Nightmare System

"Is it you?" Pandora's voice echoed in Hell's ears. Pandora was looking at yet another copy, but if Hell ordered them to do anything specific, this now stronger creature he was facing against would realise who the original was. The blue glow surrounding Pandora shot out from him as an immense ball of fire towards another copy, vaporising it completely.

Pandora turned its eyes to the copy standing right next to Hell and his deep voice sounded out in Hell's ears once more: "Is it you?"

"Who are you?" the copy asked, causing Pandora to halt his attack and unexpectedly, the latter answered the question.

"I am the Elemental Monarch, the one who commands all. I have accepted this vessel's soul in return for killing you," said the Monarch with the air of an absolute overlord.

"Well, then, don't take offence in what we are about to do, then, your Majesty," Hell's copy said and signalled the others to use their Quickening to chop Pandora into pieces.

They would create an opening as they attacked, and Hell was using his Quickening to get in there to activate the Brand of Explosion on the sword after stabbing him. There would be no coming back from exploding from the inside. Hell saw the copies finally getting closer and the Elemental Monarch, albeit being just as fast, stood there and waited.

"Insolent creature!" the Monarch snorted, frowning. Then an explosion of white centred on Monarch occurred and froze each copy into a prison of ice, which were all shattered by himself. He turned to Hell and saw six of him again, five were engraving a spell on their c.h.e.s.ts.

He was annoyed. No mortal creature could resist himself, so why was this one not dead already? He couldn't get the soul for himself unless he achieved his side of the bargain. It was also very unconventional to exist in another realm by using a mortal as a vessel from there, so he didn't have much time either. It would matter not, how could a mere bug resist a God?

"This ends now," the Monarch commanded and prepared a myriad of lances in the air made of ice. The fact that someone could go against himself for this long had agitated him, he should have just killed himself. The lances were too many to count, covering the sky as far as Hell could see.

"You'll harm the citizens, too!" Hell remarked with a smile, wishing to limit his ability to act.

"That wasn't part of the agreement," the Monarch replied and sent the lances in incredible speeds towards Hell and his copies. The copies knew what they had to do as Hell summoned them. They would dodge some lances, teleport, and then blow themselves up as soon as they were impaled by one or more. Hell was following from behind clutching his sword. He could still feel the ramblings of the spirit inside the sword, but he just ignored it. A headache was the best the sword could give him while using it.

He was getting ever-closer to the Monarch with each copy exploding himself. The lances missing him had destroyed multiple buildings on the ground, collapsing them. There was total pandemonium amongst the shocked citizens.

All Hell needed was just one opening. The creature before them introduced himself as a Monarch and the strength was definitely there, but wasn't it similar to how Player Killer only existed in this place as an avatar of the original? If a God was summoned here, then why was it possessing Pandora's body still?

It was indeed still Pandora's body. Hell could think of escaping if it was a different creature that was summoned by the book, but it was the original body for sure, which meant it could be killed again, Hell was thinking.

It was finally the fifth copy exploding right before the Monarch, but the explosion only caused him to be slightly pushed back with no damage to be seen. It was a matter, of course, he would need a way to protect himself while using the previous attacks of his, which meant Hell had to get in there and use the sword to cause an explosion from the inside.

Hell was now facing the Monarch's face and could see the face morphing between Pandora and a foreign face of blue. The time seemed to almost stop, Hell could feel the air course through his lungs and see the minute differences in the Monarch's aura.

"That's right," Hell murmured to himself. This was what he felt as he blew himself up along with the Imp King back then. This was the feeling he got and rush he got from the death creeping closer to himself. It was exhilarating.

"Die!" Hell yelled and executed Instant Slash he acquired from Lirger, executing it gracefully with the help of Quickening. Hell felt no resistance as the sword started cutting him in half, with Hell stopping in the middle to release the Brand of Explosion. It was all for this moment, all the mana he spent and his copies dying, all to give him this one chance.

Elemental Monarch's face twitched and turned into a frown before he felt the explosion going off inside of himself. It was a momentary movement on the Monarch's face. The Elemental Monarch could feel intense burning energy inside for the first time in his life, thanks to the body he was possessing. His eyes locked onto Hell's momentarily in resentment. The Elemental Monarch was taken by surprise, he was still underestimating this man in front of himself up until the final release of energy from that brand on the sword.

Pandora's body exploded into chunks of flesh and bones, with nothing resembling of a human remaining, creating a brief rain of blood on the city. There were many watching the fight down there, cheering their Lord. Some in a complete daze had no idea what was going on.

*Possessed Doll of the Elemental Monarch has been defeated*

*+400 mana acquired*

*You have levelled up*

*You have levelled up*

*You have levelled up*

*You have levelled up*

*You have levelled up*

The messages began ringing in his head again. Ah, those sweet messages, and to hear so many of them at once… Such a bliss, Hell was thinking.

