Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

"This is it... Are the monsters here really different from those outside?"

[*Static*]

'Huh? Mother, why is your voice so distorted?!'

He touched the pendant but could only feel a weak connection—even her voice was distorted and hard to understand. It made Nikolai wonder if there was an issue with the tower and spirits or souls... 'Come to think of it, when you die in the tower, do you die or get sent outside? Why didn't I ask for more information before?'

[*Static* Care *Static* ful...*Static* Son...]

'I can't hear you, but I'll be careful, Mother. You should rest—it seems I cannot give you soul power if I enter this dungeon, so preserve yourself.' Nikolai accidentally shouted at his mother because he feared something might happen. However, it seemed she understood as the pendant became dormant after he told her to.

'Well, let's go inside. But it seems Mother could hear me, just her spirit couldn't contact me... I should ask Madame Zara in the future.'

He entered, looking down to find himself walking across the stone floor to reach the first level of the dungeon. However, all that awaited him was the smell of sulphur, a slightly dimmer light than outside, and even thicker air to breathe. "How do people survive in this place... the smell is horrible, Ugh."

Nikolai noticed there was a strange, thin wave in front of him. It blocked his vision of the dungeon and seemed to resemble the blue sphere in the Nexus. The scent was coming from the stones, keeping this portal steady on either side of the wall. "It looks like jelly, but who would build something like this... Rather, who exactly built the worlds of the Nexus? The monsters didn't.

They just took the world, right? How could a mortal creature make this..."

In truth, Nikolai was correct; the founding clans who discovered the Nexus and its abilities were the ones who claimed they made the land to build on their legitimacy; however, in reality... there was something else, something forgotten in the annuls of history now.

"Well, let's enter through this barrier. Hopefully, the foul smell will vanish." He muttered before raising his hand and pushing it into the rippling barrier, only to feel resistance before his appendage popped into the other side. 'It's cool, maybe 2 degrees Celsius.'

The scent on the other side was not pungent as in the tower but slightly chilly instead—however, the thick smell of undeath and rotting blood replaced the sulphur and coal scent. Finally, with all his apprehensions and resolve ready, Nikolai passed through the shimmering gate. As soon as he crossed to the other side, the feeling in his ear disappeared as the temperature grew cooler around him.

"Ugh, this air is much better, however... why are the walls made of flesh... It almost seems like they are pulsing to a heartbeat..." His face frowned at the sight, especially when it felt like blood was passing through the walls.

"Well, no use in complaining about such things..."

But something caught Nikolai's attention out of the corner of his eye—a creature that hurried along the path as he turned to face it.

'Hmmm... I wonder how strong this creature is?'

A child-like creature skittered across the floor toward him on two legs. It wore tattered pants over its filthy legs as its naked upper body showed off its skinny abs and biceps, which flexed at every movement. However... they were covered in rotting wounds, and their skin looked pale.

'A zombie-like thing, eh? Well, I might as well attack it while its back is still facing me!'

Nikolai raised his arms and began stretching his legs to prepare them for any sudden movements.

Although, because of its size, the monster looked like a teenager, the way it moved showed some intelligence at play. After stretching his legs to warm up his muscles, Nikolai lowered his body, then, in a burst of strength, launched himself toward the zombie's direction, aiming for its neck...

He extended his left hand, claws growing from his fingers like five deadly blades—black eyes focused on the movements of the zombie. He noticed the creature lift its head as if reacting to the sound in a delayed fashion, exposing its neck.

A vicious smile came upon his lips, "I got you!"

"Hrrrrr!"

The creature emitted a weak groan, unable to produce sound because of its severed vocal cords being sliced open by the metal-like talons. Its body slammed into the floor with a thud, sliding until it came to a stop against the wall. Black fluid dripped from Nikolai's silver claws.

Looking at his victim, he saw a humanoid creature with pale grey skin—the face had an open wound that revealed bone, causing an indentation to form on one side.

'Wow, that's gruesome! I couldn't see that gross imagery from the back... damn...'

However, while Nikolai prepared for a fight, the zombie's eyes became dull, its head dropping to the floor while the walls began to expand and devoured its corpse, leaving a small pouch on the ground. After seeing the disgusting scene, Nikolai chose not to continue looking at it. Instead, he picked up the bag, which seemed relatively clean compared to its former owner.

A sense of relief filled his heart after touching the smooth material.

"Well, since the walls consumed it entirely, I guess that means it died?"

'I wonder what's inside...'

Nikolai felt a little irritated because he didn't get to absorb any blood crystals as if the monster didn't have any. Yet the moment he opened the pouch, he suddenly realised why this tower was said to make monsters stronger.

'This vial... the black fluid gives me the same feeling as the crystals, but it's a bit weaker.'

After sniffing the small crystal glass, which could hold three millilitres, Nikolai opened it up and poured it onto his finger. Upon placing the small drop of blood on his tongue, a very thin trickle of blood energy entered his body.

