Aren immediately ran into the cave.
She hadn’t even considered what might be inside the cave.
Escaping the rain was her only priority.
The inside of the cave, which she entered thusly, was illuminated by fires hanging from the walls.
Perhaps it was due to the rain.
The walls and ceiling, as well as the stone floor, were damp.
Aren strained her feet to prevent slipping and slowly moved forward.
Fortunately, the weight of the large sword cradled in her arms supported her.
The inside of the cave was quiet.
Only the occasional sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling broke the current stillness.
“Ugh… I’m not scared.”
Though Aren felt a slight sense of fear, she bravely sang a song and moved forward.
“Delicious friends – gather around-”
She didn’t know the rhythm, but singing definitely made Aren feel better.
How long had it been?
Soon, three paths appeared.
“There are 3 paths?”
She hadn’t expected paths like these to appear.
“Which way should I go?”
After pondering, Aren took out a squirrel from her pocket and placed it down.
It was one of the friends she made so she wouldn’t be lonely on her journey.
As soon as the squirrel touched the ground, it was startled and ran away.
Aren looked in the direction the squirrel had gone.
It was the rightmost path among the three.
“Since my squirrel friend went that way, it must be right!”
Aren clenched her fists and began to follow the direction the squirrel had gone.
After walking a short distance, a wide field appeared.
“Wow!”
Aren exclaimed in admiration as she looked at the field.
Though there was no sunlight, various kinds of flowers were in full bloom throughout the field.
Their appearance was as if they were seducing those who entered this place, but Aren’s gaze was elsewhere.
“Ah, my squirrel friend….”
The squirrel lay on the ground, covered by grass.
It was the squirrel Aren had released a little while ago.
Above it, numerous butterflies swarmed, sucking out the squirrel’s bodily fluids.
The butterflies were Blood-sucking Butterflies, monsters.
Aren nodded as she looked at them.
“Butterfly friends like the squirrel friend too?”
Hehe.
Aren giggled and approached the Blood-sucking Butterflies.
Then, one Blood-sucking Butterfly approached and sank its stinger into Aren’s arm.
Seeing this, Aren cried out.
“Friends are truly good!”
Aren opened her mouth towards the Blood-sucking Butterfly sucking her blood and swallowed it in one gulp.
With each chew, the butterfly burst, and blood flowed out.
Gulp.
“Butterfly friend, from now on, you are Aren’s important friend!”
Aren found the Blood-sucking Butterfly to her liking.
As Aren was watching the butterflies fly around, something caught her eye.
In a corner, several giant spiders were watching her with glowing eyes.
“Ugh.”
The spiders were larger than Aren.
They had hair on their many legs, and their fangs were moving.
“They aren’t friends…”
Just as Aren was about to slowly back away with a dejected look.
“Oh my, a pretty little lady has arrived? Have you perhaps lost your way?”
Someone spoke to her from across the way.
Aren turned her head from the spiders and looked towards the source of the voice.
There was someone there.
It was Celia, the deputy leader who managed this dungeon.
“A pretty older sister!”
Aren, who had just seen something she shouldn’t have, was overjoyed by the current situation.
In Aren’s eyes, Celia was incredibly beautiful.
Moreover, the luxurious red dress she wore made her stand out even more.
Aren immediately ran to Celia, her savior.
“Pretty older sister is Aren’s friend!”
And then she burrowed into Celia’s embrace.
“You have good taste, little lady?”
Celia smiled warmly and patted Aren’s back a few times.
Then, she met Aren’s eyes and opened her mouth.
“Why has our little lady come all this way? Even holding such a precious sword.”
Celia recognized that the sword Aren was holding was no ordinary sword.
‘It must be a Demonic Sword.’
It is known that Demonic Swords grant power to those who wield them.
However, the price for using that power results in a tragic outcome.
Therefore, it was best to avoid drawing a Demonic Sword whenever possible.
That’s what a Demonic Sword was.
Then, where was this vampire lady heading with such a dangerous item?
Celia became curious.
She wanted to gather information about what had happened and how she had ended up here.
‘My Master always said.’
Prioritize information gathering.
Information was the power to defeat the enemy.
Celia would conquer this world by following her Master’s commands.
“If you have nowhere to go for the time being, how about resting here?”
Celia took Aren’s hand with a pleasant smile.
“Yes!”
Aren shouted energetically towards Celia.
Given that it was raining heavily and Aren didn’t know how to get to the Demonic Realm, the current situation was very welcome.
“Then I will guide you this way.”
Celia gently held Aren’s hand and walked away.
She walked towards a passage on the opposite side from the entrance Aren had entered.
This dungeon was incredibly large and wondrous.
Aren looked around with curiosity as she walked.
Then, they reached a place with a large lake.
Various creatures were by the lake.
Goblins were filling buckets with water from the lake, and nearby, a Skeleton was soaking itself in the water.
It was a peaceful place.
“Wow….”
Aren marveled as she approached the lakeshore.
As she dipped her hand into the water to drink, a monster leaped out from the water.
“You are an uninvited guest.”
A snake-like monster appeared, pointing its spear tip.
“A long friend! But it’s a bit different…?”
Although it was a snake-like monster, it had arms on its upper body.
Moreover, it held a great spear in one of its hands.
