Vampire Summoner's Rebirth: Summoning The Vampire Queen At The Start

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Thanks to Cattalina's help, we were able to reach the Realm of Nightmares that Belphegor had created within the Fierysmith Capital. Naturally, what greeted us within this realm was darkness, floating debris, and countless glass-like fragments, of memories and dreams from all the victims trapped within the Black Fog.

"Where is this place?" Erika wondered, looking around in confusion. "Is this the Nightmare Realm thingy you talked about, Blake?"

"Correct," I nodded. "This is a Realm created by Belphegor, the Archdemon of Sloth."

"Sloth… so that's why he deals with dreams?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, what he mostly does all day is sleeping," I said. "But that doesn't mean he is not evil or doesn't enjoy torturing mortals, he simply does it on another way… such as this one."

"Is this a power he wields on his own or is it a byproduct of his sleep?" Eric asked.

"I'm fairly sure he's in complete control, but it still very far away from his real body, so to find his soul and attack it, we need to move deeper into this Realm," I explained. "Alright? So let's keep moving, we don't get much time to waste either way."

Everyone nodded as they concentrated, the barrier around us would keep us from being completely absorbed by the Dream Realm itself. Ruby and Bestellen moved forward, looking around and carefully scanning their surroundings.

The place seemed mostly desolate, aside from millions of glass-like fragments floating everywhere like space debris, each fragment was imbued with memories of the people trapped inside, and perhaps even their souls.

There was also debris everywhere, part of the Physical World that ended being mixed into this Nightmare World forever…

"Is that…?"

Alberta's eyes widened as she noticed something within one of the glass-like fragments, images of her siblings, her aunt, and even her father.

"Dad?!"

She tried to grab the crystal, but Eric quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her before she were to ruin this entire thing.

"Don't touch them, Alberta!"

"B-But that's my father! Is he trapped in there?!"

"Part of his Soul and Mind is."

I looked at her, telling her the truth.

"T-Then why can't I take him?"

"Because that's not him, Alberta… We talked about this earlier, don't touch those fragments, they're dangerous," I said, looking at them slowly fly by our barrier. "I designed this barrier specifically so it wouldn't be affected by them."

"From what we heard, these fragments are dangerous because they could suck up our souls inside, right?" Elizabeth asked. "If we touch one, we could end up falling asleep for eternity."

"That's why we must navigate through this place on top of our dragons and using this combined barrier," I explained them. "Although I have a strong enough soul that I should be able to touch the fragments without being affected, it's not the same for the rest… And no, just grabbing it won't do anything. If I try to do something, they will shatter, they're very delicate. And if it's shattered…"

Alberta looked slightly concerned as I stopped right there.

"Well, you can say goodbye to that piece of your father's soul and memories," I said. "Hence, we must not interact with these… I still can recall memories of my first life when we delved into this place, several of my allies… perished, because they ended touching the crystals and getting absorbed, and then the crystals were shattered."

"Blake…" Alberta sighed, she knew already that I had a previous life, and that such a life was of someone that battled these demons for many years. "I understand… sorry, I just got a bit worried. If… we defeat Belphegor, could things go back to normal? Or… will my dad and everyone else die?"

"It's a gamble," I said. "Killing him alone will stop this realm, but we don't know if the memories or soul fragments will simply automatically fly back to their bodies."

"What?!" Alberta panicked again.

"Calm down Alberta," Eric smiled at her. "He knows what he's doing… Trust Blake."

"Of course, I say it's a gamble but there's a good way for me to make that gamble an almost hundred percent guarantee of these people going back to normal," I smiled at her. "We'll kill Belphegor and then I will absorb his powers, his core, his everything."

"So that's your plan!" Erika said. "But isn't that too dangerous?"

"It is but… I've grown strong enough that I believe I can do it…" I nodded. "And once I do, I'll gain more power, necessary to go against Lucifer. With the power I steal from Belphegor, I plan to return everyone back to normal… Your mom and you are perfect vessels for such power too, so just like I shared Morning Star with Elizabeth, I'll share this Demonic Authority with you and your mother, Erika. When that time comes, I'll need your help to bring everyone back to normal."

"E-Eh? Do I have to help with that too? But I am not that good at Dream Magic like mom!" Erika panicked.

"No, you are just as good as I am, dear," her mother said, petting her head. "I've been teaching you quite well lately, and I believe you can do it, if what Blake said truly happens."

"Do you think so?" Erika wondered. "Am I good enough to wield your power, mom?"

"Of course," nodded her mother. "Dream Magic is something I inherited to you, which I was very happy to know you could wield, your Familiar too, the Dream Dragon Puppet is quite powerful, and connects you to my element much better as well."

"Mom…" Erika was moved. "Okay! I'll do my best for you and Blake and the people of this Kingdom… I don't really know them but… they're Alberta's family, and Alberta is my friend, and I would do anything for my friends!"

"Erika…" Alberta looked at Erika, smiling lightly. "Thanks… I'll owe you so much once this is done… Thank you for everything…"

"You can thank us once this is actually done," I said. "But I believe we've got company… be on guard, we won't be able to reach the depths of the Nightmare Realm without being interrumpted."

I could immediately feel the presence of Nightmares slowly creeping towards us…

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