'Hmm... it's less potent than the crystals—why? Is it because I absorbed normally... Ugh?!'

However... like a shark hunting in the blood ocean, his Lupus Diabolus bloodline activated and devoured the drop whole.

A cold shiver ran through his body as it was once again confirmed that this thing sought blood essence regardless of the circumstances. 'I just acted on instinct again...' Frowning at his lack of understanding of his unique bloodline, Nikolai swallowed his saliva.

The rushing feeling of adrenaline and excitement that came after absorbing a blood crystal faded, and his body felt refreshed and calm. However, Nikolai realised the difference between him and another monster.

'It's the efficiency; before my bloodline activated, the amount I would gain from that liquid is negligible... Yet once using the bloodline, every ounce was devoured at a 1:1 ratio!'

Excitement and greed flowed through Nikolai's mind, his right and left claws extended, the ugly pulsating flash walls no longer made him feel anything, and the scent of undeath was a guide to his next victim! He seemed to have changed his mindset—was it gradually or because of his usage of the evil god's blood? That was a question that no one could answer right now.

Tap-Tap-Tap

Shling!

The black and silver claws, like a reaper's scythe, took the lives of any monsters in this cave.

Whether young, old, tall or short...

*Shringggg!!*

It didn't matter if they used weapons or if they used spells. Every single creature that blocked his path fell victim to his speed. And with each kill, the Lupus Diabolous became more active, and soon, a kind of rhythm formed between Nikolai and the bloodline. The instincts brought forth by the bloodline allowed Nikolai's reaction time to improve.

Whether it be detecting prey or killing them faster than before, it was a never-ending loop until finally.

*Ding*

Upon hearing the bell chime, Nikolai blinked in confusion. He stood before a black door, which had the large letter 2 engraved on the top.

"I cleared the floor already?!"

Nikolai's hunting felt like a pleasant blur. He would get the look after killing, drink the vial and become stronger, faster and more focus. Not that the black blood was taking over him, but more that he wasn't using it properly and treated it as a foreign power.

Thanks to the hunting on this floor, his heart began to change. The thoughts that plagued him before about who or what he was no longer mattered. He realised that everything in his life is what created him. Human, Werewolf, Vampire and the strange Devilish Wolf God... ALL were him, and he didn't want to lose any part of himself or deny it anymore.

'It feels like the black blood and that form wasn't making me angry or changing me. It just released the things I bottle up or hide from others... my nearly twenty years of frustration and boredom, my lust and cravings, all of it was mine alone!'

"Haa... haa... I see...."

Nikolai didn't enter the portal. Instead, he felt a sense of peace. It was like he reached a level of enlightenment. Even the blood frenzy, the reason he could come to his senses faster was because of his black bloodline. All those actions and things he did were Nikolai's desires taking form.

'I guess it makes me feel better knowing that...'

"To think all the actions I have taken were because I wanted them to happen. This bloodline isn't filled with the thoughts of some remnant divine being. It was just following my instincts and desires, hahaha."

He felt a sense of relief and joy, knowing it was him who wanted to do those things to Nikita and Selene, but it also made him realise the darker side.

'I am the one who wanted to kill any man who looked at Selene improperly and to destroy the Hati clan just for coveting Nikita...'

"Phew... let's try to calm down, or I might destroy myself. Keep a note of these feelings and act on them when I can actually achieve them. Let's look in the pouches for more loot!"

Like this, Nikolai's heart slowly returned to normal—he calmed his bloodlines as all three began to swirl calmly. Now, he didn't resist or refuse them and was like a beautiful tide pool.

Nikolai felt comfortable opening the collection of pouches tied to his trench coat. The pouches began to drop into Nexus Coins, something that should have shocked him, but Nikolai's mind was sharp and focused.

'I will become stronger.'

Although he never got the satisfaction of draining the entire life force of these creatures, their deaths brought satisfaction to his heart.

Only by moving forward can someone get stronger. And only those who seek battle can reach higher levels. As a cold hunter of monsters, Nikolai was determined to become stronger. He even started to write down several notes in his app and made three alarms.

[Morning Training (4:00 am - 7:00 am)] - Enter the dungeon and fight until the end, then take a shower.

[Afternoon Grindset (13:00 - 14:00)] - Grind as many monsters in the dungeon within an hour.

[Evening Slaughter (20:00 - 23:00)] - Clear dungeon without claws. Martial arts and sword training.

'Now, it's unrealistic to do this every day, but the morning training I will do daily, as for the others. Let's fit them in when I am free. The evening training I can do outside of the dungeon if need be.'

"Hmm... I should purchase some training equipment made for Supernatural beings and have one of the spare rooms sorted, or buy an apartment in the same building to train?"

Thanks to this enlightenment, he began to think of things on a larger scale than just himself.