Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 109: Second Floor - Increased Danger

'Maybe Alistair doesn't want her for love, but because her blood would help with his experiments? It felt like Maximilian was acting out of jealousy and anger for himself. But back in the arena... I am sure Alistair's gaze was more sinister and cold; it felt detached from words of love, affection and desire...'

"Let's forget such thoughts for now! This dungeon isn't a good place to linger..."

Nikolai gazed at the eerie walls that made him feel observed and sat down against the rocky stones laid around on the first floor. It was a strange dungeon with an open-form style—there weren't many long tunnels or branching paths.

He felt like the flesh walls tore apart those tunnels and made it easier to hunt, but the huge dungeon looked awful.

'The broken debris and haphazard design, will the upper floors look more presentable?'

The dungeon's first floor instead felt like it had been already conquered, the image he held of a dungeon that was cleared and then fell into disrepair. Rather than the image of a demon king's abode that novels and games made him picture it to look like.

'I mean, the tower leading to the first floor was stone and felt like an actual medieval tower.'

He recalled the faded walls with beautiful images and statues that lost their faces because of weathering and wondered what happened for the dungeon to look like it did inside.

A foreboding feeling filled his chest that the top floor would have something to do with the true form of those flesh walls.

"Well... It seems I earned 255 Nexus Coins from the first floor."

[Nexus Account: 6,745]

[Saver Account: $10,000,000]

'So I have a few hours left before I promised to meet Nikita... Let's try the second floor of this dungeon!'

Standing up, Nikolai raised his hand and pulled the handle open. He entered the room, noting the absence of the disgusting odour permeating the air. Instead, only the stench of rotting meat wafted towards him, which surprised Nikolai.

However, the dungeon looked completely different; the walls weren't perfect, but the amount of flesh seemed to have drastically vanished, with only small veins and pieces now growing within the stone brickwork. Some of the tunnel-like hallways were still present, and it was overall much more appealing than the previous floor.

The most significant difference was the tunnels remained—he could sense various monsters' scents, but now he couldn't just rush to the finish.

'I see... It's strange after all.'

But after clearing the first floor, the confidence he had allowed him not to worry about anything, so after resting and clearing his head, Nikolai moved to the new floor with caution.

The quiet dungeon felt eerie, yet Nikolai filled with excitement, his hands forming black and silver claws while his eyes narrowed. His pointed ears flicked around, showing the direction of the nearest monsters.

He looked at the four paths leading from the main hallway. Nikolai gazed at the worn and faded statues as he sniffed the air of each tunnel, not looking for safety but the most dangerous path.

'To the left, dragging its right foot...'

Like a deadly hunter, Nikolai walked through the right tunnel. It wasn't long until he heard a soft humming sound coming from ahead.

However, unlike the zombies that stumbled forward, the sound emanated a rhythmical pattern—each step was rhythmic. A pale humanoid female form appeared; she wore tattered rags and was hunched over in front of her, holding something close to her bosom.

'A spear? Can these undead monsters use weapons?'

From the distance, he could sense the creature. The dark aura emitted from her was ominous and thick—the sensation of death was tangible upon contact.

'Strange, this girl is giving off quite the blood scent... Although she looks injured, what is the difference between her and the others?' Nikolai thought as he studied the girl.

He felt her face was familiar, a sense deep inside him not because of his thoughts but an instinctual feeling. It felt like something was shouting for him to understand and realise.

'Why does seeing her in this state irritate me and make me feel grief?'

Her grey hair dangled loosely, falling past her shoulders. Her facial features were strikingly graceful, if not for her right eye being crushed by some form of blunt impact.

'Could she have been someone important before turning into this?' He questioned in his mind as his eyes drifted downward to examine her figure closely.

Her bare feet shuffled along silently on the ground. Despite the grotesqueness of her appearance, there was something regal about her. Maybe because she carried herself like a wounded warrior and her grip on the spear showed she knew how to use it?

