At the end of Maria’s grinding session, she managed to rank up her [Magic Mastery] to Rank C, which unlocked her [Aero], [Thunder], and [Gravity] elements. She was now back to full power but seeing as there were still a few ranks left for [Magic Mastery], she wondered what other spells and elements she could possibly learn from them. This got her really excited, but for now, she could at least take it easy on the skill grinding.
The last few days going online to play were just so monotonous and boring, but she finally finished up her grinding session. She was streaming the Castle Bran dungeon run but had to postpone the next segment of the stream because of the abrupt grinding session, which she naturally streamed, of course. If it wasn’t for her viewers, Maria would’ve become so bored that she might’ve ended her grinding session preemptively and just continued with the dungeon run.
Now that everything was over and she was back at full power, Maria could continue the dungeon run, so she quickly called back her subordinates and they all met up on Castle Bran’s 5th floor. Other than Henry Dracul, who Maria had spared for being Ash’s son, the other vampire dukes weren’t as lucky and they all perished under Maria’s spells.
No matter how useful they seemed, Maria didn’t need anyone that wasn’t loyal to her. Loyalty could be built up over time, but these vampires lived long lives and their sense of loyalty couldn’t easily be changed, even if she killed the current Blood Lord and took the title for herself.
After all, Maria wasn’t a vampire and the others would still see her as an outsider. Carmilla was a different case because what tied her to Maria was her spouse, Ash, while Alexa was a child who had been saved by Maria. All of her other vampire subordinates were people who didn’t have great standing or power at first before she took them in and personally developed them into what they are today. Most of the soldiers in her private army and her faction’s army weren’t even vampires, but other kinds of intelligent monsters instead.
Maria only killed enemies that couldn’t be converted to her side and after contemplating about what to do with the other powerful vampires, she decided to just kill them all. The weaker ones she could train and later promote to more important positions once she became the new Blood Lord.
*****
On the Fifth Floor of Castle Bran, Maria and her subordinates were gathered and she checked to make sure that everyone was ready.
“So, is everyone ready?”
“Yes, My Queen.”
“Orh’bankhur, ready!”
“I’m ready, Big Sis. Let’s do this!”
“Why did you even call us, Master? I bet you’re just gonna hog the boss monster to yourself!” Raiju complained while Orh'bankhur and Alexa were all hyped up for the boss fight.
“...”
Carmilla seemed distracted but she answered quickly after noticing Maria’s gaze, “I’m ready, Your Highness.”
“Alright, let’s go up to the top floor then.”
Maria gave Ash a knowing look and he replied to her with a slight nod. He inwardly sighed because if things took a turn for the worst, he might have to fight his bride later. Ash didn’t know what was up with Carmilla, but in any case, if she were to betray Maria later during the fight, he was ready to strike her down.
Maria started her stream and made a short introduction before she went over and destroyed the final Blood Crystal that was locking the teleportation formation that led to the final floor of the castle. Once the teleportation formation was functional, Maria and her party stepped onto it and were whisked away to the final floor of Castle Bran.
*DING*
You have entered: Castle Bran - Ancient Blood Hall WARNING! You have entered the domain of the Blood Queen! You are more susceptible to mental attacks! All creatures will have their abilities reduced by 50%!
*DING*
You have resisted!
*DING*
Your champion, Ash Garm, has resisted the influence of the Blood Queen!
Everyone besides Maria and Ash had their stats and abilities reduced by half the moment they appeared in the Ancient Blood Hall. This was the least bit of information that concerned Maria, because what she saw from the notification was even more alarming.
“Blood Queen? Is Siegfried a woman?” Maria questioned.
Ash, who was standing next to her, was frozen in place as he stared up at the woman who was sitting on the Blood Lord’s Throne.
“...Elizabeth?”
“Hm?”
Maria looked up and also saw the beautiful vampire lady sitting on the throne. She guessed that this was the Blood Queen, but upon hearing what Ash called her, she was puzzled.
“Who is she, Ash? Is that not Siegfried?”
“...”
Ash was too stunned to answer so Maria used [Inspect] to see the vampire lady’s info.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“[Inspect].”
Name: Blood Queen Elizabeth Bathory Lv. ???
HP: ???/???
MP: ???/???
SP: ???/???
“That’s not Siegfried?” Maria quietly mumbled before turning to Ash, “Ash, what’s the meaning of this? I thought you said the Blood Lord was your enemy, Siegfried? Who is this woman?”
“M-My Queen…that’s…that’s–”
“That’s his bride, Your Highness,” Carmilla cut in as she answered in Ash’s stead.
“Eh???”
The vampire lady who was sitting on the throne stood up and suddenly began to speak, “Dear Sister, you surely jest! Aren’t you Ash’s bride now?”
“...”
“Sister? She’s your sister?”
“Yes, Your Highness...she’s my little sister, Elizabeth–Elizabeth Bathory, the current Blood Lord of the vampires.”
“What the heck???”
This was something Maria didn’t expect at all. It would seem that Carmilla already knew that the previous Blood Lord, Siegfried, had been changed and a new Blood Lord–or rather, Blood Queen–had been instated.
“Were you keeping quiet and being hesitant because of this, Carmilla?”
“I’m sorry, my Queen. I should have informed both you and Ash but…I couldn’t.”
Elizabeth Bathory began walking down the steps to stand level with Maria and the others as she said, “That’s right, she couldn’t tell you. After all, she’s my faithful little dog!”
“...”
“But to think that my doggy took away something that belongs to her owner…I think I should punish you for that.”
“Sister, please…please don’t do this. Wasn’t it enough that you killed Siegfried and all his people?”