*Skill: Elemental Contractor acquired*

*Skill: Mana Manipulation acquired*

*Skill: Flying acquired*

"That's it?!" Hell complained. "I really expected a lot more!"

Holding the sword as he used the spell, Hell's arm was also horrible burnt, albeit his resistance to fire he acquired from one of Lirger's lackeys, he was battered. He stood flying in the air, slightly struggling with the damage to his wings. He healed his burns, bruises and cuts soon after and gazed at the army approaching from high in the air. They were still quite far away since the last time they looked. It was to be expected, not a lot of time had passed. And to think all Hell wanted was to have some fun with the Captain. How did all these happen? What had happened to the surprise attack? He was sure to get an earful from Theperes and Aurus for being rash.

Then, the ground started rumbling as Hell was gazing down at the hectic city beneath his feet. Small animals started running to and fro while the residents of the city were running at all directions in panic. The ground was shaking so hard that Hell could see his army in the distance collapsing on the ground together with the animals they brought, halting their movement. However, the city was in the worst shape here with buildings collapsing, creating a burial ground for the residents. Apparently, these weren't earthquake-resistant structures. Shame for them.

The ground was ripped open near the city walls. Not enough to drag the city inside, only small crevices created by the force of this earthquake. Hell could feel the vibrations even though he was in the air. The storm also started gathering in speed out of nowhere, blotting the sky soon after.

"This isn't good," Hell thought. He wasn't stupid, it was obvious this had something to do with the powerful being he killed the Doll of. The thunder shook the sky while the earthquake shook the ground. A voice, no longer resembling that of Pandora, reverberated in everyone's ears:

"The one called Hellebore, come to the Elemental Plane, I will decide your fate."

The voice was merciless, leaving no chance for negotiation. It seemed absolute as the voice was heard again.

"Your corpse will be brought here, should you decide to escape."

And with that, the air became clear again and the ground stopped shaking. Hell heaved a sigh of relief.

"Who cares?" Hell mumbled. "Drag me there if you can. As if I would listen to a disembodied voice again."

Hell started flying to the initial gate they took over and saw in his peripheral vision a small group led by what seemed to be himself leading the party outside. It seems the copy had reached them safe and sound, but if Hell was taken out, there would be no escape for them, either, if the Monarch felt like exterminating them. Hell knew he could kill them all in the blink of an eye if he ever felt like it. Miur could be the only annoying foe with his stealth, but everything would be easy if he started with him.

He had 25 stats from levelling up. He had a look at his stats once more before he would make his decision.

Level: 51

Stats

Strength : 71 (76)

Defence : 10

Dexterity : 300

Mana : 5655

Vitality : 20 (35)

Stamina : 10

Unused Stat Points: 25

He had very low defence and he could be easily taken out if he didn't find a solution to that. He had enough Mana, for now, it would probably be best if he was tougher.

*Defence: 35*

Hell immediately felt as if his body was somewhat condensed, as if his bones and muscles were filled and would be a lot harder to go through. He then hit his forehead in terrible realisation. He could be a lot more reckless if he only invested in Defence more! He wouldn't have to go around and be careful all the time.

He was also sure Vaun who had a total Defence of 155 couldn't be bothered much about bullets and such. The only reason Hell was keeping him around was because he wanted him to be a bodyguard to his little brother when he got back. Vaun was fearful enough from him that he would never even imagine betraying or disagreeing with Hell, let alone harm the little brother. He had to find a way back, it had already been many a day he left his little brother alone.

He started worrying about his little brother again. He had to protect him from any possible thing. He didn't base this ideology on anything, it was something he just felt in his very being from the very day his little brother was born. This feeling only ever got stronger. This unconditional love one feels for a family member was hard to describe. Hell was only ever trusted his parents to protect him, but this intense d.e.s.i.r.e to protect his little brother was something else. Something else he had to do. Whatever his brother wished, he would get him.

As Hell was worrying and contemplating, he started hearing his voice yelling himself to stop. He hated how his voice sounded from his copies. Others said they sounded the same as him, but it seems it was the same when people didn't like to hear themselves from recordings or videos. At that very moment, Hell crashed at his own copy with high speed and nailed the copy into the ground.

There was a silence of a few seconds with even Miur getting out from the shadows. Annette asked: "Hell Lord, sir, Lord Hell-" she muttered. "Did you win?"

"Yeah." Hell stood up and tried to clean some dust off of himself. "Go back, Pandora is dead, we can raze the city into the ground now."

"Understood," Jack said with a crazy glint, growing his claws subconsciously.

"Everyone except Roro, start your killing as soon as the army gets close enough. We need to create more disturbance before they can mobilise properly. Thousands of vampires are still enough of a threat. Miur will support you from the shadows, literally," said Hell with a grin on his face.

"What shall I do, my Lord?" said the vampire with long, sharp ears.

"You? I have something in mind for you. It was something important, I'll tell you about it when I see it," Hell lazily said as he laid on a comfortable enough spot on the ground. "Hey, copy, you tell him."

