Nightmare System

They were escorted into the large building by the vampires as the said creatures seemed very nervous. A metal door resembling a rather humongous lid was opened after one of the vampires escorting the party dripped her blood into the small fountain in the middle of the door. They started descending the stairs, unable to hide their amazement, seeing such a high-tech looking building in such a prehistoric island. Hell couldn't keep his silence and asked one of the vampires escorting them: "How long until-"

The vampire suddenly jerked his whole body and covered his face. "Please don't kill me!"

"I'm not gonna kill you," Hell said as he turned to the other 5 vampires who also took a step back. It seemed his infamy had preceded himself. Leila burst into laughter as Theperes flashed a smile at Hell. Leon, on the other hand, patted Hell's back and said: "Mate, you have successfully become the bogeyman to literal vampires. Congratulations."

"If anyone acts scared again, I'm killing him," Hell said as he continued descending the stairs along with everyone in silence. He wasn't sure yet, whether he liked or disliked the fear. Theperes especially enjoyed the constipated look on these vampires as once she was looked down upon by them. She walked by Hell's side, glancing at those vampires.

"My lord, I think these puny creatures heard about your duel with Virgil, or perhaps your vigilant vanquishing of some of the evil vampires," Theperes said as she took Hell's arm between her mounds. She did enjoy Hell's reaction. She was yet to unveil the personality of this man. Suddenly going red, Hell missed a stair and lost his balance, only to be held by Theperes who brought him closer to her own face. Hell was never a greenhorn by any means, but such a s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s acting this way in front of other people embarrassed him out his wits. Leila and Leon went silent, watching them. Vaun was still carrying some essentials as the tank and person of burden of the party and took a deep breath when he saw the two, he was about to exclaim to encourage him, but decided against it at the last second. Hell hadn't taken his burden off despite having the "Inventory" now, after all. If Vaun irritated him, it was likely he wouldn't mind letting him carry these things throughout their journey.

"What are you looking at?!" Hell yelled, his voice cracking. Even the vampires that were shitting bricks a moment ago seemed much more relaxed, even with Hell looking more aggressive now. He used Quickening as well as Warping to immediately descend the stairs before anyone else.

"Ah, my shy lord," Theperes said with a smile. The party sped up to follow right after.

"Hello, my accomplice!" Virgil yelled and looked at Hell's red face. "Was there a problem?" Virgil inquired.

"Nope, everything was dandy. I just wanted to meet my comrade in arms a bit earlier than everyone!" Hell said and finally noticed his surroundings. This was an immense laboratory full of tubes and vials with all kinds of liquids in them as well as some chimaera-esque creatures. After taking a moment to compose himself, "What are these?" Hell asked.

"Well, my research on how to resist mind-altering magic and mental attacks," Virgil explained. "This creature, for example, is something I created using an owl, a squirrel and a greenskin. It's a failure as a creature overall, but it can resist low-level mind-altering magic."

"This thing can do that?" Hell asked in a curious tone. "How did you find this out?"

"Trial and error, mostly. But let me show you my latest potion against mental attacks." Virgil said as he brought Hell to a section of the lab ahead. Virgil used his speed to lead the way and Hell was able to follow right after. They arrived in front of a black potion seems to be alternating between gas and liquid.

"Is this the one I would need to drink?" Hell asked. "What is it?"

"Yes," Virgil said. "The consciousness of multiple people. I have dwindled them to a minuscule amount so it won't have any actual effect on anyone's psyche, not that you need it."

"An actual consciousness? How did you do that?"

"Ritual magic, obviously. Aurus here is great in ritual-type magic." Virgil said, pointing to the figure standing not too far ahead. Aurus had a slight frown on his face, obviously not very pleased with Hell. Realizing the situation, Virgil asked Aurus: "Why don't you welcome Hell's friends? They should have someone meeting them there." Virgil pointed at the entrance not too far away from themselves.

"Of course," Aurus said as he moved toward the foot of the stairs.

"Not bad," Hell said. "He is probably the second strongest vampire here after you, right?"

"That's debatable. I'll let you meet my elite unit in a few moments." Virgil said. "First, why don't you try this concentrated consciousness?"

"Why now?"

"We can test your theory to an extent with this, too."

"Fine." He said and gulped it down immediately.

