Chapter 53: Scarlet, The Blood Empress
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Scarlet, the Blood Empress, the third strongest member of the Villain group in the Solo Player novel, is named the “Dawn of a New World,” a group of extremist hunters that believe the world has changed into the “law of the jungle” in its totality. Meaning that society as a whole need a restructuration and that they want only the strong to decide what’s better for countries, governments, and so on.
They’re all over the place, and there are many other iterations of these villains. At this point in the story, my brother has yet to learn her true identity as the Blood Empress, her alter ego, which she uses to commit terrorist acts against important members of the government of the USA while terrorizing society and incentivizing naïve young Hunters to believe their insanity.
As the number of people who awaken powers continues to rise, this will only become more common. Groups of people desiring to shape society into their own ideal form... I simply can’t relate to these crazy ideas, and I think they’re completely nuts.
Society as a whole is made by all our collective effort; if we weed out the weak citizens, we’ll only end up collapsing as a whole much sooner than Gates and Dungeon Breaks will do. But it isn’t as if this is all the fault of humans; the constellations behind these villains incentivize them a lot to do these acts as well.
And Scarlet’s constellation is nobody else but the King of Vampires, Dracula himself. Yep, he’s really, really evil. He wants bloodshed, for human society to collapse, and for the strong to govern the weak.
Not so far from demons themselves, huh?
However, it isn’t as if Scarlet is exactly that bad; she’s redeemable. She was specifically made by the author to be a “villain that becomes good for the sake of the one she loves”, aka, my brother. The thing is, she dies, sacrificing herself to protect my brother from the leader of the “Dawn of a New World”, and damn, that’s a death I cannot let happen.
Yeah, she’s a bit of a psycho, but aside from corrupt politicians, it isn’t as if she kills civilians. Her friends, however, love to do that. We’ll need someone as strong as her for the Second and Third Awakenings, so I can’t let her die. I’ll have to, once again, change the story and bear with whatever insane consequences happen.
Though, honestly, she has a few screws loose and is madly in love with my brother after their first meeting in a three-floor A-Rank Dungeon just a few months before I woke up. She likes his ruthlessness, that expressionless stare, and the darkness he harbors in his heart. She’s the kind of girl who would happily incentivize him into becoming even more of a psycho.
I can’t let that happen! Henrietta is the ship I’ll support! Sorry, Scarlet, but you’ll have to get friend-zoned and live with it! Though... there’s the possibility of the forbidden harem ending. It was really clear in the story that the author was hinting at this, though, but it never became a reality whatsoever.
More importantly, though, I have to respond because this psycho is staring right into my soul.
“Hello…” I sighed. “And yeah, I am my brother’s sister; nice to meet you! You must be Scarlet, the famous A-Rank Hunter!”
"Indeed, I am!” She laughed happily. “I am delighted to see you healthy, dear. Your brother has been working SO hard to get you back up! I just came here though; can I be updated on what happened recently?”
“Nice to meet you too, Scarlet,” Henrietta said with a bored expression.
“Ah, I didn’t notice there was an eyesore in the room.” Scarlet addressed Henrietta very rudely.
“E-Eyesore?!” Henrietta got angrier.
"Oi, who are you calling eyesores? She’s my sister! Henrietta! An A-Rank Hunter and much better than whatever you are!” Kevin angrily barked like a puppy, defending his owner.
“Huh? And who are you, brat?” Scarlet quickly changed her expression, her eyes glowing bright red as she looked down at Kevin as if he were trash.
[The Cosmic Throne {Emperor of the Blood Throne} glares at these blood bags with discontent.]
[The Cosmic Throne {One-Eyed King of the Aesir} smiles silently and provocatively at {Emperor of the Blood Throne}!]
[The Cosmic Throne {Emperor of the Blood Throne} silently crosses his arms, smiling back at the old fart.]
[Both constellations seem to harbor enmity against one another.]
[Several other Constellations are watching this interaction while eating popcorn.]
Oh gosh, is Dracula just provoking Odin? He’s a strong constellation, but he just doesn’t even compare with him! This damn vampire is really a bold bastard.
"I am Henrietta’s brother, Kevin! And I am not a brat!” Kevin said. He got slightly angry.
“Hmph, so you’re the eyesore’s little eyesore.” Laughed Scarlet. “Anyways, Jack. If you’re done looking at this garbage, how about we go out on a date? I want to enjoy the city while I’m here! I’m craving some grilled meat! Ah, of course, Anna can come too! And her little friend.”
Scarlet happily petted my head.
"Scarlet, don’t be so rude with them; they all helped me out in the recent Dungeon Break that happened. We managed to defeat a whole Demonic Human Organization too.” Jack said.
“Oooh! To be expected of my Jack!” Scarlet clapped happily. “Anyways, you can tell me the details of how you crushed everyone on the way!”
She was desperately trying to drag my brother out of the hospital.
“I told you I was taking care of Henrietta, Scarlet.” Jack sighed. “Please be patient; if you don’t have anything else to do here, please go away for now. If I ever need your help, I’ll call you.”
“Eeeh? So harsh! And I was here just thinking about giving you all my love and affection!” Scarlet grew angry; a tiny tear fell from one of her eyes. It was obviously a crocodile tear.
“That’s right! So please, Scarlet, go away for now.” Henrietta smiled defiantly at Scarlet, as if saying “He’s mine”.
Scarlet began exuding a deadly, red aura, while Henrietta’s golden aura clashed against her.
Oof, these girls are really fierce.
Maybe we should get out of here with Dan Baihe and go back home.
[The Cosmic Throne {Emperor of the Blood Throne} asks you to convince your brother to go on a date with his incarnation.]
[If you do, he assures you a proper reward worth the effort.]