It was a Naga.
“It’s alright. She is someone I invited.”
Celia told the Naga that it was alright.
“As Celia-nim wills it.”
The Naga bowed its head to Celia and went back into the water.
Everything was mysterious to Aren.
It was her first time seeing a dungeon with such diverse inhabitants, unlike the dungeon where only vampires lived.
Aren’s eyes sparkled.
Perhaps it would be better to live here than to go to the Demonic Realm?
She even had that thought for a moment.
“All of this was created by our Great Master.”
It was the Master’s power that turned the two paths into three, and that created such a large lake.
Celia approached Aren, who was admiring the surroundings.
“Isn’t the pretty older sister the Master?”
“I manage it, but there is a separate Master. Someone most noble and great.”
Celia was merely the dungeon’s deputy leader.
However, Aren interpreted her words differently.
Naturally, Aren had lived in a dungeon before, so she had a general idea of how things worked.
Even though it was a small dungeon, it had a Master.
And there was another Master whom the dungeon’s Master served.
Her parents had once told her that this other Master was a very powerful vampire.
They had also said that the dungeon she managed was larger than the dungeon Aren lived in.
Therefore, Aren understood that the pretty older sister before her was the Master of this dungeon, but also served a separate Master.
“Mhm! I see!”
Aren smiled and followed Celia.
After walking around the large lake, another passage emerged.
That was the center of the dungeon.
There were various facilities in the center.
Near the Dungeon Core, called the heart, unknown figures wearing large robes guarded the area.
And in a space that looked like a prison, a human was seated.
Not interested, Aren turned her gaze away.
Walking a little further, a facility that was clearly luxurious appeared.
“This is where I stay.”
It was Celia’s living and working space, the deputy leader’s room.
Next to the entrance of the deputy leader’s room, Skeletons with swords at their waists were present.
“This too is the Master’s kindness.”
Celia pointed to the Skeletons.
They were Skeleton Knights, 3-Star Monsters, that the being Celia called Master, Kanghyeon Lee, had created.
Kanghyeon Lee had spent a lot of real money and rolled the gacha multiple times.
These were Skeleton Knights, created by synthesizing the 2-Star Monsters, Skeleton Swordsmen, that he obtained.
Of course, the clothes Celia was wearing had also changed from a Maid Outfit to a luxurious red dress.
All of this was a gift from the Master.
Thanks to the Master’s grace, the deputy leader’s room was guarded by Skeleton Knights instead of the original Skeleton Soldiers.
Even someone who knew nothing would recognize that the deputy leader’s room was important.
“Now, little lady, how about we have some sweet snacks together?”
“Yes! I’d love that!”
Overjoyed, Aren put down the Demonic Sword she was holding and ran.
Celia led Aren inside the deputy leader’s room.
“We still have desserts brought from the Incubi.”
Berter Leobane.
He was the second son of the noble Leobane Ducal family of the Kalrn Empire, and currently served as the Vice Captain of the Knights of the Church.
And he was currently mobilizing the Knights of the Church to track down a Vampire.
Even though there was only one, it was the most important matter to Berter.
Therefore, he was tracking the Vampire with the Knights of the Church even in the pouring rain.
Naturally, the Knights of the Church were on the verge of complaining. But he used his authority as Vice Captain to suppress them.
Berter had only one objective.
‘The Demonic Sword.’
It wasn’t for no reason that he was pushing forward in the bad weather to catch the Vampire.
The opponent he was pursuing was wielding a Demonic Sword.
Berter had come this far with only the Demonic Sword in his sights.
If he obtained the Demonic Sword?
He would gain immense power.
The world said that the outcome was tragic, but that was only for the weak.
He was different.
After becoming the rightful owner of the Demonic Sword, he would gain great power.
And the tip of the sword would be directed towards his family, the Leobane Ducal family.
He was excluded from the line of succession simply because he was the second son.
His less capable older brother became the successor, and his father, the Duke, designated that older brother as the successor.
His incompetent older brother and his father, who placed that older brother in the successor position.
As a member of the family, he could not forgive this.
A Duke must have good judgment of people.
The position of Duke should go to someone worthy.
Considering such conditions, his father, who lacked judgment, was not fit to be the Duke.
Similarly, his older brother also lacked the qualification to become Duke.
Only when a true Duke supports the family can it develop further.
Families that do not do so have disappeared into the annals of history.
At least, that’s what Berter knew.
Therefore, if Berter possessed the Demonic Sword, the edge of the blade would be directed at his family.
This would not be a rebellion against the family, but a salvation.
“Vice Captain, we’ve found a trace!”
A Knight of the Church, who was surveying the surroundings, found a rabbit lying on the ground.
“It’s a Vampire’s trace.”
There were bite marks on the rabbit’s body.
It was definitely the work of a Vampire.
“Thoroughly search the area!”
As soon as Berter saw the trace, he ordered all the Knights of the Church.
And soon, they discovered it.
The appearance of a cave hidden behind trees.
Swoosh-
The rain was pouring down heavily.
The Vampire must have inevitably sought refuge from the rain.
“That’s right! The tracks lead towards the cave!”
Berter smirked.
“I’m so lucky.”
Berter headed towards the cave with the Knights of the Church.
He was already consumed by greed.