"No, not all of it!" Virgil exclaimed and looked at Hell in wonder. They were both silents for around 15 seconds, Hell looked to be fine.

"Convinced?"

"Yes, that potion's effect was almost as strong as the spells the vampire you'll face can cast, I was going to have you take two small sips to test your theory of immunity." Virgil analysed Hell for a minute or so and added: "Really interesting, the consciousness had nowhere to hold onto, it feels like."

"The others have arrived, shall I show them their rooms?" Another vampire wearing a suit similar to Aurus' appeared.

"Yes, we'll show my friend here his room afterwards," Virgil said and dismissed the vampire. Hell was startled as he didn't even realize someone was right beside him until the vampire spoke, it seemed these creatures had certain characteristics he had to be aware of.

"He was one of our field operatives," Virgil explained. "Let's meet my elite unit, now. Aurus!"

"Yes, sir!" Aurus said after rushing from the stairs as soon as he heard Virgil. This was one loyal vampire, Hell was thinking.

"Gather the rest of the team."

"I'll immediately do so," Aurus replied and rang a small bell that suddenly appeared in his hands. 30 seconds after the bell rang, 3 vampires were seen coming out of shadows around them as another 3 rushed from some distance.

"Hell, I want you to meet my 7 trusted subordinates. Please show them your strength." Virgil said, without missing a beat as soon as all 7 of his men were gathered. He wanted to see if Hell could be strong enough to handle all of them at once. Their teamwork was impeccable, Virgil was sure of that.

"Here?" Hell was saying as he received a direct strike from one of them that pushed him away from the tables, it seemed they still wouldn't wish to harm Virgil's work.

"Ah, please don't kill any of them!" Virgil yelled as he stood there with a warm smile contradictory to the events taking place.

"I am Hell." He introduced himself as he summoned Imp Needle. It seemed Imp Needle could be directly summoned from the inventory still with the code word, it was good to know, made Hell wonder if there was a distance or dimension limit to summoning these weapons. He remembered he could summon Imp Needle into the Safe Zone after leaving it back in his house, which also reminded Hell that Devlin probably found his bows and arrows if there was no change in the flow of time while he was here.

Seven vampires stopped pursuing the fight momentarily as they all lined up in order. Quickly introducing themselves one after another. Seemed they respected Hell enough to do so.

"I am Anton!" A man looking to be in his early 40s sternly declared, hitting his c.h.e.s.t. His blond hair, yellow eyes coupled with his solemn face created quite an impact. He was wearing a black, sleeveless shirt and shorts, displaying his muscles freely.

"I am Aurus." He declared with his jet-black slicked hair and black suit. He was more like a slightly smaller copy of Virgil. He looked to be in his mid-20s.

"I am Slinora." A 15-year-old looking boy said with piercing eyes. He held two daggers in his hands. His red messy hair coupled with his white eyes created a distinguishing impact as he introduced himself.

"I am Marco, it is nice to meet you!" A man not looking older from Hell yelled in passion. He wore wraps in his hands and had dark brown hair coupled with dark brown eyes.

"I am Furcas!" Yelled a man in fervour, having blond hair and blue eyes. He was the only one in the group wearing armour, and wielded a rapier. He looked not like a vampire, but just like one of those heroes Hell would see online. You could tell this was an upright person at first glance. He looked to be in his early 30s.

"I am Jack," callously said another. He seemed to be in his late 20s as he cut his wrists with his claws, but no blood seemed to be leaking out. His white hair seemed messy and his green eyes looked straight into Hell's. He was wearing a red short-sleeve shirt and black jeans.

"I am Nero." A man also not looking older than Hell raised his hand slightly and said in a tired tone. Hell was unsure if it was just bags under his eyes as a result of sleep deprivation or some makeup. He reckoned it was the former. Nero didn't seem to have a strong presence, he seemed more like a college student after an all-nighter. He had brown hair and dark-brown eyes. Wore a tracksuit. Hell was amused by this man especially, it did not look like he was ready for a fight.

"Nice to meet you all," Hell said with a smile. His blood was boiling since as long as he didn't rip their hearts out, they wouldn't die. He was prepared to use Quickening immediately after the punch he received in the beginning, ready for a bout.

"I suggest you don't underestimate them!" Virgil yelled with a laugh. "You'll regret it!"

