Arcanea was perplexed by the unexpected presence.
“Baalcherit…”
Arcanea repeated the name with what seemed like hatred.
She had heard that there was an Arch Lich in this dungeon, so why was Baalcherit here?
“Why are you here?”
Arcanea had always disliked Baalcherit.
Deep-seated inferiority within her stemmed from Baalcherit.
She hated seeing Baalcherit treated well, despite having nothing other than good lineage.
It was irritating that factions automatically formed around Baalcherit just because she was a Vampire royal, or just because she was a five-star.
In contrast, how much had Arcanea strived?
She had worked so hard to develop the dungeon and grow her power, but there were limits.
No matter how hard she tried, she despaired at the reality that she couldn’t catch up to those born with advantages.
That despair gnawed away at Arcanea’s pride.
She wondered why she didn’t have such background, which would have allowed her to rise higher.
At some point, even jealousy arose.
Still, she felt immense pleasure on the day she heard that Baalcherit had fallen.
Furthermore, when she learned that Baalcherit was indebted to the Underworld Merchant Guild, her spirits soared, and she felt lighter.
After all, she thought it suited the end of someone with no ability.
Now, all attention would surely be focused on her.
The Succubus Queen had been missing for a long time, and Baalcherit had fallen.
Therefore, she thought she would be the main character at the social gathering hosted by the Merchant Guild.
Until, that is, an Arch Lich suddenly appeared.
Arcanea also felt jealousy towards the Arch Lich who was stealing the attention that should have been hers.
That’s why she came to this dungeon to eliminate the Arch Lich, but instead of the Arch Lich, she found that annoying vampire.
“…”
Arcanea thought silently.
First, she had to find out why Baalcherit was here.
As far as she knew, Baalcherit should have been tied up by the Merchant Guild for failing to repay her debt.
Yes, why was the person who should have been at the Guild here?
The first word that came to mind was ‘trap.’
The Underworld Merchant Guild was the one that first spread information about this dungeon.
And it was the Underworld Merchant Guild that started it all, by saying there was an Arch Lich in this dungeon and inciting a fight.
‘Could it be…?’
Did the Guild scheme to lure her?
But Arcanea shook her head.
If the Guild wanted to deal with her, would they have gone through such a bothersome process?
Moreover, the Guild even provided her with a potion that forcibly raised her to five-star.
If the Guild were to intervene, the power difference would be so vast that she wouldn’t even be able to retrieve her bones, so there was no reason to go through such a convoluted and troublesome process.
‘Then there must be only one reason.’
Something must have happened to the Guild.
That’s why Baalcherit escaped, and the Arch Lich intercepted her.
‘Looking at it this way, I understand why the Guild dislikes the Arch Lich.’
More precisely, it was the will of the administrator, Serinu, rather than the Guild’s. But in the current situation, there seemed to be no need to make such a distinction.
At the same time, Arcanea was busy calculating the current situation in her mind.
If the Arch Lich had indeed intercepted Baalcherit with the intention of rebelling against the Guild…
‘Isn’t solving that my task?’
If she could resolve the current situation, it would be as if she owed the Guild a great debt.
If she solved the troublesome problem, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Guild would support her with open arms.
With the Guild at her back, creating a powerful dungeon and faction would no longer be a dream.
Furthermore, she would even be able to interfere with human nations.
Arcanea straightened her posture, dreaming of a future paved with flowers.
“Hah.”
Her power had increased dramatically.
With her current strength, she could face not only the Arch Lich but also that annoying vampire.
No, she would overwhelm them beyond just facing them.
The time of emptiness she had felt until now.
Finally, the chance for revenge had come.
“I’ll show you the difference in power.”
Her voice, uttered as if growling, contained madness.
Fired by her words, Arcanea charged towards Baalcherit with lightning speed.
*Bang-*
Her tail, swung with all her might, struck Baalcherit’s body and threw her.
Baalcherit’s body, crashing into the wall, tumbled amidst the debris.
*Bang- Thump-*
Arcanea relentlessly pounced, striking Baalcherit, who was buried in the wall, with her tail.
The wall crumbled, raising dust.
“Kuhuk… Cough…”
Arcanea felt a thrill at the sight of Baalcherit, coughing and staggering.
