Chapter 68: A strong backing.

Artika removed her dress and walked down to the lake to take a bath. She stared blankly at the ceiling of the cave as she kept running her neck because she never thought the chain necklace was released from her body. It was surreal, and she started to gain the power that had been sealed away, and could hear voices inside her head.

"My Lady..." Aria appeared behind Artika. "We have taken care of the problem on the 55th floor, and we will proceed to our next move," he informed.

"What about the 1st floor?" Artika asked as she washed her arms.

"There will be a lot of work if we want to retake the 1st floor. We can't do that right now because the Executives are on the move as well," Aria answered and he seemed troubled. "We received information about the 3 Guilds joining hands with them," he added.

Artika hummed, but she wasn't interested or bothered by the news. Although it was bad news for her, she could deal with them later on since her power had been unsealed.

"They're replaceable, and they won't be protected by the Player Association. Arsen isn't someone who thinks highly of other Players, so we can get rid of them whenever we want," Artika responded calmly. "They think they're gaining favors from the Executives, but the Executives only think of them as meat shields," she pointed out.

Aria found that the sudden movements of the 3 guilds were unexpected. He thought that the Mastermind behind the movements were all orchestrated by Alice. He had been trying to dig up information about Alice, but something was preventing him from digging into her past.

"Nyctri..." Artika said as she washed her neck.

Nyctri went to the surface from inside the lake and slowly revealed the top half of her face out of the water. She made bubbles as she stared at Artika and then stood up with her naked body which surprised Aria and made him look away.

"The 1st floor is overwhelmed by curses. You can feed on those curses to satisfy yourself," Artika looked at Nyctri. "In exchange, you can stay there and get rid of all the Players while at the same time gather all the Non-Players," she added.

"Are you sure about that? You know that you can create something as powerful as your mother back then with that amount of evil energy," Nyctri asked as she swam the lake.

"You have been starving, so you can have a feast," Artika answered and started washing her face.

Artika looked at how happy Nyctri was, and she never thought she would be able to summon her. Nyctri wasn't created, she was nurtured by Artivara when Nyctri was nothing but the spirit of a child. Even with all the power she possessed, sometimes Nyctri could still act like a child since the spirit didn't age.

As a spirit, Nyctri was a race that was led by Gnigung, but Gnigung entrusted Nyctri to Artivara. From all the races, the Witch race was the strongest and the closest to the existence of God that created them which was Lysara'elmaris. With that being said, Artivara could speak to the dead, the spirit, and dragons. The witches were the only race that excelled in all aspects because of their knowledge that made them superior.

Artivara turned Nyctri from a normal spirit into an evil spirit by consuming the emotions of the dead. An evil spirit was the strongest type of spirit compared to other types, but the only downside was that it could be easily defeated by divine power. But, because Artivara was a genius, she didn't turn Nyctri into a complete evil spirit by feeding her divine power so she could withstand a divine power and control the power within herself.

Artivara's goal was to make Nyctri a similar entity like Lysara'elmaris, an entity that could become good and evil. She succeeded in doing so, and yet she hid it from everyone, and only her descendants knew about it.

It wasn't the first time Artika saw Nyctri since her mother, Asarti, used to spend all her life with Nyctri. If it wasn't for Asarti, the other races would have been wiped out and hunted down by the Executives. Asarti single-handedly protected Non-Players and even on her last day as a witch, she died peacefully in her bed and she sealed her soul into the book so Artika could summon her one last time if needed.

"Master?" Nyctri stood in front of Artika and noticed that Artika was zoning out, staring at her reflection on the water. "Your skin looks softer than before," she carefully touched Artika's pale skin and yet so soft and warm.

"Because the curse has been lifted," Artika answered with a gentle smile. "Once you're done, you can go down to the 1st floor," she looked at Nyctri who couldn't stop touching her skin.

"I can go now," Nyctri walked out of the lake and a dark energy wrapped her body and turned into a black dress. "I'll take over the 1st floor and guard it until you come, master," she added and then disappeared into thin air.

(On the 30th floor)

The news had spread through all the floors from 2nd to 70th about what happened to the 3 guilds. Madam and the Unnamed killed more than a thousand Players and sent the 3 guilds back to the 30th floor with a complete defeat.

That news was only half of the thing that happened because Alice and the 3 guilds hid about the deal they made. None of them were allowed to speak about what happened back there, and if they did, it would only bring shame and disadvantage to themselves since they sold Players for their own benefits. Cardin and Zest were like dogs that were leashed under Alice's grasp.

Madam brought those 3 guilds back to their headquarters, but something was off about them all based on what the players saw. It seemlike Aliceice and all the guilds' leaders were standing equally with Madam and the Unnamed. It piqued their interest as to why those powerful Players were in a good term after what happened on those floors.

"Sir Silas! Lady Alice! There's a very important guest!" A man approached Silas and Alice and said while he was catching his breath.

"Perfect! He's here already!" Alice sounded so excited and held Silas hand so they could meet the guest as soon as possible. "Madam, you're coming with us!" She looked at Madam from over her shoulder.

Madam was confused as to why Alice looked so thrilled by the mysterious guest. She followed her into the Pure Blood headquarters where it looked like a kingdom and it was located where the tower was at which was why they came to the Pure Blood headquarters as soon as they came to the 30th floor.

When Madam entered the private meeting room, she was stunned by the person she saw. A man in a tuxedo with his slick back hair, thin beard, and mustache, one of the Executives, Navel. She immediately realized why Alice was so well-informed and why she had no worries since she had someone powerful behind her.

Navel looked at Madam with a smirk and then put his index finger on his lips, asking her to keep it a secret. Without the Unnamed around them, nobody knew that he was there. Of course, if she would try to speak up, he would kill her even before she could think about it.

"Checil isn't the only one who has a favorite child. I do too have one," Navel smiled at Madam.

"Calling me her favorite child is giving me chills..." Madam responded.

"Surprise!" Alice giggled as she looked at Madam. "Although, I hope you keep this a secret because nobody would protect you since Checil is currently on seclusion, dealing with the curses inside her body," she added and hid her smile behind the fan.

"So what's this? A crack on the highest hierarchy?" Madam looked at Navel. "It was you who gave Alice about Checil's past. It seems like you have some kind of conflict with her," she looked at Navel with suspicion.

"Hmm? What do you mean? Does that even bother you?" Navel asked back with his eyebrows raised. "Isn't the reason you want to dig Checil's past because you want to find a way to free yourself from her? So why does it matter to you?" He added.

Madam looked at Alice and Navel back and forth, thinking about what those two were scheming about.

"We have been friends for years now. You have helped me countless times, and you know me well even before we entered the tower. I wouldn't bring you here if you're not close to me, and I have always been looking at you like you're my big sister that I don't have. So, I'm going to help you no matter what it is, but I won't be able to do it if this hierarchy system is still standing strong," Alice explained and looked at Madam with a serious expression.

"So what is this all about?" Madam looked at Navel and Alice.

Alice approached Madam and whispered into Madam's ear.

"You're out of your mind!" Madam stared at Alice, Silas, and Navel with a shocked expression.