“...It would seem that you’ve had a change of heart after coming all this way. Did becoming my husband’s new bride change you?”
“Sister–”
“Tch, how useless.”
The Vampire Queen raised her hand and suddenly, Carmilla and everyone who was under her influence were launched away and slammed into the wall behind them. The impact somehow knocked everyone unconscious, including Raijuu.
“W-What the?”
Maria couldn’t believe that her strongest subordinate, Raijuu, and even Alexa, had been knocked unconscious by her. At best, the Blood Queen’s level was 250, which was even lower than Raijuu’s level, but to think she could knock out her powerful lightning spirit... this was truly absurd.
“No, that’s not possible. It has to be the system’s doing.”
Maria was right about this. To fight with Elizabeth Bathory, who was like a god on planet Vanhal since she was the Blood Lord, an extremely high-ranking NPC that normally can’t be killed by a player unless it was through special circumstances like the one Maria was in right now. The only reason why Maria wasn’t influenced by Elizabeth Bathory was that she had inherited a bit of Ash’s Progenitor bloodline from her consumption of the awakening material that catalyzed her first Awakening.
The [True Blood] catalyst that she obtained from Ash last time was a concentration of his blood and Carmilla’s blood. The Progenitor’s bloodline was the only bloodline that wouldn’t be affected by the Blood Lord, so Maria was able to resist Blood Queen Elizabeth Bathory’s influence, giving her the ability to fight her.
If the story was to progress normally, Ash would’ve become the new Blood Lord upon his return after being enticed by his former bride, but with Maria there, the person whom he had sworn absolute loyalty to, the storyline changed. Elizabeth seemed to have expected that Ash wouldn’t be affected by her but she wondered why Maria wasn’t affected at all, “As the only descendent of the Progenitor, I knew my powers wouldn’t work on you, my dear Ash, but who is this little lady and why can she resist me?”
Neither Ash nor Maria answered her question. After Ash gave Maria a glance, he closed his eyes for a moment and steeled his resolve before opening them and asking his former bride, “…how did you become the Blood Lord and how are you still alive?”
“My dear Ash, is that really what you should be asking? Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m alive and well?”
Behind them, Carmilla somehow regained consciousness as she stood up and said, “A-Ash, she’s…she’s being influenced by the demonic sword, Garm… she isn’t herself right now! She is possessed by the sword’s demonic spirit that was awakened from her resentment!”
Elizabeth Bathory’s face twisted in anger as she yelled, “Quiet, sister!”
She waved her hand and launched Carmilla into the air before brutally slamming her back down into the ground. This time around, she made sure to knock her out completely by repeatedly slamming Carmilla into the ground like a ragdoll.
“Stop! You’re going to kill her!” Ash roared as he ran towards Carmilla and quickly grabbed her. Once he touched her, Carmilla was released from her sister’s telekinetic control and was saved.
“I-I’m sorry…I-I was supposed to bring you to her…Garm was g-going to kill you…please, help her…” Those were Carmilla’s last words before she lost consciousness again.
Maria used her Queen’s subclass skill and dismissed Carmilla, Alexa, Orh’bankhur, and Raijuu from the dungeon.
“She’ll be safe, Ash…we should deal with the problem at hand right now,” Maria said as she prepared for battle.
Ash nodded and stood up as he glared at the Blood Queen.
“Garm…I see now. You used that sword and killed Siegfried. The blood of the Blood Lord and my wife’s resentment released you, right? Evil Spirit Garm,” Ash said as he glared at his former bride and at the sword that was dangling loosely at her waist.
“Hehehe~ I knew that my husband was the smartest but what my sister said was completely unnecessary. Now that you know, I have to kill you now…”
“Kill me? Weren’t you already planning on doing that in the first place?”
*DING*
You have completed the quest: Vengeance and Justice! Rewards will be distributed after the Unique Storyline Quest has been completed!
*DING*
Unique Storyline Quest has been initiated: Demonic Influence
Quest: Demonic Influence Type: Main Story Quest Rank: EX Description: The Blood Queen, Elizabeth Bathory, has her mind possessed and twisted into madness by the demonic sword, Garm. Defeat the Blood Queen and release her from the influence of the demon sword Objective: Slay Elizabeth Bathory (0/1) Reward: ??? Failure: -10 Levels, Ash’s Death, Carmilla’s Death, Alexa’s conversion, the Dire’s destruction, Subclass Queen’s removal
Maria had a resigned look on her face after she saw the severe penalties of the quest’s failure.
“...Hehe, looks like I can’t fail this, can I?”
*DING*
Your subordinate, Ash - the Progenitor’s Descendent, will have his abilities enhanced by 50% as long as you remain alive
*DING*
You have now entered combat with Castle Bran’s Final Boss, Demon Blade Garm - Elizabeth Bathory
You have encountered a Divine Entity! Your class advancement path: Path of the Divine has been forcefully initiated!
“What the–”
Maria’s attention was immediately diverted from the string of notifications as Elizabeth Bathory began screeching and releasing an ominous aura that sent out a shockwave that nearly blew Maria off her feet. She quickly shielded herself with her own aura and rooted herself to the ground while Ash came over and stood in front of her.
“My Queen, are you alright?”
“Don’t worry about me. Focus on the battle and let’s win this.”
“...Yes.”
Ash and Maria readied their weapons to face off against the Blood Queen, who had transformed and was wearing a thick suit of armor and was holding the unsheathed demonic sword, Garm.
“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
After Garm was unsheathed, Elizabeth Bathory’s rationality disappeared as she now only began screeching at Ash and Maria. When she finally quieted down, she raised her sword and pointed it at the two before saying in a grating voice, [Hahaha, come! Let me taste the blood of the Progenitor!]