In the void, all that remained were a few fragments of fingernails and several teeth—the most vital parts of the Vampire Progenitor. Even with the destruction of the Mindscape, these pieces endured, yet their consciousness had utterly dissipated, leaving no possibility of resurrection.
Leon collected those nails and teeth without saying a word. Being lured here by the Vampire Progenitor—no wonder he was so furious…
He took out the key he had prepared earlier, casually summoned a spatial gate, inserted the key into it, and with a gentle push, a dazzling light burst forth from the other side.
A group of people stepped through the spatial gate, waiting for the blinding light to fade. Leon’s expression changed completely.
The door opened by the Nightmare Key didn’t lead to the Vampire Progenitor’s castle, but to the Nightmare Frontier.
They found themselves in a dense forest, surrounded by towering trees. This was the very place where they had first entered the Realm of Nightmares. Behind them, the spatial gate remained open, its interior an endless darkness.
Leon pulled the Nightmare Key from the spatial gate, which slowly faded away. Only then did he turn to the others, his face grim.
"Something’s wrong. The gate we entered through has been destroyed. The door opened by the Nightmare Key should have led outside, but now we’re at the Nightmare Frontier. There’s definitely trouble out there. If we want to get out, we’ll have to find another way."
"The best way would’ve been to have a Vampire Progenitor lead us—they can freely enter and exit the Nightmare Frontier. But now, we’ll have to figure out something else. And there might be enemies waiting outside, maybe even the mastermind behind all this."
The results I found point toward the Undead King, but I doubt it. If it really were the Undead King, he’d have crushed us with brute force. The most likely culprit is the Blood Lich.
He isn’t confident about facing the teacher or Lord Alonzo, and over in the Leviathan Realm, the Lionheart King and Forest Elf King are present too…"
Alonzo’s face was dark. The others couldn’t help but glance at him. If Alonzo hadn’t wiped out the Vampire Progenitor in the Deep World, they wouldn’t be in such a bind now.
"Why are you all looking at me? Those damned vampires lured us here—dead is dead. Whoever’s behind this is finished, no matter who it is!"
Leon didn’t bother with Alonzo. After all, Alonzo was Agalon’s fellow disciple. He had only collected the Vampire Progenitor’s remains earlier out of thrift, never expecting they’d become a lifeline now.
"If we use those materials we gathered before, we might be able to craft a new gate. With the power of an alchemy array and the Nightmare Key, we should still be able to get out of here…"
Leon hadn’t even finished speaking when, suddenly, six Nightmare Leotails appeared in the sky—two at level fifty, three at forty-nine, and one at forty-eight…
Seeing these Nightmare Leotails, Leon’s face turned a little green. The chubby kid, who’d been clinging to his shoulder with eyes tightly shut, suddenly shrieked.
"Chief, chief, save me…"
Before he could finish, Leon grabbed the kid by the neck, squashing his chubby face out of shape.
Then a layer of gray mist enveloped Leon’s body. He transformed into the Skeleton King once more, gripping the blood-red Reaper’s Scythe in one hand while holding the chubby kid with the other, pressing the kid’s head to the blade.
"You’d better not move. If you get killed this time, you’ll be gone for good—no coming back."
Leon transformed into the Skeleton King and grabbed the chubby kid—all in less than a second. Instantly, the six Nightmare Leotails in the sky froze.
Agalon and the others appeared around Leon in an instant, not even bothering to ask why he had turned into the Skeleton King.
Six Nightmare Leotails—one for each of them, and every single one a rank higher. They might not be able to fully wield the power of a level fifty, but just the difference in rank was enough to crush Agalon and Alonzo…
The chubby kid’s face was pressed to the blade of the Reaper’s Scythe, his terrified reflection staring back from the blood-red metal. At the scythe’s curve, a skull struggled and howled, desperate to devour the kid’s soul, but unable to reach him.
"Outsider, release our clansman and we’ll leave you alone."
One of the Nightmare Leotails, its face wizened and old, flicked its tail and stared coldly at Leon.
Leon gripped the chubby kid tightly.
"Don’t kid yourselves. Nightmare Leotail reproduction is almost impossible. Since the fall of the Lord of Nightmares, they’ve lost the ability to breed—except for rare cases. Any newly born Nightmare Leotail is destined to be the next chieftain."
Nightmare Leotails may be immortal here, but that doesn’t mean they can’t die. You’re nearly finished, aren’t you, chieftain…
The chubby kid knows everything—every secret here. Yet he’s a rookie, out on his first mission, which means he was born only recently. He’s your future chieftain, isn’t he…?
As he spoke, Leon looked at the chubby kid, who was frozen with fear.
"You’re not being honest, kid. We made a pact: once we leave here, you’re free. But now you’ve called your clan—breaking the terms of our contract…"
The chubby kid tried to speak, but Leon squeezed him tight, his hollow eyes fixed on the Nightmare Leotails hovering in midair.
"You don’t have time to raise another heir or chieftain. This is your last chance. Even if you kill us, the kid can’t succeed as chieftain—he’s lost his tail, haven’t you noticed? I cut off a piece of his soul, and unfortunately, it was his tail."
"If we leave safely, the kid goes free and I’ll return his tail. Otherwise, prepare for extinction."
Leon’s words shocked Agalon and the others, but the Nightmare Leotails were even more stunned. The other five roared in fury, ready to tear Leon apart.
But the old Nightmare Leotail held them back.
"Whatever you are, you win. The pact you made still stands…"
The Nightmare Leotails vanished silently into the sky. The chubby kid looked utterly hopeless, his face more bitter than ever.
Leon tossed the chubby kid aside. A layer of gray mist shimmered over him as he reverted to his human form, grinning at the kid.
"Kid, young chieftain, you’re still too green. Did you think I didn’t know? Only the heir apparent gets the chieftain’s personal guidance—no other Nightmare Leotail does. So quit calling everyone ‘chieftain.’ The world’s a dangerous place, you know…"
The chubby kid’s face fell, mumbling to himself.
"The chieftain said he’d come save me. How was I supposed to know you’d know what the chieftain said…"
After muttering for a while, the chubby kid realized Leon wasn’t paying him any attention and slowly tried to crawl away.
"Kid, don’t you want your tail back?"
At Leon’s words, the kid stopped and crawled back, lying beside him and watching as Leon worked with the materials.
From the moment he first saw the kid, Leon knew he was the future chieftain of the Nightmare Leotails. With the Lord of Nightmares gone, the Leotails had lost their host environment. They wouldn’t die, but they’d lost the ability to reproduce.
In the Realm of Nightmares, they might be considered immortal, but that doesn’t mean they can’t die. The chieftain always dies when a new Leotail is born, and the newborn inherits the position.