"I'll see if they can match up to me first," Hell mumbled and motioned toward the vampires standing about 15 metres from Hell. "Come."

The vampires got into attacking stances one after another, but the first one to act was Anton. He grew his claws and began running toward Hell. He looked to be moving incredibly slow to Hell, especially considering the speed he could reach with Quickening. He would simply leave him bleeding on the floor and handle the other ones after getting a few good hits in. After all, not even their leader was unable to touch him after he used Quickening. As long as he didn't completely underestimate them, there was no way he would lose.

He plunged ahead with Quickening and the tip of the Imp Needle began piercing the c.h.e.s.t of Anton in the next moment, however, Hell immediately retreated with Warping after he saw the grin on Anton's face, giving him a bad feeling. His feeling was spot-on. Some conical-shaped slim, red objects pierced into the ground in immense speed, sent from Jack's way. He received a punch to his right side by Marco who seemed to have his hands covered with some sort of crystal, which made the punches harder. The punch, although not destroying anything in himself, the pain was enough to make him want to use his healing right after.

"You guys are-" Hell was about to say they weren't bad as Jack seemed to be attacking using his blood again, five more conical shaped red objects flew his way in speed. Using Quickening, he dodged them and used Warping again to get away from Furcas' rapier which came from behind, only grazing him, instead of impaling. Nero, on the other hand, was waiting for an opening close by and attacked Hell with his claws. Hell knew he quite easily dodged the claw, however his c.h.e.s.t was pierced by that same claw, nonetheless. The young kid who introduced himself as Slinora was rushing toward him now while Aurus seemed to be chanting a spell. Hell was absolutely overwhelmed by their excellent teamwork. Even with all his speed, he had no time to recover or attack back even.

"No talking," Aurus said as a ray of fire was being released from him. The ray of fire missed its target, but created a large crater after connecting with the ground as the rest of his team were safely away from the proximity of the attack, which obviously, being faster than them all, Hell was also able to get away. Bleeding and hurt, Hell could only heal himself against this relentless barrage of attacks, he was unable to act against them albeit being much faster than them. This fight was showing the clear difference between seasoned fighters versus a rookie.

"Enough." Hell raised his voice in anger. It was audible enough for everyone here. Hell was still thinking, at first, he was letting them get a few punches in, but was overwhelmed just the same when he tried to return the attacks.

"That's the man who beat you?" Slinora laughingly said. "You are an old man, now, Virgil."

Hell used Quickening and Warping at the same time to appear in front of the kid again. As Quickening also helped his senses to be quicker, using Warp along with it proved even more useful, it seemed. Hell wanted to slap the kid to tell him he was being disrespectful. Almost seeming to be moving automatically, Slinora's dagger pierced Hell's hand but he still slapped him without stopping.

"Show some respect," Hell said with the dagger piercing his hand. He hated c.o.c.ky children the most. Slinora followed with an attack immediately after the slap as Hell could only manage to save his throat from being slashed open because of the consecutive use of Quickening and Warping. Although none of these vampires was a match for Hell individually, he found himself helpless against their excellent teamwork. He was feeling frustrated, pummelled by each one of them to such an extent.

"It's alright," Virgil said and took a step forward. Unfazed, he looked to be expecting this outcome from the beginning. "I have no doubt that you can eventually win against them all if you sparred every day," Virgil added. "None of us is as fast as you after all."

"Not to be a sore loser, but can we try one more time?" Hell asked. He didn't think of himself as a man who let pride dictate himself, but he had to get this frustration out.

"You think you'll win the second time?" Jack, the blood user, said in a sarcastic tone as he bled his wrists again. Virgil quickly left the area, watching them once more, wondering if Hell had any more tricks up his sleeves. Fighting against an enemy as strong as Hell was also great training for his team. These 7 were his treasured children he had carefully brought up over the years with a strong bond of camaraderie between them.

"We'll see," Hell said, throwing away Imp Needle and taking Sword of Blood out, and to their surprise suddenly bleeding himself on it with a large cut on his arm. The sword began transmitting a whirring sound as Hell seemed to have gotten highly affected by the item, suddenly wearing an insane look on his face. He was a sore loser, after all, it seemed. Focusing on using Quickening and Warping to its utmost extent, he lunged ahead at Anton, the muscle guy who was the slowest among the bunch.