Oh? Is Dracula just trying to ask me to convince my own brother to date Scarlet? Damn, he’s quite the cheap bastard, offering a reward for something like that. He really has no honor, huh?
[The Cosmic Throne {Divine Judge of Flames} smirks, saying that you would never fall for such cheap temptations.]
Ah, yeah, about that...
“Big brother, let’s go!” I said. “I want to eat some grilled meat too!”
Hah, I’m cheap too.
[The Cosmic Throne {Divine Judge of Flames} is flabbergasted, throwing out the wine he was sipping.]
“Hm? You want to go, Anna?” Jack seemed surprised. “Uh, well, it has been a while since we’ve been out together and had some fun."
“Yes, yes! Let’s have fun with Anna!” Said Scarlet, nodding happily.
“Fine, fine~” Jack sighed, walking with us outside the room.
“E-Eeeh?! Jack?!” Henrietta cried.
“Sorry about that, but I’m doing this mostly for Anna,” Jack said. “I know you’re fine now, so just rest for a bit.”
“H-Hah…” Henrietta sighed while staying in the room with her brother. I could hear him trying to cheer her up.
“Don’t worry, once you’re out of the hospital, we could go somewhere too,” Jack reassured her.
Oh?! This is a new development! My brother is asking out a girl. Did he finally grow some balls?
“R-Really? It’s a promise, then! Better keep your word!” Henrietta screamed as we walked away.
“Sure!” Jack laughed.
“Tch, who does that eyesore think she is?” Scarlet groaned angrily, crossing her arms.
“Anyways, where are we going to eat?” I asked.
“O-Oh, right! We’re going out, right? No regrets?” Scarlet asked excitedly.
“Sure.” Jack shrugged. “I would like to take a small break before starting intensive training.”
“Nice!” Scarlet celebrated. “I know a place where I go to eat with my friends; let’s go, everyone!”
[The Cosmic Throne {Emperor of the Blood Throne} smiles at your great accomplishment.]
[Perhaps this could eventually lead to the expansion of the Vampires!]
[He has sponsored 1000 Plot Points and a [Blood Pill (C Rank)] x1!]
Eh?! Is that it? Fucking cheapskate! I thought you were going to at least give me a damn Skill or something! What the fuck is this?! You’re not even a damn beggar, Dracula, bastard!
Well, at least the blood pill is… something.
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[Blood Pill (C Rank)]
Through consumption, this pill enhances the user’s Bloodline Powers by +50% permanently, forcing the awakening of abilities related to the said bloodline, among many other things.
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I have no freaking bloodline right now, so this is pretty much useless for the moment. Though I think I could mix it with something else to get something better, maybe.
Anyway, Scarlet led us as she laughed and smiled, talking about whatever it was to my brother. We explained to her everything that happened in the dungeon, and Dan Baihe introduced herself to her. She brought us to a big family restaurant named “Billy’s Grill,” which served gigantic pieces of grilled meat—not only cow but extravagant monster meat of all sorts.
There was Glacial Wolf Meat, Giant Boar Meat, Three-Horned Bear Meat, and even Walking Fish Meat and Wyvern Meat! Monster meat is good for health and has many benefits when eaten by a hunter, such as healing health, mana, and ki.
Along with that, it is extremely expensive! So the whole meal we had cost over 300 USD. Scarlet, however, had pockets filled with money and wasn’t even complaining about my two tamed monsters eating meat too.
“I see, so all of that happened. Oh my god, it must have been exciting!” She laughed. “I wish I could have been there! But Anna… I am amazed that you defeated that giant demon by yourself! It’s hard to believe.”
“I know, right?” I laughed. “So hard to believe, we better just keep it a secret for convenience.”
“Hoh, so you want to hide your strength?” She wondered.
“Something like that..." I smiled back.
“Smart girl.” Scarlet gave me another head pat. “Anyways! I’m happy everything ended well, and now you’ve got a new... friend? Adoptive sister? What is this girl going to be of you?”
“Ah, well, she’s already an adult, so she can do whatever she wants, but we’ve offered her shelter as long as she earns her keep,” Jack said.
“I’ll make sure to do so!” Dan Baihe nodded confidently.
“I can detect a lot of mana coming from her; she’s incredibly promising.” Scarlet nodded, analyzing her with her glowing red eyes. “More importantly, what are you all planning to do now?”
“I’ll be visiting A-Rank Dungeons through North America.” Said Jack. “They’ll be quick trips that won’t last more than three days; I just want to make sure to grow much stronger for whatever has yet to come... This world is changing constantly, and I feel like there are enemies everywhere now.”
“Oh my, so dedicated~,” Scarlet said, her devious smile clearly showing how she was one of those “villains” my brother was referring to.
“And I’ll be going into a Newbie Hunter Training Drill with other newbie hunters, including the annoying brat you saw before, Kevin,” I said. “Hopefully we can find some dungeons on the way. I’ll be aiming to become at least C-rank.”
Of course, our “goals” have to be this simple because I can’t reveal to her that I’m planning to raid a Dungeon that’ll appear very soon filled with materials I need to boost my Physique to the next tier, or how I’m planning to stop her group of psychos from doing another terrorist attack next month, or how I’m planning to recruit more promising Hunters that have yet to awaken... or how I am also planning on conquering the tombs when the Second Awakening begins.
“I see! Come to think of it, there’ll be someone joining that drill that’ll be starting soon too, a little sister of a friend.” Said Scarlet. “Her name is Annabelle, similar to your name, isn’t it? She’s such a sweet girl!”
Annabelle?
Wait, the Arachnid Princess Annabelle!
Yikes, did this even happen in the training drills?
Don’t tell me the Dawn of a New World is attempting to brainwash the young Hunters in this event somehow.
This is bad…
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