"Me?" the copy said in surprise. He gazed at the expecting Roro and around, seeing their army making slow progress here. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Roro can soothe the animals and they can gain their speed again!"

"Exactly," Hell could barely say as he seemed to be dozing off into the sleep.

"What a carefree guy," the copy thought for a moment, then slapped himself on the forehead. "I am him!" he realised. The copies had to follow the summoner's orders, which made them different from the original character by a portion.

"All right, then, fly Roro there and I'll just nap here a bit."

"Okay, lazy bastard," the copy said and took Roro with him using all his speed. The change in the copies was still very minute and the sarcasm and mockery from the original still stayed there.

The copy took Roro to the army, and as they thought, Roro's intervention made things a lot easier. He had a natural aura around himself that calmed animals. It would even seem that they even increased their pace with him there.

The army arrived at the gates in around an hour and Hell only watched the happenings, only helping to disperse and exterminate large battalions gathering around. The vampires in this city were weak, far too weak. He decided to see how the Captain was doing. He was lying unconscious on the ground before as they were first entering the city, but would he be dead already?

He flew over and saw the man on the walls, watching the city burn. His friends and family were dying and there was no hope. Belland was quietly shedding tears with each falling on the ground after c.a.r.e.s.sing Amilyr's face.

"You could at least save her if you complied," Hell said from behind. "You could be on the winning side with me."

"Why?! Why do you want me to join you?!" Belland yelled. He was burning with rage, he was indignant. But there was nothing he could do, the opponent was just that strong. He then continued: "The people from all races lived here in peace before you came. There were no unfair taxes or unlawful people. This was a utopia and you-"

"I tore it all down with my hands. I smashed it beneath my feet and I'm still destroying them. The army is still there, killing and turning all they can. Is your beloved dead already?"

Belland looked down in defeat, his heart was broken beyond any recovery. He could only continue to allow his eyes to be waterfalls, sprinkling Amilyr's face. With a few more drops falling on her face, she slightly twitched, as if waking up.

"Amilyr!" Belland yelled. There was one good thing. One good thing he could depend on. At least she wasn't dead.

"I'm thirsty," she sleepily said. Hell had seen this before. She had made it, and blood was what she was thirsting for.

"Ooh, she made it. Now isn't that nice."

Belland ignored Hell's remarks. He only hoped that disaster would just go away by itself and c.a.r.e.s.sed Amilyr's face. "Don't you worry about a thing, Amilyr, I'll get you something to drink. He then slashed his arm, avoiding any vital spots as much as he could and started feeding her.

The smell of blood had already awoken her enough to start drinking it without a second thought. Belland would be fine if she killed him. He was in too much pain. But could she survive on her own? Would it be him leaving Amilyr in a painful world alone if he died now? How much pain would that cause to her?

"That's all right, love. You can drink some later as well," Belland finally said, feeling the loss of strength in his arms. But she didn't let go. She couldn't let go.

"They need a lot of blood while transitioning, don't tell me it's your first time seeing this?" Hell raised his voice as he sat on the wall and watched them.

"So what should I do? Feed her all my blood?" Belland interjected. "She'll be in a worse state if she realises she killed me! Why are you even here?! Didn't you destroy everything I ever had here? Why don't you kill me now?!"

"I was bored. And now I am bored with killing and watching things die, so I'm here again," Hell said with a grin.

"My Lord, I'm here for a status update," Annette said with her vaguely heard voice. Hell slowly turned to her and told her to stay quiet for a while, walking up to the couple.

"Do you want me to allow you two a place on the winning side?" Hell asked. At this point, he was more annoyed that he rejected than actually caring about whether he was part of his team or not.

"Kill me, and take care of her."

"No dice, you sword-wielding bastard. You need to join and fight with me,"

"Why?!" Belland asked again.

Hell gripped Amilyr's neck in one swift motion raising her in the air, slightly choking her as he stole her away from the grasp of the broken warrior in one swoop. "Or she dies properly this time."

"Lord Hell, this is a bit too much, please reconsider this couple's circ.u.mstances," Annette raised her shy voice, she was scared to talk.

"You will not question me again," Hell said as he activated the Gaze of Pain with 100 mana. It was surprisingly not enough to knock her out, she was a resilient one. She was deceived by Hell's friendly demeanour with some of his underlings, but it seemed she didn't get to enjoy this privilege.

"My Lord, please, forgive me-" Annette was trying to apologise. She was kneeling in the correct posture even while she was being utterly tortured by the ability.

"Hell!" a voice was heard this time from near the stairs, a ways behind Annette.

"Hello love!" Hell said and let Amilyr who was now very awake go from his grasp onto Belland's l.a.p once more. Hell c.a.r.e.s.sed Theperes' body and went in for a passionate kiss. What Hell didn't anticipate was a hard slap from Theperes, which didn't quite hurt him after he raised his stats. Of course, this didn't mean he couldn't feel it.

"Hey, what the hell?"