Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 116: A Duel?!

Nikola's black eyes observed the chaos as dirty grey werewolves clashed with snow-white werewolves with the help of scaled fishmen. His eyes followed the actions of both sides while coming to realise how much he ignored since becoming a werewolf.

'Nikita...'

He focused on her beautiful figure as it transformed into a true monster, all in the name of protecting her family and Nikolai himself.

Nikita, a werewolf princess and his lover. Her body transformed the more she fought. A fur coat like fresh snow covered her arms, calves and neck like a scarf.

However, her physical strength did not stop there. Each limb had powerful muscles, and her hands had five sharp claws, while her mouth had a row of fangs. Her upper legs became thicker, especially her thighs filled with muscle, yet maintained their unique feminine beauty, while her lower feet transformed into a werewolf's lower legs, tearing her shoes and stockings.

Her body was like the Amazon in Legends despite her height being a full head and shoulders shorter than his own. The sight of her made him think of the Norse shield maidens from stories his mother told him about in his youth. Women who stood by their warrior men as equals.

"Did you think we would allow you to raise your heads after this treachery, Silver clan?" Nikita's voice was more feral, deeper and filled with a low growl. Her eyes were larger than usual with a more ferocious-looking face, with her large bushy tail swaying in irritation. "I'll give you one last chance. Submit to us or be exterminated!"

Her voice reverberated loud enough that the puddles on the ground vibrated with ripples while everyone stopped to listen. Nikolai glanced over the battle and noted many of the werewolves from the Fenrir clan seemed empowered by her shout. Those who followed her, who struggled on the ropes, suddenly gained a second wind.

'Is this the real Nikita? She hasn't noticed me yet. Maybe there is a reason she doesn't show this side of her.'

"Nikolai, are you not going to help your bitch lover?" Selene's voice, although mocking Nikita, didn't sound as aggressive compared to earlier.

"Should I really poke my nose into her business?"

Nikolai didn't understand the politics and struggles between clans fully—he was struggling daily to adjust and accept everything he could, but there was a limit to what self-study could teach him.

"Why do you respond like that?!" For a moment, her sharp voice sounded like Selene was angry, but then suddenly, she snorted and covered her face as another of the Silver Werewolves shrieked out, killed by the metal bat of Nikita. "No, I forgot you were only just brought over to this side..."

Selene's scarlet eyes glanced at Nikolai. His fists clenched while a feeling of jealousy simmered in her chest. She pushed it down and took a breath. The reason the two sides were fighting didn't concern him, but she felt he was too apathetic about it.

"Ignore my teasing," She said while looking at the fight and the two groups of werewolves fighting. Her voice turned cold as she spoke, "If it's to protect the clan and our honour, that means the same as protecting something like your father's life."

'Is Selene trying to help me understand...?'

"I see."

The rain began to batter the surroundings. Heavy droplets hammered the bodies of the fighters and wetted the ground, creating small pools. The thunderous sounds made the battle even more dramatic as the lightning lit up the night sky. All but for a moment, revealing the bloody chaos.

Nikolai glanced down at his hands before Selene continued.

"However... Why do you need to care for honour or the reason for battle?"

"Huh?"

Nikita's body rushed forward, two claws swiping at her face as she lowered herself and spun around using her left leg like a deadly whip, striking one attacker in the face, causing a loud snap as his head twisted unnaturally and fell limp.

"You love it, right? I've seen you in battle—that look does not dislike blood or killing. Instead, you thrive in those moments. Doesn't it drive you mad with excitement, the warm blood and beating of their hearts fading, giving you agonising bliss? Don't resist or reject that feeling, for it is one of the best parts of being a werewolf."

Nikolai could feel it—he had tried holding it back since the battle, and the scent of blood started growing. His excitement and desire to jump into the fray and start killing beside the beautiful Nikita, who shone like an angel of death.

'Selene... How do you understand these feelings I have?'

It felt strange, yet good for her to acknowledge the dark feelings he held. Even before awakening, he would get into fights and revel in winning and enjoying the excitement of battle.

Selene's face looked serious, and her eyes were focused. "Nikolai... You still look unsure about my words, but watch her... Can't you see Nikita's face, how her eyes are shining and her body moves like dancing? To her, this fight is like the balls held by human nobles in the past. It is where werewolves shine the most."

He realised he had let his thoughts and reactions remain bound by human standards. Despite this, he didn't wish to abandon his humanity, a selfish and arrogant thought, but that was Nikolai. 'I don't want to lose anything that's mine... Whether it be my past as a human or future as a hybrid!'

"Since you don't look convinced, or still hold yourself back... Then instead, why not just fight because she's there. That shining star that you love?"

'Why am I helping that woman and him grow closer... Though it makes me angry, irritated enough to punch something with all my strength. I still wish for Nikolai to follow his desires and not bottle them up...'

"I... Shouldn't..."

The battle only grew as more members of the Silver and Fenrir clans clashed, bloody wounds and broken bones as over a hundred people clashed at once.