Nikolai wanted to understand the dungeon like he was learning about himself and his bloodlines if he looked down upon the dungeon that had claimed the lives of thousands, if not millions, of monsters. He would be a fool!

Woosh!!

Clank!!!

'Damn... she noticed me too quickly!' Nikolai cursed as he avoided the sharp spear by pulling back.

The sound of metal clashing against stone and claw reverberated loudly, causing him to flinch at the noise it made—the spear cut through the air swiftly and precisely, slashing into the nearby wall only after his reflexes deflected the tip. Its speed left a clear line mark on the surface where it struck, sending sparks flying from the impact.

The zombie girl attacked with ferocious speed as though driven by hatred. She growled fiercely, launching another strike towards his chest, forcing him back several meters away.

However, her body seemed to phase forward, like a teleport, before she thrust her spear with a rain of penetrating blows towards his chest and face.

'Argh... She's so quick!'

Sparks erupted everywhere whenever their blades clashed; it was a battle between an experienced fighter who fought in wars and someone who lacked formal training. The only thing Nikolai could be grateful for was her damaged body. Her right leg was twisted and broken, and her right eye was missing, so her force lacked the killing power her living counterpart might have had.

But she also had unnatural stamina.

'Kch!'

Focusing on his claws, they became thicker and broader. The thin ones allowed him to move quicker, but her spear attacks were too fast to deal with if he kept blocking like he was currently doing. So his claws changed shape, becoming heavier but able to deflect her flurry of thrusts

*Slash!!*

Her attack barely missed his arm, cutting a large gash in the coat and slicing open part of his skin underneath.

"I'm sorry you died here, whoever you are... But I am not going down without fighting!" Nikolai shouted as he felt hot liquid dripping down his cheek where she gouged him.

Gripping the handle firmly in both hands, the girl swung her weapon horizontally across his torso before spinning clockwise around her axis. In contrast, he raised his claws above his head and brought them down upon hers with all his might—he knew there was no dodging this attack, so the best option was to match her blow.

Nikolai's muscles bulged, and his blood pumped faster in response to his current desire, unlike in the past. He called the black blood to aid him so that he would win.

"Vol... kov?"

Then, when he met her spear, she seemed to hesitate for a moment before his claws expanded to match it, creating immense pressure. At that moment, the spear point and his silver-black claw blade locked tightly together.

Neither side budged for several seconds—only sweat rolled down his cheek before the corpse began to fade. His left hand was shaped like a single blade, forming his hand into a blade as it penetrated her chest.

"You really were a great fighter..." Nikolai muttered as she fell forward, his other hand holding her up. When the black energy dissipated from him, so did his smile as he began to wonder why he felt sad for her.

'When I enter my slaughter state, I feel little regret for the fallen foes, so why? Do I feel that her death was a loss... strange.' It was at that moment he realised why she was different... two blood crystals flowed into his body, their colour a brilliant blue. She must have been a werewolf in her previous life. Or a race specialised in martial combat.

Yet even though he took two crystals, his blood felt denser. The power of his body, empowered by his werewolf bloodline, felt like it improved slightly.

"What's going on..."

Nikolai began to perform the actions of the fight, only to notice his strikes and movement of his parrying arm became more fluent, almost as elegant as the warrior he slayed.

'Did I gain more than just power from those crystals? Was the important factor instead [Experience] and [Skills] that I gained?'

While he was lost in thought, a loud thud sounded as a pouch landed on the ground. It looked a little higher quality; even the thread seemed knitted with more care.

"Let's see what's in here..."

When he opened the pouch, several coins and a book came out.

There were [50 Nexus Coins] inside the bag, which was quite amazing, but what surprised him most was the book with a slightly weathered cover and the familiar golden hue of her left eye. It made him realise why she felt different from the other zombies.

'No way... No wonder she reminded me of Nikita...'

The book was named [Amelia Fenrir - Supernatural Slaying Spear Art]