, why not?" Theperes asked once more.

"I can't risk anything happening to you." Hell was serious for a longer time than he usually would be, uncharacteristically of him.

"I won't join the fray, then. But I still want to see you win," Theperes said and began walking up to the party as she waved at them from the distance. Hell wanted to yell at her, and hug her, not knowing what to do. It was fine, all he had to do was ensure her safety. With a sigh, Hell followed from behind. As everyone was here, Hell first gathered his knights, saying he wanted to get their opinions before the fight.

"We will shed our blood down to the last drop to win this war," Porter said in a fiery tone. He was, as always, excited. Hell ordered his knights to move together, with slightly discouraged especially the ones who went on to ask about the other vampire lords. Not only did they not learn much, but they also lagged behind the rest of the base. They felt it was so that they could be safer, since Porter was given a different order, however.

"You will not move too far from Theperes and protect her," Hell ordered him. She wouldn't like to be watched over by another, so Hell thought it was the best action to take at the moment.

Aurus also joined them soon after and told Hell about the plan he taught the other vampires throughout the week. It was a plan that was based on attack-and-regroup tactics. Since they wouldn't be as strong as the enemy, a battle of attrition between the two armies would be disastrous for Hell's entire base. No matter how strong he was, it was possible he could be in over his head, unable to endure the sheer numbers.

Their goal was to hold the line with the toughest soldiers they got while the ones with deadlier moves were to launch their attacks and then retreat immediately.

"How do you-" Hell was about to ask Aurus how he was familiar with this one tactic that seemed a tad too familiar to him. He wasn't in love with the history classes per se, but he liked reading about wars at times. It was certainly a revered tactic, this one. He then dismissed the idea and adopted Aurus' plan, allowing each knight to command a unit in this war with a total of 5 groups. Hell mentioned that he would like Porter to tail Theperes, with no signs of changing his decision. Aurus conceded and they changed the plans slightly, himself deciding to lead the fifth unit, reminding Hell that he was doing him a favour this time.

"That is fine," Hell said as he looked around at the blazing sun and the dense greenery around him. This place was almost like heaven, when you didn't count the numerous things that were trying to kill you in the jungle. Hell felt his brother would like this place when his eyes focused on her once more. "There are just some people I will not lose," he said and added: "If fate decides to take them, I'll reverse it. If demons drag them to hell, I'll break them out. If angels allow them into heaven, I'll shut its gates. So yes, Aurus, as long as I can make sure some people are safe, I'll be fine with anything."

Aurus was shocked and slightly impressed at Hell's words. He was not sure if this was who he was or that it was because of Theperes. Hell seemed to have two different personalities inside, or that he was faking one of these personalities.

"Alright, I won't ask much from you, just remember that I did you a favour and that's it," Aurus said. He was sure this one, at least, was not fake. He didn't believe Hell was good enough an actor to lie to his face like this. But babysitting him was not his job, so he refrained from saying anything else, gathering everyone to start casting the spell.

Hell took out the Sword of Blood and made 10 copies as the spell was being cast, ordering one of them to protect Theperes, and another to protect Leila and Leon. 8 of them would join the fray with his other soldiers to make things easier for them. He ordered them to listen to Aurus' commands to the letter, he was sure it would be more effective than letting them randomly kill off enemy vampires.

"Be warned, my soldiers! We will likely teleport right into their base, be prepared to start fighting immediately!"

As the vampires loudly cheered, the teleportation spell was completed, teleporting them all.