“Wh-what is this! Who are you to attack me like this!”
Baalcherit gasped for air, blood pouring from her mouth.
“Hahaha! You don’t recognize me? Well, you never paid attention to my existence in the first place.”
Baalcherit couldn’t comprehend the situation due to the sudden attack. But paradoxically, her actions further inflamed Arcanea’s anger.
Arcanea pierced her neck with her fangs.
“Kyaaaaak!”
Crimson blood spurted out.
The Lamia’s venom began to spread throughout Baalcherit’s body through her neck.
Arcanea burst into laughter, intoxicated with victory as Baalcherit writhed in pain from the spreading poison.
Looking down at her fallen opponent, Arcanea became even more triumphant.
“Kuhuh, where do you think you’re going? What were you so proud of when you were just this much? You’re no match for me now. Understand?”
*Bang- Bang-*
Her tail, struck with immense power, hit Baalcherit’s abdomen.
Thick blood gushed from her mouth.
“Kek…”
Baalcherit’s desperate screams of pain were the greatest pleasure for Arcanea.
She continued to attack, not giving Baalcherit a moment’s respite.
As she attacked relentlessly, Arcanea couldn’t hide her excitement at the sight of her opponent growing weaker.
*Bang-*
Her tail continued to strike Baalcherit.
“To a mere weakling like you!”
*Bang-*
“That I felt jealous!”
*Bang-*
She couldn’t control the rage and hatred boiling up inside her.
*Bang- Bang-*
Walls crumbled, and blood splattered.
With a mad laugh, she sank her claws into Baalcherit, who seemed to have no ability to retaliate.
Now, only the final blow remained.
Arcanea smiled, baring her fangs, as she looked down at the prey awaiting death.
“Now, try speaking. Beg for my forgiveness. Who knows? Maybe I’ll spare you? Khahaha.”
She laughed cruelly and grabbed Baalcherit by the hair.
However, her opponent’s mouth remained shut, only letting out moans.
Baalcherit, once the object of her jealousy, had been miserably crushed by her attack.
Although she had received help from the Guild, the landscape would change significantly because of this incident.
“…Pathetic.”
Her interest waned at the sight of the opponent who couldn’t do anything.
Now, only the matter of ending their current animosity remained.
As she was about to sink her teeth into her opponent’s neck with a cruel laugh.
Baalcherit rose from the floor.
“……!”
No, something was strange.
Her movements as she rose were unnatural, as if someone was controlling Baalcherit.
Then, Baalcherit’s eyes opened.
For a moment, her pupils turned an even deeper crimson than before. A crimson radiance, more intense than blood.
That wasn’t all.
The blood scattered around floated into the air. Like living creatures, they writhed and began to be absorbed by Baalcherit.
“Wh-what is this…!”
Arcanea recoiled in surprise and fear.
Baalcherit’s body, damaged by her own attacks, was recovering.
Wounds healed, and broken bones returned to their places.
Baalcherit slowly tilted her head.
Her eyes burned red, her blonde hair spilled down.
Her appearance was the same as before, yet subtly different.
It was as if she had an arrogant expression.
It was an expression that was definitely annoying, but fear came first.
“Ah… No…”
Arcanea screamed, sensing an instinctive danger.
But it was too late.
*Fwish-*
In the blink of an eye, Baalcherit gripped Arcanea’s neck.
Looking at Arcanea’s pale face, Baalcherit spoke in a low voice.
“How foolish of you to dare to touch my descendant…”
The cold, eerie voice was like another being.
“Huk… Hugh…!”
Towards Arcanea, who was groaning with her neck constricted, the ‘being’ cast a cold gaze.
“Your blood is not something you can touch.”
With a mere gesture, the scattered blood swirled.
“You must pay the price for your sin.”
A wave of red blood spread in all directions, coloring the entire sector crimson.
A red dominion, as if hellfire was burning, engulfed the entire space.
Arcanea was terrified by the scene unfolding before her eyes.
Her whole body trembled, and cold sweat ran down her forehead.
Her breath came in ragged gasps, making her heart feel like it would burst.
“Th-this can’t be… How…?”
Half paralyzed by fear, she couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.
All she could do was look at the being before her with a trembling voice.
And then, the being extended its hand forward.
Spare blood began to gather.