His speed now increasing further even, none of them was able to react to it properly as Anton was almost chopped into two from the waist down with the sword, vomiting a large amount of blood.

Anton managed to punch the sword away before Hell could do as such. Hell, in a crazed state, was almost punctured in his heart by Slinora's daggers, Jack's blood arrows and Furcas' sword at the same time, a deadly combination. Teleporting away and changed his target to the second slowest as Anton still healed at the corner. He was thinking about only attacking them, his mind was clouded by rage all of a sudden.

Jack, the blood user was his goal as Hell arrived before him in a flash and swung his large sword to chop his head off. Jack slashed his own neck at that very moment using his ability and constructed a rather sturdy wall of blood. The wall formed in the middle of Hell's swung, which stopped his sword for a moment, but it was then forcefully taken out by Hell still. It was an unbelievable fight taking place albeit one of the sides being a complete amateur depending entirely on his instincts.

"Interesting," Virgil said. He could tell Hell was much faster this time. It was already hard enough to predict his movements and attack before, but it had now become almost impossible. His team, Sons of Shadow, was only able to react to Hell's choice of possible targets, trying to create a perimeter before he could attack.

Virgil didn't think any one of them would actually die unless Hell took the liberty of ripping their hearts out, in which case he would try to stop him. But until then, this was also a learning experience for everyone fighting. He was still worried about the change in his eyes, but it was probably still alright.

Hell's berserk status had the vampires stupefied. They thought he was quite obviously a human previously, but this man would heal from any wound in moments, just as Virgil told them. Not only that, but he also resembled the devils more than anything right now. The same maddened look thirsting for blood accompanied by supernatural strength.

"His arm!" Aurus yelled and started casting a spell. The Sons understood what he meant, this status he was in was achieved after he wielded that sword, so they should at least separate him from it.

What Aurus cast was a magic-arrow spell that pursued right after Hell, who was moving in incredible speeds. He swung his large sword at the pursuing spell and destroyed it, heading for Aurus right after, only to be stopped by Marco.

Marco specialised in hand-to-hand combat, as long as he could get close enough, it would be almost impossible for him to fail in his attacks. He had learnt skills that would allow him to lightning-fast, consecutive hits. These vampires had decades of training under their belt, brute strength and mindless speed couldn't easily overcome their hard-earned experience.

Marco swung a right hook as he allowed Hell to hit himself with his sword on the side of his right shoulder. Crystallizing that specific part of his body. Although the sword still went halfway in, at least it wasn't chopped off. The pain was still there but Marco tided over it and followed with three punches to Hell's chin. Hell seemed not only stronger and faster, but now also more durable, he realized after landing the punch on him. His skin, somehow, felt hardened.

He couldn't knock Hell out, but his three consecutive punches to his chin were enough to momentarily disorient him so Marco could at least get away from his range. And just as he did, Nero stepped out from Hell's own shadow, attacked him once again.

Hell, although mostly a creature of instinct at this point, blocked his attack again. The same thing happened, it was as if Hell had blocked nothing as the claws dug into his c.h.e.s.t and slashed down. Nero tried to get back right after he got a hit in. He wasn't the type that could fight for extended periods. Hell's slash that followed without caring much about his wounds slashed Nero's c.h.e.s.t with the tip of the sword that managed to make contact. Nero could feel his organs being damaged by the slash as he hid in the shadows again to recover. The sword was very destructive in that regard, as if its energy would go on a rampage where it got a cut in.

"Hell!" Virgil yelled. "Don't you think that's enough?!"

"We can beat him again!" Aurus yelled and followed with the tens of magic arrows he cast, aiming for Hell as the target of those arrows only growled in answer, akin to an animal. He was not actually acknowledging Virgil nor Aurus in an intelligent way, but just reacting to them as an animal. as he dodged the myriad of arrows. Some veins could be seen on Hell's reddened face as he bled himself onto the sword once more before healing himself.

"Hell, are you alright?" Virgil asked again.

"Die!" Hell said with a laugh resembling a roar. "All of you will die!"

Virgil was unsure if it was the fight that got him riled up or perhaps it was the sword, but he was sure of one thing - that they should neutralise Hell.

"I'm taking control," Virgil then said to his team, making a quick decision. Virgil was hoping Hell was still in control of that transformation to an extent, but the circ.u.mstance proved otherwise.