"Because you don't want to kill? Do you think you are getting in the way? What a load of crap. If that is the case, why is it when you see her fight and kill, your heartbeat rises, your pupils dilate and you start to breathe faster while transforming into your werewolf form?"

Nikolai was quiet; his hands clenched, but not out of anger. Instead, they were shaking in excitement, just as she said.

"Isn't it strange, Nikolai? You won't fight out of some human emotion, trying to respect her wishes. But why do you not fight for her or by her side? Wouldn't that make her happier than anything else? To have you, come and fight to protect her clan, together!"

"That's why you must go—Fight!"

"Because it is what you desire most!" Selene shouted her voice like a true royal, calm filled with an elegant tone as she placed a hand on his broad back and pushed.

The moment the words escaped her lips, Nikolai could feel something shift within his chest. As if an invisible weight had suddenly lifted from him, a switch pressed, and he found himself staring at Selene with wide eyes.

'Ah... I get it.'

He could feel it now, the hunger that lurked beneath the surface of his skin. It was a need that clawed at his insides, demanding he feed it. Nikolai's mouth curled into a feral grin, and he couldn't help but let out a low growl as he turned back to the woman standing in the rain alone, her blonde hair fluttering in the intense wind.

"You are right, Selene, but I would do the same for you too. Never forget that."

His words caused her to look stunned, like a deer before headlights. "Hueh?!" But before she could respond or say anything more, his large trench coat covered her shoulders to keep her out of the rain. Nikolai himself, like a silver arrow, shot into the thick of the battle, his arms spread wide, with a bastard sword in hand.

His black eyes were alight with a ferocious intensity as he leapt into the fray. Red pupils and Silver limbal rings shimmering in the dark, stormy night. His movements were like a juggernaut smashing through stone walls, with each step making up for their lack of elegance with pure brutality.

"Fall." A rumbling thunderclap echoed, reminiscent of a giant's growl.

Nikolai's sword, a black blade of light, followed his relentless assault, savage and unstoppable, a storm unto itself.

"Back." He slammed the flat of his weapon into a Fishman, shattering his skull and then turned and sliced into a grey werewolf.

The bodies of the werewolves and fishmen dropping without life, like discarded meat in his wake, mere rag dolls thrown aside in a fit of rage. Their limbs flailed uselessly in the air as he continued to cleave his way through the enemy forces.

Nikolai's black blade hummed through the air, leaving trails of crimson wherever it went, a deadly song that only grew more enchanting as the fight progressed.

'I love this feeling!'

A lingering smile, his chest racing while absorbing the glistening crystals of life from his slain foes.

'I'm back... This fight is what I've been missing!' Nikolai thought as a dozen fishmen surrounded him. Each one of their faces had the eyes and mouths of fish, yet still had a humanoid body.

"Die, half-breed!"

He didn't even use his art to test their strength, like a game, for Nikolai wished to see how well he could fight in a place without his abilities. A test of skill compared to strength.

"I wonder if you taste good with soy sauce!" He shouted with a smirk, causing them all to charge in rage at him. "You have plenty of muscles, so I bet you'll be tender and juicy."

As his thoughts swam through his mind, Nikolai let his instincts take control, and his muscles and nerves moved on their own. His body was like a coiled spring, ready to unleash all the power it had stored.

Nikolai swung his bastard sword, slicing through the air with such speed that it was almost invisible if not for the brutal force creating a gale of wine. His movements were like that of a ferocious beast attempting to dance without grace but with all the titanic force as he barrelled through the weak enemies.

The moment his sword cleaved a male wolf in two, he suddenly clashed with a powerful female, her eyes filled with the same excitement and desire as him. Yet the small wolf attack blew him back like an avalanche, his powerful muscles rippling beneath his fur to resist the immense force.

Obsession, bliss, desire, affection, twisted love, all combined in one expression as their eyes locked. Her smile widened to form a monstrous, wicked smile that brought terror to the surrounding monsters.

It was as if time froze—the pair twirling around each other like a waltz, their claw and blade connecting and parting as they moved, each blow more powerful than the last.

But, as Nikolai spun around, he could feel it—their bodies in sync with one another, and the rhythm of the fight became their dance floor.

"Good." Nikita said with a laugh, "You finally understand..."

As if there were visible love hearts in her actions, words and eyes, they continued to clash, brutal force against elegant grace, each one feeding the other's excitement, making their dance grow more intense by the minute. The ground shook and cracked underfoot. Even though she was smaller and lighter, she used his momentum and weight against him with brutal force.

Nikolai's lips curled into a smirk. "Yes, I think I do."

Each time Nikita and Nikolai clashed, monsters attempted to attack the pair, only to be drawn into their maelstrom of chaos, torn, cut, sliced, impaled, devoured. They couldn't tell who was the attacker or defender, as their battle created its own rhythm.

The world was their dance floor, and the monsters their unwilling partners.

As their bodies locked together, Nikolai leaned in close, their hot breath mingling.

"Shall we enjoy a Duel, Madame Wolf?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Nikita's eyes narrowed, her lips parting with a heavy sigh of delight.