The blood droplets writhed as if alive, merging to form a colossal shape.
Emitting a red light, the blood formed the shape of a giant scythe.
“How arrogant. Child.”
A being that called a five-star Lamia a child.
Arcanea, overwhelmed by the immense aura, was speechless with fear.
“I shall grant you a merciful death, as I pity your situation.”
With a cold voice, the scythe formed from blood was pointed at Arcanea’s neck.
“P-please… Spare my life…”
Why was it merciful when it was going to kill her anyway!
She had so much she wanted to say, but couldn’t.
Tears streamed down Arcanea’s eyes.
Why had this happened?
Where did it go wrong?
Why did she have to meet such an end?
Her thoughts couldn’t continue any further.
Because, in the blink of an eye, the scythe cleaved through the air.
With the sound of the wind, Arcanea’s neck was cleanly severed.
Her head flew through the air and landed on the ground.
At that moment, a red mist exploded from Arcanea’s torso.
Her torso erupted in all directions.
A strong smell of blood, so intense she couldn’t breathe, filled the surroundings.
Following that, other Lamias’ torsos also exploded in sequence.
Crimson mist rose from all directions.
The ground was soon soaked in blood, forming a crimson puddle.
It was a scene of horrific slaughter.
“……”
The being raised its hand and gathered the blood scattered on the ground.
The blood droplets merged into one, transforming into a small sphere.
It was Arcanea’s soul stone.
Its rank was a staggering five-star.
The soul stone floated slowly and was absorbed into Baalcherit’s fingertips.
“How tedious.”
The being looked up at the ceiling for a moment and then smiled wryly.
Soon after, Baalcherit’s body collapsed onto the floor.
* * *
– All intruders have been repelled!
“It ended faster than I thought?”
Until a little while ago, I was watching Arcanea, the leader of the invading Lamias.
The problem is.
“I hope nothing happened in the second layer?”
After Arcanea headed to Sector 1 of the second layer, she had a fierce battle with Baalcherit.
No, that’s not right.
Rather than a fierce battle, it was an overwhelming display of power.
Baalcherit was helplessly defeated by that power.
Yet, Baalcherit didn’t give up.
As she thought it was over and stood up to charge.
“Is it a bug?”
The screen turned red.
While other sectors displayed normally, only the area where Arcanea and Baalcherit were showed red, revealing nothing.
“Still, it’s fortunate that it ended well.”
In the end, all intruders were repelled, and the dungeon was defended.
Perhaps Baalcherit defeated Arcanea.
‘She’s much stronger than I thought?’
To get back up after taking so much damage, her perseverance was great.
As I was thinking that, another alarm rang.
– Baalcherit (★★★★★) wishes to be subjugated to Kanghyeon Lee’s dungeon. Do you permit this?
– [Yes] [No]
“Huh?”
Why does Baalcherit want to enter my dungeon?
I was dumbfounded by the sudden reward.
Especially a five-star monster.
“Should I accept this?”
At first, I was suspicious when Baalcherit visited the dungeon and all these events unfolded.
I wondered if Baalcherit had come to the dungeon disguised as a spy.
I had intentionally ordered Celia to place Baalcherit in the sector, but it was meaningless now.
Even though the screen was red and I couldn’t see, based on the circumstances, it was certain that Baalcherit had defeated Arcanea.
“Well, there’s no reason to refuse if they give me a five-star for free.”
However, I haven’t forgotten that she rejected my offer for a subordinate officer at the beginning.
“She doesn’t have my trust yet, so tell her to provide minimal support.”
“Thud!”
Maru moved his jaw, making a crisp sound.
By the way, how many five-star monsters do I have in my dungeon?
‘Death Knight and Goblin Lord. And Necros and Baalcherit.’
That’s four five-star monsters alone.
With Celia, a six-star, they make a total of five monsters of five-star or higher.
There were more than I thought.
As I was pondering how to utilize them in the future.
– The number of five-star or higher monsters within the dungeon has reached a certain level.
– Special rewards will be given!
– You can create a Satellite Dungeon.
– A Satellite Dungeon must include at least one five-star or higher monster.
– When creating a Satellite Dungeon, you will receive a four-star monster draw selection ticket as an additional reward!
A new alarm popped up.
